Author: Liu

The human cost of transition has been enormous. The region has experienced dramatic changes in its demographic and health indicators, which compare unfavorably with the indicators in Western Europe and the countries in central Europe. In the post-war period, the Soviet system made considerable progress in establishing universal health and education systems, implementing universal immunization…

Infections caused by microbes that have an animal reservoir (especially wild animal) or are found in the environment (soil, water, vegetation) are difficult to contain and to keep under containment with currently available tools. Even if an effective vaccine is available, as there are for the flaviviral infections, Japanese encephalitis and yellow fever, elimination of…

The appearance of and spread of infection with HIV has had a profound effect on the burden from many other infectious diseases, most notably TB. The interaction between HIV/AIDS and TB is bidirectional, with each making the other worse. Infection with M. tuberculosis upregulates HIV replication, increases viral load, accelerates the decline of CD4 count,…

As noted above, presence of antibodies because of past infection with one dengue serotype can predispose to more severe infection if exposure to a different serotype occurs. However, many infections are followed by long-lasting, sometimes lifelong, immunity. When infection with hepatitis A occurs in young children, infection is often mild or asymptomatic and often not…

During the past 50 years remarkable gains have been achieved with the control of many infectious diseases. At the same time, new and previously unknown pathogens have emerged, and some, like HIV, have spread globally killing millions of individuals, disrupting societies, and reshaping the demographics of countries and regions. In addition, infectious diseases previously thought…

From a social psychology perspective, the experience of dying is created by an individual’s expectation that they will die very soon, usually from a terminal illness. In epidemiological terms, this means that, in the minds of many people, the dying experience is not commonly linked to heart disease, multiple sclerosis, diabetes, or other diseases that…

It is undeniable that the most pernicious effects of racism on health are exerted through institutional mechanisms that are difficult to measure in standard epidemiological studies. Residential racial segregation that refers to the physical separation of ethnoraces in different residential areas is one example of such an institutionalized mechanism. Historically, the dominant group in many…

In general, there are three possible factors to consider in the perception, attribution, and reporting of racism: (1) overestimation due to system blame, external attribution, or aspects of identity or social position/context that may lead to enhanced vigilance, hypersensitivity, etc.; (2) underestimation due to internalized racism, internal attribution, or aspects of identity or social position/…

The field of religious studies, itself drawing on multiple disciplinary orientations, conceptualizes the link between health and religion – or religious traditions – in two primary ways. The first focuses on the interpretation, or exegesis, of primary texts with content related to healing. The second addresses lived phenomena involving practices and worldviews with direct and…