• Equity matters Editorial

    Chan, Margaret
  • To the Editors: Letters

  • Roundtable: revisiting innovative leaders in medical education Interview

    Neusy, André-Jacques; Palsdottir, Bjorg
  • Cuban maternity homes: a model to address at-risk pregnancy Feature

    MA, Conner Gorry
  • Global pharmaceutical development and access: critical issues of ethics and equity Special Article

    Dávila, Agustín Lage

    Resumo em Inglês:

    The article presents global data on access to pharmaceuticals and discusses underlying barriers. Two are highly visible: pricing policies and intellectual property rights; two are less recognized: the regulatory environment and scientific and technological capacities. Two ongoing transitions influence and even distort the problem of universal access to medications: the epidemiologic transition to an increasing burden of chronic non-communicable diseases; and the growing role of biotechnology products (especially immunobiologicals) in the pharmacopeia. Examples from Cuba and Brazil are used to explore what can and should be done to address commercial, regulatory, and technological aspects of assuring universal access to medications.
  • Intentional injury in young people in Vietnam: prevalence and social correlates Original Research

    Cu Le, Linh; Blum, Robert W.

    Resumo em Inglês:

    INTRODUCTION: Violent acts in young people constitute one of the most serious forms of violence in any society. Violence by young people in schools, on the streets, and in their families has been documented in many studies worldwide. Homicide and non-fatal assaults involving young people have been reported as a great global burden of premature death, injury and disability. Adolescents and young people are both the main victims and perpetrators of such violence. In Vietnam, an emerging pattern of health problems in adolescents related to intentional injury and violence is drawing increasingly more attention from government and the public. OBJECTIVE: Describe the situation of intentional injury among Vietnamese youth, including risk and protective factors, in order to suggest policy implications. METHODS: The 2003 Survey Assessment of Vietnamese Youth was used as a data source, providing a nationally representative sample of 7584 youth aged 14-25 years, resident in 42 of the country's 61 provinces. This sample was drawn from the 45,000 households in the 2002 Vietnam Living Standards Survey, with a multi-staged and stratified design, using the probability-proportional-to-size method to maintain representativity. Data were analyzed using bivariate and multivariate statistical techniques. RESULTS: Of the sample of young people, 2.2% reported injury resulting from violent behavior by a family member and 8.0% by non-family members, the latter demonstrating a significantly higher rate among males than females (13.6% vs. 2.4%). Characteristics of youth most likely to hurt others included: male sex, inebriation at some point, victims of intentional injury, group riot participants and carriers of weapons. Youth who had been members of mass social organizations or clubs in the community were half as likely to hurt other people as those who were unaffiliated with such groups. Females were almost four times more likely than males to attempt suicide. Other risk factors for suicide attempts were past inebriation (OR 2.7, 95% CI 1.3-5.4), ever having been a victim of intentional injury by a family member (OR 3.3, 95% CI 1.1-11.5) or ever having had feelings of hopelessness (OR 6.5, 95% CI 3.3-13.6). CONCLUSIONS: Prevalence of violence and self-harm among Vietnamese youth is comparatively less than in Western and other Asian countries. Risk and protective factors appear similar to those found in most populations. In particular, this study indicated a possible protective effect of membership in social groups. National policy for injury prevention should include strategies to reduce violence and self-harm within this population group.
  • Cuba's strategy for childhood tuberculosis control, 1995-2005 Original Research

    Abreu, Gladys; González, José A.; González, Edilberto; Bouza, Ileana; Velázquez, Antonio; Pérez, Tomás; Rubán, Ruth; González, Miriam; Sánchez, Reinaldo; Muñoz, Roberto; Sánchez, Lizet

    Resumo em Inglês:

    INTRODUCTION: Following a tripling of tuberculosis incidence in Cuba between 1991 and 1994 (from 4.7 to 14.7 per 100,000), the National TB Control Program was revamped in 1995 and the National Reference Center for Childhood TB and Provincial Childhood TB Commissions were created as a strategy for addressing this emerging health problem. OBJECTIVE: Assess the impact of Cuba's new strategy for TB control in children aged <15 years during the period 1995-2005. METHODS: A descriptive review of health services and systems was conducted in Cuba, examining 157 cases of TB diagnosed in children aged <15 years during the period 1995-2005 and comparing impact and process indicators for selected years (1995, 2000, and 2005). Impact indicators included reduction in: a) incidence; b) serious forms (peritoneal, meningeal, miliary, combined); c) mortality; and d) case outcomes (cure, death, treatment drop-out, treatment failure). Process indicators were proportion of cases with: a) microbiological tests; b) knowledge of infection source; c) diagnoses obtained through adult case contact tracing; d) time to diagnosis <60 days; and e) post-mortem diagnoses. RESULTS: During the period 1995-2005, TB rates in children aged <15 years fell by 50% (from 1.0 to 0.5 per 100,000), more evident in children <10 years. The Havana rate was three times the national rate. Diagnosis was post-mortem in three serious cases (1.9%); there were four deaths (2.5%), none after 2000. Only seven children (4.5%) had serious forms, none after 2002. Except for cases diagnosed post-mortem, all children received treatment directly supervised by health personnel. Cure rate was 99.4%; there were no treatment drop-outs or chronic cases; one relapse was reported (0.6%). Knowledge of infection source increased to 90% over the selected years. Microbiological tests were conducted in 90% of cases, with isolation in 30.9%. No isolate was drug-resistant, nor were there reports of infectious contacts with resistance. We found no HIV coinfection. At the end of the study, time to diagnosis of >60 days persisted in 40% of cases. CONCLUSIONS: Creation of a National Reference Center for Childhood TB and Provincial Childhood TB Commissions has contributed to improved TB diagnosis and control in children aged <15 years, achieving incidence similar to that during the period prior to TB re-emergence and to those of some developed countries. Improvements are needed in the work and systematic training of health personnel, especially at the primary health care level, in order to eliminate TB as a national health problem by 2015.
  • Raising the profile of participatory action research at the 2010 Global Symposium on Health Systems Research Perspective

    Loewenson, Rene; Flores, Walter; Shukla, Abhay; Kagis, Maija; Baba, Amuda; Ryklief, Ashraf; Mbwili-Muleya, Clara; Kakde, Dhananjay

    Resumo em Inglês:

    By involving citizens and health workers in producing evidence and learning, participatory action research has potential to organize community evidence, stimulate action, and challenge the marginalization that undermines achievement of universal health coverage. This paper summarizes and analyzes results of two sessions on this research model convened by the authors at the First Global Symposium on Health Systems Research in Montreux Switzerland, November 16-19, 2010. In so doing, it reviews case studies and experiences discussed, particularly their contribution to universal health coverage in different settings. The paper also reflects on challenges faced by participatory action research, and outlines recommendations from the two sessions, including creation of a learning network for participatory action research.
  • Population-level approaches to universal health coverage in resource-poor settings: lessons from tobacco control policy in Vietnam Perspective

    Higashi, Hideki; Khuong, Tuan A.; Ngo, Anh D.; Hill, Peter S.

    Resumo em Inglês:

    Population-based health promotion and disease prevention approaches are essential elements in achieving universal health coverage; yet they frequently do not appear on national policy agendas. This paper suggests that resource-poor countries should take greater advantage of such approaches to reach all segments of the population to positively affect health outcomes and equity, especially considering the epidemic of chronic non-communicable diseases and associated modifiable risk factors. Tobacco control policy development and implementation in Vietnam provides a case study to discuss opportunities and challenges associated with such strategies.
  • Health systems in an interconnected world: a view from Nigeria Perspective

    Abimbola, Seye

    Resumo em Inglês:

    The benefits of an interconnected world for health care remain untapped. As a result of the politics of inequality between rich and poor countries, one or a few health systems are set up as models. Every country, irrespective of political or economic status, should be open to learning from others to build relevant and cost-effective systems. To combat the current global challenge of chronic non-communicable diseases, poor countries have the advantage of flexible health systems that are veritable laboratories of health systems research. Not only can research conducted in these health systems help harness the potential of mobile communication technologies and informal health providers, it can also help rich country health systems adapt to meet the chronic disease challenge.
  • Ethiopia's health extension program: improving health through community involvement Perspective

    Banteyerga, Hailom

    Resumo em Inglês:

    The Health Extension Program is one of the most innovative community-based health programs in Ethiopia. It is based on the assumption that access to and quality of primary health care in rural communities can be improved through transfer of health knowledge and skills to households. Since it became operational in 2004-2005, the Program has had a tangible effect on the thinking and practices of rural people regarding disease prevention, family health, hygiene and environmental sanitation. It has enabled Ethiopia to increase primary health care coverage from 76.9% in 2005 to 90% in 2010.
  • Making the right to health a reality for Brazil's indigenous peoples: innovation, decentralization and equity Perspective

    Coelho, Vera; Shankland, Alex

    Resumo em Inglês:

    This article provides an overview of governance arrangements and changes in the Brazilian public health system since 1988, when the "Citizen's Constitution" declared health to be a universal right. Since then, population coverage has grown substantially and health indicators have improved. Despite these achievements, inequities in access remain an important barrier to universal coverage, in particular for marginalized groups such as indigenous peoples. This article discusses the innovation cycle that produced the gains and recent efforts to guarantee more equitable access to health services for the indigenous population in a continent-sized country historically plagued by great inequalities.
  • Impact of court rulings on health care coverage: the case of HIV/AIDS in Colombia Perspective

    González, Ana Cristina; Durán, Juanita

    Resumo em Inglês:

    This article addresses an emerging issue in health care systems: the impact of judicial rulings on public policy regarding financing and delivery of health care services, and the attendant tensions, contradictions and questions. In Colombia, HIV/AIDS patients' use of a legal instrument called tutela, or writ of protection, has produced abundant jurisprudence and prompted health authorities to respond with decisions about HIV/AIDS service coverage that do not consider epidemiologic criteria and sustainability, introducing distortions in the health care system with respect to financing, priority-setting and universality.
  • Cuban research in current international journals Abstract

  • Sumak Kawsay: Ecuador builds a new health paradigm Viewpoint

    Hermida, César
Medical Education Cooperation with Cuba Oakland - California - United States
E-mail: editors@medicc.org