Introduction: The constitutional province of Callao is one of the most affected by the epidemic of tuberculosis nationwide. Likewise, it should be considered that the first level health care services are usually the gateway for these patients to the health system. Objectives: To describe the characteristics of the offer of health services in tuberculosis units from first level of care in the Constitutional Province of Callao. Methods: A descriptive study was carried out in 45 tuberculosis units from primary care health services, which investigated the characteristics of infrastructure, human resources and data entry to the information system. Results: 45 primary care health services have “Differentiated units of TB care”; which have 19 doctors, 35 nurses, 3 nutritionists, 10 psychologists, 9 social workers and 50 nursing technicians. 96% of professi...

Introduction. On March 5 2020, the first case of COVID-19 was reported and on March 16, order of quarantine was issued which resulted in interruption of academic activities. Objective. Determine the seroprevalence and risk factors associated to SARS-CoV-2 infection in undergraduate students of the school of medicine in a public university. Methods. Descriptive cross-sectional study by means of a serology survey to a representative sample of the population of undergraduate students of a health sciences school using a rapid test to detect antibodies IgG, IGM or both in a total blood sample by digital punction. Results. On August 2021, 24,92% (IC95% 18,2-33,0) of students of health sciences tested positive for antibodies anti SARS-CoV-2, 21,2% for IgG, 2,3% for IGM and 0,8% for both; 75,08% (IC95% 66,9-82,0) tested negative antibodies. Conclusions. The seroprevalence in students was not dif...

A health technology (drug, vaccine, medical device, procedure) is submitted to a systematic evaluation procedure, called Health Technology Assessment (HTA). The HTA process involves analyzing the properties, benefits, risks and costs of a technology applied to health care, and issuing evidence-based information, linking research and its findings with decision-making in the field of health. Based on the recommendations obtained as a result of the HTA, decision-makers in the health sector choose to admit or reject the incorporation of new health technologies. In Peru, as in the rest of the world, the health technology assessment process has been implemented for approximately ten years, and there are institutions with experience in preparing reports with the results of the HTA. This article provides a general overview of HTA in the world, with special emphasis on their evolution and develop...

Introduction. Tuberculosis is a public health problem in our country. Affected patients are slow to access health services, among other factors due to the stigma and social discrimination that this disease has in the population. In addition, stigma has an impact on the social and family relationship of affected patients. The objective of the present study was to quantify the stigma in students of the faculty of medicine of a public university. Methods. An observational, descriptive and transversal study was carried out. A previously validated questionnaire was applied to students of the first three years of medical school, in order to quantify the stigma of tuberculosis. Results. The questionnaire was applied to 505 students of the medical school. 39% of the student population showed a moderate and great stigma in front of the people affected by tuberculosis; likewise, 38% showed a sligh...

The COVID-19 pandemics required the countries to take decisions rapidly. Consequently, the National Institute of Health (INS) developed a series of documents of scientific evidence synthesis according to the Ministry of Health’s requirements. Based on these reports, the INS developed recommendations to update normative documents related to COVID-19’s management. This article describes the construction of anew methodology applied by the INS to synthesize scientific evidence during the COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, it emphasizes the efforts and strategies used to guarantee the methodological quality and the implementation of the GRADE approach. Finally, it provides a short reflection on the limitations and challenges of using evidence to design national public policies in the future.