Health literacy is associated with better health outcomes. Primary care professionals generally provide most of the care to patients and are also often the first point of contact for patients within a health system. This article discusses four strategies to promote health literacy in the primary care setting: 1) Improve the clinician’s communication skills, 2) Use e-Health tools, 3) Promote patient self-care, and 4) Develop support systems and care environments. These strategies are discussed in the context of the realities of low and middle income countries, as in the case of Peru.

Climate-related phenomena in Peru have been slowly but continuously changing in recent years beyond historical variability. These include sea surface temperature increases, irregular precipitation patterns and reduction of glacier-covered areas. In addition, climate scenarios show amplification in rainfall variability related to the warmer conditions associated with El Niño events. Extreme weather can affect human health, increase shocks and stresses to the health systems, and cause large economic losses. In this article, we study the characteristics of El Niño events in Peru, its health and economic impacts and we discuss government preparedness for this kind of event, identify gaps in response, and provide evidence to inform adequate planning for future events and mitigating impacts on highly vulnerable regions and populations. This is the first case study to review the impact of a C...