The article investigates the diagnostic capabilities and prevalence of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in primary care settings in northern Brazil. It highlights that COPD is often underdiagnosed and undertreated in resource-limited regions. The study involved 34 general practitioners a...nd used spirometry to evaluate their diagnostic accuracy compared to clinical assessments. Findings revealed significant discrepancies between GP diagnoses and spirometry results, with many false positives and negatives. The study underscores the need for better training and the use of spirometry to improve COPD diagnosis and case-finding in primary care, emphasizing the importance of targeted strategies to enhance healthcare outcomes in developing countries.
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Movilidad Humana, oportunidades compartidas recomienda ampliar las rutas legales, reducir los costos de transacción de las remesas, garantizar los derechos de las personas migrantes, especialmente para las mujeres, fomentar la integración y la cohesión social, y movilizar a las diásporas. Dado q...ue la migración forzosa se ha duplicado en los últimos 10 años hasta alcanzar unos 79 millones de personas, combatir sus causas será esencial para el desarrollo.
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3 February 2021
Las crisis relacionadas con las vacunas y la vacunación requieren una respuesta de comunicación diferente a las estrategias comunicacionales para promover los beneficios y la importancia de las vacunas en general. Este documento presenta las orientaciones técnicas necesarias para... desarrollar un plan de comunicación adecuado para manejar las crisis relacionadas con la seguridad de las vacunas y de la vacunación. Estas orientaciones les serán útiles a los actores relevantes de nivel gerencial en el área de la inmunización y de la seguridad de las vacunas y la vacunación.
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This publication presents a framework to implement the Agenda for the Americas on Health, Environment, and Climate Change 2021–2030 (the Agenda) that is structured around essential public health functions focused on environmental determinants of health. The Agenda is a call to action to the health... sector to lead the charge to address environmental determinants of health in the Americas. The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) will work with Member States to achieve its goal and objective to ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages using a sustainable and equitable approach that places a priority on reducing health inequity. The Agenda was developed under the umbrella of the WHO Global Strategy on Health, Environment, and Climate Change, and builds upon the commitments set forth in the Sustainable Health Agenda for the Americas 2018–2030 and the PAHO Strategic Plan 2020–2025.
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For the 24th consecutive year, PAHO has published the report Health Situation in the Americas: Core Indicators featuring the latest information on key indicators for the Region of the Americas. This 2018 edition includes data on the 82 core indicators for the countries, territories, and sub regions ...of the Americas, grouped into the following categories: demographic-socioeconomic, health status, risk factors, service coverage, and health systems. Information is also presented on 22 indicators of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
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2nd edition. The Pan American Health Organization and the Caribbean Development Bank developed this booklet as a tool to help you take care of yourself and your community during crisis situations. This is achieved through psychological first aid, also known as PFA, a humane, supportive and practical... response to a fellow human being who is suffering and may need support. In this booklet, our “PFA helper” will guide you through the three basic principles of PFA: look, listen and link. This will help you to approach affected people, listen and understand their needs, and link them with practical support and information. It will also bring to your attention the needs of specific groups, including men, women, children and adolescents, and people with disabilities, among others. Enjoy the booklet. Read it again from time to time, share it with friends, family and members of your community, and spread the message: “Stronger together”
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Key Messages and Recommendations.
The Report, Todos y todas sin excepción, produced by the Global Education Monitoring (GEM) Report and the Regional Bureau for Education in Latin America and the Caribbean (OREALC /UNESCO Santiago), along with the Laboratory of Education, Research and Innovation in... Latin America and the Caribbean (SUMMA) shows that, prior to the pandemic, in 21 countries, children from the richest households were five times as likely as the poorest to complete upper secondary school.
Learning outcomes were low before COVID-19. Only half of 15-year-olds achieved minimum proficiency in reading. In Guatemala and Panama, barely 10 disadvantaged 15-year-old students master basic mathematics skills for every 100 of their better-off peers. Indigenous people and Afro-descendants also have lower attainment and literacy rates.
The report includes a set of key recommendations for the next decade, which will help countries achieve the objectives of the 2030 Agenda and calls for schools to be more inclusive, which many still are not.
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A partir de que el SARS-CoV-2 se detectó en China en diciembre de 2019, la COVID-19 se ha convertido rápidamente
en una pandemia. Los pacientes con COVID-19 presentan síntomas respiratorios inespecíficos de intensidad variable y
en ocasiones se les debe prestar ventilación asistida avanzada. ...Actualmente, el diagnóstico de COVID-19 se confirma
mediante la realización de pruebas analíticas, a saber, la determinación de ARN vírico a través de la reacción en
cadena de la polimerasa con retrotranscriptasa (RT PCR).
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Frequently asked questions on COVID-19 vaccination. Version 6, 12 February 2022
Chagas is a parasitic disease that affects over 6 million people in the
world. As the disease typically remains asymptomatic for years, new cases
often go unnoticed and unreported, and most people with the disease
are unaware of their condition. Less than 10% of people affected are
diagnosed and... the vast majority do not receive the treatment they need.
If not treated, Chagas may cause irreversible, life-threatening damage to
the heart and other vital organs.
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Research and Reports in Tropical Medicine 2022:13 25–40.
Chagas disease (CD) is caused by the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, and it is endemic in Central, South America, Mexico and the South of the United States. It is an important cause of early mortality and morbidity, and it is associated with po...verty and stigma. A third of the cases evolve into chronic cardiomyopathy and gastrointestinal disease. This review proposes strategies to address challenges faced by non-endemic countries
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Research and Reports in Tropical Medicine 2021:12 63–76 . This review focusses on the interactions between the etiologic agent of Chagas disease, Trypanosoma cruzi, and its triatomine vector.
Epidemiology
Chagas disease (American trypanosomiasis) is caused by the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, and transmitted to humans by infected triatomine bugs, and less commonly by transfusion, organ transplant, from mother to infant, and in rare instances, by ingestion of contaminated food or... drink.1-4 The hematophagous triatomine vectors defecate during or immediately after feeding on a person. The parasite is present in large numbers in the feces of infected bugs, and enters the human body through the bite wound, or through the intact conjunctiva or other mucous membrane.
Vector-borne transmission occurs only in the Americas, where an estimated 8 to 10 million people have Chagas disease.5 Historically, transmission occurred largely in rural areas in Latin America, where houses built of mud brick are vulnerable to colonization by the triatomine vectors.4 In such areas, Chagas disease usually is acquired in childhood. In the last several decades, successful vector control programs have substantially decreased transmission rates in much of Latin America, and large-scale migration has brought infected individuals to cities both within and outside of Latin America.
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This situation update is on the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) reported cases and deaths, Globally, Regionally, for Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean Countries, French Territories, and the United Kingdom Overseas Territories.
The waves of yellow fever transmission in the Region of the Americas in 2016–2018 involved the largest number of human and epizootic cases to be reported in several decades. Yellow fever is a serious viral hemorrhagic disease that poses a challenge for health professionals. It requires early recog...nition of signs and symptoms, which are often nonspecific, and it can mimic other acute febrile syndromes. Early detection of suspected or confirmed cases, monitoring of vital signs, life support measures, and treatment of acute kidney failure continue to be the recommended strategies for case management. This report is the result of discussions among experienced specialists in the Americas on the clinical management of yellow fever patients, especially during outbreaks and epidemics, in the context of current medical and scientific evidence and taking into account the technical guidelines already available in the countries of the Region. It includes flowcharts for initially addressing patients with clinical suspicion of yellow fever and proposes a minimum package of laboratory tests that may be useful in contexts where resources are limited. In addition, it considers aspects of health system organization for dealing with yellow fever outbreaks and epidemics.
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Under the theme “Stronger Together”, the campaign aims to offer information and strategies to assist communities in the region in better coping with the psychological impact of adverse events before, during and after a disaster situation. It also aims to raise awareness to reduce the stigma abou...t seeking mental health and psychosocial support.
You can download a wide range of communication material: videos, posters, radio jingles, guidebooks.
The Caribbean is highly prone to natural hazards, including seismic activity, hurricanes, landslides and floods. These events have resulted in lost lives, serious injuries and severe damage to housing and infrastructure. A single hurricane event can affect more than one island, and completely erase the gains of many years of productivity. As a result, these unpredictable hazards create disruption and have an ongoing impact on people’s lives - affecting their mental health and psychosocial well-being.
Although everyone is affected in some way by disaster events, there are a wide range of reactions and feelings that a person can experience. People may feel overwhelmed, confused or very uncertain about what is happening. They can also feel very fearful, anxious, numb or detached. People who feel safe, connected, calm and hopeful, have access to social, physical and emotional support and find ways to help themselves after a disaster, however, will be better able to recover long-term from mental health effects
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La salud mental es de vital importancia para todas las personas, en todas partes. En todo el mundo, las necesidades en materia de salud mental son muchas, pero la respuesta es insuficiente e inadecuada. El Informe mundial sobre la salud mental: Transformar la salud mental para todos ha sido concebid...o para inspirar y fundamentar una mejor salud mental para todas las personas. Al basarse en los datos disponibles más recientes, mostrar ejemplos de buenas prácticas en todo el mundo y transmitir la experiencia de las propias personas, en este informe se pone de relieve por qué es necesario el cambio y dónde, y cuál es la mejor manera de lograrlo. En el informe se insta a todas las partes interesadas a que colaboren para profundizar en el compromiso y el valor que se atribuye a la salud mental, reconfigurar los entornos que influyen en la salud mental y fortalecer los sistemas de atención de la salud mental. La salud mental es mucho más que la ausencia de enfermedad: es una parte intrínseca de nuestra salud y bienestar individual y colectivo. Como se muestra en el presente Informe mundial sobre la salud mental, para alcanzar los objetivos mundiales establecidos en el Plan de acción integral sobre salud mental 2013‑2030 de la OMS y los Objetivos de Desarrollo Sostenible debemos transformar nuestras actitudes, acciones y enfoques para promover y proteger la salud mental, así como para proporcionar cuidados y atención a quienes lo necesitan.
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