Pan American Health Organization

About: Pan American Health Organization is a healthcare organization based out in Havana, Cuba. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Public health. The organization has 1500 authors who have published 2263 publications receiving 83705 citations. The organization is also known as: HO Regional Office for the Americas.

Mental health attitudes and practices of Soviet immigrants.

Abstract: A survey of mental health knowledge, attitudes and help-seeking practices was conducted with 415 Soviet immigrants to Israel. The purpose of the study was two-fold: to provide data for mental health services and outreach programs designed for this immigrant group and to obtain a "proxy window" into these attitudes and behaviors in the Soviet Union itself. The results show that almost 20% of the immigrants reported consultation to formal agents in Israel and about half of these reported similar consultation in the USSR. An almost equal proportion consulted the family. Univariate and multivariate analysis show that demoralization, marital status, and religiosity were significantly associated with help-seeking. The second part of the survey explored Soviet immigrant attitudes to mental illness and the mentally ill by means of case vignettes and social situations, respectively. The respondents were able to detect abnormal behavior, but did not label it as psychopathology. Their overall tolerance of such behavior was low. These attitudes did not change over time nor seem to be influenced by reported abuses of psychiatry in the USSR.

Mayaro virus in Latin America and the Caribbean

Abstract: Objectives. To assess the distribution of Mayaro virus (MAYV) in Latin America and the Caribbean and evaluate existing country-level MAYV surveillance mechanisms. Methods. Research was conducted from May 2018 through May 2019 to collect data from academic literature on Mayaro fever in Latin America and the Caribbean. PubMed, ClinicalKey, Scopus, Nature, SciELO, LILACS, and Google Scholar were searched for peer-reviewed journal articles, and data from health authorities, including the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and ministries of health, was also sought. MAYV-related publications published from 1954 through 2019 were screened. Publications that added to the overall understanding of MAYV, including its geographical and epidemiological distribution, were included in this report. Results. A total of 901 MAYV cases have been reported in humans in countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. Since its discovery in 1954 in Trinidad and Tobago, MAYV has been isolated from individuals living in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Ecuador, French Guiana, Haiti, Mexico, Panama, Peru, and Venezuela. Of those 901 cases, 42 of them were reported exclusively by health authorities. In contrast, 843 confirmed and presumptive autochthonous cases and an additional 16 imported cases were identified in academic literature. No country-level surveillance mechanisms for MAYV were recorded in academic literature or by health authorities. Conclusions. This report demonstrates that MAYV surveillance efforts are limited in comparison to the virus’s presence in Latin America and the Caribbean, highlighting the importance of enhancing arboviral surveillance systems in the affected countries.