scholarly journals Mental health in Latin America and the Caribbean

2014 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 6-8
Author(s):  
Jorge J. Rodriguez
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Latin America ◽  
Mental Illnesses ◽  
World Health ◽  
Paper Briefly ◽  
Mental Health Reform ◽  
Pan American ◽  
The Caribbean ◽  
Health Organization ◽  
Made In

Mental illnesses are a growing health problem and reducing the treatment gap in Latin America and the Caribbean is a great challenge. Evaluations conducted by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and World Health Organization (WHO) have shown that the responsiveness of health services is still limited. Nonetheless, from an evaluation of how mental health reform has progressed in the region following the historical benchmark of the Caracas Declaration (1990), it is clear that – despite the limitations, shortcomings and challenges – significant progress has been made in most countries. This paper briefly reviews this progress.

scholarly journals Mental health in the Dominican Republic

2011 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 12-14
Author(s):  
Miguel R. Hernández ◽  
Tresha Ann Gibbs ◽  
Luisa Gautreaux-Subervi
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Dominican Republic ◽  
World Health Organization ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
World Health ◽  
The Public ◽  
Pan American ◽  
The Caribbean ◽  
The Republic ◽  
Health Organization

The Dominican Republic is located in the Caribbean Sea and comprises three-quarters of the island Hispaniola, which it shares with Haiti. According to the 2002 census, approximately 8.5 million people live in the Republic, with 64% residing in urban areas (Oficina Nacional Estadística, n.d.). During 1990 and 2000, the Dominican Republic was a leader in economic development for Latin America and the Caribbean; however, this was not reflected in the areas of human and social development (Pan American Health Organization & World Health Organization, 2007). Less than 1 % of the health budget administered by the Ministry of Public Health and Social Assistance (MISPAS) is allocated to mental health and the public system is generally underfunded (Pan American Health Organization & World Health Organization, 2008). However, there is an array of mental health services within the country when privately funded facilities are taken into account.

scholarly journals Assessing electronic immunization registries: the Pan American Health Organization experience

2019 ◽  
Vol 43 ◽  
pp. 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Carolina Danovaro-Holliday ◽  
Marcela P. Contreras ◽  
Dalys Pinto ◽  
Ida Berenice Molina-Aguilera ◽  
Diana Miranda ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Information Systems ◽  
Assessment Tool ◽  
World Health ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Evaluation Approach ◽  
Health Authorities ◽  
Pan American ◽  
The Caribbean ◽  
Health Organization

Objective.To develop a methodology to assess electronic immunization registries (EIRs) in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) in Latin America and the Caribbean.Methods.A team from the Immunization Unit at the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) reviewed existing methodologies to evaluate health information systems, particularly the Performance of Routine Information System Management (PRISM) framework and methodologies used to assess information systems. In 2014, the PAHO team convened a small working group to develop an evaluation approach to be added to the existing World Health Organization immunization data quality self-assessment (DQS) tool. The resulting DQS with an added EIR component was named “DQS Plus.” The DQS Plus methodology was used in Panama in May 2014 and in Honduras in November 2015.Results.The DQS Plus tool proved feasible and easy to implement in Panama and Honduras, including by not adding much time or resources to those needed for a usual DQS. The information obtained from the DQS Plus assessment was practical and helped provide health authorities with recommendations to update and improve their EIR, strengthen the use of the registry, and enhance the data the assessment produced, at all levels of the health system. These recommendations are currently being implemented in the two countries.Conclusions.The DQS Plus proved to be a practical and useful approach for assessing an EIR in an LMIC and generating actionable recommendations. Further work on defining operational and related EIR functional standards in LMICs will help develop an improved EIR assessment tool for Latin America and the Caribbean, and potentially elsewhere.

scholarly journals Health Technology Assessment in Latin America and the Caribbean

2009 ◽  
Vol 25 (S1) ◽  
pp. 253-254 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Banta
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Health Technology Assessment ◽  
Technology Assessment ◽  
Health Reform ◽  
Health Technology ◽  
World Health ◽  
Regional Office ◽  
Pan American ◽  
The Caribbean ◽  
Health Organization

The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), Regional Office of the World Health Organization (WHO) for the Americas, has tried to promote health technology assessment (HTA) in Latin America for 25 years. A certain awareness of HTA developed in several countries because of these efforts. In the late 1990's, there was a strong movement for health reform in Latin America, and HTA became part of that movement. Countries that now are actively institutionalizing HTA include Brazil, Mexico, Chile, and Argentina. Other countries, such as Costa Rica, Colombia, Cuba, Peru, Panamá, Paraguay, Trinidad and Tobago, and Uruguay, are following these trends and some others seem to be moving in this direction within the next few years.

scholarly journals Needs-based gap analysis for service transformation in the Eastern Cape

2015 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 5
Author(s):  
Kiran Sukeri ◽  
Orlando Alonso-Betancourt ◽  
Robin Emsley
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Human Resources ◽  
Human Resource ◽  
Gap Analysis ◽  
Mental Healthcare ◽  
Epidemiological Studies ◽  
Mental Illnesses ◽  
World Health ◽  
Eastern Cape ◽  
Health Organization

<p><strong>Objectives. </strong>Part I of this research article presents a needs-based analysis for the management of schizophrenia, bipolar mood disorder and major depression for the Eastern Cape (EC) Province, South Africa. This part of the research paper focuses on quantifying human resources and bed needs for these three severe mental illnesses. Human resource expenditure is calculated for nursing staff at acute, ambulatory and medium-to-long-stay services. A further objective was to conduct a gap analysis for human resources and beds for the EC in order to assist mental health planners in the commissioning of services. </p><p><strong>Methods. </strong>Data from previous research conducted in the province, and international and national epidemiological studies were utilised to quantify the requirements for human resources (psychiatrists, medical officers/registrars, psychologists, nurses, occupational therapists and social workers) and beds for acute, medium-to-long-stay and ambulatory services at provincial and regional levels, to provide mental healthcare. The authors focused on three of the eight priority conditions set by the World Health Organization. A target coverage rate of 80% was used in all calculations. A gap analysis was conducted to demonstrate deficits and excesses, utilising available data on human resources and beds available in the province.</p><p><strong>Results. </strong>The results showed that the districts of Alfred Nzo and Ukhahlamba have no human resources or beds for the provision of mental health services. The province has a deficit of 23 psychiatrists and 243 nurses trained in psychiatry, and an oversupply of 486 other nurses. The results also clearly demonstrated an inequitable distribution of resources in the province. </p><p><strong>Conclusions. </strong>This is the first study that has provided detailed estimates of human resource and bed deficits in the EC. The study demonstrates that the areas of greatest need in terms of bed and human resource requirements are in the eastern regions of the province, which includes the former homelands of the Transkei and Ciskei. This study will assist provincial mental health planners/commissioners in developing an equitable mental health delivery programme.</p>

Migration, Migrants, and Health in Latin America and the Caribbean

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Deisy Ventura ◽  
Jameson Martins da Silva ◽  
Leticia Calderón ◽  
Itzel Eguiluz
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Latin America ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Healthcare Services ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
The United States ◽  
World Health ◽  
Mexico Border ◽  
The Caribbean ◽  
Health Organization

The World Health Organization has recognized health as a right of migrants and refugees, who are entitled to responsive healthcare policies, due to their particular social determinants of health. Migrants’ and refugees’ health is not only related to transmissible diseases but also to mental health, sexual and reproductive health, and non-communicable diseases, such as diabetes. Historically, however, migration has been linked to the spread of diseases and has often artificially served as a scapegoat to local shortcomings, feeding on the xenophobic rhetoric of extremist groups and political leaders. This approach fosters the criminalization of migrants, which has led to unacceptable violations of human rights, as demonstrated by the massive incarceration and deportation policies in developed countries, for example, the United States under the Trump administration. In Latin America and the Caribbean, in particular, there have been legal developments, such as pioneering national legislation in Argentina in 2004 and Brazil in 2017, which suggest some progress in the direction of human rights, although in practice drawbacks abound in the form of countless barriers for migrants to access and benefit from healthcare services in the context of political turmoil and severe socioeconomic inequality. The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed and enhanced the effects of such inequality in the already frail health conditions of the most disenfranchised, including low-income migrants and refugees; it has both caused governments in Latin America to handle the crisis in a fragmented and unilateral fashion, ignoring opportunities to cooperate and shield the livelihoods of the most vulnerable, and served as a pretext to sharpen the restrictions to cross-border movement and, ultimately, undermine the obligation to protect the dignity of migrants, as the cases of Venezuela and the U.S.-Mexico border illustrate. Still, it could represent an opportunity to integrate the health of migrants to the public health agenda as well as restore cooperation mechanisms building on previous experiences and the existing framework of human rights organizations.

scholarly journals Progress in trial registration in Latin America and the Caribbean, 2007–2013

2017 ◽  
Vol 41 ◽  
pp. 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pablo Rodríguez-Feria ◽  
Luis Gabriel Cuervo
Keyword(s):  
Clinical Trial ◽  
Latin America ◽  
Trial Registration ◽  
World Health ◽  
Clinical Trial Registry ◽  
Clinical Trial Registration ◽  
Publication Rates ◽  
Clinical Trial Registries ◽  
The Caribbean ◽  
Health Organization

This descriptive study identifies trends in clinical trial registration in the World Health Organization International Clinical Trial Registry Platform (ICTRP) for Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), from 2007–2013, and provides adjusted estimates for registration rates by population and publications (2007–2011). Trends and data are presented by subregion and language in interactive graphs, including annual registration rates by population (2007–2011) and publications (LILACS and MEDLINE) listed in SCIENTI Network (Science and Technology Indicators). Of the 11 945 clinical trials involving LAC countries, 8 282 were in South America, with Brazil leading at 4 070 (49%); 2 421 in North and Central America, with Mexico leading at 1 886 (78%); and 1 242 in the Caribbean, with Puerto Rico leading at 857 (69%). After adjusting by population and publication rates Chile, Panama, Argentina, and Peru led registration rates per 1 million inhabitants. Variations in the number of trials per year are quite substantial. Clinical trial registration increased in a steady yet inconsistent way. The implementation of the Policy on Research for Health has been followed by an increase in countries that require registration and have established clinical trial registries. However, there is room for improvement in adherence throughout LAC. Trial registration is offered gratis by Brazilian, Cuban, Peruvian, and United States registries, among others.

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