This Toolkit aims to support the understanding and implementation of integrated mental health programs in humanitarian settings. It provides a framework for essential steps and components, with associated key guidance and resources, that strengthen the integration process, and is primarily intended ...for (1) implementing agencies, but may also be useful for (2) donors, and (3) government actors. Users can access the three steps & three cross cutting components relevant to current program needs, or stages of programming.
Accessed August 7, 2019
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Q 3: Is brief, structured psychological treatment in non-specialist health care settings better (more effective than/as safe as) than treatment as usual in people with depressive episode/disorder?
In the course of implementing a recently funded network of hubs for building capacities in mental health service development, training, and research (RedeAmericas), the peer support workers are being introduced into the mental health workforce in three Latin American countries for the very first tim...e. They will be part of a team, along with community mental health workers, that provides a modified Critical Time Intervention to individuals with severe psychiatric disorders living in the community. This article reviewed the background of this increasingly widespread development, and discussed its merits, as well as potential obstacles within local contexts.
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BMJ Open Science 2021;5:e100202. doi:10.1136/
bmjos-2021-100202
(New 2015)
Scoping question: In school students aged 14-‐‑15 years, are school-‐‑based interventions effective in reducing deaths from suicide and suicide attempts compared to care-‐‑as-‐‑usual?
The case for evidence- based communication of science
Heart failure with a reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) is a condition frequently encountered by healthcare professionals and, in order to achieve the best outcomes for patients, needs to be managed optimally. This guideline document is based on the European Society of Cardiology Guidelines for the t...reatment of acute and chronic heart failure published in 2016, and summarises what is considered the best current management of patients with the condition. It provides information on the definition, diagnosis and epidemiology of HFrEF in the African context. The best evidence-based treatments for HFrEF are discussed, including established therapies (beta-blockers, ACE-i/ARBs, mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists (MRAs), diuretics) that form the cornerstone of heart failure management as well as therapies that have only recently entered clinical use (angiotensin receptor-neprilysin inhibitor (ARNI), sodium/glucose cotransporter-2 (SGLT2) inhibitors). Guidance is offered in terms of more invasive therapies (revascularisation, implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) and cardiac resynchronisation therapy (CRT) by implantation of a biventricular pacemaker with (CRT-D) or without (CRT-P) an ICD, left ventricular assist device (LVAD) use and heart transplantation) in order to ensure efficient use of these expensive treatment modalities in a resourcelimited environment. Furthermore, additional therapies (digoxin, hydralazine and nitrates, ivabradine, iron supplementation) are discussed and advice is provided on general preventive strategies (vaccinations). Sections to discuss conditions that are particularly prevalent in sub-Saharan Africa (HIV-associated cardiomyopathy (CMO), peripartum CMO, rheumatic heart disease, atrial fibrillation) have been added to further improve clinical care for these commonly encountered disease processes.
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The Planetary Health Report Card is a student-driven, metric-based initiative to inspire planetary health and sustainable healthcare education engagement in medical schools. In addition to inspiring expansion of medical school curricula, we hope to inspire medical schools to expand research efforts,... engage with communities most affected by climate change and environmental injustice, support passionate medical students who are trying to organize around planetary health at the institutional level, and implement sustainable practices. A set of metrics in these five category areas allows students and faculty to conduct a needs assessment at their medical school.
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The right to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health is enshrined in many international human rights treaties. However, studies have shown that people with mental disabilities are often marginalized and discriminated against in the fulfillment of their right to... health. The aim of this study is to identify and reach a broader understanding of barriers to the right to mental health in the Eastern Cape Province in South Africa. Eleven semi-structured interviews were carried out with health professionals and administrators.
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The report and an accompanying series of studies show the global uptake of the World Health Organization (WHO) Surgical Safety Checklist in its first ten years since its launch and recommend ways the Checklist can be more effectively used to improve surgical safety for millions at risk.
The report ...found that uptake has been remarkably positive: the Checklist has been adopted in almost 90% of operating rooms in countries with a high Human Development Index (HDI), a country-level measure of health, education, and standard of living. It was referenced by at least 139 (70%) of the world's countries and is included as a national standard by the health ministries of at least 20 countries. The Checklist has also had beneficial qualitative impact, introducing a culture of safety and improved communication within surgical teams, increasing patient trust, and improving job satisfaction.
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guidance for health managers, health workers, and activists
Responses to epidemics, emergencies and disasters raise many ethical issues for the people involved, including public health specialists and policy makers. This training manual provides material on ethical issues in research, surveillance and patient care in these difficult contexts.
Palliative care has been shown to provide significant and diverse benefits for patients with serious, complex,or life-limiting health problem.
Jamison DT, Gelband H, Horton S, Jha P, Laxminarayan R, Mock CN, Nugent R., editors. Disease Control Priorities, 3rd Edition,
Volume 9: Improving Health an...d Reducing Poverty. Washington DC: World Bank 2018. doi:10.1596/978-1-4648-0527-1
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Approximately 80% of the 463 million adults worldwide with diabetes live in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). A major obstacle to designing evidence-based policies to improve diabetes outcomes in LMICs is the scarce availability of nationally representative data on the current patterns... of treatment coverage. The objectives of this study were to estimate the proportion of adults with diabetes in LMICs who receive coverage of recommended pharmacological and non-pharmacological diabetes treatment; and to describe country-level and individual-level characteristics that are associated with treatment.
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Manual on the Effective Investigation and Documentation of Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment