JMIR Public Health and Surveillance

The increasing incidence of precocious puberty is one major health challenge for Chinese children, while related risk factors remain less well exploration. Exposure to ambient fine particulate matter (PM2.5) is a leading environmental hazard in this country. Although certain components of PM2.5 have been reported as endocrine disruptors for sex hormones, population-based evidence still lacks on the association between PM2.5 exposure and precocious puberty in China.

The National Essential Public Health Service Package was launched in 2009 to tackle poor blood pressure control of Chinese people with hypertension. However, effect of The National Essential Public Health Service Package on blood pressure control is still unclear.

The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) is establishing its wastewater surveillance capacities to support national security objectives and promote the public health and medical readiness of U.S. service members. Wastewater surveillance is an emerging technology that has traditionally been utilized for detecting infectious diseases. However, its potential future uses may bring a staggering and unpredictable amount of information that could be used for a wide variety of purposes both health and non-health related. The U.S. military also serves an inimitable role for the country and its citizens, and it exercises significant levels of control over its service members compared to civilian organizations. Further, its presence and potential wastewater surveillance activities may reach far beyond just military installations. As such, there arise unique ethical considerations that must be accounted for by leaders and policymakers to ensure the DoD implements a wastewater surveillance network in a manner that is both impactful in supporting public health and appropriate to the scope and population under surveillance. Therefore, this paper explores important ethical features in conducting wastewater surveillance that are both specific to the DoD experience and applicable for wider public health and environmental science interests.

The COVID-19 pandemic represents one of the most challenging public health emergencies in recent world history, causing about 7.07 million deaths globally by September 24, 2024. Accurate, timely, and consistent data are critical for early response to situations like the COVID-19 pandemic.

Young sexual minority men have among the highest rates of HIV in the United States; yet, the use of evidence-based prevention strategies, including routine HIV testing and pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), remains low. Mobile apps have enormous potential to increase HIV testing and PrEP use among young sexual minority men.

Epidemics and outbreaks present arduous challenges, requiring both individual and communal efforts. The significant medical, emotional, and financial burden associated with epidemics creates feelings of distrust, fear, and loss of control, making vulnerable populations prone to exploitation and manipulation through misinformation, rumors, and conspiracies. The use of social media sites has increased in the last decade. As a result, significant amounts of public data can be leveraged for biosurveillance. Social media sites can also provide a platform to quickly and efficiently reach a sizable percentage of the population; therefore, they have a potential role in various aspects of epidemic mitigation.

Indonesia’s vast archipelago and substantial population size present unique challenges in addressing its multifaceted HIV epidemic, with 90% of its 514 districts and cities reporting cases. Identifying key populations (KPs) is essential for effectively targeting interventions and allocating resources to address the changing dynamics of the epidemic.

Suicide represents a critical public health concern, and machine learning (ML) models offer the potential for identifying at-risk individuals. Recent studies using benchmark datasets and real-world social media data have demonstrated the capability of pretrained large language models in predicting suicidal ideation and behaviors (SIB) in speech and text.

The global aging population and rapid development of digital technology have made health management among older adults an urgent public health issue. The complexity of online health information often leads to psychological challenges, such as cyberchondria, exacerbating health information avoidance behaviors. These behaviors hinder effective health management; yet, little research examines their mechanisms or intervention strategies.

Japanese encephalitis (JE) is a zoonotic parasitic disease caused by the Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV), and may cause fever, nausea, headache, or meningitis. It is currently unclear whether the epidemiological characteristics of the Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) have been affected by the extreme climatic conditions that have been observed in recent years.

Numerous studies have assessed the risk of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) exposure and infection among healthcare workers during the pandemic. However, far fewer studies have investigated the impact of SARS-CoV-2 on essential workers in other sectors. Moreover, guidance for maintaining a safely operating workplace in sectors outside of healthcare remains limited. Workplace surveillance has been recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, but few studies have examined the feasibility or effectiveness of this approach.

The long-term economic impact of frailty measured in the beginning of elderhood is unknown.