A Decade of Monitoring Primary Healthcare Experiences through the Lens of Inequality.

Background: Health care is not exempt from harboring social inequalities, including in those countries with a universal public system. The objective was to ascertain whether the population's assessment of primary care (PC) changed between 2006 and 2016, the decade that included the economic crisis of 2008, and also if it exhibited patterns of social inequality in Barcelona (Spain).

Methods: This was a cross-sectional study using Barcelona Health Surveys 2006 and 2016.

Socioeconomic inequalities in the incidence of COVID-19 in Barcelona students.

Objective: This study aimed to assess socioeconomic inequalities in schools regarding the COVID-19 incidence during different epidemic waves among Barcelona students, differentiating by sex and educational stage.

Study Design: Cross-sectional ecological study.

Methods: We included in the study all students from childhood to secondary education in Barcelona city.

Community health action and COVID-19 in Barcelona neighbourhoods: responses and challenges.

The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated pre-existing social, economic and political inequalities. The evidence describes the use of community engagement approaches to support appropriate COVID-19 prevention and control measures. We aimed to delve deeper into the community response to COVID-19 in Barcelona neighbourhoods with different pre-existing levels of development of community health action (CHA).

Socioeconomic inequalities in COVID-19 incidence during the first six waves in Barcelona.

Background: The emergence of SARS-CoV-2 affected urban areas. In Barcelona, six waves of COVID-19 hit the city between March 2020 and March 2022. Inequalities in the incidence of COVID-19 have been described.

Evaluation of a smoke-free beaches intervention in Barcelona: a quasi-experimental study.

Background: We aim to assess the effect of a smoke-free beaches (SFB) intervention in Barcelona on smoking during the 2021 bathing season.

Methods: Quasi-experimental pre-post design (pre-intervention period: 15-28 May; post-intervention period: 29 May-12 September). Based on users' profiles and location, four beaches were assigned to the intervention group (IG) and five to the comparison group (CG).

A City Surveillance System for Social Health Inequalities: The Case of Barcelona.

Introduction: In the past, health inequalities were not prioritised in the political agenda of Barcelona. The change of city government (2015) was an opportunity to develop a Surveillance System for Social Health Inequalities in the city, which is described in this article.

Methods: The design of the Surveillance System formed part of the Joint Action for Health Equity in Europe (JAHEE), funded by the European Union.

[Strategy for the promotion of equitable and healthy relationships in educational centers in Barcelona].

The educational system is one of the most powerful agents of socialization; it can contribute to perpetuate the gender system and tolerance towards violence or on the contrary, to reduce violence by promoting more equitable and healthy relationship models. The Agència de Salut Pública de Barcelona set out to design a strategy to prevent violence by promoting equitable and healthy relationships at different educational levels in schools in the city of Barcelona. The objective of this article is to present the process of developing this strategy.

Tackling health inequalities in a public health organization: the case of the Barcelona Public Health Agency.

Background: Municipalities are important actors in the implementation of policies to tackle health inequalities, which requires political will, the availability of financial support, and technical and human resources. With the aim of aligning with local government political priorities, in 2017 the Barcelona Public Health Agency (Agència de Salut Pública de Barcelona, henceforth ASPB), which is responsible for the public health functions of the city, launched a strategy to improve the approach to tackling health inequalities in all its services. The objectives of this study were to show how social health inequalities were addressed in the ASPB from 2017 to 19 and to describe which actions were proposed after a participatory process aiming to create a plan to systematically incorporate health inequalities in ASPB actions.

Multi-level policy responses to tackle socioeconomic inequalities in the incidence of COVID-19 in a European urban area.

Background: Spain has been hit hard by COVID-19 since March 2020, especially in its metropolitan areas. We share experiences from Barcelona in measuring socioeconomic inequalities in the incidence of COVID-19 in the different waves, and in implementing coordinated and equity-oriented public health policy responses.

Methods: We collected daily data on confirmed COVID-19 cases, geocoded the address of residence to assign each case to one of the 73 neighborhoods and 1068 census tracts, and calculated the cumulative incidence of COVID-19 by neighborhood and five income groups (quintiles of census tracts) by sex across four waves of the pandemic.

Pediatric Medication Noninitiation in Spain.

Objectives: To estimate medication noninitiation prevalence in the pediatric population and identify the explanatory factors underlying this behavior.

Methods: Observational study of patients (<18 years old) receiving at least 1 new prescription (28 pharmaceutical subgroups; July 2017 to June 2018) in Catalonia, Spain. A prescription was considered new when there was no prescription for the same pharmaceutical subgroup in the previous 6 months.

Improving mental health and wellbeing in elderly people isolated at home due to architectural barriers: A community health intervention.

Objectives: To explore the health effects of a community health intervention on older people who are isolated at home due to mobility problems or architectural barriers, to identify associated characteristics and to assess participants' satisfaction.

Design: Quasi-experimental before-after study.

Setting: Five low-income neighbourhoods of Barcelona during 2010-15.

Socioeconomic Inequalities in COVID-19 in a European Urban Area: Two Waves, Two Patterns.

: The objective of this paper is to analyze social inequalities in COVID-19 incidence, stratified by age, sex, geographical area, and income in Barcelona during the first two waves of the pandemic. : We collected data on COVID-19 cases confirmed by laboratory tests during the first two waves of the pandemic (1 March to 15 July and 16 July to 30 November, 2020) in Barcelona. For each wave and sex, we calculated smooth cumulative incidence by census tract using a hierarchical Bayesian model.

[The gambling industry: a public health perspective.].

Objective: Gambling may cause a variety of problems, both health and social, to the player, his family and his environment; Problems can be more serious for those who gamble more frequently or bet more money. Beyond the mental health gambling disorder and considering other harms derived from gambling, it is possible to develop a public health approach to the issue, including both prevention and harm reduction aspects. In recent decades gambling availability has expanded, with attempts at regulation.

Barcelona Salut als Barris: Twelve years' experience of tackling social health inequalities through community-based interventions.

Community health can reduce inequalities in health and improve the health of the most disadvantaged populations. In 2007, Barcelona Salut als Barris (Barcelona Health in the Neighbourhoods) was launched, a community health programme to reduce social inequalities in health. In 2018, this programme reached the 25 most disadvantaged neighbourhoods of the city.

[Modified version of the PCAT-A10 tool for the evaluation of primary care].

Objective: To evaluate the measurement characteristics of the Spanish and Catalan versions of the 10-Item Primary Care Assessment Tool for adults (PCAT-A10), shortened from the original Primary Care Assessment Tool (PCAT), with a new mental health item.

Design: Cross-sectional observational study.

Location: The city of Barcelona.

[Health inequalities as a political priority in Barcelona].

There is a wealth of information and research on health inequalities in Barcelona, but this issue has not been clearly prioritised on the political agenda. The arrival in government of a new left-wing party (Barcelona en Comú) in 2015, gave an important boost to the political agenda to reduce inequalities and health inequalities. The aim of this review is to describe the progress made in relation to health inequalities in these four years and especially in the areas involving public health.

The Incidence of Obesity, Assessed as Adiposity, Is Reduced After 1 Year in Primary Schoolchildren by the POIBA Intervention.

Background: Childhood obesity is becoming a serious problem, and prevention programs are needed.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate, after 1 y, the effectiveness of a multicomponent, school-based obesity intervention program.

Methods: This intervention, conducted in Barcelona, Spain, was a quasi-experimental obesity primary prevention intervention targeting schoolchildren aged 9-10 y.

Community action for health in socioeconomically deprived neighbourhoods in Barcelona: Evaluating its effects on health and social class health inequalities.

Background: The aim of this study was to analyse trends in several health-related indicators in socioeconomically deprived neighbourhoods in Barcelona with strong community action for health (CA), and compare them to neighbourhoods without such community action. A secondary goal was to analyse trends in socioeconomic inequalities in health in both types of neighbourhood.

Methods: We performed a quasi-experimental pre-post study using data from the Barcelona Health Surveys of 2001 and 2011.

Towards a policy relevant neighborhoods and health agenda: engaging citizens, researchers, policy makers and public health professionals. SESPAS Report 2018.

A large volume of public health literature has shown how the social and physical features of a neighbourhood affect residents' health, and how they contribute to health inequalities. In this article, we argue that citizens, researchers, policy makers and health professionals should engage in creating a common, policy-relevant neighbourhood and health agenda to effectively improve population health and reduce health inequalities. We discuss four critical processes for advancing this neighbourhood and health agenda: 1) citizen participation and community empowerment; 2) policy making; 3) producing relevant research; and 4) how to best communicate between stakeholders.

A childhood obesity prevention programme in Barcelona (POIBA Project): Study protocol of the intervention.

Background: Childhood obesity preventive interventions should promote a healthy diet and physical activity at home and school. This study aims to describe a school-based childhood obesity preventive programme (POIBA Project) targeting 8-to-12- year-olds.

Design And Methods: Evaluation study of a school-based intervention with a pre-post quasi-experimental design and a comparison group.

Intrahepatic vascular changes in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease: Potential role of insulin-resistance and endothelial dysfunction.

Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of several clinical conditions characterized by insulin-resistance and high cardiovascular risk. Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease is the liver expression of the metabolic syndrome, and insulin resistance can be a frequent comorbidity in several chronic liver diseases, in particular hepatitis C virus infection and/or cirrhosis. Several studies have demonstrated that insulin action is not only relevant for glucose control, but also for vascular homeostasis.

The Experience of Implementing Urban HEART Barcelona: a Tool for Action.

Urban Health Equity Assessment and Response Tool (HEART) is a tool developed by the World Health Organization whose objective is to provide evidence on urban health inequalities so as to help to decide the best interventions aimed to promote urban health equity. The aim of this paper is to describe the experience of implementing Urban HEART in Barcelona city, both the adaptation of Urban HEART to the city of Barcelona, its use as a means of identifying and monitoring health inequalities among city neighbourhoods, and the difficulties and barriers encountered throughout the process. Although ASPB public health technicians participated in the Urban HEART Advisory Group, had large experience in health inequalities analysis and research and showed interest in implementing the tool, it was not until 2015, when the city council was governed by a new left-wing party for which reducing health inequalities was a priority that Urban HEART could be used.

Simvastatin Attenuates Liver Injury in Rodents with Biliary Cirrhosis Submitted to Hemorrhage/Resuscitation.

Liver function deterioration is a major cause of death in variceal bleeding. The effects of bleeding on intrahepatic microvascular dysfunction, which contributes to liver injury in cirrhosis, are largely unknown. The aims of this study were to evaluate the impact of hemorrhage/resuscitation (H/R) on cirrhotic microcirculation, and whether simvastatin, a drug that improves liver microcirculation, has hepatoprotective effects.