[EQ] Health Situation in the Americas - Basic Indicators 2008

Health Situation in the Americas - Basic Indicators 2008

 

Pan American Health Organization (PAHO/WHO)

 

            Available online:
            English: http://devserver.paho.org/hq/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_download&gid=308&Itemid=

            Spanish: http://devserver.paho.org/hq/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_download&gid=307&Itemid=

 

“……..Information on 56 basic indicators for 48 countries and territories, as well as for groupings of countries or sub-regions. This year the publication includes an analysis of the quality of mortality data based on the proportion of mortality under-registration and on the proportion of deaths assigned to ill-defined and unknown causes. This information was used to develop an index for classifying the quality of mortality data.

 

The results show that of the 32 countries studied, 19 (59%) have good quality mortality data, and 7 countries (22%) have poor or very poor quality mortality data. In addition to problems with data quality, 2 countries from Central America and 14 Caribbean countries were excluded from the analysis due to their critical situation in the availability of mortality data.

 

There is also a comparison between estimated infant and maternal mortality using the World Health Organization methodology and those calculated from data reported by the countries. This comparison allows for better visualization of differences between different ways of measuring the same indicator and provides a parameter for discussing the validity of these important health indicators.

 

Information required for decision-making must be available, but also accurate and timely. In this publication we want to emphasize those aspects that reveal differences in the quality of data observed among the different countries in the Region. By doing so, it is expected that those responsible for health statistics in the countries of the Americas will be encouraged to implement improvements in the collection, validation, analysis and dissemination of data….”

[Mirta Roses Periago PAHO Director]

 

 

 

 

For more information:

Health Surveillance, Disease Prevention and Control (HSD) - Health Information and Analysis (HA)

Pan American Health Organization PAHO/WHO - 525 Twenty-third St., N.W. - Washington, D.C., 20037, USA

 

 

 

      *      *     *
This message from the Pan American Health Organization, PAHO/WHO, is part of an effort to disseminate
information Related to: Equity; Health inequality; Socioeconomic inequality in health; Socioeconomic
health differentials; Gender; Violence; Poverty; Health Economics; Health Legislation; Ethnicity; Ethics;
Information Technology - Virtual libraries; Research & Science issues.  [DD/ KMC Area]

“Materials provided in this electronic list are provided "as is". Unless expressly stated otherwise, the findings
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”.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PAHO/WHO website: http://66.101.212.219/equity/
Equity List - Archives - Join/remove: http://listserv.paho.org/Archives/equidad.html

 

    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.  

[EQ] Global-health research architecture-time for mergers?

Global-health research architecture—time for mergers?

 

John-Arne Røttingen, Paulo Marchiori Buss, Sally Davies, Oumar Touré

Norwegian Knowledge Centre for the Health Service, Oslo, Norway (J-AR)
Fiocruz, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (PMB)
Department of Health, London, UK (SD); and Ministry of Health, Bamako, Mali (OT)

The Lancet, Volume 373, Issue 9659,  17 January 2009

 

Website: http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/issue/current  [subscription required]

 

“…….Knowledge is a common global public-good that should be shared internationally, but needs to be taken advantage of and adapted locally. Scientific research is the most robust way of generating knowledge. Good research systems that foster production of knowledge and its translation into policy and practice within a health system are needed….”

 

“…..Discussions that span the governance structures of several organisations are difficult. The boards of the institutions have a responsibility to appraise the situation from their perspective, but a supraorganisational perspective is also needed. The Bamako Ministerial Forum has paved the way by calling for funders and development agencies “to better align, coordinate, and harmonize the global health research architecture and its governance through the rationalization of existing organizations, to improve coherence and impact, and to increase efficiencies and equity”……..

 

 

      *      *     *
This message from the Pan American Health Organization, PAHO/WHO, is part of an effort to disseminate
information Related to: Equity; Health inequality; Socioeconomic inequality in health; Socioeconomic
health differentials; Gender; Violence; Poverty; Health Economics; Health Legislation; Ethnicity; Ethics;
Information Technology - Virtual libraries; Research & Science issues.  [DD/ KMC Area]

“Materials provided in this electronic list are provided "as is". Unless expressly stated otherwise, the findings
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”.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PAHO/WHO website: http://66.101.212.219/equity/
Equity List - Archives - Join/remove: http://listserv.paho.org/Archives/equidad.html

 

    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.  

[EQ] Preventing Chronic Illness

Tackling the burden of chronic diseases in the USA

The Lancet, Volume 373, Issue 9659,  17 January 2009

http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(09)60048-9/fulltext

“….Data from 2005 show that 44% of all Americans have at least one chronic condition and 13% have three or more. By 2020, 157 million US citizens are predicted to have more than one chronic disorder, with 81 million having multiple conditions….”

 

Preventing Chronic Illness

 

Health Affairs, January/February 2009

 

Available free online at: http://content.healthaffairs.org/cgi/content/full/28/1/36

 

“……..A core truth about chronic conditions is that most are preventable. As Susan Brink’s Report from the Field recounts, the multiyear trial known as the Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP) demonstrated that lifestyle modifications alone could produce sharp reductions in the development of diabetes in high-risk people with prediabetic conditions. Moreover, a few key strategies—such as improved diet, exercise, and weight loss, along with smoking cessation—can simultaneously reduce the risk of several conditions such as cardiovascular disease and cancers. So it’s no surprise that policymakers say that prevention should assume a far more prominent role in U.S. health care…..”

Articles

·         Ron Z. Goetzel
Do Prevention Or Treatment Services Save Money? The Wrong Debate
Health Affairs, January/February 2009; 28(1): 37-41.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

“……Health improvements and cost savings are achievable by providing targeted, evidence-based, and cost-effective health promotion and disease prevention programs that reduce modifiable risk factors, often the cause of costly chronic diseases. Adopting commonsense health practices does not require expensive technology, medication, specialty training, or elaborate treatment facilities. Instituting environmental, policy, and normative interventions, in addition to individual behavior change programs, can shift our thinking about how we pay for health…”
 

·         Louise B. Russell
Preventing Chronic Disease: An Important Investment, But Don’t Count On Cost Savings
Health Affairs, January/February 2009; 28(1): 42-45.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [Figures Only] [PDF]

“…..Over the four decades since cost-effectiveness analysis was first applied to health and medicine, hundreds of studies have shown that prevention usually adds to medical costs instead of reducing them. Medications for hypertension and elevated cholesterol, diet and exercise to prevent diabetes, and screening and early treatment for cancer all add more to medical costs than they save. Careful choices about frequency, groups to target, and component costs can increase the likelihood that interventions will be highly cost-effective or even cost-saving….’
 

·         Jon R. Gabel, Heidi Whitmore, Jeremy Pickreign, Christine C. Ferguson, Anjali Jain, Shova KC, and Hilary Scherer
Obesity And The Workplace: Current Programs And Attitudes Among Employers And Employees
Health Affairs, January/February 2009; 28(1): 46-56.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [Figures Only] [PDF] [Appendix Exhibits]

“……This paper presents findings about weight management programs at the workplace, and employers’ and employees’ views about these programs. Data are from a survey of 505 randomly selected public and private employers with fifty or more employees, and a survey of 1,352 households with employer-based insurance. The majority of employers with 5,000 or more workers offer programs such as on-site exercise facilities, nutritional counseling, and health risk appraisals, whereas sizable minorities of smaller employers offer them. Employers and employees view weight management programs as appropriate and effective. Employers want programs to pay for themselves, whereas employees are willing to pay higher premiums for them….”

 

·         Susan Brink
The Diabetes Prevention Program: How The Participants Did It
Health Affairs, January/February 2009; 28(1): 57-62.
[Extract] [Full Text] [PDF]
 

      *      *     *
This message from the Pan American Health Organization, PAHO/WHO, is part of an effort to disseminate
information Related to: Equity; Health inequality; Socioeconomic inequality in health; Socioeconomic
health differentials; Gender; Violence; Poverty; Health Economics; Health Legislation; Ethnicity; Ethics;
Information Technology - Virtual libraries; Research & Science issues.  [DD/ KMC Area]

“Materials provided in this electronic list are provided "as is". Unless expressly stated otherwise, the findings
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”.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PAHO/WHO website: http://66.101.212.219/equity/
Equity List - Archives - Join/remove: http://listserv.paho.org/Archives/equidad.html

 

 

    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.  

[EQ] Call for concept notes: Innovative Community-based Ecosystem Management Interventions - Dengue and Chagas Disease Prevention

Innovative Community-based Ecosystem Management Interventions for Improved
Dengue and Chagas Disease Prevention in Latin America and the Caribbean

A TDR/IDRC Research Initiative

DEADLINE FOR RECEIPT OF CONCEPT NOTES: Wednesday, 15 April 2009

Website: http://www.who.int/tdr/svc/grants/calls/innovative-ecosystem-management

English: Call for concept notes [PDF: 169Kb, 6 pages]

Spanish: Convocatoria para la presentación de notas conceptuales en catalán [PDF: 75Kb, 6 páginas]

French: Demande de notes de synthèse en français [PDF: 140Kb, 5 pages]

The UNICEF/UNDP/World Bank/WHO Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases (TDR), in collaboration with the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), invites concept notes for research projects on innovative community-based ecosystem management approaches to dengue and Chagas disease prevention in low and middle-income countries of Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). It is expected that projects funded under this initiative will:

·    lead to a better understanding of the interaction between ecological, biological, social and economic ("eco-bio-social") determinants of dengue and Chagas disease transmission in Latin America and the Caribbean;

·    contribute to the development of inter-sectoral ecosystem management interventions for dengue and Chagas disease prevention; and

·    contribute to innovation and application in public health policy and practice regarding ecosystem management interventions for communicable disease prevention.

 

Manager Innovative Ecosystem Management and Community Directed Interventions for Dengue and Chagas Disease Control
Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases (TDR)
World Health Organization
1211 Geneva 27 Switzerland

Tel: (+41-22) 791-3954, 3365 and 3398 Fax: (+41-22) 791-4854

Contact Dr Johannes Sommerfeld  Please also send a copy of the application to Dr Olaf Horstick

 

Dr Johannes Sommerfeld Scientist, Research Manager Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases (TDR)
E-mail: sommerfeldj@who.int  World Health Organization
20, avenue Appia CH-1211 Geneva 27   tel: +41 22 791 2111 fax: +41 22 791 3111

 

      *      *     *
This message from the Pan American Health Organization, PAHO/WHO, is part of an effort to disseminate
information Related to: Equity; Health inequality; Socioeconomic inequality in health; Socioeconomic
health differentials; Gender; Violence; Poverty; Health Economics; Health Legislation; Ethnicity; Ethics;
Information Technology - Virtual libraries; Research & Science issues.  [DD/ KMC Area]

“Materials provided in this electronic list are provided "as is". Unless expressly stated otherwise, the findings
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”.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PAHO/WHO website: http://66.101.212.219/equity/
Equity List - Archives - Join/remove: http://listserv.paho.org/Archives/equidad.html

 

    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.