SummaryBackgroundLatin American and Caribbean populations include three main ethnic groups: indigenous people, people of African descent, and people of European descent. We investigated ethnic inequalities among these groups in population coverage with reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health interventions.MethodsWe analysed 16 standardised, nationally representative surveys carried out from 2004 to 2015 in Latin America and the Caribbean that provided information on ethnicity or a proxy indicator (household language or skin colour) and on coverage of reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health interventions. We selected four outcomes: coverage with modern contraception, antenatal care coverage (defined as four or more antenatal visits), and skilled attendants at birth for women aged 15–49 years; and coverage with three doses of diphtheria-pertussis-tetanus (DPT3) vaccine among children aged 12–23 months. We classified women and children as indigenous, of African descent, or other ancestry (reference group) on the basis of their self-reported ethnicity or language. Mediating variables included wealth quintiles (based on household asset indices), woman's education, and urban-rural residence. We calculated crude and adjusted coverage ratios using Poisson regression.FindingsEthnic gaps in coverage varied substantially from country to country. In most countries, coverage with modern contraception (median coverage ratio 0·82, IQR 0·66–0·92), antenatal care (0·86, 0·75–0·94), and skilled birth attendants (0·75, 0·68–0·92) was lower among indigenous women than in the reference group. Only three countries (Nicaragua, Panama, and Paraguay) showed significant gaps in DPT3 coverage between the indigenous and the reference groups. The differences were attenuated but persisted after adjustment for wealth, education, and residence. Women and children of African descent showed similar coverage to the reference group in most countries.InterpretationThe lower coverage levels for indigenous women are pervasive, and cannot be explained solely by differences in wealth, education, or residence. Interventions delivered at community level—such as vaccines—show less inequality than those requiring access to services, such as birth attendance. Regular monitoring of ethnic inequalities is essential to evaluate existing initiatives aimed at the inclusion of minorities and to plan effective multisectoral policies and programmes.FundingThe Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (through the Countdown to 2030 initiative) and the Wellcome Trust.

Caicedo B, Gonçalves H, González DA, Victora CG. Violent delinquency in a Brazilian birth cohort: the roles of breast feeding, early poverty and demographic factors. Paediatric and Perinatal Epidemiology 2010; 24: 12–23.We investigated the association between breast feeding, economic factors and conviction for violent delinquency by age 25 years among subjects of the 1982 Birth Cohort from Pelotas, Southern Brazil. Information on breast-feeding pattern and duration was collected in childhood, during the 1983, 1984 and 1986 follow-ups. Information on socio-economic and family characteristics was also obtained between 1982 and 1996. Of the 5914 livebirths enrolled in the cohort, 5228 had obtained an identification document within the state of Rio Grande do Sul, and could thus be identified in judiciary databases. The outcome studied was conviction due to a violent act between ages 12 and 25 years. A total of 106 young people had been convicted at least once (3.0% of men and 1.0% of women). Subjects born to black or mixed mothers and coming from low-income families were at higher risk of having been convicted. Neither crude nor adjusted analyses showed any association between breast feeding and conviction for violent delinquency. Violent delinquency apparently depends more on social factors than on individual factors such as breast feeding.

Resumen Objetivo: determinar la prevalencia de VIH y explorar su relación con características sociales y demográficas de habitantes de calle de la ciudad de Medellín en el año 2014. Metodología: se realizó un estudio descriptivo-transversal para determinar la seroprevalencia de VIH y se exploraron factores sociales y demográficos asociados a la infección por VIH en habitantes de calle de la ciudad de Medellín en el año 2014. El procesamiento de datos fue realizado en el software SPSS 21.0. Los análisis incluyeron descripción univariada y bivariada, se utilizó la prueba estadística de Chi cuadrado; razón de prevalencia (RP) intervalos de confianza del 95% asumiendo un nivel de significación estadística menor del 5%. Resultados: se encuestaron 184 habitantes de calle, el 80% eran hombres, con un promedio de edad de 40 (DE 11,4 años). Se identificó una prevalencia de VIH del 8,2%; para los hombres esta prevalencia fue de 6,1% y para las mujeres fue de 16,2%. Las mujeres tuvieron tres veces el riesgo de VIH comparado con los hombres y las personas casadas y en unión libre cinco veces el riesgo de tener VIH comparado con los solteros, separados y divorciados. Conclusión: la prevalencia mayor del 5% en la población habitante de calle, muestra que la infección por VIH en Colombia está concentrada en poblaciones clave (alta prevalencia y vulnerables) y se requieren acciones focalizadas hacia grupos específicos.---------Palabras clave: VIH, vigilancia, prevalencia, personas sin hogar.Prevalencia y factores asociados al VIH en habitante de calle... Facultad Nacional de Salud Pública 201 AbstractObjective: To determine the prevalence of HIV and describe the social and demographic characteristics of street dwellers Medellin in 2014. Methodology: A descriptive cross-sectional study where the authors determined the seroprevalence of HIV and explored the social and demographic factors associated with HIV infection among street dwellers of the city of Medellin in 2014. The data were processed using the SPSS 21.0 software. Analyses included univariate and bivariate descriptions, and the statistical Chi-square test was used. Prevalence ratio (PR) confidence interval 95% assuming a statistical significance level of less than 5%. Results: a total of 184 street dwellers were surveyed, 80% were male,

Objective Examining neighborhood conditions, parenting and peer affiliations' association with adolescents' aggressive behavior. Testing various mechanisms through which neighborhood conditions influence two adolescent outcomes, both directly and indirectly (via their impact on parenting and peer-affiliation): aggression and delinquency. Method Data regarding adolescents was taken from a self-reporting survey of 1,686 Colombian adolescents living in 103 neighborhoods of Medellin. Neighborhoodrelated data was taken from official government datasets, as well as two separate community surveys. Both multilevel modeling and multilevel structural equation modeling were used in the analysis. Results The probability of an adolescent engaging in aggression in Medellin was 7.0 % and becoming involved in delinquency 0.3 %. There was also significant variation for both forms of aggressive behavior at neighborhood-level (7.0 % aggression and 14 % regarding the delinquency scale). No neighborhood condition had a direct association with adolescents' aggressive behavior; however; the neighborhood exerted an indirect influence on adolescent behavior which was mainly transmitted through families and the quality of friends within a particular community. Conclusions Residing in disadvantaged neighborhoods did have an adverse effect on adolescents' aggressive behavior, mainly because of a lack of effective parenting strategies thereby facilitating affiliations being made with deviant peers. More efficient intervention for reducing adolescents' aggressive behavior should thus target areas having high odds of aggressive behavior and focus on improving community resources and, more importantly, on controlling adolescent peer groups, the lack of parental monitoring and inconsistent discipline.