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Garcia LP, Schneider IJC, de Oliveira C, Traebert E, Traebert J. What is the impact of national public expenditure and its allocation on neonatal and child mortality? A machine learning analysis. BMC Public Health 2023; 23:793. [PMID: 37118765 PMCID: PMC10141942 DOI: 10.1186/s12889-023-15683-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/15/2023] [Accepted: 04/15/2023] [Indexed: 04/30/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Understanding the impact of national public expenditure and its allocation on child mortality may help governments move towards target 3.2 proposed in the 2030 Agenda. The objective of this study was to estimate the impacts of governmental expenditures, total, on health, and on other sectors, on neonatal mortality and mortality of children aged between 28 days and five years. METHODS This study has an ecological design with a population of 147 countries, with data between 2012 and 2019. Two steps were used: first, the Generalized Propensity Score of public spending was calculated; afterward, the Generalized Propensity Score was used to estimate the expenditures' association with mortality rates. The primary outcomes were neonatal mortality rates (NeoRt) and mortality rates in children between 28 days and 5 years (NeoU5Rt). RESULTS The 1% variation in Int$ Purchasing Power Parity (Int$ PPP) per capita in total public expenditures, expenditure in health, and in other sectors were associated with a variation of -0.635 (95% CI -1.176, -0.095), -2.17 (95% CI -3.051, -1.289) -0.632 (95% CI -1.169, -0.095) in NeoRt, respectively The same variation in public expenditures in sectors other than health, was associates with a variation of -1.772 (95% CI -6.219, -1.459) on NeoU5Rt. The results regarding the impact of total and health public spending on NeoU5Rt were not consistent. CONCLUSION Public investments impact mortality in children under 5 years of age. Likely, the allocation of expenditures between the health sector and the other social sectors will have different impacts on mortality between the NeoRt and the NeoU5Rt.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leandro Pereira Garcia
- Graduate Program in Health Sciences, Universidade do Sul de Santa Catarina, Avenida Pedra Branca, 25, Palhoça, Santa Catarina, 88132-260, Brazil
| | - Ione Jayce Ceola Schneider
- Graduate Program in Rehabilitation Science, Public Health and Neuroscience, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Rodovia Governador Jorge Lacerda, 3201, Araranguá, SC, 88906-072, Brazil
| | - Cesar de Oliveira
- Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University College London, 1-19 Torrington Place, London, WC1E 6BT, UK
| | - Eliane Traebert
- Graduate Program in Health Sciences, Universidade do Sul de Santa Catarina, Avenida Pedra Branca, 25, Palhoça, Santa Catarina, 88132-260, Brazil
- School of Medicine, Universidade do Sul de Santa Catarina, Avenida Pedra Branca, 25, Palhoça, SC, 88132-260, Brazil
| | - Jefferson Traebert
- Graduate Program in Health Sciences, Universidade do Sul de Santa Catarina, Avenida Pedra Branca, 25, Palhoça, Santa Catarina, 88132-260, Brazil.
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Filho WL, de Andrade Guerra JBSO, de Aguiar Dutra AR, Peixoto MGM, Traebert J, Nagy GJ. Planetary health and health education in Brazil: Facing inequalities. One Health 2022; 15:100461. [PMID: 36561709 PMCID: PMC9767810 DOI: 10.1016/j.onehlt.2022.100461] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2022] [Revised: 11/16/2022] [Accepted: 11/16/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Brazil has the world's fifth-largest population and seventh-largest economy. However, it also has many inequalities, especially in health education, which impacts health sector services. Thus, this article aims to describe the situation of planetary health and health education in Brazil, identifying how current policies support the cause of planetary health. This study had a qualitative approach characterised as exploratory research based on an integrative review and documentary research. The results show that, in recent decades, there have been positive improvements to achieve collective and planetary health, which advocates empathy and pro-environmental and humanitarian attitudes. However, the pursuit of planetary health in Brazil is being influenced by various challenges, ranging from the need for a sound policy framework to provisions of education and training on planetary health. Based on the need to address these deficiencies, the paper suggests some measures which should be considered as part of efforts to realise the potential of planetary health in the fifth largest country in the world.
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Affiliation(s)
- Walter Leal Filho
- Manchester Metropolitan University, Department of Natural Sciences, Chester Street, Manchester M1 5GD, UK,Hamburg University of Applied Sciences, Faculty of Life Sciences, Hamburg, Germany
| | - José Baltazar Salgueirinho Osório de Andrade Guerra
- University of Southern Santa Catarina (UNISUL), Centre for Sustainable Development/Research Group on Energy Efficiency and Sustainability (GREENS), Florianopolis, Santa Catarina, Brazil,Cambridge Centre for Environment, Energy and Natural Resource Governance, (CEENRG), University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Ana Regina de Aguiar Dutra
- University of Southern Santa Catarina (UNISUL), Centre for Sustainable Development/Research Group on Energy Efficiency and Sustainability (GREENS), Florianopolis, Santa Catarina, Brazil
| | | | - Jefferson Traebert
- Graduate Program in Health Sciences, University of Southern Santa Catarina, Florianopolis, Santa Catarina, Brazil
| | - Gustavo J. Nagy
- Instituto de Ecología y Ciencias Ambientales y Ecología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de la República, Uruguay,Corresponding author.
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Weiss W, Piya B, Andrus A, Ahsan KZ, Cohen R. Estimating the impact of donor programs on child mortality in low- and middle-income countries: a synthetic control analysis of child health programs funded by the United States Agency for International Development. Popul Health Metr 2022; 20:2. [PMID: 34986844 PMCID: PMC8734298 DOI: 10.1186/s12963-021-00278-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/28/2020] [Accepted: 12/14/2021] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Significant levels of funding have been provided to low- and middle-income countries for development assistance for health, with most funds coming through direct bilateral investment led by the USA and the UK. Direct attribution of impact to large-scale programs funded by donors remains elusive due the difficulty of knowing what would have happened without those programs, and the lack of detailed contextual information to support causal interpretation of changes. Methods This study uses the synthetic control analysis method to estimate the impact of one donor’s funding (United States Agency for International Development, USAID) on under-five mortality across several low- and middle-income countries that received above average levels of USAID funding for maternal and child health programs between 2000 and 2016. Results In the study period (2000–16), countries with above average USAID funding had an under-five mortality rate lower than the synthetic control by an average of 29 deaths per 1000 live births (year-to-year range of − 2 to − 38). This finding was consistent with several sensitivity analyses.
Conclusions The synthetic control method is a valuable addition to the range of approaches for quantifying the impact of large-scale health programs in low- and middle-income countries. The findings suggest that adequately funded donor programs (in this case USAID) help countries to reduce child mortality to significantly lower rates than would have occurred without those investments. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12963-021-00278-9.
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Affiliation(s)
- William Weiss
- Department of International Health, John Hopkins University & Public Health Institute (USAID Contractor), 615 N. Wolfe Street, Rm E8132, Baltimore, MD, 21205, USA.
| | - Bhumika Piya
- Global Programs, Water For People, 100 E. Tennessee Ave, Denver, CO, 80209, USA
| | - Althea Andrus
- Alutiiq (State Department Contractor), 2000 N. Adams St., Arlington, VA, 22201, USA
| | - Karar Zunaid Ahsan
- UNC Center for Health Equity Research, School of Medicine, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 323 MacNider Hall 333 South Columbia Street, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599-7240, USA
| | - Robert Cohen
- Camris International (USAID Contractor), 3 Bethesda Metro Center, 16th Floor, Bethesda, MD, 20814, USA
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Effect of health systems context on infant and child mortality in sub-Saharan Africa from 1995 to 2015, a longitudinal cohort analysis. Sci Rep 2021; 11:16263. [PMID: 34381150 PMCID: PMC8357794 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-95886-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/10/2020] [Accepted: 07/29/2021] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Each year, > 3 million children die in sub-Saharan Africa before their fifth birthday. Most deaths are preventable or avoidable through interventions delivered in the primary healthcare system. However, evidence regarding the impact of health system characteristics on child survival is sparse. We assembled a retrospective cohort of > 250,000 children in seven countries in sub-Saharan Africa. We described their health service context at the subnational level using standardized surveys and employed parametric survival models to estimate the effect of three major domains of health services—quality, access, and cost—on infant and child survival, after adjusting for child, maternal, and household characteristics. Between 1995 and 2015 we observed 13,629 deaths in infants and 5149 in children. In fully-adjusted models, the largest effect sizes were related to fees for services. Immunization fees were correlated with poor child survival (HR = 1.20, 95% CI 1.12–1.28) while delivery fees were correlated with poor infant survival (HR = 1.11, 95% CI 1.01–1.21). Accessibility of facilities and greater concentrations of private facilities were associated with improved infant and child survival. The proportion of facilities with a doctor was correlated with increased risk of death in children and infants. We quantify the impact of health service environment on survival up to five years of age. Reducing health care costs and improving the accessibility of health facilities should remain a priority for improving infant and child survival. In the absence of these fundamental investments, more specialized interventions may not achieve their desired impact.
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Alva-Díaz C, Navarro-Flores A, Rivera-Torrejon O, Huerta-Rosario A, Molina RA, Velásquez-Rimachi V, Morán-Mariños C, Farroñay C, Pacheco-Mendoza J, Metcalf T, Burneo JG, Pacheco-Barrios K. Prevalence and incidence of epilepsy in Latin America and the Caribbean: A systematic review and meta-analysis of population-based studies. Epilepsia 2021; 62:984-996. [PMID: 33651439 DOI: 10.1111/epi.16850] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2020] [Revised: 01/28/2021] [Accepted: 01/30/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE This study was undertaken to perform an updated systematic review and meta-analysis to estimate the pooled prevalence and incidence of epilepsy in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), describing trends over time, and exploring potential clinical and epidemiological factors explaining the heterogeneity in the region. METHODS Observational studies assessing the incidence or prevalence of epilepsy in LAC countries up to March 2020 were systematically reviewed according to PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines. Meta-analyses and cumulative analyses were performed using random-effects models. We assessed between-study heterogeneity with sensitivity, subgroup, and meta-regression analyses. Moreover, the quality of the included studies and the certainty of evidence were evaluated using the GRADE (grading of recommendation, assessment, development, and evaluation) approach. RESULTS Overall, 40 studies (from 42 records) were included, 37 for prevalence analyses and six for incidence (312 387 inhabitants; 410 178 person-years). The lifetime prevalence was 14.09 per 1000 inhabitants (95% confidence interval [CI] = 11.72-16.67), for active epilepsy prevalence was 9.06 per 1000 individuals (95% CI = 6.94-11.44), and the incidence rate was 1.11 per 1000 person-years (95% CI = .65-1.70). These high estimates have been constant in the region since 1990. However, substantial statistical heterogeneity between studies and publication bias were found. The overall certainty of evidence was low. Methodological aspects (sample size) and countries' epidemiological characteristics such as access to sanitation services and child and adult mortality rates explained the high heterogeneity. Finally, the prevalence of epilepsy associated with neurocysticercosis (NCC) in the general population was high, and the proportion of NCC diagnosis among people living with epilepsy was 17.37%. SIGNIFICANCE The epilepsy prevalence and incidence in LAC are higher than worldwide estimates, being constant since 1990 and strongly influenced by NCC. We identified high between-study heterogeneity and significant methodological limitations (e.g., heterogeneous definitions, lack of longitudinal studies). The region needs upgraded research using standardized definitions and diagnostic methods, and urgent action against preventable causes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carlos Alva-Díaz
- Neurosciences, Clinical Effectiveness and Public Health Research Group, Universidad Cientifica del Sur, Lima, Peru
| | - Alba Navarro-Flores
- Clinical and Health Efficacy Network, REDECS, Lima, Peru.,School of Medicine, Universidad Nacional Federico Villarreal, Lima, Peru
| | - Oscar Rivera-Torrejon
- Neurosciences, Clinical Effectiveness and Public Health Research Group, Universidad Cientifica del Sur, Lima, Peru.,Clinical and Health Efficacy Network, REDECS, Lima, Peru
| | - Andrely Huerta-Rosario
- Neurosciences, Clinical Effectiveness and Public Health Research Group, Universidad Cientifica del Sur, Lima, Peru.,Clinical and Health Efficacy Network, REDECS, Lima, Peru.,School of Medicine, Universidad Nacional Federico Villarreal, Lima, Peru
| | - Roberto A Molina
- Neurosciences, Clinical Effectiveness and Public Health Research Group, Universidad Cientifica del Sur, Lima, Peru.,Clinical and Health Efficacy Network, REDECS, Lima, Peru.,School of Medicine, Universidad Nacional Federico Villarreal, Lima, Peru
| | - Victor Velásquez-Rimachi
- Neurosciences, Clinical Effectiveness and Public Health Research Group, Universidad Cientifica del Sur, Lima, Peru.,Clinical and Health Efficacy Network, REDECS, Lima, Peru
| | - Cristian Morán-Mariños
- Clinical and Health Efficacy Network, REDECS, Lima, Peru.,San Ignacio de Loyola University, Lima, Peru
| | | | | | - Tatiana Metcalf
- Neurology Department, Department of Medicine and Office for Teaching Support and Research, Daniel Alcides Carrion Hospital, Callao, Peru
| | - Jorge G Burneo
- Epilepsy Program, Department of Clinical Neurological Sciences, Schulich School of Medicine, Western University, London, Canada
| | - Kevin Pacheco-Barrios
- Research Unit for the Generation and Synthesis of Evidence in Health, San Ignacio de Loyola University, Lima, Peru.,SYNAPSIS Mental Health and Neurology, Lima, Peru.,Neuromodulation Center and Center for Clinical Research Learning, Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, USA
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Taylor J, Forgeron P, Vandyk A, Finley A, Lightfoot S. Pediatric Health Outcome Evaluation in Low-and Middle-Income Countries: A Scoping Review of NGO Practice. Glob Pediatr Health 2021; 8:2333794X21991011. [PMID: 33614849 PMCID: PMC7868502 DOI: 10.1177/2333794x21991011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/20/2020] [Revised: 01/03/2021] [Accepted: 01/09/2021] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Objective. The purpose of this study was to explore the research on the delivery and evaluation of pediatric health services by non-governmental organizations in low-and middle-income countries to better understand how they contribute to positive and sustainable health outcomes. Methods. A scoping review was completed using a 2-step study selection procedure. Results. Of the 5742 studies, 17 met criteria, including quantitative and mixed method designs, representing 10 different non-governmental organizations with programs in 33 low-and middle-income countries. Health outcomes were reported 89 times across the studies. A total of 56 different outcomes were identified in total, of which 24 were positive, 27 were negative, and 5 were unchanged. Conclusions. Widespread variation between non-governmental organizations exist, however, comprehensive pediatric health outcome evaluation is growing. Further emphasis should be given to adolescent specific research and robust measurement of quality of life.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Allen Finley
- Dalhousie University & IWK Health Centre, Halifax, NS, Canada
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Andrus A, Cohen R, Carvajal-Aguirre L, El Arifeen S, Weiss W. Strong community-based health systems and national governance predict improvement in coverage of oral rehydration solution (ORS): a multilevel longitudinal model. J Glob Health 2020; 10:010503. [PMID: 32257158 PMCID: PMC7103061 DOI: 10.7189/jogh.10.010503] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Diarrheal disease remains a leading cause of child death globally, especially in low and middle-income countries. Use of oral rehydration solution (ORS) for treatment of diarrhea in children, a very cost-effective intervention, remains below 50% in many countries. Here we use a multi-level longitudinal model to reveal important predictors of ORS use at the national level. The findings suggest that increasing government effectiveness along with increased implementation and affordability of community-based health programs can lead to substantial increases in ORS use. Key informant interviews with national health leaders in countries that significantly improved ORS coverage support these quantitative findings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Althea Andrus
- Alutiiq, US Department of State contractor, Washington, DC, USA
| | - Robert Cohen
- CAMRIS International, Inc., USAID contractor, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | | | | | - William Weiss
- Department of International Health, John Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.,Sustaining Technical and Analytic Resources (STAR) Project, Public Health Institute, USAID Contractor, Washington, DC, USA
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