The present DHR-ICMR guidelines comprehensively address the various concerns regarding the clinical assessment, treatment, and laboratory diagnosis of rickettsial diseases in India and the world. It is hoped that physicians, health care workers, the scientific community, the regulatory agencies, pub...lic health care professionals and the public at large will be benefited by these guidelines.
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To identify and to assess factors enhancing or hindering the delivery of breast and cervical cancer screening services in Malawi with regard to accessibility, uptake, acceptability and effectiveness.
Systematic review of published scientific evidence. A search of six bibliographic databases and gre...y literature was executed to identify relevant studies conducted in Malawi in the English language, with no time or study design restrictions. Data extraction was conducted in Excel and evidence synthesis followed a thematic analysis approach to identify and compare emerging themes.
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WHY THIS GUIDE?
Because, in the face of crises and emergencies, it is vital to include a human rights perspective in responses. Vulnerable groups face major obstacles to accessing and benefiting from prevention, mitigation, and health care policies due to structural barriers of inequality. To offer... guidelines to the countries of the Americas for crafting and implementing inclusive and accessible, human rights-based responses to a pandemic that is unprecedented in the region and in the world as a whole.
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The Newborn Situational Analysis reports of 2009 and 2011, as well as the “Bottleneck analysis on neonatal health” of 2013, culminated in the Nigeria launch of “Call to action on Newborn health” at the first National Newborn Health Conference in 2014. This call to action provided the framewo...rk for the development of the Nigeria Every Newborn Action
Plan (NiENAP). The NiENAP lays out a vision to end preventable stillbirths and newborn deaths by accelerating progress and scaling up evidence- based high-impact and cost effective interventions. The plan is guided by the principles of country-leadership, integration, accountability, equity, human rights, innovation and research. This blue print outlines our commitment as government and stakeholders to repositioning newborn health as we implement approaches that impact on the lives of newborns for improved health outcome.
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The COVID-19 pandemic has affected job satisfaction among healthcare workers; yet this has not been empirically examined in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). We addressed this gap by examining job satisfaction and associated factors among healthcare workers in Ghana and Kenya during the COVID-19 pandemic. W...e conducted a cross-sectional study with healthcare workers (N = 1012). The two phased data collection included: (1) survey data collected in Ghana from April 17 to May 31, 2020, and (2) survey data collected in Ghana and Kenya from November 9, 2020, to March 8, 2021. We utilized a quantitative measure of job satisfaction, as well as validated psychosocial measures of perceived preparedness, stress, and burnout; and conducted descriptive, bivariable, and multivariable analysis using ordered logistic regression. We found high levels of job dissatisfaction (38.1%), low perceived preparedness (62.2%), stress (70.5%), and burnout (69.4%) among providers. High perceived preparedness was positively associated with higher job satisfaction (adjusted proportional odds ratio (APOR) = 2.83, CI [1.66,4.84]); while high stress and burnout were associated with lower job satisfaction (APOR = 0.18, CI [0.09,0.37] and APOR = 0.38, CI [0.252,0.583] for high stress and burnout respectively). Other factors positively associated with job satisfaction included prior job satisfaction, perceived appreciation from management, and perceived communication from management. Fear of infection was negatively associated with job satisfaction. The COVID-19 pandemic has negatively impacted job satisfaction among healthcare workers. Inadequate preparedness, stress, and burnout are significant contributing factors. Given the already strained healthcare system and low morale among healthcare workers in SSA, efforts are needed to increase preparedness, better manage stress and burnout, and improve job satisfaction, especially during the pandemic.
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Slavery on fishing vessels, degradation of ecosystems, overfishing, debt bondage, human trafficking and child labour in peeling sheds – the scandals surrounding the Thai fishery and shrimp industries have garnered international censure. Farmed and processed at the cost of extreme exploitation of b...oth people and the planet, Thai shrimp ends up on plates around the world. The former delicacy can now be bought cheaply everywhere. But how high is the price really? And who has to pay it?
This report by seeks to remind governments in the countries of production that it is their duty to enforce human rights and living wages, rather than to compete for the favour of large companies to the detriment of people and the environment. It also appeals to consumers and their governments – and to importers – to send a clear message to suppliers in Thailand and elsewhere: If you want to survive on the global market, you need to respect human rights and child rights, and uphold social and environmental standards.
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Most of the global burden of sepsis occurs in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), but the prevalence and etiology of sepsis in LMICs are not well understood. In particular, the lack of laboratory infrastructure in many LMICs has historically precluded an assessment of the pathogens leading to ...sepsis. A recent systematic review found that data describing antimicrobial resistance were absent for 43% of countries in Africa, and only two countries have national antimicrobial resistance plans. In addition, small studies have identified indiscriminate antibiotic use both in and out of hospital settings in sub-Saharan Africa. The absence of microbiological data and lack of antibiotic stewardship complicate sepsis management and almost certainly worsens outcomes, particularly in low-resource systems. The purpose of this study was to examine the prevalence, etiology, and outcomes of sepsis among a cohort of critically ill patients in a referral hospital of Malawi, with a focus on the prevalence of culture-confirmed bacteremia and urinary tract infections.
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Since the Alma Ata Declaration in 1978, community health volunteers (CHVs) have been at the forefront, providing health services, especially to underserved communities, in low-income countries. However, consolidation of CHVs position within formal health systems has proved to be complex and continue...s to challenge countries, as they devise strategies to strengthen primary healthcare. Malawi’s community health strategy, launched in 2017, is a novel attempt to harmonise the multiple health
service structures at the community level and strengthen service delivery through a team-based approach. The core community health team (CHT) consists of health surveillance assistants (HSAs), clinicians, environmental health officers and CHVs. This paper reviews Malawi’s strategy, with particular focus on the interface between HSAs, volunteers in community-based programmes and
the community health team. Our analysis identified key challenges that may impede the strategy’s implementation:
(1) inadequate training, imbalance of skill sets within CHTs and unclear job descriptions for CHVs; (2) proposed community-level interventions require expansion of pre-existing roles for most CHT members; and (3) district authorities may face challenges meeting financial obligations and filling community-level positions. For effective implementation, attention and further deliberation is needed on the appropriate forms of CHV support, CHT composition with possibilities of co-opting trained CHVs
from existing volunteer programmes into CHTs, review of CHT competencies and workload, strengthening coordination and communication across all community actors, and financing mechanisms. Policy support through the development of an addendum to the strategy, outlining opportunities for task-shifting between CHT members, CHVs’ expected duties and interactions with paid CHT personnel is recommended.
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2nd edition. Known as “Community Case Management of Sick Children” (CCM), this approach sends community-based health workers out to find, diagnose, and successfully treat sick children, in partnership with their families. Inspired by the classic “Immunization Essentials”, this guide methodic...ally documents what is known about CCM and how to make it work. First, health program managers are introduced to the basics. Then, CCM Essentials walks its readers through the process of designing and managing a high-quality CCM program. The ultimate result: lives of newborns, infants and children saved around the world
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Climate change threatens to undermine the past 50 years of gains in public health. In response, theNational Health Service (NHS) in England has been working since 2008 to quantify and reduce its carbon footprint.
This Article presents the latest update to its greenhouse gas accounting, identifying ...interventions for mitigation efforts and describing an approach applicable to other health systems across the world.
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Patients with retreatment tuberculosis (TB) represent those
who have been treated previously for onemonth ormorewith
anti-TB drugs and who have been diagnosed once again with
the disease.These patientsmainly include relapses, treatment
after failure, or loss to follow-up on a first-line treatmen...t
regimen [1]. The number of these patients is not negligible.
In 2014, of the 6.3 million TB cases that were notified
by National TB Programmes (NTPs) to the World Health
Organization (WHO), approximately 700,000 patients were
already previously treated
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Bioethics 519 (online) doi:10.1111/bioe.12145 Volume 29 Number 8 2015 pp. 488–596;
Pandemic plans recommend phases of response to an emergent infectious disease (EID) outbreak, and are primarily aimed at preventing and mitigating human-to-human transmission. These plans carry presumptive weight ...and are increasingly being operationalized at the national, regional and international level with the support of the World Health Organization (WHO). The conventional focus of pandemic preparedness for EIDs of zoonotic origin has been on public health and human welfare. However, thisfocus on human populations has resulted in strategically important disciplinary silos. As the risks of zoonotic diseases have implications that reach across many domains outside traditional public health, including anthropological, environmental, and veterinary fora, a more inclusive ecological perspective is paramount for an effective response to future outbreaks.
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Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) (e.g., cardiovascular diseases, cancers, diabetes, and chronic respiratory diseases) and mental health conditions (e.g., Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias, depression, anxiety, autism spectrum disorders) are the world’s leading cause of preventable illness..., disability, and death. This report examines the dangers posed by current and rising rates of noncommunicable diseases and mental health conditions (NMHs) in South America, beyond their health risks, by demonstrating their considerable negative impact on economic growth. An analytical model was developed that projects the macroeconomic effects of NMHs over the period 2020–2050 in ten South American countries: Argentina, Bolivia (Plurinational State of), Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, and Venezuela. The results showed that the macroeconomic impact of NMHs in South America indicates significant economic shortfalls resulting from NMHs. Overall, the total GDP loss due to NMHs in South America amounts to USD 7.3 trillion (2022 international USD) over the period 2020–2050
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The objective of this concept note and the framework it outlines is the elimination of a group of CDs and the negative health effects they generate, which together create a tangible burden on affected individuals, their families and communities, and on health care systems throughout the Region. Thou...gh there is no unified consensus on the best measures to use for the public’s health and a nation’s epidemiologic situation, it is common for the disease burden to be measured by disease rates (incidence, prevalence, etc.), disease-specific death rates, comparative morbidity and mortality rates, geographic distribution, and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs). The current epidemiological situation, including data on disease rates or geographic distribution for the diseases in Table 1, is discussed below in Section 4. Hotez et al. (2008) were the first to review and compare the burden of DALYs in Latin America and the Caribbean—for NTDs, HIV/AIDS, malaria, and TB—as it existed about 10 years ago. Though the regional burden of TB, malaria, and neglected infectious diseases (NIDs) is somewhat less than it was 10 years ago, work (and schooling) continue to be lost to illness and premature death or disability, and the need for stepping up disease elimination efforts is evident in all communities living in vulnerable conditions....
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These guidelines provide guidance on how to detect an outbreak of the disease, conduct pertinent epidemiological investigations, and prevent or mitigate the spread of the disease throughout the Region. We encourage everyone working to apply these guidelines to take into account all the knowledge ava...ilable and their own country’s capability to cope with the introduction of CHIKV. Steps should be taken now to put in place the necessary measures that will decrease the impact that this new arbovirus could have in our Region.
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The Kabeho Mwana project (2006–2011) supported the Rwanda Ministry of Health (MOH) in scaling up integrated community case management (iCCM) of childhood illness in 6 of Rwanda’s 30 districts. The project trained and equipped community health workers (CHWs) according to national guidelines. In p...roject districts, Kabeho Mwana staff also trained CHWs to conduct household-level health promotion and established supervision and reporting mechanisms through CHW peer support groups (PSGs) and quality improvement systems. The iCCM model implemented by Kabeho Mwana resulted in greater improvements in care-seeking than those seen in the rest of the country. Intensive monitoring, collaborative supervision, community mobilization, and CHW PSGs contributed to this success. The PSGs were a unique contribution of the project, playing a critical role in improving care-seeking in project districts. Effective implementation of iCCM should therefore include CHW management and social support mechanisms. Finally, re-analysis of national survey data improved evaluation findings by providing impact estimates.
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Nosocomial infections, or hospital-acquired infec-tions (HAI), are among the most significant causesof morbidity and mortality in healthcare settingsthroughout the world.Prevention of HAIs iscentral to providing high quality and safe health-care, even in settings with limited resources.Transmi...ssion of infectious agents between patientsby health workers and irrational use of antibioticsare two important preventable factors involved inmany HAIs.
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This guide presents new knowledge and guidelines on the provision of care to persons living with HIV/AIDS, in accordance with the last guidelines of the World Health Organization (WHO) published in 2006 and adapted to the Rwandan national context. It thus responds to the need by the Ministry of Heal...th to improve the skills of the actors in the health sector as well as the quality of care and antiretroviral treatment offered in both public and private health facilities countrywide.
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