Challenges

Open AccessArticle

How Do Mindfulness Offerings Support Inner–Outer Sustainability Progress? A Sustainability Assessment of Online Mindfulness Interventions

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Kira J. Cooper

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Robert B. Gibson

Challenges 2023, 14(2), 26; https://doi.org/10.3390/challe14020026 - 28 Apr 2023

Abstract

While there is growing optimism for inner transformations to catalyse systemic shifts towards more sustainable ways of being, no study so far has attempted to assess how well current interventions for inner development address core requirements for collective wellbeing. In this article, we [...] Read more.

While there is growing optimism for inner transformations to catalyse systemic shifts towards more sustainable ways of being, no study so far has attempted to assess how well current interventions for inner development address core requirements for collective wellbeing. In this article, we apply a novel assessment framework to examine how mindfulness-based interventions address inner and outer sustainability criteria during a global health emergency. This inquiry informs a growing field of study concerned with leveraging inner transformations for systemic shifts towards sustainability progress. Using three prominent online mindfulness-based offerings as a case study, we demonstrate that mindfulness-based interventions have a broad range of potential desirable to detrimental implications for social and biophysical systems. We conclude by discussing how normative conceptions of inner interventions might be contextualised anew to effectively support more viable, just, and inclusive transformations towards long-term viability. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Relationship between Sustainability and Inner Development: Towards More Integrative Worldviews, Paradigms, and Actions)

Open AccessViewpoint

Liminality: Change Starts Within

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Vivianna Rodriguez Carreon

Challenges 2023, 14(2), 25; https://doi.org/10.3390/challe14020025 - 25 Apr 2023

Abstract

Change Starts Within is the welcome title to the Inner Development Goals (IDGs) toolkit. The tools are resources to support the inner growth of individuals and organizations committed to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This reflection article emerged from reviewing my earlier experiences [...] Read more.

Change Starts Within is the welcome title to the Inner Development Goals (IDGs) toolkit. The tools are resources to support the inner growth of individuals and organizations committed to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This reflection article emerged from reviewing my earlier experiences in inner development while collaborating in the development of the IDGs. Years of continuing inner growth involved going through the liminal stage several times. Evolution is ongoing. Liminality has been conceptualized through different ways of embodying knowing by anthropologists, phenomenologists, psychologists, philosophers, scientists, and spiritual teachers, among others working in transformational processes. Through a lived experience approach, I explore my relationship with the liminal stage. Learning and practicing the “unseen” inner muscle leads to becoming “sensitive” to the subtle qualities. It involves perceiving the world through sensorial qualities, which leads to a conscious action to purposefully commit to what lies along the path to sustainable humanity. At the same time, I notice the limitations for understanding the language of the inner world. The inner world communicates through dynamic manifestations of the lived experience, and when conceptualized in a logical and structured way, it constrains how the animacy of the inner being can be described. The invitation to understand spaces of inner transformation in liminality is to learn to manifest the state of being. The effects of understanding inner development accelerate wisdom and human evolution. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Relationship between Sustainability and Inner Development: Towards More Integrative Worldviews, Paradigms, and Actions)

Open AccessArticle

Burden and Psychological Distress in Caregivers of Persons with Addictions

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Challenges 2023, 14(2), 24; https://doi.org/10.3390/challe14020024 - 25 Apr 2023

Abstract

Addiction is a complex psychosocial problem that has significant psychosocial effects on family members. The aim of this study is to gain insight into the burden and psychological distress suffered by caregivers of drug abusers. Ninety-nine caregivers of hard drug addicts participated in [...] Read more.

Addiction is a complex psychosocial problem that has significant psychosocial effects on family members. The aim of this study is to gain insight into the burden and psychological distress suffered by caregivers of drug abusers. Ninety-nine caregivers of hard drug addicts participated in this study. The test group consisted of 50 participants and the control group had 49 participants. The participants filled out the General Demographic Questionnaire; Caregiving and the Experience of Subjective and Objective Burden; SCL-90-R; and WHOQOL-BREF. Caregivers of addicts who were preparing to join the community exhibited a significantly higher objective burden, subjective burden, subjective stress burden and greater psychological distress in comparison to caregivers of addicts in the community, and their quality of life was poorer (p < 0.001). The following showed to be risk factors for psychological distress: families with a greater number of children, marital, employment and economic status and duration of addiction. The protective factors were better quality of life, long-term marriage and higher education level of caregivers. Caring for addicts who are living with their families is a significant responsibility and burden for caregivers. Full article

Open AccessArticle

Forest Inventories in Private and Protected Areas of Paraguay

by

Andrew G. Cervantes

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Patricia T. Vega Gutierrez

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Seri C. Robinson

Challenges 2023, 14(2), 23; https://doi.org/10.3390/challe14020023 - 21 Apr 2023

Abstract

Environmental degradation in Paraguayan ecosystems relates to anthropogenic intervention and has intensified with wildfires and drought. To help mitigate forest cover loss, the local government created laws, parceled land to private owners, and established protected areas. How differences in land tenure regimes affect [...] Read more.

Environmental degradation in Paraguayan ecosystems relates to anthropogenic intervention and has intensified with wildfires and drought. To help mitigate forest cover loss, the local government created laws, parceled land to private owners, and established protected areas. How differences in land tenure regimes affect dendrology and biodiversity remain to be answered. This preliminary study examined the differences and similarities between three protected area forests (National Park Ybycuí, and Natural Monuments Cerro Koi, Cerro Chorori) and three family-owned forests in Guairá, Central, and Paraguarí of eastern Paraguay. Forty-three transects were established following FAO protocols to examine tree diversity, floristic composition, and complementary vegetation structure information using two biodiversity indexes. Nine hundred and three individuals were registered, representing 92 species, 80 genera, and 35 families. The most abundant families were Fabaceae, Rutaceae, Myrtaceae, and Rhamnaceae; and the most abundant genera were Pilocarpus, Columbrina, Acrocomia, Plina, and Astronium. The most important species were Parapiptadenia rigida, Peltophorum dubium, and Astronium fraxinifolium. Results showed higher species richness and significantly greater tree diversity, but a nonsignificantly larger diameter in private forests compared to protected areas studied. Detected differences were small, indicating a need for additional research of forests with differing land tenure regimes as climate dynamics continually shift and management strategies show effects. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Planetary Health: Building the Field and Growing the Movement (Including Manuscripts 2022 Planetary Health Annual Meeting and Festival))

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Open AccessCommunication

The Reemergence of Monkeypox in Nigeria

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Challenges 2023, 14(2), 22; https://doi.org/10.3390/challe14020022 - 20 Apr 2023

Abstract

The emergence and reemergence of infectious diseases caused by viruses continue to be a major public health concern globally, affecting both humans and animals. One such disease is monkeypox, a zoonotic infection caused by the monkeypox virus (MPXV) that has recurred in sub-Saharan [...] Read more.

The emergence and reemergence of infectious diseases caused by viruses continue to be a major public health concern globally, affecting both humans and animals. One such disease is monkeypox, a zoonotic infection caused by the monkeypox virus (MPXV) that has recurred in sub-Saharan Africa over several decades. Notably, the 2022 outbreak of monkeypox in Nigeria follows a deadly outbreak in 2017, which was preceded by the disease’s first recorded outbreak in 1978. Epidemiological investigations in 2017 showed no apparent link between human monkeypox cases and the outbreak that year, indicating the potential existence of multiple sources of the virus and limited human-to-human transmission. This underscores the presence of an alternative ecological niche in humans. Furthermore, in some communities in Nigeria, monkeys are regarded as sacred and not hunted or consumed, leading to their proliferation and increased likelihood of MPXV transmission. This mini-review focuses on the occurrence, epidemiological distribution, geographical distribution, endemicity, and possible solutions to reduce the spread of human monkeypox in Nigeria. The implications of this reemergence and the need for effective public health measures to prevent and control outbreaks of monkeypox are also discussed. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Planetary Health: Building the Field and Growing the Movement (Including Manuscripts 2022 Planetary Health Annual Meeting and Festival))

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Open AccessPerspective

A Medical Equipment Lifecycle Framework to Improve Healthcare Policy and Sustainability

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Challenges 2023, 14(2), 21; https://doi.org/10.3390/challe14020021 - 19 Apr 2023

Abstract

The healthcare sector is struggling to become more environmentally friendly compared to other industries, evidently seen by the contribution to global emissions. These struggles have elicited some research on sustainable methods regarding the lifecycle of medical devices. Indeed, the World Health Organization (WHO) [...] Read more.

The healthcare sector is struggling to become more environmentally friendly compared to other industries, evidently seen by the contribution to global emissions. These struggles have elicited some research on sustainable methods regarding the lifecycle of medical devices. Indeed, the World Health Organization (WHO) encourages the reuse of equipment and ethical donations, namely for the sake of the environment and sustainable global health. However, there is a lack of synthesis–multiple greener alternatives to the current healthcare system are developing without a connection to each other, hindering an increase in sustainability. Thus, there is a lack of global organization and standardization in medical equipment lifecycles. Inspired by the findings and guidelines of the Safe and Sustainable Medical Equipment Supply Subgroup (SASMES) of the International Rotary Fellowship of Healthcare Professionals, we created the Re-processing Medical Equipment: Rotarian Research Group for the Environment (Re-MERGE) to expand on these challenges. Re-MERGE follows the life cycle of medical devices in the United States of America through its initial stages of classification and various regulatory pathways, the middle stage of post-market requirements, and the end stage of disposal or donation and reprocessing. Our findings indicate that current medical device end-stages are inefficient, damaging to the environment, and burdensome to donation recipients; however, existing processes can provide improvements to medical device end-stage methods by drastically reducing environmental damage, improving healthcare globally, and increasing sustainability in the field. We identify that more research is needed to connect the implications of different medical device end stages. Additionally, we encourage the findings to be implemented to create more sustainable, effective methods of medical device disposal, donation, and reprocessing. Full article

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Open AccessPerspective

Global Environmental Health Impacts of Rare Earth Metals: Insights for Research and Policy Making in Africa

by

Habeebullah Jayeola Oladipo

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Yusuf Amuda Tajudeen

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Emmanuel O. Taiwo

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Abdulbasit Opeyemi Muili

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Rashidat Onyinoyi Yusuf

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Sarat Ayomide Jimoh

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Muhammad Kamaldeen Oladipo

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Iyiola Olatunji Oladunjoye

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Oluwaseyi Muyiwa Egbewande

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Yusuff Inaolaji Sodiq

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Abdulhakeem Funsho Ahmed

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Mona Said El-Sherbini

Challenges 2023, 14(2), 20; https://doi.org/10.3390/challe14020020 - 03 Apr 2023

Abstract

The rise of globalization and industrialization has driven the demand for rare earth metals (REMs). These metals are widely used in various sectors of the global economy with various applications in medicine, renewable energy, electronics, agriculture, and the military. REMs are likely to [...] Read more.

The rise of globalization and industrialization has driven the demand for rare earth metals (REMs). These metals are widely used in various sectors of the global economy with various applications in medicine, renewable energy, electronics, agriculture, and the military. REMs are likely to remain an important part of our global future, and, as production increases, areas contaminated by REMs are expected to expand over the coming decades. Thus, triggering significant adverse environmental, animal, and human health impacts. Despite increased attention on REMs outside China in recent years, there are limited studies exploring REM production, deposits, and associated health impacts in the African context. Proper mine management, adequate safety protocols, sustainable processing methods, and waste handling systems have been identified and proposed globally; however, the nature and scale of implementing these management protocols on the African continent have been less clear. Therefore, planetary health-centered solutions are urgently needed to be undertaken by researchers, policy makers, and non-governmental actors in Africa and across the globe. This is with the overarching aim of ensuring eco-friendly alternatives and public health consciousness on REM exploitations and hazards for future generations to come. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Planetary Health: Building the Field and Growing the Movement (Including Manuscripts 2022 Planetary Health Annual Meeting and Festival))

Open AccessArticle

An Overview of Renewable Energy Technologies in the Eastern Cape Province in South Africa and the Rural Households’ Energy Poverty Coping Strategies

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Patrick Mukumba

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Shylet Y. Chivanga

Challenges 2023, 14(1), 19; https://doi.org/10.3390/challe14010019 - 22 Mar 2023

Abstract

Despite technological innovation and vast renewable energy sources in rural areas, a significant number of rural households are living in energy poverty, and there is a pressing need to come up with strategies to mitigate this. This paper presents an overview of the [...] Read more.

Despite technological innovation and vast renewable energy sources in rural areas, a significant number of rural households are living in energy poverty, and there is a pressing need to come up with strategies to mitigate this. This paper presents an overview of the energy sources in the Eastern Cape Province, the status of renewable energy technologies and the household energy poverty coping strategies in rural areas. The analysis of this study is based on conducted studies on renewable technologies in the Eastern Cape. This paper aims to help to provide a deeper understanding in the selection of the most appropriate renewable energy technologies suited to rural households’ energy needs and to fill the knowledge gap existing in renewable energy technologies to make it easier to map a way forward into the households’ energy poverty coping strategies in the Eastern Cape. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Renewable Energies)

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Open AccessReview

Mobilising the Next Generation of Planetary Health Leaders: The Dynamism of Youth Engagement in Malaysia

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Saidatul Maisarah Faiesall

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Sarah Hanani Ahmad Tajuddin

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Gopalasamy Reuben Clements

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Renzo Guinto

Challenges 2023, 14(1), 18; https://doi.org/10.3390/challe14010018 - 10 Mar 2023

Abstract

With planetary health gaining traction as a global movement and problem-solving approach, this trans-disciplinary field is well-placed to provide an exciting and dynamic platform to promote engagement with young people. Previous studies have shown that although there is great energy and passion from [...] Read more.

With planetary health gaining traction as a global movement and problem-solving approach, this trans-disciplinary field is well-placed to provide an exciting and dynamic platform to promote engagement with young people. Previous studies have shown that although there is great energy and passion from youth, the global planetary health community struggles in sustaining young people’s motivations and engagement in today’s crowded physical and online environments. Planetary health advocates are also dealing with an increase in climate anxiety that has taken a toll on the emotional and mental wellbeing of young people. Here, we review our experience in engaging youth groups and networks in Malaysia through a four-pronged approach (consultation, facilitation, capacity-sharing, and evidence-building), as well as challenges commonly faced by the planetary health community in educating and building a youth movement. After a year of engagement, we found that mobilising the next generation of planetary health leaders requires a change in existing power dynamics to a capacity-sharing model, an emphasis on clear, simplified, and effective communications that utilise the mainstream youth spaces (e.g., social media), and hopeful messages to counter apathy and anxiety into action. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Planetary Health: Building the Field and Growing the Movement (Including Manuscripts 2022 Planetary Health Annual Meeting and Festival))

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Open AccessConference Report

Developing Trusted Voices for Planetary Health: Findings from a Clinicians for Planetary Health (C4PH) Workshop

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Tatiana Souza de Camargo

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Enrique Falceto de Barros

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Sandeep Maharaj

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Teddie Potter

Challenges 2023, 14(1), 17; https://doi.org/10.3390/challe14010017 - 08 Mar 2023

Abstract

Climate change, biodiversity loss, and other environmental changes are rapidly impacting the health of people worldwide, but many clinicians and other health professionals feel unprepared to deal with this burgeoning issue. During the Planetary Health Annual Meeting held in Boston in late 2022, [...] Read more.

Climate change, biodiversity loss, and other environmental changes are rapidly impacting the health of people worldwide, but many clinicians and other health professionals feel unprepared to deal with this burgeoning issue. During the Planetary Health Annual Meeting held in Boston in late 2022, the Clinicians for Planetary Health (C4PH) working group hosted a workshop that highlighted the latest findings of clinicians’ attitudes towards climate change, connections with the related fields of lifestyle medicine and integrative health, lessons learned from implementing “one minute for the planet” in a rural Brazilian clinic, and the benefits of clinicians prescribing time in nature for their patients. This article ends with a few suggestions for healthcare providers to begin implementing planetary health into their professional practice. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Planetary Health: Building the Field and Growing the Movement (Including Manuscripts 2022 Planetary Health Annual Meeting and Festival))

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Open AccessConference Report

Nature Connection: Providing a Pathway from Personal to Planetary Health

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Challenges 2023, 14(1), 16; https://doi.org/10.3390/challe14010016 - 05 Mar 2023

Cited by 1

Abstract

The vast and growing challenges for human health and all life on Earth require urgent and deep structural changes to the way in which we live. Broken relationships with nature are at the core of both the modern health crisis and the erosion [...] Read more.

The vast and growing challenges for human health and all life on Earth require urgent and deep structural changes to the way in which we live. Broken relationships with nature are at the core of both the modern health crisis and the erosion of planetary health. A declining connection to nature has been implicated in the exploitative attitudes that underpin the degradation of both physical and social environments and almost all aspects of personal physical, mental, and spiritual health. It is increasingly clear that the entwined challenges of biodiversity loss, climate change, and human health cannot be addressed without addressing selfishness, greed, apathy, and the value systems that created these global problems. Calls for a spiritual and cultural transformation recognize that “inner” development is important and necessary for meaningful “outward” transitions with a shared purpose for wiser, more sustainable societies. Many of these emotional and spiritual assets appear to be facilitated by a connection to nature, which is also strongly associated with community cohesion, prosocial attitudes, and pro-environmental actions. Restoring the human connection to nature may therefore provide a critical common pathway to promote the physical and spiritual wellbeing of individuals and communities as well as personal and social environmental responsibility. In this paper, we summarize and reflect on the discussions of the Nova Network planetary health community with respect to nature-based solutions as pathways to promote both personal and planetary health with a more mutualistic mindset. These discussions spanned biological to psychological interactions with nature—including the critical relationships with environmental microbes that influence the physical, emotional, and behavioral aspects of health. We consider the ways in which stronger relationships with nature promote “inner assets” to support “outward actions” for personal and planetary health. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Relationship between Sustainability and Inner Development: Towards More Integrative Worldviews, Paradigms, and Actions)

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Open AccessArticle

Team Mindfulness in Online Academic Meetings to Reduce Burnout

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Carol Nash

Challenges 2023, 14(1), 15; https://doi.org/10.3390/challe14010015 - 02 Mar 2023

Abstract

Burnout, a negative job-related psychological state common with health professionals, results in valuable healthcare research loss. Team mindfulness, promoting work engagement, represents an aspect effective in reducing burnout. In a series of diverse-membership academic meetings intended to reduce research burnout—employing writing prompts, doodling, [...] Read more.

Burnout, a negative job-related psychological state common with health professionals, results in valuable healthcare research loss. Team mindfulness, promoting work engagement, represents an aspect effective in reducing burnout. In a series of diverse-membership academic meetings intended to reduce research burnout—employing writing prompts, doodling, and continuous developmental feedback—team mindfulness was demonstrated when conducted in person. Therefore, whether team mindfulness is evident when meetings are held online is relevant. During the first eighteen months of COVID-19 limitations requiring these meetings to be online, it was previously reported that team mindfulness was diminished. Question-asking, submitted doodles, and feedback responses were analyzed for the following year of the same group, both quantitively and qualitatively, and with respect to COR theory, to determine if the result persisted. Team mindfulness was also compromised in the second year with respect to the entire group but not regarding the individual relationship with the facilitator. For a diverse-membership group to demonstrate team mindfulness, it is suggested that creating and using avatars similar to those used in online games might be effective. To continue the successful aspect of team mindfulness found online for this group or similarly designed groups, a one-on-one meeting between participant and facilitator is recommended. Full article

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Open AccessArticle

Challenges in Sustainable Beef Cattle Production: A Subset of Needed Advancements

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Challenges 2023, 14(1), 14; https://doi.org/10.3390/challe14010014 - 20 Feb 2023

Cited by 1

Abstract

Estimates of global population growth are often cited as a significant challenge for global food production. It is estimated that by 2050 there will be approximately two- billion additional people on earth, with the greatest proportion of that growth occurring in central Africa. [...] Read more.

Estimates of global population growth are often cited as a significant challenge for global food production. It is estimated that by 2050 there will be approximately two- billion additional people on earth, with the greatest proportion of that growth occurring in central Africa. To meet recommended future protein needs (60 g/d), approximately 120 million kg of protein must be produced daily. The production of ruminant meat (particularly beef cattle) offers the potential to aid in reaching increased global protein needs. However, advancements in beef cattle production are necessary to secure the industry’s future sustainability. This article draws attention to a subset of sustainable beef cattle production challenges, including the role of ruminant livestock in meeting global human protein needs, the environmental relationships of advanced beef cattle production, and big data and machine learning in beef cattle production. Considering the significant quantities of resources necessary to produce this form of protein, such advancements are not just a moral imperative but critical to developing advanced beef cattle production practices and predictive models that will reduce costs and liabilities and advance industry sustainability. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Planetary Health)

Open AccessArticle

Relationships of First-Trimester Body Mass Index and Weight Change with Persistent Organic Pollutant Concentrations in Pregnant Canadian Individuals

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Marianne Levesque

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Mariame Ouedraogo

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Romina Fakhraei

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Alysha Dingwall Harvey

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Challenges 2023, 14(1), 13; https://doi.org/10.3390/challe14010013 - 16 Feb 2023

Abstract

Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are toxic chemicals with demonstrable effects on pregnancy and neonatal outcomes. The associations of early pregnancy body mass index (BMI) and antenatal weight changes with circulating POP concentrations are poorly understood in the Canadian context. The aim of this [...] Read more.

Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are toxic chemicals with demonstrable effects on pregnancy and neonatal outcomes. The associations of early pregnancy body mass index (BMI) and antenatal weight changes with circulating POP concentrations are poorly understood in the Canadian context. The aim of this study was to explore the relationship between maternal BMI in the first trimester, weight change from pre-pregnancy to 6–13 weeks of pregnancy, and first-trimester plasma POP concentrations among Canadian pregnant women. We analyzed data collected as part of the Maternal-Infant Research on Environmental Chemicals (MIREC) study and evaluated POP concentrations based on first-trimester BMI and early gestational weight change categories. We tested for overall differences using Kruskal-Wallis tests. The associations between first-trimester maternal BMI, weight change, and plasma concentrations of 41 POPs were evaluated using censored regression models. After controlling for potential confounders, first-trimester plasma levels of multiple POPs differed significantly across BMI categories, with the highest concentrations in underweight/normal-weight individuals and the lowest in class III obese individuals. Our findings provide preliminary evidence of higher circulating POP levels in individuals with obesity and align with previous findings of an inverse relationship between circulating POP concentrations and BMI in pregnancy. Future studies should prospectively evaluate the interplay between weight change and POP concentrations throughout pregnancy to inform gestational weight gain recommendations for pregnant individuals with obesity. Full article

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Open AccessArticle

Remote Sensing from Different Sources for Crop Growth Monitoring in the Area of the Lower Northern Mississippi

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Challenges 2023, 14(1), 12; https://doi.org/10.3390/challe14010012 - 14 Feb 2023

Abstract

Remote sensing monitoring of crop growth began from airborne photography to assist in crop pest management and has evolved into monitoring from satellites, manned aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), and ground-based systems for crop production process modeling, optimization, and control. In recent years, [...] Read more.

Remote sensing monitoring of crop growth began from airborne photography to assist in crop pest management and has evolved into monitoring from satellites, manned aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), and ground-based systems for crop production process modeling, optimization, and control. In recent years, for crop growth remote sensing monitoring, apart from satellites, manned aircrafts, and ground-based systems, UAVs have been developed and widely used for low-altitude remote sensing of crop fields to uniquely provide a cost-effective, flexible tool for field crop growth remote sensing. Additionally, their data create a critical layer between all other remote sensing platforms. This paper overviews the use of remote sensing from difference sources, especially airborne remote sensing from manned aircraft and UAVs, to monitor crop growth in the area of the lower northern Mississippi from the Mississippi Delta to the Black Prairie, one of the most important agricultural areas in the U.S. In this paper, three sites typical in the area are demonstrated for remote sensing monitoring of crop growth, and the issues and challenges are identified and discussed for future opportunities to integrate remote sensing data from different sources to improve crop monitoring in this area and surrounding areas. Full article

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Open AccessArticle

Intergenerational Deliberations for Long Term Sustainability

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Llinos Haf Spencer

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Mary Lynch

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Gwenlli Mair Thomas

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Rhiannon Tudor Edwards

Challenges 2023, 14(1), 11; https://doi.org/10.3390/challe14010011 - 11 Feb 2023

Abstract

Grŵp Cynefin, a social housing association in North Wales, United Kingdom (UK) with other partner organisations, had a vision to create a community Hub in the Nantlle Valley to strengthen and support the health and well-being of the local community through the provision [...] Read more.

Grŵp Cynefin, a social housing association in North Wales, United Kingdom (UK) with other partner organisations, had a vision to create a community Hub in the Nantlle Valley to strengthen and support the health and well-being of the local community through the provision of a range of traditional and preventative services. Social prescribing (SP), which is a non-medical support using community assets, would be a part of this new innovative Hub. SP activities would be co-designed and co-produced by current community members. Drawing on the principles of citizens’ assembly deliberations and Future Design, four focus groups (n = 16) were conducted to develop sustainable strategies for SP activities as part of the proposed Hub. Deliberations on the perspectives of future generations were considered along with current community needs. Findings from the focus groups imply that current members of society are open to the concept of taking an inter-generational approach when designing SP activities to address the social and economic needs of the community along with integration of traditional and preventative community health services. Deliberations highlighted that the proposed Hub could strengthen communities and support community health and well-being, by providing a place to socialise and acting as a single point of access for community services, which could promote social cohesion in line with the Well-being for Future Generations (Wales) Act. Applying a long-term thinking approach to citizens’ assembly deliberation design offers a voice to the interests of future generations, providing inter-generational equity. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Planetary Health)

Open AccessEditorial

Planetary Health Requires Tapestry Thinking—Overcoming Silo Mentality

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Susan L. Prescott

Challenges 2023, 14(1), 10; https://doi.org/10.3390/challe14010010 - 09 Feb 2023

Abstract

Most people know the fabled story of the elephant and the “six blind men”, with each of them separately examining a different portion of the mysterious object before them and drawing a different conclusion without awareness of the whole picture—which could have been [...] Read more.

Most people know the fabled story of the elephant and the “six blind men”, with each of them separately examining a different portion of the mysterious object before them and drawing a different conclusion without awareness of the whole picture—which could have been gleaned by sharing information with their neighbours (Figure 1) [...] Full article

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Open AccessPerspective

Traditional Foods, Globalization, Migration, and Public and Planetary Health: The Case of Tejate, a Maize and Cacao Beverage in Oaxacalifornia

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Daniela Soleri

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David Arthur Cleveland

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Flavio Aragón Cuevas

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Violeta Jimenez

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May C. Wang

Challenges 2023, 14(1), 9; https://doi.org/10.3390/challe14010009 - 29 Jan 2023

Abstract

We are in the midst of an unprecedented public and planetary health crisis. A major driver of this crisis is the current nutrition transition—a product of globalization and powerful multinational food corporations promoting industrial agriculture and the consumption of environmentally destructive and unhealthy [...] Read more.

We are in the midst of an unprecedented public and planetary health crisis. A major driver of this crisis is the current nutrition transition—a product of globalization and powerful multinational food corporations promoting industrial agriculture and the consumption of environmentally destructive and unhealthy ultra-processed and other foods. This has led to unhealthy food environments and a pandemic of diet-related noncommunicable diseases, as well as negative impacts on the biophysical environment, biodiversity, climate, and economic equity. Among migrants from the global south to the global north, this nutrition transition is often visible as dietary acculturation. Yet some communities are defying the transition through selective resistance to globalization by recreating their traditional foods in their new home, and seeking crop species and varieties customarily used in their preparation. These communities include Zapotec migrants from the Central Valleys of the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca living in greater Los Angeles, California. Focusing on the traditional and culturally emblematic beverage tejate, we review data from our research and the literature to outline key questions about the role of traditional foods in addressing the public and planetary health crisis. We conclude that to answer these questions, a transnational collaborative research partnership between community members and scientists is needed. This could reorient public and planetary health work to be more equitable, participatory, and effective by supporting a positive role for traditional foods and minimizing their harms. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Planetary Health: Building the Field and Growing the Movement (Including Manuscripts 2022 Planetary Health Annual Meeting and Festival))

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Open AccessViewpoint

Adopting a Statistical, Mechanistic, Integrated Surveillance, Thermal Biology, and Holistic (SMITH) Approach for Arbovirus Control in a Changing Climate: A Review of Evidence

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Habeebullah Jayeola Oladipo

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Yusuf Amuda Tajudeen

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Iyiola Olatunji Oladunjoye

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Sheriff Taye Mustapha

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Yusuff Inaolaji Sodiq

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Rashidat Onyinoyi Yusuf

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Oluwaseyi Muyiwa Egbewande

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Abdulbasit Opeyemi Muili

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Taofeekat Oluwatosin Adigun

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Emmanuel O. Taiwo

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Mona Said El-Sherbini

Challenges 2023, 14(1), 8; https://doi.org/10.3390/challe14010008 - 22 Jan 2023

Abstract

Arbovirus control depends on accurate projections of likely changes in the arthropod vector species, essential to inform local and global public health authorities. According to the WHO Assembly and the Global Vector Control Response (GVCR), by 2030, the burden of vector-borne diseases, particularly [...] Read more.

Arbovirus control depends on accurate projections of likely changes in the arthropod vector species, essential to inform local and global public health authorities. According to the WHO Assembly and the Global Vector Control Response (GVCR), by 2030, the burden of vector-borne diseases, particularly arbovirus infections, is expected to be greatly decreased. However, anthropogenic drivers, including climate change, insecticide resistance, and a lack of operational local databases for risk management of emerging and re-emerging arboviruses, hinders effective implementation plans. This article presents a statistical, mechanistic, integrated surveillance, thermal biology, and holistic framework (termed SMITH) to discuss how temperature variations affect the biological transmission, replication, extrinsic incubation period, nutritional behavior, distribution, and survival (TRENDS) of arboviruses. Future transdisciplinary research that involves knowledge translation between local and global communities is required for early detection and risk management of the growing threat posed by arboviruses for human, animal, and planetary health. Full article

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