HEARTS in the Americas: targeting health system change to improve population hypertension control
The original article was published in English. To access the entire article in its original version: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11906-023-01286-w
Did child obesity decline after 2016 food regulations in Chile?
We estimated trends in the prevalence of obesity and overweight among Chilean primary and secondary students before and after Chile’s 2016 regulations on the marketing and availability of foods high in energy, total sugars, sodium, or saturated fat. We used data from Chile’s Survey of Nutrition, which measured the body mass index (BMI) of students in government-funded schools.
PAHO/WHO Collaborating Centers: celebrating the achievement of our common goals
[...] The Region of the Americas has benefitted from the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO) Collaborating Centers (CCs) since 1950 when the first CC was designated at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in the United States of America. Since then, the CCs have supported the Organization in several important public health areas, such as nursing, communicable diseases, health promotion, mental health, emergency response, and others.
Understanding the dynamics of deceased organ donation and utilization in Colombia
Objective
To obtain a comprehensive overview of organ donation, organ utilization, and discard in the entire donation process in Colombia.
Methods
A retrospective study of 1 451 possible donors, distributed in three regions of Colombia, evaluated in 2022. The general characteristics, diagnosis, and causes of contraindication for potential donors were described.
Retrospective review of medicine utilization for noncommunicable diseases in three public sector pharmacies in Jamaica
Objective
The rational use of medicines offers a cost-saving strategy to maximize therapeutic outcomes for developing and developed countries. The aim of this study was to evaluate the rational use of medicines for selected noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) at three pharmacies at public hospitals in Jamaica using the World Health Organization’s (WHO’s) prescribing indicators.
Ranking of immunization programs in Latin America, 2020
Objective
Construct a ranking of national immunization programs in Latin America in 2020 and compare it with the previous year.
Institutional care in four Latin American countries: the importance of fostering public information and evaluation strategies
More than 8 million older people in Latin America depend on long-term care (LTC), accounting for 12% of people aged ≥ 60 years and almost 27% of those aged ≥ 80. It is crucial to develop sustainable strategies for providing LTC in the area, including institutional care. This special report aims to characterize institutional LTC in four countries (Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica and Mexico), using available information systems, and to identify the strategies adopted to support institutional care in these countries.
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).
Determinants of continued breastfeeding in children aged 12–23 months in three regions of Haiti
Objectives
To identify the prevalence and determinants of continued breastfeeding in Haitian children aged 12–23 months.
