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Contreras M, Gomes Naveca F, Carvajal-Cortes JJ, Faviero GF, Saavedra J, Ruback dos Santos E, Alves do Nascimento V, Costa de Souza V, Oliveira do Nascimento F, Silva e Silva D, Luz SLB, Romero Vesga KN, Grisales Nieto JC, Avelino-Silva VI, Benzaken AS. Implementing a provisional overarching intervention for COVID-19 monitoring and control in the Brazil-Colombia-Peru frontier. Front Public Health 2024; 11:1330347. [PMID: 38259793 PMCID: PMC10801231 DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2023.1330347] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2023] [Accepted: 12/18/2023] [Indexed: 01/24/2024] Open
Abstract
Introduction he challenge was to provide comprehensive health resources to a remote and underserved population living in the Brazil-Colombia-Peru border, amid the most disruptive global crisis of the century. Methods In August 2021, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz Amazonia (FIOCRUZ Amazônia) and partner collaborators implemented an overarching provisional program for SARS-CoV-2 detection and lineages characterization, training of laboratory personnel and healthcare providers, donation of diagnostic supplies and personal protective equipment, and COVID-19 vaccination. The expedition was conducted at the Port of Tabatinga, a busy terminal with an intense flux of people arriving and departing in boats of all sizes, located in the Amazon River basin. Local government, non-profit organizations, private companies, and other stakeholders supported the intervention. Results The expedition was accomplished in a convergence point, where migrant workers, traders, army personnel, people living in urban areas, and people from small villages living in riversides and indigenous territories are in close and frequent contact, with widespread cross-border movement. Using a boat as a provisional lab and storage facility, the intervention provided clinical and laboratory monitoring for 891 participants; vaccination for 536 individuals; personal protective equipment for 200 healthcare providers; diagnostic supplies for 1,000 COVID-19 rapid tests; training for 42 community health agents on personal protection, rapid test execution, and pulse oximeter management; and hands-on training for four lab technicians on molecular diagnosis. Discussion Our experience demonstrates that multilateral initiatives can counterweigh the scarcity of health resources in underserved regions. Moreover, provisional programs can have a long-lasting effect if investments are also provided for local capacity building.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matilde Contreras
- Instituto Leônidas and Maria Deane, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Manaus, Brazil
| | | | | | - Guilherme F. Faviero
- AHF Global Public Health Institute at the University of Miami, Miami, FL, United States
| | - Jorge Saavedra
- AHF Global Public Health Institute, Fort Lauderdale, FL, United States
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Vivian I. Avelino-Silva
- Department of Infectious and Parasitic Diseases, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
- AIDS Healthcare Foundation, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | - Adele Schwartz Benzaken
- Instituto Leônidas and Maria Deane, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Manaus, Brazil
- AIDS Healthcare Foundation, Los Angeles, CA, United States
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Al-Chami MH, Gifford W, Coburn V. A visionary platform for decolonization: The Red Deal. Nurs Philos 2024; 25:e12471. [PMID: 38014606 DOI: 10.1111/nup.12471] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/20/2023] [Revised: 08/09/2023] [Accepted: 11/11/2023] [Indexed: 11/29/2023]
Abstract
In this study, we discuss the colonial project as an eliminatory structure of indigenous ways of knowing and doing that is built into Canadian social and health institutions. We elaborate on the role nursing plays in maintaining systemic racism, marginalization and discrimination of Indigenous Peoples. Based on historical practices and present-day circumstances, we argue that changing language in research and school curriculums turns decolonization into what Tuck and Yang call a 'metaphor'. Rather, we propose decolonization as a political project where nurses acknowledge their involvement in colonial harms and disrupt the assumptions that continue to shape how nurses interact with Indigenous people, including knowledge systems that perpetuate colonial interests and privilege. Decolonization requires nurses to understand the colonial practices that led to dispossession of land, erasure of knowledge, culture and identity, while upholding indigenous ways of knowing and doing in health, healing and living. As a political manifesto that liberates indigenous life from oppressive structures of colonialism and capitalism, The Red Deal is presented as a visionary platform for decolonization. The aim of this study is to articulate three dimensions of caretaking within The Red Deal as a framework to decolonize nursing knowledge development and practice. Based on the philosophical dimension embedded in The Red Deal that revoke norms and knowledge assumptions of capitalism that destroy indigenous ways of knowing and doing, we underscore an approach toward decolonizing nursing. Our approach rejects the apolitical nature of nursing as well as the unilateral western scientific knowledge approach to knowledge development and recognition. A critical emancipatory approach that addresses the socio-political and historical context of health care, recognizes dispossession of land and adopts a 'multilogical' vision of knowledge that gives space for representation and voice is needed for true decolonization of nursing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mohamad H Al-Chami
- School of Nursing, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Wendy Gifford
- School of Nursing, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada
- Loyer DaSilva Research Chair in Community & Public Health Nursing, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada
- Centre for Research on Health and Nursing, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Veldon Coburn
- Indigenous Relations Initiative, School of Continuous Studies, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
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Pickering K, Galappaththi EK, Ford JD, Singh C, Zavaleta-Cortijo C, Hyams K, Miranda JJ, Arotoma-Rojas I, Togarepi C, Kaur H, Arvind J, Scanlon H, Namanya DB, Anza-Ramirez C. Indigenous peoples and the COVID-19 pandemic: a systematic scoping review. ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH LETTERS : ERL [WEB SITE] 2023; 18:033001. [PMID: 36798651 PMCID: PMC9923364 DOI: 10.1088/1748-9326/acb804] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/24/2022] [Revised: 10/17/2022] [Accepted: 02/01/2023] [Indexed: 05/06/2023]
Abstract
Past influenza pandemics including the Spanish flu and H1N1 have disproportionately affected Indigenous Peoples. We conducted a systematic scoping review to provide an overview of the state of understanding of the experience of Indigenous peoples during the first 18 months of the COVID-19 pandemic, in doing so we capture the state of knowledge available to governments and decision makers for addressing the needs of Indigenous peoples in these early months of the pandemic. We addressed three questions: (a) How is COVID-19 impacting the health and livelihoods of Indigenous peoples, (b) What system level challenges are Indigenous peoples experiencing, (c) How are Indigenous peoples responding? We searched Web of Science, Scopus, and PubMed databases and UN organization websites for publications about Indigenous peoples and COVID-19. Results were analyzed using descriptive statistics and content analysis. A total of 153 publications were included: 140 peer-reviewed articles and 13 from UN organizations. Editorial/commentaries were the most (43%) frequent type of publication. Analysis identified Indigenous peoples from 19 different countries, although 56% of publications were centered upon those in Brazil, United States, and Canada. The majority (90%) of articles focused upon the general adult population, few (<2%) used a gender lens. A small number of articles documented COVID-19 testing (0.04%), incidence (18%), or mortality (16%). Five themes of system level challenges affecting exposure and livelihoods evolved: ecological, poverty, communication, education and health care services. Responses were formal and informal strategies from governments, Indigenous organizations and communities. A lack of ethnically disaggregated health data and a gender lens are constraining our knowledge, which is clustered around a limited number of Indigenous peoples in mostly high-income countries. Many Indigenous peoples have autonomously implemented their own coping strategies while government responses have been largely reactive and inadequate. To 'build back better' we must address these knowledge gaps.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kerrie Pickering
- University of the Sunshine Coast, Sippy Downs, Queensland, Australia
| | - Eranga K Galappaththi
- Department of Geography, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA, United States of America
| | - James D Ford
- Priestley International Centre for Climate, University of Leeds, Leeds, United Kingdom
| | - Chandni Singh
- School of Environment and Development, Indian Institute for Human Settlements, Bangalore, India
| | - Carol Zavaleta-Cortijo
- Unidad de Ciudadanía Intercultural y Salud Indígena (UCISI), Facultad de Salud Pública y Administración, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima, Peru
| | - Keith Hyams
- Department of Politics and International Studies, University of Warwick, Coventry, United Kingdom
| | - J Jaime Miranda
- CRONICAS Center of Excellence in Chronic Diseases, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima, Peru
| | - Ingrid Arotoma-Rojas
- Priestley International Centre for Climate, University of Leeds, Leeds, United Kingdom
| | - Cecil Togarepi
- Department of Animal Production, Agribusiness and Economics, School of Agriculture and Fisheries Sciences, University of Namibia, Windhoek, Namibia
| | - Harpreet Kaur
- Indian Institute for Human Settlements, Bangalore, India
| | | | - Halena Scanlon
- University of the Sunshine Coast, Sippy Downs, Queensland, Australia
| | - Didacus B Namanya
- Ministry of Health, Uganda National Health Research Organisation, Entebbe, Uganda
| | - Cecilia Anza-Ramirez
- CRONICAS Center of Excellence in Chronic Diseases, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima, Peru
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Wheat S, Gaughen S, Skeet J, Campbell L, Donatuto J, Schaeffer J, Sorensen C. Climate change and COVID-19: Assessing the vulnerability and resilience of U.S. Indigenous communities to syndemic crises. THE JOURNAL OF CLIMATE CHANGE AND HEALTH 2022; 8:100148. [PMID: 35722027 PMCID: PMC9197810 DOI: 10.1016/j.joclim.2022.100148] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2022] [Accepted: 06/06/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
The rapid emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic and the insidiously evolving climate crisis represent two of the most pressing public health threats to Indigenous Peoples in the United States. Understanding the ways in which these syndemics uniquely impact Indigenous Peoples, given the existing health disparities for such communities, is essential if we are to address modifiable root causes of health vulnerability and devise effective and equitable strategies to protect and improve health in the evolving climate landscape. We explore the compounding burden of the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change on Indigenous Peoples' health, and present several case studies which outline novel Indigenous approaches and perspectives that address climate change, COVID-19 and future health threats.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stefan Wheat
- Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, CO, USA
| | - Shasta Gaughen
- Pala Environmental Department, Director and Tribal Historic Preservation Officer, Pala Band of Mission Indians, Pala, CA, USA
| | - James Skeet
- Covenant Pathways, Navajo Nation, Vanderwagen, NM, USA
| | - Larry Campbell
- Swinomish Community Environmental Health Program, Swinomish Indian Tribal Community, WA, USA
| | - Jamie Donatuto
- Swinomish Community Environmental Health Program, Swinomish Indian Tribal Community, WA, USA
| | - Jacqualine Schaeffer
- Community Environment and Health, Division of Environmental Health and Engineering, Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium, Anchorage, AK, USA
| | - Cecilia Sorensen
- Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
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Serván-Mori E, Seiglie JA, Gómez-Dantés O, Wirtz VJ. Hospitalisation and mortality from COVID-19 in Mexican indigenous people: a cross-sectional observational study. J Epidemiol Community Health 2022; 76:16-23. [PMID: 34266980 PMCID: PMC8288219 DOI: 10.1136/jech-2020-216129] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/25/2020] [Accepted: 06/24/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Despite having a large indigenous population, little is known about the differences in COVID-19-related health outcomes between indigenous and non-indigenous patients in Mexico. The aim of this study is to analyse the variation in hospitalisation and death between indigenous and non-indigenous patients with COVID-19 to guide future policies and clinical practice. METHODS We used data from the Mexican Ministry of Health (MoH) to study the hospitalisation and death of adults with laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 in MoH facilities between 1 March 2020 and 28 February 2021. Predicted probabilities of hospitalisation and death were adjusted for sociodemographic and presentation to care characteristics as well as municipal social deprivation index and health jurisdiction-level index of human resource and hospital equipment availability. RESULTS Of 465 676 hospitalised adults with COVID-19, 5873 (1.3%) were identified as indigenous. Indigenous patients had higher odds of hospitalisation (adjusted OR (aOR)=1.9, 95% CI 1.8 to 2.0), death (aOR=1.3, 95% CI 1.1 to 1. 3) and early mortality (aOR=1.2, 95% CI 1.0 to 1.4), compared with non-indigenous patients. Living in municipalities with high social deprivation was associated with a higher risk of hospitalisation and early death. Living in areas with low healthcare resources was associated with a higher risk of hospitalisation but not death. Being male, aged 51 years or older, having diabetes, hypertension and obesity were associated with an incremental probability of hospitalisation and death among indigenous patients. CONCLUSIONS Indigenous patients with COVID-19 in Mexico have a higher risk of hospitalisation and death than non-indigenous individuals. Our findings can guide future efforts to protect this population from SARS-CoV-2 infection and associated outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Edson Serván-Mori
- Center for Health Systems Research, National Institute of Public Health Mexico, Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico
| | | | - Octavio Gómez-Dantés
- Center for Health Systems Research, National Institute of Public Health Mexico, Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico
| | - Veronika J Wirtz
- Department of Global Health, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
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Direct and Indirect Proof of SARS-CoV-2 Infections in Indigenous Wiwa Communities in North-Eastern Colombia-A Cross-Sectional Assessment Providing Preliminary Surveillance Data. Vaccines (Basel) 2021; 9:vaccines9101120. [PMID: 34696227 PMCID: PMC8539650 DOI: 10.3390/vaccines9101120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/18/2021] [Revised: 09/27/2021] [Accepted: 09/28/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
To provide initial data on local SARS-CoV-2 epidemiology and spread in indigenous communities in north-eastern Colombia, respiratory swabs and serum samples from volunteers of indigenous communities were examined in March and April 2021. Samples from non-indigenous Colombians from the same villages were included as well. While previous exposure to SARS-CoV-2 was assessed by analysing serum samples for IgG and IgM with a rapid antibody point-of-care-test (POCT), screening for active infections was carried out with an antigen POCT test and real-time PCR from nasal swabs. In 380 indigenous and 72 non-indigenous volunteers, 61 (13.5%) active infections and an additional 113 (25%) previous infections were identified using diagnostic serology and molecular assays. Previous infections were more frequent in non-indigenous volunteers, and relevant associations of clinical features with active or previous SARS-CoV-2 infections were not observed. Symptoms reported were mild to moderate. SARS-CoV-2 was frequent in the assessed Colombian indigenous communities, as 38.5% of the study participants showed signs of exposure to SARS-CoV-2, which confirms the need to include these indigenous communities in screening and vaccination programs.
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Cabatbat KPM. Collection of data on indigenous communities this Covid-19 pandemic. J Public Health (Oxf) 2021; 44:e433. [PMID: 34240196 PMCID: PMC8344941 DOI: 10.1093/pubmed/fdab275] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/21/2021] [Revised: 06/21/2021] [Accepted: 06/24/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Katherine Pia M Cabatbat
- De La Salle University, Theology and Religious Education Department, 2401 Taft Ave, Malate, Manila 1004, Philippines
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