INTRODUCTION: Health service use among the public can decline during outbreaks and had been predicted among low and middle-income countries during the COVID-19 pandemic. In March 2020, the government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) started implementing public health measures across Kin...shasa, including strict lock-down measures in the Gombe health zone.
METHODS: Using monthly time series data from the DRC Health Management Information System (January 2018 to December 2020) and interrupted time series with mixed effects segmented Poisson regression models, we evaluated the impact of the pandemic on the use of essential health services (outpatient visits, maternal health, vaccinations, visits for common infectious diseases and non-communicable diseases) during the first wave of the pandemic in Kinshasa. Analyses were stratified by age, sex, health facility and lockdown policy (i.e, Gombe vs other health zones).
RESULTS: Health service use dropped rapidly following the start of the pandemic and ranged from 16% for visits for hypertension to 39% for visits for diabetes. However, reductions were highly concentrated in Gombe (81% decline in outpatient visits) relative to other health zones. When the lock-down was lifted, total visits and visits for infectious diseases and non-communicable diseases increased approximately twofold. Hospitals were more affected than health centres. Overall, the use of maternal health services and vaccinations was not significantly affected.
CONCLUSION: The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in important reductions in health service utilizsation in Kinshasa, particularly Gombe. Lifting of lock-down led to a rebound in the level of health service use but it remained lower than pre-pandemic levels.
more
Against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic, health is receiving unprecedented public and political attention. Yet the fact that climate change also presents us with a health crisis deserves further recognition. From more deaths due to heat stress to increased transmission of infectious diseases, ...climate change affects the social and environmental determinants of health in ways that are profound and far-reaching. The fundamental interdependency of human health and the health of the environment is encapsulated in the concept of planetary health, a scientific field and social movement that has been gaining force since the 2015 publication of the Rockefeller Foundation-Lancet Commission report “Safeguarding human health in the Anthropocene epoch”.
We see an urgent need for strategic communication to raise awareness of climate-health synergies in order to overcome the misperception that climate and health are two independent agendas. The fragmented and sector-focused nature of thinking and action remains a significant barrier to integrating health considerations into climate planning and project development. Inevitably, collaboration across sectors requires a community of practice. Despite recent efforts focused on the climate-health nexus, much work remains to be done to translate scientific findings for policymakers, mobilise climate financing resources in support of health co-benefits, and promote genderjust solutions within climate change projects.
more
These guidelines have been prepared by the Sub directorate: Maternal Health for the guidance of health workers (doctors and midwives) providing obstetric, surgical and anaesthetic services for pregnant women in district clinics, health centres and district hospitals. These guidelines are intended fo...r use in clinics, community health centres and district hospitals where specialist services are not normally available. The guidelines deal mainly with the diagnosis and especially the management of common and serious pregnancy problems. The assumption is made that the reader has a basic knowledge and understanding about the care of pregnant women. With a few exceptions (e.g. pre-eclampsia), there is no mention of aetiology and pathogenesis of the conditions described.https://www.knowledgehub.org.za/elibrary/guidelines-maternity-care-south-africa-2016
more
Consolidated recommendations for palliative care in the SARS pandemic-Cov-2/COVID-19 2020
A national faecal examination of 27 729 schoolchildren from 395 schools carried out in
2008 indicated that intestinal parasitic worms affected an estimated five million (56.8%)
children in Kenya. Existing evidence shows that worm infections lead to reduced literacy
levels due to impaired growth a...nd physical fitness.
more
CONCLUSIONS: The roles performed by CHWs are broad, varied and essential for diabetes and hypertension management. However, basic knowledge about diabetes and hypertension remains poor while training is unstandardised and haphazard. These need to be improved if community-based NCD management is to b...e successful. The potential of peer education as a complementary mechanism to formal training needs as well as support and supervision in the workplace requires further assessment
more
Occupational health and safety programmes aim to prevent diseases and injuries arising out of, linked with or occurring in the course of work, while improving the quality and safety of care, safeguarding the health workforce and promoting environmental sustainability in the health sector.
This gu...ide provides an overview of the key elements of occupational health and safety programmes for health workers at national, subnational and facility levels, as well as advice for the development and implementation of such programmes. Health workers exposure risk assessment and management in the context of COVID-19 virus
more
Although Kenyans enjoy comparatively good health, the prevalence of
chronic disease is increasing and our ageing population is placing evergrowing pressures on the finite resources of our health system.
Guideline for the development of a national plan for the operationalization of vaccination against COVID-19
In 2018 and early 2019, the WHO Regional Office for Europe’s cultural contexts of health and well-being project worked alongside the University of Exeter’s WHO Collaborating Centre on Culture and Health, the Minsk Regional Centre for Psychiatry and Addiction, and the Institute of Mental Health o...f the Ukrainian Catholic University to engage researchers, practitioners, health-care workers and other relevant stakeholders in a series of workshops on the cultural contexts of early life trauma in Belarus and Ukraine.
more
This second edition of the Infection prevention and control in the context of coronavirus disease (COVID-19): A living guideline provides the most up to date technical guidance on mask use in community settings in the context of COVID-19.
In this edition, new information includes updated mask re...commendations for children in community settings including updated age specific recommendations, statements for children with disabilities and those at high risk for complications related to COVID-19 infection. Updated implementation considerations for mask use in school settings are also included.
This living guideline is being published using the MAGICApp online publishing platform https://app.magicapp.org/#/guideline/Lr2a8L , as well as in PDF copy on the WHO website.
more
The strategic framework gives guidance to public and private health facilities and health workers on compliance with standards relating to IPC practices. To further assist health facilities to implement the IPC strategic framework, this practical implementation manual has been developed in parallel ...to accompany the document.
These implementation strategies should be read in conjunction with the National Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) Strategic Framework (2020) to support an IPC programme at health facility level towards reducing healthcare-associated infections (HAI) and antimicrobial resistance (AMR). This manual is aligned with the World Health Organization (WHO) Core Component IPC programme recommendations and highlights the essentials for developing and improving IPC at health facility level in a systematic, stepwise manner for South Africa. It supports the Framework for the Prevention and Containment of AMR in South African Hospitals (2018).
more
En 2015, murieron 5,9 millones de niños menores de cinco años (1). Las principales causas de muerte en los niños a nivel mundial son la neumonía, la prematuridad, las complicaciones durante el parto, la sepsis neonatal, las anomalías congénitas, las enfermedades diarreicas, las lesiones ...y la malaria (2). La mayoría de estas enfermedades y condiciones son provocadas al menos en parte por el medio ambiente.
more
Known avoidable environmental risks to health cause at least 12.6 million deaths every year, and account for about one quarter of the global burden of disease (2016 data) (1). Air pollution alone causes about 7 million
deaths a year, placing it among the top global risks to health (2). Global envir...onmental challenges are on the rise, including climate change, rapid urbanization and increased resistance to drugs.
more
En 2015, 5,9 millions d'enfants de moins de cinq ans sont décédés (1). Les principales causes de mortalité infantile dans le monde sont la pneumonie, la prématurité, les complications durant l'accouchement, la septicémie néonatale, les anomalies congénitales, la diarrhée, les tra...umatismes accidentels et le paludisme (2). La plupart de ces maladies et de ces problèmes sont, du moins en partie, causés par l'environnement. On a estimé en 2012 que 26 % des décès infantiles et 25 % de la charge totale de morbidité des enfants de moins de cinq ans pourraient être évités par la réduction des risques environnement aux tels que la pollution de l'air, l'insalubrité de l'eau, les mauvaises conditions d'hygiène et d'assainissement ou les produits chimiques.
more
Technical guidelines for respiratory therapy care of patients with COVID-19
Working towards better COVID-19 outcomes in the WHO European Region.From the first COVID-19 cases in Europe reported on
24 January 2020, the pandemic reached 1 million cases
within 3 months, 10 million cases within 8 months, and
100 million cases in Europe alone within 2 years. Over
the course o...f its two years, COVID-19 has claimed over
1.6 million lives across Europe and Central Asia. The
World Health Organization (WHO) European Region has
accounted for close to a third of the cumulative global
COVID-19 cases and deaths.
more
The “Wuppertal Call” – Contributions and Recommendations from an
International Conference on Eco-Theology and Ethics of Sustainability
Wuppertal, Germany, 16 – 19 June 2019