Papers by Neil Singh
Independent, 2019
Our health service is the biggest employer of people of colour in Europe, but, as Neil Singh reco... more Our health service is the biggest employer of people of colour in Europe, but, as Neil Singh recounts in his tale of three generations working alongside, and for, the British, that doesn’t mean the age of empire is over
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Global Public Health, 2018
The proliferation of conflicts across borders of Middle Eastern States has transformed the landsc... more The proliferation of conflicts across borders of Middle Eastern States has transformed the landscapes of health and healthcare across the region. In the case of Iraq, state healthcare has collapsed under the strain of protracted conflicts. Meanwhile, Lebanon’s post-war healthcare system is booming, and becoming more privatised. In this paper, we build on an ethnographic study on the movements and experiences of Iraqi patients in Lebanon to show how one of the consequences of war is the rise of alternative forms of healthcare–seeking practices and survival strategies – a therapeutic geography that is embedded in regional economies and geopolitical relations and reconfigurations. We argue for the need to reimagine the disconnectivity and connectivity of healthcare systems under war and conflict as grounded in the empirical realities and experiences of mobility in the Middle East.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Qualitative Health Research , 2018
Alcohol-related research from the Arab world has rarely touched on the experiences or views of Ar... more Alcohol-related research from the Arab world has rarely touched on the experiences or views of Arab adolescents.
In this article, we present an in-depth analysis of youth alcohol drinking patterns and determinants derived from focus group discussions completed with more than 100 Lebanese high school/vocational students (15–19 years). The social ecology of alcohol use framework guided our research and analysis. Findings reveal that alcohol drinking is perceived as a pervasive and serious public health problem, triggered by a complex web of social relations, and facilitated by lax policies.
Recommendations to curb heavy/harmful alcohol drinking among adolescents include regulating the role of alcohol industry, providing alternative recreational spaces/pass-times, educating about alcohol-related harms, and promoting more research on alcohol and its harms. Findings confirm the social ecology of alcohol use framework, and suggest the addition of the macro level of influence to this model, namely, a comprehensive alcohol harm reduction policy.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Plos ONE, 2017
Objectives: To review trends in non-communicable (NCD) research output in the Arab region, in ter... more Objectives: To review trends in non-communicable (NCD) research output in the Arab region, in terms of quantity and quality, study design, setting and focus. We also examined differences by time and place, and assessed gaps between research output and NCD burden.
Methods: A scoping review of a total of 3,776 NCD-related reports published between 2000 and 2013 was conducted for seven Arab countries. Countries were selected to represent diverse socioeconomic development levels in the region: Regression analyses were used to assess trends in publications over time and by country. Research gaps were assessed by examining the degree of match between proportionate literature coverage of the four main NCDs (CVD, cancer, DM, and COPD) and cause-specific proportional mortality rates (PMR).
Results: The annual number of NCD publications rose nearly 5-fold during the study period, with higher income countries having the higher publication rates (per million populations) and the most rapid increases. The increase in the publication rate was particularly prominent for descriptive observational studies, while interventional studies and systematic reviews remained infrequent (slope coefficients = 13.484 and 0.883, respectively). Gap analysis showed a mismatch between cause-specific PMR burden and NCD research output, with a relative surplus of reports on cancer (pooled estimate +38.3%) and a relative deficit of reports on CVDs (pooled estimate-30.3%).
Conclusion: The widening disparity between higher and lower-income countries and the discordance between research output and disease burden call for the need for ongoing collaboration among Arab academic institutions, funding agencies and researchers to guide country-specific and regional research agendas, support and conduct.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, 2009
Surgery and aviation have many similarities. Both disciplines have made the extraordinary ordinar... more Surgery and aviation have many similarities. Both disciplines have made the extraordinary ordinary – involving teams of specialists using expensive equipment to perform previously unimaginable tasks in life-threatening situations. But perhaps what is most miraculous about these two astonishing human endeavours is not what they entail, but rather how frequently they occur. On any one day, an estimated 85,000 flights and 550,000 operations are completed worldwide. What are the implications of scaling up life-or-death events to such astronomical levels? One consequence of such large throughputs is that even tiny risks are magnified. If even a small percentage of patients and passengers die, this amounts to a significant number of families affected by preventable deaths. Every year around 500 people die in aviation accidents, and the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that a staggering 1 million people die in the perioperative period, many due to avoidable mistakes. So, what is being done to minimize these risks?
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Childs Nervous System, 2009
Background Cord retethering and other postoperative complications can occur after the surgical un... more Background Cord retethering and other postoperative complications can occur after the surgical untethering of a first-time symptomatic tethered cord. It is unclear if using duraplasty vs. primary dural closure in the initial operation is associated with decreased incidence of either immediate postoperative complications or subsequent symptomatic retethering. It is also unclear if different etiologies are associated with different outcomes after each method of closure. We reviewed our pediatric experience in first-time surgical untethering of symptomatic tethered cord syndrome (TCS) to identify the incidence of postoperative complications and symptomatic retethering after duraplasty vs. primary closure. Materials and methods We retrospectively reviewed 110 consecutive pediatric (<18 years old) cases of first-time symptomatic spinal cord untethering at our institution over a 10-year period. Incidence of postoperative complications and symptomatic retethering were compared in cases with duraplasty vs. primary dural closure use. Results Mean age was 5.7 ± 4.8 years old. “Complex” etiologies included lipomyelomeningocele or prior lipomyelomeningocele repair in 22 (20%) patients, prior myelomeningocele repair in 35 (32%), and concurrent lumbosacral lipoma in 18 (16%). “Noncomplex etiologies” included fatty filum in 26 (24%) and split cord malformation in five (4%). Seventy-five (68%) cases underwent primary dural closure vs. 35 (32%) with duraplasty. Twenty-nine (26%) patients experienced symptomatic retethering at a median [interquartile range (IQR)] of 30.5 [20.75–41.75] months postoperatively. There was no difference in incidence of postoperative cerebrospinal fluid leak, surgical site infection, or median [IQR] length of stay in patients receiving primary dural closure [4 (5%), 7 (9%), and 5 (4–6) days, respectively] vs. duraplasty [3 (9%), 3 (9%), and 6 [5–8] days, respectively], p > 0.05. Complex etiologies were more likely to retether than noncomplex etiologies after primary closure (33.6% vs. 6.6%, p = 0.05) but not after duraplasty (13.7% vs. 5.4%, p = 0.33). Duraplasty graft type (polytetrafluoroethylene vs. bovine pericardium) was not associated with pseudomeningocele or retethering. Conclusion In our experience, the increased rate of symptomatic retethering observed with complex pediatric TCS (pTCS) etiologies after primary dural closures was not observed when duraplasty was instituted. Expansile duraplasty may be valuable specifically in the management of patient subgroups with complex pTCS etiologies.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Book chapters by Neil Singh
A chapter in the book: "Overcoming Domestic Violence: Creating a Dialogue Round Vulnerable Populations" (Nova Science), 2014
During wars and displacement, there is a collapse in the social and moral order: bonds within com... more During wars and displacement, there is a collapse in the social and moral order: bonds within communities and families may get destabilized; violence becomes more acceptable, with resources barely available for survivors and priority is given for food and shelter. Most research and interventions addressing sexual and gender based violence during war focus on violence perpetrated by armed troops, while violence perpetrated by family members is often overlooked. This chapter focuses on domestic violence against women in the specific context of armed conflicts or war. It provides a brief overview of the reported data on domestic violence in various conflict-zones. The existing literature suggests that domestic violence is a highly prevalent 'silent epidemic' in times of war, flaring up when there is loss of social structure and order. To give an understanding of the link between conflicts and domestic violence, the factors contributing to domestic violence in war-time are analyzed based on the four levels of the Heise 'ecological model', : environment, community, relationship, and individual. The chapter will conclude by suggesting proactive actions—at each of the four levels stated in the ecological model—to be implemented by governmental, nongovernmental and UN agencies, in order to effectively prevent, recognize and address domestic violence in times of crisis and conflicts.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Book Reviews by Neil Singh
Medicine Anthropology Theory, 2016
It occurred to me, while working in a stem cell laboratory several years ago, that biomedicine se... more It occurred to me, while working in a stem cell laboratory several years ago, that biomedicine seemed to have things the wrong way round. Of all the people involved in our research, there was only one person who was indispensable: the patient who had donated the initial clump of cells that had just the right characteristics to be useful. Everyone else was, to a greater or lesser degree, replaceable – just a technician doing his or her bit. And yet, the tissue donor was the only person in the process who was not paid for their contribution, nor were they formally acknowledged on the papers that came out of the research. In their excellent book, Melinda Cooper and Catherine Waldby invert biomedicine, putting things in their rightful order, with tissue donors and research subjects finally taking their place as players whose contribution and voice must be acknowledged. The book begins with a deceptively simple question that underpins the analysis: What is labour? The sophisticated argument that follows asserts that both reproductive work and clinical trial work elude canonical notions of industrial labour as espoused by human capital theory (which assumes the suspension of power relations between contractor and contractee), because power asymmetries are unavoidable when 'the labor involved is entirely concerned with the living processes that sustain the contracting self' (p. 228).
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Critical Public Health, 2015
"The impact of US imperialism on health care is one of the most pressing and pervasive problems f... more "The impact of US imperialism on health care is one of the most pressing and pervasive problems facing global public health today. So now is a good time to read Howard Waitzkin’s latest book, a scathing critique of US neocolonialism from a medical perspective."
Medicine and public health at the end of empire, by Howard Waitzkin, Boulder:
Paradigm Publishers, Pluto Press, 2011, 256 pp. $24.61 (paperback), ISBN 978-1-
59451-952-9
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
The British Journal for the History of Science, 2015
A review of:
RUHA BENJAMIN, People’s Science: Bodies and Rights on the Stem Cell Frontier. Stanfo... more A review of:
RUHA BENJAMIN, People’s Science: Bodies and Rights on the Stem Cell Frontier. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2013. Pp. xv + 249. ISBN 978-0-8047-8297-5. £17.99 (paperback).
doi:10.1017/S0007087415000230
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Social History of Medicine, 2015
A review of:
Pratik Chakrabarti, Medicine & Empire: 1600–1960, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2... more A review of:
Pratik Chakrabarti, Medicine & Empire: 1600–1960, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2014. Pp. xxxiv + 246. £17.99. ISBN 978 0230 276 369.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
The Lancet, 2008
A review of: Signs and Humours: the Poetry of Medicine. Edited by Lavinia Greenlaw.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Uploads
Papers by Neil Singh
In this article, we present an in-depth analysis of youth alcohol drinking patterns and determinants derived from focus group discussions completed with more than 100 Lebanese high school/vocational students (15–19 years). The social ecology of alcohol use framework guided our research and analysis. Findings reveal that alcohol drinking is perceived as a pervasive and serious public health problem, triggered by a complex web of social relations, and facilitated by lax policies.
Recommendations to curb heavy/harmful alcohol drinking among adolescents include regulating the role of alcohol industry, providing alternative recreational spaces/pass-times, educating about alcohol-related harms, and promoting more research on alcohol and its harms. Findings confirm the social ecology of alcohol use framework, and suggest the addition of the macro level of influence to this model, namely, a comprehensive alcohol harm reduction policy.
Methods: A scoping review of a total of 3,776 NCD-related reports published between 2000 and 2013 was conducted for seven Arab countries. Countries were selected to represent diverse socioeconomic development levels in the region: Regression analyses were used to assess trends in publications over time and by country. Research gaps were assessed by examining the degree of match between proportionate literature coverage of the four main NCDs (CVD, cancer, DM, and COPD) and cause-specific proportional mortality rates (PMR).
Results: The annual number of NCD publications rose nearly 5-fold during the study period, with higher income countries having the higher publication rates (per million populations) and the most rapid increases. The increase in the publication rate was particularly prominent for descriptive observational studies, while interventional studies and systematic reviews remained infrequent (slope coefficients = 13.484 and 0.883, respectively). Gap analysis showed a mismatch between cause-specific PMR burden and NCD research output, with a relative surplus of reports on cancer (pooled estimate +38.3%) and a relative deficit of reports on CVDs (pooled estimate-30.3%).
Conclusion: The widening disparity between higher and lower-income countries and the discordance between research output and disease burden call for the need for ongoing collaboration among Arab academic institutions, funding agencies and researchers to guide country-specific and regional research agendas, support and conduct.
Book chapters by Neil Singh
Book Reviews by Neil Singh
Medicine and public health at the end of empire, by Howard Waitzkin, Boulder:
Paradigm Publishers, Pluto Press, 2011, 256 pp. $24.61 (paperback), ISBN 978-1-
59451-952-9
RUHA BENJAMIN, People’s Science: Bodies and Rights on the Stem Cell Frontier. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2013. Pp. xv + 249. ISBN 978-0-8047-8297-5. £17.99 (paperback).
doi:10.1017/S0007087415000230
Pratik Chakrabarti, Medicine & Empire: 1600–1960, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2014. Pp. xxxiv + 246. £17.99. ISBN 978 0230 276 369.
In this article, we present an in-depth analysis of youth alcohol drinking patterns and determinants derived from focus group discussions completed with more than 100 Lebanese high school/vocational students (15–19 years). The social ecology of alcohol use framework guided our research and analysis. Findings reveal that alcohol drinking is perceived as a pervasive and serious public health problem, triggered by a complex web of social relations, and facilitated by lax policies.
Recommendations to curb heavy/harmful alcohol drinking among adolescents include regulating the role of alcohol industry, providing alternative recreational spaces/pass-times, educating about alcohol-related harms, and promoting more research on alcohol and its harms. Findings confirm the social ecology of alcohol use framework, and suggest the addition of the macro level of influence to this model, namely, a comprehensive alcohol harm reduction policy.
Methods: A scoping review of a total of 3,776 NCD-related reports published between 2000 and 2013 was conducted for seven Arab countries. Countries were selected to represent diverse socioeconomic development levels in the region: Regression analyses were used to assess trends in publications over time and by country. Research gaps were assessed by examining the degree of match between proportionate literature coverage of the four main NCDs (CVD, cancer, DM, and COPD) and cause-specific proportional mortality rates (PMR).
Results: The annual number of NCD publications rose nearly 5-fold during the study period, with higher income countries having the higher publication rates (per million populations) and the most rapid increases. The increase in the publication rate was particularly prominent for descriptive observational studies, while interventional studies and systematic reviews remained infrequent (slope coefficients = 13.484 and 0.883, respectively). Gap analysis showed a mismatch between cause-specific PMR burden and NCD research output, with a relative surplus of reports on cancer (pooled estimate +38.3%) and a relative deficit of reports on CVDs (pooled estimate-30.3%).
Conclusion: The widening disparity between higher and lower-income countries and the discordance between research output and disease burden call for the need for ongoing collaboration among Arab academic institutions, funding agencies and researchers to guide country-specific and regional research agendas, support and conduct.
Medicine and public health at the end of empire, by Howard Waitzkin, Boulder:
Paradigm Publishers, Pluto Press, 2011, 256 pp. $24.61 (paperback), ISBN 978-1-
59451-952-9
RUHA BENJAMIN, People’s Science: Bodies and Rights on the Stem Cell Frontier. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2013. Pp. xv + 249. ISBN 978-0-8047-8297-5. £17.99 (paperback).
doi:10.1017/S0007087415000230
Pratik Chakrabarti, Medicine & Empire: 1600–1960, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2014. Pp. xxxiv + 246. £17.99. ISBN 978 0230 276 369.