Updated May 2017
This document is meant to respond to the questions:
■ What health interventions should the child receive and when should s/he receive it?
■ What health beh...aviours should a mother/caregiver practise (or not practise)?
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This document is meant to respond to the questions:
■ What health interventions should the adolescent receive and when should s/he receive it?
■ What health behaviours should the adole...scent practise (or not practise)?
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Inequality of access to palliative care and symptom relief is one of the greatest disparities in global health care (1). Currently, there is avoidable suffering on a massive scale due to lack of access to palliative care and symptom relief in low- a...nd middle-income countries (LMICs) (1). Yet basic palliative care that can prevent or relieve most suffering due to serious or life-threatening health conditions can be taught easily to generalist clinicians, can be provided in the community and requires only simple, inexpensive medicines and equipment. For these reasons, the World Health Assembly (WHA) resolved that palliative care is "an ethical responsibility of health systems"(2). Further, most patients who need palliative care are at home and prefer to remain there. Thus, it is imperative that palliative care be provided in the community as part of primary care. This document was written to assist ministries of health and health care planners, implementers and managers to integrate palliative care and symptom control into primary health care (PHC).
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People younger than 20 years comprise 35% of the global population and 40% of the global population of least-developed nations. The number of children - neonates, infants, children, and adolescents up to 19 years of age - who need pediatric palliative care (PPC) each year may be as high as 21 millio...n. Another study found that almost 2.5 million children die each year with serious health related suffering and that more than 98% of these children are in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) (3). While estimates differ, there is no doubt that there is an enormous need for prevention and relief of suffering among children - for PPC.
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The new WHO Guidelines on Sanitation and Health summarize the evidence on the effectiveness of a range of sanitation interventions and provide a comprehensive framework for health-protecting sanitat...ion, covering policy and governance measures, implementation of sanitation technologies, systems and behavioural interventions, risk-based management, and monitoring approaches. Critically, the guidelines articulate the role of the health sector in maximizing the health impact of sanitation interventions.
The guidelines also identify gaps in the evidence-base to guide future research efforts to improve the effectiveness of sanitation interventions.
(French, Spanish, Russian, Arabic in production)
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Special issue: Mental Health Challenges in Lithuania
Nos. 1-2 '11
The global burden of disease due to mental disorders continues to rise, especially in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC). In addition to causing a large proportion of morbidity, mental disorders – especially severe mental disorders (SMD) – are linked with poorer ...ghlight medbox">health outcomes and increased mortality. SMD are defined as a group of conditions that include moderate to severe depression, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders. People with SMD have a two to three times higher average mortality compared to the general population, which translates to a 10-20 year reduction in life expectancy. While people with SMD do have higher rates of death due to unnatural causes (accidents, homicide, or suicide) than the general population, the
majority of deaths amongst people with SMD are attributable to physical health conditions, both
non-communicable and communicable.
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The Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study, a collaborative endeavour of the World
Health Organization (WHO), the World Bank and the Harvard School of Public Health,
drew the attention of the intern...ational health community to the burden of neurological
disorders and many other chronic conditions. This study found that the burden of neurological
disorders was seriously underestimated by traditional epidemiological and health
statistical methods that take into account only mortality rates but not disability rates. The
GBD study showed that over the years the global health impact of neurological disorders
had been underestimated.
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Kulkarni et al. The Journal of Headache and Pain (2015) 16:67 DOI 10.1186/s10194-015-0549-x
Q13: What is the effectiveness of behaviour change techniques including life skills education in promoting mental health for children and adolescents?
Resource Guide for Advanced Learning
This toolkit consists of eight modules which have been prepared as stand-alone documents that can be read by themselves, but they have also been prepared to complement one another. It has been designed as a tool for health professionals and student...s in the health care and public health sectors who want to engage more directly on the issue of climate change as educators with their patients, peers and communities, and/or as advocates for the policies, programs and practices needed to mitigate climate change and/or prepare for climate change in their workplaces and communities
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Self-care interventions are among the most promising and exciting new approaches to improve health and well-being, both from a health systems perspective and for people who use these interventions. ...The World Health Organization (WHO) uses the following working definition of self-care: Self-care is the ability of individuals, families and communities to promote health, prevent disease, maintain health, and cope with illness and disability with or without the support of a health- care provider
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Specifically the Strategy focuses on five strategic objectives:
commitment to action on Healthy Ageing in every country;
developing age-friendly environments;
aligning health systems to the needs of older populations;
developing ...sustainable and equitable systems for providing long-term care (home, communities, institutions); and
improving measurement, monitoring and research on Healthy Ageing.
Available in Englisch, French, Arabic, Chinese, Russian, Spanish
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The HEARTS technical package provides a strategic approach to improving cardiovascular health in countries. It comprises six modules and an implementation guide. This package supports Ministries of Health<.../span> to strengthen CVD management in primary health care settings. The practical, step-by step modules are supported by an overarching technical document that provides a rationale and framework for this integrated approach to the management of NCDs.
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