World Health Day 2021

April 7th of each year marks the celebration of World Health Day. From its inception at the First Health Assembly in 1948 and since taking effect in 1950, the celebration has aimed to create awareness of a specific health theme to highlight a priority area of concern for the World Health Organization.

Over the past 50 years this has brought to light important health issues such as mental health, maternal and child care, and climate change. The celebration is marked by activities which extend beyond the day itself and serves as an opportunity to focus worldwide attention on these important aspects of global health.

In recent years, countries in the Western Pacific have experienced rapid economic growth, migration and urbanization. This created opportunities for better lives for many, but left others behind. The COVID-19 pandemic has undercut recent health gains, pushed more people into poverty and food insecurity, and amplified gender, social and health inequities.

This World Health Day, we’re calling for action to eliminate health inequities, as part of a year-long global campaign to bring people together to build a fairer, healthier world. The campaign highlights WHO’s constitutional principle that “the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health is one of the fundamental rights of every human being without distinction of race, religion, political belief, economic or social condition.”

To mark World Health Day 2021, Elsevier presents a curated list of free access journal articles and book chapters in support of this year's theme - building a fairer, healthier world for everyone.

Table of contents

RELX,

1st April 2021

To mark World Health Day 2021, RELX’s Global Head of Corporate Responsibility, Dr Márcia Balisciano, talks to Dr Richard McCallum and Dr Erika Claud about the need for a fairer and healthier world for all. 
Elsevier, Current Problems in Diagnostic Radiology, Volume 51, 1 May 2022
Increasing recognition within the medical literature and by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education has been attributed to the need for enhanced resident education on concepts related to public health and health equity. Despite increasing documentation of pervasive inequalities within the scope of radiology, dedicated curricula designed to improve cultural competency and understanding of healthcare disparities among radiology trainees remains sparse.
Elsevier, European Journal of Radiology Open, Volume 8, January 2021
Purpose: Besides diagnostic imaging devices, in particular computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), numerous reading workstations contribute to the high energy consumption of radiological departments. It was investigated whether switching off workstations after core working hours can relevantly lower energy consumption considering both ecological and economical aspects.
Elsevier, International Journal of Radiation Oncology Biology Physics, Volume 107, 15 July 2020
Purpose: Radiation therapy interruption (RTI) worsens cancer outcomes. Our purpose was to benchmark and map RTI across a region in the United States with known cancer outcome disparities. Methods and Materials: All radiation therapy (RT) treatments at our academic center were cataloged. Major RTI was defined as ≥5 unplanned RT appointment cancellations. Univariate and multivariable logistic and linear regression analyses identified associated factors. Major RTI was mapped by patient residence.
Elsevier, Advances in Radiation Oncology, Volume 5, 1 September 2020
Purpose: Poor nutrition is highly implicated in the pathogenesis of cancer and affects the survival of patients during and after completion of definitive therapies. Mechanistic evidence accumulated over the last century now firmly places dysregulated cellular energetics within the emerging hallmarks of cancer. Nutritional intervention studies often aim to either enhance treatment effect or treat nutritional deficiencies that portend poor prognoses.
Elsevier,

Journal of Transport and Health, Volume 19, December 2020

Background: With the rapid demographic shift towards an ageing society, it is a concerted effort to facilitate elderly's access to healthcare in order to maintain and improve their quality of life. In China, hospital care services dominate the healthcare market, which requires a better understanding of accessibility to hospitals in order to rationally allocate resources in spatial and land use planning. However, little attention has been paid to analysing the geographical accessibility to hospitals specific to the elderly population.

Elsevier,

Intelligence-Based Medicine, Volume 3-4, December 2020

Diabetic Retinopathy (DR) is one of the leading causes of preventable blindness in the working-age diabetic population in India and across the world. It may lead to permanent blindness if not detected in the early stages. The prevalence of DR among diabetics in India was 10% and 16.9% in 2014 and 2019, respectively. In 2019, the International Diabetes Federation estimated that Diabetic Mellitus will affect 101 million people in India in 2030; the largest number in any nation in the world.

Elsevier,

Computer Methods and Programs in Biomedicine Update, Volume 1, 2021, 100005

Blood donation saves lives, and the communication between blood centers and donors plays a vital role in this. Smart apps are now considered an important communication tool, and could be best utilized in blood donation if they are designed to fit the users’ needs and preferences.
Elsevier,

Joule, Volume 4, 16 December 2020

Discover the benefits of our solar powered steam generator. An eco-friendly solution for medical sterilisation, contributing to sustainable development goals.
Elsevier, Blood, Volume 137, 28 January 2021
Social determinants of health, including poverty, contribute significantly to health outcomes in the United States; however, their impact on pediatric hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) outcomes is poorly understood. We aimed to identify the association between neighborhood poverty and HCT outcomes for pediatric allogeneic HCT recipients in the Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research database.
Elsevier,

Design for Health, 2020, Pages 323-340

This chapter advances SDG 3 by exploring the current state of design as applied to global health, models of how it is carried out, and some of the questions that arise for practitioners.
Elsevier,

Psychology and Climate Change, 2018, Pages 95-124

This book chapter advances SDGs 10 and 13 by explaining how current psychological perspectives on social identity, identity-based motivation, and belonging help shape public engagement and identify key social psychological processes that may contribute to persistent and substantial disparities in the environmental sector.
Elsevier,

Social Ecology in the Digital Age, 2018, Pages 137-179

This chapter advances SDGs 3 and 11 by addressing the challenges of promoting personal and population health from the different vantage points of biomedical, biopsychosocial, and social ecological models.
Elsevier,

Social Ecology in the Digital Age, 2018, Pages 265-317

This chapter advances SDGs 3 and 11 by identifying strategies for improving the design and sustainability of built environments. Resilience and sustainability are viewed at different scales as they apply to buildings, neighborhoods, communities, regional, and global ecosystems.
Elsevier,

The Developing Microbiome, 2020, Pages 21-41

This book chapter advances SDGs 3 and 10 by explaining how the acquisition of microbial communities during early life is closely intertwined with children’s immune and metabolic development. Environmental influences like prenatal maternal factors, delivery mode, peripartum antibiotic administration, nutrition, and the indoor microbiome in the hospital and home play a part during this critical early window.
Elsevier,

Clinical and Translational Perspectives on Wilson Disease, 2019, Pages 354-353

This book chapter advances SDGs 3 and 10 by explaining that is is generally believed that Wilson's Disease is more common in Chinese populations than the average worldwide prevalence of 1:30,000, but it has been reported among ethnic minorities in mainland China.
Elsevier,

Effects of Lifestyle on Men's Health, 2019, Pages 149-168

This book chapter advances SDGs 3 and 10 by explaining how obesity is a significant health problem, especially among the people living in developed countries, which also has detrimental effects on the male urogenital system.
Elsevier,

Chronic Kidney Disease in Disadvantaged Populations, 2017, Pages 209-217

This book chapter advances SDGs 3 and 10 by providing a summary of recent studies of the relation of poverty to chronic kidney disease and related outcomes.
Elsevier,

Chronic Kidney Disease in Disadvantaged Populations, 2017, Pages 273-289

This book chapter advances SDGs 3 and 10 by ensuring equitable access to medications, technologies and clinical care are central to service delivery for effective screening, prevention and kidney disease management.
Elsevier,

Advances in Food and Nutrition Research, Volume 94, 2020, Pages 1-34

This chapter advances SDG 3 by providing an overview of novel probiotic-related concepts and the scientific evidence that supports their bioactivities as well as the possible mechanisms underlying their health-promoting effects.
Elsevier,

Food, Medical, and Environmental Applications of Polysaccharides, 2021, Pages 381-400

This chapter advances SDGs 3 and 11 by covering the latest advances in biosensors, which play an innovative role in biomedical applications and improving healthcare. Additionally, the focus is on biosensors derived from natural polysaccharides, i.e. sustainable, bio-based materials.
Elsevier,

Gemma C. Cotton, Natalie R. Lagesse, Liam S. Parke, Carla J. Meledandri, 3.04 - Antibacterial Nanoparticles, Editor(s): David L. Andrews, Robert H. Lipson, Thomas Nann, Comprehensive Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (Second Edition), Academic Press, 2019, Pages 65-82

This chapter advances SDGs 3 and 6 by showing how increasing bacterial resistance to commonly used antibiotics is a pressing threat to the human population on a global scale. As the development of new combative drugs is complex, expensive, time consuming and risky, there has been a strong focus in recent years to develop alternative strategies for the treatment of bacterial infections, and nanoscale materials have emerged a strong contender for this purpose.
Elsevier,

Immunology and Allergy Clinics of North America, Volume 41, February 2021

Increased levels of CO2 and various greenhouse gases cause global warming and, in combination with pollutants from fossil fuel combustion and vehicular and industrial emissions, have been driving increases in noncommunicable diseases across the globe, resulting a higher mortality and morbidity. Respiratory diseases and associated allergenic manifestations have increased worldwide, with rates higher in developing countries. Pollen allergy serves as a model for studying the relationship between air pollution and respiratory disorders.

Elsevier, Rheumatic Disease Clinics of North America, Volume 47, February 2021
It is estimated that 32.5 million US adults have clinical osteoarthritis (OA), with the most common sites being knee and hip. OA is associated with substantial individual and societal costs. Race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status (SES), and geographic variations in the prevalence of knee and hip OA are well established around the world. In addition, clinical outcomes associated with hip and knee OA differ according to race/ethnicity, SES, and geography. This variation is likely multifactorial and may also reflect country-specific differences in health care systems.
Elsevier,

Gastroparesis, 2021, Pages 494-505

This book chapter advances SDG 3 by explaining how gastroparesis is a disorder with slowed or inhibited movement of stomach contents into the small intestine. It has long been recognized that the female gender is more prone to gastroparesis, though the significance of this remains a mystery and has not been completely elucidated.
Elsevier,

Clinics in Chest Medicine, Volume 42, March 2021

Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) occurs in women more than men whereas survival in men is worse than in women. In recent years, much research has been carried out to understand these sex differences in PAH. This article discusses clinical and preclinical studies that have investigated the influences of sex, serotonin, obesity, estrogen, estrogen synthesis, and estrogen metabolism on bone morphogenetic protein receptor type II signaling, the pulmonary circulation and right ventricle in both heritable and idiopathic pulmonary hypertension.

Elsevier, Pediatric Clinics of North America, Volume 68, April 2021
This article documents the increasing numbers of children impacted annually by 1 or more types of violence against children and describes the range of types of injuries and their immediate and long-term impacts on child outcomes. The article describes the growing number of international collaborations to decrease the numbers of children impacted by violence and to mitigate the consequences thereof, with a particular emphasis on children living in war zones.
Elsevier,

Translational Biotechnology, 2021, Pages 53-77

This book chapter advances SDG 3 by explaining how the role of biotechnology as a forerunner in the pathway of revolution of human lives has been promising in the recent past. The achievements of biotechnology in the bio-medical front encompass various products like novel vaccines, diagnostic devices, and novel therapeutic strategies.
Elsevier,

Nanoengineering in Musculoskeletal Regeneration, 2021, Pages 105-136

This book chapter advances SDG 3 by explaining how gene therapy, as an advanced therapy, is a promising strategy for treating musculoskeletal disorders through the delivery of therapeutic nucleic acids into the target cells.
Elsevier,

Principles of Tissue Engineering, Fifth Edition, 2020, Pages 1585-1591

This book chapter advances SDG 3 by explaining how new devices are emerging that utilise the convergent technologies of several different fields of science and engineering to create tissue that can mimic the structure and function of the natural world and this raises new ethical challenges.
Elsevier,

Fighting the Opiod Epidemic, 2020, Pages 43-60

This book chapter advances SDG 3 by explaining how pain is considered as the fifth vital sign. Therefore, proper treatment of acute or chronic pain is important for improving the quality of life of patients.
Elsevier,

Stem Cells, Third Edition, 2021, Pages 383-399

This book chapter advances SDG 3 by explaining how many scientists share the conviction that human stem cell technology and greater understanding of stem cell biology will in the coming decades fulfill much of its promise and revolutionise medicine as we know it today, improving patient care without past precedent.
Elsevier,

Protocol Handbook for Cancer Biology, 2021, Pages 87-105

This book chapter advances SDG 3 by explaining how cancer stem cells (CSCs) are important for understanding tumor biology and pathogenesis.
Elsevier,

Cancers in the Urban Environment, Second Edition, 2021, Pages 22-23

This book chapter advances SDG 3 by explaining how advances in technology and research methodology now permit us to assign more certainty to the magnitude of genetic susceptibility.
Elsevier,

Organ Repair and Regeneration, 2021, Pages 273-284

This book chapter advances SDG 3 by explaining how there are many strategies that have been implemented to increase the transplant donor pool, yet the gap between the demand and the offer remains too wide and, as a consequence, the number of patients dying on the waiting list keeps rising.
Elsevier,

Diabetes Digital Health, 2020, Pages 145-157

This book chapter advances SDGs 3 and 10 by explaining how individuals with diabetes who are of lower socioeconomic status are more likely to have poorer diabetes-related outcomes. Digital health advancements provide unique opportunities to reduce health inequities for this high-risk group.
Elsevier,

Obesity, 2020, Pages 117-139

This book chapter advances SDGs 3 and 10 by explaining how to develop a comprehensive understanding of the epidemiology of obesity, and that it is important to consider the social circumstances and environmental exposures that are related to obesity, given that these contribute to a combined 20% of premature deaths.
Elsevier,

Particulates Matter, 2021, Pages 77-91

This book chapter advances SDGs 3, 13, and 15 by explaining how particulate matter in our atmosphere can have a range of negative effects on the body when inhaled, emphasising the need to assess and improve air quality.
Elsevier,

Antimalarial Agents, 2020, Pages 1-48

This book chapter advances SDGs 3 and 15 by explaining how malaria presents challenges that are heavily linked to multiple sustainability goals, and advances in drug-development is a key part of addressing future challenges here.
Elsevier,

Handbook of Advanced Approaches Towards Pollution Prevention and Control, 2021, Pages 281-305

This book chapter advances SDGs 3 and 6 by explaining why SDG goals toward clean water are so essential to those targeting good health.
Elsevier,

Recent Trends in Carbohydrate Chemistry Volume 2, 2020, Pages 285-313

This book chapter advances SDG 3 by explaining how developments in vaccine technologies are key to meeting lifelong health goals.
Elsevier,

Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare, 2020, Pages 25-60

This chapter supports SDG 3 by looking at how artificial intelligence (AI) can provide substantial improvements in all areas of healthcare from diagnostics to treatment.
Elsevier,

Sex Differences in Cardiac Diseases, 2021, Pages 539-565

This book chapter advances SDG 3 by explaining how sex steroids (hormones), through their interactions with the sex steroid receptors present in the heart and vasculature, and their metabolic effects, play a vital role in cardiovascular (CV) health.
Elsevier,

Peripartum Cardiomyopathy, 2021, Pages 21-31

This book chapter advances SDG 3 by explaining how peripartum cardiomyopathy (PPCM) is a significant cause of pregnancy-associated morbidity and mortality.