Top 10 public health challenges to track in 2023: Shifting focus beyond a global pandemic

Abstract

The year 2022 saw COVID‐19 as the primary public health concern, with vaccine rollout and mandates at the forefront. Other viral infectious diseases, such as Monkeypox and Ebola, emerged as public health concerns. Climate change and political conflicts significantly impacted global health, increasing the demand for humanitarian assistance and protection. In 2023, it remains crucial to identify global and public health priority areas to coordinate and implement effective solutions. Through discussions with public health practitioners and researchers, we have identified key priority areas for 2023, namely, health systems, the mental health crisis, substance abuse, infectious diseases, malnutrition and food insecurity, sexual and reproductive health challenges, environmental pollution, the climate crisis, cancer, and diabetes. These priority areas highlight shared concerns that should be addressed to facilitate proactive and innovative health interventions and practices. To achieve universal healthcare targets for 2030, prioritization, financial investment, international cooperation, and collaboration in addressing these global health challenges are crucial. This requires coordination among public health decision‐makers, the private health sector, and opinion leaders to implement country‐specific healthcare financing and food security measures. Research, scientific knowledge, and technical capacities must be leveraged to produce sustainable interventions that effectively reduce health disparities and improve health system responsiveness to prevent these challenges from progressing to public health emergencies.

Popular large language model chatbots’ accuracy, comprehensiveness, and self-awareness in answering ocular symptom queries

“…The pressures on healthcare professionals have reached unprecedented levels due to the ongoing global health crises, amplified patient loads, and increasing diversity in patient populations. 44 , 45 In this regard, LLMs can potentially alleviate burdens by enabling remote and real-time patient triage, 46 reducing wait times, 47 and improving access to care, particularly for individuals in remote or underserved regions. 47 , 48 They can also optimize consultations by handling administrative tasks, allowing healthcare professionals to focus on direct patient care.…”

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“…Similarly, mental health is a global health concern that is gaining increasing attention due to the addition of mental health in the Sustainable Development Goals and the disability-adjusted life years that are attributable to mental disease [ 23 , 24 ]. The selected global health topics are on the list of the top 10 global public health challenges to track in 2023 [ 27 ].…”

A country's efforts toward creating an advanced practice nurse in public health

“…Global challenges have prompted the World Health Organization to suggest increasing the number of nurses worldwide with the goal of promoting healthcare access for everyone (World Health Organization (WHO), 2017). While once, most global health issues centered around physical health treatment, they have expanded to include health promotion, disease prevention and treatment, and threats related to environmental concerns and climate change (Lucero‐Prisno III et al., 2023). They include global challenges such as the steadily increasing numbers of immigrants who, compared with native‐born individuals, have more health problems and less healthcare access (Amiri, 2022; Zlotnick et al., 2022); technological changes that facilitate broadcasts of Western values and lifestyles worldwide, accelerating changes in adolescent sexual health and escalating parental‐teenager discord, particularly for those living in traditional cultures (Jabareen & Zlotnick, 2023; Lucero‐Prisno III et al., 2023); and the proliferation of domestic violence, mass shootings and war that threaten the physical, mental, and social health and well‐being of all those involved (Lucero‐Prisno III et al., 2023; Timm & Aydin, 2020).…”