Factors associated with anemia in children under three years of age in Perú: analysis of the Encuesta Demográfica y de Salud Familiar, ENDES, 2007-2013.

Introduction: Despite the reduction of poverty in Perú, the prevalence of anemia in the country remains high. 

Objective: To identify socio-demographic, child and maternal-child care factors associated with anemia in children between 6 and 35 months in Perú. 

Materials And Methods: We conducted an analytical and descriptive study that included registered data from the national survey on demography and family health, 2007-2013, on children between 6 and 35 months old, including the measurement of blood hemoglobin.

[Quali-quantitative study on healthcare for children below the age of 3 at health establishments in nine underdeveloped regions of Peru].

Objectives: To assess five elements of healthcare quality (physical space, equipment, personnel, waiting time, and counseling) in growth and development services (GDS) at 18 healthcare establishments in nine regions of Peru with high rates of poverty.

Materials And Methods: A quali-quantitative study was carried out in the Amazonas, Apurímac, Ayacucho, Cajamarca, Cusco, Huánuco, Huancavelica, Puno, and Ucayali regions, that included direct observation (DO) during medical assistance in GDS, focus groups (FG, one user per healthcare establishment), and in-depth interviews (IDI) with healthcare workers (two per healthcare establishment).

Results: There were 18 DOs carried out to assess environment and equipment, 23 DOs of complete service shifts, 67 accompaniments to users during medical assistance in GDS, 18 FGs (118 participating mothers), and 36 IDIs.

Malaria Epidemiology and Control Within the International Centers of Excellence for Malaria Research.

Understanding the epidemiological features and metrics of malaria in endemic populations is a key component to monitoring and quantifying the impact of current and past control efforts to inform future ones. The International Centers of Excellence for Malaria Research (ICEMR) has the opportunity to evaluate the impact of malaria control interventions across endemic regions that differ in the dominant Plasmodium species, mosquito vector species, resistance to antimalarial drugs and human genetic variants thought to confer protection from infection and clinical manifestations of plasmodia infection. ICEMR programs are conducting field studies at multiple sites with the aim of generating standardized surveillance data to improve the understanding of malaria transmission and to monitor and evaluate the impact of interventions to inform malaria control and elimination programs.

[Evaluating maternal child care practices in extreme poverty areas in Peru, 2012].

Objectives: To evaluate maternal and child care practices in areas with extreme poverty in Peru.

Materials And Methods: Cross-sectional study conducted between August and September 2012; with probabilistic, three-stage stratification by "department" (geographic region) sampling. 540 households were selected that had at least one child younger than 36 months (475 households) and/or a pregnant women (80 households), in rural areas of Cajamarca, Amazonas, Huanuco, Ayacucho, Huancavelica, Apurimac, Cusco, Puno and Ucayali.

[Neonatal mortality, analysis of surveillance registers, and neonatal medical histories of 2011 in Huanuco and Ucayali, Peru].

Objectives: To estimate the rate of neonatal mortality and to describe neonatal deaths in 2011 in hospitals of the Ministry of Health at Huanuco and Ucayali (Peru).

Materials And Methods: Cross-sectional study from September to November 2012 in Huanuco and Ucayali. Records of neonatal deaths in 2011 were reviewed from provincial municipalities, regional health directorates and four referral hospitals.

[Cost-effectiveness ratio of using rapid tests for malaria diagnosis in the Peruvian Amazon].

Objective: To determine the cost-effectiveness ratios of three options for diagnosing malaria at the local health provider in 50 communities near the Peruvian Amazon.

Methods: Calculation of the incremental cost-effectiveness ratios of three options for diagnosing malaria-not using rapid tests, using rapid tests, and accessing microscopy-in patients presenting with fever in 50 communities near Iquitos in the Peruvian Amazon, communities with limited access to microscopy that depend on a network of local health providers. The incremental costs and effects of the two latter options were calculated and compared with the first option (currently in use).