Health Equity: 11/13/08

Thursday, November 13, 2008

[EQ] Course: Health in the Americas

Course: Health in the Americas

Tampa Florida, USA - May 11 - May 29, 2009

Brochure PDF Information [8p.] at: http://www.paho.org/English/ad/dpc/HIAcourseinfoFINAL.pdf

Website: http://publications.paho.org/spCall.php?spModule=Story&c_ID=16&catID=13

Application deadline: January 15, 2009 Form: http://publications.paho.org/spanish/Application_SEA.pdf

The course “Health in the Americas” is a joint project between the Pan American Health Organization, Regional Office of the World Health Organization, and the
Department of Global Health of the College of Public Health at the University of South Florida (USF).

Course Objectives

Based on the 2007 edition of PAHO's Health in the Americas, this course addresses the issue of health as a human right and examines critical determinants of health and disparities that persist in the Region. Specifically, this course aims to:

• Evaluate the current health situation and trends in the Americas.

• Discuss the health care systems and programs developed within the Region.

• Provide a systematic approach to the analysis of the health situation in the Americas, while focusing on statistics from within the Region.

Topics

Course topics will include health analysis methods; demography and population trends; health within the context of development; communicable diseases in the Americas; chronic disease; behavioral health risks; sustainable development; environmental health; public policies and health care systems; medicine, health care technologies and research; and world, regional, and subregional initiatives to improve population health.

Language Requirements

Participants are expected to have a working knowledge of English. However, bilingual instructors and language assistants will be available to aid students.

USF instructors:

- Donna Peterson, ScD, MHS, Dean, College of Public Health

- Jaime Corvin, PhD, MSPH, Assistant Professor

- Ricardo Izurieta, MD, DrPH, MPH, Assistant Professor

- Boo Kwa PhD, Professor and Chair, Department of Global Health

- Richard Nisbett, PhD, MSPH, Assistant Professor

- Alfonso Ruiz, Coordinator, DVM, MS, PhD, Associate Professor

- Wayne Westhoff, PhD, MPH, Research Assistant Professor

- Matthew Rollie, PhD, MSHP, MPH, Administrator, Department of Global Health

PAHO Guest speakers:

- Dr. Jarbas Barbosa, Area Manager, Health Surveillance and Disease Prevention and Control – HSD

- Dr. Fatima Marinho, Project Coordinator, Health Information and Analysis, HSD/HA

- Dr. Alejandro Giusti, Health Information and Analysis, HSD/HA

- Dr. Patricia L. Ruiz, Advisor, Health Information and Analysis, HSD/HA

- Dr. Oscar Mujica, Advisor, Health Information and Analysis, HSD/HA

- Dr. Sergio Muñoz, Advisor, Health Information and Analysis, HSD/HA

- Minister of Health from one Latin American or Caribbean country, The Health Agenda for the Americas

Learning Outcomes

At the end of the course, the student will be able to:

• Use a health analysis method and apply environmental, health, and other indicators and data for use in policy and decision making;

• Describe the entire health situation in the Americas communicable and noncommunicable diseases and those behavioral risks that lead to diverse health issues;

• Identify and discuss the main health determinants in the Region of the Americas, subregions, countries and particular regions within the countries;

• Recognize the phenomena of demographic dynamics and their effect on population health and well-being;

• Describe the advancement of the countries of the Americas to achieve the Millennium Development Goals;

• Make sound analysis of health issues of the Region of the Americas within the framework of sustainable development;

• Discuss public health policies and health care systems and services of the countries of the Americas, including the Health Agenda for the Americas 2008-2017;

• Discuss the pharmaceutical policies and market and the situation of health research and scientific productivity in the Americas.

For More Information, please contact:

Latin America and Caribbean students: Dr. Patricia L Ruiz at ruizpatr@paho.org

USA and Canadian students: Dr. Jaime Corvin at jcorvin1@health.usf.edu from USF.

Faculty and Technical Assistance

Alfonso Ruiz, DVM, MS, PhD. Associate Professor

University of South Florida - College of Public Health - Department of Global Health

13201 Bruce B. Downs Blvd. Tampa, Florida 33612 E-mail: aruiz@hsc.usf.edu; ruizalfo@hotmail.com

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and interpretations included in the Materials are those of the authors and not necessarily of The Pan American
Health Organization PAHO/WHO or its country members”.
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[EQ] Redesigning Primary Care

Redesigning Primary Care

Crisis and Change
N Engl J Med 2008;359:e24, November 13, 2008

Website: http://content.nejm.org/topics/primary-care.shtml

“…In the United States, primary care is in crisis. The ranks of primary care physicians are thinning, with many burning out and trainees shunning primary care fields. The following articles examine the current state of primary care in the U.S. and discuss potential solutions in the areas of training, practice, compensation, and systemic change….”

Perspective Roundtable from the New England Journal of Medicine

Video: http://www.nejm.org/perspective/primary-care-video/

PDF Transcript of Video at: http://content.nejm.org/cgi/reprint/359/20/e24.pdf

“….. Primary care physicians must care for more and more patients, with more and more chronic conditions, in less and less time, for which they are compensated far less than subspecialists. They must absorb increasing volumes of medical information and complete more paperwork than ever, as they try to function in a poorly coordinated health care system.

As a result, their ranks are thinning, with practicing physicians burning out and trainees shunning primary care fields.
In a roundtable discussion moderated by Dr. Thomas Lee, four experts in primary care and related policy —
Drs. Thomas Bodenheimer, Allan Goroll, Barbara Starfield, and Katharine Treadway — explore the crisis, as well as possible solutions for training, practice, compensation, and systemic change….”

THE FUTURE OF PRIMARY CARE

The editors asked several experts to share their perspectives on the crisis in U.S. primary care.
Their articles address the issue from six different angles:

The Need for Reinvention
T.H. Lee, network president for Partners Healthcare System and an associate editor of the New England Journal of Medicine

Sustaining Relationships
K. Treadway, Harvard Medical School

Transforming Practice
T. Bodenheimer, Center for Excellence in Primary Care at the University of California, San Francisco.

Reforming Physician Payment
A.H. Goroll, Harvard Medical School

Refocusing the System
B. Starfield, Bloomberg School of Public Health at Johns Hopkins

Lessons from the U.K.
M. Roland, director of the National Primary Care Research and Development Centre, University of Manchester, UK

Open for Comments November 12–26, 2008
http://www.nejm.org/perspective/primary-care-video/?query=TOC

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[EQ] UNFPA The State of World Population 2008

STATE OF WORLD POPULATION 2008

United Nations Population Fund, November 12, 2008

Website: http://www.unfpa.org/swp/

“…..As a fundamental part of people’s lives, culture must be integrated into development policy and programming. The State of World Population 2008 report from UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, shows how this process works in practice.

This year is the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The report’s starting point is that human rights reflect universal values. It calls for culturally sensitive approaches to development because they are essential for human rights in general, and women’s rights in particular.

Culturally sensitive approaches call for cultural fluency – familiarity with how cultures work, and how to work with them. The report suggests that partnerships – for example between UNFPA and local non-governmental organizations (NGOs) – can create effective strategies to promote human rights, such as women’s empowerment and gender equality, and end human rights abuses like female genital mutilation or cutting.

Culture influences how people manage their lives, the report says. Cultures affect how people think and act; but, they do not make everyone think and act alike. Cultures influence and are influenced by external circumstances, and they change in response. People are continually reshaping them, although some aspects of culture continue to influence choices and lifestyles for a long time…”

THE REPORTS

State of World Population 2008 — Web | English | Français | Español |

Youth Supplement — Web | English | Français | Español |

Selected Indicators – Monitoring ICPD Goals | English | Français | Español |

Demographic, Social and Economic Indicators | English | Français | Español |

Selected Indicators for Less Populous Countries/Territories | English | Français

Content:

Overview

Culture is and always has been central to development. As a natural and fundamental dimension of people’s lives, culture must be integrated into development policy and programming. This report shows how this process works in practice.

Read chapter online Download chapter pdf

· CHAPTER 1

An Introduction

The implementation of the recommendations contained in the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development is the sovereign right of each country, consistent with national laws and development priorities, with full respect for the various religious and ethical values and cultural backgrounds of its people, and in conformity with universally recognized international human rights.
— International Conference on Population and Development Programme of Action, Principles.

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· CHAPTER 2

Building Support for Human Rights

Legitimating human rights in local cultures and religious traditions is a matter of vital importance for the survival and future development of the human rights paradigm itself.

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· CHAPTER 3

Promoting Gender Equality and Empowering Women

Cultures are neither static nor monolithic…. They adapt to new opportunities and challenges and evolving realities. What is seen as “the culture” may in fact be a viewpoint held by a small group of elites keen to hold onto their power and status. The tensions and diverging goals inherent in every culture create opportunities for UNFPA to promote human rights and gender equality, particularly when UNFPA can partner with local agents of social change and challenge dominant views from within the same cultural frame of reference.

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· CHAPTER 4

Reproductive Health and Reproductive Rights

Reproductive rights … derive from the recognition of the basic right of all individuals and couples to make decisions about reproduction free from discrimination, coercion or violence. They include the right to the highest standard of health and the right to determine the number, timing and spacing of children. They comprise the right to safe child-bearing, and the right of all individuals to protect themselves from HIV and other sexually transmitted infections.

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· CHAPTER 5

Poverty, Inequality and Population

Sustainable development decreases poverty and inequality and promotes socio-economic inclusion for all groups. Unequal distribution of the products of economic growth increases both the extent and the depth of poverty. Poverty and inequality limit access to resources and opportunities. In this reality, cultural components such as family relationships, patterns of human activity, coping strategies and prescribed and unsanctioned behaviours are important and consistent features. Poor health and low levels of education make it more difficult to translate additional income into improved well-being, preventing people from establishing or reaching personal goals.

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· CHAPTER 6

Gender and Reproductive Health in Conflict Situations

Since the end of the Cold War, most armed conflicts have been within rather than between States. Between 1998 and 2007, there were 34 major armed conflicts – all but three internal – and about four times that many armed conflicts in total. Far more civilians than soldiers become casualties in these conflicts, many of them women and girls.

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· CHAPTER 7

Some Conclusions

The starting point of this report is the universal validity and application of the international human rights framework. Understanding how values, practices and beliefs affect human behaviour is fundamental to the design of effective programmes that help people and nations realize human rights. Nowhere is this understanding more important than in the area of power relations between men and women and their impact on reproductive health and rights. Development practice is firmly located at this nexus of culture, gender relations and human rights. It is from this point that creative and sustainable interventions emerge.

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· RESOURCES

Indicators and Technical Notes

The statistical tables in this year's report give special attention to indicators that can help track progress in meeting international development goals in the areas of mortality reduction, HIV prevalence among young people, and access to education and reproductive health services, including family planning. Technical notes for the indicators and their rationale for selection follow.

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[EQ] Social cohesion for mental well-being among adolescents

Social cohesion for mental well-being among adolescents

Copenhagen, WHO Regional Office for Europe, 2008

PDF file [286p.] at: http://www.euro.who.int/Document/E91921.pdf

Website: http://www.euro.who.int/eprise/main/WHO/Progs/SED/hbsc/20080821_26

About the WHO/ Health Behavior in School-aged Children HBSC Forum process:

The WHO/Health Behavior in School-aged Children (HBSC) Forum series is dedicated to increasing action on the socioeconomic determinants of adolescent health. It aims to support Member States in:

Ø translating research on young people’s health into policies and action within and beyond the health sector;

Ø scaling up intersectoral policies and interventions to promote adolescent health;

Ø reducing health inequities among young people; and

Ø involving young people in the design, implementation and evaluation of policies and interventions.

The WHO/HBSC Forum 2007 process engaged policy-makers, researchers and practitioners from throughout the WHO European Region in an evidence-review process dedicated to “Social cohesion for mental well-being among adolescents”, supporting follow-up to the European Ministerial Conference on Mental Health in 2005. The process entailed: analysis of data on adolescent mental well-being, mental health and social capital; review of policies and interventions to improve adolescent mental health and well-being; and identification of lessons learned through these initiatives. At the core of the Forum 2007 process were case studies, whose production was undertaken by 93 co-authors representing diverse disciplines and sectors at national and sub national levels.

Excerpt from Foreword:

[…] In reading this final report, it is clear that countries have much to learn from each other on how health systems can be strengthened to promote the mental well-being of young people and prevent mental disorders among this age group. The case studies describe services delivered through schools and in communities, including through strengthened primary care. They convey how data on adolescent mental well-being, mental health and social capital can be used for the design of policies and interventions. They depict the integration of mental health promotion in other services to meet young people’s needs, and specific measures to overcome barriers to access. They define challenges in acquiring sufficient human resources for implementing programmes and explain how training of personnel within and beyond the health sector has helped overcome these.

The studies underline the importance of financing for sustainability, and consistently emphasize the need for supportive legislation and governance mechanisms (including those of an intersectoral nature) that enable action on the wider determinants of child and adolescent mental health. The call for protecting the mental well-being of socially disadvantaged young people underpins all studies. […]

Case studies*:

*Studies can be downloaded individually from: http://www.euro.who.int/socialdeterminants/hbsc/20080821_1

- Armenia: experiences of a country in transition

- Belgium (Flanders): beyond boundaries – integrating school and mental health policies

- Finland: innovative health education curriculum and other investments for promoting mental health and social cohesion among children and young people

- Germany: adolescent mental well-being – current status and promotion and prevention initiatives

- Hungary: social cohesion for mental well-being in adolescents

- Iceland: inequalities and social cohesion in psychosomatic health – individual and community processes

- Ireland: social cohesion for mental well-being in adolescence

- Lithuania: youth mental health – from research to policies, practice and partnerships

- Portugal: from research to practice – promoting positive health for adolescents in schools

- Republic of Moldova: adolescent mental well-being – current situation and future trends

- Romania: facing the challenge of translating research into practice – policy and partnerships to promote mental health among adolescents

- Slovenia: mental health and well-being for all children

- Spain: social contexts and psychological adjustment in Spanish adolescents

- Spain (Autonomous Community of Andalusia): improving responses to the health problems of adolescents and young people

- Spain (Alcalá de Henares, Madrid): the strategy “for and with young people” for promoting adolescent mental health in primary health care

- United Kingdom (England): the framework and the process – how social and emotional aspects of learning (SEAL) addresses the mental well-being of adolescents through the context of healthy schools

- United Kingdom (Scotland): HeadsUpScotland – a country case study

Background papers:**

**Papers can be downloaded individually from: http://www.euro.who.int/socialdeterminants/hbsc/20080821_20

- Mental well-being in school-aged children in Europe: associations with social cohesion and socioeconomic circumstances

- Socioeconomic inequalities in mental health among adolescents in Europe

- Economic aspects of mental health in children and adolescents

Forum process “Summary of Outcomes”:

http://www.euro.who.int/document/sed/hbsc_forum_2007_summary_of_outcomes.pdf [pdf 94kb]

World Health Organization 2008

The WHO/HBSC Forum 2007 process was co-organized by: the WHO European Office for Investment for Health and Development (responsible for overall coordination), the WHO Regional Office for Europe units for mental health and child and adolescent health and development; the HBSC Network; the Tuscany Region (Italy) in partnership with the Local Health Unit ASL12 Viareggio; the WHO collaborating centre for health promotion capacity building in child and adolescent health (Health Promotion Programme, A. Meyer University Children’s Hospital, Florence, Italy); the Directorate General of Public Health of the Government of the Canary Islands (Spain); the WHO collaborating centre for health promotion and public health development (National Health Service (NHS) Health Scotland); and the WHO collaborating centre for child and adolescent health promotion (School of Public Health, University of Bielefeld, Germany). The series is an activity within “The Framework Cooperation Programme between the World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe and the Tuscany Region”.

To request a hardcopy or for permission to quote or translate, please complete the online form in the WHO Regional Office for Europe web site:

http://www.euro.who.int/pubrequest.

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    IMPORTANT: This transmission is for use by the intended recipient and it may contain privileged, proprietary or confidential information. If you are not the intended recipient or a person responsible for delivering this transmission to the intended recipient, you may not disclose, copy or distribute this transmission or take any action in reliance on it. If you received this transmission in error, please notify us immediately by email to infosec@paho.org, and please dispose of and delete this transmission. Thank you.