Economic evaluation of measles catch-up and follow-up campaigns in Afghanistan in 2002 and 2003

This paper assesses the cost-effectiveness of, and the return on the investment in, the 2002 catch-up and the 2003 follow-up measles campaigns in Afghanistan from the perspective of the donor. The catch-up campaign targeted nearly 12 million children aged between six months and 12 years, while the follow-up campaign targeted over five million children aged between 9 and 59 months. Both campaigns successfully vaccinated approximately 96 per cent of the respective target populations, and are expected to avert an estimated 301,000 measles deaths over the next 10 years. The average cost per dose of measles vaccine delivered was USD 0.40. The cost per death prevented is USD 23.6, assuming a case fatality rate of 10 per cent and a discount rate of three per cent. With more than 42,000 measles deaths avoided for every one million US dollars spent, the campaigns are an excellent public health investment for precluding childhood mortality in a country affected by a complex emergency.     

Prairie strips reduce fecal indicator bacteria concentrations in simulated runoff

Vegetative filter strips (VFS) have shown promising results in reducing the downstream transport of many agroecosystem contaminants. A recently developed type of VFS, prairie strips, has been shown to significantly reduce the impact of corn and soybean production systems on water quality in terms of sediment, nitrogen, and phosphorus losses. This study assessed potential additional benefits of prairie strips to include the reduction of pathogens. To assess the impact of prairie strips on manure-laden agricultural runoff, we utilized a physical model of prairie strips in a laboratory flume to conduct highly controlled overland flow experiments. Escherichia coli and Enterococcus concentration reductions of up to 45% and 65% were observed for runoff and infiltration flows, respectively, while mass load reductions of up to 65% were observed for surficial runoff flows. The degree of concentration or mass load reductions was dependent on the residence time of the flow within the strip and the partitioning of overland flow running onto the strip to infiltration and runoff flows. Based on our results and a review of the literature, we developed a design method to provide guidance on the width of prairie strip buffer needed to achieve a user-defined reduction of fecal bacteria concentration.     

Place Attachment,Climate Friendly Behavior,and Support for Climate Friendly Management Action among State Park Visitors

This study examined the role of place attachment in determining visitors’ willingness to engage in climate friendly behavior in parks and support for management actions to minimize climate-change impacts. The sample consisted of visitors to Missouri State Parks (n = 1775). Place attachment was measured using 12 items of place identity, place dependence, and social bonding. Exploratory factor analysis of climate friendly behavior items revealed two dimensions: Visit based (i.e., short-term, immediate actions individuals could take during their visit) and Big Picture (i.e., advocacy actions that suggest a long-term engagement with parks). A path analysis demonstrated that the dimensions of place attachment predict climate friendly behavior and support for climate friendly management action in different ways. Specifically, place identity increased climate friendly behavior (big picture) and place dependence increased both climate friendly behavior (visit based) and support for climate friendly management action. Findings from this study provided evidence for the importance of place attachment as a means for engaging visitors in climate-related actions both in and beyond the park setting.     

Restoration Scaling Approaches to Addressing Ecological Injury: The Habitat-Based Resource Equivalency Method

Environmental Management - Natural resource trustee agencies must determine how much, and what type of environmental restoration will compensate for injuries to natural resources that result from...     

An awareness campaign decreases distracted driving among hospital employees at a rural trauma center

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate whether an educational campaign on distracted driving will have an impact in a given community.

Methods: Investigators were stationed in an employee parking lot of a 256-bed hospital to determine baseline distracted driving followed by a 4-week hospital-wide distracted-driving awareness campaign. The campaign included signs/posters in the hospital, a booth outside of the cafeteria with flyers, a large banner in the employee lot and an opportunity for people to sign a pledge form to drive distraction free. The same employee lot was observed at the same time of the day to re-assess distracted driving immediately following the campaign. The observations were repeated again one year later to evaluate the short and long-term impact of the campaign.

Results: A total of 485 vehicles were observed pre-campaign, identifying 170 (35%) distracted drivers at baseline. The awareness campaign resulted in 525 people pledging to drive distraction free. Following the campaign, 495 vehicles were observed and the number of distracted drivers was 64 (12.9%), showing a significant decrease in the number of distracted drivers by 22.1% (p?<?0.01). One year later, 530 drivers were observed with 150 (28%) displaying one form of distraction.

Conclusions: A local distracted driving educational campaign resulted in a significant decrease in the number of distracted drivers immediately following the campaign. However, one year after the campaign, there was an increase in distracted driving. The proportion of distracted drivers was still significantly lower than the initial rate of distracted-drivers.     

Management of loss and damage in small island developing states: implications for a 1.5 °C or warmer world

Small island developing states (SIDS) have been identified as some of the most vulnerable countries to the impacts of climate change due to inherent environmental, economic, and demographic characteristics. As SIDS experience impacts of climate change and reach their limits to adaptation, the identification and management of loss and damage is essential. Monitoring and evaluating loss and damage, and implementing effective responses to address these impacts, becomes even more important in a 1.5 °C or warmer world, as impacts from climate change increase. As global agreements on climate change are implemented and mechanisms to manage impacts continue to be negotiated and established, the existing ability of SIDS to monitor and respond to loss and damage must be evaluated to determine gaps that must be addressed in a 1.5 °C or warmer world. This research utilizes interviews with UNFCCC climate change negotiators for SIDS and analysis of Intended Nationally Determined Contributions, to assess the state of loss and damage management in SIDS. The research provides an assessment of loss and damage already being experienced in SIDS, the status of existing mechanisms to actively monitor and evaluate loss and damage, and the existence of policies and mechanisms in SIDS to address loss and damage. Three areas of concern appear to be common for SIDS: lack of data relating to loss and damage, gaps in financial assessments of loss and damage, and a lack of policies or mechanisms targeted at loss and damage. These issues appear to be most acute in relation to slow onset impacts. Cumulatively, these challenges may present difficulties in detection and attribution and in obtaining a holistic understanding of the extent and costs of loss and damage for SIDS.     

Community-based climate change adaptation: a review of academic literature

The focus on climate change adaptation, rather than mitigation, has become more prominent since the turn of the century. Given this, it is important to consider what has been achieved so far, particularly community-based approaches which have become the resolve for practitioners and donor agencies working in the sector. This review of 128 publications on community-based climate change adaptation, identified through a systematic database search, follows the development of this body of work in the academic literature. Commencing in the early 2000s, the literature detailed the emergence of community-based adaptation (CBA), driven by a number of factors: recognition of the human dimensions of changes; appreciation of the role of local knowledge for strengthening adaptive capacity; and a push to focus on the scale at which impacts are felt and link this action with pro-poor development outcomes. A more substantial body of work emerged in the literature from 2010 onwards, defining a series of key enablers for effective CBA, which included: use participatory approaches; recognise that adaptation is a social process; and support CBA at multiple scales. More recently, there has been a growing emphasis in the literature to re-conceptualise CBA, which will require focusing on innovation, learning and multi-sectoral approaches.     

Identifying sources of fecal contamination inexpensively with targeted sampling and bacterial source tracking

Most bacterial source tracking (BST) methods are too expensive for most communities to afford. We developed targeted sampling as a prelude to BST to reduce these costs. We combined targeted sampling with three inexpensive BST methods, Enterococcus speciation, detection of the esp gene, and fluorometry, to confirm the sources of fecal contamination to beaches on Georgia's Jekyll and Sea Islands during calm and stormy weather conditions. For Jekyll Island, the most likely source of contamination was bird feces because the percentage of Ent. faecalis was high (30%) and the esp gene was not detected. For the Sea Island beach during calm conditions, the most likely sources of fecal contamination were leaking sewer lines and wildlife feces. The leaking sewer lines were confirmed with fluorometry and detection of the esp gene. For the Sea Island beach during stormflow conditions, the most likely sources of fecal contamination were wildlife feces and runoff discharging from two county-maintained pipes. For the pipes, the most likely source of contamination was bird feces because the percentage of Ent. faecalis was high (30%) and the esp gene was not detected. Sediments were also a reservoir of fecal enterococci for both Jekyll and Sea Islands. Combining targeted sampling with two or more BST methods identified sources of fecal contamination quickly, easily, and inexpensively. This combination was the first time targeted sampling was conducted during stormy conditions, and the first time targeted sampling was combined with enterococcal speciation, detection of the esp gene, and fluorometry.