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Abstract: The primary objective of this study was to identify and describe individual- and environmental-level factors that Peruvian adolescents perceive to be related to adolescent sexuality. A series of concept mapping sessions were carried out from January–March 2006 with 63 15–17 year olds from a low-income community near Lima in order for adolescents to: (1) brainstorm items that they thought were related to sexuality, (2) sort, group and rate items to score their importance for sexuality-related outcomes, and (3) create pathways from the groups of items to engaging in sex. Brainstorming resulted in 61 items, which participants grouped into 11 clusters. The highest rated clusters were personal values, respect and confidence in partner relationships, future achievements and parent-child communication. The pathway of decision-making about having sex primarily contained items rated as only moderately important. This study identified important understudied factors, new perspectives on previously-recognized factors, and possible pathways to sexual behavior. These interesting and provocative findings underscore the importance of directly integrating adolescent voices into future sexual and reproductive health research, policies and programs that target this population. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Sexually transmitted infections (STIs), including HIV, are prevalent among adolescents and can have lasting adverse health consequences. The objective of this review is to identify high-quality interventions and evaluations to decrease STI transmission and related risky behaviors among young people in low- and middle-income countries. PubMed, Embase, PsycInfo, Cinahl Plus, Popline, and the Cochrane Databases were searched without language limitations for articles published through November 2015. Gray literature was searched by hand. Reference tracing was utilized, as well as the unpacking of systematic reviews. Retained articles were those that were evaluated as having high-quality interventions and evaluations using standardized scoring. Twenty-one high-quality interventions and evaluations were abstracted. Three reported declines in STI diagnoses, three reported declines in STI symptoms, six showed declines in risky sexual behavior, seven reported increases in abstinence, 11 found increases in condom use, and five reported increases in health care utilization. There is a wide range of rigorously evaluated high-quality interventions included in this review that can inform researchers, donors, and policy makers about where to make strategic investments to decrease the spread of STIs, including HIV. With the recent advent of biomarkers, researchers can use a gold standard measure to assess intervention impact. The diversity of interventions can allow decision makers to tailor interventions to the context, age range, and gender of the target population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This study aimed to evaluate the association between chronic Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and both structural and cognitive social capital in adult survivors of the 2007 earthquake in Pisco, Peru. Cognitive social capital measures trust, sense of belonging and interpersonal relationships in the community and structural social capital measures group membership, support from community groups and individuals, and involvement in citizenship activities. We conducted a population-based cross-sectional study in five counties in Pisco, selecting 1012 adults through complex, multi-stage random sampling. All participants completed socio-demographic questions and validated Spanish-language versions of the Adapted Social Capital Assessment Tool (SASCAT) and the civilian PTSD checklist (PCL-C). After performing descriptive and bivariate analyses, we carried out prevalence ratio (PR) regression. The overall prevalence of chronic PTSD was 15.9% (95% CI: 12.3, 19.8), much higher than anticipated based on existing evidence. Cognitive social capital was found to be negatively associated with chronic PTSD, while no significant association was found for structural social capital. Specifically, those with high cognitive social capital had an almost two times lower prevalence of chronic PTSD (PR = 1.83, 95% CI: 1.50, 2.22) compared with those with low cognitive social capital. No independent association between structural social capital and chronic PTSD was found (PR = 1.44, 95% CI: 0.70, 2.97). In conclusion, cognitive social capital, but not structural social capital, has a protective influence on the occurrence of chronic PTSD in survivors of natural disasters. These results may have public health implications. For example, pre- and post-disaster community-based interventions that catalyze and foster dimensions of cognitive social capital may aid in ameliorating the effect of earthquakes and other natural disasters on populations with high vulnerability to such events and poor access to mental health and other support services. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

• Health professional and at risk community member participants underestimated influenza prevalence. • Both also correctly identified major influenza-associated symptoms. • Providers missed opportunities to vaccinate and overestimated vaccine side-effects. • Community members had low knowledge about the influenza vaccine. • Text-messaging was identified as a possible way of disseminating information. Influenza is a major source of morbidity and mortality with an annual global attack rate estimated at 5–10% in adults and 20–30% in children. Influenza vaccination is the main strategy for reducing influenza-related morbidity and mortality. Like several other countries, Peru has low vaccination coverage, estimated at 25–50% among young children and older adults. Therefore, the study objective was to explore the knowledge, beliefs, attitudes, and practices related to influenza vaccination among populations at higher risk for infection and/or complications and health professionals in Peru, and their perspectives on health communication channels. This qualitative study was carried out in three cities. We held nine focus groups with pregnant and postpartum women, parents of young children, and older adults. We carried out 25 in-depth interviews with health professionals (HPs) working in, leading or advising immunization-related programs. HPs correctly identified the causes of influenza and HPs and at risk community members identified major symptoms. Community members had poor awareness of the potential severity of influenza and were generally unaware of influenza-related mortality. Both HPs and community members greatly underestimated the prevalence of influenza in Peru. HPs in our study overestimated major side effects of the influenza vaccine and community members perceived that the vaccine caused illness. HPs missed important opportunities to promote vaccination in patients with minor illness (runny nose, allergies, colds) and community members did not understand that the vaccine should be received annually. There is no single strategy that will increase influenza vaccination rates to World Health Organization recommended levels. Instead, it requires multi-faceted commitment from HPs, other healthcare authorities and the government. Addressing important knowledge barriers, specifically negative views regarding the influenza vaccine and the severe morbidity and mortality associated with influenza illness, both in the community and especially among HPs, could have significant impacts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]