Curricula and resources related to social entrepreneurship and public health innovation within schools of public health in the United States

This paper examines the current state of social innovation and entrepreneurship programming, courses, and centers within schools of public health through a survey data analysis. This report presents a cross-sectional survey conducted among faculty members of public health schools in the United States. The survey aims to determine the availability and current state of student-centered programs and courses centered around social innovation and entrepreneurship within schools of public health. Insights were drawn from 19 professionals across 15 schools of public health. Uncertainties surround the sustainability of current programs, with insufficient funding, human resources, and the need to teach more pressing topics identified as the most significant obstacles. Key areas identified as opportunities for growth were faculty engagement, expertise, and funding to expand more structured programming.

An analysis of actors participating in the design and implementation of workplace breastfeeding interventions in Mexico using the NetMap analysis approach

Introduction

While breastfeeding is recognized as providing optimal nutrition for infants and toddlers, maternal employment is a commonly mentioned barrier to breastfeeding. The goal was to (a) identify key actors participating in the design and implementation of workplace breastfeeding interventions in Mexico, (b) understand the complexity of interactions between the actors, and (c) map the connections and influence between the actors when looking into networks of Advice, Command, Funding, and Information.

Method

Following the NetMap methodology, a total of 11 semi-structured interviews with 12 interview partners from 10 organizations were conducted. Interview data were analyzed, and networks were analyzed and visualized, using a social network mapping software.

Results

A total of 83 actors from five different actor groups were identified. Four networks were constructed along the four types of connections: Advice, Command, Funding, and Information. The actors were connected by 580 connections with 446 unique links. Based on various network statistics, the Mexican Institute of Social Security, the Mexican Secretary of Labor and Social Welfare, UNICEF, and the Mexican Secretary of Health were identified to be key actors.

Conclusion

To increase the likelihood of success of workplace breastfeeding interventions, the role of the actors "Employers" and "Women" needs to expand. They should be actively involved in the decision-making process, together with the identified key actors. It is further recommended to re-introduce a national breastfeeding strategy for Mexico that includes policies for workplace breastfeeding interventions.

The Evolution of Trust Within a Global Health Partnership With the Private Sector: An Inductive Framework

BACKGROUND

Public-private partnerships (PPPs) in global health are increasingly common to support sustainable development and strengthen health systems in low- and middle-income countries. Since the release of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in 2015 culminating in a discrete goal "to revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development," public health scholars have sought to understand what makes PPPs successful in different contexts. While trust has long been identified as a key component of successful strategic alliances in the private sector, less is known about how trust emerges between public- and private- sector partners, particularly in global health. Therefore, we investigated how trust between partners evolved in the context of Project Last Mile (PLM), a global health partnership that translates the business acumen of The Coca-Cola Company to strengthen public health systems across Africa.

METHODS

This study draws upon secondary analysis of qualitative data generated as part of the longitudinal, mixed-methods evaluation of PLM across country settings. Seventy-seven interviews with a purposeful sample of key stakeholders were conducted in Mozambique, South Africa and eSwatini between August 2016 and July 2018. Trained qualitative interviewers followed a standard discussion guide, and audio-recorded interviews with participants' consent. In this secondary analysis, we analyzed qualitative data to understand how trust between partners was cultivated across settings.

RESULTS

We drew upon stakeholder experiences to inform an inductive framework for how trust develops over time. Our analysis revealed five domains that were foundational to building trust: (1) reputational context, (2) team composition, (3) tangible outputs, (4) shared values, and (5) effective communication.

CONCLUSION

The framework may be useful for private and public sector entities seeking to establish and sustain trust within their global health partnerships.

Toward an Understanding of Public Health Entrepreneurship and Intrapreneurship

This paper describes a framework used to understand public health entrepreneurship and intrapreneurship for the purpose of pedagogy and practice. To ground this framework in the academic literature, a scoping review of the literature was conducted with application of a snowball method to identify further articles from the bibliographies of the search results. Recurring themes were identified to characterize common patterns of public health entrepreneurship and intrapreneurship. These themes were design thinking, resource mobilization, financial viability, cross-disciplinary collaboration, and systems strengthening. Case examples are provided to illustrate key themes in both intrapreneurship and entrepreneurship. This framework is a starting point to further the discourse, teaching, and practice of entrepreneurship and intrapreneurship in public health. More research is needed to understand implications for power and privilege, capacity building, financing, scaling, and policy making related to entrepreneurship and intrapreneurship in public health.

Business models for primary health care delivery in low- and middle-income countries: a scoping study of nine social entrepreneurs

Background

Social enterprises are organizations created to address social problems that use business models to sustain themselves financially. Social enterprises can help increase access to primary health care in low resource settings. Research on social enterprises in health care have focused either on high-income countries, or on secondary and tertiary care in low- and middle-income countries, where common business models include differential pricing to cross-subsidize low income populations. This is the first study to examine social enterprises providing primary health care in low- and middle-income countries using primary data. The purpose is to determine whether social enterprise is a viable model in this setting and to identify common patterns and characteristics that could inform the work of social entrepreneurs, funders, and researchers in this area.

Methods

We identify social entrepreneurs working to deliver primary health care in low- and middle-income countries who have been vetted by international organizations dedicated to supporting social entrepreneurship. Through in-depth interviews, we collect information on medical processes, business processes, social impact, and organizational impact according to the Battacharyya et al. framework. We then conducted qualitative analysis to identify common patterns emerging within these four categories.

Results

Common characteristics in the business models of primary health care social enterprises include flat rate rather than differential pricing and cross-subsidizing across services rather than patients. Subscription packages and in-house IT systems were utilized to generate revenue and increase reach through telemedicine, franchising, and mobile units. In some cases, alternate revenue streams are employed to help break even. About half of the social enterprises interviewed were for-profit, and about half non-profit. The majority faced challenges in engaging with the public sector. This is still a nascent field, with most organizations being under 10 years old.

Conclusions

Social enterprise has been demonstrated as a feasible model for providing primary health care in low resource settings, with key characteristics differing from the previously commonly studied social enterprises in tertiary care. There are opportunities to complement existing public health systems, but most organizations face challenges in doing so. More research and attention is needed by researchers, governments and funders to support social entrepreneurs and avoid parallel systems.

Applied systems thinking: a viable approach to identify leverage points for accelerating progress towards ending neglected tropical diseases

BACKGROUND

Systems thinking is a conceptual approach that can assist stakeholders in understanding complexity and making progress on persistent public health challenges. Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), a complex global health problem, are responsible for a large disease burden among impoverished populations around the world. This aim of this study was to better discern the many complexities of the global NTD system in order to identify and act on leverage points to catalyse progress towards ending NTDs.

METHODS

Existing frameworks for systems change were adapted to form the conceptual framework for the study. Using a semi-structured interview guide, key informant interviews were conducted with NTD stakeholders at the global level and at the country level in Nigeria. The interview data were coded and analysed to create causal loop diagrams that resulted in a qualitative model of the global NTD system.

RESULTS

The complete qualitative model is discussed and presented visually as six separate sub-components that highlight key forces and feedback loops within the global NTD system.

CONCLUSIONS

We identified five leverage points for NTD system change, namely (1) clarify the potential for and assess realistic progress towards NTD elimination, (2) increase support for interventions besides drug delivery, (3) reduce dependency on international donors, (4) create a less insular culture within the global NTD community, and (5) systemically address the issue of health worker incentives. The specific findings for NTDs raise a number of uncomfortable questions that have not been addressed, at least in part, because it is easier to continue focusing on 'quick win' solutions. The study provides a model of a systems thinking approach that can be applied to other complex global health and development challenges in order to understand complexity and identify leverage points for system change.

Public Health Entrepreneurship: A Novel Path for Training Future Public Health Professionals

Background: As schools of public health adapt to the new Council on Public Health (CEPH) competencies there is increased relevance in training public health professionals in public health entrepreneurship. Public health entrepreneurship provides an alternate process to traditional academic approaches focusing on translating public health knowledge into effective, sustainable, and scalable solutions. Objective: This study reports student perceptions of public health entrepreneurship and training needs for successfully equipping future public health professionals. Methods: Focus groups were conducted in April 2018 with graduate public health students in pilot entrepreneurship courses at two U.S.-based CEPH-accredited schools of public health. Results: Participating students (n = 29) were mainly pursing MPH degrees (62%) within Health Management and Policy (38%) or Health Promotion/Global Health (31%) departments. Most students (52%) were between 21 and 30 years old. For 71% of students this was their first academic course with a focus on entrepreneurial thinking. Four themes emerged regarding public health entrepreneurship and training needs for becoming a successful public health professional of the future. Students confirmed a place for public health entrepreneurship in the emerging educational paradigm because it is action-oriented, skills-driven, and fosters innovation through inter-professional collaboration and cross-pollination of knowledge and skills between professional disciplines. Conclusions: The competencies required for public health entrepreneurship are in alignment with CEPH competencies and are well-received by the next generation of public health professionals as an adjunct but nascent approach to stimulate public health innovation.

Moving environmental justice indoors: understanding structural influences on residential exposure patterns in low-income communities

OBJECTIVES

The indoor environment has not been fully incorporated into the environmental justice dialogue. To inform strategies to reduce disparities, we developed a framework to identify the individual and place-based drivers of indoor environment quality.

METHODS

We reviewed empirical evidence of socioeconomic disparities in indoor exposures and key determinants of these exposures for air pollutants, lead, allergens, and semivolatile organic compounds. We also used an indoor air quality model applied to multifamily housing to illustrate how nitrogen dioxide (NO(2)) and fine particulate matter (PM(2.5)) vary as a function of factors known to be influenced by socioeconomic status.

RESULTS

Indoor concentrations of multiple pollutants are elevated in low-socioeconomic status households. Differences in these exposures are driven by the combined influences of indoor sources, outdoor sources, physical structures, and residential activity patterns. Simulation models confirmed indoor sources' importance in determining indoor NO(2) and PM(2.5) exposures and showed the influence of household-specific determinants.

CONCLUSIONS

Both theoretical models and empirical evidence emphasized that disparities in indoor environmental exposure can be significant. Understanding key determinants of multiple indoor exposures can aid in developing policies to reduce these disparities.

Modeling geographic and demographic variability in residential concentrations of environmental tobacco smoke using national data sets

Despite substantial attention toward environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) exposure, previous studies have not provided adequate information to apply broadly within community-scale risk assessments. We aim to estimate residential concentrations of particulate matter (PM) from ETS in sociodemographic and geographic subpopulations in the United States for the purpose of screening-level risk assessment. We developed regression models to characterize smoking using the 2006-7 Current Population Survey--Tobacco Use Supplement, and linked these with air exchange models using the 2007 American Housing Survey. Using repeated logistic and log-linear models (n = 1000), we investigated whether household variables from the 2000 United States census can predict exposure likelihood and ETS-PM concentration in exposed households. We estimated a mean ETS-PM concentration of 16 μg/m(3) among the 17% of homes with non-zero exposure (3 μg/m(3) overall), with substantial variability among homes. The highest exposure likelihood was in the South and Midwest regions, rural populations, and low-income households. Concentrations in exposed households were highest in the South and demonstrated a non-monotonic association with income, related to air exchange rate patterns. We provide estimates of ETS-PM concentration distributions for different subpopulations in the United States, providing a starting point for communities interested in characterizing aggregate and cumulative risks from indoor pollutants.

Modeling joint exposures and health outcomes for cumulative risk assessment: the case of radon and smoking

Community-based cumulative risk assessment requires characterization of exposures to multiple chemical and non-chemical stressors, with consideration of how the non-chemical stressors may influence risks from chemical stressors. Residential radon provides an interesting case example, given its large attributable risk, effect modification due to smoking, and significant variability in radon concentrations and smoking patterns. In spite of this fact, no study to date has estimated geographic and sociodemographic patterns of both radon and smoking in a manner that would allow for inclusion of radon in community-based cumulative risk assessment. In this study, we apply multi-level regression models to explain variability in radon based on housing characteristics and geological variables, and construct a regression model predicting housing characteristics using U.S. Census data. Multi-level regression models of smoking based on predictors common to the housing model allow us to link the exposures. We estimate county-average lifetime lung cancer risks from radon ranging from 0.15 to 1.8 in 100, with high-risk clusters in areas and for subpopulations with high predicted radon and smoking rates. Our findings demonstrate the viability of screening-level assessment to characterize patterns of lung cancer risk from radon, with an approach that can be generalized to multiple chemical and non-chemical stressors.

Moving environmental justice indoors: understanding structural influences on residential exposure patterns in low-income communities

OBJECTIVES

The indoor environment has not been fully incorporated into the environmental justice dialogue. To inform strategies to reduce disparities, we developed a framework to identify the individual and place-based drivers of indoor environment quality.

METHODS

We reviewed empirical evidence of socioeconomic disparities in indoor exposures and key determinants of these exposures for air pollutants, lead, allergens, and semivolatile organic compounds. We also used an indoor air quality model applied to multifamily housing to illustrate how nitrogen dioxide (NO(2)) and fine particulate matter (PM(2.5)) vary as a function of factors known to be influenced by socioeconomic status.

RESULTS

Indoor concentrations of multiple pollutants are elevated in low-socioeconomic status households. Differences in these exposures are driven by the combined influences of indoor sources, outdoor sources, physical structures, and residential activity patterns. Simulation models confirmed indoor sources' importance in determining indoor NO(2) and PM(2.5) exposures and showed the influence of household-specific determinants.

CONCLUSIONS

Both theoretical models and empirical evidence emphasized that disparities in indoor environmental exposure can be significant. Understanding key determinants of multiple indoor exposures can aid in developing policies to reduce these disparities.

Assessment and application of national environmental databases and mapping tools at the local level to two community case studies

Communities are concerned over pollution levels and seek methods to systematically identify and prioritize the environmental stressors in their communities. Geographic information system (GIS) maps of environmental information can be useful tools for communities in their assessment of environmental-pollution-related risks. Databases and mapping tools that supply community-level estimates of ambient concentrations of hazardous pollutants, risk, and potential health impacts can provide relevant information for communities to understand, identify, and prioritize potential exposures and risk from multiple sources. An assessment of existing databases and mapping tools was conducted as part of this study to explore the utility of publicly available databases, and three of these databases were selected for use in a community-level GIS mapping application. Queried data from the U.S. EPA's National-Scale Air Toxics Assessment, Air Quality System, and National Emissions Inventory were mapped at the appropriate spatial and temporal resolutions for identifying risks of exposure to air pollutants in two communities. The maps combine monitored and model-simulated pollutant and health risk estimates, along with local survey results, to assist communities with the identification of potential exposure sources and pollution hot spots. Findings from this case study analysis will provide information to advance the development of new tools to assist communities with environmental risk assessments and hazard prioritization.

Tools available to communities for conducting cumulative exposure and risk assessments

This paper summarizes and assesses over 70 tools that could aid with gathering information and taking action on environmental issues related to community-based cumulative risk assessments (CBCRA). Information on tool use, development and research needs, was gathered from websites, documents, and CBCRA program participants and researchers, including 25 project officers who work directly with community groups. The tools were assessed on the basis of information provided by project officers, community members, CBCRA researchers, and by case study applications. Tables summarize key environmental issues and tool features: (1) a listing of CBCRA-related environmental issues of concern to communities; (2) web-based tools that map environmental information; (3) step-by-step guidance documents; (4) databases of environmental information; and (5) computer models that simulate human exposure to chemical stressors. All tools described here are publicly available, with the focus being on tools developed by the US Environmental Protection Agency. These tables provide sources of information to promote risk identification and prioritization beyond risk perception approaches, and could be used by CBCRA participants and researchers. The purpose of this overview is twofold: (1) To present a comprehensive, though not exhaustive, summary of numerous tools that could aid with performing CBCRAs; and (2) To use this toolset as a sample of the current state of CBCRA tools to critically examine their utility and guide research for the development of new and improved tools.

Particulate air pollution, oxidative stress genes, and heart rate variability in an elderly cohort

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

We have previously shown that reduced defenses against oxidative stress due to glutathione S-transferase M1 (GSTM1) deletion modify the effects of PM(2.5) (fine-particulate air pollution of < 2.5 microm in aerodynamic diameter) on heart rate variability (HRV) in a cross-sectional analysis of the Normative Aging Study, an elderly cohort. We have extended this to include a longitudinal analysis with more subjects and examination of the GT short tandem repeat polymorphism in the heme oxygenase-1 (HMOX-1) promoter.

METHODS

HRV measurements were taken on 539 subjects. Linear mixed effects models were fit for the logarithm of HRV metrics-including standard deviation of normal-to-normal intervals (SDNN), high frequency (HF), and low frequency (LF)-and PM(2.5) concentrations in the 48 hr preceding HRV measurement, controlling for confounders and a random subject effect.

RESULTS

PM(2.5) was significantly associated with SDNN (p = 0.04) and HF (p = 0.03) in all subjects. There was no association in subjects with GSTM1, whereas there was a significant association with SDNN, HF, and LF in subjects with the deletion. Similarly, there was no association with any HRV measure in subjects with the short repeat variant of HMOX-1, and significant associations in subjects with any long repeat. We found a significant three-way interaction of PM(2.5) with GSTM1 and HMOX-1 determining SDNN (p = 0.008), HF (p = 0.01) and LF (p = 0.04). In subjects with the GSTM1 deletion and the HMOX-1 long repeat, SDNN decreased by 13% [95% confidence interval (CI), -21% to -4%], HF decreased by 28% (95% CI, -43% to -9%), and LF decreased by 20% (95% CI, -35% to -3%) per 10 microg/m(3) increase in PM.

CONCLUSIONS

Oxidative stress is an important pathway for the autonomic effects of particles.