Global health action
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Global health action · Jan 2017
The social construction of fibromyalgia as a health problem from the perspective of policies, professionals, and patients.
Fibromyalgia is a painful chronic disease, suffered mainly by women, that consolidates a number of symptoms and skeletal muscle issues which are little understood. ⋯ Political, professional and individual spheres have an influence on how this disease is constructed on a social level: as one of the "invisible women's diseases". It is recommended to resolve the disease's lack of recognition by i) implementing specific policies for FM and ii) increasing the training and sensitization of health providers about the severity of FM and the existence of gender prejudices biasing the attention.
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Global health action · Jan 2016
Involvement of stakeholders in determining health priorities of adolescents in rural South Africa.
When developing intervention research, it is important to explore issues from the community perspective. Interventions that promote adolescent health in South Africa are urgently needed, and Project Ntshembo ('hope') aims to improve the health of young women and their offspring in the Agincourt sub-district of rural northeast South Africa, actively using stakeholder involvement throughout the research process. ⋯ The process brought researchers and stakeholders to consensus on the most important health issues facing adolescents, and a stakeholder forum was developed within which to address the issues. Stakeholder involvement as part of a research engagement strategy can be of mutual benefit to the researchers and the community in which the research is taking place.
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Global health action · Jan 2016
Comparative StudyDetainees, staff, and health care services in immigration detention centres: a descriptive comparison of detention systems in Sweden and in the Benelux countries.
Immigration detention has been shown to negatively affect the health and well-being of detainees. The aim of the study was to describe and compare policies and practices that could affect the health and well-being of immigrant detainees in the Benelux countries (Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg) to those in Sweden. ⋯ Despite the Common European Asylum System framework, differences exist among the four European Union member states in providing services to immigrant detainees. This study highlights these differences, thereby providing a window on how these diverse approaches may serve as a learning tool for improving services offered to immigrant detainees. In Sweden, the health care available to detainees and training and recruitment of staff should be improved, while the Benelux countries should strive to reduce restrictions within detention centres.
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Global health action · Jan 2016
ReviewDoubly blind: a systematic review of gender in randomised controlled trials.
Although observational data show social characteristics such as gender or socio-economic status to be strong predictors of health, their impact is seldom investigated in randomised controlled studies (RCTs). ⋯ Social characteristics like sex/gender remain hidden from analyses and interpretation in RCTs, with loss of information and embedding of error all along the path from design to interpretation, and therefore, to uptake in clinical practice. Our results suggest that to broaden external validity, in particular, more refined trial designs and analyses that account for sex/gender and other social characteristics are needed.
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Global health action · Jan 2016
Exploring models for the roles of health systems' responsiveness and social determinants in explaining universal health coverage and health outcomes.
Intersectoral perspectives of health are present in the rhetoric of the sustainable development goals. Yet its descriptions of systematic approaches for an intersectoral monitoring vision, joining determinants of health, and barriers or facilitators to accessing healthcare services are lacking. ⋯ This paper adds to the literature on comparative health systems research. National and international health monitoring frameworks need to incorporate indicators on trends in and impacts of other policy sectors on health. This will empower the health sector to carry out public health practices that promote health and health equity.