Investigación original / Original research
Rev Panam Salud Publica 36(3), 2014
The term NCDs refers to a group of conditions that are not mainly caused by an acute infection, result in long-term health consequences and often create a need for long-term treatment and care. These conditions include cancers, cardiovascular diseas
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e, diabetes and chronic lung illnesses.
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This video explains why noncommunicable diseases pose a threat to countries in the Region of the Americas and what are the main strategies to prevent them by reducing associated risk factors and improving the control and care of people who suffer from them .
A collection of 8 infographics on Household Air Pollution.
The waves of yellow fever transmission in the Region of the Americas in 2016–2018 involved the largest number of human and epizootic cases to be reported in several decades. Yellow fever is a serious viral hemorrhagic disease that poses a challenge for h
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ealth professionals. It requires early recognition of signs and symptoms, which are often nonspecific, and it can mimic other acute febrile syndromes. Early detection of suspected or confirmed cases, monitoring of vital signs, life support measures, and treatment of acute kidney failure continue to be the recommended strategies for case management. This report is the result of discussions among experienced specialists in the Americas on the clinical management of yellow fever patients, especially during outbreaks and epidemics, in the context of current medical and scientific evidence and taking into account the technical guidelines already available in the countries of the Region. It includes flowcharts for initially addressing patients with clinical suspicion of yellow fever and proposes a minimum package of laboratory tests that may be useful in contexts where resources are limited. In addition, it considers aspects of health system organization for dealing with yellow fever outbreaks and epidemics.
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This publication presents the Agenda for the Americas on Health, Environment, and Climate Change 2021–2030 (the Agenda). The Agenda is a call to action to the health sector to lead the charge to a
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ddress environmental determinants of health in the Americas. The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) will work with Member States to achieve its goal and objective to ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages using a sustainable and equitable approach that places a priority on reducing health inequity. The Agenda has been developed under the umbrella of the WHO Global Strategy on Health, Environment, and Climate Change, and builds upon the commitments set forth in the Sustainable Health Agenda for the Americas 2018–2030 and the PAHO Strategic Plan 2020–2025. The Agenda was developed in consultation with the Technical Advisory Group and through a consensus-driven decision-making process with Member States during the 2019–2020 period. Looking toward the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 3, the Agenda focuses on: improving the performance of environmental public health programs and institutions; fostering environmentally resilient and sustainable health systems; and promoting environmentally healthy and resilient cities and communities. Its implementation will be context-specific, based on the needs and realities of the countries. It will benefit countries and territories by promoting good governance practices, strengthening the leadership and coordination roles of the health sector, fostering cross-sectoral action, focusing on primary prevention, and enhancing evidence and communication. It will facilitate access to human, technical, and financial resources necessary to address environmental determinants of health and ensure that the Region is fully engaged in global health, environment, and climate change processes and agreements. The objective of the Agenda is to strengthen the capacity of health actors in the health and non-health sectors to address and adapt to environmental determinants of health (EDHs), prioritizing populations living in conditions of vulnerability, in order to meet Outcome 18 of the PAHO Strategic Plan 2020–2025 directly and several other outcomes of the Plan indirectly. To address and adapt to the challenges of EDHs in the Region, an integrated and evidence-informed approach within the health sector and across sectors will be needed, one enabled, and supported by good governance practices, adequate management mechanisms, high-level political will, and adequate human, technical, technological, and financial resources.
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This summary covers the preventive approach to breast cancer control and includes prophylactic medications, prophylactic surgery and lifestyle modifications for breast cancer prevention. Health professional training and individual risk assessments a
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nd counseling are also discussed.
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Sesame Street Muppets Elmo and Raya are taking on the Zika virus, helping to raise awareness and share critical information to reduce the spread of the mosquito-borne virus, now reported in 33 countries and territories of the Americas. The Muppet friends appear in two public service messages, sharin
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g tips for avoiding mosquito bites with families in Latin America and the Caribbean as part of a joint effort with the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), Regional Office for the Americas of the World Health Organization.
To view the video, please click on the external link.
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Sesame Street Muppets Elmo and Raya are taking on the Zika virus, helping to raise awareness and share critical information to reduce the spread of the mosquito-borne virus, now reported in 33 countries and territories of the Americas. The Muppet friends appear in two public service messages, sharin
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g tips for avoiding mosquito bites with families in Latin America and the Caribbean as part of a joint effort with the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), Regional Office for the Americas of the World Health Organization. To view the video, please click on the external link.
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Se espera que el Panorama 2020 ayude a visibilizar los desafíos de los territorios con peores indicadores en términos de alimentación y nutrición, y que sirva para movilizar el compromiso político y la atención pública en los lugares que sufren mayores rezagos respecto a los promedios naciona
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les. Al igual que en ediciones anteriores, también se proporciona información sobre las políticas y los programas que los países están desarrollando para enfrentar todas las formas de malnutrición.
El año 2020 se recordará durante muchas décadas por la pandemia provocada por la COVID-19. Los indicadores de la Agenda 2030 que se utilizan en esta publicación aún no recogen los distintos impactos del nuevo coronavirus. Pero en cada uno de los capítulos y secciones que siguen se hace referencia a algunas de las posibles implicaciones de la pandemia para el futuro.
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Since 2016, the Pan American Health Organization (PA
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HO) has been promoting the implementation of the HEARTS Initiative in the Americas as a regional adaptation of the World Health Organization's Global HEARTS Initiative. During this time, 33 countries in the Region of the Americas have committed to implementing HEARTS, and PAHO has developed many technical resources to support them. Most of these resources are clinical tools for primary healthcare teams and focus on quality improvement. This compendium aims to group all these clinical tools in a single document under a simple format that facilitates their practical implementation in daily clinical practice. The reader will notice that each tool is summarized on a single page and presented in a modular format. Therefore, each tool can be used together or separately as needed. In addition, at the bottom of each tool, the reader will find the references and hyperlinks to access full texts in case deeper knowledge is required.
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2nd edition. This is a revision of an illustrated booklet developed by the Pan American Health Organiza
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tion and the Caribbean Development Bank. It is meant as a tool to help the general population of the Caribbean care for themselves and their communities during crisis situation. The booklet explains in a simple language, with a simple language with the help of graphics, the main elements of psychological first aid (PFA). The revised edition includes special safety and disease prevention considerations due to the COVID-19 pandemic while providing PFA.
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n the countries of the Region of the Americas, there are different forms of organization of health services at the first level of care. Some countries include certain laboratory, dental and diagnost
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ic imaging practices in the first level of care, while other countries centralize these practices in the second and third levels of care. Consequently, so that the List of Priority Medical Devices (LPMD) could be adapted to these different forms of organization of health systems in the region of the Americas, modular lists were developed that complement the main list. In this way, to use the LPMD, only those modules that are planned to be offered in a first-level care center are selected, and it is those lists that are analyzed.
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This regional report on the situation of tuberculosis (TB) in the Americas contains information from 2019, provided by the countries of the Region through the World Health Organization TB data colle
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ction system. These data have been consolidated and analyzed at the regional level. In addition to presenting the epidemiological and programmatic situation of TB in the Americas, the report aims to raise awareness and to motivate and encourage all stakeholders in the prevention and control of this disease, to accelerate efforts towards TB elimination in the Region, and to achieve the targets of the End TB Strategy. The report records the Region's achievements, but also the gaps in the work being carried out in diagnosis, treatment, comorbidities, vulnerable populations, risk factors, and funding, among other issues. Based on the information presented, specific recommendations are provided for further progress.
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Tuberculosis continues to represent a severe public health problem in the Region of the Americas, even more so in the case of indigenous peoples, whose TB incidence is much higher than that of the general population. To achieve tuberculosis control
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in these communities, it is necessary to respond to communities’ diverse needs from an intercultural perspective that allows the application of a holistic approach—from a standpoint of equality and mutual respect—and considers the value of their cultural practices. In the Region of the Americas, although there has been progress toward recognizing the need for an intercultural approach to health services, obstacles rooted in discrimination, racism, and the exclusion of indigenous peoples and other ethnic groups persist. To respond to this situation, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) prepared this guidance which––based on an intercultural approach in accordance with the priority lines of the current PAHO Policy on Ethnicity and Health and its practical development in the Region’s indigenous populations––represent a support tool for implementing the End TB Strategy. This publication integrates PAHO’s accumulated experience and best practices developed by its Member States in recent years, including discussions and experiences shared in regional meetings on the issue, and emphasizes innovation and social inclusion. This requires an urgent shift away from traditional paradigms, taking specific actions that gradually reduce TB incidence and moving toward effective multisectoral actions that have proven effective in quickly containing the epidemic. This publication integrates PAHO’s accumulated experience and best practices developed by its Member States in recent years, including discussions and experiences shared in regional meetings on the issue, and emphasizes innovation and social inclusion. This requires an urgent shift away from traditional paradigms, taking specific actions that gradually reduce TB incidence and moving toward effective multisectoral actions that have proven effective in quickly containing the epidemic.
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Evidence-based guidelines are one of the most useful tools for improving public health and clinical practice. Their purpose is to formulate interventions based on strong evidence of efficacy, avoid unnecessary risks, use resources efficiently, reduc
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e clinical variability and, in essence, improve health and ensure quality care, which is the purpose of health systems and services. These guidelines were developed following the GRADE methodology, with the support of a panel of clinical experts from different countries, all convened by the Pan American Health Organization. By responding to twelve key questions about the clinical diagnosis and treatment of dengue, chikungunya, and Zika, evidence-based recommendations were formulated for pediatric, youth, adult, older adult, and pregnant patients who are exposed to these diseases or have a suspected or confirmed diagnosis of infection. The purpose of the guidelines is to prevent progression to severe forms of these diseases and the fatal events they may cause. The recommendations are intended for health professionals, including general, resident, and specialist physicians, nursing professionals, and medical and nursing students, who participate in caring for patients with suspected dengue, chikungunya, or Zika. They are also intended for health unit managers and the executive teams of national arboviral disease prevention and control programs, who are responsible for facilitating the process of implementing these guidelines.
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In the face of rapid increases in the number of hospitalizations due to COVID-19 in Latin America and the Caribbean, coupled with shortages of human and material resources, including medical equipment and gases, there is a need to redesign models of care in the Region to optimize available resources
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and ensure that more patients receive the quantity and quality of oxygen they need. Oxygen is included in the World Health Organization’s list of essential medicines and is used to care for patients at all levels of integrated health services networks. The efficacy of oxygen use in the treatment of patients with respiratory conditions caused by COVID-19 has been demonstrated, but there is great opportunity to improve the effectiveness of its use if it is used in a rational, sustainable, and safe way. Bearing in mind that the efficacy of a health technology is measured by its benefit under actual conditions of use, practical actions can be taken to improve the use of medical oxygen and avoid oxygen shortages. A drug is considered to be used rationally when patients receive it according to their clinical needs, in doses appropriate to their individual needs, for an appropriate period, and at a low cost to them and their community. By providing instruction on the rational use of oxygen and promoting it, negative repercussions can be avoided, such as loss of efficacy as a result of activities related to oxygen storage, distribution, and administration. Rational use of oxygen also involves controlling waste due to leaks in storage and distribution systems, use of gas at incorrect pressures, use of incorrectly adjusted flowmeters, and disconnections, among other problems. Another aspect to consider is the provision of adequate technical support for all oxygen production systems, in terms of maintenance and calibration, availability of electrical energy, and specific knowledge about these systems. For these reasons, a set of guidelines has been put together for the development of an efficient management system to deal with situations of oxygen scarcity, both now and in the future.
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Updated 2 June 2022.#
This entry contains the Status Report of WHO Collaborating Centres in the Americas by Country and a new document with information of Collaborating Centres by Outcome of the Strategic Plan of the Pan
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American Health Organization 2020‑2025.
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