When the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic, unprecedented policy responses ensued in higher education, with Canadian post-secondary institutions (PSIs) rapidly adopting radical measures, including campus closures, masking requirements, and vaccine mandates. These policies were widely justified as evidence-based, ethical, and legal. This critical scoping review examined the COVID-19 policy responses at five Ontario PSIs. Using Carol Bacchi’s What is the Problem Represented to Be? approach, we explored how problems were framed, decisions made, and ethical principles invoked. Data included publicly available policy documents, union statements, and legal decisions. PSIs represented the problem as one of a deadly, “equal opportunity” virus, demanding maximum compliance with public health directives, particularly vaccination. This framing dominated governance practices, often sidelining collegial decision-making in favor of executive authority and ad hoc committees. Claims of a scientific consensus were central to policy justification, despite initial and growing evidence—such as low infection fatality rates among young adults, the strength of natural immunity, the failure of vaccines to stop transmission, and reports of vaccine-related adverse events—challenging that framing. Equity, diversity, and inclusivity were frequently invoked to support these policies, yet the same measures often excluded individuals with diverse needs and applied exemptions inconsistently. The COVID-19 response in Canadian PSIs reflected not a true consensus but an illusion of consensus, produced through the foreclosure of debate and suppression of dissent—patterns at odds with the normative values of higher education.

A pandemic’s socioeconomic disruption can result in deaths due to deprivation, suicide, violence, and trauma, in addition to virus-related consequences. This study seeks to map the scientific literature on the effects of mitigation measures for respiratory virus outbreaks on healthcare and economic systems across countries, as well as the models used to predict those effects. The primary objectives were to identify the main contributions in this field and delineate the major research pathways that can inform a future research agenda. The study uses bibliometric analysis, keyword co-occurrence analysis, and cluster analysis. Keyword linkages were examined to identify possible trends across the retrieved papers. Hierarchical cluster analysis was also applied to categorize related papers into distinct groups. The results facilitated the identification and classification of multiple theoretical perspectives derived from primary research across seven major approaches: (i) economic parameters affected by the COVID-19 crisis; (ii) healthcare crisis management; (iii) predictions of government interventions’ impact on the healthcare system; (iv) impacts of influenza virus in a global economic scenario; (v) general impacts of outbreaks in European and Asia Pacific countries; (vi) operating statistical stability in data analysis; and (vii) statistical trends regarding healthcare in a global economy over a pandemic crisis. Overall, the review synthesizes the main themes in the literature and highlights priority areas related to economic systems, healthcare systems, and predictive modeling. The findings highlight the strong interconnections among economic stability, healthcare system resilience, and public policy, while identifying key health and economic parameters that may inform predictive models assessing the effects of mitigation measures.

School connectedness is essential for fostering a supportive environment that promotes adolescent mental health, emotional well-being and academic success. Psychological safety allows students to express themselves freely without fear of judgement, promoting open communication and resilience. This study highlights the limitations of focusing solely on social bonds, emphasising that positive relationships do not always mitigate challenges such as anxiety or depression, particularly amongst marginalised youth who often face discrimination. Strategies to enhance psychological safety, such as implementing anti-bullying policies, training staff in empathetic communication, establishing peer-led support programmes and encouraging student participation in governance, serve to deepen trust and emotional security within the school environment. By integrating these strategies, schools can create a more inclusive atmosphere, ultimately fostering both emotional resilience and improved educational outcomes for all students.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on educators, altering their work routines, increasing stress, and affecting their overall well-being. This study assessed teachers’ lifestyles, stress, and anxiety levels during the COVID-19 pandemic and implemented an intervention to promote healthy eating. A cross-sectional, quantitative study was conducted among 105 teachers, who completed an online questionnaire that included sociodemographic items, the FANTASTIC lifestyle questionnaire, and the anxiety, depression, and stress scale (EADS-21). Most participants were female (88.6%), over 51 years old (60%), and had over 15 years of teaching experience (86.7%). The transition to remote teaching required 93.3% of participants to reorganize their schedules and 89.5% to modify their lifestyle and family routines, resulting in over half of the participants expressing dissatisfaction with remote teaching. The EADS-21 results indicated that the stress subscale had the highest mean score (0.98). The study emphasizes the importance of targeted health promotion strategies for educators during times of crisis. Future research should explore the long-term impact of such interventions on teachers’ mental health and professional performance.

Statistical information on the number of malpractice claims against physicians and the amounts of compensation by specialty is scarce and subject to several limitations, including age, a narrow geographic focus largely centered on the United States, limited access to legal claims data, and a lack of information on the number of awards. A retrospective analysis was conducted of malpractice claims filed with the Council of Medical Colleges of Catalonia between 2002 and 2017, examining the number of claims and the compensation costs by medical specialty. The analysis included claims covered under the professional medical liability insurance policy of the Council’s insurer, comprising a total sample of 4,832 claims. From the initial data of 4,832 claims, it can be seen that a limited number of specialties—namely Obstetrics and Gynecology, Orthopedic Surgery and Traumatology, General Surgery and Digestive System, and Plastic, Aesthetic and Reconstructive Surgery—account for 63% of the total cost in the period and 53% of the number of claims. An analysis of data from these four specialties could facilitate the identification of risk areas, the development of guidelines to ensure clinical safety (such as clinical practice guidelines and quality programs), and improvements through management based on good medical practices and error learning. These measures may reduce patient harm and the associated costs of medical errors.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the etiological agent of COVID-19, has affected millions of people worldwide and significantly impacted public health. The detection of viral RNA in the feces of infected individuals prompted several countries to adopt wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) as a tool to monitor SARS-CoV-2 circulation within communities. However, most surveillance studies have focused on large urban centers. This study aimed to analyze the presence and persistence of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater from two small Brazilian towns with low socioeconomic indicators, limited sewage coverage, and low population density, located in northern Minas Gerais. Wastewater samples were collected biweekly over 12 months, between 2023 and 2024, from three sampling points in Salinas and one in Rubelita. Viral RNA was concentrated using electronegative membranes, and SARS-CoV-2 detection was performed using real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction. SARS-CoV-2 RNA was detected at all sampling points, with a high frequency of positive samples observed in May, June, October, November 2023, and January 2024. Notably, viral RNA was detected even after the World Health Organization declared the end of the global health emergency on May 5, 2023, and in the absence of officially reported human cases. These findings underscore the value of wastewater surveillance as a tool for monitoring SARS-CoV-2, particularly in areas with limited clinical testing capacity. The study highlights the potential of WBE to detect ongoing viral transmission across diverse urban and socioeconomic contexts, including regions with case underreporting and challenges in mass testing, thereby supporting public health preparedness and response.

Malaria remains a major public health challenge in sub-Saharan Africa, affecting household labor and economic productivity. In agricultural communities, the disease can disrupt farm management and reduce profitability, particularly for labor-intensive crops such as rice. This study investigates the effects of malaria on the management of family rice farms in the urban commune of Gaya. The methodological framework combined descriptive statistics, comparative analyses across rainy and dry seasons, and econometric modeling. Data were collected from 104 rice-farming households. Results demonstrate that both the average number of individuals affected by malaria and the associated healthcare expenditures are substantially higher during the rainy season. In the rainy season, health-related costs markedly increase total production expenses, causing value added and the profitability index to decline sharply (from 0.423 to 0.095). In contrast, during the dry season, despite higher revenues, the impact of health expenditures remains marginal, with only a slight reduction in the profitability index (from 3.26 to 3.22). Econometric analysis further reveals that, in the rainy season, rice farm profitability is significantly and negatively influenced by the number of lost workdays, malaria prevalence, and cultivated area (p<0.05). Each additional workday lost due to malaria reduces farm profitability by approximately USD 93, corresponding to a 3.6% decline relative to baseline profitability. These findings underscore malaria’s dual burden on rice-farming households: it reduces labor availability while increasing financial costs, particularly during the rainy season when labor demands peak. Strategies to mitigate malaria could therefore improve both health and economic outcomes for smallholder rice farmers.

Health economics has established itself as a strategic function in the Brazilian National Health System (SUS), contributing to greater equity, transparency, and efficiency in the allocation of public resources. This study analyzes the institutional trajectory of the Department of Health Economics and Development (DESID) of the Ministry of Health from 2003 to 2023, highlighting its key milestones, strategic axes, and persistent challenges. The research, from a historical-social perspective, was based on a documentary and content analysis of 126 official records available in the Virtual Health Library (VHL)-Health Economics section and in DESID’s institutional collection, covering the period from 1988 to 2024. The results show that the department’s activities were structured around three central axes: management tools, monitoring and evaluation, and transparency and equity. These were operationalized in seven dimensions: financing regulation; management tools development; technical standardization and decentralization; budgetary control and efficiency; economic and technological evaluation; information production; and accountability and social control. Over two decades, DESID has promoted systems such as the Public Health Budget Information System and the Health Price Bank, produced manuals, glossaries, and bulletins, and strengthened fiscal transparency and evidence-based decision-making. However, major gaps remain, including the absence of systematic impact assessments, weak economic regulation of the private sector, and limited focus on vulnerable populations. It is concluded that, despite advances in institutionalizing health economics as a strategic technical area in the SUS, there remains an urgent need for a national health economics policy to ensure equity, sustainability, and efficiency in public health financing in Brazil.

Far-UVC light (wavelengths 207-230 nm) can be used directly overhead and has germicidal capabilities to improve indoor air quality. This study evaluates the cost-benefit analysis of implementing far-UVC devices in various settings in Switzerland and Germany. To our knowledge, this is the first study to model the feasibility of direct-acting UVC light in occupied settings, diverging from the consensus on the use of upper-room germicidal UVA and UVB systems. We used the CERN Airborne Model for Indoor Risk Assessment (CAiMIRA) to model infection risk reduction in restaurants, offices, and waiting rooms, considering factors such as room size, occupancy, and ventilation rates. Three scenarios were analysed: a normal winter (22 weeks), a COVID-19-like pandemic (4-week wave), and a severe pandemic (8-week wave). Avoided infections were translated into healthcare, economic, and quality-adjusted life years (QALY) metrics. Costs included purchasing, installing, maintaining, and operating UVC lamps. In Switzerland, cost-benefit ratios ranged 30-290 during a normal winter, 65-430 during a COVID-like pandemic, and 2,300-20,500 during a severe pandemic. In Germany, cost-benefit ratios ranged 10-110 during a normal winter, 30-190 during a COVID-like pandemic, and 1,000-9,000 during a severe pandemic. Far-UVC lamps are a highly cost-effective solution for societies during normal winter and pandemic scenarios. Future studies should focus on implementation in the settings studied; they seem to represent a safe and effective measure for infectious disease control, but need real-world validation.

The convergence of climate change and noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) forms a critical global health syndemic, disproportionately impacting low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) and marginalized populations. NCDs—e.g., cardiovascular diseases, cancers, chronic respiratory conditions, and diabetes—cause over 70% of global deaths, with 78% of mortality and 85% of premature deaths in LMICs. Climate change exacerbates this burden through direct pathways, such as heatwaves, which trigger cardiovascular and renal events, and indirect pathways, including disrupted food systems that drive obesity and diabetes, and air pollution that worsens respiratory and cardiovascular health. Psychosocial stress from climate change-induced displacement and disasters further amplifies mental health disorders, interacting with NCD risk. Vulnerable groups, including migrants, indigenous communities, and the urban poor, face compounded risks due to fragile health systems and socio-economic inequities. Small Island Developing States and regions such as Sub-Saharan Africa exemplify these challenges, with rising NCD prevalence amid environmental stressors. Addressing this nexus demands integrated strategies: a strengthened health system, enhanced surveillance, equitable policies, and sustainable development.