Background: One of the objectives of the Global Action Plan by the World Health Organization (WHO) to contain antimicrobial resistance (AMR), is to improve global awareness through effective communication and education. Comprehensive information on the level of awareness of AMR among Nigerian public... is deficient. This study was therefore designed to assess the current level of awareness and knowledge of the Nigerian public of AMR.
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This article deals with the burning issue of moral decision-making by major church assemblies, such as regional and general synods. Moral decisions by church assemblies have created many conflicts in churches in the past and at times did an injustice to the prophetic testimony of church...es in society. The question arises as follows: To what extent should church assemblies be involved in moral decision-making? The central theoretical argument of this study is that although the notion of a ‘biblical ethic’ is valid, synods and council of churches should be extremely cautious and even hesitant to formulate moral decisions because of differences in hermeneutical approaches and the principle that the church is primarily the ‘local congregation of believers’. The church is not in the first instance a national, general or international social structure that should pass conclusive resolutions and that testifies by way of moderators or elected church leaders. To unfurl this central theoretical argument, the researcher refers to the current hermeneutical discourses and proposes certain ideas regarding the possible role of the church with respect to moral decision-making. In view of the information provided, a point of view is advocated regarding the way in which churches could be involved in moral decision-making today.
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Introduction: Considering the global prevalence of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), a vaccine is being developed to control the disease as a complementary solution to hygiene measures—and better, in social terms, than social distancing. Given that a vaccine will eventually be produced, informa...tion will be needed to support a potential campaign to promote vaccination.
Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the variables affecting the likelihood of refusal and indecision toward a vaccine against COVID-19 and to determine the acceptance of the vaccine for different scenarios of effectiveness and side effects.
Materials and Methods: A multinomial logistic regression method based on the Health Belief Model was used to estimate the current methodology, using data obtained by an online anonymous survey of 370 respondents in Chile.
Results: The results indicate that 49% of respondents were willing to be vaccinated, with 28% undecided or 77% of individuals who would potentially be willing to be inoculated. The main variables that explained the probability of rejection or indecision were associated with the severity of COVID-19, such as, the side effects and effectiveness of the vaccine; perceived benefits, including immunity, decreased fear of contagion, and the protection of oneself and the environment; action signals, such as, responses from ones' family and the government, available information, and specialists' recommendations; and susceptibility, including the contagion rate per 1,000 inhabitants and relatives with COVID-19, among others. Our analysis of hypothetical vaccine scenarios revealed that individuals preferred less risky vaccines in terms of fewer side effects, rather than effectiveness. Additionally, the variables that explained the indecision toward or rejection of a potential COVID-19 vaccine could be used in designing public health policies.
Conclusions: We discovered that it is necessary to formulate specific, differentiated vaccination-promotion strategies for the anti-vaccine and undecided groups based on the factors that explain the probability of individuals refusing or expressing hesitation toward vaccination.
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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.
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India contributes to 16% of the global maternal deaths and around 27% of global newborn deaths. Reducing the burden of maternal and newborn mortality and morbidity in urban poor settings today requires an expansion of effective Maternal and Newborn Health (MNH) care services and lowering the barrier...s to the use of such services, especially availability and accessibility.
For designing sensitive, responsive and relevant urban health policy and action, it is important for planners and programme managers to understand the context with regard to current systems and mechanisms, potential organisations and best practices.
In order to adres this need, Save the Children’s Saving Newborn Lives programme commissioned a study that reviewed the literature and looked at available secondary data on MNH in urban poor settings.
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Antibiotics 2022, 11(3), 329; https://doi.org/10.3390/antibiotics11030329.
The authors found that the most-represented antibiotics on the Rwandan market were amoxicillin, co-trimoxazole and cloxacillin. No counterfeit antibiotics were found in this study. However, substandard batches with moderate ...deviations were found, suggesting that regular quality control of antibiotics is needed in Rwanda.
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Scabies is a global health concern disproportionately affecting vulnerable populations such as refugees and asylum seekers. Greece is a main point of entry in Europe for refugees, but epidemiological data on scabies in this population are scarce. We aimed to describe the epidemiology of scabies, inc...luding trends over the study period.
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The article is a scoping review that explores the challenges in diagnosing asthma in children in three sub-Saharan African countries: Nigeria, South Africa, and Uganda. It identifies key barriers, such as a lack of community awareness, inadequate healthcare access, limited diagnostic tools like spir...ometry, and insufficient knowledge among healthcare workers. The review also highlights the stigma associated with asthma and the absence of relevant diagnostic guidelines. Solutions proposed include community education, development and adherence to diagnostic guidelines, and strengthening healthcare systems. The study aims to inform policymakers and healthcare providers to improve asthma diagnosis and care for children in these regions.
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Development assistance for health (DAH)
plays a vital role in supporting health programmes in lowand middle-income countries. While DAH has historically
focused on infectious diseases and maternal and child
health, there is a lack of comprehensive analysis of DAH
trends, strategic shifts and the...ir impact on health systems
and outcomes. This study aims to provide a comprehensive
review of DAH from 1990 to 2022, examining its evolution
and funding allocation shifts.
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Human African trypanosomiasis (HAT) has been an alarming global public health issue. The disease affects mainly poor and marginalized people in low-resource settings and is caused by two subspecies of haemoflagellate parasite, Trypanosoma brucei and transmitted by tsetse flies. Progress made in HAT ...control during the past decade has prompted increasing global dialogue on its elimination and eradication. The disease is targeted by the World Health Organization (WHO) for elimination as a public health problem by 2020 and to terminate its transmission globally by 2030, along-side other Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTD). Several methods have been used to control tsetse flies and the disease transmitted by them. Old and new tools to control the disease are available with constraints.
Currently, there are no vaccines available. Efforts towards intervention to control the disease over the past decade have seen considerable progress and remarkable success with incidence dropping progressively, reversing the upward trend of reported cases. This gives credence in a real progress in its elimination. This study reviews various control measures, progress and a highlight of control issues, vector and parasite barriers that may have been hindering progress towards its elimination.
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Introduction Community health workers (CHWs) are increasingly being tasked to prevent and manage cardiovascular disease (CVD) and its risk factors in underserved populations in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs); however, little is known about the required training necessary for them to ...accomplish their role. This review aimed to evaluate the training of CHWs for the prevention and management of CVD and its risk factors in LMICs.
Methods A search strategy was developed in line with Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines, and five electronic databases (Medline, Global Health, ERIC, EMBASE and CINAHL) were searched to identify peer-reviewed studies published until December 2016 on the training of CHWs for prevention or control of CVD and its risk factors in LMICs. Study characteristics were extracted using a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet and quality assessed using Effective Public Health Practice Project’s Quality Assessment Tool. The search, data extraction and quality assessment were performed independently by two researchers.
Results The search generated 928 articles of which 8 were included in the review. One study was a randomised controlled trial, while the remaining were before–after intervention studies. The training methods included classroom lectures, interactive lessons, e-learning and online support and group discussions or a mix of two or more. All the studies showed improved knowledge level post-training, and two studies demonstrated knowledge retention 6 months after the intervention.
Conclusion The results of the eight included studies suggest that CHWs can be trained effectively for CVD prevention and management. However, the effectiveness of CHW trainings would likely vary depending on context given the differences between studies (eg, CHW demographics, settings and training programmes) and the weak quality of six of the eight studies. Well-conducted mixed-methods studies are needed to provide reliable evidence about the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of training programmes for CHWs.
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The Access to Controlled Medications Programme identified the development of treatment guidelines that cover the treatment of all types of pain as one of the core areas of focus for improving access to opioid analgesics. Such guidelines are interesting both for health-care professionals and policy-...makers. They are also important in improving access to controlled medicines for determining when those opioid medicines and when non-opioid medicines are preferred.
Based on a Delphi study, WHO planned the development of three treatment guidelines, covering chronic pain in children, chronic pain in adults and acute pain.
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This FY 2019 Malaria Operational Plan presents a detailed implementation plan for Burkina Faso, based on the strategies of PMI and the National Malaria Control Program (NMCP). It was developed in consultation with the NMCP and with the participation of national and international partners involved in... malaria prevention and control in the country. The activities that PMI is proposing to support fit in well with the national malaria control strategy and plan and build on investments made by PMI and other partners to improve and expand malaria-related services, including malaria grants from the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria. This document briefly reviews the current status of malaria control policies and interventions in Burkina Faso, describes progress to date, identifies challenges and unmet needs to achieving the targets of the NMCP and PMI, and provides a description of activities that are planned with FY 2019 funding.
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The use of explosive weapons, such as bombs, rockets, and mortar and
artillery shells, in cities, towns and villages and in other populated areas
has devastating humanitarian consequences. Explosive weapons act mainly
through the projection of blast and fragmentation wi...thin an area. Their use,
in populated areas, causes severe suffering to civilians, both in terms of
death and serious injury resulting directly from the explosion, and in terms
of damage to property and public infrastructure, which can indirectly affect
civilian well-being and survival, sometimes for many years after a conflict
has ended. Explosive weapons also leave behind explosive remnants that
pose a threat to populations until those remnants are removed. [...] The study finds that the regulation of explosive weapons under international
law and policy is fragmentary and incoherent.
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Stigma toward individuals with mental disorders has been studied extensively. In the case of
Latin America and the Caribbean, the past decade has been marked by a significant increase in
information on stigma toward mental illness, but these findings have yet to be applied to mental health service...s in Latin America. The objective of this study was to conduct a systematic review of studies relating to stigma toward mental illness in Latin America and the Caribbean. The authors specifically considered differences in this region as compared with manifestations reported in Western European countries
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The second ECDC/EFSA/EMA joint report on the integrated analysis of antimicrobial consumption (AMC) and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in bacteria from humans and food-producing animals addressed data obtained by the Agencies’ EU-wide surveillance networks for 2013–2015. AMC in both sectors, exp...ressed in mg/kg of estimated biomass, were compared at country and European level. Substantial variations between countries were observed in both sectors. Estimated data on AMC for pigs and poultry were used for the first time. Univariate and multivariate analyses were applied to study associations between AMC and AMR. In 2014, the average AMC was higher in animals (152 mg/kg) than in humans (124 mg/kg), but the opposite applied to the median AMC (67 and 118 mg/kg, respectively). In 18 of 28 countries, AMC was lower in animals than in humans. Univariate analysis showed statistically-significant (p < 0.05) associations between AMC and AMR for fluoroquinolones and Escherichia coli in both sectors, for 3rd- and 4th-generation cephalosporins and E. coli in humans, and tetracyclines and polymyxins and E. coli in animals. In humans, there was a statistically-significant association between AMC and AMR for carbapenems and polymyxins in Klebsiella pneumoniae. Consumption of macrolides in animals was significantly associated with macrolide resistance in Campylobacter coli in animals and humans. Multivariate analyses provided a unique approach to assess the contributions of AMC in humans and animals and AMR in bacteria from animals to AMR in bacteria from humans. Multivariate analyses demonstrated that 3rd- and 4th-generation cephalosporin and fluoroquinolone resistance in E. coli from humans was associated with corresponding AMC in humans, whereas resistance to fluoroquinolones in Salmonella spp. and Campylobacter spp. from humans was related to consumption of fluoroquinolones in animals. These results suggest that from a ‘One-health’ perspective, there is potential in both sectors to further develop prudent use of antimicrobials and thereby reduce AMR.
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nt. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2014, 11(12), 13097-13116; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph111213097
Climate change will increase the frequency and magnitude of extreme weather events and create risks that will impact health care facilities. Health care facilities will need to assess climate chang...e risks and adopt adaptive management strategies to be resilient, but guidance tools are lacking. In this study, a toolkit was developed for health care facility officials to assess the resiliency of their facility to climate change impacts. A mixed methods approach was used to develop climate change resiliency indicators to inform the development of the toolkit. The toolkit consists of a checklist for officials who work in areas of emergency management, facilities management and health care services and supply chain management, a facilitator’s guide for administering the checklist, and a resource guidebook to inform adaptation. Six health care facilities representing three provinces in Canada piloted the checklist. Senior level officials with expertise in the aforementioned areas were invited to review the checklist, provide feedback during qualitative interviews and review the final toolkit at a stakeholder workshop. The toolkit helps health care facility officials identify gaps in climate change preparedness, direct allocation of adaptation resources and inform strategic planning to increase resiliency to climate change.
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The objective of Health in the Americas: Overview of the Region of the Americas in the Context of the COVID-19 Pandemic is to respond to the need to address important public health issues in an increasingly timely manner, while serving as a platform with a close focus on specific issues of regional ...importance. This 2022 edition is the second in its new format, providing an overview of the analysis, as well as an in-depth description of the key issues related to COVID-19 in the Region of the Americas. This overview is supported by the Health in the Americas+ virtual platform, which offers interactive resources for data analysis and allows for the comparison of information disaggregated by subregions and countries.
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Background: A recent report by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) highlights that mental health receives little attention despite being a major cause of disease burden. This paper extends previous assessments of development assistance for mental health (DAMH) in two significant w...ays; first by contrasting DAMH against that for other disease categories, and second by benchmarking allocated development assistance against the core disease burden metric (disability-adjusted life year) as estimated by the Global Burden of Disease Studies. Methods: In order to track DAH, IHME collates information from audited financial records, project level data, and budget information from the primary global health channels. The diverse set of data were standardised and put into a single inflation adjusted currency (2015 US dollars) and each dollar disbursed was assigned up to one health focus areas from 1990 through 2015. We tied these health financing estimates to disease burden estimates (DALYs) produced by the Global Burden of Disease 2015 Study to calculated a standardised measure across health focus areas—development assistance for health (in US Dollars) per DALY.
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In In recent years, China has increased its international engagement in health. Nonetheless, the lack
of data on contributions has limited efforts to examine contributions from China. Existing estimates that track
development assistance for health (DAH) from China have relied primarily on one data...set. Furthermore, little is known
about the disbursing agencies especially the multilaterals through which contributions are disbursed and how these
are changing across time. In this study, we generated estimates of DAH from China from 2007 through 2017 and
disaggregated those estimates by disbursing agency and health focus area.
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