Established risk factors for diabetes (e.g., age, obesity, and family history) were relevant and there was an inverse relationship between diabetes and education and socioeconomic level. While diabetes prevalence is high on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border, one-third of the cases remain undiagnosed, suggesting a need for development and implementation of a public health program for prevention, diagnosis, and control of diabetes in the region.
Adult Hispanics diagnosed with diabetes and living on the U.S.-Mexico border region are not receiving adequate diabetes-related care, and health care professionals are not following international recommendations for providing that care. To improve diabetes control in the region, health care providers must become more aware of the effect of education and culture on diabetes self-care as well as the provision of preventative measures by health care professionals.
In Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico, morbidity and mortality from injuries have increased alarmingly since 2008. This paper aims to examine the changes in the number of hospital discharges for external injuries recorded during the 2008-2010 period in a hospital in Ciudad Juarez. A descriptive retrospective study conducted at the Ciudad Juarez General Hospital looked at the incidence of external injuries as the reason for hospital discharges during the period under analysis. The average proportion of hospital discharges attributed to external injuries was 27%, with the 25-44-year-old age group being the most affected. More than half of the discharges were for fractures. The incidence rate of hospital discharges attributed to injuries in Ciudad Juarez was almost four times greater than that reported at the national level.
This paper reviews and discusses the main procedures and policies that need to be followed when designing and implementing a binational survey such as the United States of America (U.S.)-Mexico Border Diabetes Prevalence Study that took place between 2001 and 2002. The main objective of the survey was to determine the prevalence of diabetes in the population 18 years of age or older along U.S.-Mexico border counties and municipalities. Several political, administrative, financial, legal, and cultural issues were identified as critical factors that need to be considered when developing and implementing similar binational projects. The lack of understanding of public health practices, implementation of existing policies, legislation, and management procedures in Mexico and the United States may delay or cancel binational research, affecting the working relation of both countries. Many challenges were identified: multiagency/multifunding, ethical/budget clearances, project management, administrative procedures, laboratory procedures, cultural issues, and project communications. Binational projects are complex; they require coordination between agencies and institutions at federal, state, and local levels and between countries and need a political, administrative, bureaucratic, cultural, and language balance. Binational agencies and staff should coordinate these projects for successful implementation.
The U.S.-Mexico Border Diabetes Prevention and Control Project allowed the border zone between the two countries to be considered, for the first time ever, as a unit for epidemiological research. A shared understanding among all participating institutions and entities of sociopolitical structures and procedures is required for effective border health cooperation initiatives.
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