Healthcare professionals' experiences and perceptions regarding health care of indigenous pregnant women in Ecuador.

BACKGROUND: Pregnancy is an important life experience that requires uniquely tailored approach to health care. The socio-cultural care practices of indigenous pregnant women (IPW) are passed along the maternal line with respect to identity, worldview and nature. The cultural differences between non-indigenous healthcare professionals (HPs) and IPW could present a great challenge in women's health care. This article presents an analysis from a human rights and gender perspective of this potential cultural divide that could affect the health of the IPW in an Andean region of Ecuador with the objective of describing the health challenges of IPWs as rights holders through the experiences and perceptions of HP as guarantors of rights. METHODS: We conducted 15 in-depth interviews with HPs who care for IPW in Chimborazo, Pichincha provinces of Ecuador. We utilized a semi-structured interview guide including questions about the experiences and perceptions of HPs in delivering health care to IPW. The interviews were recorded, transcribed and subjected to thematic analysis in Spanish and translated for reporting. RESULTS: We found disagreements and discrepancies in the Ecuadorian health service that led to the ignorance of indigenous cultural values. Common characteristics among the indigenous population such as illiteracy, low income and the age of pregnancy are important challenges for the health system. The gender approach highlights the enormous challenges: machismo, gender stereotypes and communication problems that IPWs face in accessing quality healthcare. CONCLUSIONS: Understanding the diverse perspectives of IPW, acknowledging their human rights particularly those related to gender, has the potential to lead to more comprehensive and respectful health care delivery in Ecuador. Further, recognizing there is a gender and power differential between the provider and the IPW can lead to improvements in the quality of health care delivery and reproductive, maternal and child health outcomes.

Asset map in a Chilean Health Promoting University: 'a strategy for revitalization'.

Health Promoting Universities (HPUs) are more likely to perform actions intended to change habits and increase personal empowerment, than they are to develop community actions. The objective of this research is to create an asset map to visualize collective actions in a Chilean HPU. A qualitative study, based on the ABCD model was conducted. There were 149 people, distributed into 48 semi-structured interviews and 14 focus groups, who participated in this study (students, employees, ex-students and retirees). An asset map was elaborated, identifying the contributions of residents, associations and organizations, local institutions, physical resources, economic assets and local culture and with a new category, 'connecting assets'. These categories show the range of resources in a university. According to the participants, the questions on asset identification were a tool for reflection, and by giving their opinions and discovering or drawing attention to new resources, they gained a better understanding of the assets in the university. Several participants stated that these talks could generate a positive emotional environment, which boosted their wellbeing. There were gender- and group-based differences in how the assets were valued. Students stressed assets related to services and benefits from the institution, green areas, and collective spaces. Employees, retirees and ex-students emphasized assets related to belonging, identity and traditions. Men appreciated openness and privacy in physical spaces. Women highlighted assets related to the institution. The resulting map, displays a range of resources that can help the university develop new possibilities for comprehensive and collective actions that would revitalize the HPU strategy.

Evolution of the emotional impact in patients with early inflammatory bowel disease during and after Covid-19 lockdown.

BACKGROUND: Patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are vulnerable to some psychological disorders. Here we describe the psychological impact of a COVID-19 pandemic lockdown in patients with IBD. METHODS: This multicenter prospective cohort study included 145 patients recently diagnosed with IBD. Data on clinical and demographic characteristics, anxiety and depression scales, and IBD activity were collected in two telephone surveys, during and after the first COVID-19 lockdown in Spain. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated. RESULTS: During lockdown, 33.1% and 24.1% scored high on the anxiety and depression scales, respectively. Independent factors related to anxiety (all values ORs; 95% CIs) during lockdown were female sex (2; 1.2-5.4) and IBD activity (4.3; 1.8-10.4). Factors related to depression were comorbidity (3.3; 1.1-9.8), IBD activity (6; 1.9-18.1), use of biologics (2.9; 1.1-7.6), and living alone or with one person (3.1; 1.2-8.2). After lockdown, anxiety and depression symptoms showed significant improvement, with 24.8% and 15.2% having high scores for anxiety and depression, respectively. Factors related to post-lockdown anxiety were female sex (2.5; 1.01-6.3), Crohn's disease (3.3; 1.3-8.5), and active IBD (4.1; 1.2-13.7). Factors associated with depression were previous history of mood and/or anxiety disorders (6.3; 1.6-24.9), active IBD (7.5; 2.1-26.8), and steroid use (6.4; 1.4-29). CONCLUSIONS: Lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic had a significant psychological impact in patients with IBD. Disease activity was related to the presence of anxiety and depression symptoms during and after lockdown.

[A gender perspective analysis of perception and practices in coronary disease in women from northern México]. / Análisis con perspectiva de género sobre percepción y prácticas en enfermedad coronaria en mujeres en el norte de México.

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the perception of coronary risk and health care practices in a group of Mexican women, from a gendered perspective. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Mixed methods: survey of 140 women; nine in-depth interviews to women with coronary disease; eight semi-structured interviews to physicians. ANALYSIS: proportions contrast for quantitative data; and procedures of grounded theory for qualitative information. RESULTS: More than 50% of women don't know their coronary risk and how to reduce it. Despite having information about heart disease, vulnerable women with chest pain sought medical attendance less than non-vulnerable women (p=0.0l); and are blamed by physicians. Women consider they lack sufficient information about how to reduce the risk of coronary disease, and blame themselves when ill. CONCLUSIONS: There are vulnerability conditions in women that modulate a low perception of their being at risk, and the scarcity of health care practices.

[Effect of gender equality on mortality from non-communicable diseases]. / Efecto de la igualdad de género en la mortalidad por enfermedades no transmisibles.

OBJECTIVE: Relate gender inequalities with the probability of mortality from non-communicable diseases (NCD), in the countries of the world from the year 2000 to 2019, to detect the progress of Target 3.4 of the Sustainable Development Goal 3, to reduce NCD by one third between the ages of 30 and 70 by 2030. METHOD: Exploratory ecological study on the association between the probability of death from NCD and the gender inequality index (GII) at the global level in 2000, 2015 and 2019. Logistic regression estimation of the risk of not being on track to meet Target 3.4 by 2019 by gender inequality. RESULTS: The mean probability of death from NCD decreased progressively in all countries. Median 2000/2015/2019: women 20.20/16.58/16; men 26.59/22.45/21.88; total 23.14/20.10/19.23. The risk of not achieving the goal in 2019 is greater in countries with a lower GII than in countries with a higher GII (OR: 2.13; 95% CI: 1.14-3.99; p=0.018), being the higher risk in women (OR: 2.64; 95% CI: 1.40-5.06; p=0.003) than in men (OR: 2.12; 95% CI: 1.44-3.98; p=0.017). CONCLUSIONS: The risk of deaths from NCD has decreased in both sexes in all countries of the world since the year 2000; but progress is slow, so the greater gender inequality in the countries, there is a greater risk of not achieving the reduction needed to comply with the agreement to reduce mortality from NCD by one third in 2030; this risk being greater in women than in men.

[Response to the COVID-19 Health Crisis from a Gender Perspective: Lessons Learned]. / Respuesta a la crisis sanitaria de la COVID-19 desde la perspectiva de género: lecciones aprendidas.

OBJECTIVE: To delve deeper from a gender perspective into the lessons learned during the COVID-19 pandemic to address future health crises. METHOD: Study with key informants with experience in public health and gender from the Ministerio de Sanidad, ministries of the autonomous communities, Institut Català de la Salut, Hospital de La Princesa, Escuela Andaluza de Salud Pública and Universidad País Vasco. SOURCE OF INFORMATION: individual open-ended questionnaire on health and health inequalities/gender inequalities related to COVID-19. After presenting the findings, the key informants group discussed them in a meeting until reaching a consensus on the lessons learned. RESULTS: The lack of clinical statistics by sex could compromise epidemiological surveillance, losing the opportunity to characterize the disease. The performance of essential services fell more on women, exhausting them with double and triple shifts; with the differences according to sex in the clinical presentation of COVID-19, and the criteria for hospitalization/admission to the intensive care unit, their access to health care decreased. Increased: gender violence and mental health problems; delaying recognition of the second effects of vaccines in women; partially due to information biases in clinical trials. The gender perspective was lacking in academic, healthcare, and health management areas. CONCLUSIONS: Women's gender dimensions determined their higher frequency of COVID-19 and played a fundamental role in its control. Broadly considering the lessons learned will strengthen prevention systems and be able to provide effective responses to future health crises.

Psychological burden and quality of life in newly diagnosed inflammatory bowel disease patients.

Objective: Psychological factors, such as stress, anxiety, and depression, are frequently related to inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). However, few studies have examined these factors in patients newly diagnosed with IBD. The aim of the present study was to test the psychological burden in patients with a recent diagnosis of IBD and the factors related to this psychological burden. Methods: We performed a prospective, multi-center, observational study in patients with a new diagnosis of IBD (≤6 months). The patients were recruited from four different Spanish hospitals. Clinical and demographic characteristics were collected. Patients were evaluated using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale and quality of life questionnaire for patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBDQ-32). The Scale of Stress Perceived by the Disease was used to assess stressful life events. Results: We included 156 patients newly diagnosed with IBD [69 women; 80 Crohn's disease (CD) and 76 ulcerative colitis (UC)], with a mean age of 42.3 (SD 16.21) years. A total of 37.2% of patients had symptoms of anxiety and 17.3% had symptoms of depression. Quality of life was affected in 30.1% of patients. Factors related to anxiety in early IBD were being a woman and having CD. The only factor related to depression was the presence of comorbidity. Being a woman and having suffered previous stressful life events were factors related to impaired quality of life. Conclusion: Anxiety, depression, and impaired quality of life are frequent in patients with a recent diagnosis of IBD. This psychological burden is greater in women.

Looking twice at the gender equity index for public health impact.

BACKGROUND: It has been shown that gender equity has a positive impact on the everyday activities of people (decision making, income allocation, application and observance of norms/rules) which affect their health. Gender equity is also a crucial determinant of health inequalities at national level; thus, monitoring is important for surveillance of women's and men's health as well as for future health policy initiatives. The Gender Equity Index (GEI) was designed to show inequity solely towards women. Given that the value under scrutiny is equity, in this paper a modified version of the GEI is proposed, the MGEI, which highlights the inequities affecting both sexes. METHODS: Rather than calculating gender gaps by means of a quotient of proportions, gaps in the MGEI are expressed in absolute terms (differences in proportions). The Spearman's rank coefficient, calculated from country rankings obtained according to both indexes, was used to evaluate the level of concordance between both classifications. To compare the degree of sensitivity and obtain the inequity by the two methods, the variation coefficient of the GEI and MGEI values was calculated. RESULTS: Country rankings according to GEI and MGEI values showed a high correlation (rank coef. = 0.95). The MGEI presented greater dispersion (43.8%) than the GEI (19.27%). Inequity towards men was identified in the education gap (rank coef. = 0.36) when using the MGEI. According to this method, many countries shared the same absolute value for education but with opposite signs, for example Azerbaijan (-0.022) and Belgium (0.022), reflecting inequity towards women and men, respectively. This also occurred in the empowerment gap with the technical and professional job component (Brunei:-0.120 vs. Australia, Canada Iceland and the U.S.A.: 0.120). CONCLUSION: The MGEI identifies and highlights the different areas of inequities between gender groups. It thus overcomes the shortcomings of the GEI related to the aim for which this latter was created, namely measuring gender equity, and is therefore of great use to policy makers who wish to understand and monitor the results of specific equity policies and to determine the length of time for which these policies should be maintained in order to correct long-standing structural discrimination against women.

[Morbidity due to chronic diseases and their health care in Asturias: a gender analysis]. / Morbilidad por enfermedades crónicas y su atención sanitaria en Asturias: análisis de género.

OBJECTIVE: To determine gender differences in the magnitude and complexity of chronic diseases and gender inequalities in health care in the adult population of Asturias in 2022. METHOD: A cross-sectional population study in people (>14 years) with at least one diagnosis of chronic disease (780,566 inhabitants). SOURCES OF INFORMATION: computer program for morbidity groups (Ministry of Health), Electronic medical record of primary care and hospital. Comparative analysis by sex and age, the mean values of chronic diseases and complexity index (Student's t test and one-way ANOVA), and probability (odds ratio and 95% CI) of suffering from specific chronic diseases, making one or more visits to the hospital emergency department or one or more admissions to hospital. RESULTS: 89.9% of women and 82.1% of men were registered with at least one chronic disease. The mean was higher in women (4.36) than in men (3.22) (p<0.001). Complexity index: men 4.56 and women 5.85 (p<0.001). Results show that women are more likely to attend the hospital emergency department, with an attendance rate of 50% for the diseases cited, compared with men at 29%. The rate of hospital admission is higher in men in 13 of the 14 diseases studied (85%). CONCLUSIONS: Gender analysis can also be applied to secondary sources of the National Health System. Despite the greater magnitude and complexity of chronic diseases in women, there is a higher frequency of hospital admissions in men compared to women with the same diseases. This implies an unequal care profile in the field of hospital admissions that the scientific literature associates with gender biases in health care.

[Primary care pathways and locations during the pandemic in a rural area of Alicante]. / Vías y lugares de atención primaria durante la pandemia en una zona rural de Alicante.

This paper describes the means of health care used in a primary health care centre (PHCC) in a rural area to care for patients during the COVID-19 pandemic. After conducting a cross-sectional study using health questionnaire with 243 patients (100 COVID-19 and 143 other pathologies), we observed that general medical care was 100% by telephone, and little use was made of the portal for citizen information and appointment requests of the Conselleria de Sanitat de la Comunidad Valenciana. Nursing attended 100% by telephone, as did the PHCC doctors and the PHCC emergencies; in the case of taking samples, blood samples and wound care it was face-to-face (men 91%, women 88%), and at home (9% and 12%). In conclusion, different care patterns are observed according to the PHCC professionals, and the need to improve the online pathway with care management.

Gender Biases and Diagnostic Delay in Inflammatory Bowel Disease: Multicenter Observational Study.

BACKGROUND: Female gender could be a cause of diagnostic delay in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The aim of this study was to investigate the diagnostic delay in women vs men and potential causes. METHODS: This multicenter cohort study included 190 patients with recent diagnosis of IBD (disease duration <7 months). Reconstruction of the clinical presentation and diagnostic process was carried out in conjunction with the semistructured patient interview, review, and electronic medical records. RESULTS: The median time from symptom onset to IBD diagnosis was longer in women than in men: 12.6 (interquartile range, 3.7-31) vs 4.5 (2.2-9.8) months for Crohn's disease (CD; P = .008) and 6.1 (3-11.2) vs 2.7 (1.5-5.6) months for ulcerative colitis (UC; P = .008). Sex was an independent variable related to the time to IBD diagnosis in Cox regression analysis. The clinical presentation of IBD was similar in both sexes. Women had a higher percentage of misdiagnosis than men (CD, odds ratio [OR], 3.9; 95% confidence [CI], 1.5-9.9; UC, OR 3.0; 95% CI, 1.2-7.4). Gender inequities in misdiagnosis were found at all levels of the health system (emergency department, OR 2.4; 95% CI, 1.1-5.1; primary care, OR 2.5; 95% CI, 1.3-4.7; gastroenterology secondary care, OR 3.2; 95% CI, 1.2-8.4; and hospital admission, OR 4.3; 95% CI, 1.1-16.9). CONCLUSIONS: There is a longer diagnostic delay in women than in men for both CD and UC due to a drawn-out evaluation of women, with a higher number of misdiagnoses at all levels of the health care system.

This paper shows a longer delay in the diagnosis of inflammatory bowel disease in women compared with men for both Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. These differences are present at all levels of the health care system, and misdiagnosis is also more common in women.

[Gender blindness in medical textbooks: the case of leukemias]. / Ceguera de género en los libros de texto de medicina. El caso de las leucemias.

OBJECTIVE: To analyse the existence of sex-differences in the content on leukemias in the Haematology and Internal Medicine textbooks recommended in the Medical Degrees, 2019-2020, by comparison with the sex-differences recognized in the scientific literature. METHOD: Manifest content analysis of the content of chapters on leukemias in the books on hematology and internal medicine, clinical haematology and haematology undergraduate. Analysis categories: epidemiology, etiopathogenesis, diagnosis, treatment and prognosis of leukemias. RESULTS: Epidemiological information from the revised books has a greater consideration of sex differences in incidence and prognosis but does not contain data on mortality and survival. Etiopathogenesis is described in all books as the same physiological process for both sexes and no differences in the presentation of symptoms are described in any book. Three books describe a unique treatment that is assumed equal for both sexes; two books mention the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia in pregnant women and one in chronic myeloid leukemia. No book mentions sex-differences in pharmacokinetics, efficacy, or treatment toxicity, although there is greater evidence on unequal behavior between the sexes. CONCLUSIONS: The contents of sex and gender differences in the leukemia chapters analyzed are insufficient compared to the evidence in the scientific literature today. Hematology textbooks might increase their scientific quality in future editions, including knowledge of sex-gender interaction in the sections of epidemiology, etiology, pathogenesis, diagnosis, treatment, prognosis, and consequences of leukemias, which will contribute to better professional practices, more efficient and equitable.

Promoción de salud más allá de los estilos de vida saludables: propuestas de actuación en una universidad chilena.

Las intervenciones centradas en cambios de conducta, sumadas a la escasa evidencia de mapeo y dinamización de activos en Universidades Promotoras de Salud (UPS), hacen necesario potenciar enfoques integrales y sistémicos que contribuyan al bienestar y empoderamiento de sus integrantes. El objetivo de este artículo es explorar propuestas de acción que contribuyan a fortalecer activos en una comunidad universitaria chilena. Se desarrolló un estudio cualitativo con 72 hombres/77 mujeres (estudiantes, trabajadores, jubilados y exestudiantes). Se realizaron 48 entrevistas individuales y 14 grupos focales. Se efectuó un análisis de contenido utilizando el software QRS NVivo 12. Las propuestas identificadas se agruparon en: desarrollo de la participación e inclusión, promoción de la salud mental, mantenimiento y mejora de áreas verdes e infraestructura, y fortalecimiento del acceso a actividades deportivas, culturales y de extensión universitaria. Las mujeres valoraron la difusión de activos comunitarios y el cuidado de las personas y el entorno. Y los hombres, el fortalecimiento del capital social, la docencia y la transferencia de conocimiento. Las propuestas de acción tienen una orientación colectiva que favorece el vínculo de las personas con su entorno y el desarrollo del sentido de comunidad. Desde una perspectiva de género, se observa reproducción de roles y estereotipos arraigados en el sistema patriarcal. Esto constituye un desafío para potenciar las UPS en tanto política pública, considerando los principios de participación, justicia social y equidad.

Effect of conservative treatment of pelvic floor dysfunctions in women: An umbrella review.

OBJECTIVE: Due to their high worldwide prevalence, pelvic floor dysfunctions (PFD's) are a public health problem. There is high heterogeneity in the types and effectiveness of conservative treatment. The objective was to analyze the scientific evidence on conservative treatment of PFDs in women. METHODS: Umbrella review, covering MEDLINE (1950-2019), Scopus (1960-2019), Web of Science (1980-2019), and Cochrane Library (2000-2019). Inclusion criterion: review on conservative treatments about pelvic floor disorders in the adult women, in Spanish or English; exclusion criterion: studies about other urological, gynecological, and coloproctological pathologies, among others. RESULTS: Thirty-two reviews (2000-2019) and 12 meta-analyses were included. 53.1% showed an improvement on urinary incontinence. Pelvic floor muscle training worked on 70.6% of them, followed by electrical stimulation and estrogen (11.7%), and weight loss (5.9%). 6.3% of reviews and meta-analyses fulfilled all items in PRISMA, and 93.7% of them fulfilled more than 60% of the checklist. 60% de los ítems. CONCLUSIONS: PFMT and weight loss are the most effective treatments for UI, but there is no evidence for other PFDs. The methodological quality of conservative treatments must be improved for a more effective treatment of PFDs in women. Pelvic floor muscle training and weight loss are the most effective treatments for urinary incontinence. Only 6.3% of the reviews fulfilled all PRISMA ítems.

The effect of intimate partner violence and other forms of violence against women on health.

BACKGROUND: There are many studies concerning the health consequences of intimate partner violence (IPV). However, little research has been done on the health consequences of other forms of violence against women (VAW) such as the violence perpetrated by male relatives, friends or strangers. The aims of this paper were: (i) to analyze the prevalence of different forms of VAW perpetrated by males at home, workplace and other social environments in Spain and (ii) to analyze whether IPV and other forms of VAW have a different or similar negative impact on women's health. METHODS: A sample of 13 094 women interviewed in the Spanish National Health Survey 2006 was included. Outcomes were physical and mental health indicators. Predictor variables were IPV and other VAW forms. Logistic regression models were fitted. RESULTS: The likelihood of coronary heart disease [OR: 5.28 (1.45-19.25)], chronic neck [OR: 2.01 (1.35-2.97)] and back pain [OR: 2.34 (1.53-3.57)] was higher among women who reported IPV than among those who did not. Similar associations were found in the case of women affected by other forms of VAW. Mental health problems, with the exception of psychotropic drug use, were more frequent and more strongly associated with IPV than with other forms of VAW. CONCLUSION: There are health inequities between battered and non-battered women, which may be related to exposure to not only IPV but also other forms of VAW.

Reviewing Disease Activity Indices in Spondyloarthritis From the Sex Perspective: A Systematic Review and Metaanalysis.

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether the Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Index (BASDAI) and the Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Score (ASDAS) exhibited differences between women and men. METHODS: We systematically searched MEDLINE, Embase, Web of Science, and other sources in English or Spanish from January 1, 1995, to July 31, 2020, to assess the differences according to sex in BASDAI and ASDAS. We performed a comparative analysis by sex using t test and mean difference by sex metaanalyses for BASDAI and ASDAS, as well as a random-effects model using the inverse-variance method. RESULTS: Forty-one studies included BASDAI (6785 women, 12,929 men) and 16 of them included ASDAS (2046 women, 4403 men). Disease activity detected using BASDAI was significantly higher in women than in men (mean 4.9 vs 4.2, P = 0.02), whereas ASDAS did not detect differences between sexes (mean 2.8 women vs 2.8 men). In the metaanalyses, BASDAI detected significant differences between women and men (mean difference = 0.55 [95% CI 0.46-0.65], P < 0.00001), but ASDAS did not identify significant mean difference between sexes (0.04, 95% CI -0.05 to 0.12], P = 0.38). CONCLUSION: The 2 most widely used indices of disease activity in spondyloarthritis (SpA) discriminate differently according to sex by their different evaluations of peripheral disease. The different components and weights in BASDAI and ASDAS influence their values. BASDAI may be affected by fatigue, and in predominantly peripheral manifestations such as enthesitis, ASDAS may not be sensitive enough to detect activity. This may represent a sex bias unfavorable to women, because peripheral SpA is more common in women than in men.

Salutogenic interventions and health effects: a scoping review of the literature.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the typology of implemented salutogenic interventions and the health effects described by the authors. METHOD: A scoping review of the literature published (PubMed, Embase, Web of Science and Scopus) over the last ten years (2007-2016) was conducted. Articles that included interventions with assessments of health outcomes were selected for this review. The kappa index (86.4%) was calculated for the classification and extraction of information. RESULTS: 61 papers were selected out of the 676 works identified. These were categorized into individual, grouped, mixed and intersectoral interventions. A total of 85% of the interventions described positive effects. Adverse effects were not reported. Methodological limitations were identified in 75% of the papers. The interventions addressed a large variety of topics, especially in the field of mental health and chronic diseases. Collective actions described more positive effects. Intersectoral actions were the only type of interventions to have approached the impact of mortality reduction. CONCLUSIONS: Findings support the existence of positive health effects of salutogenic approaches. Important methodological limitations were identified, such as biases in the selection of participants and sample sizes. Studies need to be conducted with improved monitoring and evaluation designs. A more robust theoretical framework and tools to evaluate the salutogenic contents are needed.

[Health statistics and invisibility by sex and gender during the COVID-19 epidemic]. / Las estadísticas sanitarias y la invisibilidad por sexo y de género durante la epidemia de COVID-19.

Reports on COVID-19 from the Spanish Health Ministry are valuable, but incomplete, with the perverse effect that the susceptibility to COVID-19 by sex is unclear. Prevalence of COVID-19 by sexes differs between countries. The trend in Spain shows an unequal pattern, initially more frequent in men, but women outnumbered them from March 31, after two weeks lockdown. Infections are more frequent in women than in men in close contact with probable/confirmed COVID-19 cases. Consistent with deaths in men, they are hospitalized more frequently than women: Significant gender differences in signs/symptoms can drive this pattern, already observed in other pathologies. In late April, excess mortality is the same in women (67%) than in men (66%). But, lack of exhaustive information on deaths from COVID-19 in non-hospitalized patients may contribute to lower notification of deaths in women. Invisibility of data by sex and gender is probably affecting negatively women with COVID -19 more than men.

[Affective-sexual, bodily and gender diversity beyond binarism in health sciences education]. / Diversidad afectivo-sexual, corporal y de género más allá del binarismo en la formación en ciencias de la salud.

Health systems and professional training are based on gender binarism. At different stages of the life cycle, there are situations that cause inequities, lack of opportunities and risks to the health of lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and intersex (LGBTI) people. This work aims to explore the need to include affective-sexual, bodily and gender diversity (ASBGD) in the curricula of health sciences degrees. A narrative bibliographic review was performed to identify recommendations based on international frameworks and experiences with new approaches to incorporate ASBGD, as well as a critical analysis of the current situation regarding the deficiencies in the inclusion of ASBGD in health sciences degrees. At present there is a progressive inclusion of ASBGD in health sciences in many countries, which is considered fundamental for ethical professional practices, and excellence in care. We offer a summary of advances, emerging debates and teaching strategies for the inclusion of ASBGD from previous international experiences. These experiences highlight the need for inclusion of ASBGD, the lack of knowledge about specific needs of LGBTI people and the benefits of breaking with the binary imposition. They recommend increasing knowledge about terminology, rights and inequalities, and the active participation of LGBTI people and communities.

Hormone replacement therapy advertising: sense and nonsense on the web pages of the best-selling pharmaceuticals in Spain.

BACKGROUND: The balance of the benefits and risks of long term use of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) have been a matter of debate for decades. In Europe, HRT requires medical prescription and its advertising is only permitted when aimed at health professionals (direct to consumer advertising is allowed in some non European countries). The objective of this study is to analyse the appropriateness and quality of Internet advertising about HRT in Spain. METHODS: A search was carried out on the Internet (January 2009) using the eight best-selling HRT drugs in Spain. The brand name of each drug was entered into Google's search engine. The web sites appearing on the first page of results and the corresponding companies were analysed using the European Code of Good Practice as the reference point. RESULTS: Five corporate web pages: none of them included bibliographic references or measures to ensure that the advertising was only accessible by health professionals. Regarding non-corporate web pages (n = 27): 41% did not include the company name or address, 44% made no distinction between patient and health professional information, 7% contained bibliographic references, 26% provided unspecific information for the use of HRT for osteoporosis and 19% included menstrual cycle regulation or boosting feminity as an indication. Two online pharmacies sold HRT drugs which could be bought online in Spain, did not include the name or contact details of the registered company, nor did they stipulate the need for a medical prescription or differentiate between patient and health professional information. CONCLUSIONS: Even though pharmaceutical companies have committed themselves to compliance with codes of good practice, deficiencies were observed regarding the identification, information and promotion of HRT medications on their web pages. Unaffected by legislation, non-corporate web pages are an ideal place for indirect HRT advertising, but they often contain misleading information. HRT can be bought online from Spain, without a medical consultation or prescription constituting a serious issue for public health. In our information society, it is the right and obligation of public health bodies to ensure that such information is not misleading.