OBJECTIVE: The approach to Acute Coronary Syndrome from a gender perspective is relatively recent. Research is extensive at epidemiological and clinical levels. However, available evidence, besides neglecting the social dimensions of the disease, has made women invisible. The objective of this review was to analyze the inequalities and gender biases in Acute Coronary Syndrome, from the beginning of the disease process to the final resolution.
METHODS: An exhaustive review of the literature of the entire health care process, from risk factors to rehabilitation and recovery, was carried out. The search for articles on gender, gender inequalities, or gender bias was conducted in indexed journals of social and health sciences. Also, a specific search was performed for each stage of the process, such as risk factors, prehospital phase, diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation.
RESULTS: Results showed the presence of gender biases throughout the entire health care process in Acute Coronary Syndrome. It is shown gender inequalities in the access to medical care, including a poor recognition among women themselves as well as among health professionals; longer prehospital delays; inadequate diagnoses and treatments; or less assistance to cardiac rehabilitation programmes. These biases occurred at the different levels of the health services involved. Finally, this review included recommendations proposed or arising from the revised papers.
CONCLUSIONS: Reducing gender biases in Acute Coronary Syndrome implies developing strategies to raise awareness among women, improve training of professionals serving at the different levels of health services, reduce delays, develop health management measures, and promote a research agenda.

Identify improvement proposals for approaching violence against women through the evaluation of 2009s Protocol for approaching Violence Against Women in Health Care in Cataluña (PAVIM).
Qualitative ethnographic study, 2019.
Public Health Care in Catalonia.
One hundred eighty one participants, of which: 104 health care professionals, 43 women\'s associations and/or experts in violence against women and 34 experts on health and violence against women.
Intentional sampling. Eighteen focus groups and 34 semi-structured interviews. Evaluation with a gender and intersectional perspective.
Results are structured along PAVIM\'s phases.
mandatory and institutionally recognized training for the whole professional team, with a gender and intersectional perspective. Detection: diagnostic code standardization for violence against women and improve coordination between primary care, emergency service, pediatrics and Assistance to Sexual and Reproductive Health. Care and recovery: territorial equity in the applied resources on cases of violence against women care (in the 9 sanitary regions of Catalonia) and improves communication between health and associative fields.
The improvement proposals identified are those that have generated a greater consensus among participants and are the most interesting to primary care. As limitations, stand out the temporality and heterogeneity of the Catalan territory.

Health means individual and collective well-being determined by factors that transcend the health services. If the health services want to address the collective dimension of health, a change of approach is required. Community health is theoretically included in legislation, training, coordination and planning with strategic frameworks that involve the coordination and participation of institutions, health services and citizenship. We present a discussion article in which five authors reflect on the situation, barriers, strengths and opportunities for action of the health services in relation to community health. Changes are needed in the actions of the health services in relation to community health and the way they approach it to address the health problems faced by the communities in the current socioeconomic situation. Given that health is an essential right, we will make a shift in action towards participation, equity, social orientation, intersectorality, comprehensive approach, social justice, and health in all policies, so that community health is taken into account in our health system.

To assess the impact of disabling chronic pain (DCP) on quality of life, work, consumption of medication and usage of health services.
Cross-sectional population study with face-to-face interview.
Andalusian Health Survey (2011 edition).
6,507 people over the age of 16 (p=q=0.5; confidence level=95%; sampling error=1.49, design effect=1.52).
Not applicable.
Dependent variable: DCP: population limited in their activity by any of the CP specified in the survey.
quality of life, absence from work, consumption of medication and utilization of health services.
Compared to a population without CP, DCP impact is 6 points less on the mental quality of life and 12 points on the physical one, medication consumption is triple, health services utilization is almost double, and long absence from work is triple. On the other hand, a population with nondisabling chronic pain (nDCP) presents similar results to a population without CP.
We have considered DCP as another CP category because of its huge impact, as is shown in our study, on the study variables. On the contrary, the population with nDCP does not obtain significant impact differences when compared to the population without CP. Therefore, we believe that Primary Care and Public Health should lead different prevention strategies for DCP as well as for the identification of the nDCP population to decrease its possible deterioration towards DCP.

Contact with the healthcare system by a sample of seropositive men who have sex with men (MSM) prior to their HIV diagnosis are analysed, and missed opportunities (MO) for an earlier HIV diagnosis are identified.
Between 2012-2013, an online survey was conducted among HIV-positive MSM, mainly recruited from gay websites. Those who were diagnosed with HIV between 2010-2013 were analysed. MO were defined as episodes prior to the HIV diagnosis in which the healthcare system was contacted due to an indicator condition of HIV infection and the test was not suggested. The proportion of missed opportunities were compared according to the type of indicator condition, the department consulted and the healthcare professional\'s knowledge that the patient was MSM.
Overall, 639 participants (66% of 966) reported 1,145 episodes with some indicator condition, the majority of these being identified in primary care (n=527; 46%). The highest percentage of MOs is also observed in primary care (63%). Although the indicator condition with the highest number of MOs was STIs (n=124), the highest percentage of MOs was observed in consultations due to diarrhoea with no known cause (69.8%). The percentage of MOs when the doctor knew that the patient was MSM was 40 vs. 70% when the doctor did not know.
The majority of HIV-positive MSM analysed in this study went to healthcare services for HIV-infection indicator conditions prior to their HIV diagnosis. Primary care was the most-frequently-visited department and is also where the most opportunities were missed to perform an HIV test, even when it was known that the patient was a MSM.

OBJECTIVE: To analyse changes in health professionals\' and immigrant users\' perceptions of the quality of care provided to the immigrant population during the crisis.
METHODS: A qualitative descriptive-interpretative and exploratory study was conducted in two areas of Catalonia. Semi-structured individual interviews were used with a theoretical sample of medical (n=24) and administrative (n=10) professionals in primary care (PC) and secondary care (SC), and immigrant users (n=20). Thematic analysis was conducted and the results were triangulated.
RESULTS: Problems related to technical and interpersonal quality emerged from the discourse of both professionals and immigrants. These problems were attributed to cutbacks during the economic crisis. Regarding technical quality, respondents reported an increase in erroneous or non-specific diagnoses, inappropriate use of diagnostic tests and non-specific treatments, due to reduction in consultation times as a result of cuts in human resources. With regard to interpersonal quality, professionals reported less empathy, and users also reported worse communication, due to changes in professionals\' working conditions and users\' attitudes. Finally, a reduction in the resolution capacity of the health services emerged: professionals described unnecessary repeated PC visits and limited responses in SC, while young immigrants reported an insufficient response to their health problems.
CONCLUSIONS: The results indicate a deterioration in perceived technical and interpersonal quality during the economic crisis, due to cutbacks mainly in human resources. These changes affect the whole population, but especially immigrants.

To describe the self-reported health status and service utilisation of employed, retired and unemployed migrants in Guangzhou, a megacity in southern China.
A cross-sectional study adapted from the National Health Service Survey was conducted between September and December in 2014. Based on the distribution of occupation of migrants, multistage sampling was used to recruit individuals. Logistic regression was applied to explore the factors influencing their service utilisation.
Of 2906 respondents, 76.6% were employed, 9.2% retired and 14.2% unemployed. Only 8.1% reported having an illness in the previous 2 weeks, and 6.5% reported having been hospitalised in the previous year. Employed migrants had the lowest recent physician consultation rate (3.4%) and the lowest annual hospitalisation rate (4.5%) (P < 0.05); unemployed migrants had the highest rates (6.8% and 14.5% respectively, P < 0.05). Retired migrants were more likely to return to their hometown for health care (8.6%) than employed (1.5%) and unemployed migrants (3.4%) (P < 0.05). After adjusting for age and gender, employment status remained significant in explaining the recent two-week treatment-seeking behaviour of migrants (P < 0.05).
Disparity of service utilisation continues to be a problem for migrants due to the poor health awareness, lack of time and inconvenience of medical insurance reimbursement. Employed migrants make the least use of health services.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this paper is to assess the need for a common ethics strategy shared by 2 of the cornerstones of human welfare: the healthcare and social services sectors.
METHODS: An observational cross-sectional descriptive study was performed by surveying social services and healthcare professionals. A purposive sampling technique was used. The questionnaire consisted of 10 questions about ethical conflicts in professional practice and respondents\' views on a proposed shared approach to bioethics and ethics in social intervention.
RESULTS: 124 professionals completed the questionnaire, 56% of the health sector and 44% of the social services sector. About 90% professionals surveyed had had to make difficult ethical decisions in their work and would welcome a common approach to ethics in the social services and healthcare sectors. 75% said that conflicts are occurring more frequently in both sectors simultaneously and that they were resolved preferably individually and independently.
CONCLUSIONS: The survey respondents believe that a common approach to tackling ethical conflicts in professional practice is required. Nevertheless, it is still rare for ethics committees to intervene in the conflict resolution process and for decision-making support and evaluation tools to be used.

OBJECTIVE: Traditionally, health systems in sub-Saharan Africa have focused on acute conditions. Few data exist on the readiness of African health facilities (HFs) to address the growing burden of chronic diseases (CDs), specifically chronic, non-communicable diseases (NCDs).
METHODS: A stratified random sample of 28 urban and rural Ugandan HFs was surveyed to document the burden of selected CDs by analysing the service statistics, service availability and service readiness using a modified WHO Service Availability and Readiness Assessment questionnaire. Knowledge, skills and practice in the management of CDs of 222 health workers were assessed through a self-completed questionnaire.
RESULTS: Among adult outpatient visits at hospitals, 33% were for CDs including HIV vs. 14% and 4% at medium-sized and small health centres, respectively. Many HFs lacked guidelines, diagnostic equipment and essential medicines for the primary management of CDs; training and reporting systems were weak. Lower-level facilities routinely referred patients with hypertension and diabetes. HIV services accounted for most CD visits and were stronger than NCD services. Systems were weaker in lower-level HFs. Non-doctor clinicians and nurses lacked knowledge and experience in NCD care.
CONCLUSIONS: Compared with higher level HFs, lower-level ones are less prepared and little used for CD care. Health systems in Uganda, particularly lower-level HFs, urgently need improvement in managing common NCDs to cope with the growing burden. This should include the provision of standard guidelines, essential diagnostic equipment and drugs, training of health workers, supportive supervision and improved referral systems. Substantially better HIV basic service readiness demonstrates that improved NCD care is feasible.

OBJECTIVE: To analyse hospital morbidity records due to paracoccidioidomycosis in Brazil, including its nationwide distribution in time and space, as well as key epidemiological and sociodemographic characteristics.
METHODS: Descriptive analysis of hospital morbidity records due to paracoccidioidomycosis covering the period January 1998 to December 2006. Hospital records were obtained from the Hospital Information System of the Brazilian Unified Health System (SIH/SUS).
RESULTS: There were 6732 hospitalisations (82% male) due to paracoccidioidomycosis in the period, representing 4.3 per 1.0 million inhabitants. Admissions due to this mycosis were recorded in 27% of the 5560 Brazilian municipalities, covering 35% of the country. Ten municipalities concentrated 52% of all admissions. The temporal distribution of admissions for paracoccidioidomycosis showed a slight increase. The geographical analysis showed two distinct patterns of the disease: (i) traditional areas of southern and south-eastern regions, covering 60% of admissions, and (ii) a second pattern in northern Brazil revealed a transverse band of higher concentration with about 27% of admissions, particularly along the southern border of the Amazon region.
CONCLUSIONS: This first nationwide analysis of hospitalisation due to paracoccidioidomycosis in Brazil shows that it is the most prevalent systemic mycosis in Brazil. Despite its importance, there are major deficits in its proper registry, diagnostics and treatment. The particular epidemiological and medical challenges of paracoccidioidomycosis will not be met while the disease continues to be perceived as an isolated infectious entity restricted to a few faraway regions of the globe.