PLoS Med 16(3): e1002768. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1002768
Home delivery and late and infrequent attendance at antenatal care (ANC) are responsible for substantial avoidable maternal <...span class="attribute-to-highlight medbox">and pediatric morbidity and mortality in sub-Saharan Africa. This cluster-randomized trial aimed to determine the impact of a community health worker (CHW) intervention on the proportion of women who visit ANC fewer than 4 times during their pregnancy and deliver at home.
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To understand the mental health treatment gap in the Region of the Americas by examining the prevalence of mental health disorders, use of mental health...span> services, and the global burden of disease.
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The World Health Organization (WHO) Global Status Report on Noncommunicable Diseases 2010 projects that noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) will be responsible for over 44 million deaths during the next decade, representing an increase of about 15% sinc...e 2010. Most of these deaths will occur in the WHO regions of Africa, South-East Asia and the Eastern Mediterranean. In the African Region alone, NCDs will cause around 3.9 million deaths by 2020.
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The Global Reference List of 100 Core Health Indicators is a standard set of core indicators prioritized by the global community to provide concise information on the health situation ...ttribute-to-highlight medbox">and trends, including responses at national and global levels.
This second (2018) edition builds on the previous work of the inter-agency working group that was commissioned by global health leaders to reduce reporting burden. The 2018 list of indicators contains modifications and additions to indicators and metadata elements to reflect the recommended health and health-related indicators of the Sustainable Development Goals, including universal health coverage.
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2nd edition.
The tool kit provides learning objects and curricular content to support the competencies for those proficiency/trainee levels
The report “Dementia: a public health priority” has been jointly developed by WHO and Alzheimer's Disease International. The purpose of this report is to raise awareness of dementia as a public... health priority, to articulate a public health approach and to advocate for action at international and national levels.
Dementia is a syndrome that affects memory, thinking, behaviour and ability to perform everyday activities. The number of people living with dementia worldwide is currently estimated at 35.6 million. This number will double by 2030 and more than triple by 2050. Dementia is overwhelming not only for the people who have it, but also for their caregivers and families. There is lack of awareness and understanding of dementia in most countries, resulting in stigmatization, barriers to diagnosis and care, and impacting caregivers, families and societies physically, psychologically and economically.
Available Languages: Chinese, English, Japanese, Russian and Spanish
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A comprehensive summary of mental health research, providing a unique handbook of key facts and figures, covering all key areas of mental health
The chapter Fostering Health Systems’ Monitoring to Better Serve Older Populations is part of the publication series entitled Decade of Healthy Aging: Situation and Challenges. The publications ar...e designed to favor the prioritization of effective actions at the local level as well as the monitoring of data and public health policies, and providing evidence-based information. Along with the objective of presenting the available updated knowledge about the situation of health and aging at the beginning of the Decade of Healthy Aging in the Americas, this publication gives information about health systems’ monitoring to better serve the needs of older adults and emphasizes the need for societies and health systems to better adapt to an aging population. It introduces the 360-tool as a guide to adapt health systems through monitoring tracers/indicators and highlighting the data and information that is readily available, disaggregated by age. This information can aid in decision-making and resource allocation to support older adults’ needs. Concerning the 360-tool development, a consensus has been reached on seven tracer indicators with high relevance to informing policy, and case studies in selected countries have assessed the feasibility of this approach. The list of indicators and the process related to the development of the tool are presented in this publication. The Decade of Healthy Aging 2021-2030 is a period to guide action towards the transformation of societies by fostering the inclusion of older people in every decision. This publication intends to contribute to this strategy and highlight the upcoming challenges and opportunities on healthy aging.
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A WHO Guideline for Emergency Risk Communication (ERC) policy and practice.
Recent public health emergencies, such as the Ebola virus disease outbreak in West Africa (2014–2015), the emergence o...f the Zika virus syndrome in 2015–2016 and multi-country yellow fever outbreaks in Africa in 2016, have highlighted major challenges and gaps in how risk is communicated during epidemics and other health emergencies. The challenges include the rapid transformation in communications technology, including the near-universal penetration of mobile telephones, the widespread use and increasingly powerful influence of digital media which has had an impact on ‘traditional’ media (newspapers, radio and television), and major changes in how people access and trust health information. Important gaps include considerations of context – the social, economic, political and cultural factors influencing people’s perception of risk and their risk-reduction behaviours.
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An approach to emergency situations. Relief workers face rapidly changing and complex environments, new disease patterns, enormous humanitarian needs and relatively limited resources. The authors of... this book use their experience in the area to produce an operational manual of the issues involved in refugee health programs. This book is aimed at professionals involved in public health assistance to refugees and displaced persons. It deals with a variety of specific refugee health issues at the decisional level, and discusses the priorities of intervention during the different phases of a refugee crisis, from emergency to repatriation.
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Summary of research into the consequences of the Ebola outbreak for children and communities in Liberia and Sierra Leone
This study describes the range of impacts that Ebola has had on children ...an class="attribute-to-highlight medbox">and families in Liberia and Sierra Leone, looking beyond the immediate health effects
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Burns are a global public health problem, accounting for close to 200,000 deaths annually. The majority of these occur in low- and middle-income countries, where a number of constraints complicate t...he public health task of addressing burns. While the primary prevention of burns in low- and middle-income countries is a pressing need, the World Health Organization (WHO) also actively encourages further development of burn-care systems, including the training of health-care providers in the appropriate triage and management of people with burns.
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Overwhelming evidence shows that a range of health concerns—mental illness, substance dependence, HIV/AIDS, and noncommunicable diseases—affect prisoners disproportionately. But, while incarcera...tion poses risks to health—including inadequate nutrition and exposure to violence—prisons also present important opportunities to promote health and risk reduction that need to be tapped.
Some recommended remedies:
Health ministries, not ministries of justice, should manage health care responsibilities
Ensure that testing is available, but not mandatory, for infectious diseases
Make prison health part of the broader public health agenda
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Strategic communication is at the heart of public health and more important than ever in the digital age. Using communication strategically requires expertise, skills ...ight medbox">and resources to plan, implement and evaluate interventions that encourage governments to implement policies that improve people’s lives and well-being, that empower health workers to deliver the best care possible, and that encourage people to take actions that protect and improve their health and that of their family and community. This Regional Action Framework on Communication for Health (C4H) aims to support Member States in implementing the C4H approach. It outlines steps to be taken by WHO and Member States to use C4H to achieve shared public health goals in the Western Pacific.
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Alcohol consumption is deeply embedded in the social landscape of many societies. Several major factors have an impact on levels and patterns of alcohol consumption in populations – such as historical trends in alcohol consumption, the availabilit...y of alcohol, culture, economic status and trends in the marketing of alcoholic beverages, as well as implemented alcohol control measures. At the individual level, the patterns and levels of alcohol consumption are determined by many different factors, including gender, age and individual biological and socioeconomic vulnerability factors, as well as the policy environment. Prevailing social norms that support drinking behaviour and mixed messages about the harms and benefits of drinking encourage alcohol consumption delay appropriate health-seeking behaviour and weaken community action
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The module is currently available in English, French, Nepali, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish
The report presents the latest data on more than 50 health-related Sustainable Development Goal and "triple billion" target indicators. The 2021 edition includes preliminary estimates for global exc...ess deaths attributable to COVID-19 for 2020 and the state of global and regional health trends from 2000-2019. It also focuses on persistent health inequalities and data gaps that have been accentuated by the pandemic, with a call to urgently invest in health information systems to ensure the world is better prepared with better data.
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This booklet provides policymakers, planners, and other interested parties with insight into the current state of the Rwandan health sector. These statistics provide a basis for policies, strategies..., and planned interventions to ensure they are responsive to the needs of the health sector and, crucially, are focused on addressing current priorities that aim to improve the health of the Rwandan population.
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The Report describes the evaluation of WHO's contribution to the Maternal Health Program in South-East Asia Region. This was an independent evaluation conducted in 2015 by Amaltas, a Delhi based organization. The evaluation highlights the progress i...n five countries, namely Bangladesh, Indonesia, Myanmar, Nepal and Sri Lanka and provides specific recommendations for Organizational Learning and Development. This report will be useful for all those interested in WHO's work on Maternal Health Program in the Region.
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Maternal, Infant and Young Child Nutrition Strategic Actions:
1 Endorse and disseminate key policies and regulations
2 Improve maternal n...utrition
3 Protect, promote, and support optimal infant and young child feeding practices
4 Support optimal infant and young child feeding in difficult circumstances
5 Ensure intra-sectoral integration (Health and Nutrition)
6 Improve intersectoral integration (food security and livelihood, WASH, protection, education and shelter)
7 Support capacity building and service strengthening
8 Initiate advocacy and social behavioural change communication
9 Sustain research, information, monitoring and evaluation
10 Mobilise resources and support
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