The most up-to-date estimate of the global burden of disease indicates that ambient air pollution, including fine particulate matter and ozone, contributes to an estimated 5.2 million deaths each year. In this review, we highlight the challenges in estimating population exposure to air pollution and attributable health risks, particularly in low- and middle-income countries and among vulnerable populations. To protect public health, the evidence so far confirms urgent needs to prioritize interdisciplinary research on air pollution exposure and risk assessment and to develop evidence-based intervention policies and risk communication strategies. Here, we synthesize the emerging evidence supporting the monitoring and evaluation of the progress in implementation of the Global Air Quality Guidelines prepared by the World Health Organization.

To explore the integration of traditional and complementary medicine in health systems and identify the enablers and barriers to the process. We searched PubMed®, Embase, Web of Science, Latin American and Caribbean Health Sciences Literature, China National Knowledge Infrastructure and WanFang Database for original research on integration of traditional and complementary medicine in health systems published from 1 January 2001 to 27 January 2025. We focused on low- and middle-income countries. We made a thematic analysis to identify the enablers of and barriers to integration. We mapped factors according to the six blocks of health-care systems: service delivery; health governance and financing; medical products; health information systems; health workforce; and service standards. We included 43 publications from 19 countries, with 55.8% (24/43) from countries in the African Region. Traditional and complementary medicine had the potential to strengthen various aspects of health systems, particularly in health-service delivery and products. We identified 11 determinant domains which could act as both an enabler of and barrier to integration. The most commonly mentioned determinants influencing integration of traditional and complementary medicine were policies and finance, resource availability, and efficacy, quality and safety. Our findings highlight the role of policies and finance in supporting integration of traditional and complementary medicine, and the need to ensure the quality and safety of traditional products through scientific methods. Reforms in medical education and strategic resource allocation are needed to create the necessary conditions for successful integration of traditional and complementary medicine.

Primary health care (PHC) is the most effective way to improve people's health and well-being, and primary care services should act as the cornerstone of a resilient health system and the foundation of universal health coverage. To promote high quality development of PHC, an International Symposium on Quality Primary Health Care Development was held on December 4–5, 2023 in Beijing, China, and the participants have proposed and advocated the Beijing Initiative on Quality Primary Health Care Development. The Beijing Initiative calls on all countries to carry out and strengthen 11 actions: fulfill political commitment and accountability; achieve “health in all policies” through multisectoral coordination; establish sustainable financing; empower communities and individuals; provide community-based integrated care; promote the connection and integration of health services and social services through good governance; enhance training, allocation and motivation of health workforce, and medical education; expand application of traditional and alternative medicine for disease prevention and illness healing; empower PHC with digital technology; ensure access to medicinal products and appropriate technologies; and last, strengthen global partnership and international health cooperation. The Initiative will enrich the content of quality development of PHC, build consensus, and put forward policies for quality development of PHC in China in the new era, which are expected to make contributions in accelerating global actions.

The United States plays a crucial role in shaping global health through its policy decisions and engagements. Historically, bipartisan support underpinned U.S. involvement in multilateral and bilateral global health initiatives in advancing its national health, security interests, and foreign policy. However, recent decades have witnessed increased politicization and polarization of global health and fluctuating stances between Republican and Democratic administrations. This commentary speculates the potential implications of the 2024 presidential election on global health, focusing on how ideological differences between parties and previous administrative actions might affect U.S.’s strategies in addressing key global health issues, including governance, funding allocation, sexual and reproductive health policies, responses to humanitarian crises, and efforts to combat climate change. The election may be a critical juncture that could determine whether the U.S. global health strategies will continue to reflect the globalist and liberal policies typically associated with recent Democratic administrations or shift back to the isolationist tendencies observed during Trump’s presidency. The outcome will significantly determine the direction of U.S. global health policy and its broader implications for global health equity and security. The conclusions emphasize the necessity of maintaining strong international cooperation and commitment to health as a global public good.

Aim: To analyze the causes of the controversy caused by “death with dignity” in China, and to provide some useful thoughts for the practical exploration of “death with dignity.”Subject and methods: By combing the periodical literature, legal texts and practice, we find that the Medical Regulations of Shenzhen Special Economic Zone, which was revised and passed by China in 2022, recognized the legal effect of “living will” for the first time in legislation, which triggered a wide-ranging social discussion on “death with dignity” and brought many controversies.Results: Due to the influence of traditional culture, policies and laws, medical service supply capacity and other factors, death with dignity suffers from great practical resistance.Conclusion: The exploration of “death with dignity” system needs to start with the problems encountered in practice, focusing on cultivating a good system implementation environment, strengthening the top-level design of “death with dignity” system, and improving the national social security system for hospice care.

The implementation of digital health technology (DHT) has not reached its full potential. Research on the factors influencing the acceptance and use of DHTs in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) is fragmented and sparse. This study aimed to identify the facilitators and barriers to DHT acceptance and use in healthcare consumers. The systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted using PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science from inception to July 1st, 2025. Facilitators and barriers to the acceptance and use of DHT were extracted, and a modified framework was developed based on the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology. The strength of each pathway recorded in the framework was estimated through meta-analysis. A total of 78 publications were included in the systematic review, comprising 64 quantitative studies and 14 qualitative studies. Twelve dimensions were summarized. Factors demonstrating the highest positive associations with intentions to use DHTs included attitude (r = 0.5644; 95% CI: 0.4498, 0.6607), trust (r = 0.5239; 95% CI: 0.4243, 0.6109), performance expectancy (r = 0.4851; 95% CI: 0.4335, 0.5335), technology self-efficacy (r = 0.4430; 95% CI: 0.2504, 0.6018), facilitating conditions (r = 0.4345; 95% CI: 0.3526, 0.5098), effort expectancy (r = 0.4171; 95% CI: 0.3508, 0.4793), and habit (r = 0.4213; 95% CI: 0.1684, 0.6222). Social influence was also positively associated (r = 0.3582; 95% CI: 0.2823, 0.4297), as well as hedonic motivation (r = 0.3963, 95% CI: 0.2280, 0.5416). Price value showed a near-null, imprecise association (r = 0.0304; 95% CI: −0.1483, 0.2072). Perceived risk to patient privacy, patient security and telemedicine systems security, showed a small negative but imprecise association with intentions (r = −0.0402; 95% CI: −0.2169, 0.1391). Anxiety showed a non-significant negative association (r = −0.2071; 95% CI: −0.5108, 0.1426). The barriers identified in this analysis highlight the necessity of establishing and sustaining an integrated enabling environment as well as investing in digital health literacy to enhance healthcare consumers' self-efficacy. Findings of the study will facilitate the improvement of DHT implementation to address health concerns. This study was funded by Noncommunicable Chronic Diseases-National Science and Technology Major Project (2024ZD0524500, 2024ZD0524501), 10.13039/501100001809 National Natural Science Foundation of China (72274005 and 72304013), 10.13039/501100005090 Beijing Nova Program (20230484284).