Latin America and the Caribbean have lower child mortality levels than Africa and Asia, and higher levels than those observed in developed countries. This is a region in transition, with relatively developed health systems and…
In the evaluation of the health status of a population, the periodic recording of children’s physical growth must occupy a prominent place. It is now recognized that somatic growth is a highly sensitive indicator of…
Primary healthcare is conceived as a set of integrated activities which, although emphasizing the primary level, forms part of the national health system and, as such, must be coordinated with the other levels of that…
It must be recognized that, although for some four decades we have witnessed social and economic transformations that have brought about profound changes in the nature of the social environment, the gap between well-being and…
Maternal and child healthcare in Latin America has specific connotations that respond fundamentally to the biological characteristics of this group, its high percentage within the demographic spectrum and the environmental factors in which this process…
During growth, pregnancy and lactation, the amount of protein must be increased. Carbohydrates generally provide more than 50 percent of the calories in a normal diet. They should not be given in excess, because they…
Health and disease are not opposite concepts, since there are individuals who carry an organic, anatomical or functional disease and who, therefore, according to what has been established, could be called ill, yet who work…
There is an official medicine which, as explained in the section devoted to the history of medicine, dates back to the Corpus Hippocraticum. Its practice is based on knowledge accumulated over the years, on tradition…
Disease is as old as humanity itself, as shown by the lesions found by paleontologists in the skeletal remains of individuals who lived in the earliest times of human history. Faced with pain or organic…
