The extractive industry in Latin America and the Caribbean: health impact assessment as an opportunity for the health authority.

Objectives: The extractive industries have contributed to the economic and social development of Latin America and the Caribbean for centuries. We have undertaken a narrative review to assess the role of the health authority in the decision-making process as it relates to extractive industry projects.

Methods: A narrative literature review was conducted with a keyword search conducted using PubMed, Scientific Electronic Library Online and Google.

The role of health impact assessment in advancing sustainable development in Latin America and the Caribbean.

The World Health Organization's (WHO's) Commission on Social Determinants of Health formally adopted Health Impact Assessment (HIA) more than a decade ago as a promising concept to address underlying health issues. Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) remains one of the regions of the world with minimal application of HIA in public programs and policies. This special report documents the need for public mechanisms to incorporate HIA, the benefits from its application, and steps to promote its use.

The impact of the State Children's Health Insurance Program's unborn child ruling expansions on foreign-born Latina prenatal care and birth outcomes, 2000-2007.

The 2002 "unborn child ruling" resulted in State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) expansion for states to cover prenatal care for low-income women without health insurance. Foreign-born Latinas who do not qualify for Medicaid coverage theoretically should have benefited most from the policy ruling given their documented low rates of prenatal care utilization. This study compares prenatal care utilization and subsequent birth outcomes among foreign-born Latinas in six states that used the unborn child ruling to expand coverage to those in ten states that did not implement the expansion.

Awareness and knowledge about human papillomavirus among Latina immigrants.

Objective: Few studies have examined associations with the public's awareness and knowledge of the human papillomavirus (HPV) among Latina immigrants. The primary purpose of this study was to assess HPV awareness and knowledge, while examining demographic and healthcare utilization associations.

Methods: From 2007-2009 as part of a larger randomized control trial, 543 Latina immigrants living in Birmingham, Alabama completed an interviewer-administered questionnaire.

Characteristics of women reporting multiple recent sex partners presenting to a sexually transmitted disease clinic for care.

Background: Sexually transmitted disease (STD) clinic attendees are considered to be at higher risk of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) than the general population. However, little is known about STD clinic subpopulations and their unique risks for STI's. The goal of this project was to begin to characterize an important STD clinic subpopulation, the small proportion of women reporting a recent history of multiple sex partners.