How the Health Sector Can Reduce Violence by Treating It as a Contagion

Slutkin, Gary; Ransford, Charles; Zvetina, Daria

doi:10.1001/journalofethics.2018.20.1.nlit1-1801

Cited by 34 publications

(26 citation statements)

References 24 publications

(33 reference statements)

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“…New data shows peace-generation may be incentivized using a system similar to carbon credits [ 117 ]. Furthermore, the NGO Cure Violence believes that violence can be treated as an infectious disease using a Health Violence Cure Model which is being implemented in over 60 communities in twenty-five U.S. cities and five continents [ 26 ] with success rates up to 70% [ 118 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Furthermore, The World Health Organization (WHO) identified violence as a risk factor for increased communicable disease [ 20 ]. Violence has previously been studied as a contagious disease exhibiting spatiotemporal clustering and self-prorogation [ 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 ]. We hypothesize that neighborhood safety and arboviruses are linked in Cali as high rates of violence may act as a barrier to services, including reliable water, mosquito spraying, public health, and epidemiological intervention.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Neighborhood Violence Impacts Disease Control and Surveillance: Case Study of Cali, Colombia from 2014 to 2016

Krystosik

Curtis

LaBeaud

et al. 2018

IJERPH

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Arboviruses are responsible for a large burden of disease globally and are thus subject to intense epidemiological scrutiny. However, a variable notably absent from most epidemiological analyses has been the impact of violence on arboviral transmission and surveillance. Violence impedes surveillance and delivery of health and preventative services and affects an individual’s health-related behaviors when survival takes priority. Moreover, low and middle-income countries bear a disproportionately high burden of violence and related health outcomes, including vector borne diseases. To better understand the epidemiology of arboviral outbreaks in Cali, Colombia, we georeferenced chikungunya (CHIKV), dengue (DENV), and Zika (ZIKV) viral cases from The National System of Surveillance in Public Health between October 2014 and April 2016. We extracted homicide data from the municipal monthly reports and kernel density of homicide distribution from IdeasPaz. Crucially, an overall higher risk of homicide is associated with increased risk of reported DENV, lower rates of acute testing, and higher rates of lab versus clinical discordance. In the context of high violence as a potential barrier to access to preventive health services, a community approach to improve health and peace should be considered.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Neighborhood Violence Impacts Disease Control and Surveillance: Case Study of Cali, Colombia from 2014 to 2016

Krystosik

Curtis

LaBeaud

et al. 2018

IJERPH

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“…One of the most powerful demonstrations that information can be pathogenic is the understanding and treatment of violence as if it was an epidemic caused by a contagious disease (Slutkin, 2012;Slutkin et al, 2018a). It has long been recognized that violence appears to spread as if it was an epidemic or a contagion (Berkowitz and Macaulay, 1971;Fagan et al, 2007;Loftin, 1986;Papachristos et al, 2015;Patel et al, 2013;National Reserach Council, 1993).…”

Section: Can Information Be Pathogenic?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Information: a missing component in understanding and mitigating social epidemics

Magarey

Trexler

2020

Humanit Soc Sci Commun

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Social epidemics or behaviorally based non-communicable diseases are becoming an increasingly important problem in developed countries including the United States. It is the aim of our paper to propose a previously understudied aspect of the spread of social epidemics, the role of information in both causing and mitigating social epidemics. In this paper, we ask, can information be harmful, contagious, and a causal factor in social epidemics? In the spread of biological epidemics, the causal agents are biological pathogens such as bacteria or viruses. We propose that in the spread of social epidemics, one of the causal agents is harmful information, which is increasing exponentially in the age of the internet. We ground our idea in the concept of the meme and define the concept of an infopathogen as harmful information that can spread or intensify a social epidemic. Second, we ask, what are the best tools to understand the role of information in the spread of social epidemics? The epidemiological triad that includes a host, agents (and vectors), and the environment is extended into a quad by including information agents. The quad includes the role of information technologies as vectors and the impact of the social environment. The “life cycles” of pathogens in biological epidemics and infopathogens in social epidemics are compared, along with mitigations suggested by the epidemiological quad. Challenges to the theory of infopathogens, including the complexities associated with the spread of memes and the role of behavior in the spread of epidemics are discussed. Implications of the theory including the classification of harmfulness, the freedom of speech, and the treatment of infected individuals are also considered. We believe the application of the epidemiological quad provides insights into social epidemics and potential mitigations. Finally, we stress that infopathogens are only part of social epidemic development; susceptible hosts, a favorable environment, and availability of physical agents are all also required.

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“…Epidemiological research employs various types of studies to be able to quantitatively assess and estimate the magnitude of association between potential risk factors and disease outcomes (Jewell, 2003). Additionally, population health studies, which are conducted using epidemiological methods, help to characterize and understand social issues through a public health lens (Slutkin et al, 2018). For example, labor market inequalities, which are key drivers in the persistence of labor trafficking, have been explored in some population health studies to understand the influence of employment relations and their health impact at the macro-level (Muntaner et al, 2010).…”

Section: Identification Of Risk and Causal Factorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Epidemiological Perspective on Labor Trafficking

Gallo¹,

Konrad

Thinyane³

2020

Journal of Human Trafficking

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Ending all forms of labor trafficking by 2030 has been prioritized within the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (Target 8.7), yet progress in combatting trafficking has been limited. Human trafficking is recognized as a global public health concern because of its widespread negative impacts on individual and population level health. This has led researchers, policymakers, and NGOs to frequently claim that trafficking has reached "epidemic proportions". If such is the case, then using tools from public health and epidemiology can help to generate novel insights in the way we conceptualize, research, and address the problem of trafficking. Using a methodological framework known as the Epidemiologic Problem Oriented Approach (EPOA), we analyze the various components of labor trafficking identification and response, drawing contextualized comparisons with infectious disease epidemiology to characterize labor trafficking as a "disease". This crossdisciplinary approach provides a well-defined conceptual organization of the components that play a role in understanding trafficking dynamics. Epidemiology is highly relevant in the study of trafficking and contributes to the growing research interest surrounding the intersection of public health and human trafficking. KEYWORDS Labor trafficking; public health; epidemiology There are no jobs in Sein's hometown in Myanmar, so he made the hard decision to look for work in Thailand. Sein has been working as a fisherman now for five years. Though the hours are long, and the conditions are harsh, he doesn't mind as he is able to provide for his family. Compared to his previous boss Ohnmar, Cho is a saint, and doesn't take it out on the fishers when the nets don't come up full. Ohnmar was brutal-on one trip the nets kept coming up empty and the crew had to stay out at sea a further 3 days than what they had planned. He didn't let them rest until the hold was full, and because the extended trip was unplanned, they ran out of drinking water. When they returned to port, Ohnmar refused to give extra time off in lieu of the extended time at sea, and only gave Sein a fraction of the salary that he had been promised. Ohnmar had said that this would teach the fishers for not working hard enough. If the fishers complained, Ohnmar would think of another punishment for disrespecting himoften keeping them onboard the boat while it was in port. Sein had often considered leaving, but needed the money that Ohnmar owed him. Ohnmar hadn't always been like this-they had grown up in the same village, and Ohnmar had been the one who initially told Sein about his work in Thailand. Three years after Sein joined him on the boat, Ohnmar had been promoted to the position of Chiu-the right-hand man of the captain. It seemed like Ohnmar wanted to prove he was right for the job and deserving of the increased authority (and pay) that the promotion included. Cho was different. He pushed Sein and the crew to work very long hours, but always recorded their days at sea accurately. They often ran trips ...

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How the Health Sector Can Reduce Violence by Treating It as a Contagion

Cited by 34 publications

References 24 publications

Neighborhood Violence Impacts Disease Control and Surveillance: Case Study of Cali, Colombia from 2014 to 2016

Neighborhood Violence Impacts Disease Control and Surveillance: Case Study of Cali, Colombia from 2014 to 2016

Information: a missing component in understanding and mitigating social epidemics

An Epidemiological Perspective on Labor Trafficking

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