The importance of microbiology reference laboratories and adequate funding for infectious disease surveillance.

Microbiology reference laboratories perform a crucial role within public health systems. This role was especially evident during the COVID-19 pandemic. In this Viewpoint, we emphasise the importance of microbiology reference laboratories and highlight the types of digital data and expertise they provide, which benefit national and international public health.

Examining the effectiveness of a video-based parent-child program on executive functions for children 5 to 6 years old: A randomized controlled trial.

This study evaluates the effectiveness of the Parent-child Brain Camp, a 4-week video-based executive functions (EFs) training program for children ages 5-6, through a randomized controlled trial with a pre- and post-test design with 173 Hong Kong children (intervention ni = 79, 48.7% girls, M = 69.16 months; control n = 94, 56.

Highway paving dramatically increased dengue transmission in the Amazon.

Human mobility drives the spread of many infectious diseases, yet the health impacts of changes in mobility due to new infrastructure development are poorly understood and currently not accounted for in impact assessments. We take a novel quasi-experimental approach to identifying the link between mobility and infectious disease, leveraging historical road upgrades as a proxy for regional human mobility changes. We analyzed how highway paving altered transmission of dengue-a high-burden mosquito-borne disease-via changes in human movement in the Madre de Dios region of Peru.

The Case for Shared Decision-making in Oncology and Why the Philippine Healthcare System is Primed for It.

Shared decision-making is ethically imperative, and is a key component in cost-effective, efficient and equitable cancer care. We review the recent advances in resources, training, tool development, and health policy, supporting the implementation of shared decision-making, and how the Philippines is primed for it.

Comprehensive Evidence-Based Guidelines for Implantable Peripheral Nerve Stimulation (PNS) in the Management of Chronic Pain: From the American Society Of Interventional Pain Physicians (ASIPP).

Background: Peripheral nerve stimulation (PNS) has been used for over 50 years to treat chronic pain by delivering electrical pulses through small electrodes placed near targeted peripheral nerves those outside the brain and spinal cord. Early PNS systems often required invasive neurosurgical procedures. However, since 2015, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved percutaneously implanted PNS leads and neurostimulators  offering a much less invasive, non-opioid option for managing recalcitrant chronic pain.