Virtual Enumerator's Training for Time and Motion Studies Using AI Scenarios.

This paper presents the implementation of a virtual training program for enumerators conducting Time and Motion Studies using the WOMBAT methodology, as part of a project assessing healthcare workflows before the adoption of an Electronic Health Record system. The training employed digital tools, including Zoom meetings, Google Forms, the WOMBAT App, and AI-generated scenario images, to simulate clinical settings. The program successfully prepared observers for data collection, with high agreement among them.

Cross-Border Telehealth Use Cases Update.

The health workforce plays a central role in health systems, and its current and potential shortage, and uneven distribution across countries, pose a major challenge to access, equity, and quality of care enhancement. Cross-border telehealth has the potential to expand national healthcare services by relying on other countries' capacity. This scoping review provides an updated analysis of cross-border telehealth use cases, focusing on their application in various regions.

Voices and visions: Navigating the landscape of sexual, reproductive, and maternal health and rights in Latin America and the Caribbean: A stakeholder mapping and analysis.

This article presents the results of a mapping and analysis of key stakeholders operating in the field of Sexual, Reproductive, and Maternal Health and Rights (SRMHR) who are involved in the entitlement of health rights and access to health services for women, adolescents, LGBTQI+ individuals, migrants, indigenous people, Afro-descendants, and people with disabilities in Latin America and the Caribbean. Our study focuses on Argentina, Colombia, Guatemala, Guyana, Jamaica, Mexico, and Peru. The primary objective was to identify and comprehensively categorise the activities undertaken by them, since their actions shape, and promote or hinder the SRMHR political agenda in the region.

Identifying Who Benefits the Most from a Community Health Worker-Led Multicomponent Intervention for Hypertension.

Background: Uncontrolled hypertension is a major public health challenge in low- and middle-income countries. The Hypertension Control Program in Argentina (HCPIA) showed that a community health worker-led multicomponent intervention was effective for blood pressure (BP) reduction in resource-limited settings, but whether the intervention was equally effective across participant subgroups is unknown.

Objective: To identify participants who benefit the most from the HCPIA BP control intervention.

Gender Inequities in the Impact of Climate Change on Health: A Scoping Review.

In the 21st century, climate change has emerged as a critical global public health challenge. Women experience the most severe impacts of climate change, intensifying pre-existing gender inequalities. This scoping review aims to explore the intersection of climate change, health, and gender, considering the social determinants of health.

Understanding WHO SMART Guidelines: Narrative Review of an Innovative Global Digital Health Approach.

The growing challenges of healthcare systems pose a unique opportunity to leverage evidence-based digital health interventions. The WHO's SMART (Standards-based, Machine-readable, Adaptive, Requirements-based, and Testable) guidelines represent a significant advancement in this domain. This paper aims to summarize SMART guidelines authoring and implementation process, drawing on a comprehensive literature analysis.

Lives Versus Livelihoods: The Epidemiological, Social, And Economic Impact Of COVID-19 In Latin America And The Caribbean.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Latin American and Caribbean countries implemented stringent public health and social measures that disrupted economic and social activities. This study used an integrated model to evaluate the epidemiological, economic, and social trade-offs in Argentina, Brazil, Jamaica, and Mexico throughout 2021. Argentina and Mexico displayed a higher gross domestic product (GDP) loss and lower deaths per million compared with Brazil.

Blood Pressure Association with the 8-Item Morisky Medication Adherence Scale in Hypertensive Adults from Low-Resource Primary Care Settings: Results from a Prospective Cohort Nested within a Randomised Controlled Trial.

Introduction: One of the self-report adherence scales most widely used is the 8-item Morisky Medication Adherence Scale (MMAS-8).

Aim: To evaluate construct validity and reliability of the MMAS-8 in hypertensive adults from low-resource settings within the public primary care level in Argentina.

Methods: Prospective data from hypertensive adults under antihypertensive pharmacological treatment that participated in the "Hypertension Control Program in Argentina" study was analyzed.

Cost-effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccination in Latin America and the Caribbean: an analysis in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Mexico, and Peru.

Objective: Our study analyzes the cost-effectiveness of the COVID-19 vaccination campaigns in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Mexico, and Peru.

Methods: Using a previously published SVEIR model, we analyzed the impact of a vaccination campaign (2021) from a national healthcare perspective. The primary outcomes were quality adjusted life years (QALYs) lost and total costs.

Development and application of a dynamic transmission model of health systems' preparedness and response to COVID-19 in twenty-six Latin American and Caribbean countries.

The global impact of COVID-19 has challenged health systems across the world. This situation highlighted the need to develop policies based on scientific evidence to prepare the health systems and mitigate the pandemic. In this scenario, governments were urged to predict the impact of the measures they were implementing, how they related to the population's behavior, and the capacity of health systems to respond to the pandemic.

Previous tuberculosis disease as a risk factor for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a cross-sectional analysis of multicountry, population-based studies.

Background: Risk factors for COPD in high-income settings are well understood; however, less attention has been paid to contributors of COPD in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) such as pulmonary tuberculosis. We sought to study the association between previous tuberculosis disease and COPD by using pooled population-based cross-sectional data in 13 geographically diverse, low-resource settings.

Methods: We pooled six cohorts in 13 different LMIC settings, 6 countries and 3 continents to study the relationship between self-reported previous tuberculosis disease and lung function outcomes including COPD (defined as a postbronchodilator forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV)/forced vital capacity (FVC) below the lower limit of normal).

Dietary patterns and blood pressure in Southern Cone of Latin America.

Background And Aims: in the Southern Cone of Latin America, previous studies have shown that blood hypertension is one of the most significant risk factor for cardiovascular disease, and diet plays a fundamental role. We analyzed the cross-sectional relationship between dietary patterns (DP) and blood pressure values in people involved in the CESCAS I Study.

Methods And Results: the participants (n = 4626) were derived from randomly selected samples in 4 cities (Bariloche and Marcos Paz, Argentina; Temuco, Chile; and Pando-Barros Blancos, Uruguay).

Development of physical activity and food built environment quality indicators for chronic diseases in Argentina.

Although obesity and non-communicable disease (NCD) prevention efforts to-date have focused mainly on individual level factors, the social and physical environments in which people live are now widely recognized as important social determinants of health. Obesogenic environments promote higher dietary energy intakes and sedentary behaviors, thus contributing to the obesity/NCD burden. To develop quality indicators (QIs) for measuring food and physical activity (PA)-built environments in municipalities.

"Super-Spreaders" and Person-to-Person Transmission of Andes Virus in Argentina.

Background: From November 2018 through February 2019, person-to-person transmission of Andes virus (ANDV) hantavirus pulmonary syndrome occurred in Chubut Province, Argentina, and resulted in 34 confirmed infections and 11 deaths. Understanding the genomic, epidemiologic, and clinical characteristics of person-to-person transmission of ANDV is crucial to designing effective interventions.

Methods: Clinical and epidemiologic information was obtained by means of patient report and from public health centers.

Health care access and health-related quality of life among people with diabetes in the Southern Cone of Latin America-a cross-sectional analysis of data of the CESCAS I study.

Purpose: Little is known on the association of health care access and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in people with diabetes in the Southern Cone of Latin America (SCLA).

Methods: We analyzed data of 1025 participants of CESCAS I. To determine HRQoL, we used the SF-12 physical (PCS-12) and mental component summary (MCS-12).

Mi Argentina/Mi Salud: The Argentinian Citizen Digital Health Portal.

The Ministry of Health (MoH) stated the National Digital Health Strategy 2018-2024 in order to establish the conceptual guidelines for the design and development of interoperable health information systems. It included the creation of a National Digital Health Network, and a Citizen Health Portal to inform and empower patients about their rights. For instance, the Digital Vaccination Card is already available and has equal legal validity as its paper version.

Argentinian Digital Health Strategy.

Digital Health is one of the three pillars for the effective implementation of Universal Health Coverage in Argentina. The Ministry of Health published the National Digital Health Strategy 2018-2024 in order to establish the conceptual guidelines for the design and development of interoperable health information systems as a state policy. The World Health Organization "National eHealth Strategy Toolkit", "Global Strategy on Digital Health" and other international and local evidence and expert recommendations were taken into account.

Evaluating a multicomponent program to improve hypertension control in Guatemala: study protocol for an effectiveness-implementation cluster randomized trial.

Background: Hypertension is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD). Despite advances in hypertension prevention and treatment, the proportion of patients who are aware, treated and controlled is low, particularly in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). We will evaluate an adapted version of a multilevel and multicomponent hypertension control program in Guatemala, previously proven effective and feasible in Argentina.

Lack of an Association Between Household Air Pollution Exposure and Previous Pulmonary Tuberculosis.

Context: Observational studies investigating household air pollution (HAP) exposure to biomass fuel smoke as a risk factor for pulmonary tuberculosis have reported inconsistent results.

Objective: To evaluate the association between HAP exposure and the prevalence of self-reported previous pulmonary tuberculosis.

Design: We analyzed pooled data including 12,592 individuals from five population-based studies conducted in Latin America, East Africa, and Southeast Asia from 2010 to 2015.