Asthma is a serious global health problem affecting all age groups. Its prevalence is increasing in many countries, espacially among children. Although some countries have seen a decline in hospitalizations and deaths from asthma, asthma still impos...es an unacceptable burden on health care systems, and on society through loss of productivity in the workplace and, espacially for pediatric asthma, disruption to the family.
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STGs are designed to assist health care professionals in making decisions about appropriate, effective patient care. However, health managers often have trouble setting and meeting the high standard...s required of modern, developed health care systems. With stakeholders expressing concern over issues such as strength of evidence, transparency, conflicts of interest, and effective implementation, it is clear that many health care professionals need further guidance in developing and making use of STGs.
This manual guides health professionals through the process of establishing and implementing STGs, placing special emphasis on the low- and middle-income country (LMIC) context. By including tools, templates, and success stories as well as hyperlinks to useful resources, the manual helps health practitioners understand not only important concepts of treatment guidelines, but also how they can best be used in practice.
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The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the inadequacy of investments in public health, the persistence of profound economic and social inequalities and the fragility of many key global systems and approaches.
WaterAid is an international NGO that provides assistance for safe water supply,
sanitation and hygiene practice in the poor communities in the world.
The 7th edition of the Orange Guide provides practical guidance to health workers on the front line of TB control. It includes sections on HIV, MDR-TB and a review of the recommended treatment regimens
The ECDC Communicable Disease Threats Report (CDTR) is a weekly bulletin for epidemiolgists and health professionals on active public health threats. This issue covers the period 7-13 August 2016 ...and includes updates on Zika virus, yellow fever in Angola, polio, MERS CoV and West Nile virus.
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DHS Methodological Report No. 20
This study used Service Provision Assessment (SPA) and Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) data from Haiti, Malawi, and Tanzania to compare traditionally used additive methods with a data reduction method—...principal component analysis (PCA).
We scored the quality of health facilities with three approaches (simple additive, weighted additive, and PCA) for two constructs: quality of services, with only facilities-level data, and quality of care, which incorporates observation and client data. We ranked facilities as high, medium, or low quality based on their scores. Our results indicated that the rankings change with the scoring methodology. There was more consistency in the rankings of facilities by the simple additive and PCA methods than the weighted additive and PCA-based rankings. This may be due to the low factor loadings and little variance explained by the first component in the PCA. We aggregated facility scores to their respective DHS clusters (Haiti, Malawi) or regions (Tanzania) and geographically linked them to women interviewed in DHS surveys to test associations between the use of family planning services and the quality environment, as measured with each index.
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The Essential WASH Actions toolkit expands the connection between WASH and nutrition. This resource offers a comprehensive set of essential WASH actions, references training materials for health workers, nutrition managers and community workers to b...uild capacity, and outlines accompanying behaviors needed to support the Essential Nutrition Actions.
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The design of anaesthesia equipment for use in hospitals in the developing world must take intoaccount the local conditions, particularly whether reliable supplies of compressed oxygen andelectricity are available. Designs should ensure that mainten...ance is feasible locally. Internationalstandards should encourage the design of suitable equipment to ensure safe anaesthesia for patientsworldwide
Anaesthesia, 2007,62(Suppl. 1), pages 54–60
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A case study from Bosnia and Herzegovina Eurasian Harm Reduction Network
The case study was prepared by Samir Ibisevic, President of PROI between March and June 2016 and edited by Graham Shaw.
EHRN is grateful to all who contributed to this doc...ument, especially: Dr. Serifa Godinjak, Chairperson of Country Coordinating Mechanism; Dr. Zlatko Cardaklija, HIV Coordinator for the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH); Dr. Nesad Seremet, Head of the HIV program, United Nations Development Program in Bosnia and Herzegovina; Ms. Gyongyver Jakab, Fund Portfolio Manager, Eastern Europe and Central Asia and Ms. Natalya Bogach, Program Officer, The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria; Dr. Nermana Mehic–Basara, Director of the Institute for Addiction Diseases of Sarajevo Canton; Mr. Denis Dedajic, Director of the Association Margina from the Federation of BiH; Mr. Srdjan Kukolj, Director of Action Against AIDS from the Republic of Srpska.
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This regional technical guidance note was developed for the UNFPA Asia-Pacific Regional Office (APRO) and Asia-Pacific Country Offices to provide guidance on older persons, health workers, and caregivers in the contexts of COVID-19 to effectively su...pport each member state and work with other partners in preparing for and responding to the COVID-19 epidemic.
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Basic psychosocial support skills are at the core of any Mental Health and PsychosocialSupport (MHPSS) intervention. Such skills are also indispensable for many others involvedin the COVID-19 response, whether they identify as an MHPSS provider or n...ot. Thus, this guide is meant for all COVID-19 responders.
It is available in different languages: English, French, Spanish, Arabic, Amharic, Greek, Chinese, Bahasa Indonesia, Russian
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The main objective of this guidance is to provide scientific advice on public health principles and considerations for infection and prevention control of COVID-19 in migrant and refugee reception and detention centres in the European Union and Euro...pean Economic Area (EU/EEA) and the United Kingdom (UK).
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Pan American Journal of Public Health.
Objetivo. Identificar os fatores associados ao êxito do tratamento da tuberculose multirresistente (TBMR) relacionados ao paciente e à equipe de saúde nos seis municípios da Colômbia com o maior número d...e casos. Métodos. Mediante regresiones logísticas bifactorial y multifactorial se analizó la asociación entre el tratamiento exitoso (curación o cumplimiento del tratamiento) y las características de los pacientes, y de los médicos, profesionales de enfermería y psicólogos vinculados al tratamiento. Se exploró la importancia del conocimiento en el manejo de los casos de TB-MDR mediante grupos focales con esos profesionales.
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MEDBOX Issue Brief 26. Cholera is an acute diarrhoeal infection caused by eating or drinking food or water that is contaminated with the
bacterium Vibrio cholerae. Cholera remains a global threat to public health and is an indicator of inequity and... lack of
social development. Researchers have estimated that every year, there are 1.3 to 4.0 million cases of cholera, and 21
000 to 143 000 deaths worldwide due to the infection.
However, cholera remains a neglected and underreported disease. Many cases are not recorded due to limitations in
surveillance systems and fears of potential impact on trade or tourism.
Today cholera affects 47 countries across the globe. Almost every developing country faces cholera outbreaks or
the threat of cholera. Major ongoing outbreaks are being reported from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Democratic
Republic of Congo, Ethiopia and Nigeria. Major outbreaks are currently in Syria and Haiti.
Therefore, MEDBOX decided to produce issue briefs on cholera and available resources in Arabic, English and
French.
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This technical report presents the epidemiology of human and animal leishmaniases in the EU and its neighbouring countries and concludes that the disease remains widespread and underreported in many countries of southern Europe, northern Africa, and the Middle East and that there is a need to improv...e leishmaniasis prevention and control based on robust surveillance in humans, animals, and vectors, and to increase public awareness following a one health approach.
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Yaws is targeted for eradication by 2030, using a strategy based on mass drug administration (MDA) with azithromycin. New diagnostics are needed to aid eradication. Serology is currently the mainstay for yaws diagnosis; however, inaccuracies associated with current serological tests makes it difficu...lt to fully assess the need for and impact of eradication campaigns using these tools. Under the recommendation of the WHO Diagnostic Technical Advisory Group (DTAG) for Neglected Tropical Diseases(NTDs), a working group was assembled and tasked with agreeing on priority use cases for developing target product profiles (TPPs) for new diagnostics tools.
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The importance of robust mortality surveillance systems cannot be overstated in an era marked by increasing global health challenges where health threats loom large and population dynamics continue ...to evolve. Accurate and timely mortality data is essential for identifying trends and detecting emerging health threats, evaluating the impact of interventions, and guiding evidence-based policy decisions.
This framework outlines a holistic approach to strengthening routine mortality surveillance systems, considering the unique contextual factors and challenges faced by African countries. It emphasizes the importance of establishing efficient data collection mechanisms, enhancing data quality and completeness, and promoting data sharing and collaboration among stakeholders.
Moreover, the framework recognizes the pivotal role of technology in the integration of data from fragmented mortality data sources. It highlights the potential of innovative data capture methods, advanced analytics, and real-time reporting systems to enhance mortality data’s accuracy, efficiency, and timeliness.
The continental framework for mortality surveillance aligns with Africa CDC’s mission and strategic goal by serving as a fundamental component in strengthening public health systems, enhancing disease surveillance capacities and capabilities, informing evidence-based policies and interventions, and promoting collaboration and coordination among African countries to address health challenges and improve health outcomes on the continent.
The successful implementation of this framework requires collective commitment and concerted efforts from governments, health institutions, and the international community. We hope this document will serve as a catalyst for transformative change, enabling countries to build resilient mortality surveillance systems that protect public health, save lives, and contribute to evidence-based decision-making.
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This paper is motivated by the global spread of the coronavirus referred to as COVID-19 and its efect on Sub-Saharan African (SSA) economies. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has alluded to the COVID-19 not only afecting the global health but a...lso trade and tourism, commodity prices, and fnancial conditions that calls for an additional policy response to support demand and ensure an adequate supply of credit
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Objective: To conduct a landscape assessment of public knowledge of cardiovascular disease risk factors and acute myocardial infarction symptoms, cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and automated external defibrillator (AED) awareness and training in three underserved communities in Brazil.
Metho...ds: A cross-sectional, population-based survey of non-institutionalised adults age 30 or greater was conducted in three municipalities in Eastern Brazil. Data were analysed as survey-weighted percentages of the sampled populations.
Results: 3035 surveys were completed. Overall, one-third of respondents was unable to identify at least one cardiovascular disease risk factor and 25% unable to identify at least one myocardial infarction symptom. A minority of respondents had received training in CPR or were able to identify an AED. Low levels of education and low socioeconomic status were consistent predictors of lower knowledge levels of cardiovascular disease risk factors, acute coronary syndrome symptoms and CPR and AED use.
Conclusions: In three municipalities in Eastern Brazil, overall public knowledge of cardiovascular disease risk factors and symptoms, as well as knowledge of appropriate CPR and AED use was low. Our findings indicate the need for interventions to improve public knowledge and response to acute cardiovascular events in Brazil as a first step towards improving health outcomes in this population. Significant heterogeneity in knowledge seen across sites and socioeconomic strata indicates a need to appropriately target such interventions.
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