Published since 1922, the Pan American Journal of Public Health is the flagship scientific and technical periodical of the Pan American Health Organization. Its mission is to contribute to the production and dissemination of scientific public health information of international significance, mainly in areas related to PAHO's essential mission of strengthening health systems and improving the health of the peoples of the Americas.

Publication in the journal has no cost for authors, and all manuscripts are open access and free for readers.

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Selected manuscripts on international health days

Advancing health through research partnerships in Latin America

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Partnerships are key to building and sustaining health research capacity in Latin America.

Link to full original article in English in the BMJ: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.k2690

Versión en español

Versão em Português

Strengthening research for health in the Americas

High quality research—and the evidence that it yields—is essential for improving global health and health equity, as well as economic development. In 2009, Member States of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) approved a regional policy on research for health in the Americas, the first such World Health Organization (WHO) regional policy. It was developed to harmonize with and complement WHO’s Strategy on Research for Health.

Health technology in primary health care: a path to promote health care delivery

Read more about Health technology in primary health care: a path to promote health care delivery

[excerpt] Health technology is a still-evolving field in Peru. These two examples show how mHealth can provide new approaches for diagnosing and reducing morbidity from NCDs. In order to fully benefit from mHealth, Peru needs a collective effort that involves broad-based support from governmental sectors and private organizations, as well as incorporates community feedback. I am positive that health technology will reform health delivery in Peru and will be a driving force to make the health care sector more sustainable.

Systems for surveillance of birth defects in Latin America and the Caribbean: present and future

Read more about Systems for surveillance of birth defects in Latin America and the Caribbean: present and future

Objectives.

To determine the availability of national systems for surveillance of birth defects in Latin America and the Caribbean and describe their characteristics.

Proposal for a methodology to estimate the potential coverage of primary care teams

Read more about Proposal for a methodology to estimate the potential coverage of primary care teams

Objective.

To present a methodology for the empirical evaluation of primary health care (PHC) through the construction of digital representations of potential PHC coverage areas.

Emerging and reemerging Aedes-transmitted arbovirus infections in the Region of the Americas: implications for health policy

Read more about Emerging and reemerging Aedes-transmitted arbovirus infections in the Region of the Americas: implications for health policy

The increasing geographical spread and disease incidence of arboviral infections are among the greatest public health concerns in the Americas. The region has observed an increasing trend in dengue incidence in the last decades, evolving from low to hyperendemicity. Yellow fever incidence has also intensified in this period, expanding from sylvatic-restricted activity to urban outbreaks. Chikungunya started spreading pandemically in 2005 at an unprecedented pace, reaching the Americas in 2013.

Impact of the ERA and GES health programs on mortality from community acquired pneumonia in persons aged ≥65 years in Chile

Read more about Impact of the ERA and GES health programs on mortality from community acquired pneumonia in persons aged ≥65 years in Chile

Objective

Evaluate the impact of the Adult Respiratory Diseases (ERA) Program and the General System of Explicit Health Guarantees (GES) on mortality from community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) in persons aged ≥65 years in Chile.

Leadership in nursing: why should we discuss it?

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Abstract is not available

Consumption of red and processed meat, insulin resistance, and diabetes in the Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Adult Health (ELSA-Brasil)

Read more about Consumption of red and processed meat, insulin resistance, and diabetes in the Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Adult Health (ELSA-Brasil)

Objective.

To investigate the association between red and processed meat consumption and the occurrence of new cases of insulin resistance (IR) and diabetes mellitus (DM) in participants of the Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Adult Health (ELSA-Brasil).

Reporting of birth defects from the Zika outbreak in Colombia, 2015-2017

Read more about Reporting of birth defects from the Zika outbreak in Colombia, 2015-2017

Objectives.

The Zika outbreak affected several tropical countries in 2015 and 2016, requiring the creation of intensified surveillance strategies for microcephaly and other neurological syndromes. The effect of the Zika outbreak on the reporting of birth defects in Colombia was evaluated from the perspective of the national surveillance system.