Asthma has a significant impact on people of all ages, particularly children. A lack of universally accepted case definition and confirmatory tests and a poor understanding of major risks interfere with a global response. We aimed to provide global estimates of asthma prevalence and cases in 2019 ac...ross four main epidemiological case definitions – current wheezing, ever wheezing, current asthma, and ever asthma. We further investigated major associated factors to determine regional and national distributions of prevalence and cases for current wheezing and ever asthma.
more
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is an increasingly important cause of morbidity, disability, and mortality worldwide. We aimed to estimate global, regional, and national COPD prevalence and risk factors to guide policy and population interventions.
This document has been developed to provide training and guidance on how to integrate a human rights approach in mental health and related areas, based on international human rights instruments, in particular the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD).
There is increasing interest in understanding the role of air pollution as one of the greatest threats to human health worldwide. Nine of 10 individuals breathe air with polluted compounds that have a great impact on lung tissue. The nature of the relationship is complex, and new or updated data are... constantly being reported in the literature. The goal of our review was to summarize the most important air pollutants and their impact on the main respiratory diseases (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma, lung cancer, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, respiratory infections, bronchiectasis, tuberculosis) to reduce both short- and the long-term exposure consequences. We considered the most important air pollutants, including sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide, volatile organic compounds, ozone, particulate matter and biomass smoke, and observed their impact on pulmonary pathologies. We focused on respiratory pathologies, because air pollution potentiates the increase in respiratory diseases, and the evidence that air pollutants have a detrimental effect is growing. It is imperative to constantly improve policy initiatives on air quality in both high- and low-income countries.
more
La Convención de los Derechos del Niño (Convención) de las Naciones
Unidas (ONU) y documentos relacionados tienen el potencial de mejorar
enormemente varias dimensiones de la vida de los niños (definidos como
desde el nacimiento hasta la los 18 años, dependiendo de la cultura), ofreciendo
p...rotección ante el abuso, fortaleciendo la relación de los niños con sus familias
y garantizando la realización del potencial individual. Estos documentos van
más allá de implicaciones para los gobiernos y deben considerarse en relación
con todas las actividades profesionales relacionadas con la vida de los niños,
incluyendo la práctica clínica, la investigación, la participación y educación.
more
As pandemias virais costumam representar sérias ameaças ao equilíbrio dos sistemas de saúde, ao impor-lhes demandas extraor-dinárias e sustentadas, que podem ultrapassar a capacidade de atendimento, no que diz respeito tanto aos insumos e às tecnologias disponíveis, quanto aos recurs...os humanos/profissionais capacitados. Trazem o enorme desafio de equilibrar igualdade entre as pessoas e equidade na distribuição de riscos e benefícios entre elas.
Diante desse cenário de casos cada vez mais frequentes de COVID-19 na
população, surge a premente necessidade de se avaliarem as melhores práticas para a otimização da utilização dos meios e recursos disponíveis. Dessa forma, considerando o iminente risco de indisponibilidade de leitos de terapia intensiva e respiradores para todos os indivíduos, acometidos ou não pela doença, torna-se fundamental estabelecer critérios clínicos, técnicos e éticos, para a melhor utilização dos mesmos, para se conseguir otimizar resultado e gerar o maior benefício possível.
more
Consolidated recommendations for palliative care in the SARS pandemic-Cov-2/COVID-19 2020
With hundreds of illustrations and clear instructions, A Community Guide to Environmental Health helps health promoters, development workers, environmental activists, and community leaders take charge of their environmental health in villages and cities alike. Also available in Arabic, Spanish, Chin...ese, Portuguese, Turkish, Dari, Malayan, Mongolian and Russian.
more
National Child Traumatic Stress Network National Center for PTSD | The field of school safety and emergency management has evolved significantly over the past decade. Tragically, acts of violence, natural disasters, and terrorist attacks have taught us many lessons. We also know that other types of ...emergencies can impact schools, including medical emergencies, transportation accidents, sports injuries, peer victimization, public health emergencies, and the sudden death of a member of the school community. We now recognize the need for school emergency management plans that are up-to-date and take an “all-hazards” approach with clear communication channels and procedures that effectively reunite parents and caregivers with students. We have also learned that preparing school administrators, teachers, and school partnering agencies before a critical event is crucial for effective response, the value of ongoing training and emergency exercises, and that having intervention models that address the public health, mental health, and psychosocial needs of students and staff is essential to a safe school environment and the resumption of learning.
more
Researchers focused on mental health of conflict-affected children are increasingly interested in the concept of resilience. Knowledge on resilience may assist in developing interventions aimed at improving positive outcomes or reducing negative outcomes, termed promotive or protective interventions....
more
Antibiotic resistance (ABR) particularly hits resource poor countries, and is fuelled by irrational antibiotic (AB) prescribing. We surveyed knowledge, attitudes and practices of AB prescribing among medical students and doctors in Kisangani, DR Congo.
Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are the second common cause of death in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) accounting for about 35% of all deaths, after a composite of communicable, maternal, neonatal, and nutritional diseases. Despite prior perception of low NCDs mortality rates, current evidence suggests t...hat SSA is now at the dawn of the epidemiological transition with contemporary double burden of disease from NCDs and communicable diseases. In SSA, cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the most frequent causes of NCDs deaths, responsible for approximately 13% of all deaths and 37% of all NCDs deaths. Although ischemic heart disease (IHD) has been identified as the leading cause of CVDs mortality in SSA followed by stroke and hypertensive heart disease from statistical models, real field data suggest IHD rates are still relatively low. The neglected endemic CVDs of SSA such as endomyocardial fibrosis and rheumatic heart disease as well as congenital heart diseases remain unconquered. While the underlying aetiology of heart failure among adults in high-income countries (HIC) is IHD, in SSA the leading causes are hypertensive heart disease, cardiomyopathy, rheumatic heart disease, and congenital heart diseases. Of concern is the tendency of CVDs to occur at younger ages in SSA populations, approximately two decades earlier compared to HIC. Obstacles hampering primary and secondary prevention of CVDs in SSA include insufficient health care systems and infrastructure, scarcity of cardiac professionals, skewed budget allocation and disproportionate prioritization away from NCDs, high cost of cardiac treatments and interventions coupled with rarity of health insurance systems. This review gives an overview of the descriptive epidemiology of CVDs in SSA, while contrasting with the HIC and highlighting impediments to their management and making recommendations.
more
The importance of growing up in a nurturing and supportive family environment cannot be underestimated. Raising children in a warm, loving environment sets them on a positive developmental trajectory for later life success (Biglan et al, 2012). Conversely, children raised in homes with inconsistent ...and harsh parenting or with high levels of conflict can be adversely impacted.
Introduction - Chapter A.12
more
COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy is currently one of the main obstacles to worldwide herd immunity and socioeconomic recovery. Because vaccine coverage can vary between and within countries, it is important
to identify sources of variation so that policies can be tailored to different population groups. ...In this paper, we analyze the results from a survey designed and implemented in order to identify early adopters and
laggers in six big cities of Latin America. We find that trust in government and science, accurate knowledge about the value of vaccination and vaccine effects, perceived risk of getting sick, and being a student
increase the odds to get vaccinated. We also identify potential laggers as women and populations between 20 and 35 years old who are not students. We discuss specific strategies to promote vaccination among
these populations groups as well as more general strategies designed to gain trust. These findings are specific to the context of Latin America insofar as the underlying factors associated with the choice to be
vaccinated vary significantly by location and in relation to individual-level factors.
more
Miscellaneous
Chapter J.7
Tại nhiều quốc gia, cú sốc của làn sóng kiểm dịch thứ nhất đã lắng xuống, số ca bệnh cũng đã giảm, việc gỡ bỏ các lệnh phong tỏa đang được xem xét hoặc đã được thực hiện ở nhiều nơi. Vũ Hán đã mở cửa trở lại. Nhưng ph...ải chăng ta đang bị đánh lừa bởi vẻ ngoài? Liệu làn sóng dịch bệnh thứ hai có xảy ra không, và nếu có thì khi nào chúng sẽ đến?
more
Available in English, French and Spanish
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(24), 13339; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph182413339
The climate crisis threatens to exacerbate numerous climate-sensitive health risks, including heatwave mortality, malnutrition from reduced crop yields, water- and vector-borne infectious diseases, and... respiratory illness from smog, ozone, allergenic pollen, and wildfires. Recent reports from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change stress the urgent need for action to mitigate climate change, underscoring the need for more scientific assessment of the benefits of climate action for health and wellbeing.
more