Publications by authors named "Liliana Carvajal-Velez"

Background: Depression and anxiety are significant contributors to the global burden of disease among young people. Accurate data on the prevalence of these conditions are crucial for the equitable distribution of resources for planning and implementing effective programs. This study aimed to culturally adapt and validate data collection tools for measuring depression and anxiety at the population level.

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  • The Global Action for the Measurement of Adolescent health (GAMA) Advisory Group was established in 2018 to enhance how adolescent health is measured, culminating in a draft list of 52 indicators published in 2022.
  • The selection process for the GAMA-recommended indicators involved evaluating data availability, stakeholder feedback, and alignment with existing health measurement practices, leading to input from various experts and organizations.
  • Ultimately, 47 indicators across six health domains were identified, facilitating improved measurement of adolescent health worldwide, with an emphasis on engaging young people in the process.
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  • A study investigates the progress of maternal and child health in various Latin American and Caribbean countries between 2011-2020, focusing on both overall improvements and socioeconomic inequalities.
  • It analyzes data from 16 national surveys covering nearly 375,000 women and children, examining 12 health-related outcomes such as family planning access, antenatal care, and child mortality rates.
  • The findings reveal that while countries with already high health indicators like Argentina and Cuba saw limited progress, those with more room for improvement, like Guyana and Honduras, experienced faster advancements in some areas but not consistently across all indicators.
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  • Latin America and the Caribbean have the second highest adolescent fertility rates globally, prompting an exploration of trends in adolescent childbearing and associated inequities in the region.
  • The study utilized national household surveys from 21 countries to analyze early childbearing rates and adolescent fertility rates over time, focusing on differences by wealth, location, and ethnicity.
  • Findings showed a decrease in early childbearing in 13 countries, with significant declines noted among rural women, while some countries like Colombia and Mexico saw increases; overall, reductions in adolescent fertility rates were observed in all nine countries analyzed.
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  • Childhood and adolescence are critical times to invest in mental health promotion, but there's a lack of evidence on how to implement effective interventions widely.
  • Most interventions take place in school settings and focus on developing social and emotional skills, especially for younger children, while older adolescents also learn problem-solving and interpersonal skills.
  • There is a need for more research, especially in low- and middle-income countries, to identify effective strategies and adapt interventions to meet the specific needs of diverse populations.
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Purpose: Mental disorders are among the leading causes of disability among adolescents aged 10-19 years. However, data on prevalence of mental health conditions are extremely sparse across low- and middle-income countries, even though most adolescents live in these settings. This data gap is further exacerbated because few brief instruments for adolescent mental health are validated in these settings, making population-level measurement of adolescent mental health especially cumbersome to carry out.

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Purpose: To validate a culturally-adapted Kriol and Belizean English version of the Revised Children's Anxiety and Depression Scale (RCADS) through comparison with clinical diagnoses made using the Kiddie Schedule of Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia.

Methods: Participants comprised of 256 adolescents aged 10-14 years and 15-19 years, who completed the adapted RCADS (10 depression items, 12 anxiety items) in one-on-one interviews, followed by a diagnostic assessment using Kiddie Schedule of Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia administered by trained clinicians. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, diagnostic odds ratios, area under the curve (AUC), and Youden's Index were calculated for RCADS cutoffs and scores on the total scale and anxiety and depression subscales.

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Purpose: Our study aimed to validate culturally adapted English and Swahili versions of the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) for use with adolescents in Kenya. Criterion validity was determined with clinician-administered diagnostic interviews using the Kiddie Schedule of Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia.

Methods: A total of 250 adolescents comprising 148 (59.

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Purpose: Screening tools such as the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) and the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) could potentially be used in resource-limited settings to identify adolescents who need mental health support. We examined the criterion validity of the isiXhosa versions of the PHQ-9 and GAD-7 in detecting depression and anxiety among adolescents (10-19 years) in South Africa.

Methods: Adolescents were recruited from the general population and from nongovernmental organizations working with adolescents in need of mental health support.

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Purpose: This study aimed to understand 10- to 19-year-old adolescents' conceptions of mental health and well-being, and suggestions for appropriate interventions, in three low- and middle-income countries to inform the design of adolescent-responsive preventive and promotive mental health programming.

Methods: Ninety-one adolescents participated in focus group discussions in Belize, Kazakhstan, and South Africa. The discussions were recorded, transcribed, translated, and analyzed using thematic analysis.

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Objectives: Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) countries have made important progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) targets related to health (SDG3) at the national level. However, vast within-country health inequalities remain. We present a baseline of health inequalities in the region, against which progress towards the SDGs can be monitored.

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Background: Adapting data collection instruments using transcultural translation and adaptation processes is essential to ensure that respondents comprehend the items and the original meaning is retained across languages and contexts. This approach is central to UNICEF's efforts to expand the use of standard data collection tools across settings and close the global data gap on adolescent mental health.

Methods: We conducted transcultural translation and adaptation processes in Belize using the Revised Children's Anxiety and Depression Scale (RCADS).

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Purpose: Existing datasets and research in the field of adolescent mental health do not always meet the needs of practitioners, policymakers, and program implementers, particularly in the context of vulnerable populations. Here, we introduce a collaborative, demand-driven methodology for the development of a strategic adolescent mental health research agenda. Ultimately, this agenda aims to guide future data sharing and collection efforts that meet the most pressing data needs of key stakeholders.

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Objectives: Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) countries have made important progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) targets related to health (SDG3) at the national level. However, vast within-country health inequalities remain. We present a baseline of health inequalities in the region, against which progress towards the SDGs can be monitored.

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Concerted efforts from national and international partners have scaled up malaria control interventions, including insecticide-treated nets, indoor residual spraying, diagnostics, prompt and effective treatment of malaria cases, and intermittent preventive treatment during pregnancy in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). This scale-up warrants an assessment of its health impact to guide future efforts and investments; however, measuring malaria-specific mortality and the overall impact of malaria control interventions remains challenging. In 2007, Roll Back Malaria's Monitoring and Evaluation Reference Group proposed a theoretical framework for evaluating the impact of full-coverage malaria control interventions on morbidity and mortality in high-burden SSA countries.

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Background: Coverage levels for essential interventions aimed at reducing deaths of mothers and children are increasing steadily in most low-income and middle-income countries. We assessed how much poor and rural populations in these countries are benefiting from national-level progress.

Methods: We analysed trends in a composite coverage indicator (CCI) based on eight reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health interventions in 209 national surveys in 64 countries, from Jan 1, 1994, to Dec 31, 2014.

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Background: Diarrhea remains a high burden disease, responsible for nine percent of deaths in children under five globally. We analyzed diarrhea management practices in young children and their association with the source of care.

Methods: We used Demographic and Health Survey data from 12 countries in sub-Saharan Africa with high burdens of childhood diarrhea.

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Background: The foundation of recommended diarrhea management in young children is increased fluids and continued feeding. This increase in fluids is necessary to replace those lost during diarrhea and ultimately prevent dehydration. There may be an opportunity to prevent deaths in children under five by discouraging the practice of reducing or curtailing fluids during diarrhea episodes across different settings worldwide.

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