Includes a Special Report on the Financial and Personal Benefits of Early Diagnosis
2018 Alzheimer’s Disease Facts and Figures is a statistical resource for U.S. data related to Alzheimer’s
...
disease,
the most common cause of dementia. Background and context for interpretating the data are contained in
the Overview. Additional sections address prevalence, mortality and morbidity, caregiving and use and costs of health care and services. A Special Report discusses the financial and personal benefits of diagnosing earlier in the disease process, in the stage of mild cognitive impairment.
more
PQM conducted an assessment of the medicine quality assurance and quality control systems in Rwanda during November 9-13, 2009. Medicine quality assurance remains to be developed in Rwanda: the coun
...
try has neither a medicine regulatory authority (MRA) nor a national medicine quality control laboratory – the two key institutions to ensure the quality, safety, and efficacy of medicines. The MOH Pharmacy Taskforce (PTF) is to be commended however for successfully controlling the pharmaceutical market to the extent that there is no informal medicines market in Rwanda. Based on its findings, the assessment team expects Rwanda to be able to make great strides in evidence-based medicines quality assurance in the short to medium term, provided it receives adequate technical assistance and financial support.
more
The HEARTS technical package provides a strategic approach to improving cardiovascular health in countries. It comprises six modules and an implementation guide. This package supports Ministries of Health to strengthen CVD management in primary heal
...
th care settings. The practical, step-by step modules are supported by an overarching technical document that provides a rationale and framework for this integrated approach to the management of NCDs.
more
The COVID-19 pandemic is a rapidly evolving global crisis and there
is much that is still emerging in terms of the psychosocial and mental
health consequences for the diverse populations affected by this
emergency. This toolkit is based on what i
...
s currently available and
will be updated as additional resources become available.
more
J Antimicrob Chemother https://doi.org/10.1093/jac/dkab423
Antibiotic stewardship is absolutely crucial in the fight to control antimicrobial resistance. Everyone has a part to
play. Grassroots action is essential; it is no good sitting back and w
...
aiting for world leaders to solve this problem.
In this article I outline some of the challenges and the steps that everyone can take to do their part in tackling
the slow-moving crisis of AMR.
more
No country can claim to be free from health-care associated infections, therefore, improvement of infection prevention and control (IPC) strategies is essential. WHO recommends the use
...
of multimodal improvement strategies to implement IPC interventions. These include each item of standard and transmission-based precautions according to national guidelines or standard operating procedures and under the coordination of the national IPC focal point (or team, if existing). This publication consists of three focused improvement tools, called “aide-memoires”, which focus on 1) respiratory and hand hygiene, 2) personal protective equipment, and 3) environmental cleaning, waste and linen management, all elements of standard, droplet/contact and airborne precautions.
more
Nosocomial or health-facility-acquired infections are a serious issue, representing one of the most significant causes of morbidity and mortality in healthcare systems and consuming many scarce reso
...
urces, especially in developing countries. Although much has been done, particularly in the hospital setting, to reduce the risk of these infections, the problem persists and demands innovative and cost-efficient solutions.
Although the care provided in most primary health care facilities is predominantly ambulatory with few or no inpatient beds, infection prevention is still important to minimize or eliminate the risks of facility-acquired infections and assure quality patient care.
Health facilities and hospitals should have written infection control procedures and guidelines in place and should also be monitoring that these procedures are adhered to in both inpatient and ambulatory care settings.
more
In light of the decline in new Ebola cases, strategies are now needed to scale down the activities and bed capacities in Ebola care facilities. These facilities include Ebola treatment units, community care centres, Ebola treatment centres and isola
...
tion centres. The Governments of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone; WHO; CDC; ICAN and UNICEF have jointly developed this rapid guidance and checklist to assist national governments and partners as they begin this process. This rapid guidance pertains to protecting the safety and repurposing of infrastructures and resources previously used for the Ebola outbreak to care for Ebola patients.
more
Abstract: Chagas disease is caused by infection with the protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi, and although over 100 years have passed since the discovery of Chagas
...
disease, it still presents an increasing problem for global public health. A plethora of information concerning the chronic phase of human Chagas disease, particularly the severe cardiac form, is available in the literature. However, information concerning events during the acute phase of the disease is scarce. In this review, we will discuss the current status of acute Chagas disease cases globally, the immunological findings related to the acute phase and their possible influence in disease outcome, and reactivation of Chagas disease in immunocompromised individuals, a key point for transplantation and HIV invection management.
more
Procurement and supply management activities are fundamental to consistent and reliable access to essential medicines and health products. To reduce the impact of CVD, action needs to be taken to improve prevention, diagnosis, care and management
...
of CVD diseases. Affordable essential medicines and technologies to manage CVD disease must be available where and when they are required. Medicines and technologies need to be managed appropriately to ensure that the correct medicines are selected, procured in the right quantities, distributed to facilities in a timely manner, and handled and stored in a way that maintains their quality. This needs to be backed up by policies that enable sufficient quantities to be procured in order to reduce cost inefficiencies, ensure the reliability and security of the distribution system, and encourage the appropriate use of these health products. In order to avoid stock-outs and the disruption of treatment, all related activities need to be conducted in a timely manner, with performance continually monitored, and prompt action taken in response to problems that may arise. Additionally, medication must be dispensed correctly and used rationally by the healthcare provider and patient alike. The purpose of this guide is to explain the necessary steps.
more
The coronavirus outbreak that began in late 2019 (COVID-19) has evolved rapidly and globally. On 30 January 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the outbreak of COVID-19 a Public Health Emergency
...
of International Concern and a pandemic on 11 March 2020 indicating global spread of a new disease.
Addressing COVID-19 requires critical preparedness and a prepared response, particularly within places of detention (prisons). Prison staff play a crucial role in contributing to the effort of preventing the spread of the disease, promoting safer prison environments, and responding to outbreaks in a timely and effective manner.
more
Not long ago, on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the discovery of Chagas disease, sever
...
al campaigns denounced the scant progress has been made in diffrent spheres- medical, scientific and politcal- but major challanges still remain. This is an appropriate time to celebrate what has been achieved and to take the next step.
more
This 2011 update of Guidelines for the programmatic management of drug-resistant tuberculosis is intended as a tool for use by public health professionals working in response
to the Sixty-second Wo
...
rld Health Assembly’s resolution on prevention and control of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis and extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis.
more
During the past five decades, the incidence of dengue has increased 30-fold. Some 50–100 million new infections are estimated to occur annually in more than 100 endemic countries, with a documented further spread to previously unaffected areas; e
...
very year hundreds of thousands of severe cases arise, including 20 000 deaths; 264 disability-adjusted life years per million population per year are lost , at an estimated cost for ambulatory and hospitalized cases of US$ 514–1394, often affecting very poor populations. The true numbers are probably far worse, since severe underreporting and misclassification of dengue cases have been documented.
more
Blended Learning Modulef or the Health Extension Programme
In this study session, you will learn about the general features of faeco-oraldiseases: the main types commonly found in Ethiopia, their general symptomsand signs, how to treat mild cases a
...
nd when to refer patients with severeconditions for specialised treatment, or laboratory tests to confirm thediagnosis. You will also learn about the importance of giving effective healtheducation to your community on ways to prevent and control faeco-oraldiseases.
more
The Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) Assessment Framework (IPCAF) is a tool to support the implementation of the World Health Organization (WHO) Guidelines on core components
...
of IPC programmes at the acute health care facility level. The user should be familiar with the contents of these guidelines, including the Interim practical manual supporting the implementation of the IPC core components at the facility level before using this tool. The IPCAF is a systematic tool that can provide a baseline assessment of the IPC programme and activities within a health care facility, as well as ongoing evaluations through repeated administration to document progress over time and facilitate improvement.
more
On 9 February 2021, a first webinar entitled “Expanding our understanding of Post COVID-19 condition” was held under the auspices of WHO and in consultation with the International Severe Acute R
...
espiratory and Emerging Infection Consortium(ISARIC), Global Research Collaboration for Infectious Disease Preparedness (GloPID-R), National Institutes of Health/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases(NIH/NIAID), Long Covid SOS and patient representatives.
more
Building on the 2021 Interim guidance, this second version and update, incorporates the lessons and feedback from the hepatitis pilots that successfully demonstrated the feasibility of measuring hepatitis B and C impact targets to demonstrate elimin
...
ation, whilst highlighting challenges caused by high disease burden in some countries, as well as delays in reaching mortality targets due to the long natural history of disease progression to liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma.
The path to elimination provides a framework with 3 levels of achievements for which WHO certification is available. Each stepwise progression from bronze to silver to gold tiers will promote an iterative expansion of prevention, diagnosis and treatment services for viral hepatitis services and strengthen measurement systems to support attainment of the 2030 elimination goals.
This updated version also includes changes, clarifications and new guidance on alternative measurement approaches for country validation of elimination. Through the validation process, WHO and partners continue to provide country support for strengthening health system capacity and patient-centred services that respect and protect the human rights of people living with viral hepatitis and ensures meaningful engagement of communities in the national, regional and global viral hepatitis response.
more
The purpose of the situation assessment was to execute a situation analysis for Autism and Neurodevelopment Disorder (NDD) in Bangladesh. The situation assessment covers the following areas: a review of
...
the scale and prevalence of NDD with trends of the disorder in the recent past in Bangladesh (see page 17); estimation of likely disease burden in the near future (see page 27); assessment of the social response to NDD in Bangladesh (see page 67); overview of the support and services required by persons with NDD (see page 79); an inventory of service providers working with NDD in Bangladesh (see page 85); an assessment of the adequacy of the existing services and support available for addressing NDD in country (see page 97); an overview of the role and preparedness of MOHFW and other stakeholders in addressing NDD in Bangladesh (see page 108); recommendations for monitoring, supervision and reporting mechanisms for NDD services at the national level (see page 167); and recommended key activities that should be undertaken by the Health and other relevant ministries in the short and medium term (see page 167).
more
This brief considers the rationale for shielding individuals at high risk of severe disease or death from COVID-19 in low- and middleincome countries. It provides an overview
...
of proposed approaches to shielding, discusses the categories of individuals who may be identified for shielding, and outlines the likely difficulties of these measures and ways to mitigate them.
more