Cardiovascular diseases, principally ischemic heart disease (IHD), are the most important cause of death and disability in the majority of low- and lower-middle-income countries (LLMICs). In these countries, IHD mortality rates are significantly greater in individuals of a low socioeconomic status (...SES).
Three important focus areas for decreasing IHD mortality among those of low SES in LLMICs are (1) acute coronary care; (2) cardiac rehabilitation and secondary prevention; and (3) primary prevention. Greater mortality in low SES patients with acute coronary syndrome is due to lack of awareness of symptoms in patients and primary care physicians, delay in reaching healthcare facilities, non-availability of thrombolysis and coronary revascularization, and the non-affordability of expensive medicines (statins, dual anti-platelets, renin-angiotensin system blockers). Facilities for rapid diagnosis and accessible and affordable long-term care at secondary and tertiary care hospitals for IHD care are needed. A strong focus on the social determinants of health (low education, poverty, working and living conditions), greater healthcare financing, and efficient primary care is required. The quality of primary prevention needs to be improved with initiatives to eliminate tobacco and trans-fats and to reduce the consumption of alcohol, refined carbohydrates, and salt along with the promotion of healthy foods and physical activity. Efficient primary care with a focus on management of blood pressure, lipids and diabetes is needed. Task sharing with community health workers, electronic decision support systems, and use of fixed-dose combinations of blood pressure-lowering drugs and statins can substantially reduce risk factors and potentially lead to large reductions in IHD. Finally, training of physicians, nurses, and health workers in IHD prevention should be strengthened.
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A community-based approach.
These guidelines focus on manmade rather than natural disasters, but our experiences in India, El Salvador and Pakistan (earthquake interventions), and following the 2004 tsunami, cyclone Nargis in 2008 and the Haiti earthquake in 2010, showed that the principles describ...ed also work well in contexts of natural disasters.
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Neurological, Psychiatric, and Developmental Disorders: Meeting the Challenge in the Developing World
Institute of Medicine (US) Committee on Nervous System Disorders in Developing Countries.
Washington (DC): National Academies Press (US); 2001.
This diagnostic and treatment manual is designed for use by medical professionals involved in curative care at the dispensary and hospital levels. We have tried to respond in the simplest and most practical way possible to the questions and problems faced by field medical staff, using the accumulate...d field experience of Médecins Sans Frontières, the recommendations of reference organizations such as the World Health Organization (WHO) and specialized works in each field.
Available in English, French, Spanish and Arabic
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Esta guía va dirigida a los profesionales de la salud que proporcionan asistencia curativa en dispensarios y hospitales. Hemos intentado responder a las preguntas y problemas con los que se enfrenta el personal sanitario, procurando dar soluciones prácticas y aunando la experiencia adquirida por M...édicos Sin Fronteras en el terreno, las recomendaciones de organismos de referencia como la Organización Mundial de la Salud y aquellas obras especializadas en la materia.
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Médecins sans Frontières access campaign
Issue Brief
Accessed: 28.11.2019
Drugs and medical supplies are dispensed at the cutting edge level of the interface between the public health system and the people. Availability or lack of it brings either credit or discredit to the public health system. The primary reason for holding stocks of medicines and medical supplies in a ...proper scientific manner is to ensure continuous and uninterrupted availability to prevent stock-outs, especially of critical items of supply while at the same time ensuring that stocks of medicines do not get expired. An efficient inventory management is a pre-requisite for optimal stock management. It enables the management of health facilities to know the current pattern of consumption of drug trends over a period of time and also variances. The environmental control of the drugs and other medical supplies play an important role to keep the products' efficacy intact. Some medicines and vaccines need special storage temperature, otherwise, there may be wastage. The quality of the medicines can be adversely affected by poor storage, transportation and distribution. Thus, maintaining proper storage condition for health commodities is vital for ensuring their quality. So, by this training, CDMU wants to educate different people dealing with medicines and equip them for the roles they have to perform efficiently so that the wastage does not take place or can be minimized.
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Research Article
PLOS Medicine | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1002625 July 31, 2018 / 1-19
The safety of medicines in Zambia - why health workers need to take action | Produced by the National Pharmacovigilance Unit (NPVU)
Japan has been implementing projects of global extension of medical technologies under an official development assistance policy to improve public health and medicine by promoting Japanese medical technologies worldwide. The current work examines the impact and goals of implementing this new scheme.... The scheme has involved dozens of projects that sent Japanese experts to partner countries and that invited their counterparts to Japan to showcase Japanese medical technologies. Approximately 50 projects have been implemented in 24 countries over 5 years, and 19,638 individuals have been trained. As a result, the introduced technology was adopted in national guidelines in 4 projects and the introduced equipment was procured in the partner country in 17 projects. In total, 912,334 individuals have benefitted from the introduction of these medical technologies. The concept of "creating shared value" (CSV) could help promote project success by both creating economic value and encouraging social progress. However, the sustainability of that business model remains in question in terms of the internationalization of CSV. Several successful projects improved medical care and led to new business opportunities.
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3rd Edition – July 2017
www.msfaccess.org
This Tuberculosis guide has been developed jointly by Médecins Sans Frontières and Partners In Health. It aims at providing useful information to the clinicians and health staff for the comprehensive management of tuberculosis. Forms of susceptible and resistant tuberculosis, tuberculosis in child...ren, and HIV co-infection are all fully addressed.
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3rd edition!Large File 17 MB!
The document "Management of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus" provides comprehensive guidelines for the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of type 2 diabetes in adults. It emphasizes the importance of individualized glycemic targets, lifestyle interventions like diet and exercise, and the use of medicatio...ns such as metformin, SGLT2 inhibitors, and GLP1 receptor agonists to manage blood sugar levels and reduce long-term complications. The document also discusses the screening and management of comorbidities such as hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and diabetic complications like retinopathy, neuropathy, and nephropathy. It highlights the role of diabetes self-management education and support in improving adherence to treatment and patient outcomes. The guidelines are evidence-based and aim to reduce morbidity and mortality associated with type 2 diabetes.
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Published: February 23, 2010
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1000235
Volume 7 | Issue 2 | e1000235
October 2009 | Volume 6 | Issue 10 | e1000162