SEVILLE, February 14 (EUROPE PRESS) –
The Minister of Health and Consumer Affairs of the Government of Andalusia, Catalina García, announced this Wednesday in a parliamentary committee the creation of the Andalusian Strategy for Health Promotion and Prevention, which has been in the works for “several months”. As detailed, it takes a “holistic” approach to health and public health that will promote research and facilitate the transfer of results.
“This strategy not only makes it possible to integrate efforts made in the field of health promotion and disease prevention among all sectors and actors involved, but also makes it possible to implement a joint, proportionate approach and, above all, everything in an orderly manner,” he noted, while emphasizing that this will be a “milestone” in the development of actions to improve the quality of life.
Catalina García said that preventive health is one of the five pillars of Andalusia’s “new health model”, which is complemented by health promotion, attention to chronic diseases, humanization and research. Regarding prevention, he advocated education and information about the importance of a healthy lifestyle, since prevention is an everyday tool for human physical and mental development. Prevention, including vaccines, screenings and activities aimed at emotional well-being.
“All of this must coexist harmoniously at different stages of our lives,” the Council added and included in the press release. Regarding vaccination, he stressed that recent history has shown that it is the “most effective” way to prevent infectious diseases. For this reason, Andalusia has reportedly made unprecedented commitments to prevention, both in terms of the investments made and the breadth of the vaccine catalogue.
Since 2018, expenses have increased by 180%, rising from 42 million euros to 118 last year. By 2024, this figure will rise to 133 million. “It is this investment that allows Andalusia to have one of the most advanced vaccination schedules in the country, making us a benchmark in active prevention policies.” At this point, he recalled two major milestones in the vaccine catalog for 2023: immunization of children under six months of age against respiratory syncytial virus and a vaccine against human papillomavirus for 12-year-old boys, thereby filling the existing shortage of vaccines. equity among boys in access to important preventive measures for various types of cancer.
In this sense, four new events have been highlighted for 2024, such as the increase in the risk groups for herpes zoster to the 65-year-old cohort; replacing the vaccination dose against meningococcus C with meningococcus ACWY in four-month-old children; an increase for the third consecutive year in the 20-valent conjugate pneumococcal cohort among adults aged 60 to 73 years who had not yet received either the 13-valent or the 20-valent; and switching to a single dose of human papillomavirus, aimed at systematically vaccinating 12-year-old boys and girls.
On the other hand, he thanked the “responsibility and desire” of Andalusians to protect themselves from viruses and, on the other hand, the “efforts” of professionals calling on the population to be vaccinated. Thanks to all this, the influenza vaccine for children aged 6 to 59 months already covered 45.5% of the target population, that is, more than 131,300 children, in the second year of use. Likewise, 94% of the target population were immunized against respiratory syncytial virus.
“Thanks to this exercise of parental responsibility, hospitalizations this year have dropped by 78% and intensive care unit admissions have dropped by 66%,” he said. Covid and flu vaccine coverage for people over 85 is 76% and for older people in care homes is 90%. In addition, 92% of available flu doses have already been received to immunize 1.8 million people; and 79% of Covid doses administered to 1.1 million people.
As for human papilloma, a record coverage rate of 93% was achieved in girls from 12 to 18 years old, and in the first year of vaccination in 12-year-old boys it already exceeded 80%, in percentage terms very similar. girls of the same age. Finally, more than 120,000 Andalusian babies have received the vaccine against meningococcus B. In this regard, he noted that since February this year Andalusia has vaccination points for international travel in all provinces.
“In this way, we will put an end to the lack of equality between provinces by opening international vaccination sites in Jaén and Cordoba. Citizens will no longer have to travel outside their province to get vaccinated,” he added. During her speech, the consultant also spoke about cancer screening. For breast cancer screening, coverage was “significantly” expanded in the second half of 2023. If previously women aged 50 to 69 years were invited, now the test has been extended from 47 to 71 years. “And in the future we want to expand these tests from 40 to 75 years.”
In 2023, more than 410,000 Andalusians participated in this program, of whom 42,000 were referred to their reference hospital center for a diagnostic test, which allowed the detection of 1,355 cases of cancer at an early stage of the disease. In particular, the Andalusian Health Service is promoting the improvement of diagnostic devices through the acquisition of 36 new tomosynthesis mammographs, four of which are in a new location.
These new mammographs will allow 45,000 additional tests to be performed than are already being performed. Together, the Breast Cancer Early Detection Program currently employs 72 mammographers, of whom 28 work in primary care settings, 37 work in hospital mammography machines, and seven work in mobile mammography units. Regarding colon screening, he stressed that it has received important “support” since the arrival of the current Andalusian government, as the coverage of invitation-only has increased from 50% to almost 100%.
Regarding colon screening, he stressed that it has received important “support” since the arrival of the current Andalusian government, as the coverage of invitation-only has increased from 50% to almost 100%. Regarding lung screening, Andalusia, through the Virgen Macarena Hospital in Seville and the Northern Health District of Aljarafe-Seville, is participating in the Cassandra project for lung cancer screening using low-dose CT. In terms of cervical cancer screening, 2024 will mark a new milestone for screening programs with the introduction of population-based cervical cancer screening for all women aged 25 to 65 years in July.
Finally, Catalina Garcia pays special attention to mental health problems, since half of the problems begin before the age of 14, and more than 70% begin before the age of 18. For this reason, the ministry has trained school nurse referral services to identify early signs of mental health disorders and suicidal behavior or thoughts. Training that was carried out in 2023 and will be expanded in 2024.