Building a network of sentinel centres for the care of women in an abortion situation: advances in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Previous reports have already estimated the overall number of abortions and the number of unsafe abortions in Latin America. Conversely, there are few reliable data from this region to inform public policies aiming to meet women's needs. In this context, the Latin American Centre of Perinatology (Centro Latinoamericano de Perinatología (CLAP)) created a network specialising in the care of women in an abortion situation (CLAP MUSA-Network) in an attempt to strengthen healthcare surveillance in Latin America by using the Perinatal Information System (Sistema Informático Perinatal (SIP)). This system was developed by the CLAP with a special module named SIP Abortion (SIP-A), a data collection tool designed by Latin American experts to be routinely used in cases of legal and incomplete abortions. The SIP-A follows the standards established by WHO, allowing investigators to systematise information, generate local reports and monitor changes after training and follow-up interventions based on national guidelines. This network promotes collaborative work between institutions to strengthen epidemiological surveillance, cooperative investigation and development of a critical mass of professionals skilled in sexual and reproductive health. Currently, 29 sentinel centres from 13 countries jointly work exchanging information to improve surveillance of healthcare indicators of women in an abortion situation. Latin America was the first region in the world to have a network of sentinel centres that continuously monitors healthcare provision to these women. Data collected by this network are already being used to design, implement and evaluate public policies.

Cry for health: a quantitative evaluation of a hospital-based advocacy intervention for domestic violence and abuse.

BACKGROUND: Domestic violence and abuse (DVA) damages the health of survivors and increases use of healthcare services. We report findings from a multi-site evaluation of hospital-based advocacy services, designed to support survivors attending emergency departments and maternity services. METHODS: Independent Domestic Violence Advisors (IDVA) were co-located in five UK hospitals. Case-level data were collected at T1 (initial referral) and T2 (case closure) from survivors accessing hospital (T1 N = 692; T2 N = 476) and community IDVA services (T1 N = 3544; T2 N = 2780), used as a comparator. Measures included indicators of sociodemographic characteristics, experience of abuse, health service use, health and safety outcomes. Multivariate analyses tested for differences in changes in abuse, health and factors influencing safety outcomes. Health service use data in the 6 months pre-and post- intervention were compared to generate potential cost savings by hospital IDVA services. RESULTS: Hospital IDVAs worked with survivors less visible to community IDVA services and facilitated intervention at an earlier point. Hospital IDVAs received higher referrals from health services and enabled access to a greater number of health resources. Hospital survivors were more likely to report greater reductions in and cessation of abuse. No differences were observed in health outcomes for hospital survivors. The odds of safety increased two-fold if hospital survivors received over five contacts with an IDVA or accessed six or more resources / programmes over a longer period of time. Six months preceding IDVA intervention, hospital survivors cost on average £2463 each in use of health services; community survivors cost £533 each. The cost savings observed among hospital survivors amounted to a total of £2050 per patient per year. This offset the average cost of providing hospital IDVA services. CONCLUSIONS: Hospital IDVAs can identify survivors not visible to other services and promote safety through intensive support and access to resources. The co-location of IDVAs within the hospital encouraged referrals to other health services and wider community agencies. Further research is required to establish the cost-effectiveness of hospital IDVA services, however our findings suggest these services could be an efficient use of health service resources.

Clinical guideline for the elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV and congenital syphilis in Latin America and the Caribbean

This document provides guidance on the interventions for the elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV and congenital syphilis in Latin America and the Caribbean, and it intends to assist the health care workers and decision-makers in charge of public health to integrate the programmes and services for the detection and treatment of syphilis and HIV in pregnant women. HIV-negative women also warrant special attention especially during pregnancy and breastfeeding, since there are certain biologic and behavioral factors that may enhance their risk of getting infected in those periods and should be provided with access to primary prevention services.

Guía clínica para la eliminación de la transmisión maternoinfantil del VIH y de la sífilis congénita en América Latina y el Caribe / Clinical guidelines for the elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV and congenital syphilis in Latin American and the Caribbean

Este documento proporciona orientación sobre las intervenciones para la eliminación de la transmisión maternoinfantil del VIH y de la sífilis congénita en América Latina y el Caribe y pretende servir a los trabajadores de la salud y a los tomadores de decisiones en el campo de la salud pública para integrar la detección y tratamiento de las madres infectadas por sífilis en los tiempos y lugares en los que se detecta la infección por VIH. Debe prestarse una atención especial a las mujeres seronegativas para el VIH, a fin de brindarles servicios de prevención primaria, en especial durante el embarazo y la lactancia, ya que determinados factores biológicos y conductuales pueden aumentar el riesgo de contraer la infección durante estos períodos.