Health impact assessment of local policies: methodology and tools.

The aim of this work was to design some tools and a procedure for performing the Health Impact Assessment of municipal policies. A working group made up of municipal and public health specialists from the Valencian Community (Spain) was set up. After reviewing the tools used in other contexts, the Fem Salut? questionnaire for the simplified Health Impact Assessment of regional policies was adapted for use at the local level. A pilot study was carried out in six municipalities and local initiatives promoted by different sectors were analysed. Two workshops were held per municipality (with specialists and with citizens) and participatory techniques were used to identify the possible impacts on the social determinants of health, the population groups more particularly affected and the proposals for improvement. The feasibility of the methodology and the difficulties involved in carrying it out were discussed. A procedure was defined for the Health Impact Assessment of local initiatives in six steps: Describe (the municipality and the project), Extract (screening phase), Co-produce (participatory workshops), Integrate (the scientific evidence with the qualitative information obtained), Disseminate (to politicians, specialists and community) and Evaluate (direct and indirect results) (DECIDE). A guide was developed to facilitate its application at the local level along with two complementary tools (a questionnaire and worksheets). The technical group rated the process as simple and flexible, as well as being easy to adapt to the characteristics of the municipality and project. In addition to the cross-sectoral approach, the incorporation of citizen participation in the process is an important added value.

[Health in all policies in the Valencian Community: steps towards the health impact assessment]. / Salud en todas las políticas en la Comunitat Valenciana: pasos hacia la evaluación del impacto en salud.

This paper describes the beginning of the implementation process of the health impact assessment in the Valencian Community (Spain), as an instrument to incorporate the framework of social determinants and health inequalities in the policies issued by the different departments of the Valencian government. The proposal involves: 1) political commitment, with legislative and strategic planning actions; 2) the creation of structures to allow intersectoral collaboration, with the establishment of the health impact assessment commission and the intersectoral technical committee; and 3) the design and validation of a tool for the simplified health impact assessment of non-health policies adapted to the Valencian Community. We highlight the importance of the participatory methodology used in the whole process and the potential of the health impact assessment for the development of public policies oriented to improve health and equity.

[Inequities in mental health: admissions for psychosis in public hospitals of the Comunitat Valenciana (2008-2015)]. / Desigualdades en salud mental: Los ingresos por psicosis en hospitales públicos de la Comunitat Valenciana (2008-2015).

OBJECTIVE: The prevalence of mental health problems is increasing throughout the world. Certain population groups have more probability to suffer mental disorders, which may generate inequities in health. The main of this paper is analyze the differences in the frecuency of hospital admissions according to different inequities dimensions (age, sex and country of birth) of the populaion between 15 and 49 years old between 2008 and 2015 in the Comunitat Valenciana (Spain). METHODS: Transversal study based on all admissions for Diagnosis-related group "Psychosis" in public centers in the Comunitat Valenciana. Sources of information were Minimum Basic Data Set and Population Information System. Descriptive analysis of clinical and social variables was conducted, and differences among subgroups were analyzed by t-Student test for the comparison of a quantitative variable and χ2 test for the comparison of a qualitative variable, as well as the exact Wilcoxon and the Fisher test when application conditions were not satisfied. RESULTS: there were studied 23869 admissions for psychosis generated by 11265 patients. Most of these admissions were because of schizophrenia disorders (39.44%). When comparing by sex, differences in diagnosis were observed, being more frequent psychotic mood disorders in women (39.3%). There also observed differences when comparing by country of birth, being more frequent "Other non-organic psychosis" in foreign people (40.5%). Differences were found regarding mortality during admission, being higher in men (5.1% vs. 4%) and in foreign people (5.3% vs. 3.8%). CONCLUSIONS: There have been detected inequities in the frequency of psychosis admissions in the Comunitat Valenciana. These differences are observed around different dimensions such as age, gender and country of origin.

OBJETIVO: La prevalencia de problemas de salud mental está aumentando en todo el mundo. Ciertos grupos poblacionales tienen mayor probabilidad de padecer trastornos mentales, generando desigualdades en salud. El objetivo de este trabajo fue analizar las diferencias en la frecuencia de ingresos por psicosis según diferentes dimensiones de desigualdad (edad, sexo y país de nacimiento) de la población entre 15 y 49 años en los años 2008- 2015 en la Comunitat Valenciana. METODOS: Estudio transversal basado en los ingresos hospitalarios por el Grupo Relacionado por el Diagnóstico "Psicosis" en centros públicos de la Comunitat Valenciana. Las fuentes de información fueron el Conjunto Mínimo Básico de Datos y el Sistema de Información Poblacional. Se realizó un análisis descriptivo de variables clínicas y sociodemográficas y se analizaron diferencias por subgrupos poblacionales mediante el test t- Student para la comparación de una variable cuantitativa y el test χ2 para la comparación de una variable cualitativa, así como el test exacto de Wilcoxon y el test de Fisher cuando no se cumplían condiciones de aplicación. RESULTADOS: Se estudiaron 23.869 ingresos por psicosis generados por un total de 11.265 personas. La mayoría fueron debidos a trastornos esquizofrénicos (39,44%). Se observaron diferencias en cuanto al diagnóstico al comparar por sexo, siendo más frecuente en mujeres los trastornos episódicos del humor (39,3%) y por país de nacimiento, siendo el diagnóstico principal de "Otras psicosis no orgánicas" el más frecuente en las personas extranjeras (40,5%). Se encontraron diferencias respecto a la mortalidad durante el ingreso, siendo más alta en hombres (5,1% vs. 4%) y en población extranjera (5,3% vs. 3,8%). CONCLUSIONES: Se han detectado desigualdades en las frecuencias de ingresos por psicosis en la Comunitat Valenciana. Estas diferencias se observan en torno a distintas dimensiones como son la edad, el género y el país de origen.

[An open heart: experiences of the parents of children with congenital heart disease]. / A corazón abierto: vivencias de madres y padres de menores con anomalías congénitas cardiacas.

OBJECTIVE: To explore, from a gender perspective, the experiences of mothers and fathers of children with congenital heart disease at the time of diagnosis, including the opinions of medical staff taking care of these children and their families. METHODS: Qualitative research. Four individual interviews with medical staff and four focus groups with mothers and fathers living in Valencia Region (Spain) were carried out. Participants were selected by purposive sampling. The discourse analysis was triangulated between techniques and researchers and the results were verified with mothers, fathers and medical staff. RESULTS: Mothers and fathers differed in the way they expressed their emotions and in how they accepted the diagnosis of a serious illness in their child. However, both parents expressed the need for psychological support and highly appreciated the informal support from other parents with similar experiences. CONCLUSIONS: The experience of the disease in a child is experienced differently by mothers and fathers. Health servies should pay attention to the psychological well-being of families, by including peer support groups and patient associations, which can play an important role as health assets.

Inequalities in perinatal mortality rates among immigrant and native population in Spain, 2005-2008.

We compared perinatal mortality rates (PMRs) and the risk from certain causes among immigrant and native population in the Valencian Community (Spain). Using data from the Perinatal Mortality Registry, crude and age standardized mortality ratios were obtained in the different groups of mothers. Mortality rate ratios were calculated to compare the causes of death resulting from prematurity, congenital anomalies, infectious diseases and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome between Spanish and foreign women. PMRs were higher among all the immigrant groups compared with the native population, with a statistical significance in Eastern European and sub-Saharan mothers. Neonatal mortality rates in North African and Latin American mothers were similar to those of native women. Babies of immigrant mothers were at a significant higher risk of dying from late infectious diseases and from causes resulting from being premature. More research is needed on the risk factors which contribute to generating differences in our setting.

Perceptions and experiences of parenthood and maternal health care among Latin American women living in Spain: a qualitative study.

OBJECTIVE: to explore the experiences and perceptions of parenthood and maternal health care among Latin American women living in Spain. DESIGN: an exploratory qualitative research using focus groups and thematic analysis of the discussion. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: three focus groups with 26 women from Bolivia and Ecuador and three focus groups with 24 midwives were performed in three towns in the Valencian Community receiving a large influx of immigrants. FINDINGS: the women interpreted motherhood as the role through which they achieve fulfilment and assumed that they were the ones who could best take care of their children. They perceived that men usually make decisions about sex and pregnancy and recognised a poor or inadequate use of contraceptive methods in planning their pregnancies. Women reported that it was not necessary to go as soon and as frequently for health examinations during pregnancy as the midwives suggested. The main barriers identified to health-care services were linked to insecure or illegal employment status, inflexible appointment timetables for prenatal checkups and sometimes to ignorance about how public services worked. KEY CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: empowering immigrant women is essential to having a long-term positive effect on their reproductive health. Antenatal care providers should be trained to build maternity care that is culturally sensitive and responds better to the health needs of different pregnant women and their newborns.

A qualitative approach to social support and breast-feeding decisions.

OBJECTIVE: to explore pregnant women's perceptions and personal experiences of the influence of formal and informal social support on breast-feeding decision-making, in relation to breast-feeding initiation and duration. DESIGN: qualitative focus groups and interviews. SETTING: four primary-care centres in Valencia, Spain. PARTICIPANTS: 19 primiparous women in their first trimester of pregnancy participated in focus groups and 12 primiparous and multiparous women in their third trimester of pregnancy participated in interviews. Women had different socio-demographic backgrounds and socio-economic status. FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS: women's perceptions and personal experiences of formal and informal social support of breast feeding may be linked to age and socio-cultural status. Women from higher socio-cultural backgrounds took their partner's opinion and support more into account when choosing breast feeding. They also conceded great importance to formal health support, and employed mothers wished to have more institutional support. Among women from lower socio-cultural backgrounds, friends were the closest social network and had the greatest influence on feeding decisions. They perceived some contradictions in health-promotion messages on breast feeding, and most of them preferred to leave work after birth to exclusively care for their baby. Younger women, without previous experience of breast feeding or possibility of receiving tangible support from their mothers, wanted more practical health-care support (e.g. providing skills in breast-feeding technique). IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: breast-feeding promotion strategies should take into account women's different characteristics. Health professionals should consider offering postnatal support as a follow-up to practical support (e.g. breast-feeding workshops).