Conference Material > Meeting Report
Pediatr Anesth
Paediatr Anaesth
Paediatric Anaesthesia.ISCRAM 2024. 2024 May 14
Vila-Pozo MM
Pediatr Anesth
Paediatr Anaesth
Paediatric Anaesthesia.ISCRAM 2024. 2024 May 14
Humanitarian organizations strive for efficient and effective interventions, with information systems playing a crucial role. However, integrating data collection and processes within their operations remains a challenge. This paper examines the effective use of a Health Management Information System in a humanitarian context. Effective use aims at helping information systems contribute to the organisational objectives and holds promises to help improving information systems in this domain. The analysis uncovers obstacles related to system access and learning processes, suggesting that transparent interaction is vital for success. Transparent interaction is the first dimension in the Theory of Effective Use. Through contextualization, this paper defines effective use in humanitarian settings and evaluates the theoretical model's validity in this unique context. Drawing from concepts from the information systems body of theory, it contributes to the understanding of effective use by offering a contextualized model and a clear definition of transparent interaction, emphasizing its significance.
Journal Article > ReviewFull Text
Rev Int Croix Rouge. 2024 March 25; Online ahead of print; 1-30.; DOI:10.1017/S1816383124000092
DuBois M, Healy S
Rev Int Croix Rouge. 2024 March 25; Online ahead of print; 1-30.; DOI:10.1017/S1816383124000092
One of the four core humanitarian principles, impartiality's substantive ethical and deeply operational nature directs aid agencies to seek and deliver aid on the basis of non-discrimination and in proportion to the needs of crisis-affected people. Designed to operationalize the principle of humanity, impartiality is challenged by a plethora of external factors, such as the instrumentalization of aid, bureaucratic restriction, obstruction by States or non-State armed groups, and insecurity. Less visible and less examined are factors internal to aid agencies or the sector as a whole. Based on a desk review of the literature and the authors’ experience working with Médecins Sans Frontières, this article explores shortcomings in how the humanitarian sector understands and operationalizes impartiality, placing the focus on these internal factors.
Beginning with the definition of impartiality, the article focuses on inadequacies in the practice of impartiality's twin pillars: non-discrimination and proportionality in the delivery of aid. Key conclusions include the necessity of an active rather than passive approach to non-discrimination, and the need for greater commitment to proportionality. In extending this analysis, the article looks more deeply at how aid organizations approach the humanitarian principles, identifying shortcomings in the way that the sector operationalizes, engages with and evaluates those principles. Given the sector's limited inclusion of or accountability towards people in crisis, its exercise of impartiality seems particularly problematic in relation to its power to decide the who and what of aid delivery, and to define the needs which it will consider humanitarian.
The objective of this article is to reset humanitarians’ conceptual and operational understanding of impartiality in order to better reflect and protect humanity in humanitarian praxis, and to help humanitarians navigate the emergent challenges and critical discussions on humanitarian action's position in respect to climate change, triple-nexus programming, or simply a future where staggering levels of urgent needs vastly outstrip humanitarian resources.
Beginning with the definition of impartiality, the article focuses on inadequacies in the practice of impartiality's twin pillars: non-discrimination and proportionality in the delivery of aid. Key conclusions include the necessity of an active rather than passive approach to non-discrimination, and the need for greater commitment to proportionality. In extending this analysis, the article looks more deeply at how aid organizations approach the humanitarian principles, identifying shortcomings in the way that the sector operationalizes, engages with and evaluates those principles. Given the sector's limited inclusion of or accountability towards people in crisis, its exercise of impartiality seems particularly problematic in relation to its power to decide the who and what of aid delivery, and to define the needs which it will consider humanitarian.
The objective of this article is to reset humanitarians’ conceptual and operational understanding of impartiality in order to better reflect and protect humanity in humanitarian praxis, and to help humanitarians navigate the emergent challenges and critical discussions on humanitarian action's position in respect to climate change, triple-nexus programming, or simply a future where staggering levels of urgent needs vastly outstrip humanitarian resources.
Journal Article > CommentaryFull Text
Lancet Healthy Longev
Healthy longevity. 2024 January 1; Volume 5 (Issue 1); e76-e82.; DOI:10.1016/S2666-7568(23)00244-1
van Boetzelaer E, van de Kamp J, Keating P, Sharma SK, Pellecchia U, et al.
Lancet Healthy Longev
Healthy longevity. 2024 January 1; Volume 5 (Issue 1); e76-e82.; DOI:10.1016/S2666-7568(23)00244-1
Journal Article > LetterFull Text
Lancet. 2023 November 30; online ahead of print; DOI:10.1016/S0140-6736(23)02639-9
Musa AM, Crawley J, Haj-Hassan TA, Inglis R, Maynard N
Lancet. 2023 November 30; online ahead of print; DOI:10.1016/S0140-6736(23)02639-9
Journal Article > CommentaryFull Text
J Clim Chang Health. 2023 September 9; Online ahead of print; 100270.; DOI:10.1016/j.joclim.2023.100270
Schwerdtle PN, Devine C, Guevara M, Cornish S, Christou C, et al.
J Clim Chang Health. 2023 September 9; Online ahead of print; 100270.; DOI:10.1016/j.joclim.2023.100270
Journal Article > ProtocolFull Text
BMJ Open. 2023 August 23; Volume 13 (Issue 8); e071544.; DOI:10.1136/bmjopen-2022-071544
Bahati D, Sy H, Kalhor A, Marchal B
BMJ Open. 2023 August 23; Volume 13 (Issue 8); e071544.; DOI:10.1136/bmjopen-2022-071544
INTRODUCTION
In humanitarian settings, aid agencies are constantly challenged by difficult decisions such as when and how to terminate aid without harming the aid recipients, local institutions, staff members and the organisation. Despite important efforts devoted to responsibly leaving a setting, hurtful exits are still common in contemporary relief aid. Moreover, debates on how humanitarian aid agencies exit are limited, with no previous comprehensive evidence synthesis on the concept of ‘responsible exit’. The objective of this scoping review is to map evidence and knowledge gaps, to identify and describe concepts, theories and existing frameworks related to ‘responsible exit’ of humanitarian aid agencies.
METHODS AND ANALYSIS
Our search uses searches of several bibliographic databases (CAB Direct (including Global Health), Web of Science, PubMed and Google Scholar) as well as manual searches of specific journals and retrieval of grey literature through searches of organisational websites and direct contact with experts and organisations. Reference tracking will be used to identify additional sources. Searches will cover papers available up to the dates of the searches (December 2022 to January 2023), with no date restrictions applied to the literature search. To be included, published or unpublished papers must explicitly discuss the exit of humanitarian aid agencies from humanitarian settings and be accessible. We will exclude all exits related to military, local and governmental humanitarian operations, education, development, employment, and business sectors. Only papers written in English and French will be considered. Three reviewers will conduct the selection process against the predefined criteria. Data will be extracted in an iterative process following pre-established items and the results will be presented in a Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews Extension for Scoping Reviews flow chart, tables and/or graphs, and descriptive formats.
ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION
Being a review, conducted on publicly available information, no ethical approval is required. The results will be disseminated through publication in an open access journal, scientific conferences, workshops, and via humanitarian aid agencies to facilitate further research and possible practical translations of generated knowledge.
In humanitarian settings, aid agencies are constantly challenged by difficult decisions such as when and how to terminate aid without harming the aid recipients, local institutions, staff members and the organisation. Despite important efforts devoted to responsibly leaving a setting, hurtful exits are still common in contemporary relief aid. Moreover, debates on how humanitarian aid agencies exit are limited, with no previous comprehensive evidence synthesis on the concept of ‘responsible exit’. The objective of this scoping review is to map evidence and knowledge gaps, to identify and describe concepts, theories and existing frameworks related to ‘responsible exit’ of humanitarian aid agencies.
METHODS AND ANALYSIS
Our search uses searches of several bibliographic databases (CAB Direct (including Global Health), Web of Science, PubMed and Google Scholar) as well as manual searches of specific journals and retrieval of grey literature through searches of organisational websites and direct contact with experts and organisations. Reference tracking will be used to identify additional sources. Searches will cover papers available up to the dates of the searches (December 2022 to January 2023), with no date restrictions applied to the literature search. To be included, published or unpublished papers must explicitly discuss the exit of humanitarian aid agencies from humanitarian settings and be accessible. We will exclude all exits related to military, local and governmental humanitarian operations, education, development, employment, and business sectors. Only papers written in English and French will be considered. Three reviewers will conduct the selection process against the predefined criteria. Data will be extracted in an iterative process following pre-established items and the results will be presented in a Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews Extension for Scoping Reviews flow chart, tables and/or graphs, and descriptive formats.
ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION
Being a review, conducted on publicly available information, no ethical approval is required. The results will be disseminated through publication in an open access journal, scientific conferences, workshops, and via humanitarian aid agencies to facilitate further research and possible practical translations of generated knowledge.
Journal Article > ReviewFull Text
Wellcome Open Res. 2023 August 14; Volume 8; 343.; DOI:10.12688/wellcomeopenres.19490.1
Sheather J, Littler K, Singh JA, Wright K
Wellcome Open Res. 2023 August 14; Volume 8; 343.; DOI:10.12688/wellcomeopenres.19490.1
Anthropogenic climate change is unequivocal, and many of its physical health impacts have been identified, although further research is required into the mental health and wellbeing effects of climate change. There is a lack of understanding of the importance of ethics in policy-responses to health and climate change which is also linked to the lack of specific action-guiding ethical resources for researchers and practitioners. There is a marked paucity of ethically-informed health input into economic policy-responses to climate change—an area of important future work. The interaction between health, climate change and ethics is technically and theoretically complex and work in this area is fragmentary, unfocussed, and underdeveloped. Research and reflection on climate and health is fragmented and plagued by disciplinary silos and exponentially increasing literature means that the field cannot be synthesised using conventional methods. Reviewing the literature in these fields is therefore methodologically challenging. Although many of the normative challenges in responding to climate change have been identified, available theoretical approaches are insufficiently robust, and this may be linked to the lack of action-guiding support for practitioners. There is a lack of ethical reflection on research into climate change responses. Low-HDI (Human Development Index) countries are under-represented in research and publication both in the health-impacts of climate change, and normative reflection on health and climate change policy. There is a noticeable lack of ethical commentary on a range of key topics in the environmental health literature including population, pollution, transport, energy, food, and water use. Serious work is required to synthesise the principles governing policy responses to health and climate change, particularly in relation to value conflicts between the human and non-human world and the challenges presented by questions of intergenerational justice.
Journal Article > CommentaryFull Text
PLOS Glob Public Health. 2023 July 17; Volume 3 (Issue 7); e0002142.; DOI:10.1371/journal.pgph.0002142
van Boetzelaer E, Browne JL, Vaid S, Pellecchia U, van de Kamp J, et al.
PLOS Glob Public Health. 2023 July 17; Volume 3 (Issue 7); e0002142.; DOI:10.1371/journal.pgph.0002142
Journal Article > ResearchFull Text
BJPsych Open. 2023 May 17; Volume 9 (Issue 3); e83.; DOI:10.1192/bjo.2023.58
de Jong K, Martinmäki SE, te Brake H, Komproe IH, Kleber RJ, et al.
BJPsych Open. 2023 May 17; Volume 9 (Issue 3); e83.; DOI:10.1192/bjo.2023.58
BACKGROUND
Most staff stay healthy during humanitarian work, although some worsen. Mean scores on health indicators may be masking individual participants struggling with health issues.
AIMS
To investigate different field assignment-related health trajectories among international humanitarian aid workers (iHAWs) and explore the mechanisms used to stay healthy.
METHOD
Growth mixture modelling analyses for five health indicators using pre-/post-assignment and follow-up data.
RESULTS
Among 609 iHAWs three trajectories (profiles) were found for emotional exhaustion, work engagement, anxiety and depression. For post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, four trajectories were identified. The ‘healthy/normative’ trajectory had the largest sample size for all health indicators (73–86%). A stable (moderate) ‘ill health’ trajectory was identified for all health indicators (7–17%), except anxiety. An ‘improving’ trajectory was found for PTSD and anxiety symptoms (5–14%). A minority of staff (4–15%) worsened on all health indicators. Deterioration continued for PTSD, depressive symptoms and work engagement 2 months post-assignment. A strong sense of coherence was associated with higher odds of belonging to the ‘healthy’ trajectory. Female biological sex was associated with higher odds of belonging to the ‘worsening’ depression and anxiety trajectories. Extended duration of field assignment was related to higher odds of belonging to the ‘worsening’ depressive symptoms trajectory.
CONCLUSION
Most iHAWs stayed healthy during their assignment; a stable ‘ill health’ trajectory was identified for most health indicators. Sense of coherence is an important mechanism for understanding the health of all iHAWs in the different health trajectories, including the ‘healthy’ profile. These findings give new possibilities to develop activities to prevent worsening health and help strengthen iHAWs’ ability to remain healthy under stress.
Most staff stay healthy during humanitarian work, although some worsen. Mean scores on health indicators may be masking individual participants struggling with health issues.
AIMS
To investigate different field assignment-related health trajectories among international humanitarian aid workers (iHAWs) and explore the mechanisms used to stay healthy.
METHOD
Growth mixture modelling analyses for five health indicators using pre-/post-assignment and follow-up data.
RESULTS
Among 609 iHAWs three trajectories (profiles) were found for emotional exhaustion, work engagement, anxiety and depression. For post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, four trajectories were identified. The ‘healthy/normative’ trajectory had the largest sample size for all health indicators (73–86%). A stable (moderate) ‘ill health’ trajectory was identified for all health indicators (7–17%), except anxiety. An ‘improving’ trajectory was found for PTSD and anxiety symptoms (5–14%). A minority of staff (4–15%) worsened on all health indicators. Deterioration continued for PTSD, depressive symptoms and work engagement 2 months post-assignment. A strong sense of coherence was associated with higher odds of belonging to the ‘healthy’ trajectory. Female biological sex was associated with higher odds of belonging to the ‘worsening’ depression and anxiety trajectories. Extended duration of field assignment was related to higher odds of belonging to the ‘worsening’ depressive symptoms trajectory.
CONCLUSION
Most iHAWs stayed healthy during their assignment; a stable ‘ill health’ trajectory was identified for most health indicators. Sense of coherence is an important mechanism for understanding the health of all iHAWs in the different health trajectories, including the ‘healthy’ profile. These findings give new possibilities to develop activities to prevent worsening health and help strengthen iHAWs’ ability to remain healthy under stress.
Journal Article > CommentaryFull Text
Intensive Care Med. 2023 April 12; Online ahead of print; 1-4.; DOI:10.1007/s00134-023-07042-7
Lee JS, Godard A
Intensive Care Med. 2023 April 12; Online ahead of print; 1-4.; DOI:10.1007/s00134-023-07042-7