Bacterial Infection in the Sickle Cell Population: Development and Enabling Factors.

The high frequency of bacterial infections represents a major threat to public health. In developing countries, they are still responsible for significant morbidity and mortality in pediatric populations with sickle cell disease, particularly in children under 5 years of age. Indeed, they have an increased susceptibility to bacterial infections due to their immune deficiency.

Estimating the cost of HIV services for key populations provided by the LINKAGES program in Kenya and Malawi.

Background: Data remain scarce on the costs of HIV services for key populations (KPs). The objective of this study was to bridge this gap in the literature by estimating the unit costs of HIV services delivered to KPs in the LINKAGES program in Kenya and Malawi. We estimated the mean total unit costs of seven clinical services: post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP), pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), HIV testing services (HTS), antiretroviral therapy (ART), sexually transmitted infection (STI) services, sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services, and management of sexual violence (MSV).

Associations between early-life exposure to PM and reductions in childhood lung function in two North American longitudinal pregnancy cohort studies.

Unlabelled: Data integration of epidemiologic studies across different geographic regions can provide enhanced exposure contrast and statistical power to examine adverse respiratory effects of early-life exposure to particulate matter <2.5 microns in diameter (PM). Methodological tools improve our ability to combine data while more fully accounting for study heterogeneity.

Ten-year hospitalization trends in Mexico: Examining the profile of national and transient and migrants.

Aim: In Mexico, as in other societies, migrants are seen as over-users of health services. However, the extent, distribution, and trends of use over time are unknown. Evidence is needed to inform health policies and improve health services for foreign patients.

AMBAR: A midwifery-led training program to improve obstetric and neonatal practices among low-risk births in Mexico.

Background: Birth care in Mexican health institutions is highly medicalized and of poor quality because of the prevalence of outdated and dangerous practices. AMBAR-a training program for health care providers on the use of evidence-based midwifery practices-was implemented during 2016-2018 and evaluated to assess the impact of training on key practices.

Methods: For this mixed-methods study, we evaluated the effects of a training program implemented in three public hospital networks in Mexico.

Factors associated with mothers' health care-seeking behaviours for childhood fever in Burkina Faso: findings from repeated cross-sectional household surveys.

Introduction: Fever is one of the most frequent reasons for paediatric consultations in Burkina Faso, but health care-seeking behaviours and the factors associated with health care-seeking in the event of childhood fever are poorly documented. This study aims to analyse the health care-seeking behaviours and the factors associated with health care-seeking for childhood fever in Burkina Faso.

Methods: This study used the data from the baseline and endline surveys conducted to evaluate the impact of the Performance-Based Financing program in Burkina Faso.

Biomarkers of maternal lead exposure during pregnancy using micro-spatial child deciduous dentine measurements.

Background: Lead is a toxic chemical of public health concern, however limited biomarkers are able to reconstruct prior lead exposures in early-life when biospecimens are not collected and stored. Although child tooth dentine measurements accurately assess past child perinatal lead exposure, it has not been established if they reflect maternal exposure in pregnancy.

Aim: To assess the prenatal relationship between child tooth dentine and maternal blood lead measurements and to estimate maternal lead exposure during the 2nd and 3rd trimesters of pregnancy from weekly child dentine profiles.

Cost Analysis of Surgical and Medical Uterine Evacuation Methods for First-Trimester Abortion Used in Public Hospitals in Mexico.

Background: Data on abortion procedures costs are scarce in low- and middle-income countries. In Mexico, the only known study was conducted more than a decade ago, with data from years before the abortion legislation. This study estimated the costs, from the health system's perspective, of surgical and medical abortion methods commonly used by women who undergo first-trimester abortion in Mexico.

Clinically meaningful change for the chair stand test: monitoring mobility in integrated care for older people.

Background: Clinically meaningful changes in the five-repetition chair stand test are essential for monitoring mobility in integrated care for older people. Recommendations for the clinically meaningful change of the chair stand test are not well known. Our study aimed to estimate the absolute and relative clinically meaningful changes for older adults' five-repetition chair stand test.

Adequate funding of comprehensive community-based programs for key populations needed now more than ever to reach and sustain HIV targets.

Introduction: Globally, over half of the estimated new HIV infections now occur among key populations, including men who have sex with men, sex workers, people who inject drugs, transgender individuals, and people in prisons and other closed settings, and their sexual partners. Reaching epidemic control will, for many countries, increasingly require intensified programming and targeted resource allocation to meet the needs of key populations and their sexual partners. However, insufficient funding, both in terms of overall amounts and the way the funding is spent, contributes to the systematic marginalization of key populations from needed HIV services.

Dietary inflammatory index and bone mineral density in Mexican population.

Unlabelled: Dietary inflammatory index has been associated with bone loss. In this longitudinal study, we reported that changes in dietary inflammatory index were associated with a reduction in bone mineral density of the total hip and femoral neck in males and females ≥ 45 years, but not in individuals < 45 years.

Purpose: Previous studies have suggested that an inflammatory environment can affect bone mineral density (BMD).

Development and Validation of a Cutoff for the Chair Stand Test as a Screening for Mobility Impairment in the Context of the Integrated Care for Older People Program.

Background: The 5-repetition chair stand test (CST) is increasingly being used to assess locomotion capacity in older adults. However, there is a lack of age-stratified cutoffs for adults aged ≥70 validated against a higher risk of functional loss.

Methods: We used 2 population-based studies (Study on global AGEing and adult health in Mexico [SAGE Mexico] and Toledo Study for Healthy Aging [TSHA]) and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analyses to develop and cross-validate age-stratified chair stand cutoffs with activities of daily living (ADL) disability as the outcome.

Third-Trimester Maternal Dietary Patterns Are Associated with Sleep Health among Adolescent Offspring in a Mexico City Cohort.

Background: Maternal diet during gestation has been linked to infant sleep; whether associations persist through adolescence is unknown.

Objectives: We explored associations between trimester-specific maternal diet patterns and measures of sleep health among adolescent offspring in a Mexico City birth cohort.

Methods: Data from 310 mother-adolescent dyads were analyzed.

Spatiotemporal Changes in Haplotypes in Southern Mexico: From the Control to the Pre-Elimination Phase.

For 20 years, has been the only prevalent malaria species in Mexico, and cases have declined significantly and continuously. Spatiotemporal genetic studies can be helpful for understanding parasite dynamics and developing strategies to weaken malaria transmission, thus facilitating the elimination of the parasite. The aim of the current contribution was to analyze -infected blood samples from patients in southern Mexico during the control (1993-2007) and pre-elimination phases (2008-2011).

Incorporating respondent-driven sampling into web-based discrete choice experiments: preferences for COVID-19 mitigation measures.

To slow the spread of COVID-19, most countries implemented stay-at-home orders, social distancing, and other nonpharmaceutical mitigation strategies. To understand individual preferences for mitigation strategies, we piloted a web-based Respondent Driven Sampling (RDS) approach to recruit participants from four universities in three countries to complete a computer-based Discrete Choice Experiment (DCE). Use of these methods, in combination, can serve to increase the external validity of a study by enabling recruitment of populations underrepresented in sampling frames, thus allowing preference results to be more generalizable to targeted subpopulations.

Examining the association between short interpregnancy interval births and the type and timing of postpartum long acting reversible contraception.

Objective: To determine whether the type (intrauterine device or implant) or timing (immediately postpartum vs interval) of postpartum long-acting reversible contraception was associated with a reduction in short interpregnancy interval births.

Study Design: We conducted a retrospective cohort study using linked Medicaid claims and birth certificate data from Oregon and South Carolina, 2010 to 2018. Our primary outcome was short interpregnancy interval, defined as repeat pregnancy within 18 months of the index delivery.

Characterizing health care provider knowledge: Evidence from HIV services in Kenya, Rwanda, South Africa, and Zambia.

Background: Identifying approaches to improve levels of health care provider knowledge in resource-poor settings is critical. We assessed level of provider knowledge for HIV testing and counseling (HTC), prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT), and voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC). We also explored the association between HTC, PMTCT, and VMMC provider knowledge and provider and facility characteristics.

Barriers and facilitators to pre-exposure prophylaxis uptake among male sex workers in Mexico: an application of the RE-AIM framework.

Background: The ImPrEP México demonstration project is the first to distribute free HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) to men who have sex with men (MSM) and transgender women living in Mexico. In Mexico City, MSM who are also male sex workers (MSWs) face a disproportionately high risk of HIV infection. PrEP is highly effective for HIV prevention, yet "real-life" implementation among MSWs is a challenge due to the unique adherence barriers faced by this population.

Prenatal metal mixture concentrations and reward motivation in children.

Reward motivation is a complex umbrella term encompassing the cognitions, emotions, and behaviors involved in the activation, execution, and persistence of goal-directed behavior. Altered reward motivation in children is characteristic of many neurodevelopmental and psychiatric disorders. Previously difficult to operationalize, the Progressive Ratio (PR) task has been widely used to assess reward motivation in animal and human studies, including children.

Reliability and validity of the Mexican teachers' physical activity questionnaire (MTPAQ) in a subsample of female Mexican teachers.

Background: Reliable and valid instruments are needed to estimate physical activity levels. The purposes of this study were to estimate the reliability and validity of the Physical Activity Questionnaire (MTPAQ) in a subsample of the Mexican Teachers Cohort study.

Methods: We completed telephone interviews and clinical examinations of 82 teachers.