High quality of care in family planning (FP) services has been found to be associated with increased and continued use of contraceptive methods. The interpersonal skills and technical competence of the provider is one of the main components of quality of care. To study the process component of quali...ty of care, the distribution of the FP counseling topics was examined by client, provider and facility characteristics. To assess the outcomes of quality of care, client satisfaction and their knowledge of their method’s protection from STIs were used. This study examined the factors associated with these outcomes with a focus on provider counseling and training.
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27 May 2021
All countries should increase their level of preparedness, alert and response to identify, manage and care for new cases of COVID-19. Countries should prepare to respond to different public health scenarios, recognizing that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to managing cases and o...utbreaks of COVID-19. Each country should assess its risk and rapidly implement the necessary measures at the appropriate scale to reduce both COVID-19 transmission and economic, public and social impacts.
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This course provides a general introduction to Acute Respiratory Infections (ARIs) and basic hygiene measures to protect against infection. By the end of the course, you should be able to describe basic information about ARIs including what they are, how they are transmitted, how to ...ribute-to-highlight medbox">assess the risk of infection and list basic hygiene measures to protect against infection.
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The second ECDC/EFSA/EMA joint report on the integrated analysis of antimicrobial consumption (AMC) and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in bacteria from humans and food-producing animals addressed data obtained by the Agencies’ EU-wide surveillance networks for 2013–2015. AMC in both sectors, exp...ressed in mg/kg of estimated biomass, were compared at country and European level. Substantial variations between countries were observed in both sectors. Estimated data on AMC for pigs and poultry were used for the first time. Univariate and multivariate analyses were applied to study associations between AMC and AMR. In 2014, the average AMC was higher in animals (152 mg/kg) than in humans (124 mg/kg), but the opposite applied to the median AMC (67 and 118 mg/kg, respectively). In 18 of 28 countries, AMC was lower in animals than in humans. Univariate analysis showed statistically-significant (p < 0.05) associations between AMC and AMR for fluoroquinolones and Escherichia coli in both sectors, for 3rd- and 4th-generation cephalosporins and E. coli in humans, and tetracyclines and polymyxins and E. coli in animals. In humans, there was a statistically-significant association between AMC and AMR for carbapenems and polymyxins in Klebsiella pneumoniae. Consumption of macrolides in animals was significantly associated with macrolide resistance in Campylobacter coli in animals and humans. Multivariate analyses provided a unique approach to assess the contributions of AMC in humans and animals and AMR in bacteria from animals to AMR in bacteria from humans. Multivariate analyses demonstrated that 3rd- and 4th-generation cephalosporin and fluoroquinolone resistance in E. coli from humans was associated with corresponding AMC in humans, whereas resistance to fluoroquinolones in Salmonella spp. and Campylobacter spp. from humans was related to consumption of fluoroquinolones in animals. These results suggest that from a ‘One-health’ perspective, there is potential in both sectors to further develop prudent use of antimicrobials and thereby reduce AMR.
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The Coronavirus app (CovApp) is software developed by Charité in cooperation with Data4Life. You can use it to get recommendations for action in just a few minutes. The app asks you several questions including symptoms, travel history, and potential contacts. Besides recommendations for action, rel...evant contacts, and structured results, the purpose of the app is to optimize patient flow into testing sites, ambulances, and clinics. Please note that this app does not provide diagnostic services.
In this way, the CovApp can help you to better assess your medical condition, provide recommendations regarding doctor’s visits or Coronavirus testing, and summarize relevant medical information for future doctor’s consultation.
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Briefing note | 16 March 2020
Do no harm, equality, transparency, humanity: values should guide the criminal justice sector’s response to coronavirus
At the time of publishing there were more than 164,000* confirmed cases of COVID- 19, the novel form of Coronavirus, affecting 110 countries wi...th more than 6,470 deaths. In this briefing we assess the current situation of COVID-19 outbreaks and prevention measures in prisons** and wider impacts of responses to governments on people in criminal justice systems. This briefing note argues for action to be taken now and immediately, given the risk people in prison are exposed to, including prison staff.
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The following is a breakdown of key considerations to guide planning and resource allocation for COVID-19 preparedness and response to support UNHCR regional and country operations in Public Health, WASH, Shelter and Settlements programmes. While some of the activities are more relevant in camps or ...settlements it is important to assess the availability of all services outlined. These are based on the Strategic preparedness and Response Plan for COVID 19 and UNHCR guidance for operations and, where relevant, operation or site level outbreak preparedness and response plans.
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Child Friendly Spaces (CFSs) are used by humanitarian agencies as a means to promote protection and psychosocial wellbeing for children in emergency settings. World Vision International together with Columbia University is conducting a series of studies to investigate the effectiveness of CFSs in va...rious humanitarian contexts in order to document evidence of the positive effects they have in relation to child wellbeing and protection, to identify good practice in their design and implementation and to develop improved monitoring and evaluation approaches for CFSs. The case studies have so far all been focused on refugee settings and while internally displaced populations (IDPs) share many of the circumstances and challenges of refugees it was decided that CFSs operating in IDP settings warrant a particular investigation in order to assess their relevance and effectiveness in promoting child protection and psychosocial wellbeing. This report thus presents the findings from an IDP focused study on CFS effectiveness in three camps near Goma, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
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Infection prevention and control practices need to be implemented to guarantee the safety of healthcare workers and patients in healthcare settings, it is fundamental to prevent cross contamination and containment of spread of COVID 19. As of the day of this publication, the following precautions ar...e recommended for the care of patients with suspected or confirmed cases of COVID-19: - For any suspected or confirmed cases of COVID-19: standard + contact + droplet precautions. -For any suspected or confirmed cases of COVID-19 and Aerosol Generated Procedure: standard + contact + airborne precautions. - The results of the application of this evaluation tool, in addition to other tools, will provide an overview regarding compliance with the activities of prevention and control of infections associated with provision of care in acute healthcare services in a health setting, without making judgments about the individual risk of patients, nor on particular cases. By its nature, this tool is only an external diagnostic to support IPC professionals and managers to assess the gaps and take corrective measures. To provide a tool for assessment of infection prevention and control practices in isolation areas in acute healthcare settings in the context of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). These recommendations are preliminary and subject to review as new evidence becomes available.
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Palliative care for children with life-limiting illness is the active total care of the child’s body, mind, and spirit. It begins at diagnosis and continues regardless of whether the child receives treatment directed at the disease. It seeks to control all forms of suffering related to the illness..., including pain. It involves social, psychological, spiritual, and legal support to siblings, parents, and other close family members. Effective palliative care for children requires health professionals trained to assess symptoms, care for children of different ages and developmental stages, and to provide medicines in pediatric formulations. Care may be provided in tertiary care facilities, community health centers, and at home. The child’s best interest must inform all aspects of the treatment andcare, and the child’s rights must be protected at all times.
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Non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPI) are public health measures that aim to prevent and/or control SARS-CoV-2 transmission in the community. As long as there is no effective and safe vaccine to protect those at risk of severe COVID-19, NPI are the most effective public health interventions against... COVID-19. These ECDC guidelines detail available options for NPI in various epidemiologic scenarios, assess the evidence for their effectiveness and address implementation issues, including potential barriers and facilitators.
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As of 31 October 2020 This is the tenth edition of this summary of rapid systematic reviews, which includes the results of a rapid systematic review of currently available literature. More than 200 therapeutic options or their combinations are being investigated in more than 1,700 clinical trials. I...n this review, 46 therapeutic options are examined. The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) is continually monitoring ongoing research on any possible therapeutic options. As evidence emerges, then PAHO will immediately assess and update its position, and particularly as it applies to any special sub-group populations such as children, expectant mothers, those with immune conditions, etc.
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interim guidance, 27 May 2021
All countries should increase their level of preparedness, alert and response to identify, manage and care for new cases of COVID-19. Countries should prepare to respond to different public health scenarios, recognizing that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to ma...naging cases and outbreaks of COVID-19. Each country should assess its risk and rapidly implement the necessary measures at the appropriate scale to reduce both COVID-19 transmission and economic, public and social impacts.
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Childhood obesity is a major public health problem globally, which could undermine progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. Prevention is recognized as the most efficient means of curbing the epidemic; however, given the scale of the problem and the many children who need profes...sional support due to the severity of the disease and/or obesity-related complications, health systems all over Europe must take steps to develop obesity management systems. The aim of this project was to assess the response of health care delivery systems in 19 countries in the WHO European Region to the childhood obesity epidemic.
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High salt consumption is an important determinant of high blood pressure and reducing it would improve health outcomes by lowering cardiovascular disease and therefore death rates. Reducing salt intake has been identified as one of the most effective public health measures and is one of the leading ...targets at global, regional and national levels to reduce the burden of noncommunicable diseases. The purpose of the Dietary Salt Intake Survey in the Republic of Moldova was to establish current baseline average consumption of salt (sodium), potassium and iodine through 24-hour urinary excretion testing among a random sample of the adult population (aged 18–69 years), and to assess the knowledge, attitudes, practices and behaviour around dietary salt in order to enable more efficient planning and the implementation of an effective salt-reduction strategy in the Republic of Moldova.
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In order to understand if the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted food availability and access at markets in Cambodia, the World Food Programme (WFP) monitors the retail and wholesale prices of key food commodities (see Annex 1 and 2) in 45 urban and rural markets across the country (see the Methods sect...ion for more details). An average of 340 traders and market chiefs are interviewed every two weeks, through a call center contracted by WFP. In addition to prices, market chiefs are also interviewed to assess market functionality, including supply and demand issues. Additional information is used to interpret the results and understand the broader context.
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The guide is organized into the major types of toxicities, the associated symp-toms, possible offending medications, and the suggested nursing assessments and interventions. Some symptoms (e.g. nausea) may be associated with a num-ber of... underlying causes and may be mild, or a symptom of a more serious medical situation requiring urgent attention. The pathophysiology for medica-tion-related fatigue and hypersalivation are unclear and these symptoms are not grouped under a specific type of toxicity. Additional information (comments) are provided for each toxicity to highlight relevant clinical information that may assist in management of side effects. Medications more strongly associated with the side effect appear in bold text. The appendices include tools nurses can use to more thoroughly assess patient complaints of pain, depression and neuropathy.
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VOX Sanguinis, 2021:
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) affected millions of people worldwide and caused disruptions at the global level including in healthcare provision. Countries of the WHO African region have put in place measures for the COVID-19 pandemic containment that may adversely a...ffect blood system activities and subsequently reduce the supply and demand of blood and blood components. This study aims to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on blood supply and demand in the WHO African Region and propose measures to address the challenges faced by countries.
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“Guide to facilitate the implementation of the WHO/UNICEF “Guidance on developing a national deployment and vaccination plan for COVID-19 vaccines” for Africa
t contains action-oriented lists of critical topics to address and checklists tailored to the context of African Union Member States.
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The contents of this guide aim to guide the development of one comprehensive national deployment and vaccination plan, as proposed and outlined by the guidance – and underlines the need for countries to develop their vaccination plans.
This guide is not meant as a tool to assess deployment readiness. The recommendation to Member States is to use the VIRAT/VRAF 2.0 tool for that, which builds on the COVAX Vaccine Introduction Readiness Assessment Tool (VIRAT) and the World Bank’s Vaccine Readiness Assessment Framework (VRAF).
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In the wake of the Covid‑19 Pandemic, parts of the public health system at increased risk of reduced efficiency include healthcare services for women and children. This in turn could reverse all the progress achieved over the years in reducing maternal and child mortality. In th...is study, an attempt has been made to assess the indirect effect of the pandemic on maternal and child health services in public health facilities.
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