Journal of Public Health Policy
Volume 37, Issue 2 (May 2016)
http://www.palgrave-journals.com/jphp/journal/v37/n2/index.html

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Editorial
How to understand the results of the climate change summit: Conference of Parties21 (COP21) Paris 2015 FREE
Our Co-Editor reports on developments from Paris, where he joined 40,000 people in November at the Summit at Le Bourget
Anthony Robbins
J Public Health Pol 37: 129-132; advance online publication, January 7, 2016; doi:10.1057/jphp.2015.47

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Viewpoints
Zika virus: An international emergency? FREE
A distinguished Mexican researcher anguishes about next steps to control this epidemic and its frightening consequences
Adolfo Martinez Palomo
J Public Health Pol 37: 133-135; advance online publication, February 25, 2016; doi:10.1057/jphp.2016.11
Abstract
This Viewpoint discusses the World Health Organization’s Declaration on 1 February 2016 that the epidemic infection caused by the Zika virus is a public health emergency of international concern – the basis of the decision and controversy surrounding it.

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Viewpoints
Unhealthy marketing of pharmaceutical products: An international public health concern
Shai Mulinari
J Public Health Pol 37: 149-159; advance online publication, February 25, 2016; doi:10.1057/jphp.2016.6
Abstract
I consider the current state of pharmaceutical marketing vis-à-vis ethical and legal standards and advocate measures to improve it. There is abundant evidence of unethical or illicit marketing. It fuels growing concerns about undue corporate influence over pharmaceutical research, education, and consumption. The most extensive evidence of industry transgressions comes from the United States (US), where whistle-blowers are encouraged by financial rewards to help uncover illicit marketing and fraud. Outside the US increasing evidence of transgressions exists. Recently I have observed a range of new measures to align pharmaceutical marketing practices with ethical and legal standards. In the interest of public health, I highlight the need for additional and more profound reforms to ensure that information about medicines supports quality and resource-efficient care

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Original Articles
Misconceptions about Ebola virus disease among lay people in Guinea: Lessons for community education
Lonzozou Kpanake, Komlantsè Gossou, Paul Clay Sorum, and Etienne Mullet
J Public Health Pol 37: 160-172; advance online publication, February 11, 2016; doi:10.1057/jphp.2016.1
Abstract
To characterize the perception of Ebola virus disease (EVD) in Guinea, we administered, from November 2014 to February 2015, a questionnaire to a convenience sample of 200 lay people in Conakry and a group of 8 physicians. We found widespread misconceptions among lay people, including that praying to God can protect against EVD, that traditional healers are more competent than physicians in treating EVD, that people get infected through physical proximity without contact, that the Ebola epidemic is the result of Western bioterrorism experiments, that Western medical staff disseminated the virus, and that the purpose of quarantine measures is to hasten the death of Ebola patients. Major educational interventions, sensitive to local cultural beliefs, are needed to overcome the misconceptions about Ebola in Guinea.

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Social world of organ transplantation, trafficking, and policies
Farhan Navid Yousaf and Bandana Purkayastha
J Public Health Pol 37: 190-199; advance online publication, February 4, 2016; doi:10.1057/jphp.2016.2
Abstract
Although success of organ transplants reflects advances in medical procedures, the success has generated debates about the ethical standards and policies that govern transplants, especially the acquisition of organs for transplants. We focus on laws, policies, and organ trafficking to highlight the interdisciplinary perspectives that can shape our understanding of transplantation as a social phenomenon. We discuss international policies and country-specific legislation from Pakistan to point to gaps and their implications for protecting vulnerable people who are exploited for organ removal. International collaboration and the legal framework need to be strengthened to fight the menace globally and to deal with the cases of organ trafficking within the legal ambit of human trafficking so that the rights of victims are upheld by states, justice systems, and ultimately medical establishments and practitioners.