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All young people, including those with special needs and from the most vulnerable groups, have the right to quality health care services. Unfortunately, this right is not a reality, particularly in the case of sexual and reproductive
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health services. Many youth in need of sexual and reproductive health care may either decline or be denied access to health services for a variety of reasons: Providers are often biased and do not feel comfortable serving youth who are sexually active; youth do not feel comfortable accessing existing services because they are not "youth-friendly" and may not meet their needs; and, often, community members do not feel that youth should have access to sexual and reproductive health services.
To address provider and site bias toward serving youth, EngenderHealth created a training curriculum intended to sensitize all staff at a health care facility on the provision of youth-friendly services. The curriculum was created as a result of the participatory work that we have been doing with youth in Nepal to address the needs of all levels of providers at different service-delivery settings. The curriculum has been field-tested and used in Nepal, Russia, Mongolia, and the United States.
Youth-Friendly Services allows staff to reflect upon and assess their own beliefs about adolescent sexuality while ensuring that those values and attitudes do not compromise the basic sexual and reproductive health rights to which youth are entitled. The curriculum also helps providers understand cross-cultural principles of adolescent development and health needs specific to youth. Once participant knowledge, attitudes, and skills are improved, sites conduct a self-assessment on the youth-friendliness of their services and create an action plan for specific improvements.
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Mental Health First Aid Guidelines
A Training Curriculum for Multidisciplinary Healthcare Teams. This innovative training package aims to empower multidisciplinary health workers to have the confidence and skills to provide comprehensive, y
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outh-friendly HIV services that support adolescents’ healthy development, psychosocial well being, retention, adherence, sexual and reproductive health, and eventual transition to adult HIV services.
more
Data from the 2000, 2005, and 2011 Ethiopia Demographic and Health Surveys | This report examines trends in key demographic indicators among youth from the findings of the 2000, 2005, and 2011 Ethio
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pia Demographic and Health Surveys (EDHS).
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Integrated Management of Newborn and Childhood Illness, Part 1 Blended Learning Module for the Health Extension Programme
HEAT, UNICEF, Open University, AMREF, WHO
Ministry of Health, Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia
(2011)
C1
These Blended Learning Modules cover the full range of health promotion, disease prevention, basic management and essential treatment protocols to improve and protect the health of rural communities
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in Ethiopia. A strong focus is on enabling Ethiopia to meet the Millennium Development Goals to reduce maternal mortality by three-quarters and under-5 child mortality by two-thirds by the year 2015. The Modules cover antenatal care, labour and delivery, postnatal care, the integrated management of newborn and childhood illness, communicable diseases (including HIV/AIDS, malaria, TB, leprosy and other common infectious diseases), family planning, adolescent and youth reproductive health, nutrition and food safety, hygiene and environmental health, non-communicable diseases, health education and community mobilisation, and health planning and professional ethics.
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The target audience for this training course is non-clinicians such as Home Based Carers, Community Caregivers, Youth Care Workers, Peer educators, Community Health Workers etc. primarily those who
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will be providing adherence counselling to clients with HIV, TB, Hypertension and Diabetes. This group of non-clinicians play a vital role in helping to reduce the workload of nursing staff. Amongst others, non- clinicians educate clients and provide emotional support in a manner that makes each client feel like they are receiving focused, individual attention. Non-clinicians are often in close contact with communities and, therefore, able to understand and play a role in alleviating health service barriers in the community.
Facility managers may also be part of the target audience in order to ensure that they understand the components of the minimum package of interventions to support linkage, adherence and retention in care.
Further, their attendance seeks to ensure that non-clinicians receive necessary assistance and support when they have to implement what they have learned back into their workplaces.
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The project was developed by the International Federation of Medical Students’ Associations (IFMSA), in line with the Federation’s statement “a world in which students are equipped with knowledge, skills and value to take on health
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leadership roles locally and globally so to shape a sustainable future”. This was supported by an ongoing and vital engagement from the World Health Organization (WHO) and their work the United Nations Alliance on Climate Change Education, Training and Public Awareness. The overall objective was to create a “all in one” type of resource to bring together climate change, health and youth advocacy.
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Tobacco use is the leading preventable cause of death worldwide and is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD). Both prevention of smoking initiation among youth and smoking cessation among established smokers are key for reducing smoki
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ng prevalence and the associated negative health consequences. Proven tobacco cessation treatment includes pharmacotherapy and behavioral support, which are most effective when provided together. First-line medications (varenicline, bupropion, and nicotine replacement) are effective and safe for patients with CVD. Clinicians who care for patients with CVD should give as high a priority to treating tobacco use as to managing other CVD risk factors. Broader tobacco control efforts to raise tobacco taxes, adopt smoke-free laws, conduct mass media campaigns, and restrict tobacco marketing enhance clinicians' actions working with individual smokers.
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Young people across the world are urging governments to shield them from predatory tobacco marketing tactics. The industry targets youth for a lifetime of profits, creating a new wave of addiction. The latest data show that children are using e-ciga
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rettes at rates higher than adults in many countries and globally an estimated 37 million youth aged 13–15 years use tobacco.
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An evidence-informed approach for non-formal, out-of-school CSE programmes that aims to reach young people from left-behind populations
This guidance is intended to assist anyone designing and/or implementing CSE in out-of-school settings, especially in low- and middle-income countries. This includ
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es international and national civil-society organizations, community-based organizations, government departments, UN agencies, health authorities, non-formal education authorities and youth development authorities. It is also intended for anyone else involved in the design, delivery and evaluation of sexuality education programmes out of school, especially those working with the specific groups of young people addressed in the guidance.
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In the context of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic response, WHO identifies young people as a priority target audience with specific concerns, experiences and behaviours. This policy brief provides relevant insights from behavioural evidence and a set of behavioural considerations for tho
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se promoting COVID-19 preventive behaviours among young people. Designers of programmes and initiatives targeting youth may find it helpful to refer to the youth-specific barriers and drivers identified in this policy brief and to prioritize these for testing when planning initiatives targeted at young people.
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2nd revised edition. Accessed Apri. 17, 2019
Prevention strategies based on scientific evidence working with families, schools, and communities can ensure that children and youth, especially the most marginalized and poor, grow and stay healthy and
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safe into adulthood and old age. For every dollar spent on prevention, at least ten can be saved in future health, social and crime costs.
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The Global status report on violence prevention 2014, which reflects data from 133 countries, is the first report of its kind to assess national efforts to address interpersonal violence, namely child maltreatment, youth violence, intimate partner a
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nd sexual violence, and elder abuse. Jointly published by WHO, the United Nations Development Programme, and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, the report reviews the current status of violence prevention efforts in countries, and calls for a scaling up of violence prevention programmes; stronger legislation and enforcement of laws relevant for violence prevention; and enhanced services for victims of violence.
You can download summaries in different languages, single chapters and graphics
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A resource for pesticide registrars and regulators.
The WHO urged governments to restrict access to highly toxic pesticides used for self-poisoning . Other effective interventions include education, youth intervention programs and follow-up of peop
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le at risk—and better data. Only 80 out of 183 WHO member states reported high-quality vital registration data in 2016
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The World Health Organization (WHO) launched the SAFER initiative in 2018 to address the global health and societal challenges posed by alcohol-related harm. The initiative outlines five key strateg
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ies aimed at reducing alcohol consumption and its associated consequences. These include strengthening restrictions on alcohol availability by implementing and enforcing policies to limit its accessibility and advancing drink-driving countermeasures, such as low blood alcohol concentration limits and random breath testing, to reduce alcohol-impaired driving incidents.
Additionally, SAFER emphasizes facilitating access to screening, brief interventions, and treatment for individuals with alcohol use disorders, ensuring that healthcare systems are equipped to provide effective support. Another core strategy is enforcing comprehensive bans or restrictions on alcohol advertising, sponsorship, and promotion to minimize its influence, particularly on vulnerable populations such as youth. Finally, the initiative advocates raising alcohol prices through excise taxes and pricing policies to make it less affordable and thereby reduce consumption.
By implementing these evidence-based, cost-effective measures, the SAFER initiative aims to reduce the global burden of alcohol-related deaths and disabilities, fostering healthier societies worldwide.
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Evidence-based guidelines are one of the most useful tools for improving public health and clinical practice. Their purpose is to formulate interventions based on strong evidence of efficacy, avoid unnecessary risks, use resources efficiently, reduc
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e clinical variability and, in essence, improve health and ensure quality care, which is the purpose of health systems and services. These guidelines were developed following the GRADE methodology, with the support of a panel of clinical experts from different countries, all convened by the Pan American Health Organization. By responding to twelve key questions about the clinical diagnosis and treatment of dengue, chikungunya, and Zika, evidence-based recommendations were formulated for pediatric, youth, adult, older adult, and pregnant patients who are exposed to these diseases or have a suspected or confirmed diagnosis of infection. The purpose of the guidelines is to prevent progression to severe forms of these diseases and the fatal events they may cause. The recommendations are intended for health professionals, including general, resident, and specialist physicians, nursing professionals, and medical and nursing students, who participate in caring for patients with suspected dengue, chikungunya, or Zika. They are also intended for health unit managers and the executive teams of national arboviral disease prevention and control programs, who are responsible for facilitating the process of implementing these guidelines.
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Women, the elderly, adolescents, youth, and children,
persons with disabilities, indigenous populations, refugees,
migrants, and minorities experience the highest degree
of socio-economic marginalization. Marginalized people
become even more vul
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nerable in emergencies.1 This is due
to factors such as their lack of access to effective surveillance
and early-warning systems, and health services. The
COVID-19 outbreak is predicted to have significant impacts
on various sectors.
The populations most at risk are those that:
• depend heavily on the informal economy;
• occupy areas prone to shocks;
• have inadequate access to social services or political
influence;
• have limited capacities and opportunities to cope and
adapt and;
• limited or no access to technologies.
By understanding these issues, we can support the capacity
of vulnerable populations in emergencies. We can give
them priority assistance, and engage them in decision-making
processes for response, recovery, preparedness, and
risk reduction.
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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
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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.
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