Decision-making under uncertainty in environmental health policy: new approaches

Abstract

Decision-making in environmental health policy is a complex procedure even in well-known conditions. Thus, in the case of uncertainty, decision-making becomes a hurdle race. We address scientific uncertainty, methods to reduce uncertainty, biomedical doubt and science communication, and the role of stakeholders, activists, lobbies and media that together influence policy decisions. We also consider the major responsibility and role of the medico-scientific community in this process. This community can and should teach the principle of scientific uncertainty to all stakeholders, advise policy-makers and underline the ethical issues, considering that our brains are not only the deposit of our humanity but also the route to environmental health and societal harmony.

The relationship between metabolic syndrome and the incidence of colorectal cancer

“…Because there are ethnic differences in the relationship between MetS and cancer [13,25,42], the presentation of risk ratios for Asians using large data and long follow-up period sets is a significant research achievement. Study on the relationship between metabolic and disease occurrence for Asian races [43] should be conducted and other approaches to mitigate health risks need to be reviewed [44]. In addition, this study has some newly informative knowledge as follows.…”

Reduction in inequalities in health insurance coverage and healthcare utilization among older adults in the Philippines after mandatory national health insurance coverage: trend analysis for 2003–2017

“…Furthermore, decrease in outpatient care utilization inequality was also observed but remained pro-rich before and after the NHIP coverage expansion policy. Political commitment encompassing experimental verification, risk analysis, and sustained citizen education [44] must be ensured not only to expand healthcare coverage but also to guarantee affordability and the availability of various benefit packages [45].…”

COVID-19 – An Opportunity to Redesign Health Policy Thinking

“…Design starts with knowing what we want to achieve and then working backwards to identify what steps we need to take to get there from where we are now. We argue that adherence to such fundamentals [4][5][6][7][8]10,11 is the basis for the readiness to respond to the resource demands of a pandemic, to achieve cooperation and adherence to epidemiologically proven containment strategies, and most importantly to create trust by being fully transparent -even, or especially, as new information arises.…”