Much has been written about the measurement of socio-economic position (SEP) in high-income countries (HIC). Less has been written for an epidemiology, health systems and public health audience about the measurement of SEP in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC). The social stratification processes in many LMIC-and therefore the appropriate measurement tools-differ considerably from those in...

According to the World Health Organization, unintentional injuries were responsible for over 3.9 million deaths and over 138 million disability-adjusted life-years in 2004, with over 90% of those occurring in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC). This paper utilizes the year 2004 World Health Organization Global Burden of Disease Study estimates to illustrate the global and regional burden o...

BACKGROUND Given the high prevalence of depression in primary health care (PHC), the use of screening instruments has been recommended. Both brief and long depression screening instruments have been validated in low and middle income countries (LMIC), including within HIV care settings. However, it remains unknown whether the brief instruments validated in LMIC are as accurate as the long ones....

OBJECTIVE To estimate individual and household economic impact of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in selected low- and middle-income countries (LMIC). BACKGROUND Empirical evidence on the microeconomic consequences of CVD in LMIC is scarce. METHODS AND FINDINGS We surveyed 1,657 recently hospitalized CVD patients (66% male; mean age 55.8 years) from Argentina, China, India, and Tanzania to eva...

Despite the benefits derived from the use of assistive technologies (AT), some parts of the world have minimal or no access to AT. In many low-income and middle-income countries (LMIC), only 5-15% of people who require AT have access to them. Rapid demographic changes will exacerbate this situation as populations over 60 years of age, as well as functional limitations among older populations, i...

INTRODUCTION Life-course studies are needed to explore how exposures during adolescence, particularly puberty, contribute to later cardiovascular risk and cognitive health in low and middle-income countries (LMIC), where 90% of the world's young people live. The extent of any existing cohorts investigating these outcomes in LMIC has not previously been described. METHODS We performed a system...

AIM To discuss factors that have influenced the development of research capacity among nurses in lower and middle-income countries (LMICs). BACKGROUND Concerned health scientists have addressed the importance of building research capacity among health professionals. Strengthening capacity specifically among LMIC nurses has been infrequently discussed. Without the requisite educational prepara...

The goals of the present targeted review on maternal and child overweight and obesity were to: (i) understand the current situation in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) with regard to recent trends and context-specific risk factors; and (ii) building off this, identify entry points for leveraging existing undernutrition programmes to address overweight and obesity in LMIC. Trends reveal t...

Translation of genomic discoveries into patient care is slowly becoming a reality in developed economies around the world. In contrast, low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) have participated minimally in genomic research for several reasons including the lack of coherent national policies, the limited number of well-trained genomic scientists, poor research infrastructure, and local economic...