PAHO is the oldest international public health agency. It was created in 1902 as a mandate from a regional group of countries. Besides currently serving as WHO ́s Regional Office for the Americas it is the specialized health agency for the Organization of American States (OAS); thus it must render accountability at two levels. PAHO is intimately linked to the development of regional health in th...

BACKGROUND Patients needs and experiences attract increasing attention within health care. In order to generate knowledge about the voices that emerge from collaborative experiences between members of patient associations for cancer patients (PACP) and health care professionals (HCPs), we studied a permanent network aimed at improving cancer care through increased attention to the cancer patien...

It is almost universally accepted that traditional provider-patient relationships should be governed, at least in part, by the ethical principles set forth by Beauchamp and Childress (Beauchamp and Childress, Principles of biomedical ethics, 1979). These principles include autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence and justice (Beauchamp and Childress, Principles of biomedical ethics, 1979). Recent...

BACKGROUND The role of infection preventionists (IPs) is expanding in response to demands for quality and transparency in health care. Practice analyses and survey research have demonstrated that IPs spend a majority of their time on surveillance and are increasingly responsible for prevention activities and management; however, deeper qualitative aspects of the IP role have rarely been explore...

This commentary is a brief response to Nir Eyal's argument that health policies should not make healthy behaviour a condition or prerequisite in order to access healthcare as it could result in the people who need healthcare the most not being able to access healthcare. While in general agreement due to the shared concern for equity, I argue that making health behaviour a condition to accessing...

In dealing with outbreaks of communicable diseases, the medical profession should work with public health authorities to promote the use of interventions that achieve desired public health outcomes with minimal infringement upon individual liberties. This article endeavors to help physicians manage their dual responsibilities to their patients and to their communities when participating in appr...

Intensified and extensive data production and data storage are characteristics of contemporary western societies. Health data sharing is increasing with the growth of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) platforms devoted to the collection of personal health and genomic data. However, the sensitive and personal nature of health data poses ethical challenges when data is disclosed and ...

Advances in genetics and genetic testing promise to catalyze a fundamental change in the practice of medicine. Psychologists have much to offer as psychotherapists, researchers, educators, and policymakers to a society heavily influenced by the genetic revolution. To make the most of new opportunities available to mental health professionals in genetics, psychologists must know basic genetic pr...

Integrating information technology (IT) into medical settings is considered essential to transforming hospitals into 21st-century health care institutions. Yet the role of IT departments in maximizing the effectiveness of information systems is not well understood. This article reports a 3-round Delphi panel of Veterans Administration personnel experienced with provider order entry electronic s...

Background Malawi has achieved a remarkable feat in reducing its under-5 mortality in time to meet its MDG 4 target despite high levels of poverty, low female literacy rates, recurrent economic crises, a severe shortage of human resources for health, and poor health infrastructure. The country's community-based delivery platform (largely headed by Health Surveillance Assistants, or HSAs) has be...