Frequently asked questions on COVID-19 vaccination. Version 6, 12 February 2022
Suicide mortality in the Region of the Americas. Regional Report 2015-2019
Este informe, que se publica cada cinco años. brinda datos actualizados sobre el suicidio en la Región de las Américas. Esta cuarta edición, además de incluir análisis similares a los realizados previamente (suicidio p...or edad, sexo y métodos utilizados), utiliza técnicas de estadística descriptiva para caracterizar cuantitativamente la mortalidad por suicidio y su distribución por grupo etario y sexo, así como los años de vida perdidos, por país, subregión y región, para el período 2015-2019.
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In the face of rapid increases in the number of hospitalizations due to COVID-19 in Latin America and the Caribbean, coupled with shortages of human and material resources, including medical equipment and gases, there is a need to redesign models of care in the Region to optimize available resources... and ensure that more patients receive the quantity and quality of oxygen they need. Oxygen is included in the World Health Organization’s list of essential medicines and is used to care for patients at all levels of integrated health services networks. The efficacy of oxygen use in the treatment of patients with respiratory conditions caused by COVID-19 has been demonstrated, but there is great opportunity to improve the effectiveness of its use if it is used in a rational, sustainable, and safe way. Bearing in mind that the efficacy of a health technology is measured by its benefit under actual conditions of use, practical actions can be taken to improve the use of medical oxygen and avoid oxygen shortages. A drug is considered to be used rationally when patients receive it according to their clinical needs, in doses appropriate to their individual needs, for an appropriate period, and at a low cost to them and their community. By providing instruction on the rational use of oxygen and promoting it, negative repercussions can be avoided, such as loss of efficacy as a result of activities related to oxygen storage, distribution, and administration. Rational use of oxygen also involves controlling waste due to leaks in storage and distribution systems, use of gas at incorrect pressures, use of incorrectly adjusted flowmeters, and disconnections, among other problems. Another aspect to consider is the provision of adequate technical support for all oxygen production systems, in terms of maintenance and calibration, availability of electrical energy, and specific knowledge about these systems. For these reasons, a set of guidelines has been put together for the development of an efficient management system to deal with situations of oxygen scarcity, both now and in the future.
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El oxígeno está incluido dentro de la lista de medicamentos esenciales de la OMS y es utilizado para atender pacientes en todos los niveles de las redes integradas de servicios de salud. Dado que la eficacia del uso de oxígeno ya está probada en el tratamiento de pacientes con afecciones respira...torias provocadas por la COVID-19, existe una gran oportunidad para mejorar la efectividad promoviendo su uso de una manera racional, sostenible y segura.
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En estas directrices se actualiza la sección de recomendaciones sobre la prevención de la transmisión maternoinfantil de las Directrices para la prevención, la atención y el tratamiento de la infección crónica por el virus de la hepatitis B, publicadas por la OMS en el 2015, y se centra la at...ención en el uso de la profilaxis con antivirales en el embarazo. Su finalidad es proporcionar orientación respaldada por la evidencia acerca del uso de la profilaxis con antivirales durante el periparto en embarazadas que han dado positivo al HBsAg a efectos de prevenir la transmisión maternoinfantil del VHB. Los principales destinatarios son los funcionarios de los ministerios de salud que formulan las políticas nacionales y las directrices sobre la prevención de la transmisión maternoinfantil del VHB en todos los países, pero sobre todo en los de ingresos bajos y medianos. Asimismo, podrías ser útiles para los miembros del personal de salud que tratan a las personas con la infección por el VHB, así como a los que prestan atención a las embarazadas y los lactantes.
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2a edicion.
El objetivo principal del Atlas es dar seguimiento y reportar el grado de avance y desarrollo de los cuidados paliativos en Latinoamérica.
El Atlas de Cuidados Paliativos en Latinoamérica, y en especial esta segunda edición, demuestra diferencias importantes en el desarrollo de pr...ogramas y sin duda será muy útil para tanto los líderes paliativos como para los líderes sanitarios, permitirá la adopción de conductas más exitosas que ayuden a desarrollar cuidados paliativos en Latinoamérica y ayudará a unificar futuros criterios para los cuidados paliativos primarios, secundarios y terciarios.
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Emergency medical teams (EMTs) play an important role in strengthening health service networks in terms of their strategies and tactics for planning mass vaccination programs, especially in remote or under-resourced areas or those overwhelmed by COVID-19. EMTs experience deploying in remote areas an...d handling operational challenges to ensure their response even under the most austere conditions will be of great support in facing the technical and logistical challenges to timely and equitable access to vaccines at the local level.
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26 de abril del 2022. La Organización Panamericana de la Salud presenta estas consideraciones con el fin de apoyar la toma de decisiones relativa al manejo de pacientes con COVID-19 en la Región de las Américas. Las recomendaciones tienen en cuenta la evidencia más reciente, el estado de vacunac...ión del paciente y los costos asociados con el uso de antivirales, anticuerpos monoclonales y otras intervenciones.
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It summarizes guidance on how to manage – and when to refer – children and adolescents presenting with common complaints and conditions. It includes information to enable primary health care providers to coordinate the continued care of children and adolescents with long-term conditions and dise...ases managed by specialists. Preventive and promotive measures from the newborn period to adolescence include advice on the timing and content of well-child visits, the promotion of early childhood development and health messages for adolescents.
This Pocket Book aims to improve the diagnosis and management of common conditions in children and adolescents that can be managed at the outpatient level. It helps to improve the use of laboratory and other diagnostic measures and the rational use of essential drugs and equipment.
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Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) represents a major global threat across human, animal, plant food and environmental sectors, threatening the effective treatment of an ever-increasing range of infections caused by bacteria, parasites, viruses and fungi, resulting in prolonged illness and increased mor...tality, often felt hardest by the most vulnerable populations. AMR also endangers the sustainability of agri-food systems and food safety.
Since 2010 there is a strong commitment from FAO, OIE and PAHO to fight AMR, working together to mitigate the risks in the interconnection among the human health, animal health and the environment. In this context, the organizations now joined forces in the implementation of the project ‘Working Together to Fight Antimicrobial Resistance’ to ensure a coherent “One Health” approach recognizing the multidimensionality and necessity of an intersectoral response that is needed to address the problem of AMR.
The overall strategic objective of the three-year project (2020-22) supported and financed by the European Union (EU) is to contribute to tackle AMR through the implementation of National AMR Action Plans by working with seven Latin American partner countries: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay.
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The Statistical Yearbook for Latin America and the Caribbean of ECLAC presents a set of basic statistics on the economic, sociodemographic and environmental situation of the region during a specific time period.
The disruptions in imports, production and the related surge in food prices induced by the current conflict in Ukraine have the potential to worsen the food security situation in the Eastern Africa Region, which is already been impacted by the effect of three consecutive below-normal rainfall season...s.
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A global food crisis fuelled by conflict, climate shocks and the COVID-19 pandemic is growing because of the ripple effects of the war in Ukraine driving rising prices of food, fuel and fertilizer. Millions of people across the world are at risk of being driven into starvation unless action is taken... now to respond together and at scale. Due to the unprecedented overlap of crises, WFP’s annual operational requirements are at an all-time high of US$22.2 billion, with confirmed contributions so far at US$4.8 billion (22 percent). WFP is calling for coordinated action to address this crisis.
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Health is routinely considered in strategic environmental assessment (SEA) and environmental impact assessment (EIA), following requirements of European Union directives and the Protocol on Strategic Environmental Assessment to the Convention on Environmental Impact Assessment in a Trans...boundary Context (Espoo Convention). Policy-makers and other sources report that these assessments mostly adopt a biophysical perspective and that few cases consider or define health in a manner which is consistent with the WHO Constitution, by considering the wider social, economic, behavioural and institutional aspects of health. This systematically conducted review of over 333 SEA and EIA cases in the WHO European Region shows that while about 80% of assessments pursue a narrow, biophysical interpretation of health, around 10% consider wider determinants when defining health, and another 10% consider wider determinants of health in the actual assessment. Twelve case studies are presented, literature is reviewed and implications for practice are considered.
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The Vienna Declaration was signed at the end of the Fifth High-level Meeting on Transport, Health and Environment. The virtual meeting, hosted by the Federal Government of Austria, brought together 46 ministers and representatives of 56 countries in the pan-European region.
The group discussed ho...w to introduce substantial changes in transport and mobility systems in order to address multiple challenges such as ambient air pollution, greenhouse gas emissions, physical inactivity and noncommunicable diseases, and social inequity in access to transport and mobility.
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Nurses are key players in health promotion and disease prevention and the backbone of health care systems worldwide. Nurses work on the front lines of disease prevention, health promotion, and health management and are often the unsung heroes in health care facilities and emergency response. Despite... the critical role they play in health care, there is a nursing shortage across the world that will affect the delivery of competent nursing care. This fact sheet highlights key action points for targeted investment in the nursing workforce and calls on Member States to strengthen nursing within the context of their own country efforts. Suggestions for action and strategies for strengthening the nursing workforce in primary health care services are through investment in education, jobs, leadership, and service delivery are provided.
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El personal de enfermería desempeña un papel fundamental en la promoción de la salud y la prevención de enfermedades, y es uno de los grandes pilares del sistema de atención de salud. No obstante, la escasez de recursos humanos que afecta al sector en todo el mundo repercute en la calidad de lo...s servicios. Esta hoja informativa hace hincapié en los puntos de acción clave para invertir en la fuerza de trabajo e insta a los Estados Miembros de la OPS a fortalecer el sector a través de medidas basadas en la inversión en formación, la creación de empleo e incentivos, el liderazgo de alto nivel y la regulación de la práctica de enfermería.
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Monkeypox is an emerging viral zoonosis with symptoms similar to those observed in smallpox patients, although less severe. Since the global eradication of smallpox in 1980, monkeypox has emerged as the most important orthopoxvirus in humans. The Advisory Committee on Variola Virus Research (ACVVR) ...which meets annually to oversee smallpox research has highlighted the importance of diagnostics that could distinguish between variola and other strains of orthopoxviruses, including monkeypox virus. The ACVVR encourages the positive effects of current smallpox research on all orthopoxviruses, specifically monkeypox, such as the development of diagnostic tools.
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