Scientific papers and resources on COVID-19
Readers will find below recently published articles on COVID-19, including links to the full-texts.
The Pan American Health Organization has put together a set of technical guidelines, recommendations, scientific publications, and ongoing research protocols from the Americas and affected countries worldwide regarding the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. These platforms of trusted information may be useful for decision and policy-making authorities, researchers, health professionals, and individuals.
Intersectionality as a theoretical-analytical tool to study health inequalities in the Americas
Objective
Analyze inequalities in self-perceived health among population groups located at the intersections of gender identity, ethnicity, and education level in countries of the Americas, classified by income level.
Qualitative analysis of health preparedness policies in Chile
Objective
Analyze health preparedness policies in Chile and identify their strengths and weaknesses. No other studies to date provide an analysis of the country's preparedness policies.
Methods
A desk review and semi-structured interviews with experts in emergency preparedness and response were conducted to identify the regulatory framework, key actors, and the strengths and weaknesses of health preparedness policies.
Relevance and feasibility of reforms to create a universal health system in Chile
The health system in Chile is well developed, with broad national coverage. However, organizational limitations necessitate urgent structural reform due to a lack of resources and poor performance, with segmentation and inequity. The government's program for 2022–2026 proposes substantial reforms aimed at creating a universal health system. Other reform proposals formulated by various government programs and commissions, as well as think tanks, provide useful inputs to contextualize the government proposal.
Deaths from traffic injuries and social inequality in Colombia, 2019
Objective
To evaluate the association between social inequalities and deaths from traffic injuries in Colombia in 2019.
A COVID-19 vaccination program for high-risk children aged 12–17 years in Curacao
Objective
This study aimed to describe and critically evaluate the COVID-19 vaccination program for high-risk children in Curacao and provide information about important factors such as parents’ vaccination hesitancy and effective strategies for communicating and delivering information about vaccination.
Prevalence of human leptospirosis in the Americas: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Objective
To describe the prevalence of leptospirosis in the Americas.
Methods
A systematic review and meta-analysis, in the period 1930 to 2017, performed on a search of six platforms: PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, Lilacs, Embase, and Cochrane.
Strengthening regional governance and the health care network in small municipalities in Brazil
The objective of this article is to systematize the experience and identify the challenges and lessons learned in the implementation of the model for strengthening regional governance and organizing the health care network (HCN) in a region of Brazil composed of these municipalities, which present low technical and budgetary capacity, in addition to various fragilities related to the organization of the HCN.
Using mixed methods to understand and tackle barriers to accessing health services
This report describes the experience and lessons learnt from designing and implementing a combined quantitative and qualitative method to assess barriers to accessing health services. This approach was developed to study barriers to access in five dimensions: availability; geographical, financial, and organizational accessibility; acceptability; contact; and effective coverage. The study design was used in six countries in the World Health Organization Region of the Americas.
