🏠 IMSPARK: Free test and treatment of COVID-19 and flu at home🏠

🏠 Imagine... Free test and treatment of COVID-19 and flu at home🏠

💡 Imagined Endstate: 

A Pacific where we can access free at-home rapid tests, telehealth sessions, and treatments for COVID-19 and flu without any barriers or costs and where we can prevent severe illness, hospitalization, or death from these viral infections.

🔗Link:

Ref Here

📚Source: 

U.S. National Institutes of Health. (2023). The home Test to Treat program extends nationwide.

💥 What’s the Big Deal: 

COVID-19 and flu are both contagious respiratory diseases that can cause serious complications and death, especially for older people with underlying health conditions or immunocompromised. 🩺 The Home Test to Treat program is a federal initiative that offers free COVID-19 and flu health services to eligible participants nationwide, including those in the Pacific region. 🛡️The program provides at-home rapid tests, telehealth sessions, and at-home treatments, such as antiviral medications, for those who test positive. 💊 The program aims to reduce the spread of COVID-19 and flu in the community, expedite the time to treatment, and improve the convenience and safety of accessing health services from home.

#HomeTestToTreat #COVID19 #Flu #Pacific #IMSPARK

🌡️ IMSPARK: Pacific protecting and promoting health and well-being in a changing climate🌡️

 🌡️ Imagine... Pacific protecting and promoting health and 

well-being in a changing climate🌡️ 

💡 Imagined Endstate: 

A Pacific where we reduce the risks and impacts of climate change on our health by enhancing our adaptive capacity, resilience, and preparedness and by supporting mitigation actions that also benefit our health.

🔗Link:

Ref Here

📚Source: 

USGCRP. (2018). Impacts, Risks, and Adaptation in the United States: Fourth National Climate Assessment, Volume II. 4

💥 What’s the Big Deal: 

Climate change affects the health and well-being of Pacific Islanders. 🌊Changes in the environment can impact our health in various ways, such as by increasing our vulnerability to climate events or by exposing us to infectious diseases that are transmitted through vectors, food, or water.💦 Additionally, alterations in quality and safety can pose health risks, while stressors to our mental health and well-being can also arise. These health effects are projected to worsen with additional climate change and disproportionately affect vulnerable populations, such as children, older adults, low-income communities, and some communities of color. 🏥However, proactive adaptation policies and programs can Take into account the potential risks and effects of climate-sensitive health outcomes and disruptions in healthcare services, which can help minimize their impact. 👍🏽Moreover, accounting for climate change risks in infrastructure planning and urban design can bring about added health benefits. 💚Moreover, reducing greenhouse gas emissions would benefit the health of Pacific Islanders in the near and long term by avoiding thousands of premature deaths and billions of dollars in health-related economic losses each year.

#ClimateHealth #Pacific #Adaptation #Mitigation #IMSPARK

🩺 IMSPARK: medical equipment accurate and reliable for everyone🩺

 🩺 Imagine... medical equipment  accurate and reliable for everyone🩺 

💡 Imagined Endstate: 

A Pacific where pulse oximeters, devices that measure blood oxygen levels, are designed and tested to account for the diversity of skin pigmentation, race, and ethnicity in our region and where healthcare providers and patients are aware of the potential biases and limitations of these devices.

🔗Link:

Ref Here

📚Source: 

U.S. Food and Drug Administration. (2024). Performance Evaluation of Pulse Oximeters Taking into Consideration Skin Pigmentation, Race and Ethnicity.

💥 What’s the Big Deal: 

Pulse oximeters are widely used in clinical settings and at home to monitor blood oxygen levels, which can indicate severe health conditions such as COVID-19, asthma, or heart failure. 🌈However, several studies have shown that pulse oximeters can be inaccurate and unreliable for people with darker skin pigmentation because they use light to detect blood flow. This can lead to delayed diagnosis, inappropriate treatment, or missed opportunities for intervention.💉 The FDA issued guidance to improve the performance evaluation of pulse oximeters, taking into consideration skin pigmentation, race, and ethnicity. 🙌This document provides recommendations for device manufacturers, researchers, and healthcare professionals on how to design, test, and use pulse oximeters to minimize bias and ensure safety and effectiveness for all patients.

#PulseOximeters, #MedicalEquipment, #HealthEquity, #Pacific, #FDA,#IMSPARK, 

#CodedGaze

🌏IMSPARK: a Pacific Achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) by 2030🌏

🌏Imagine... a Pacific Achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) by 2030🌏

💡 Imagined Endstate: 

A Pacific where we overcome the multiple crises affecting our region, such as the climate crisis, the war in Ukraine, the COVID-19 pandemic, the weak global economy, and the weak global economy. 

🔗Link:

Ref here

📚Source: 

United Nations. (2023). The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2023: Special Edition. New York, NY: UN DESA.

💥 What’s the Big Deal: 

The SDGs are a universal call to action to transform our world by 2030. They are based on a vision of dignity, equality, justice, and sustainability for all people and the planet.  🕊️However, the report warns that we are not on track to achieve the SDGs and must act urgently to rescue the 2030 Agenda.  💚 The report also highlights the immense potential for success through strong political will and utilizing available technologies, resources, and knowledge. 🚀The Pacific is susceptible to the impacts of multiple crises. Still rich in diversity, culture, and resilience, the Pacific has a vital role in achieving the SDGs and creating a better future for ourselves and the world.

#SDGs, #Pacific, #2030Agenda, #RescuePlan, #IMSPARK

📔IMSPARK: academic access and shared knowledge freely📔

📔Imagine...academic access and shared knowledge freely📔

💡 Imagined Endstate: 

A Pacific where researchers, educators, students, policymakers, and the public can access, use, and contribute to the latest research findings and innovations in the social sciences and humanities without barriers or costs.

🔗Link:

Ref Here

📚Source: 

Ernst, E., Schulte, J., & Töpfer, M. (2020). How to fill the information gap: Open Access for the social sciences and humanities. Septentrio Conference Series, (4).

💥 What's the Big Deal: 

This presentation by Schulte et al. (2020) provides practical guidance and resources for researchers to publish their work in open access. Access is not only about increasing the visibility of research, but it is also about promoting equity and addressing the knowledge gap. Open access makes scholarly publications available online for anyone to read, reuse, and share without any restrictions or fees. 🌐It benefits researchers by increasing their work's visibility, impact, and quality. It benefits society by advancing knowledge, fostering innovation, and promoting social justice.🚀 However, many social sciences and humanities researchers face challenges and lack of information about open access. 

In a Pacific context, Open Access can be seen as another venue for equity, where the commodity is knowledge. 📖Knowledge creates opportunities for innovation, social justice, and economic growth. By making research freely available to everyone, regardless of their location or socio-economic status, Open Access can help address the imbalance in the production and distribution of knowledge, particularly in the social sciences and humanities. 🙌The result of this access could lead to a more informed future, where everyone has equal access to the latest research findings and innovations and advocates for open access in their disciplines and institutions.

#OpenAccess, #GrayLiterature, #Pacific, #Knowledge, #IMSPARK,#equity,#academics, 

   

🌐IMSPARK: A Pacific Future with Inclusive Financial Systems🌐

🌐Imagine… A Pacific Future with Inclusive Financial Systems🌐

💡 Imagined Endstate: 

The Pacific region has successfully built an inclusive financial system that provides access and opportunity for all its residents, especially the low-income, unbanked, and underserved populations. The region has fostered a culture of innovation, trust, and leadership, where financial services and products are designed and delivered to meet the diverse and evolving needs of the people.

🔗Link:

Ref Here

📚Source: 

Wallace, M.,  Borġ, E., & Griffin, K.  (2023). Building an inclusive financial system: A global economic & social imperative for this decade. Aspen Institute. 

 

💥 What's the Big Deal: 

Wallace et. al (2023) report reveals that an inclusive financial system is essential for achieving global economic and social goals, such as reducing poverty, promoting equality, and enhancing resilience.🏦The report also identifies an inclusive financial system's key elements and challenges, such as access, affordability, quality, diversity, and regulation. 🚀The report proposes a framework and a roadmap for action to advance inclusive financial systems at the global, regional, and national levels.

 An inclusive financial system is a crucial opportunity for the Pacific region, as it can provide a reliable and nutritious source of protein for its growing population, especially in the face of climate change, overfishing, and marine pollution. 🌅The Pacific region can enhance its economic growth, social cohesion, and political stability by building an inclusive financial system.💸An inclusive financial system can also support the region's innovation, trust, and leadership, providing access to well-being and prosperity.

 #InclusiveFinancialSystem,#WealthEquity,#PacificDiversity,#Access,#Opportunity,#Innovation,#IMSPARK, #Unbanked, #low-income, #underserved,#RICEWEBB,

🩺IMSPARK: Pacific Future with AI-Powered Healthcare Solutions🩺

🩺Imagine… A Pacific Future with AI-Powered Healthcare Solutions🩺

💡 Imagined Endstate: 

Successfully use artificial intelligence (AI), such as diagnosing deadly diseases, improving radiology practice, and predicting cancer resistance. The region has fostered a culture of innovation, quality, and equity, where healthcare providers and patients can access and use AI-powered tools and services to improve health outcomes and experiences.

🔗Link:

Ref Here

📚Source: 

DePeau-Wilson, M. (2024). AI diagnoses deadly disease; radiology's new AI guidance; WHO tackles LMMs. MedPage Today.

 

💥 What's the Big Deal: 

The article by DePeau-Wilson (2024) provides a monthly roundup of healthcare-focused AI news and research, highlighting some of the latest developments and breakthroughs in the field.🚀The article covers topics such as an AI-powered clinical tool for diagnosing rheumatic heart disease, a joint statement by five radiology societies on the use and development of AI tools, and new guidance by the WHO on the ethics and governance of large multimodal models or (LMMs).

AI could be an opportunity for the Pacific region, as it can provide innovative and effective solutions for healthcare challenges, such as access, quality, cost, and equity.🚝By leveraging AI's latest advances and applications in healthcare, the Pacific region can enhance its innovation, quality, and equity and improve its residents' health outcomes and experiences. 🩻The AI-powered tools and services can also support the region's innovation, quality, and equity and enable more healthcare providers and patients to access and ensure the ethical use of AI in a responsible manner.

#AIHealthcare, #Innovation, #Access,#equity,#HealthDisparities,#IMSPARK,

🌏IMSPARK: A Pacific Future with Better Banking Services for Small Businesses 🌏

 🌏Imagine… A Pacific Future with Better Banking Services for Small Businesses 🌏

💡 Imagined Endstate: 

The Pacific region has successfully leveraged the best practices and insights from the McKinsey report on how banks can better serve small-business clients. The region has fostered a culture of innovation, trust, and partnership, where banks and small businesses work together to create value and growth.

🔗Link:

Ref Here

📚Source: 

Campbell, B., Madan, A., Nunez Maxwell, M., Oliveira, F., & Sridharan, A. (2023). Five ways for banks to better serve small-business clients. McKinsey & Company. 

💥 What’s the Big Deal: 

The report by Campbell et al. (2023) reveals that small-business banking represents a significant opportunity for banks to strengthen their revenues and relationships, especially in the context of rising competition and changing customer expectations. 💳The report also identifies five ways for banks to serve better small-business clients: knowing what they want, capturing money in motion, delivering end-to-end cash flow management, integrating payments processing, and offering a broader suite of commercial enablement tools.

Small businesses are a vital driver of economic and social development for the Pacific region, especially in the face of global challenges such as climate change, health crises, and the digital divide.📱By leveraging the best practices and insights from the McKinsey report, the Pacific region can enhance its banking services for small businesses and increase their satisfaction, loyalty, and profitability.🏦 The banking services can also support the region’s innovation, trust, and partnership and enable more banks and small businesses to work together to create value and growth.

#SmallBusinessBanking, #microenterprise,#ValueCreation, #Innovation,#Partnership,#Pacific,#RICEWEBB,#IMSPARK,

🛰️IMSPARK: Pacific where space technologies enhance disaster resilience🛰️

 🛰️Imagine...Pacific where space technologies enhance disaster resilience🛰️

💡 Imagined Endstate: 

Pacific countries and communities have the capacity and access to use space-based information and technologies to prevent, prepare, respond, and recover from natural hazards and disasters.

🔗Link:

Ref Here

📚Source: 

UN-SPIDER. (n.d.). Advisory support.

💥 What’s the Big Deal: 

The Pacific region is highly exposed and vulnerable to various natural hazards and disasters, such as cyclones, earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanoes, and floods.🛡️Disasters have devastating impacts on lives, livelihoods, infrastructure, and ecosystems. 🌋UN-SPIDER’s advisory support aims to bridge the gap between disaster management and space communities and enable the effective use of space-based information and technologies for disaster risk management and emergency response. 🌊 By providing technical advisory missions, emergency support, recommended practices, and training activities, UN-SPIDER helps Pacific countries and communities harness the potential of space technologies to enhance their disaster resilience.

#IMSPARK, #UNSPIDER, #SpaceTechnology, #DisasterResilience, #PacificRegion,#RICEWEBB, 

   

🧒IMSPARK: Preventing and Mitigating Adverse Childhood Experiences🧒

🧒Imagine… Preventing and Mitigating Adverse Childhood Experiences🧒

💡 Imagined Endstate: 

The Pacific region has successfully implemented evidence-based policies and practices that prevent and mitigate adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), such as abuse, neglect, and household dysfunction. The region has fostered a health, safety, and well-being culture where children and families can thrive in supportive and nurturing environments.

🔗Link: 

Ref Here

📚Source: 

Wallace, M., & Rademacher, I. (2023). Building an inclusive financial system: A global economic & social imperative for this decade. Aspen Institute. 

💥 What's the Big Deal: 

The report by Wallace and Rademacher (2023) provides a comprehensive and practical toolkit for state and territorial health agencies to develop and implement policies that prevent and mitigate ACEs.🌈The report covers the epidemiology, etiology, consequences, and prevention strategies of ACEs and various stakeholders' policy levers, roles, and responsibilities. The report also provides examples of state and territorial policies and programs that address ACEs and resources and tools for policy development and evaluation. 

 

ACEs are a vital challenge for the Pacific region, as they affect the health and well-being of many children and families, especially those who face social and economic disparities.🙌By implementing evidence-based policies and practices that prevent and mitigate ACEs, the Pacific region can enhance its health, safety, and well-being and reduce the risk of adverse outcomes and intergenerational cycles of trauma. 🏥 The policies and practices can also support the region's health, safety, and well-being and enable more children and families to thrive in supportive and nurturing environments.

#ACEs,#childdevelopment, #Prevention, #Mitigation, #WellBeing,#trauma,#IMSPARK, 

🌊IMSPARK: Enhanced Resilience and Emergency Management in the Pacific🌊

🌊Imagine… Enhanced Resilience and Emergency Management in the Pacific🌊

💡 Imagined Endstate: 

A Pacific region successfully integrated resilience and emergency management into its policies, plans, and practices, to cope with and recover from the impacts of natural and human-made disasters.

🔗Link: 

Ref Here

📚Source: 

Bergeron, W. P. (2023). Resilience versus emergency management. Domestic Preparedness. 

💥 What’s the Big Deal: 

The article by Bergeron (2023) explores the differences and similarities between resilience and emergency management, and argues that both concepts are complementary and essential for disaster risk reduction. The article defines resilience as the ability of a system to absorb, adapt, and transform in the face of shocks and stresses, and emergency management as the coordination of resources and responsibilities to prevent, protect, mitigate, respond, and recover from emergencies. 🛡️The article suggests that resilience and emergency management can be integrated through a holistic and systemic approach that considers the interdependencies and feedback loops among various elements and actors.

Resilience and emergency management are key challenges for the Pacific region, as it faces the impacts of climate change, natural hazards, and social disparities, which can threaten its security, development, and well-being. 🌟By integrating resilience and emergency management, the Pacific region can enhance its ability to cope with and recover from disasters, and reduce the risk of morbidity and mortality. 🙌The integration can also support the region’s preparedness, adaptation, and learning, and enable more stakeholders to work together to reduce risks, build capacities, and seize opportunities.

#Resilience, #EmergencyManagement, #PacificFuture, #DisasterRiskReduction, #Integration,#DRR,#IMSPARK,

🏢 IMSPARK: Safe and Sustainable Buildings in the Pacific 🏢

🏢 Imagine… Safe and Sustainable Buildings in the Pacific 🏢

💡 Imagined Endstate: 

The Pacific region has successfully adopted and enforced rigorous and regular building inspections and maintenance standards, as well as innovative and resilient design and construction practices, to prevent the collapse of aging buildings. The region has fostered a culture of safety, sustainability, and accountability, where building owners, managers, engineers, and regulators work together to ensure the structural integrity and performance of the buildings.

🔗Link: 

Ref Here

📚Source: 

Bolan, M. (2024). How to prevent America’s aging buildings from collapsing – 4 high-profile disasters send a warning. Route Fifty. 

💥 What’s the Big Deal: 

The article by Bolan (2024) reveals that the U.S. faces a looming crisis of aging and deteriorating buildings, which pose a serious threat to public safety and health, as evidenced by four recent high-profile building collapses that resulted in fatalities, injuries, and displacements.  🛠️ The article also discusses the causes and consequences of building collapse, such as poor design, construction, maintenance, and regulation, as well as the economic, social, and environmental impacts. 🏗️The article suggests some possible solutions, such as adopting more stringent and consistent building codes and inspection protocols, investing in building repair and retrofitting, and promoting green and resilient building practices.

Building safety and sustainability are key challenges for the Pacific region, as it faces the impacts of climate change, natural hazards, and urbanization, which can exacerbate the risks and damages of building collapse.🧱 By adopting and enforcing rigorous and regular building inspections and maintenance standards, as well as innovative and resilient design and construction practices, the Pacific region can enhance its building safety and sustainability, and reduce the risk of morbidity and mortality. ⚰️The standards and practices can also support the region’s safety, sustainability, and accountability, and enable more building owners, managers, engineers, and regulators to work together to ensure the structural integrity and performance of the buildings.