The impact of the global COVID-19 pandemic on health systems has created a chaotic scenario, severely hindering the ability to meet health needs and negatively affecting the provision of health services to the population. This prolonged health crisis has exposed the collapse of health systems and their lack of institutional capacity to effectively address health emergencies. This situation is largely attributable to the segmentation and fragmentation rooted in the regional structure of these systems. Meanwhile, limited progress has been made in evaluating their performance. One of the primary objectives of health systems is universal health coverage. Nevertheless, achieving this goal requires the implementation of strategies aimed at strengthening these systems through the evaluation of their performance and the promotion of international health security. In this context, essential publi...

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and influenza infections are important causes of respiratory illness associated with hospitalizations in children in Peru; however, comparisons of RSV and influenza hospitalization across all age groups are not available in Peru. Therefore, we conducted an observational, retrospective study between May 2015 and October 2021 using hospitalization from RSV and influenza infection data obtained from SUSALUD (open data) in Peru to compare the baseline characteristics of sex, age, region, and infection type. For the study, 2696 RSV-infected and 1563 influenza-infected hospitalized patients from different age groups were included. Most hospitalizations from RSV infection and the influenza virus occurred in children <5 years of age (86.1% vs. 32.2%, respectively). Compared with influenza infection, RSV infection was less likely to occur in individuals ≥5 year...

Objective: To determine the impact of the Articulated Nutritional Program (PAN) on chronic malnutrition in children under five years of age, its correlation with the PAN’s budget execution, and the prevalence of chronic malnutrition at the Dirección Regional de Salud (DIRESA) Callao, 2009-2015. Materials and methods: A quantitative, qualitative, observational, ecological, correlational, longitudinal and retrospective study was carried out. The Pearson correlation coefficient was determined in the quantitative analysis. Qualitative data was obtained from in-depth interviews with the support of a semi-structured guide. Results: There is no relationship between the PAN’s Modified Institutional Budget (PIM) and the prevalence of chronic malnutrition (p value 0.92). There is no relationship between the budget execution of the PIM and the prevalence of chronic malnutrition (p value 0.355)...

Objective: To describe pediatric dentists’ perceptions regarding dental biosafety in times of COVID-19 in Lima, 2020.Materials and methods: A qualitative, phenomenological and content-analysis study. In-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with 18 pediatric dentists through the Zoom videoconferencing platform, following the guidelines described in a guide and after obtaining the pertinent virtual informed consent. ATLAS.ti software version 8.4 was used for data analysis, where all the verbatim files of each interview were uploaded.Results: Pediatric dentists perceived themselves to be professionally empowered with knowledge about biosafety measures. Moreover, they highlighted the mastery of various techniques such as mouthwash, use of personal protective equipment, control of aerosols, social distancing between patients and disinfection of environments, which are essential f...