Little is known about asthma control in the rising number of African children who suffer from this condition. The Achieving Control of Asthma in Children in Africa (ACACIA) study is an observational... study collecting evidence about paediatric asthma in urban areas of Ghana, Malawi, Nigeria, South Africa, Uganda and Zimbabwe. The primary objectives are: (1) to identify 3000 children aged between 12 years and 14 years with asthma symptoms; and (2) to assess their asthma control, current treatment, knowledge of and attitudes to asthma and barriers to achieving good control. Secondary objective is to develop interventions addressing identified barriers to good symptom control.
Each centre will undertake screening to identify 500 school children with asthma symptoms using questions from the Global Asthma Network’s questionnaire. Children identified to have asthma symptoms will fill in a digital survey, including: Asthma Control Test, questions on medication usage and adherence, medical care, the Brief-Illness Perception questionnaire and environmental factors. Exhaled nitric oxide testing and prebronchodilator and postbronchodilator spirometry will be performed. A subgroup of children will participate in focus group discussions. Results will be analysed using descriptive statistics and comparative analysis. Informed by these results, we will assess the feasibility of potential interventions, including the adaption of a UK-based theatre performance about asthma attitudes and digital solutions to improve asthma management.
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Disasters and public health emergencies can stress health care systems to the breaking point and disrupt delivery of vital medical services. During... such crises, hospitals and long-term care facilities may be without power; trained staff, ambulances, medical supplies and beds could be in short supply; and alternate care facilities may need to be used. Planning for these situations is necessary to provide the best possible health care during a crisis and, if needed, equitably allocate scarce resources
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These guidelines will assist the ICMR institutions/ centers/ Hqrs. by providing information on the policies, principles and approaches which should be followed in carrying out procurement of goods a...nd services at their respective institute/ center/ Hqrs.
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PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0004762
This study shows the importance of an integrated entomological and medical surveillance for the evaluation of arbovira...l disease risk, which is a precondition for designing cost-effective vector control programs.
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Disaster Management Reference Handbook Series Overview.
Floods, storms, and wind account for large proportions of displacement compared to other disasters. Floods are the most frequent type of disaster whereas wind-related disasters constitute ...n class="attribute-to-highlight medbox">the biggest losses in terms of economic damage, displacement, and number of affected people. ASEAN has succeeded in developing institutions not only for addressing the threat posed by natural hazards but also for building resilience into communities at risk
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Palm Oil and Children in Indonesia : Exploring the Sector's Impact on Children's Rights
Barriers to HIV Services and Treatment for Persons with Disabilities in Zambia
The 80-page report documents the obstacles faced by people with disabilities in both ...ht medbox">the community and healthcare settings. These include pervasive stigma and discrimination, lack of access to inclusive HIV prevention education, obstacles to accessing voluntary testing and HIV treatment, and lack of appropriate support for adherence to antiretroviral treatment. The report also describes the sexual and intimate partner violence women and girls with disabilities face, and the need for the government and international donors to do more to ensure inclusive and accessible HIV services.
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This technical package represents a select group of strategies based on the best available evidence to help communities and states sharpen their focus on prevention activities with the greatest pote...ntial to prevent suicide
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This 88 page book is designed to help primary care workers understand mental health problems and how they can be treated. Mental health problems from childhood to old age are examined. The book focuses primarily on ...t medbox">the Afghan culture but is also relevant to a wider community
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This publication, the third module of a resource manual to support the training of planners and practitioners in managing flash flood risk, deals with structural measures. It presents bioengineering... techniques, physical measures for slope stabilisation and erosion control, and physical measures for river training. It also presents the concept of integrated flood management as a component of integrated water resource management. It emphasizes that structural measures are most effective and sustainable when implemented together with appropriate non-structural measures. The manual is aimed at junior to mid-level professionals with a civil engineering background working on flash flood risk management at the district level.
Flash floods are among the most destructive natural disasters in the Hindu Kush Himalayan region. Flash flood mitigation is generally addressed by community-based organisations, local non-governmental organisations, or district and local-level staff in government organisations. But these groups often lack adequate understanding of the processes causing flash floods and knowledge of flash flood risk management measures.
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Camps is intended to help address the absence of public and standardized training resources for those seeking to use high resolution satellite imagery in support of refugee/IDP assistance operations. Students, general audiences, and volunteers study...ing and analyzing satellite imagery of displaced population camps may find this training resource beneficial.
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A field guide for accelerating and sustaining open defecation free communities through a Community-Led Total Sanitation approach
Follow-up MANDONA (FUM) is an action-oriented approach for accelerating community-wide sanitation and hygiene behaviour change following ...ht medbox">the initial triggering session. Directly based on Community-Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) principles, FUM involves a series of participatory, facilitated sessions that brings the entire community together to analyze their sanitation situation
and collectively undertake small, immediate and doable actions to end open defecation (OD) in the shortest time possible
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Working with parent groups – a training resource for facilitators, parents, caregivers, and persons with cerebral palsy.
TThis manual aims to increase knowledge and skills in caring for a child with cerebral palsy. Research highlighted the signif...icant needs of the caregivers, and how they can gain a huge amount of support from meeting with each other in an understanding environment.
It promotes a participatory learning approach with an emphasis on working with groups and the empowerment of parents and caregivers.
Download the manual and teaching materials for free, in English, French, Arabic or Spanish. A Chichewa (Malawi) version is also ready for sharing and the manual is being translated in a variety of other languages through the online community Working in the Community with Children with Cerebral Palsy
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Human Rights, Minimum Standards and Monitoring at the European and International Levels
This important issue of Forced Migration Review draws our attention to the current challenges facing displaced Syrians and the continuing search for solutions. ...dbox">The statistics of Syrian displacement are staggering – and the numbers continue to rise. Half of Syria’s population has been displaced: five and a half million are registered refugees and over six million are internally displaced.
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This report presents data and outlines best practices and policies that can put governments on the path to providing every child with the best start in life. It outlines ...ghlight medbox">the neuroscience of early childhood development (ECD), including the importance of nutrition, protection and stimulation in the early years. And it makes the case for scaling up investment, evaluation and monitoring in ECD programmes. The report concludes with a six-point call to action for governments and their partners to help maximize the potential of the children who will build the future – by making the most of the unparalleled opportunities offered by the early moments in life.
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Background Paper prepared for the 2015 Global Assessment Report on Disaster Risk Reduction
The aim of this paper is to help bring voluntary standards into ...edbox">the toolbox of disaster risk reduction, including both by encouraging their use by business and by enhancing their role in legislation and regulatory practice.
- Authorities can build awareness for standards in Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR), by facilitating access to relevant standards, encouraging education on DRR-related standards and involving the standardization community.
- Standards need to be sustained by a powerful infrastructure that allows for reliable inspections, audits and precise measurements to be conducted by skilled professionals.
- Risk management best practice needs to embed, as emdodies in standards, more fully in regulatory frameworks in sectors that are relevant.
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Better Parenting Nigeria is a parenting education program whose goal is to see that families have the knowledge and skills needed to raise healthy, safe and resilient children. The program aims to e...nsure that:
The caregiver-child relationship is strengthened;
Caregiver capacity to understand family needs and access resources and services is
increased; and
Caregiver capacity to protect children from all forms of harm and exploitation is
improved.
This Facilitator’s Manual is for the facilitator to use to support the community discussions, provide targeted messaging, and recommend suggestions for knowledge and experience sharing. It should be used hand-in-hand with the Community Discussion Guide.
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This curriculum will help you, and your community, understand the science of the virus that causes COVID-19 and other viruses like it. It will help you to figure out how this virus is impacting or a...ffecting you or may impact you in the future. It will help you to understand the actions that you can take to keep yourself and your community safe.
It is available in 15 languages. Download for free at the website
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39 examples of field practices, and learnings from 20 countries, for all phases of humanitarian response. The report shows that deliberate and proactive action is required to ensure that persons with disabilities from all constituencies are systemat...ically included and meaningfully participate in DRR and humanitarian preparedness, response and recovery. It draws lessons from field practices, but does not provide technical guidance. The newly published IASC Guidelines are the reference document to seek in-depth theoretical and technical information.
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