Transforming the Health Research Workforce in Mozambique: Achievements of the Mozambique Institute for Health Education and Research (MIHER) over a 13‑Year Journey.

African research capacity is challenged by insufficient infrastructure to solicit and manage grants from local and international funding agencies. The manuscript provides an overview and discusses lessons learned about the pioneering role of the Mozambique Institute for Health Education and Research (MIHER) as the first research support center (RSC) in supporting the management of research grants in Mozambique, emphasizing its impact on research capacity development. Using mixed methods, data were comprehensively collected to identify MIHER's primary achievements from 2010 to 2023.

A look back at the strike by Mozambican doctors in 2013: what can we learn?

Background: The occurrence of strikes in the health sector has been an increasing concern around the world, given their negative impact on the provision of services and care to patients. The Mozambican doctors' strike in 2013 2013 is considered by many to be the largest of a kind in the country's history, and marked the changes which are still a matter of debate. The aim of this study is to understand the causes, strategies and perceived impact of this strike from the perspective of the main actors involved, taking a look back at everything that happened, including the backstage and tense moments during the negotiations.

Randomized trial of BCG in healthcare workers to reduce absenteeism during the COVID-19 pandemic in sub-Saharan Africa.

Background: We tested whether providing BCG vaccine to healthcare workers (HCWs) could reduce non-planned absenteeism and thereby reduce the potential impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on healthcare systems in Africa.

Methods: We conducted a multicenter, single-blinded, placebo-controlled randomized trial in Guinea-Bissau and Mozambique between December 2020 and June 2022. Participants were randomized 1:1 to BCG vaccine or placebo (saline) and followed by biweekly telephone calls for 6 mo.

COVID-19 Vaccination Acceptance and Hesitancy in Healthcare Workers and the General Population: A Systematic Review and Policy Recommendations.

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic challenged the scientific community to find and develop a vaccine to fight the disease. However, problems with achieving high vaccine coverage have emerged, even among high-risk groups such as healthcare workers (HCWs).

Objective: The objective of this study is to examine factors that influence HCW's and the general population's adherence to COVID-19 vaccination and national policies to vaccinate HCWs and other target groups.

[Calculation of the alcohol consumption in Brazil: using national dataCálculo del indicador del consumo de alcohol per cápita en Brasil: uso de datos nacionales].

Objective: To calculate the alcohol consumption (APC) in Brazil (Brazil APC) using national data and to establish the Brazil APC as gold standard for the country, replacing the indicator previously calculated by the World Health Organization (WHO) based on international data.

Method: The Brazilian public data sources necessary for calculating the recorded APC were selected, and the alcohol concentration was defined by beverage category. For the variables of tourist APC and unrecorded APC, which are unavailable in Brazil, estimates from the United Nations (UN) and the WHO were used.

Impacts of industrial actions, protests, strikes and lockouts by health and care workers during COVID-19 and other pandemic contexts: a systematic review.

Background: Public health emergencies of international concern (PHEICs) as the COVID-19 pandemic and others that have occurred since the early 2000s put enormous pressure on health and care systems. This is being a context for protests by health and care workers (HCWs) because of additional workload, working conditions and effects on mental and physical health. In this paper, we intended to analyze the demands of HCWs associated with industrial actions, protests, strikes and lockouts (IAPSLs) which occurred during COVID-19 pandemic and other PHEICs; to identify the impact of these grievances; and describe the relevant interventions to address these IAPSLs.

Strikes of physicians and other health care workers in sub-Saharan African countries: a systematic review.

Introduction: Strikes in the health sector have been of growing concern, given their disruptive nature, negatively impacting the provision of health care and jeopardizing the well-being of patients. This study aims to identify the main actors, the reasons behind industrial actions protests, strikes and lockouts (IAPSL) in sub-Saharan African countries and their impact on health care workers (specifically doctors) and health services, as well as to identify the main strategies adopted to reduce their impact on healthcare services.

Methods: Studies published between January 2000 and December 2021 and archived in MEDLINE, Google Scholar, Scopus, ProQuest, and Science Direct were included.

Nonspecific Effects of the Bacillus Calmette-Guérin Vaccine in Portuguese Children Under 5 Years of Age: Protocol for a Population-Based Historical Birth Cohort Study.

Background: The Bacillus Calmette-Guérin vaccine (BCG) against tuberculosis (TB) shows beneficial nonspecific effects, which are likely related to innate immune training. Until 2016, a single BCG dose was administered to all newborns in Portugal. In July 2016, a clinical guideline established that only children under 6 years belonging to high-risk groups should receive BCG.

Impacts for health and care workers of Covid-19 and other public health emergencies of international concern: living systematic review, meta-analysis and policy recommendations.

Background: Health and care workers (HCW) faced the double burden of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic: as members of a society affected by a public health emergency and as HWC who experienced fear of becoming infected and of infecting others, stigma, violence, increased workloads, changes in scope of practice, among others. To understand the short and long-term impacts in terms of the COVID-19 pandemic and other public health emergencies of international concern (PHEICs) on HCW and relevant interventions to address them, we designed and conducted a living systematic review (LSR).

Methods: We reviewed literature retrieved from MEDLINE-PubMed, Embase, SCOPUS, LILACS, the World Health Organization COVID-19 database, the ClinicalTrials.

European Health Union: An emergent reality.

In this article we argue that the Member States of the European Union (EU) have consistently, since its inception, developed a shared framework to measure, monitor and intervene to improve the health status of its population, while invoking the subsidiarity principle for the health sector. As a result, a European Health Union (EHU) has been emerging insidiously and consistently, following the concept of a system for health. Using the World Health Organisation Building Blocks Framework, we analyse the normative and institutional developments related to EU citizens' health that have created a de facto EHU.

Building-blocks to develop one health systems.

Notwithstanding the understandable rationale of the logical, expected and natural evolution of human behaviour towards an anthropocentric view of its relationship with other animals and the environment, a shift from this predatory "Ego-centric" behaviour towards an "Eco" conduct, with regard to their view of the world and of the global health, has become mandatory, contributing to the development of the "One Health" and of "One Health Systems" concepts. We contend for the usefulness of a building-blocks approach to facilitate an understanding of the development of One Health Systems. We assert that a building-blocks approach to One Health Systems with strong similarity to WHO's building-blocks for human health systems would help to strengthen the case for robust,resilient and anti-fragile One Health systems.

Implementation of policy and management interventions to improve health and care workforce capacity to address the COVID-19 pandemic response: a systematic review.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted pre-existing weaknesses in health and care systems and services and shortages of health and care workers (HCWs). As a result, policymakers needed to adopt measures to improve the health and care workforce (HCWF) capacity. This review aims to identify countries' range of policies and management interventions implemented to improve HCWs' capacity to address the COVID-19 pandemic response, synthesize their evidence on effectiveness, and identify gaps in the evidence.

Policies and Management Interventions to Enhance Health and Care Workforce Capacity for Addressing the COVID-19 Pandemic: Protocol for a Living Systematic Review.

Background: Countries and health systems have had to make challenging resource allocation and capacity-building decisions to promote proper patient care and ensure health and care workers' safety and well-being, so that they can effectively address the present COVID-19 pandemic as well as upcoming public health problems and natural catastrophes. As innovations are already in place and updated evidence is published daily, more information is required to inform the development and implementation of policies and interventions to improve health and care workforce capacity to address the COVID-19 pandemic response.

Objective: The objective of this protocol review is to identify countries' range of experiences with policies and management interventions that can improve health and care workers' capacity to address the COVID-19 pandemic response and synthesize evidence on the effectiveness of the interventions.

The burden of Noncommunicable Diseases in Portuguese Language Countries.

The present study analyzed trends in premature mortality from Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) between 1990 and 2019, the projections up to 2030, and the risk factors (RFs) attributable to these diseases in the Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP). Estimates from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study and the analysis of the burden of premature mortality due to NCDs were used for nine CPLP countries, applying age-standardized rates, using RStudio. Portugal, Brazil, Equatorial Guinea, Angola, and Guinea Bissau showed declining premature mortality rates caused by NCDs, while East Timor, Cape Verde, São Tomé and Príncipe, and Mozambique showed an increase in rates.

The abiding, hidden, and pervasive centrality of the health research workforce.

Research for health and development (R4HD) acknowledges that many of the determinants of health lie outside the boundaries of the health system. The size and quality of the health and care workforce (HCWF) are key drivers towards the future trajectory of many of these factors. We consider researchers for health and development an abiding, pervasive but neglected constituent part of this HCWF.

Developing One Health Systems: A Central Role for the One Health Workforce.

The health of people, wild and domesticated animals, and natural living systems is syndemically connected, and this interplay is a pillar of the concept of One Health [...

Antimicrobial resistance, society and environment: A glocal syndemic.

•Multidimensionality of AMR determination argues in favour of considering it a glocal syndemic.•Lack of attention to syndemic nature of AMR limits the effectiveness of measures taken so far.•The syndemic approach provides policy makers with conceptual tools to design effective responses.

Is workplace violence against health care workers in Mozambique gender related?

This report revisits data used to describe the typology and the perceived impact of violence against health care workers (VHCW) at the health services of the City of Lichinga in Mozambique, based on an observational, descriptive, cross-sectional study, carried out from March to May 2019. In this report we attempt to understand if our reanalysis of VHCW in Niassa can explain it as an example of gender-based violence. Our findings-particularly that women more than men reported not knowing if the health services had any policies or procedures to deal with VHCW, felt that they were not encouraged to report acts of VHCW and were more frequently threatened/violented by different sex aggressors-although not conclusive, support the need to consider gender as a dimension when conducting research on VHCW.

Violence against health care workers in the workplace in Mozambique - An unrecognised managerial priority.

Introduction: Recognition of the relevance of violence against health workers in their work place has been growing around the world. In Mozambique, workplace violence in the health sector needs better documentation. Therefore, this article is part of a study that describes the typology and the perceived impact of violence against health care workers in their workplace at the Lichinga Provincial Hospital and at the Health Centre of the City of Lichinga in 2019.