The paper presents lists of Ten Threats to Global Health published by the World Health Organization in 2018 and 2019. The lists give health problems and emergencies which seriously menace the health and well-being of billions of people on earth. The threats and health challenges are commented in the text. The interested reader is referred to the concise and easily legible original documents which give core data about the threats, actions and responses.

Health inequities are defined as systematic differences in health that can be avoided by appropriate policy intervention, and for this reason are considered unfair and unjust. Health inequities are not solely related to access to health care services; they are caused by the unequal distribution of these determinants of health, including power, income, goods and services, poor and unequal living conditions, and the differences in healthdamaging behaviours that these wider determinants produce. They are defined as systematic differences in health that can be avoided by appropriate policy intervention and that are therefore deemed to be unfair and unjust.

To be able to devise effective action, we first need to understand the causes of these inequities in health. Health inequities are not solely related to access to health care services; there are many determinants related to living and working conditions, as well as the overall macro-policies prevailing in a country or region.

The differences in social and economic development are reflected in health inequities that can be seen both between and within countries. Furthermore, evidence shows that even in the more affluent countries health inequities are seen in all parts of Europe. In the WHO European Region the gap in life expectancy between countries is 17 years for men and 12 years for women.

Inequities in health are caused by the unequal distribution of these determinants of health, including power, income, goods and services, poor and unequal living conditions, and the differences in health-damaging behaviours that these wider determinants produce.

The experiences of various countries indicates that in order to narrow the health inequities countries have to improve living conditions including the provision of comprehensive welfare systems, and high-quality education and health services.

The Strategy Health 2020 developed and approved by the WHO European Region countries is focusing on reducing inequities in health, which are key strategic objectives of endorsed by the 53 Member States. It emphasizes the need to strengthen population-based prevention on the social determinants of health. Also, in 2009 the European Commission developed European Union (EU) Health Strategy Programme titled “Solidarity in health: reducing health inequalities in the European Union”. 

Przygotowanie do wydania elektronicznego finansowane w ramach umowy 637/P-DUN/2019 ze środków Ministerstwa Nauki i Szkolnictwa Wyższego przeznaczonych na działalność upowszechniającą naukę.

Dementia occurs with a frequency of 10–12% in the entire geriatric population and 33–50% in people over 90 years of age. The most common cause of dementia are: Alzheimer’s disease, rarely vascular dementia, dementia with Lewy bodies, frontotemporal dementia and Parkinson’s disease with dementia. There are no medicaments to prevent dementia and effectively treat it. The treatment only slows the progression and improves the quality of life of the patient and caregiver. Taking care of a patient with dementia burdens the caregiver. As the disease progresses, care time extends even to the entire day. Over 90% of caregivers in Poland are family carers. Over 90% of patients stay in their own home until death. The cost of care is high and increases with the duration of the disease. In the case of agitated patients, the cost is higher. Institutional care is more expensive than home care. In Poland, there are no good system solutions in care for a dementia patient. Caregivers do not receive proper support from the government and subordinate units. 

Przygotowanie do wydania elektronicznego finansowane w ramach umowy 637/P-DUN/2019 ze środków Ministerstwa Nauki i Szkolnictwa Wyższego przeznaczonych na działalność upowszechniającą naukę.

In recent years, the situation of child and adolescent psychiatry in Poland has dramatically deteriorated. 24-hour psychiatric wards dedicated to minors are overcrowded and it is almost exclusively patients who are a direct threat to their own health or life that are hospitalised. About 20% of children and adolescents have symptoms of various mental disorders, of which 10% (about  400,000) require specialist care. Depression is one of the most common health problems among children and adolescents and its prevalence increases with age and puberty. Depression can be chronic, with constant severity, or recurrent, when symptoms return in the form of mild, moderate or severe episodes. The mood disorders occurring in the developmental period carry many negative consequences in the emotional, social and educational functioning of the patient. They increase the risk of self-destructive behaviours, suicide, abuse of psychoactive substances, as well as later difficulties in many areas of life during adulthood. 

Penicillin, the first antibiotic introduced into clinical practice opened a new era in medicine. The ‘golden age’ of antibiotic discoveries in the 1950s, 60s and 70s significantly helped our fight against bacterial infections. In parallel with the introduction of new drugs, resistance strains were identified. This was, however, neglected because of the belief that pharmaceutical companies would continuously supply us with new products. In contrary, a pipeline of new antibiotics slowly dried out and in the 1980s we realized that the proportion of resistant bacteria was increasing faster than the supply of new antibiotics. New mechanisms of resistance emerged and multidrug and pandrug resistant bacterial strains started to spread globally. Antimicrobial resistance is recognized now as one of the greatest threats to public health worldwide. The WHO and EU as well as national agencies are calling for actions which should be immediately undertaken if we do not want to lose the battle. 

Przygotowanie do wydania elektronicznego finansowane w ramach umowy 637/P-DUN/2019 ze środków Ministerstwa Nauki i Szkolnictwa Wyższego przeznaczonych na działalność upowszechniającą naukę.

False information by vaccination movements as a challenge for public health

The analysis of the characteristics of refusals to carry out preventive vaccinations, both in historical and contemporary perspective, showed that the dissemination of false information by vaccination movements, had and has a significant impact on the level of vaccination in the scope of individual preventive vaccinations, e.g. against polio, tetanus and diphtheria and it is real public health challenge. It is necessary to analyze the nature of the message in terms of the sender’s intentions, i.e. to distinguish between misinformation and disinformation. Preparation of an appropriate communication strategy in public health in this regard, seems necessary and crucial in terms of maintaining a high level of confidence in preventive vaccinations, and thus population resistance in the case of infectious diseases. Type of research methodology/research approach used: literature analysis. 

Przygotowanie do wydania elektronicznego finansowane w ramach umowy 637/P-DUN/2019 ze środków Ministerstwa Nauki i Szkolnictwa Wyższego przeznaczonych na działalność upowszechniającą naukę.