Background: The COVID-19 pandemic greatly impacted traditional health structures, posing new challenges in an unprecedented health crisis. Telemedicine services were implemented in countries with robust digital platforms to reduce hospital attendance while continuing to provide medical care. This study aims to determine how telemedicine services have been used as a tool to ensure the right to health in Latin America during the pandemic. Materials and methods: We conducted a narrative review in which words such as telemedicine, COVID-19, Latin America, access, and right to health, were searched on scientific medical datasets such as PubMed and SciELO. Additionally, we reviewed legislation in the Latin American health domain regarding the administration and transmission of digital data. Results and conclusions: Several countries have used telemedicine to reduce the saturation of healthcare systems and increase patient access. Issues such as broadband access for low-income populations and adequate legal regulations for transmitting and storing confidential data must be addressed to improve telemedicine use in Latin America.

Background: ChatGPT was not intended for use in health care, but it has potential benefits that depend on end-user understanding and acceptability, which is where health care students become crucial. There is still a limited amount of research in this area. Objective: The primary aim of our study was to assess the frequency of ChatGPT use, the perceived level of knowledge, the perceived risks associated with its use, and the ethical issues, as well as attitudes toward the use of ChatGPT in the context of education in the field of health. In addition, we aimed to examine whether there were differences across groups based on demographic variables. The second part of the study aimed to assess the association between the frequency of use, the level of perceived knowledge, the level of risk perception, and the level of perception of ethics as predictive factors for participants’ attitudes toward the use of ChatGPT. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted from May to June 2023 encompassing students of medicine, nursing, dentistry, nutrition, and laboratory science across the Americas. The study used descriptive analysis, chi-square tests, and ANOVA to assess statistical significance across different categories. The study used several ordinal logistic regression models to analyze the impact of predictive factors (frequency of use, perception of knowledge, perception of risk, and ethics perception scores) on attitude as the dependent variable. The models were adjusted for gender, institution type, major, and country. Stata was used to conduct all the analyses. Results: Of 2661 health care students, 42.99% (n=1144) were unaware of ChatGPT. The median score of knowledge was “minimal” (median 2.00, IQR 1.00-3.00). Most respondents (median 2.61, IQR 2.11-3.11) regarded ChatGPT as neither ethical nor unethical. Most participants (median 3.89, IQR 3.44-4.34) “somewhat agreed” that ChatGPT (1) benefits health care settings, (2) provides trustworthy data, (3) is a helpful tool for clinical and educational medical information access, and (4) makes the work easier. In total, 70% (7/10) of people used it for homework. As the perceived knowledge of ChatGPT increased, there was a stronger tendency with regard to having a favorable attitude toward ChatGPT. Higher ethical consideration perception ratings increased the likelihood of considering ChatGPT as a source of trustworthy health care information (odds ratio [OR] 1.620, 95% CI 1.498-1.752), beneficial in medical issues (OR 1.495, 95% CI 1.452-1.539), and useful for medical literature (OR 1.494, 95% CI 1.426-1.564; P<.001 for all results). Conclusions: Over 40% of American health care students (1144/2661, 42.99%) were unaware of ChatGPT despite its extensive use in the health field. Our data revealed the positive attitudes toward ChatGPT and the desire to learn more about it. Medical educators must explore how chatbots may be included in undergraduate health care education programs.

Patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) are validated and standardized tools that complement physician evaluations and guide treatment decisions. PROMs are crucial for monitoring atopic dermatitis (AD) and chronic urticaria (CU) in clinical practice, but there are unmet needs and knowledge gaps regarding their use in clinical practice. We investigated the global real-world use of AD and CU PROMs in allergology and dermatology clinics as well as their associated local and regional networks. Across 72 specialized allergy and dermatology centers and their local and regional networks, 2,534 physicians in 73 countries completed a 53-item questionnaire on the use of PROMs for AD and CU. Of 2,534 physicians, 1,308 were aware of PROMs. Of these, 14% and 15% used PROMs for AD and CU, respectively. Half of physicians who use PROMs do so only "rarely" or "sometimes". AD and CU PROM usage is associated with being female, younger, and a dermatologist. POSCORAD and UAS were the most utilized PROMs for AD and CU, respectively. Monitoring disease control and activity are the main drivers of the use of PROMs. Time constraints were the primary obstacle to using PROMs, followed by the impression that patients dislike PROMs. AD and CU PROM users would like training in selecting the proper PROM. Even though PROMs offer several benefits, their use in routine practice is suboptimal, and physicians perceive barriers to their use. It is essential to attain higher levels of PROM implementation in accordance with national and international standards.

Over the COVID-19 pandemic, the impact of enduring mental health on healthcare workers has become increasingly evident. This review focuses on post-pandemic mental health challenges faced by healthcare personnel in Latin America. This highlights the persistent burden on healthcare workers, especially women, which is exacerbated by economic disparities, inadequacies in the healthcare system, and ongoing occupational stressors. Our literature review, utilizing databases such as PubMed, Scopus, and Google Scholar, scrutinized the mental health status of healthcare professionals in the region after the pandemic’s peak. The analysis indicated sustained levels of psychological distress, with frontline workers and women continuing to be affected disproportionately. These findings emphasize the urgent need for personalized interventions to effectively address the complex mental health challenges in this context. This review advocates strategic interventions, including tailored psychological support, innovative diagnostics, and technological solutions, integrated into patient-centered care models. Such approaches aim to enhance the mental resilience and overall well-being of healthcare professionals across Latin America in the post-COVID era.

Climate change is one of the greatest challenges to humanity, with carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions being the primary driver. This study examined the relationship between gender equality, measured using the Global Gender Gap Index (GGGI), and CO₂ emissions per capita across 49 countries over a 14-year period (2006–2020). Using a fixed-effects regression model, we controlled for structural, economic, and policy variables including population density, GDP per capita, urbanization rate, energy use, the stability of democratic institutions, and environmental policy stringency. Multiple imputations were applied to address missing data, and robustness checks were performed to confirm the validity of the findings. The results indicated that the GGGI is significantly negatively associated with CO₂ emissions per capita (β = −0.1403, p < 0.001), suggesting that a 1% improvement in the GGGI corresponds to a reduction of 0.14 metric tons in CO₂ emissions per capita. Population density and energy use were also significant predictors, whereas GDP per capita, urbanization rate, and environmental policy stringency showed weaker or non-significant associations. These findings underscore the potential of gender equality to enhance environmental sustainability by improving decision-making processes and policy implementation.

A vast literature has demonstrated that several mother-related variables are positively associated with their daughters’ sexual and reproductive outcomes. One underexplored variable is sexual empowerment––a subdimension of empowerment. In this study, we explore if maternal sexual empowerment is predictive of adolescent daughters’ outcomes like early sexual initiation, teenage pregnancy, and contraception use. This study uses data from the 2018 National Health and Nutrition Survey of Ecuador (Ensanut), a cross-sectional survey in Ecuador that measures health and nutrition. We examine whether mothers’ sexual empowerment––measured as a woman’s autonomy in sexual relationships and her ability to turn down sex and demand contraception use from her partner––is predictive of sexual and reproductive outcomes among female adolescent children. Logistic regression was performed to test this association. Results showed that having a mother who lacked sexual empowerment increased the odds of early sexual initiation. Girls who had a mother who had a teenage birth were more likely to experience teenage pregnancy themselves. Mothers may influence daughters’ attitudes towards sex through their own demonstration of sexual empowerment. This research demonstrates that a lack of maternal sexual empowerment can be a risk factor of early sexual initiation, teenage pregnancy, and lack of contraception use among female adolescents. More research is needed to confirm the robustness of these results and analyze other forms of sexual empowerment. Other variables not present in the data, like domestic violence, can be used to understand the sexual activity of young females and maternal sexual empowerment. Social desirability and recall bias are also common forms of bias in surveys regarding sexual activity among adolescents.