Geneva Health Forum and AXA Launch €50,000 Grand Jet d’Or de Genève Award to Address Pollution's Impact on Human Health

Since 2006, the Geneva Health Forum (GHF) has been uniting stakeholders to address critical global health issues every two years. By amplifying the voices of field experts and facilitating connections with influential policymakers, the forum provides a platform for showcasing innovative, accessible, and sustainable practices, as well as significant initiatives. Through its editions, the GHF has emerged as a pivotal event in addressing global health challenges.

For its 10th edition, from May 27 – 29, 2024, the GHF will address crucial issues for our future under the theme “Health, A Common Good!” The GHF transcends the boundaries of the healthcare system, considering the social and environmental determinants of health, with a specific focus on how environmental degradation is profoundly impacting human health.

As part of its mission to advance academic research on key societal challenges and contribute to human progress, the AXA Research Fund (https://axa-research.org/) AXA Group’s global science philanthropy launched in 2008, is teaming up with the GHF in this endeavor.

In light of this collaboration, the Geneva Health Forum (GHF) is introducing a new call for the Grand Jet d’Or de Genève Award, in partnership with the AXA Research Fund: Health & medical solutions to address the adverse effects of pollution on humans.

The World Health Organization estimates that exposure to air pollution is responsible for about 7 million premature deaths worldwide each year. Addressing pollution-related health issues is crucial, as underscored on May 24, 2023, by the World Health Assembly's resolution “WHA76.17 - The impacts of chemicals, waste, and pollution on human health.” The resolution calls upon Member States to work on human health impacts associated with plastics, act on linkages between chemicals, waste, pollution and other health priorities, as well as to prepare a proposal for a science-policy panel to contribute to the sound management of chemicals and waste.

Pollution is a major global health issue, affecting human health by causing respiratory diseases, heart problems, and cancer due to exposure to pollutants in the air, water, and soil. Specific attention has been given to pollutants such as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), which are linked to cancer, thyroid disease, and developmental issues. Other pollutants such as heavy metals, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), particulate matter, persistent organic pollutants (POPs), and indoor air pollutants, present serious health risks, including neurological damage, reproductive disorders, and respiratory illnesses, highlighting the broad impact of pollution on human wellbeing.

Building on this international momentum, the Grand Jet d’Or de Genève 2024 will focus on the nexus of pollution and its health impacts.

The objective of the Grand Jet d’Or de Genève Award is to support an research team engaged in researching or implementing research-based projects with a focus on health treatment, measurements, use of data, and community involvement in addressing pollution-related health issues. The proposed projects must demonstrate their potential to change health practices and improve health outcomes in relation to pollution of air, water and soil, including but not limited to PFAS. Multidisciplinary teams exploring innovative practices or tools will be favoured.

The projects should not only focus on preventive measures to reduce pollution in the environment, but also encompass a broader scope, including assessing existing pollution, removing pollutants from the body and environment, developing medical solutions for pollution-related diseases, and finding ways to enhance health despite existing pollution.

The call will be open from March 11 to April 21, 2024, midnight (CET). Applications must be submitted online in English.

The Scientific Committee will select the top seven applications, which will then be submitted to the Programme Committee for the final selection of the winner. The award- winning research group will be announced on Tuesday, May 27, 2024, after the first day of the Geneva Health Forum, in the presence of the winning team.

The Grand Jet d’Or de Genève Award carries a prize of €50,000, awarded by the AXA Research Fund.

To prepare your proposal, you can view the complete proposal form:
https://grandjetdor2024form.genevahealthforum.com

If you need more information: contact AT genevahealthforum.com

HIFA* Profile: Eric Comte is Executive Director, Geneva Health Forum, External Affairs Directorate, Geneva University Hospitals. Email: eric.comte AT unige.ch

*My source.

'Science' - Air Pollution

Science

• Volume 385|
• Issue 6707|
• 26 Jul 2024

COVER
"Smoke from wildfires burning in Canada enveloped New York City, New York, in June of 2023, shown here in a photo of the Chrysler Building on 7 June. Wildfire smoke events in the past decade have halted or reversed positive air quality trends in the United States. This special issue considers recent developments in monitoring, health effects, and policy dealing with air pollution. See the section beginning on page 378."

individual

|

INTERPERSONAL : SCIENCES

humanistic ------------------------------- mechanistic

SOCIOLOGY : POLITICAL

|

group

Lyons, S., Nolan, A., Carthy, P. et al. Long-term exposure to PM2.5 air pollution and mental health: a retrospective cohort study in Ireland. Environ Health 23, 54 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12940-024-01093-z Ferreira, et al. (2024). Impact of Air Quality on Mental Health of Higher Education Students. In: Galvão, et al. (eds) Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Water Energy Food and Sustainability (ICoWEFS 2023). ICoWEFS 2023. Springer Proceedings in Earth and Environmental Sciences. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-48532-9_37 Shaw, S., Kundu, S., Chattopadhyay, A. et al. Indoor air pollution and cognitive function among older adults in India: a multiple mediation approach through depression and sleep disorders. BMC Geriatr 24, 81 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12877-024-04662-6

Shine, S., Tamirie, M., Kumie, A. et al. Pregnant women’s perception on the health effects of household air pollution in Rural Butajira, Ethiopia: a phenomenological qualitative study. BMC Public Health 23, 1636 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-023-16578-8 Phillip, E., Conroy, R.M., Walsh, A. et al. Using mixed methods and community participation to explore household and ambient air pollution practices in a rural community in Malawi. J Public Health (Berl.) (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10389-023-02008-x

Nakaishi, T., Yoo, S., Kagawa, S. et al. Impact of air pollution on human morality: A multinational perspective. Humanit Soc Sci Commun 11, 991 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-024-03186-z Wang, K. Is air pollution politics or economics? Evidence from industrial heterogeneity. Environ Sci Pollut Res 30, 24454–24469 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-022-23955-0 Wang, X., Tan, H. & Liu, J. The impact of air pollution on commercial health insurance demand amidst China's green transition. Econ Change Restruct 57, 39 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10644-024-09623-y

Price, H.D., Bowyer, C.J., Büker, P. et al. From reflection diaries to practical guidance for transdisciplinary research: learnings from a Kenyan air pollution project. Sustain Sci 18, 1429–1444 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11625-023-01317-0

My source:  https://x.com/DrMariaNeira

https://x.com/DrMariaNeira/status/1819399316735144414

Previously 'pollution'

First WHO Global Conference on Air Pollution and Health, 30 October – 1 November 2018

individual

|

INTERPERSONAL : SCIENCES

humanistic ----------------------------------------------- mechanistic

SOCIOLOGY : POLITICAL

|

group

Individual potential Self-Actualization Anxiety - Distress Sleep Disability Mental Health Parity of Esteem Air pollution, mental health, and implications for urban design: a review Spatiotemporal influence of temperature, air quality, and urban environment on cause-specific mortality during hazy days	Schematic drawing, causes and effects of air pollution: (1) greenhouse effect, (2) particulate contamination, (3) increased UV radiation, (4) acid rain, (5) increased ground-level ozone concentration, (6) increased levels of nitrogen oxides. Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_pollution Outdoor Air Quality Local, Regional, National, International, Global
7 Million deaths Home  & Work Indoor Air Quality	Air Pollution respects Borders? WHO Conference on Air Pollution @EconomicTimes All private vehicles in Delhi will be stopped from November 1 if pollution worsens: Official #DelhiAirPollution #DelhiSmog #AirPollution Urban Planning Policy

My source:

Education session at Air Pollution conference 11.30 - 13.00 tomorrow watch live https://t.co/o0DxGcFJsG @h2cm @equityhealthdev @SDOHAlliance @JohnWynnJones @ktulenko @UCL_DentalPH https://t.co/reSYUInjUF

— Transform Education (@TE_guidelines) October 30, 2018

Follow this event:

Live from WHO HQ: Opening of the First Global Conference on #AirPollution and Health with @DrTedros https://t.co/xLzkDASIJO

— World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) October 30, 2018

São Paulo - A City Without Ads + BBC Paxman and secular sanity*

It's not often I get to bookshops and less often still that I buy anything. I did both recently - walking out with a copy of the latest Adbusters magazine. I've listed their website for quite a while [POLITICAL: activism] and must say as a consumer, community mental health nurse and would-be human ecologist there's a lot to read and think about....

Sustainability : Advertising : Well-being : Public Mental Health

Now, subscribed to their e-letter the Sao Paulo item proved a real revelation. A breathe of fresh... fresh... vision no less!

“The Clean City Law came from a necessity to combat pollution . . . pollution of water, sound, air, and the visual. We decided that we should start combating pollution with the most conspicuous sector – visual pollution.”

So, add to this the news at the end of 2006 or early this year of European cities starting to take light pollution seriously, to the extent of turning the lights off for a night and hey change really can happen.

If amid the advertising information overload what Adbusters refers to as mental pollution ('brain damage') there is a vacuum in terms of values, self-respect and social responsibility...; others will fill that void with what is most likely to be another form of pollution.

Jeremy Paxman, BBC presenter and media luminary was on the Beeb's radio 4 this a.m. highlighting the need for media with a conscious. His lecture at the Edinburgh TV festival made the news. He criticised the BBC and the media in general regards quality, public service and the pursuit of the bottom-line. An Adbusters article describes problems in the Canadian media. This appeal has been heard before: but I wonder if there's a realisation finally sinking home that in a 21st century society how do you achieve secular sanity? In the UK the spate of terrible gun-crime killings, youth gangs, the TV phoney phone-in scandals and the need for inspirational creativity in the media is really fuelling debate. If the media reporting is correct this past week then some elements of the media - music industry included - are into trafficking. From a very early age the public is subject to an info-toxic OD. Is this the real reason why in health care we need information prescriptions?

How can society change to become sustainable, while struggling to swim in this advertising torrent?

I've no universal panacea Mr Paxman for the rehab of the prison population, the feral kids on the streets and the quest for an agreement for quality standards and public service throughout the media; but if as you say you want to hear from people - well, amid your busy schedule take a look at this interpersonal-social resource.

Look upon it as one of the cognitive antidotes for our times.

Clean Air (Human Rights) Bill passes 3rd reading in House of Lords

Dear Peter

Clean Air (Human Rights) Bill passes 3rd reading in House of Lords!

Green Baroness Jenny Jones' Clean Air (Human Rights) Bill passed its 3rd reading in the House of Lords on Friday 2 December with strong cross-party support! This landmark Bill is also known as Ella's Law in memory of nine-year-old Ella Roberta Adoo Kissi-Debrah, the first person to have air pollution listed by a coroner as a cause of death.

This Green Party achievement could not have come at a more fitting time, as this week (5-9 December) marks the 70th anniversary of the Great Smog of London, which killed up to 12,000 people and led to the first Clean Air Act in 1956. But air pollution still kills around 40,000 people a year in the UK and causes severe ill health for millions more.

Great Smog Week is a great opportunity to highlight the need to bring air quality in our towns and cities to within World Health Organization limits – exactly what Ella's Law is designed to do. Here's how you can help:

💚 Sign the petition here

💚 Share our posts on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram about the Great Smog and Ella's Law
💚 Email your MP to say that you want action to reduce air pollution and ask them to support the Clean Air (Human Rights) Bill when it reaches the House of Commons. There's information on the Bill and why it's so badly needed here

As always, thank you for your support,

In solidarity,

Green Team

See also on W2tQ 'pollution'

"Address Pollution" - not just a P.O. Box ...

... and not just in the proper U-L quadrant ...

INDIVIDUAL

|

 INTERPERSONAL    :     SCIENCES               

HUMANISTIC --------------------------------------  MECHANISTIC      

SOCIOLOGY  :   POLITICAL 

|

GROUP

Homeless? No address? Identity? mental health* self-report*	Address Pollution
Global issue of street names, having an address. "LEAVE NO ONE BEHIND"	'POLITICAL FOG?' TRANSPARENCY OPACITY reporting ACTION

*Hautekiet, P., Saenen, N.D., Demarest, S. et al. Air pollution in association with mental and self-rated health and the mediating effect of physical activity. Environ Health 21, 29 (2022).
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12940-022-00839-x

See also:

https://hodges-model.blogspot.com/search?q=address

My source: @AddresPollutionhttps://twitter.com/imathematicians/status/1530724466073952261?s=20&t=eF1XRD9HbkSJ2XWWbIk2qQ

ii Comparison and Contrasting the Meikirch Model and Hodges' model

Meikirch Model

Quite some time has passed since June 1st and part 1. I don't think this post can wait 18 years like that preceding! It is good to see '(Biologically given) potential' emphasized in the Meikirch Model; and the arrows which refer to:

'Whenever the five components and the ten complex interactions (double arrows) cooperate in a purposeful way, health may result. More specifically, a person is healthy, if by the two potentials she or he is in a position to respond satisfactorily to the demands of life.'

The interactions are explained in more detail. Mental health (illness) is there in 'personally acquired potential', but I wonder if it needs to be more explicit? Although, is this a welcome 'break' from the mind-BODY Cartesian divide and its legacy? A shift that enables a more constructive (less stigmatizing) formulation?

Given the climate crisis and experience of COVID, we can hopefully retain a sense of our individual proximity to the environment and green spaces. The importance of access to 'green spaces' seems to be sustained, even if action on air quality (and plastics in the environment) is still playing catch up with WHO air quality recommendations. The interdependence of nations and geography crystallizes more each month. The need for international cooperation apparent in cities, such as Lahore (1). Pollution and smog in Pakistan depends on what happens in India. Water flows, the how, when and whether is noted as a potential trigger for future conflicts.

Both models, the Meikirch, and Hodges' are of course idealizations. As such there are inevitable limitations, assumptions, pros and cons. Like many concepts, environment is a compound or expansive term. Simultaneously, from a primary meaning, we can proceed from the physical environment, to the social, political and the mental environment that these invoke or foster. 

In the SCIENCES domain of Hodges' model we are in 'a' - the environment. Physical reality presents itself in raw and fundamental terms. Across the world climate change is threatening many homes and places a stress the importance of 'shelter' and the homeless. Natural disasters, and acute local weather events which are now repetitive disrupt life and population. Conflicts continue to displace people, climate refugees will follow: (https://www.unhcr.org/refugee-statistics). Contrast this with the ideals of housing design that is sustainable and also enables occupants and communities to feel the environment. 

'Ecosystem' is being applied in ways beyond its original articulation. This past N. summer-autumn reading and reviewing -

Capra and Luisi's (2014) The Systems View of Life - A Unifying Vision.

(i) https://hodges-model.blogspot.com/2024/09/i-systems-view-life.html

- there was much emphasis on complexity, ecosystems, emergence, education, and obviously systems.

In their model, Bircher and Hahn incorporate Complex Adaptive Systems (CAS).

https://meikirch-modell.ch/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Health-and-diease-as-CAS.pdf

This is helpful as the ecosystem is transformed, before our eyes. Clearly, there isn't one ecosystem, but several and they are all dynami: even if, outdoor clothing and car manufacturers want us to believe that we can create our own private ecosystem that is trans-portable. Systems are like the whirls in moving water, they come and go. Ironically there are now more opportunities to study them - if we so choose. Now weather events reveal the risks of people trying to sustain these mindsets when a local catastrophe strikes. The website for the Meikirch Model includes the table below. 

Theories Concerning
Health and Disease

Type of thinking	Epistemology	Means for comprehension
Prescientific	Personal experience	Intuition
Scientific: Meikirch-Model	Scientific argumentation	Rational mind

This is constructive as models should encompass what can be presented as 'knowledge' and from there: data, information, facts, myth, wisdom and folk theory. Intuition is listed as a prescientific 'means for comprehension'. Intuition is highly subjective, in contrast to the (supposed) objectivity of the sciences. Intuition is nonetheless significant in mental health care - psychotherapy, and in truth more generally (interpersonal skills); even if it remains 'unscientific' and an enigmatic phenomena. 

On twi/X and here on W2tQ, I've suggested that the bio-medical, and the biopsychosocial models are inadequate as conceptualisations for healthcare and education. We need to fully encompass the subjective and humanistic dimensions of health care and lived experience, giving more attention, if not credence to 'personal experience'. In England and Wales these past months and to follow our parliament has been debating assisted dying for people with terminal illness. Both sides acknowledge the sorry state of palliative care. Policy and ethics - hence the politics of health needs to be explicit in a model of/for healthcare.

Working in mental health you quickly understand how critical it is being able to relate to others, and  develop therapeutic relationships. Get this wrong, and problems may follow. If interpersonal - communication are essential to a health professional's knowledge then awareness and competence in relational skills are also key. In the past two years or so, I've realised the importance of this for Hodges' model and trying to develop a theory to underpin Hodges' model. I believe that this is a strength of Hodges' model. So we need to extend the table above. 

Individual
   |

      INTERPERSONAL    :     SCIENCES               

HUMANISTIC  --------------------------------------  MECHANISTIC      

 SOCIOLOGY  :   POLITICAL 

|

Group

choice - life style reasoning - rationality my literacy - responsibility mental illness - fear of stigma intuition / subjectivity	geography - environment air pollution - smog & plastics traffic regulation - metrics Planetary health 'truth' objectivity
community - relationships culture social systems family social (all) determinants	international cooperation transparency / accountability policies - funding determinants of health reporting - citizen science

As part 1 started, I will finish with the title of the paper that prompted these reflections:

Bircher J. und Hahn E. G., (2017). Will the Meikirch Model, a New Framework for Health, Induce a Paradigm Shift in Healthcare? Cureus 9(3): e1081. DOI 10.7759/cureus.1081 

The Meikrich model is not alone in seeking to facilitate and deliver a paradigm shift in healthcare; and, at individual, collective, planetary levels, across social care and education and the disciplines - old and new.

 

(1) https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/news/pakistan-lahore-air-pollution-schools-shut-aqi-b2640783.html

i Comparison and contrasting the Meikirch Model and Hodges' model

@LJMU @UniofGreenwich @UniNorthants et al. *

Re. new Climate Change degrees ...

What do your students and faculty need to know
to nurture that green knowledge domain,
and turn the other domains green?

INDIVIDUAL

|

 INTERPERSONAL    :     SCIENCES               

HUMANISTIC --------------------------------------  MECHANISTIC      

SOCIOLOGY  :   POLITICAL 

|

GROUP

MENTAL HEALTH CONNECTION ATTITUDE BELIEFS - SPIRITUAL ADVERTISING (mental pollution)? [meta-] ETHICS ECOCIDE ACTIVISM EDUCATION - LIFELONG LEARNING LITERACY - INFORMATICS SKILLS ...	BIOSPHERE POLLUTION EXPOSURE - EXPOSOME THERMAL REGULATION WATER CYCLE ... AGRICULTURE GEOPHYSICS, GEOGRAPHY MEGA-ENGINEERING PHYSICAL HEALTH URBAN - RURAL METRICS, MONITORING ...
SOCIAL HISTORY SOCIAL MEMORY, ARTS QUALITY OF LIFE WAYS OF LIFE - Communities (Nations!) SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH SOCIAL JUSTICE 'home-land' - DISPLACEMENT - RESETTLEMENT SOCIAL COHERENCE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS ...	POLICY, LAW PROTECT FUTURE PEOPLES COP X, UN, UNESCO ... REGULATION TRANSFORMATION OF ECONOMICS - CIRCULAR ECONOMICS SUSTAINABILITY COMMERCIAL DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH FORCED MIGRATION POLITICAL CHANGE (LONG-TERM) ...

What do they need to believe,
envision and be able to do,
to help transform the World?

My source: Nicola Woolcock, Universities offer first climate change degrees, The Times, March 23, 2021,p.16.

*Hope it is going well, and while we really need it to - this is, of course, a responsibility for us all.

A Breath of Fresh Air - published

Report: A Breath of Fresh Air 

individual

|

INTERPERSONAL : SCIENCES

humanistic -------------------------------  mechanistic

SOCIOLOGY : POLITICAL

|

group-population

Mental Pollution advertising truth-values ethics mental health anxiety  depression  fear psychological effects of  noise, vibration, foul air awareness understanding education literacy Vulnerable individuals: Child Older Adult Person with Chronic Health Problems	Air Pollution Definition - Measurement - Monitoring particulates Image: http://www.cleantheair.org/air-quality-information/particulate-matter Transport & Fuels: Diesel, Coal Power Stations Coal Powered Vulnerable Population Density Climate
Public Health Information Giving Public amenities Quality of Life Housing - Parks Health Professionals Intervention Socio-	Change[?] Policy  Standards  Law  Accountability Retain Standards from EU regulations Clean Air Zones          Clean Energy Providers NHS Carbon Emissions Accessibility Transport Modalities Economics

The critical pathway leads to ...?

I missed the most salient information on this book's cover - at least for me. My copy is secondhand, but I picked the copy up recalling Dr Walsh's many publications on models of nursing.

The critical pathway for me is plural. It would include, the CPN(Cert.) course when I first encountered Hodges' model in 1987-8. Plus the fact that the pathway is not unidirectional, with some backward steps and reviews, but is multifold. Running the axes of Hodges' model to - pre-op, surgery, post-op, rehab ... we can add the whole corpus of nursing, social, self, and global health care.

The cover is of course illustrative, intended to support the title and suggest an explicit critical pathway. Apart from possibly pointing to collaboration "Mr Jones ... Let us discuss your critical pathway!" what has changed? Since the book's publication in 1997, we need health care services and systems to be sustainable. We are bit late here. Mr Jones is already a 'patient', bedecked in dressing gown and slippers.

This critical pathway needs to be replaced by one informed and oriented towards Mr Jones as self-caring citizen. This is of course easier said than done in policy terms. While governments globally and institutions stress the need for health literacy, informed life style choices, self-care, health promotion and prevention how much progress is being made? Nutrition remains a profound issue.*

The environmental challenges of climate change, pollution and waste disposal are seemingly contested even as the effects and cost of non-action are increasingly obvious.

The policy of 'care in the community' even while incomplete in the community, has provided me with a stimulating, challenging and rewarding career 1985 ... In the 21st century though, we have to ask of the assessment of mobility to follow and effort of the up-hill walk to 'home' begs the critical pathway that is now Planetary Health.

<>

Several points from Walsh (1997):

'Introducing a model to a clinical area is not an easy task to be undertaken lightly, as it involves fundamental changes in the way staff think and work. Luker (1988) has suggested that each nurse carries around their own informal model of nursing which guides their practice. It is probable that a formal model will be significantly different, although these differences can be minimized by full consultation and involvement with staff to ensure that the model chosen reflects their views of nursing as far as possible.' p.36.

Hodges' model can be 'carried around'. In truth it not strictly a model of nursing. Its scope extends beyond nursing and yet the model can incorporate thought about the patient, nurse, environment and what health, illness, recovery and self-care entail. Hodges' model is meta-cognitive and meta-conceptual, and (very) capable of mapping the terrain (p.26) of nursing from these and other perspectives. A nurse's 'views of nursing' will be dictated by the situation presented to them. Hodges' model can be retrospective, prospective and operate in the here-and-now: situated.

'There is a further point, however, that follows on from Luker's observation for expert nurses have an internalized model of care which is unique to them, it is possible that they may have internalized some practices which are outdated, taken for granted or inappropriate (Paley, 1996) but which are never made explicit as their care is not based upon a commonly understood model of nursing. This notion of every nurse having their own model therefore can lead to the situation where outdated rituals can be propagated under the guise of expert practice. Having a series of explicit models whose aims and ideas are common knowledge, shared by all, opens up care to critical scrutiny in a way that is not possible if each nurse has their own private internal model.' p.37.

Hodges' model can be used with other models, conceptual frameworks and systems across disiplines. Hodges' model is not intended to be prescriptive or prospective. It can be utilised for learning and unlearning. As a registered General Nurse who studied in the 1980s this does not mean I would be competent and safe to practice now. Continuing professional development, mandatory training and revalidation of nursing registration are all geared to support professional practice that has currency, validity, and is safe.

If nursing ever needed a commonly understood model ...?

'It will be apparent from the previous sections that use of a model will lead nursing into some new and unfamiliar territory that will involve seeing the patient in a more holistic fashion'. p.63.

'The nurse may find that models start to identify environmental problems whose solutions lie beyond the boundaries of nursing at present. This is particularly true of the community nurse.' p.63.

Walsh's concern here is the immediate community, but we can recognise the prescience of environmental problems here. Plus the need for the POLITICAL domain in Hodges' model:

'On a larger scale still, perhaps some patient's problems have their origins in political decisions made by national govemment or perhaps it is the factory down the road producing unacceptable levels of pollution. If nursing models make us recognize the political and environmental causes of some patient problems, there should ee no logical reason why nursing should not go forward into theee arenas as a legitimate part of nursing intervention.' p.63.

'There are senior NHS managers and health academics in so-called 'policy thínk tanks' who simply do not recognize the value of nursing and see only a collection of simpie tasks which anybody with an NVQ level 2 can perform. Nursing therefore has to demonstrate its worth; it has to evaluate what it is doing for patients.

Here it is important to remember that the care given may be very different from what is written down. Consequently, how a nurse evaluates care mentally may be very different from how this care is recorded in nursing process documentation. ...' p.64.

Hodges' model can (imho) have a role in argumentation for the quality and scope of healthcare, for nursing as a profession, evaluating and assuring nursing's values in the constant that are the demands of complexity and change. The (several) determinants of health are the other constant.

Mike Walsh (1997) Models and Critical Pathways in Clinical Nursing. London: Bailliere Tindall.

Luker K. (1988) Do Models Work? Nursing Times, 84 (5), 27-29.

Paley, J. (1996), Intuition and expertise: comments on the Benner debate. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 23: 665-671. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2648.1996.tb00035.x

*Jones P, Wirnitzer K. Hodges’ model: the Sustainable Development Goals and public health – universal health coverage demands a universal framework. BMJ Nutrition, Prevention & Health 2022;5: doi:10.1136/bmjnph-2021-000254

Wirnitzer KC, Motevalli M, Tanous DR, Drenowatz C, Moser M, Cramer H, Rosemann T, Wagner K-H, Michalsen A, Knechtle B, Fras Z, Ritskes-Hoitinga M, Marques A, Mis NF, Stanford FC, Schubert C, Goswami N, Leitzmann C, Fredriksen PM, Ruedl G, Wilflingseder D, Lima RA, Kessler C, Jeitler M, Khan NA, Joulaei H, Fatemi M, Knight A, Kratky KW, Palmer KK, Haditsch B, Jakse B, Kofler W, Pfeiffer T, Cordova-Pozo K, Tortella P, Straub S, Lynch H, Schätzer M, Krishnan A, Fathima A. S, Gatterer L, Kriwan F, Abhishek M, Nandgaonkar H, Nandgaonkar S, Adedara AO, Haro JM, Gericke C, Neumann G, Akhtar A, Rashidlamir A, Thangavelu M, Ngoumou GB, Perpék É, Klaper M, Bhattacharya B, Kirschner W, Bessems KMHH, Jones P, Peoples G, Bescos R, Duftner C, Seifert G (2025). Toward a roadmap for addressing today's health dilemma–The 101-statement consensus report., 

Frontiers in Nutrition, Volume 12:1676080. doi: 10.3389/fnut.2025.1676080. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnut.2025.1676080

Review ii - "Brainscapes: The Warped, Wondrous Maps Written in Your Brain―And How They Guide You"

Brainscapes

Now I know how Umami (p.87) an "example food magazine website to demonstrate some of the features of Drupal core" - got its name. I'm sure this was explained at a Drupal Meetup. Savoury indeed!

There had to be two! The brain has two strategies: brain maps and distributed codes.

"Representing information with a distributed code is entirely different from representing it with brain maps. In a brain map, neighboring neurons represent neighboring regions in space, frequency, time, and so forth. And brain maps essentially represent information using location, or where in the brain area the neurons are most active. In contrast, there is no consistent relationship between neighboring neurons in brain areas that use distributed codes. These areas represent information through the distributed pattern of activity across that entire region of the brain, rather than through the location of activity within it. This pattern of activity is a kind of code." pp.93-94.

This distinction is significant for Hodges' model, as the distributed codes act to deal with novelty, what is new - ongoing (lifelong) learning (p.95). Hodges' model can help distinguish between subjective and objective concerns. Schwarzlose unifies the two - via a catfish (also a goal here - but not necessarily with such an assistant).

"The map in the olfactory bulb is organised into odor zones based on molecular structure, an objective property of these compounds in the physical world. But the second map is organized into zones based on the significance of the odors to the animal." p.100.

Chapter 6 'On the Move: Brain Maps for Action' would have been useful as a student nurse at Winwick Hospital, the history in the book brings back many reminders - late 1970s. Epilepsy, then was less well understood, and managed. In describing the M1 brain map and movement I wondered about consent, but can see that is a distraction. Chapters -

6. On the Move: Brain Maps for Action | 107
7. Maps in the Making: How Brain Maps Develop and Adapt | 131
8. Knowing Again: Brain Maps for Recognition | 151

- offer much to relate to clinical encounters: movement, reaching, infant versus the brain in adults, the senses and catastrophic events such as cerebrovascular accident - stroke. Morphologically there is much still to learn (brain maps are 'primed' before birth), which perhaps is why we recognise the remarkable nature of gestation and birth. 'Maps in the Making' provides wondrous insights, including the need in hospitals to rethink the sensory environment and experience for premature infants.

While reading - I was struck at the experience of the newborn and mothers in Ukraine. The 'health career' model concerns life chances - from birth to later life...

As a community mental health nurse I have found subtle and less-subtle impacts on a person affected by semantic dementia (p.204) and their family. Given the ongoing invasion and war, I also thought about people living with dementia and having to flee their homes. The multiple contexts that pertain in such a crisis situation when considering 'maps' and sense-making. Especially, when the need for action is preemptive - preventive and so must be explained and justified, not once but perhaps repeatedly?

We are all innate mathematicians even if we feel we have no ability. 

https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-d&q=mathematics+in+catching+a+ball

I take some succor in this (p.127).

There's a hodgepodge in here too (p.161 hb). The myriad of objects we encounter and their recognition calls for the combination of brain maps and distributed codes. Chapter 8 is more psychological, touching :-) how we categorise objects, dimensions and scales, size and animacy. Galton's contribution is discussed, his ideas on eugenics also acknowledged. Visual perception, mental imagery and visual learning style remain subjects of note for researchers. I'm not sure why figure 32 stood out ( :-) - please pardon the quality of the photo. Paul Kim's illustrations are an excellent support for the prose.):

FIGURE 32 A comparison of visual perception and mental imagery in
the V1 visual map. Paul Kim

Somewhere I've saved an article on mental imagery from New Scientist I think, about this ability - the mind's eye and how it is missing for some 'brilliant' people (p.182) and posted previously:

In my mind's eye I can picture care: Frame by Frame

I might read Chapter 9 again, attention, action and perception in combination. 

Chapter 10 had me thinking again about 'Conceptual Spaces' (quality dimensions) and threshold concepts (not in the book - but this is a positive!):

"Many of the concepts that rule our financial, social, and emotional well-being have no shape, no color, no odor or weight. How do we grasp these intangible concepts? As it turns out, we often do so by aligning abstract concepts with physical dimensions and then putting our brain maps to work." p.191.

There is a 'mental number line', vertical too, and culture is a factor in how we learn and the brain associates space and quantities, in which L-R, low-high are also brought into play. The question remains here: Is Hodges' model culturally neutral? 

Still with h2cm - mind reading, writing and 'drawing' perhaps? p.236. In "Fortune-Telling with the Brain" we read about how fMRI is allowing us to learn how the brain maps employ teamwork. There is an architecture whose stability can inform predictions of future abilities - reading is described. Reading this you see ethical implications (as Schwarzlose warns p.238), but it may help to target personalised learning, as an adjunct to personalised medicine? I double checked (index) and the connectome is not mentioned, but the benefits of this research is still to be realised. In 'prison health' here in the UK (and globally?) it is long overdue but it is encouraging to hear about the focus on investigation for previous brain injury within the prison population. Remember - lead in fuel and the socio-economic impacts of pollution (ongoing - air and plastic pollution)?

Corporations have literally only 'scratched the surface' of the future potential to 'read' us individually. Through Hodges' model I can qualify and justify the model's increasing relevance. Technology and science not only call for SOCIO-technical approaches. The brain-computer interface and AI (p.239) demands we also consider the several forms of literacy and informatics that are needed in the 21st century: bio-informatics, bio-political, psycho-political and more.

This is very informative and timely read - the diagrams too. This is a book for all. For student nurses specifically, it will enable them to maximize learning in their practical placements and throughout their course of study.

Writing this review I can also see the important messages in chapter 12 - recognition of infancy and the opportunities this affords.

Many thanks to Rebecca Schwarzlose and Profile Books for my review copy.

Schwarzlose, R. (2021) Brainscapes: The Warped, Wondrous Maps Written in Your Brain―And How They Guide You". London: Profile Books.

Think Tank Invitation [2]: Environment, Citizenry, Ecosystem & Health

My response? No major surprises...

In order to integrate - we first need to dis-integrate. Within these four 'issues of the Century' - Environment, Citizenry, Ecosystem & Health there is IMHO a distinct 1 x 4 hierarchy with which to grapple. As ever everything depends on the foundations.

So, a first step is to separate out and protect the flora and fauna. That is, differentiate all that is wild from the spaces that humankind inhabits. The extent of our influence makes this distinction a case of trying to put the genie back in the bottle. We pose an ongoing threat to the wild, ecologically pristine places, such is the invasive nature of human habitation across the planet. For example, lead pollution from Roman times and the more recent industrial age covered the planet as captured within Arctic and Antarctic ice cores. So the FIRST starting point is the natural environment or general biosphere.

This is followed by the artificial environments created as we peopled the world over some 160,000 years. Our modern concrete footprints alter the climate and conditions that would normally prevail. Our cities, farming and use of the soil, sky, oceans and seas all have a wider impact. In 2006 a key phrase was 'climate canary', so of course this natural-artificial distinction already exists. The state of the natural environment speaks volumes, as per one of the first warnings Silent Spring and more recent concerns regards increasing hormone and chemical levels in the oceans. We use light to show the way and lights certainly chart our accelerated progress in the past century.

The THIRD level must - in order to effect change - be not about place but agency. Commentators have highlighted that from now on it is the day-to-day decisions that citizens make that will ultimately make a difference.

So to recap: we have the wilderness as a FIRST level, then SECONDLY our constructed 'biospheres' - cities, towns, networks of various sorts - transport, power - what is often described as infrastructure and finally waste. (I suppose definition of biosphere must entail sustainability. Clearly, this is not yet an appropriate descriptor for our cities.) And THIRDLY citizens; the agency that once politically activated can (must) help bring about change.

Health (and social care) is the FOURTH and key point, crucial in that health links citizens, our environment and the environment with quality of life.

Contemporary (Western) health and social care systems focus on the health of individuals and groups, the latter also at the family and population level. Now we realise the health of the planet has a direct bearing on our health. How hot and dry will it be next summer? How wet and windy will it be next winter? Why is the sun not as bright? When is the next solar maximum?

We tie ourselves in knots, the individual before us. Save some of those sutures (and staples), another casualty demands our attention and needs our care. It is also time to remember our roots, feel the sand beneath our feet and witness once more the stars in the night sky.

Health - Quality of Life
Citizenry - Individual & Group Politic
Artificial or Human 'Biosphere' Footprint [eco-City?]
Global Biosphere - 'Natural' Fauna & Flora Environment

And yes, Hodges' model can help map and represent these four essential ingredients for lively debate.

Self-Care Week c/o Herakut

If, when you see, or hear of Hodges' model, you think 'Oh, that's about dividing the world up, putting things - including people! - into boxes.'; I'd request you to please reconsider?

Hodges' model, the two axes, the four care - knowledge domains or quadrants can be thought of as a temporary home. It's like a tent. No, it's actually more simplified than that. More like a bivouac. A shelter that needs to be constructed not with ready-to-hand materials and terrain, but what can be - ready-to-mind.

This construction makes use of two 'sticks' to form the model's axes. A key element too are the dichotomies - polarities - oppositions - continua that the model can reveal with a situated search. This search can variously be local, regional, global, or glocal (as I explained earlier this week - to follow).

This past week has been Self Care Week and the resulting bivouac is an idea-l-isation; a temporary home for a person and a group.

On twitter @SelfCareForum featured the 'continuum of self care':

The Self Care Continuum

Using Hodges' model, reflection on the above picture soon demonstrates the scope of the model. You can navigate the full range of care displayed above. There is however much more to discover.

Amid the ongoing pandemic, we've recognised anew, or afresh, the importance and value of the outdoors, nature and the environment in all its forms. Recently, I've had to take walks with patients/clients in the community, being unable to take in the aspect of assessment that stepping indoors usually provides.

Personally, for many of us, self care is predicated on the care of others: children, older parents, friends, colleagues and the community. A parent you haven't hugged, or kissed since March 2020.

Infants and children are missing out on truly formative years of schooling and teenagers on socialisation. Apparently, among the young, eco-anxiety is a real phenomena, whether it is debated as an unsurprising fact of 21st century life, or a medical problem.

Hodges' model is much more than axes, continua and boxes. While as shown on this blog (since 2006) Hodges' model is made up of several axes and dichotomies, the model's boxes provide the means to weigh the evidence. The model can help that a given situation and context is considered holistically (parity of esteem in physical and mental health) and in a person-centred way. Then, having fulfilled their purpose, we can collapse the boxes, the bivouac and carry forward the conceptually integrated care.

To deal with eco-anxiety, we need tangible signs of social and political progress, as action is taken to tackle the climate crisis. Physical evidence is the best emotional therapy of all. Just imagine when the news media reports that CO₂ has decreased, sea-level rise is slowing, plastic and air pollution are reducing.

When will that be?

I'm not sure and as with COVID-19, the uncertainty is a collective and protracted pain.

As the arts continue to inspire us, there is no doubt that caring for self and all are now inextricably linked: from self-care to planetary health.

What do you think - Self Care Tree Girl?

 

 individual 

|

INTERPERSONAL : SCIENCES

humanistic ----------------------------------------------- mechanistic

SOCIOLOGY : POLITICAL

|

group

 

Self Caring Tree Girl, 2020

 

My sources: And with many thanks.

Herakut

Self Care Forum

See also:

Or if you have plenty of time, @WoncaWorld also has a full webinar to watch and consider. Environment & Healthy recovery https://t.co/iNepXRhUZD via @YouTube pic.twitter.com/hyTVQgJLEq

— SCwE (@SelfCareWeekEU) November 21, 2020

A model insufficiency to realise Health for All - La santé pour tous

The Bio-Psycho-Social model is insufficient to realise -

Health for All - La santé pour tous

INDIVIDUAL
|
INTERPERSONAL    :     SCIENCES              
HUMANISTIC --------------------------------------  MECHANISTIC
SOCIOLOGY :   POLITICAL
|
GROUP

psycho-	bio-
social

In a time of physical, emotional, mental . . . pollution, the 'wrapper' is non-disposable:
the human SPIRIT that also sees and acts to achieve Planetary Health.

Previous posts: 'stamps'

Ecovisionaries: The Royal Academy - Nov 23 - Feb 23 2020

Late autumn I received news of an exhibition that sounded right-up my street - down in London.

Eco-Visionaries at The Royal Academy.

Without wishing to sound grandiose, I see myself as an 'eco-visionary' in several respects:

• yes, as a white, middle-class male and would-be environmental do-gooder;
• yes, as this is the perspective that Hodges' model fosters;
• yes, because now we all need to be eco-visionaries.

As this post's title shows, the exhibition had a short run. Probably a norm in London, but from the NW of England not straightforward but then there was great news and a golden opportunity.

The RA was organising a symposium:

Confronting a Planet in a State of Emergency: Eco-Visionaries Symposium

Sat 22 Feb, 10am-6pm

From futuristic visualisations of a world without humans, to innovative ways of measuring toxicity in cities, creative research into the climate crisis is proving essential for imagining solutions. Join us for a full day of presentations and discussions looking at how we can protect and understand our environment now and in the future. 

And! There was a call for abstracts. Just the thought of a symposium makes me go wobbly, so could I imagine this: actually being an eco-visionary and presenting at the RA! Goodness me.


On twitter I read of many people's efforts to present and publish. I've tried for the Planetary Health event and been unsuccessful but will try again. To those people who try, I say: If you've a message, a resource - keep trying.

Previously on W2tQ [ Waste not, want not ... ], I recycled an 'Item for discussion' that was not accepted last year for RCN Congress, so once again:

Abstract:

In healthcare we are and must be in permanent readiness for emergency situations. Education, continuing professional development, theory and practice are all predicated on lifelong learning and safety. Triage is applied in a practised, reflex manner. This paper will explain how we can better critique the climate emergency and debate solutions using a resource created in healthcare. Healthcare must not only respond to extreme levels of demand, but it is itself demanding. Practitioners and learners must provide safe, high quality care; which must be holistic to achieve a person-centred focus, a positive lived-experienced and integrated outcome. Health is a dedicated Social Development Goal (3), this paper reveals a map of all seventeen.

Despite the proclamations of technophiles, technology alone cannot deliver solutions, a socio-technical perspective is essential. Health and health care systems achieve this by being situated. The climate change emergency highlights not just the interdependency of people to the-ir environment, but the biosphere as a whole. We take health for granted until something goes 'wrong' and now the weather is 'wrong'. This paper addresses: “Creative approaches to conveying information on climate change, air pollution or other environmental issues” but can potentially represent all the symposium's themes. Does this matter? It does in terms of finding not only solutions, but reconciling socio-economic, political groups, global dependencies, issues and vested interests.

The environment needs nursing now.

Health professions will not take kindly to the 'system' placing the climate crisis at their feet and proclaiming “triage this!” Ironically, (bar mass-extinction events) since life emerged the 'system' that really matters is self-regulating. The first example of self-care is vested in Gaia. Eco-vision calls for vision of scale. This paper will share a care architecture worthy of eco-vision and the visionaries we must all aspire to be ...

Title:

A Unique Space: a Care Architecture for Person, Population and a Planet

I'm sure the above can be re-purposed, since alas, it was also unsuccessful. I knew the chances were slim. Hearing the speakers and panel discussions, this is clearly their forte and all very well qualified as Eco-Visionaries. The organisers were very gracious and encouraging, which helped to temper the disappointment. I was offered a complimentary place at the symposium and and was informed there would be Q&A, so I would have chance to highlight the model behind the abstract.

I arrived in London on the Thursday before and visited the exhibition Friday 21st - the last day. It was stimulating, challenging, thought-provoking and upsetting - a video of a giraffe being shot. If shock was the intention: it worked.

With a white rhino in the exhibition and an elephant in the lecture theatre called 'COVID' the symposium appeared full the day after.

I will defer to The Guardian's Oliver Wainwright's review of the exhibition:

Eco-Visionaries review – the salt flats will die and the jellyfish shall rise

I asked several questions / raised points at the symposium, but I suspect for many of us the weeks and months of disruption since disrupted the positive momentum that I at least left with - which is a pity.

I hope the RA Architecture team re-visit this theme. Not so much that I can try to submit again, but more to perfect the technique of framing Hodges' model within a question.

The exhibition and symposium were very good for learning and I really appreciate the opportunity to attend.