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Infrastructure, policy and regulatory interventions to increase physical activity to prevent cardiovascular diseases and diabetes: a systematic review

Durão, S.; Burns, J.; Schmidt, B. et al. BMC Public Health (2023) CC

Background Noncommunicable diseases are major contributors to morbidity and mortality worldwide. Modifying the risk factors for these conditions, such as physical inactivity, is thus essential. Addressing the context or circumstances in which physical activity occurs may promote physical activity a...t a population level. We assessed the effects of infrastructure, policy or regulatory interventions for increasing physical activity. Methods We searched PubMed, Embase and clinicaltrials.gov to identify randomised controlled trials (RCTs), controlled before-after (CBAs) studies, and interrupted time series (ITS) studies assessing population-level infrastructure or policy and regulatory interventions to increase physical activity. We were interested in the effects of these interventions on physical activity, body weight and related measures, blood pressure, and CVD and type 2 diabetes morbidity and mortality, and on other secondary outcomes. Screening and data extraction was done in duplicate, with risk of bias was using an adapted Cochrane risk of bias tool. Due to high levels of heterogeneity, we synthesised the evidence based on effect direction. Results We included 33 studies, mostly conducted in high-income countries. Of these, 13 assessed infrastructure changes to green or other spaces to promote physical activity and 18 infrastructure changes to promote active transport. The effects of identified interventions on physical activity, body weight and blood pressure varied across studies (very low certainty evidence); thus, we remain very uncertain about the effects of these interventions. Two studies assessed the effects of policy and regulatory interventions; one provided free access to physical activity facilities and showed that it may have beneficial effects on physical activity (low certainty evidence). The other provided free bus travel for youth, with intervention effects varying across studies (very low certainty evidence). Conclusions Evidence from 33 studies assessing infrastructure, policy and regulatory interventions for increasing physical activity showed varying results. The certainty of the evidence was mostly very low, due to study designs included and inconsistent findings between studies. Despite this drawback, the evidence indicates that providing access to physical activity facilities may be beneficial; however this finding is based on only one study. Implementation of these interventions requires full consideration of contextual factors, especially in low resource settings. more

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Cystic Fibrosis - What Is Cystic Fibrosis

National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (2024) CC2

The "Cystic Fibrosis Fact Sheet" by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute provides an overview of cystic fibrosis (CF), a chronic and often fatal genetic disorder affecting the respiratory and digestive systems. The document outlines the causes, genetic inheritance patterns, and symptoms of ... more

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Expanding the Single-Visit Approach for Cervical Cancer Prevention: Successes and Lessons From Burkina Faso

Ouedraogo Y., Furlane G., Fruhauf T. et al. Global Health: Science and Practice (2018) CC

Background: Cervical cancer accounts for 23% of cancer incidence and 22% of cancer mortality among women in Burkina Faso. These proportions are more than 2 and 5 times higher than those of developed countries, respectively. Before 2010, cervical cancer prevention (CECAP) services in Burkina Faso wer...e limited to temporary screening campaigns. Program Description: Between September 2010 and August 2014, program implementers collaborated with the Ministry of Health and professional associations to implement a CECAP program focused on coupling visual inspection with acetic acid (VIA) for screening with same-day cryotherapy treatment for eligible women in 14 facilities. Women with larger lesions or lesions suspect for cancer were referred for loop electrosurgical excision procedure (LEEP). The program trained providers, raised awareness through demand generation activities, and strengthened monitoring capacity. Methods: Data on program activities, service provision, and programmatic lessons were analyzed. Three data collection tools, an individual client form, a client registry, and a monthly summary sheet, were used to track 3 key CECAP service indicators: number of women screened using VIA, proportion of women who screened VIA positive, and proportion of women screening VIA positive who received same-day cryotherapy. Results: Over 4 years, the program screened 13,999 women for cervical cancer using VIA; 8.9% screened positive; and 65.9% received cryotherapy in a single visit. The proportion receiving cryotherapy on the same day started at a high of 82% to 93% when services were provided free of charge, but dropped to 51% when a user fee of $10 was applied to cover the cost of supplies. After reducing the fee to $4 in November 2012, the proportion increased again to 78%. Implementation challenges included difficulties tracking referred patients, stock-outs of key supplies, difficulties with machine maintenance, and prohibitive user fees. Providers were trained to independently monitor services, identify gaps, and take corrective actions. Conclusions: Following dissemination of the results that demonstrated the acceptability and feasibility of the CECAP program, the Burkina Faso Ministry of Health included CECAP services in its minimum service delivery package in 2016. Essential components for such programs include provider training on VIA, cryotherapy, and LEEP; provider and patient demand generation; local equipment maintenance; consistent supply stocks; referral system for LEEP; non-prohibitive fees; and a monitoring data collection system. more

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Enhancing Pharmacovigilance in Sub‑Saharan Africa Through Training and Mentoring: A GSK Pilot Initiative in Malawi

Jusot, V.; Chimimba, F.; Dzabala, N. et al. Drug Safety (2020) CC

Introduction Pharmacovigilance (PV) systems to monitor drug and vaccine safety are often inadequate in sub-Saharan Africa. In Malawi, a PV enhancement initiative was introduced to address major barriers to PV. Objective The objective of this initiative was to improve reporting of adverse events (A... more

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Developing health centres and hospital s indices for Syria, based on HeRAMS dataset 2014

World Health Organization (2017) C_WHO

This research paper uses the Health Resources and services Availability Mapping System (HeRAMS) database to develop two composite indices – one for health centres and one for hospitals – in order to analyse and assess the health facilities’ performance across time and to evaluate the di... more

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Surveillance of NCDs - arabic version

World Health Organization WHO; Eastern Mediterranean Region World Health Organization (WHO) (2024) C_WHO

The WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region's Noncommunicable Diseases (NCD) Data and Statistics page offers comprehensive information on NCD surveillance, including mortality rates, morbidity, and risk factor exposures. It emphasizes the importance of monitoring NCD trends to inform prevention and control... more

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Surveillance of NCDs

World Health Organization WHO; Eastern Mediterranean Region World Health Organization (WHO) (2024) C_WHO

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Financing universal health coverage—effects of alternative tax structures on public health systems: cross-national modelling in 89 low-income and middle-income countries

Reeves, A.; Gourtsoyannis, Y.; Basu, S. et al. Lancet (2015) C1

Background How to finance progress towards universal health coverage in low-income and middle-income countries is a subject of intense debate. We investigated how alternative tax systems aff ect the breadth, depth, and height of health system coverage. Methods We used cross-national longitudin... more

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NIOSH Pocket Guide to Chemical Hazards Mobile Web Application

CDC, NIOSH (2016) C2

Nice, quick accessible database with guidelines and technical information! "The NIOSH Pocket Guide to Chemical Hazards Mobile Web App (mNPG) works on any mobile device with an HTML5-compliant web browser. The app can be used offline when no internet or cell phone connection is available. Feature... more

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The definitive guide to disability inclusion in the workplace

ThanksBen (2021) CC2

In an increasingly digital and remote working environment, it’s important to focus on inclusivity. This guide explores the key aspects of disability in the workplace in depth, providing insight into how inclusive company policies and working styles tend to be (or tend not to be), as well as showca... more

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Development assistance for human resources for health, 1990–2020

Micah, A.E.; J. Solorio; H. Stutzman et al. Human Resources for Health (2022) C1

Background: Investing in the health workforce is key to achieving the health-related Sustainable Development Goals. However, achieving these Goals requires addressing a projected global shortage of 18 million health workers (mostly in low- and middle-income countries). Within that context, in 2016, ... more

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Cholera Prevention Video: Prevansyon de kolera an kreyòl ayisyen (kirye sòti D'Ayiti)

Scientific Animation without Borders SAWBO (2016) C1

Cholera is an intestinal infection caused by bacteria known as Vibrio cholerae. The main symptoms of this disease are diarrhea and vomiting. Transmission of cholera primarily occurs by consumption of contaminated food or drinking water. In the video, which can be used on smart phones, we describe se... more

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The Global Burden of Disease Study at 30 years

Murray, C.J.L. nature medicine (2022) CC

The Global Burden of Disease Study (GBD) began 30 years ago with the goal of providing timely, valid and relevant assessments of critical health outcomes. Over this period, the GBD has become progressively more granular. The latest iteration provides assessments of thousands of outcomes for diseases... more

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Multi-Professional Patient Safety Curriculum Guide

World Health Organization WHO (2011) C_WHO

The Multi-professional Patient Safety Curriculum Guide (2011) was developed to assist in the teaching of patient safety in universities and schools in the fields of dentistry, medicine, midwifery, nursing and pharmacy. It also supports the on-going training of all health care professionals. The C... more

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Financing Global Health 2014: Shifts in Funding as the MDG Era Closes

Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (2015) CC

Financing Global Health 2014 is the sixth edition of this annually produced report on global health financing. As in previous years, this report captures trends in development assistance for health (DAH) and government health expenditure (GHE). Health financing is one of IHME’s core research areas... more

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Sentinel surveys of acquired HIV resistance to dolutegravir among people receiving dolutegravir-containing antiretroviral therapy

World Health Organization WHO (2022) C_WHO

WHO’s sentinel surveys of acquired HIV resistance to dolutegravir among people receiving dolutegravir-containing antiretroviral therapy is intended for easy and frequent implementation. Results from sentinel surveys provide insight into the prevalence and year-over-year trends of dolutegravir resi... more

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WHO COVID-19 essential supplies forecasting tool (‎COVID-ESFT)

World Health Organization WHO (2021) C_WHO

The WHO COVID-19 Essential Supplies Forecasting Tool (ESFT) assists governments, partners, and other stakeholders to forecast the necessary volume of personal protective equipment, diagnostic equipment, consumable medical supplies, biomedical equipment for case management, and essential drugs for su... more

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Early Warning Early Action Training Manual

Kenya Red Cross OCHA Services reliefweb (2022) C2

Climate information is critical towards strengthening the decision making among different users interested in mitigating impacts of climate related disasters. However, there is need for the climate users to have basic knowledge on weather and climate concepts and to a larger extend, early warning ea... more

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Guide posts for investment in primary health care and projected resource needs in 67 low-income and middle-income countries: a modelling study

Stenberg, K.; O. Hanssen; M. Bertram et al. Lancet Glob Health (2019) C1

Background: Primary health care (PHC) is a driving force for advancing towards universal health coverage (UHC). PHC-oriented health systems bring enormous benefits but require substantial financial investments. Here, we aim to present measures for PHC investments and project the associated resource ... more

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A cross-country comparison of malaria policy as a premise for contextualized appropriation of foreign aid in global health

Jezek, T.; O. A. Bamodu Health Res Policy Sys (2021) C1

Background: Foreign aid continues to play an essential role in health sector development in low-resource countries, particularly in terms of providing a vital portion of their health expenditures. However, the relationship between foreign aid allocation and malaria policy formulation and/or implemen... more