Crise global da atenção primária à saúde / Global crisis in primary health care / Crisis global de la atención primaria

Enquanto no Norte Global se discute uma crise na Atenção Primária à Saúde, a maioria dos países nunca chegou a constituir sistemas de saúde baseados propriamente numa atenção primária robusta. Nesse cenário, o Brasil apresenta uma tendência mais favorável, com conquistas importantes para a atenção primária e a medicina de família e comunidade nos últimos dez anos. Restam desafios a serem superados para que o Sistema Único de Saúde alcance níveis satisfatórios de acesso a seus serviços, com profissionais adequadamente formados e valorizados pela população.

While the Global North is discussing a crisis in primary health care, the majority of countries have never managed to establish health systems based on robust primary care. Brazil presents a more favorable trend, with important achievements for primary care and family practice over the last ten years. There are still challenges to be overcome so that the Unified Health System achieves satisfactory levels of access to its services, with professionals who are properly trained and valued by the public.

Mientras que en el Norte Global se habla de una crisis de la atención primaria, la mayoría de los países nunca han creado realmente sistemas sanitarios basados en una atención primaria robusta. Brasil, muestra una tendencia más favorable, con importantes logros para la atención primaria y la medicina familiar y comunitaria en los últimos diez años. Aún quedan retos por superar para que el Sistema Único de Salud alcance niveles satisfactorios de acceso a sus servicios, con profesionales debidamente formados y valorados por la población.

Reach and effectiveness of a HEARTS hypertension pilot project in Guatemala / Cobertura y efectividad de un proyecto piloto HEARTS para el control de la hipertensión en Guatemala / Alcance e efetividade de um projeto piloto de controle da hipertensão arterial da iniciativa HEARTS na Guatemala

[ABSTRACT]. The World Health Organization Global Hearts initiative (HEARTS) and technical package aim to improve the primary health care management of hypertension and other risk factors for cardiovascular disease at the population level. This study describes the first HEARTS implementation pilot project in Guatemala’s Ministry of Health (MOH) primary health care system. This pilot began in April 2022 in six primary health care facilities in three rural indigenous municipalities. The project consisted of HEARTS-aligned strategies adapted to enhance program sustainability in Guatemala. Outcomes were defined using the Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation, Maintenance (RE-AIM) framework. The primary reach outcome was treatment count, defined as the absolute number of patients per month receiving medication treatment for hypertension. The primary effectiveness outcomes were mean systolic blood pressure (BP), mean diastolic BP, and proportion of patients with BP control (<130/80 mmHg). In the first month of the post-implementation period, there was a statistically significant increase of 25 patients treated per month above the baseline of 20 to 25 patients (P = .002), followed by a significant increase of 2.4 additional patients treated each month (P = .005) thereafter. The mean change in systolic BP was −4.4 (95% CI, −8.2 to −0.5; P = 0.028) mmHg, and the mean change in diastolic BP was −0.9 (95% CI, −2.8 to 1.1; P = .376) mmHg. The proportion of the cohort with BP control increased from 33.4% at baseline to 47.1% at 6 months (adjusted change, 13.7%; 95% CI, 2.2% to 25.2%; P = .027). These findings support the feasibility of implementing the HEARTS model for BP control throughout the MOH primary health care system, which is where most Guatemalans with hypertension seek care.

[RESUMEN]. El paquete técnico de la Iniciativa Global Hearts ("HEARTS") de la Organización Mundial de la Salud tiene como objetivo mejorar el control de la hipertensión y de otros factores de riesgo de enfermedades cardiovasculares a nivel poblacional en el ámbito de la atención primaria de salud de salud. Este estudio describe el primer proyecto piloto de implementación de HEARTS en el sistema de atención primaria de salud del Ministerio de Salud de Guatemala. El proyecto, que comenzó en abril del 2022 en seis centros de atención primaria de salud pertenecientes a tres municipios rurales indígenas, consistió en estrategias alineadas con HEARTS y adaptadas para mejorar la sostenibilidad del programa en Guatemala. Los criterios de valoración de los resultados se definieron mediante el marco estandarizado de evaluación de cobertura, efectividad, adopción, implementación y mantenimiento (RE-AIM, por su sigla en inglés). El criterio principal de la cobertura fue la cantidad de tratamientos, definida como el número absoluto de pacientes por mes que recibían tratamiento farmacológico para la hipertensión. Los criterios principales de la efectividad fueron la media de presión arterial (PA) sistólica, la media de PA diastólica y la proporción de pacientes con un control de la PA (<130/80 mmHg). En el primer mes del período posterior a la implementación, se registró un aumento estadísticamente significativo de 25 pacientes tratados al mes por encima del valor inicial de 20 a 25 pacientes (n = 25; p = 0,002), seguido de un aumento significativo de 2,4 pacientes adicionales tratados al mes (p = 0,005) posteriormente. El cambio en la media de la PA sistólica fue de -4,4 (IC del 95%: -8,2 a -0,5); p = 0,028) mmHg, en tanto que el cambio en la media de la PA diastólica fue de -0,9 (IC del 95%, -2,8 a 1,1); p = 0,376) mmHg. La proporción de la cohorte con control de la PA aumentó del 33,4% al inicio al 47,1% a los seis meses (cambio ajustado, 13,7%; IC del 95%, 2,2% a 25,2%; p = 0,027). Estos resultados respaldan la viabilidad de la implementación del modelo HEARTS para el control de la PA en la totalidad del sistema de atención primaria de salud del Ministerio de Salud de Guatemala, al que acude en busca de atención la mayoría de las personas con hipertensión.

[RESUMO]. O pacote de medidas técnicas da iniciativa Global Hearts (“HEARTS”) da Organização Mundial da Saúde tem como objetivo melhorar o controle da hipertensão arterial e de outros fatores de risco para doenças cardiovasculares na atenção primária à saúde em nível populacional. Este estudo descreve o primeiro projeto-piloto de implementação da iniciativa HEARTS no sistema de atenção primária à saúde do Ministério da Saúde da Guatemala. O projeto-piloto começou em abril de 2022 em seis estabelecimentos de atenção primária à saúde em três municípios indígenas rurais. O projeto consistiu em estratégias alinhadas à iniciativa HEARTS e adaptadas para melhorar a sustentabilidade do programa na Guatemala. Os desfechos foram definidos usando a estrutura de avaliação RE-AIM (sigla em inglês para alcance, efetividade, adoção, implementação e manutenção). O desfecho primário de alcance foi a quantidade de tratamentos, definida como o número absoluto de pacientes por mês que receberam tratamento medicamentoso para hipertensão. Os desfechos primários de efetividade foram pressão arterial (PA) sistólica média, PA diastólica média e proporção de pacientes com controle da PA (<130/80 mmHg). No primeiro mês do período pós-implementação, houve um aumento estatisticamente significante de 25 pacientes tratados por mês acima da linha de base de 20 a 25 pacientes (n = 25; P = 0,002), seguido de um aumento significante de 2,4 pacientes adicionais tratados a cada mês (P = 0,005) depois disso. A mudança média na PA sistólica foi de −4,4 (intervalo de confiança [IC] de 95%: −8,2 a −0,5; P = 0,028) mmHg, e a mudança média na PA diastólica foi de −0,9 (IC de 95%: −2,8 a 1,1; P = 0,376) mmHg. A proporção da coorte com controle da PA aumentou de 33,4% na linha de base para 47,1% após 6 meses (mudança ajustada, 13,7%; IC de 95%: 2,2% a 25,2%; P = 0,027). Esses achados apoiam a viabilidade da implementação do modelo HEARTS para o controle da PA em todo o sistema de atenção primária à saúde do Ministério da Saúde da Guatemala, no qual a maioria dos indivíduos com hipertensão arterial procura atendimento.

Ethical and Practical Considerations for an Agreement to Ensure Equitable Vaccine Access Comment on "More Pain, More Gain! The Delivery of COVID-19 Vaccines and the Pharmaceutical Industry's Role in Widening the Access Gap".

This paper discusses the potential of an international agreement to ensure equitable vaccine distribution, addressing the failures witnessed during the COVID-19 pandemic. COVAX was unable to prevent vaccine monopolization and unequal distribution, which led to significant disparities in vaccination rates and avoidable deaths. Any future agreement on equitable vaccine distribution must address ethical and practical issues to ensure global health equity and access. The proposed agreement should recognize healthcare as a human right and consider vaccines beyond mere commodities, emphasizing the social responsibility of pharmaceutical companies to prioritize affordability, availability, and accessibility, particularly for low-income countries (LICs). Voluntary licensing agreements are suggested as a means to enhance access to essential medicines. The paper also outlines the necessity of international cooperation, with robust compliance mechanisms, to effectively enforce such an agreement and mitigate future health crises.

IXe réunion 'ad hoc' du Groupe consultatif technique (GCT) de l'OPS sur les maladies évitables par la vaccination, 25 juillet 2022 (virtuelle)

Le Groupe consultatif technique (GCT) sur les maladies évitables par la vaccination s'est réuni le 25 juillet 2022 lors d'une réunion ad hoc pour entendre et discuter de la vaccination contre le poliovirus, le monkeypox, le COVID-19 et la couverture vaccinale dans la Région des Amériques. L'objectif de la réunion était de générer un débat sur ce sujet afin de proposer des recommandations aux États membres sur la manière dont ils devraient faire face à l'augmentation des cas au niveau mondial et régional en termes de vaccination.

Plantocratic patriarchal culture, violence against women and girls and the failures of the global health system: an interview with Marsha Hinds Myrie and Anya A. A. Lorde.

Like other parts of the world, women and girls in the Commonwealth Caribbean (CC) experience high and escalating rates of physical and sexual violence. The interview presented outlines some factors that underscore the gendered disparities of violence against women in the Caribbean as well as how healthcare responses are not developed for marginalised women and girls. The interview explores the invisibility of women and girls within healthcare and broader national healthcare structures responses through case details analysis of a Barbadian strategic litigation case. The interview calls for transdisciplinary approaches to analysing the effectiveness of the global health system that make space for not just traditional research approaches but also lived experiences 'from below' and input of advocates and activists. Despite Barbados being a signatory to a range of global health initiatives to improve healthcare responses to gender-based violence, the country does not have a formalised, comprehensive national plan to inform prevention and intervention measures. The interview shows the connections between plantocratic patriarchal culture (PPC) and the existing gaps that cause harm to women and girls who experience various types of gendered violence.

From chaos to clarity: The scientometric breakthrough in COVID-19 research.

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic paralyzed the world for over three years, generating unprecedented social changes in recent human history. AIMS: We aimed to scientometrically summarize a global and temporal overview of publications on COVID-19 in the two worst years of the pandemic and its progression in early 2022, after the start of vaccination. METHODS: Using the Web of Science database, this review covered the period from late 2019 to March 2022 and included all publications identified using the following terms: "SARS-CoV-2", "COVID-19", "Coronavirus Disease 19", and "2019-nCoV". We retrieved 268,904 publications, with evident global spreading, demonstrating that the pandemic triggered worldwide scientific research efforts. RESULTS: Within the dataset, 195 countries have published about Covid-19. In initial publications, a solid trend in genotyping, sequencing, and detection of the virus was evident; however, in the development of the pandemic, new knowledge and research focus gained relevance, with continental solid trends, revealed by the keywords sustainability (eastern Europe); material sciences (Asia); public and mental health (Africa); information sciences (western Europe); education (Latin America). It identified high-impact research, mainly on diagnosis and vaccines, but also equally essential topics for returning life to the new normal, such as mental health, education, and remote work. The world experienced a highly transmissible infection that proved how fragile we are regarding organization and society. CONCLUSIONS: It is necessary to learn from such an event and establish a protocol of actions and measures to be taken and avoided in a health emergency, aiming to act differently from the chaos experienced during the pandemic. Following the One Health approach, humanity must be aware of the need for more sustainable attitudes, given the inseparability of human beings from the environment.

Exploring the Nexus between Food Systems and the Global Syndemic among Children under Five Years of Age through the Complex Systems Approach.

The intricate relationship between food systems and health outcomes, known as the food-nutrition-health nexus, intersects with environmental concerns. However, there's still a literature gap in evaluating food systems alongside the global syndemic using the complex systems theory, especially concerning vulnerable populations like children. This research aimed to design a system dynamics model to advance a theoretical understanding of the connections between food systems and the global syndemic, particularly focusing on their impacts on children under five years of age. The framework was developed through a literature review and authors' insights into the relationships between the food, health, and environmental components of the global syndemic among children. The conceptual model presented 17 factors, with 26 connections and 6 feedback loops, categorized into the following 5 groups: environmental, economic, school-related, family-related, and child-related. It delineated and elucidated mechanisms among the components of the global syndemic encompassing being overweight, suffering from undernutrition, and climate change. The findings unveiled potential interactions within food systems and health outcomes. Furthermore, the model integrated elements of the socio-ecological model by incorporating an external layer representing the environment and its natural resources. Consequently, the development of public policies and interventions should encompass environmental considerations to effectively tackle the complex challenges posed by the global syndemic.

Overview of global healthcare policies for patients with chronic kidney disease: an integrative literature review.

INTRODUCTION: Chronic kidney disease is a progressive and irreversible loss of kidney function and considerably affects the lives of patients and their families. Its high incidence necessitates efficient public policies for prevention and treatment. However, policies for chronic kidney disease education and awareness are scarce. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate global public policies for the prevention and treatment of chronic kidney disease adopted in various regions, aiming to comprehend the differences between various models. METHODS: This integrative review followed PRISMA recommendations and included papers published between 2016 and 2021 across several databases. RESULTS: The 44 selected articles were categorized into three themes: structural and financial aspects of the organization of renal healthcare, access to renal healthcare or management of chronic kidney disease, and coping strategies for chronic kidney disease or kidney health. Critical analysis of the papers revealed global neglect of kidney disease in political agendas. Considerable policy variations exist between different countries and regions of the same country. Our research highlighted that free and universal health coverage, especially for the most vulnerable patients, is crucial for accessing treatment owing to the prohibitively high treatment costs. CONCLUSION: Social, economic, and ethnic inequalities strongly correlate with disease occurrence, primarily affecting minority groups who lack health support, especially for the prevention and treatment of chronic kidney disease.

Post-COVID-19 health inequalities: Estimates of the potential loss in the evolution of the health-related SDGs indicators.

This study delves into the global evolution of 43 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) indicators, spanning 7 major health themes across 185 countries to evaluate the potential progress loss due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Both the cross-country and temporal variability of the dataset are employed to estimate an empirical model based on an extended version of the Preston curve, which links well-being to income levels and other key socioeconomic health determinants. The approach reveals significant global evolution trends operating in each SDG indicator assessed. We extrapolate the model yearly between 2020 and 2030 using the IMF's pre-COVID-19 economic growth projections to show how each country in the dataset are expected to evolve in these health topics throughout the decade, assuming no other external shocks. The results of this baseline scenario are contrasted with a post-COVID-19 scenario, where most of the pandemic costs were already known. The study reveals that economic growth losses are, on average, estimated as 42% and 28% for low- and lower middle-income countries, and of 15% and 7% in high- and upper middle-income countries, respectively, according to the IMF's projections. These disproportional figures are shown to exacerbate global health inequalities revealed by the curves. The expected progress loss in infectious diseases in low-income countries, for instance, is an average of 34%, against a mean of 6% in high-income countries. The theme of Infectious diseases is followed by injuries and violence; maternal and reproductive health; health systems coverage; and neonatal and infant health as those with worse performance. Low-income countries can expect an average progress loss of 16% across all health indicators assessed, whereas in high-income countries the estimated loss is as low as 3%. The disparity across countries is even more pronounced, with cases where the estimated progress loss is as high as nine times worse than the average loss of 8%. Conversely, countries with greater fiscal capacity are likely to fare much better under the circumstances, despite their worse death count, in many cases. Overall, these findings support the critical importance of integrating the fight against inequalities into the global development agendas.

Global burden of fall and associated factors among individual with low vision: A systematic-review and meta-analysis.

INTRODUCTION: Low vision has a significant global health problem that impacts the personal, economical, psychological, and social life of an individual. Each year around 684 000 individuals die from falls, 80% of these deaths occur are in low- and middle-income countries. The risk of falling significantly increases with visual impairment. This review aimed to determine the global pooled prevalence of fall and associated factors among individuals with low vision. METHODS AND MATERIALS: Systematic search of published studies done on PubMed, EMBASE, MEDLINE, Cochrane, Scopus, Web of Science CINAHL and, Google Scholar. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines were used to report the findings. Quality of studies was assessed using the modified Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS). Meta-analysis was performed using a random-effects method using the STATA™ Version 14 software. RESULT: Thirty-five (35) studies from different regions involving 175,297 participants included in this meta-analysis. The overall pooled global prevalence fall among individual with low vision was17.7% (95% CI: 16.4-18.9) whereas the highest prevalence was 35.5%; (95% CI: 28.4-42.5) in Australia and the lowest was 19.7%; (95% CI: 7.6-31.8) seen in South America. Fear of falling (OR: 0.16(95%CI 0.09-0.30), and severity of visual impairment (OR: 0.27(95%CI (0.18-0.39) increases the odds of falling. CONCLUSION: As one cause of accidental death, the prevalence of falls among individuals with low vision is high. Fear of falling and severity of falling increases the odds of falling. Different stakeholders should give due attention and plan effective strategies to reduce the fall among this population.

Global research on keratomycosis: New insights from latent Dirichlet allocation and HJ-Biplot-driven knowledge mapping study.

BACKGROUND: Keratomycosis is a form of infectious keratitis, an infection of the cornea, which is caused by fungi. This disease is a leading cause of ocular morbidity globally with at least 60 % of the affected individuals becoming monocularly blind. OBJECTIVE: This bibliometric analysis aimed to comprehensively assess the existing body of literature, providing insights of the evolution of keratomycosis research by identifying key themes and research gaps. METHODS: This work used the modeling method Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) to identify and interpret scientific information on topics concerning existing categories in a set of documents. The HJ-Biplot method was also used to determine the relationship between the analyzed topics, taking into consideration the years under study. RESULTS: This bibliometric analysis was performed on a total of 2,599 scientific articles published between 1992 and 2022. The five leading countries with more scientific production and citations on keratomycosis were The United States of America, followed by India, China, United Kingdom and Australia. The top five topics studied were Case Reports and Corneal Infections, which exhibited a decreasing trend; followed by Penetrating Keratoplasty and Corneal Surgery, Ocular Effects of Antifungal Drugs, Gene Expression and Inflammatory Response in the Cornea and Patient Data which have been increasing throughout the years. However Filamentous Fungi and Specific Pathogens, and Antifungal Therapies research has been decreasing in trend. CONCLUSION: Additional investigation into innovative antifungal drug therapies is crucial for proactively tackling the potential future resistance to antifungal agents in scientific writing.

High Global Health Security Index is a determinant of early detection and response to monkeypox: A cross-sectional study.

INTRODUCTION: Recent outbreaks of monkeypox (Mpox) have occurred in countries outside of Africa, with large numbers of cases spreading rapidly to almost every continent. We aimed to analyze the correlation between the Global Health Security (GHS) Index (categories and indicators) and the Mpox case rate in different regions and globally. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, we used data from Mpox cases from the WHO, and the GHS categories and indicators for detection, prevention, reporting, health system, rapid response, international norms compliance, and risk environment. Outcome measures were the relationship between GHS index (categories and indicators) and Mpox case rate using crude and adjusted non-linear regression models. RESULTS: After performing adjusted analyses, only risk environment and detection and reporting index were associated with Mpox case rates in the 99 countries and the Region of the Americas, respectively. Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) indicators of the prevention category, risk communication of the rapid response category, the joint external evaluation and performance veterinary services of the norms category, and the infrastructure adequacy of the risk environment category were associated with Mpox case rates in the 99 countries (p<0.05). Laboratory systems strength and quality indicator of the detection and reporting category, and emergency response operation indicator of the response rapid category were associated with Mpox case rates in the countries of the region of the Americas (p<0.05). AMR indicator of the prevention of the emergence category, and the infrastructure adequacy of the risk environment category were associated with Mpox case rates in the countries of the European Region (p<0.05). In the countries of the other regions, only the trade and travel restrictions indicator of the rapid response category was associated with Mpox case rates (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Countries, particularly in the Americas region, with high levels of infrastructure adequacy and laboratory system strength and quality as measured by the GHS index are better equipped to detect more Mpox cases. Therefore, they have higher Mpox case detection rates and can successfully respond to Mpox outbreaks.

An Analysis of Approaches to Reduction of HIV Stigma across the World through educational interventions: A Scoping Review.

Objective: To determinate the educational interventions for reducing the stigma caused by HIV worldwide. Methods: This scoping review study analyzed all papers published from early 2000 to the end of 2022 by searching all the scientific databases, Scopus, Web of Science, PubMed, Cochrane, Embase and CINHAL. The quality assessment of the papers was done using the ROBIS tool checklist. Results: 31papers were admitted to the scoping review process. Stigma reduction intervention was founded on three parts: Society, health and therapeutic services providers, and the patients who had HIV and their families. The interventions included education on the reduction of fear, and shame, observation of protective standards, conducting tests and treatment at the above levels, as well as the support provided by the society, policymakers, religious leaders and families of patients in economic, psychological and cultural terms, together with the establishment of social centres and organization of campaigns. Conclusion: The stigma associated with HIV is a significant obstacle before treatment, life expectancy and living quality of patients. Therefore, the stigma associated with this disease can be reduced, and the living quality of patients can be raised using approaches such as education of healthcare service providers and afflicted people, as well as economic, social, cultural, and psychological support.