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Public health surveillance and the data, information, knowledge, intelligence and wisdom paradigm

This article points out deficiencies in present-day definitions of public health surveillance, which include data collection, analysis, interpretation and dissemination, but not public health action. Controlling a public health problem of concern requires a public health response that goes beyond information dissemination. It is undesirable to have public health divided into data generation processes (public health surveillance) and data use processes (public health response), managed by two separate groups (surveillance experts and policy-makers).

Health alerts for substandard, falsified, and unregistered medical products at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in the Americas

Objective

Identify and analyze incidents of substandard, falsified, unregistered, and stolen medical products at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods

Detailed search of the websites of regulatory authorities in the Americas. Identification of incidents of substandard, falsified, unregistered, and stolen medicines and medical devices (including in vitro diagnostics). The types of products were determined, as were the stages in the supply chain where they were detected, and the actions taken by authorities.

Reporting guidelines for clinical trial reports for interventions involving artificial intelligence: the CONSORT-AI extension

The CONSORT 2010 statement provides minimum guidelines for reporting randomized trials. Its widespread use has been instrumental in ensuring transparency in the evaluation of new interventions. More recently, there has been a growing recognition that interventions involving artificial intelligence (AI) need to undergo rigorous, prospective evaluation to demonstrate impact on health outcomes. The CONSORT-AI (Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials– Artificial Intelligence) extension is a new reporting guideline for clinical trials evaluating interventions with an AI component.

Concordance between essential medicines lists and diabetes guidelines in Latin America and the Caribbean

Objective

Conduct an analysis to determine the existence and updating of national essential medicines lists (EMLs) and clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) for the treatment of diabetes in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC); and compare the medicines included in each country's list and guidelines both with each other and with those of the World Health Organization (WHO).

The use of artificial intelligence in scientific publishing

Artificial intelligence is a tool increasingly used in various fields. In the field of scientific publication, the journal adheres to the recommendations of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), that aim at promoting transparency and ethical conduct in scientific research and publication: “At submission, the journal should require authors to disclose whether they used artificial intelligence (AI)-assisted technologies (such as Large Language Models [LLMs], chatbots, or image creators) in the production of submitted work.

Guidelines for clinical trial protocols for interventions involving artificial intelligence: the SPIRIT-AI extension

The SPIRIT 2013 statement aims to improve the completeness of clinical trial protocol reporting by providing evidence-based recommendations for the minimum set of items to be addressed. This guidance has been instrumental in promoting transparent evaluation of new interventions. More recently, there has been a growing recognition that interventions involving artificial intelligence (AI) need to undergo rigorous, prospective evaluation to demonstrate their impact on health outcomes.

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