Objectives: To compare the performance of paper-based record-keeping versus an offline digital app when used by vaccination brigades in Indigenous communities in the Peruvian Amazon in 2025, considering four dimensions: operational efficiency, data quality, usability, and acceptance. Secondarily, to identify distinct user profiles.
In this special issue of the Revista Panamericana de Salud Pública/Pan American Journal of Public Health, we bring together a collection of papers that reflects the evolution of HEARTS in the Americas and the growing experience accumulated by countries in improving the prevention and management of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) through primary health care (PHC). Collectively, these contributions demonstrate that advancing PHC is no longer an aspirational goal but an increasingly achievable reality.
In line with national trends, and given the high prevalence of hypertension and gaps in the registration of noncommunicable diseases in the province of Santa Fe, Argentina, the HEARTS strategy was implemented to strengthen hypertension management and cardiovascular disease prevention in primary care settings. During the 2024–2025 period, 16 public health centers in the Southern region were selected. A situational assessment was conducted through analysis of local data and use of a structured intervention registry to identify resources, training, and care processes.
Background. Childhood cancer survival exceeds 80% in high-income countries but remains below 50% across much of Latin America. In Ecuador, limited access to diagnosis and essential medicines, and fragmented governance have hindered progress. In 2025, Ecuador became the first country in the Region of the Americas to implement the Global Platform for Access to Childhood Cancer Medicines, an initiative led by the World Health Organization (WHO) and St.
Objective. To assess mortality and disability due to injuries in the Americas, with a focus on subregional and gender disparities, and changes over time.
Objective. To describe the epidemiological and health care situation of advanced chronic kidney disease (CKD) and end-stage renal disease (ESRD) in Latin America; identify strengths and gaps in early detection, referral, and access to and coverage of renal replacement therapies (RRTs); contextualize these findings in light of the recent WHO Resolution WHA78.6 on kidney health and propose recommendations.
Objective: To estimate the economic impact of standard pharmacological treatment for hypertension on a typical household in Argentina using a new indicator relating treatment costs to household income.
Objective: To describe how Grenada leveraged the HEARTS in the Americas standardized clinical pathway to strengthen procurement of a single-pill fixed-dose antihypertensive and align prescribing and procurement across public and private sectors.
Objective: Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) account for approximately 80% of annual mortality in Saint Lucia, with the results of national World Health Organization (WHO) STEPwise approach to NCD risk factor surveillance surveys in 2012 and 2020 indicating increasing prevalences of hypertension, obesity and physical inactivity. In response, the Ministry of Health, Wellness and Nutrition launched the St. Lucia Moves Initiative in 2022, aligned with the Caribbean Moves framework and WHO's Global Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Noncommunicable Diseases 2013-2030.
Corrigendum to Síntesis de evidencia y recomendaciones: guía de práctica clínica para el manejo de la retinopatía de la prematuridad. Rev Panam Salud Publica. 2021;45:e138. https://doi.org/10.26633/RPSP.2021.138. The abstract (pg. 1) and translated abstracts (pgs. 9) presented an error in the first line of the results: “… 32 semanas…1500 g de peso”. The correct figures are “…36 semanas …2000 g de peso."
