This thesis is based on the premise that reproductive rights and environmental sustainability have synergistic interests: human population growth increases environmental impact and access to family planning triggers reduced fertility levels. Despite increasing scientific evidence indicating that the size of the global population matters for environmental sustainability, and by extension, that fulfilling reproductive rights may be beneficial for the latter, the linkages between reproductive rights and environmental sustainability have been largely understudied, ignored, and left out of environmental policy and reproductive rights agendas. Because of the complexity of this interdisciplinary field and its associated ethical questions, many researchers and policy makers have chosen to avoid this sensitive and polarizing issue altogether. However, capitalizing on these linkages could represent significant opportunity to advance the reproductive rights and environmental movements, and increase the prominence, legitimacy, and funding of global family planning services, in particular. This thesis uses an action research approach to explore the current framing of the reproductive rights and environmental sustainability linkage, study the perceptions of stakeholders of both the reproductive health and rights and environmental sustainability movements on this issue, and elaborate a strategic communication roadmap to promote its operationalisation.

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Many community-based organizations in urban areas of the United States exist to address the needs of their neighborhood and bridge the gap between the healthcare system and their community. In the Primary Care setting, healthcare providers have the opportunity to address those needs, either through their own expertise or through connecting patients with other resources. Despite this unique role of Primary Care Providers (PCPs), many of them are unaware of the resources that exist in their very own community. PCPs need awareness of, as well as partnership with, these community-based organizations. Integrating these resources into patient care will allow providers to improve health on a population level through a more robust response to patient and community needs. This will ultimately lead to a reduction of health disparities and improved quality of life in the community. This thesis seeks to explore strategies and resources that PCPs can use to better address patient and community needs. / Urban Bioethics

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Contexte : Les interventions sur l'environnement bâti reliées au transport peuvent contribuer à l'augmentation de la pratique de l'activité physique. En tant qu’intervention, les programmes de vélos en libre-service (PVLS) peuvent contribuer à l’utilisation du vélo. BIXI© (nom qui fusionne les mots BIcyclette et taXI) est un programme de vélos en libre-service implanté à Montréal, au Canada, en mai 2009. Le programme BIXI© met à la disposition des gens 5050 vélos à 405 bornes d’ancrage. Objectif : L'objectif général de cette thèse est d'étudier l'impact d'un programme de vélos en libre-service sur l’utilisation du vélo. Les objectifs spécifiques de la thèse sont de : 1) Estimer la prévalence populationnelle et identifier des variables environnementales, sociodémographiques et comportementales associées à l’utilisation des vélos en libre-service. 2) Estimer l’impact populationnel de l’implantation des vélos en libre-service sur l’utilisation du vélo et les contributions respectives de l’utilisation du vélo pour des fins utilitaires et récréatives à l’utilisation totale du vélo. 3) Estimer l’impact local de l’implantation des vélos en libre-service sur l’utilisation du vélo. Méthodes : Un devis populationnel transversal avec mesures répétées. Des enquêtes ont été réalisées au moment du lancement du programme de vélos en libre-service (4 mai au 10 juin, 2009), à la fin de la première année d’implantation (8 octobre au 12 décembre, 2009), et à la fin de la deuxième année d’implantation (8 novembre au 12 décembre, 2010). Les échantillons se composaient de 2001 (âge moyen = 49,4 années, 56,7 % de femmes), 2502 (âge moyen = 47,8 ans, 61,8 % de femmes) et 2509 (âge moyen = 48,9 années, 59,0 % de femmes) adultes à chaque période de mesure respectivement. Résultats : Globalement, les résultats démontrent le potentiel des PVLS pour augmenter l’utilisation du vélo. Les résultats suggèrent que près de 128 744 habitants ou 8,1 % de la population adulte ont utilisé les vélos BIXI© au moins une fois dans la première saison. Après deux ans d’implantation, ceux qui sont exposés à BIXI© dans leur milieu résidentiel avaient une probabilité significativement plus élevée d’utiliser le vélo par rapport à ceux non exposés. Par contre, il n'y avait aucun impact local de l’implantation du programme BIXI© sur l’utilisation du vélo. Conclusions : L’implantation d'un PVLS à Montréal a augmenté la probabilité d’utiliser le vélo chez les individus habitant près d'une borne d'ancrage. Mots clés : programme de vélos en libre-service, expérience naturelle, santé des populations. / Background: Interventions in transportation and the built environment have the potential to increasing physical activity. Public bicycle share programs (PBSP) are one such intervention which may contribute to increasing cycling and physical activity. BIXI© (name merges the words BIcycle and taXI) is a public bicycle share programs launched in Montreal, Canada in May 2009. BIXI© makes available 5050 bicycles at 405 docking stations. Purpose: The overarching aim of this dissertation is to estimate the impact of a built environment intervention on cycling using. The specific research objectives are: 1) To estimate the population prevalence and identify built environment, sociodemographic and behavioural correlates of public bicycle share program use. 2) To estimate the population level impact of implementing a public bicycle share program on cycling and the contribution of utilitarian and recreational cycling to overall cycling. 3) To estimate the local impact of implementing a public bicycle share program on cycling. Methods: A population-based repeat, cross sectional time series design was used. The population of the Island of Montreal was sampled at three time points. Surveys were conducted at launch of the public bicycle share program (May 4th - June 10th 2009), at the end of the first year of implementation (October 8th - December 12th 2009), and at the end of the second year 2 of implementation (November 8th - December 12th 2010). Samples consisted of 2001 (Mean age=49.4 years, 56.7% female), 2502 (Mean age=47.8 years, 61.8% female), and 2509 (Mean age=48.9 years, 59.0% female) adults at the each time period. Results: Overall the results provide a proof of concept for the potential of PBSPs to increase cycling. Approximately 128,744 inhabitants or 8.1% of the adult population used BIXI© bicycles at least once in the first season. Respondents exposed to BIXI© at their residence after two years had a significantly greater likelihood of all forms cycling. However, there was no local impact of the BIXI© intervention on cycling. Conclusions: The implementation of a PBSP in Montreal had increased all forms of cycling in areas where it was deployed.

We developed a pipeline to identify the copy number polymorphisms (CNPs) in the Northern Swedish population using whole genome sequencing (WGS) data. Two different methodologies were applied to discover CNPs in more than 1,000 individuals. We also studied the association between the identified CNPs with the expression level of 438 plasma proteins collected in the same population. The identified CNPs were summarized and filtered as a population copy number matrix for 1,021 individuals in 243,987 non-overlapping CNP loci. For the 872 individuals with both WGS and plasma protein biomarkers data, we conducted linear regression analyses with age and sex as covariance. From the analyses, we detected 382 CNP loci, clustered in 30 collapsed copy number variable regions (CNVRs) that were significantly associated with the levels of 17 plasma protein biomarkers (p < 4.68×10-10).

Esta tese tem o propósito de desenvolver uma argumentação normativa sobre justiça distributiva e saúde. São duas as questões que pautam a pesquisa: o que devemos uns aos outros, enquanto cidadãos de uma sociedade democrática, na promoção e proteção da saúde de nossos concidadãos? Quais obrigações e deveres de justiça que um Estado democrático possui perante a saúde de seus cidadãos? Para respondermos essas questões, inicialmente, buscamos apresentar um entendimento objetivo e publicamente acessível de necessidades de saúde. Essas necessidades estão relacionadas ao funcionamento normal das espécies e impactam o leque de oportunidades disponíveis ao longo de nossas vidas. Dialogando com a teoria da justiça como equidade, de Rawls, e com a extensão dessa teoria proposta por Daniels, defendemos que o conjunto das instituições, dos serviços, dos bens e dos recursos necessários à manutenção, ao reestabelecimento e à provisão de equivalentes funcionais ao funcionamento normal dos cidadãos devem ser distribuído de modo a respeitar o princípio de igualdade equitativa de oportunidades. Em sequência, desenvolvemos uma argumentação sobre o debate contemporâneo dedicado à definição e à defesa do princípio fundamental que deve balizar a justa distribuição dos mais variados distribuenda. Argumentamos que embora a justiça exija uma noção de igualdade (como a de igualdade democrática que defendemos) e não um patamar de suficiência ou um princípio de prioridade, esses critérios normativos podem auxiliar na formulação e na avaliação de políticas públicas e recomendações institucionais. Questionamos os ataques direcionados às teorias igualitárias, defendendo que essas teorias não podem ser reduzidas, nem obrigatoriamente exigem, a aplicação de princípios distributivos igualitários simples. Por fim, nos dedicamos a desenvolver uma argumentação sobre justiça e saúde centrada nas questões dos determinantes sociais da saúde e do gradiente social em saúde. Defenderemos, em diálogo com a literatura empírica sobre a questão, que políticas públicas de saúde devem ser baseadas em um ideal de igualdade democrática e devem assumir como uma pauta central a eliminação de iniquidades de saúde existentes entre grupos sociais, assim como combater injustiças estruturais presentes nas sociedades contemporâneas. / This thesis aims to develop a normative argument about distributive justice and health. Two questions underpin the study: what do we owe each other, as citizens of a democratic society, in the promotion and protection of the health of our fellow citizens? What justice obligations and duties does a democratic State have vis-à-vis the health of its citizens? Firstly, to answer these questions, we seek to present an objective and publicly accessible understanding of health needs. These needs are related to the normal functioning of species and impact the range of opportunities available throughout our lives. Drawing on Rawls\'s theory of justice as fairness, and on the extension to this theory, proposed by Daniels, we argue that the set of institutions, services, goods and resources necessary for the maintenance, reestablishment, and provision of functional equivalents to normal functioning, should be distributed in a way that respects the principle of fair equality of opportunity. Secondly, we develop an argument about the contemporary debate dedicated to the definition and defense of the fundamental principle that should mark the fair allocation of the most varied distribuenda. We argue that although justice requires a notion of equality (such as that the democratic equality we defend) rather than a threshold of sufficiency or a principle of priority, these normative criteria can aid in the formulation and evaluation of public policies and institutional recommendations. We question the attacks directed at egalitarian theories, arguing that these theories can not be reduced, nor do they necessarily require, the application of simple egalitarian distributive principles. Finally, we are dedicated to developing an argument about justice and health centred on the issues of social determinants of health and the social gradient in health. We shall argue, drawing on the empirical literature on the issue, that public health policies should be based on an ideal of democratic equality and should take the elimination of existing health inequities between social groups as a central guideline, as well as combatting present structural injustices in contemporary societies.

Objective: The Affordable Care Act (ACA) has influenced increasing interests in population health and population health outcomes. The purpose of this study was to exemplify the importance of using existing vital statistics data for understanding and monitoring health outcomes and consequentially health disparities at the population level. Data from birth records for two geographic regions from 2009-2014 were compared; low birth weight (LBW) and preterm delivery (PD) were used as surrogates for population health outcomes. Methods: A population-based, multi-year, cross-sectional study design using a pooled dataset of birth records from Tennessee (TN) was the framework for the analyses. A sub-population from North East TN (NE TN) was compared to TN. Logistic regression was used to estimate odds ratios. Attributable risks were calculated to translate the findings from conditional associations to population-level associations to help inform public health policy decision-making. Results: Using birth records (vital statistics), we demonstrated that the period prevalence of cigarette smoking before and during pregnancy remained unchanged with approximately one in three women in NE TN (from 37% in 2009 to 32% in 2014) and one in five women in TN (from 23% in 2009 to 20% in 2014) reporting smoking pre-pregnancy. Multivariate analyses demonstrated that mothers who were at each end of the age spectrum, of very low household income level and reported cigarette smoking pre-pregnancy or during pregnancy had increased risk of a LBW or PD infant. During the years of observation, 39 to 50% of the total incidence of LBW in the group of women who smoked cigarettes prior to pregnancy was attributable to smoking cigarettes. Conclusions: Existing data, such as vital statistics data, should be used routinely to identify geographic areas for which programs or policies can be implemented to reach large portions of populations. Reducing prenatal smoking, for example, has the potential to reduce a large fraction of adverse birth outcomes such as LBW and PD. For the geographic area we evaluated, 39 to 50% of LBW could be prevented by devising population-based smoking cessation programs or policies for women of child-bearing age. With recent emphasis on prevention and well-baby care in the ACA, there is potential to increase attention to this problem, implement evidence-based prevention programs and monitor program effectiveness with existing birth record data. Following this model, we can attain population health goals and address health disparities.

A hipercolesterolemia familiar (HF) é doença autossômica dominante caracterizada por elevados valores de LDL-colesterol (LDL-C) e alto risco de doença cardiovascular precoce quando comparada a população normal. O atual estado da arte acerca da HF é deficitário em abordagens subjetivas. Pouco se sabe sobre o impacto da HF desde o ponto de vista dos indivíduos que convivem com evidências clínicas, suspeita diagnóstica e/ou com a certeza obtida por meio do diagnóstico genético. Não se sabe ao certo em que medida o envolvimento de indivíduos que se consideram saudáveis em programas de rastreamento genético e a introdução de regime medicamentoso agressivo de controle do colesterol afetam a autopercepção e relato da qualidade de vida. O objetivo dos estudos que compõem a tese foi avaliar a qualidade de vida relacionada a saúde e explorar a relação deste constructo com a autoeficácia em indivíduos com suspeita para a HF submetidos ao programa ativo de rastreamento genético em cascata. A pesquisa realizada por meio de sucessivas aproximações ao constructo qualidade de vida, acessado via autorrelato, revelou que além do estado geral de saúde ou da condição médica, diversos outros fatores colaboram na construção das noções pessoais de qualidade de vida, de saúde, e de autoeficácia diante da doença. Diferenças estatisticamente significativas entre as medidas subjetivas foram associadas a fatores clínicos concretamente experimentados, tais como a prevalência de prévios eventos cardiovasculares adversos maiores (MACE), o diagnóstico prévio de depressão, o diagnóstico de hipercolesterolemia por medida de colesterol total e LDL-C,a convivência com fatores de risco como a obesidade, o tabagismo; características sociodemográficas condicionantes de saúde como o sexo feminino, o reduzido grau de escolaridade e a idade dos indivíduos; e condições que sustentam as disparidades em saúde, como a percepção pessoal de restrição no acesso à unidades e atendimentos de qualidade devido à condição de exclusão social. Não foi encontrada associação entre as variáveis subjetivas com a identificação de característica genética associada à expressão da HF ou com a vigência do regime de tratamento medicamentoso. Os achados mostram que as respostas adaptativas à doença e às necessidades por ela impostas é atravessada por fatores de natureza médica e não-médica. Entre este último fator, o valor preditivo da atividade profissional nos autorrelatos de autoeficácia em saúde, e as significativas reduções na apreciação pessoal de qualidade de vida e de saúde entre as mulheres, são achados que não deixam dúvidas de que as questões de gênero determinantes de iniquidades sociais reverberam significativamente nos autorrelatos no campo da saúde. O achado epistemológico que aponta dissonância entre a noção lato sensu e o conceito stricto sensu de saúde colabora para a reflexão crítica acerca da barreira de natureza discursiva que se interpõe ao sucesso dos esforços preventivos. Conclui-se que é especialmente nesse sentido que a elucidação dos achados não-médicos podem colaborar com as práticas clínicas e com os desfechos em saúde / Familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) is an autosomal dominant genetic disease characterized by elevated LDL-cholesterol blood concentration and high premature cardiovascular disease risk in comparison with the normolipidemic population. The state of the art of FH care has a deficit in subjective approaches. Little is known about the impact of FH from individuals\' living with disease status as well as clinical evidences, disease clinical suspicion and/or genetic diagnosis. Little has been explored about the effect of involving asymptomatic individuals in a genetic cascade screening program or about the repercussions of intensive lipid lowering therapy on health related quality of life (HRQOL) personal appraisal and self-reporting. The objective of this study was to evaluate HRQOL and associated aspects, the self-efficacy and the quality of health latent constructs in individuals with FH suspicion undergoing active genetic cascade screening. The present investigation made with successive approximations to quality of life by means of a self-reported method showed that a diversity of factors rather than health clinical state or medical condition collaborate by building the personal notion of quality of health, quality life of and self efficacy related to health. Statisticaly significant psychometric differences were associated with concretely experienced clinical events such as having a major cardiovascular events (MACE) in the past , previous depression diagnosis, elevated LDL-C blood concentration, obesity, smoking; sociodemographic characteristics determinants of health such as female sex, low education level and age; and contextual characteristics that may uphold health disparities such as self-perception or real restrictions on health system access, and social exclusion. Genetic mutation post-screening identification as well as pharmacological treatment were not associated with HRQOL. Those findings revealed that adaptive responses to disease diagnosis and health needs are crossed over medical and non-medical factors. Findings concerning predictive value of job engagement on health related self efficacy, and significant reductions on quality of life and health scores among women in comparison to men pointed that the social structure characteristic which define and uphold demographic inequalities are non-medical gender related conditions with undoubtable impact on self-reporting responses concerning health. The epistemological finding about the dissonance between the lato sensu notion of health from common sense and the stricto sensu concept of health from medical science adds to critically thinking about the dialogic barrier that may interfere with preventive efforts. In conclusion, by clarifying the non-medical conditions related to health may contribute with health outcomes and clinical practices