The role of self-care interventions on men's health-seeking behaviours to advance their sexual and reproductive health and rights.

BACKGROUND: Self-care interventions are influencing people's access to, expectation and understanding of healthcare beyond formal health delivery systems. In doing so, self-care interventions could potentially improve health-seeking behaviours. While many men proactively engage in maintaining and promoting their health, the focus on men's health comes from the recognition, at least partially, that male socialization and social norms can induce men and boys to have a lower engagement in institutionalized public health entities and systems around their sexual and reproductive health and rights, that could impact negatively on themselves, their partners and children. MAIN TEXT: A research agenda could consider the ways that public health messaging and information on self care practices for sexual and reproductive health and rights could be tailored to reflect men's lived realities and experiences. Three examples of evidence-based self-care interventions related to sexual and reproductive health and rights that men can, and many do, engage in are briefly discussed: condom use, HIV self-testing and use of telemedicine and digital platforms for sexual health. We apply four core elements that contribute to health, including men's health (people-centred approaches, quality health systems, a safe and supportive enabling environment, and behaviour-change communication) to each intervention where further research can inform normative guidance. CONCLUSION: Engaging men and boys and facilitating their participation in self care can be an important policy intervention to advance global sexual and reproductive health and rights goals. The longstanding model of men neglecting or even sabotaging their wellbeing needs to be replaced by healthier lifestyles, which requires understanding how factors related to social support, social norms, power, academic performance or employability conditions, among others, influence men's engagement with health services and with their own self care practices.

Addressing violence against women: a call to action.

Violence against women and girls is prevalent worldwide but historically has been overlooked and condoned. Growing international recognition of these violations creates opportunities for elimination, although solutions will not be quick or easy. Governments need to address the political, social, and economic structures that subordinate women, and implement national plans and make budget commitments to invest in actions by multiple sectors to prevent and respond to abuse. Emphasis on prevention is crucial. Community and group interventions involving women and men can shift discriminatory social norms to reduce the risk of violence. Education and empowerment of women are fundamental. Health workers should be trained to identify and support survivors and strategies to address violence should be integrated into services for child health, maternal, sexual, and reproductive health, mental health, HIV, and alcohol or substance abuse. Research to learn how to respond to violence must be strengthened. The elimination of violence against women and girls is central to equitable and sustainable social and economic development and must be prioritised in the agenda for development after 2015.

Los Hombres del SILAIS Masaya: género, masculinidad y violencia intrafamiliar en las representaciones sociales del trabajador de la salud / The men of the SILAIS Masaya: gender masculinity and violence intrafamiliar in the social representation of the worker of the health

El presente documentos es un informe de investigación cualitativa concentrada en el SILAIS (Sistemas Locales de Atención Integral de Salud) de Masaya, Nicaragua. De allí se generó una muestra de tipó intencional, compuesta por 24 hombres y 6 mujeres trabajadores/as de salud. Se seleccionó Masaya por contar con el apoyo de ese SILAIS. Aborda el contexto nacional y local desde el cual deben analizar los resultados de la investigación, se incluyen antecedentes de acciones con hombres profesionales de la salud en masculinidad, género y violencia intrafamiliar. Se analizan datos desde la perspecativa teórica y política como hombres nicaraguenses organizados en grupos de hombres contra la violencia que promueve cambios hacia la equidad entre los géneros

Rabia en Antioquia en 1986 / Rabies in Antioquia during 1986

El analisis y la interpretacion de los principales indicadores de la evolucion de la rabia en el departamento permiten apreciar una progresiva mejoria de la situacion, que ha hecho que Antioquia presente actualmente uno de los panoramas mas favorables del pais en esta zoonosis. El perro sigue siendo el responsable de cerca de la mitad de los casos de rabia y de entre el 80 y el 90% de los accidentes rabicos, razon por la cual es la especie animal de atencion prioritaria en el Programa de Control de la Rabia. Casi el 80% de los casos de rabia se registran en zonas rurales, mientras que cerca del 75% de los accidentes rabicos y del 70% de los tratamientos antirrabicos se presentan en zonas urbanas, lo que se explica en razon de que, por la mayor densidad de poblaciones humana y canina en las zonas urbanas, el riesgo de exposicion humana a rabia es en ellas varias veces mayor que en las rurales. Los roedores sinantropicos son responsables de un 35% aproximadamente de los tratamientos antirrabicos, sin que se haya registrado un solo caso de rabia en especies durante los ultimos cuatro anos. Esta situacion indica que los criterios que se tienen para la administracion del tratamiento en estos casos no son muy racionales y probablemente se esta exponiendo innecesariamente al riesgo de complicaciones post-vacunales a las personas asi vacunadas, ademas de que se estaria desperdiciendo un biologico costoso y escaso.