The article "An Official ATS Workshop Report: Issues in Screening for Asthma in Children" summarizes discussions from a workshop organized by the American Thoracic Society (ATS) on the challenges of asthma screening in children. The report reviews the effectiveness of ...ight medbox">population-based asthma screening programs, highlights the limitations of current methods, and discusses case detection as an alternative. It assesses asthma's impact as a public health issue, explores the feasibility of screening tests, and examines the economic and practical challenges. The workshop concludes that broad population-based screening may not be justified without better evidence and targeted efforts to improve follow-up care and treatment access.
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The World Heart Federation (WHF) Roadmap series covers a large range of cardiovascular conditions. These Roadmaps identify potential roadblocks and their solutions to improve the prevention, detection and<.../span> management of cardiovascular diseases and provide a generic global framework available for local adaptation. A first Roadmap on raised blood pressure was published in 2015. Since then, advances in hypertension have included the publication of new clinical guidelines (AHA/ACC; ESC; ESH/ISH); the launch of the WHO Global HEARTS Initiative in 2016 and the associated Resolve to Save Lives (RTSL) initiative in 2017; the inclusion of single-pill combinations on the WHO Essential
Medicines’ list as well as various advances in technology, in particular telemedicine and mobile health. Given the substantial benefit accrued from effective interventions in the management of hypertension and their potential for scalability in low and middle-income countries (LMICs), the WHF has now revisited and updated the ‘Roadmap for raised BP’ as ‘Roadmap for hypertension’
by incorporating new developments in science and policy. Even though cost-effective lifestyle and medical interventions to prevent and manage hypertension exist, uptake is still low, particularly in resource-poor areas. This Roadmap examined the roadblocks pertaining to both the demand side (demographic and socio-economic factors, knowledge and beliefs, social relations, norms, and
traditions) and the supply side (health systems resources and processes) along the patient pathway to propose a range of possible solutions to overcoming them. Those include the development of population-wide prevention and control programmes; the implementation of opportunistic screening and of out-of-office blood pressure measurements; the strengthening of primary care and a greater focus on task sharing and team-based care; the delivery of people-centred care and stronger patient and carer education; and the facilitation of adherence to treatment. All of the above are dependent upon the availability and effective distribution of good quality, evidencebased, inexpensive BP-lowering agents.
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The outbreak of COVID-19 comes with unpredictable primary and secondary impacts on vulnerable and food-insecure populations across the world. M...ortality and morbidity appear to be most acute for elderly people, and those with underlying health conditions. At the same time, the widely anticipated economic downturn could have a more devastating effect on the world’s poor than the virus itself
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Malaria Journal (2018) 17:460 https://doi.org/10.1186/s12936-018-2606-9
In malaria endemic countries, asymptomatic cases constitute an important reservoir of infections sustaining transmission. Estimating the burden of the asymptomatic population... and identifying areas with elevated risk is important for malaria control in Burkina Faso.
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Migration Health Division Information Sheet Series
Migration Health Assistance for Crisis-Affected Populations
HIV/AIDS, TB, Malaria, Cholera, Re.../Emerging Diseases and Mobility
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Spirometry is required as part of the comprehensive evaluation of both adult and paediatric individuals with suspected or confirmed respiratory diseases and occupational assessments. It is used in t...he categorisation of impairment, grading of severity, assessment of potential progression and response to interventions. Guidelines for spirometry in South Africa are required to improve the quality, standardisation and usefulness in local respiratory practice. The broad principles of spirometry have remained largely unchanged from previous versions of the South African Spirometry Guidelines; however, minor adjustments have been incorporated from more comprehensive international guidelines, including adoption of the Global Lung Function Initiative 2012 (GLI 2012) spirometry reference equations for the South African population.
All equipment should have proof of validation regarding resolution and consistency of the system. Daily calibration must be performed, and equipment quality control processes adhered to. It is important to have standard operating procedures to ensure consistency and quality and, additionally, strict infection control as highlighted during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Adequate spirometry relies on a competent, trained operator, accurate equipment, standardised operating procedures, quality control and patient co-operation. All manoeuvres must be performed strictly according to guidelines, and strict quality assurance methods should be in place, including acceptability criteria (for any given effort) and repeatability (between efforts).
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This report provides insights into the prevalence of belief systems and gender norms among young women and men in the region. It looks in depth at the most entrenched beliefs ...to-highlight medbox">and behaviours among the younger population and provides ample evidence that we must challenge and change the prevailing belief systems and gender norms if we are to make real progress in guaranteeing the right of all women and girls to a life free from violence.
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Developed as part of the UN Women–WHO Global Joint Programme on Violence Against Women Data, this briefing note focuses on the measurement of violence against women with disability and is one in a series of methodological briefing notes for streng...thening the measurement and data collection of violence against particular groups of women or specific aspects of violence against women.
The briefing note is meant for researchers, national statistics offices, and others involved in data collection on violence against women. It provides an overview of the challenges in the availability, measurement, and collection of data on violence against women with disability and outlines recommendations for good practice in measurement, with the aim of strengthening ongoing and future data collection efforts and increasing the availability of such data.
The inclusion of women with disability and the issue of disability within population-based surveys and research on violence against women is necessary for an improved understanding of populations of women at specific risk of violence. This knowledge would also allow more tailored prevention strategies and response/services and programmes to be designed in a way that addresses the specific needs of women with disability.
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Don’t Panic” is a one-hour long documentary produced by Wingspan Productions and broadcasted on BBC on the 7th of November 2013.
An IPCC special report on climate change, desertification, land degradation, sustainable land management, food security, and greenhouse gas fluxes in terrestrial ecosystems
As more frequent droughts and... floods threaten the global food supply, humans are increasing their demands on water and land, The New York Times reports.
Data from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report:
• 500 million people are living in areas that are becoming desert.
• Soil is depleted at 10X-100X the rate it’s being formed.
• More than 10% of the global population is undernourished.
Major threats include the risk of “multi-breadbasket failure”—simultaneous food crises on several continents—and migration triggered by food shortages.
Good News/Bad News: Catastrophe can be avoided, but it would require massive changes to agriculture, food systems and behavior.
A Key Action: Eat less meat. Cattle production is driving deforestation, consuming huge amounts of water, generating methane and causing other impacts, notes Nature.
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The world is becoming increasingly urbanized. Since 2007, more than half the world’s population has been living in cities, and that share is projected to rise to 60 per cent by 2030.
Global HIV Strategic Information Working Group
Census data shows that Myanmar can harness a double dividend – both youth and gender. This year’s annual report provides many facets of the journey to gender equality. It tells a story of widening horizons for women ...hlight medbox">and girls who are capable in their own right. It is also a story of women fulfilling their reproductive rights, and of couples having access to family planning choices.
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