|
Geographical Locations - Belize
 The WWW Virtual Library: Public Health
Categories
Country Information
- (Statistical) Number of Inhabitants per Doctor: 340
- CIA - World Factbook : Belize
Organisations and Networks
UN and Multinational
Government
Non-Government
- Belize Audubon Society - a non-profit, non-governmental, membership organisation dedicated to the promotion of the sustainable use and preservation of our natural resources in order to maintain a balance between people and the environment
- Medical Mission Exchange - Medical Mission Exchange aims to facilitate referrals of underserved patients to appropriate medical specialists in Central America and the Caribbean. MMEX provides a free, online database of short- and long-term medical missions serving Belize, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Haiti and Honduras. The information provided includes when and where these groups are working and what medical specialties are represented. Long-term missionaries, health care workers, NGOs, and short-term medical health care providers will be able to determine when and where people with various health problems can be medically evaluated and treated, both at long-term facilities and short-term missions. Patients can be offered a specified date and place to see a specialist. The goal of the MMEX Web site is to enable referrals to be made to short-term mission groups prior to their arrival, thereby better utilizing the physicians and other health care providers who are volunteering their services.
- Protected Areas Conservation Trust - provides funds for supporting conservation and promoting environmentally sound management of Belize's natural and cultural resources to foster sustainable development
Academic Institutions
National Policy and Related Documents
- Belize National Anti-Drug Strategy, 2000-2004
"The National Anti-Drug Strategy for Belize is based on a five-year integrated approach. It aims to reduce demand and supply, and to alleviate the consequences associated with illicit drug use and trafficking. It proposes strategies encompassing the areas of research and diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation, law enforcement, and prevention and education. This strategy has been developed by the National Drug Abuse Control Council (NDACC) with the assistance of the Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission (CICAD)."
Reports, Guidelines, and Projects
- A cluster randomized trial of a sex education programme in Belize, Central America
Background Concerns about adverse consequences of early childbearing and risk of sexually transmitted diseases (STD) have renewed interest in the sexual behaviour of adolescents in developing countries, where they represent a large proportion of the population and are at highest risk. To date, little is known about the sexual knowledge of adolescents in developing countries. This study’s primary objective was to evaluate the effectiveness of a responsible sexuality education programme (RSP) in changing knowledge associated with sex and sexuality; secondary objectives were to evaluate changes in attitudes and behavioural intent. Methods A cluster randomized design randomizing high school classes in Belize City. Subjects were 13–19 years old. Results Seven schools in Belize City were selected; 8 classrooms were randomized to the intervention arm and 11 classrooms to the control arm (N = 399). The intervention was associated with two more correct answers on the post-test (difference score was 2.22 points, 95% CI = 0.53, 3.91) after adjusting for gender and previous sexual experience. After controlling for gender and previous sexual experience, the intervention was associated with no change in the attitudes (0.06, 95% CI: –2.89, 2.82) or behavioural intent domains (0.84, 95% CI: –1.12, 2.46). Conclusions Greater changes in knowledge were observed in the intervention group than in the control group following the intervention. Changes were not observed for the attitude or behavioural intent domains. These results and the results of similar studies may be used to further improve sex education programmes as it is imperative that students have access to the information necessary to make informed decisions regarding their sexual health. [author abstract] [International Journal of Epidemiology 2003; 32: 131–136]
- Belizean innovation: the Belize national health information system
"The Belize Health Information System (BHIS), which was inaugurated on 16 September 2008, is a fully integrated, comprehensive health information system intended to improve individual health outcomes and public health performance, and optimize resource utilization… The BHIS allows population-based, health services, and records-based data to be made available to authorized users anywhere in the country almost as soon as they are entered in the system. It comprises a set of mostly interdependent modules surrounding the central Electronic Health Record and Admissions-Discharge-Transfer functions." [WHO, c2009]
- Health in the Americas 2007: Belize
As a health agency, the Pan American Health Organization’s core discipline is epidemiology, which enables the measurement, definition, and comparison of health problems and conditions and their distribution from the perspectives of population, geography, and time. This publication on Belize addresses the issue of health as a human right, taking into account both the individual and community contexts, and examines various critical determinants of health, including those of a biological, social, cultural, economic, and political nature. That examination reveals the existence of gaps, disparities, and inequities that persist in Belize, especially those related to access to basic services, health, nutrition, housing, and adequate living conditions as well as to the lack of opportunities for human development—all of which contribute to the greater vulnerability to diseases and health risks of some population groups. [Adapted from the preface of Health in the Americas 2007]
- Making Mental Health a Priority in Belize
Belize, Central America, the most sparsely populated country in Central America, has taken gigantic steps to improve the mental health of its citizens. This article profiles mental health in this country and explicates contextual factors circumscribing manifestations, treatment, and care of mental illness. An overview of mental health services is provided, with particular focus on the role of psychiatric nurse practitioners. Other innovative approaches in promoting mental health and providing care to the [sic] those who are mentally ill are highlighted. Current and future challenges for nursing care and mental health services are presented. Recommendations for future action are offered. [publication summary] [Archives of Psychiatric Nursing, Vol. 23, No. 2 (April), 2009: pp 157–165]
- Screening for lead exposure in children in Belize
Objectives: The objectives of this pilot study were to determine the blood lead levels in children in Belize and to try to relate these findings to demographic variables. Methods: With permission from parents, capillary blood was collected from the fingers of 164 children with an age range of 2 to 8 years, living and attending school in the spring of 2002 in four towns: Belize City, San Pedro, Orange Walk, and Benque Viejo. The sample represents 0.4% of all children in Belize in that age range. Lead levels were analyzed by the method of anodic stripping voltammetry using the ESA LeadCare analyzer. Results: The mean blood lead level for the children in the sample was 4.94 micrograms per deciliter (μg/dL) with a standard deviation of 2.46. However, 11 children (7%) had blood lead in the range of 10.1–13.8 μg/dL, which is the level of concern according to guidelines of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Children living in the large urban centers of Belize City and Orange Walk town had higher lead levels (mean 5.80 and 5.74 μg/dL) than children living in the smaller towns of Benque Viejo and San Pedro (mean 4.17 and 4.63 μg/dL). There were no statistically significant differences between male and female children. Conclusions: These data indicate that children in Belize are being exposed to lead and suggest that this pilot study be followed up with a comprehensive study with a larger sample and correlation of the findings to socioeconomic characteristics, to children’s behavior, and to the home and school environment. [author abstract] [Rev Panam Salud Publica. 2009; 25(1): 47–50]
- Survey for Intestinal Parasites in Belize, Central America
A stool survey was carried out in 5 villages in the Toledo district of the Central American country of Belize. Eighty-two percent of a total population of 672 participated. The stools were examined by the formalin-ethyl-acetate concentration technique. Sixty-six percent of the population was found to have one or more intestinal parasites. The most common infection was hookworm (55%) followed by Ascaris lumbricoides (30%), Entamoeba coli (21%), Trichuris trichiura (19%), Giardia lamblia (12%), Iodamoeba beutschlii (9%), and Entamoeba histolytica/dispar (6%). Other parasites found were Entamoeba hartmani, Strongyloides stercoralis, Endolimax nana, Isospora belli, and Chilomastix mesnili. Children were more often infected than adults and more females had hookworm infections. Sixty percent of 111 households surveyed had dirt floors, 43% were without toilets, 35% of the houses were overcrowded, and 10% obtained drinking water from streams. Cross-tabulation and logistic regression analyses were used to identify risk and protective factors associated with parasitoses. The risk factors were: being in the Mayan Ketchi population group, and abtaining [sic] housework and drinking water from streams. Protective factors were: drinking treated water and the wearing of shoes. [author abstract] [Southeast Asian J Trop Med Public Health, Vol 35 No. 3 September 2004, pp.506-511]
Educational Resources
Original website founded Lucien E. Schlosser and Eberhard Wenzel, 1997.
© Copyright for the The WWW Virtual Library and its logos by The WWW Virtual Library.
|
See Also
|
|