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Objective: To understand the public policy-making process as it relates to breast cancer care in five Latin American countries., Methods: An exploratory-evaluative study was conducted in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, and Venezuela in 2010, with the selection of countries based on convenience sampling. Sixty-five semi-structured interviews were conducted with government officials, academics, and representatives of trade associations and civil society organizations. A content analysis of secondary sources was performed. Information sources, data, and informants were mixed using the triangulation method for purposes of analysis., Results: The countries that have made the most progress in public policy-making related to breast cancer are Brazil and Mexico. Although Argentina, Colombia, and Venezuela do not have policies, they do have breast cancer care programs and activities. Two perspectives on the development of public policies became evident: the first includes the broad participation of both governmental and nongovernmental sectors, whereas the second, more narrow approach involves government authorities alone., Conclusions: The results point to significant differences in public policy-making related to breast cancer in the Region. They also show that greater progress has been made in countries where policies have been developed through inclusive participation processes.

Objective: To critically analyze the level and quality of infrastructure, human resources and organization of long term care institutions for the elderly in Mexico City and to describe the functional status and care requirements of their residents., Material and Methods: A census was made of the institutions located in the metropolitan area of Mexico City which totalled 115. These were classified according to their belonging to the public or private sector (for profit and non-profit). In each category we made a random selection of 33 institutions which were all assessed according to the methodology described by Firevicius and applied by PAHO in several countries in Latin-America. This questionnaire was applied by a single interviewer. Within the selected institutions, 30% of the residents, who were also randomly selected were assessed by means of the Kuntzman's care requirements scale. Out of a total population of 1955, 617 (34%) residents were assessed., Results: The mean score obtained by the institutions was under 50% of the maximum possible score with a great deal of dispersion of the results. The lowest scores were identified in the private for profit sector and in a subgroup of public institutions. The highest scores were found among private non-profit institutions and a sector of the public institutions. The most important shortcomings identified were related to infrastructure and quality of human resources. The mean age of the institutionalized elderly is 76; 48.1% are functionally independent, 21.3% partially dependent and 30.6% totally dependent. When trying to correlate the mean functional status of the population of a given institution with its resources for care-giving we usually found no correlation. It is commonplace to find highly dependent populations living in poorly staffed or inadequately equipped institutions and vice versa, Conclusions: Quality of care in long term care institutions in Mexico City is often poor and this is particularly true for private for profit institutions. Lack of norms and supervision pertaining to the functioning of such institutions contributes greatly to this reality.

Objective: The aim of the present study was to estimate basic anthropometric measurements in a group of elderly men and women from Mexico City., Material and Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out among senior citizens registered in the National Institute of the Elderly and National Institute of Social security in Mexico City. Standardized protocols were used to measure the anthropometric characteristics of the study group. The analysis included Student t tests to detect differences in average values between men and women in general and in each age subgroup formed. In addition, Pearson correlation analysis of the body mass index (BMI) with anthropometric variables was performed; p < 0.05 was taken as the level of significance., Results: A total of 508 people aged 60 or older participated in the study; 230 were males and 278 were females. The average age was 66.9-years-old in the male group and 67.3-years-old in the female group. Among men the average weight was 70.7 kg, standard deviation (SD 9.9), height was 164 cm (SD 6.5) and BMI was 26.4 (SD 3.7). Among women the average weight was 60.8 kg (SD 9.9), height was 150 cm (SD 5.9) and BMI was 27.1 (SD 4.0). The distribution of the BMI showed that 50.9% of men and 54% of women were between 25.0 and 29.9. A correlation coefficient over r 0.70 (p < 0.001) was found between BMI and waist and hip circumferences., Conclusions: Based on the BMI about three-quarters of the population was overweight or obese. It is possible that the assessment of being overweight and of obesity in elderly people needs to be adjusted considering revised normality values.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine the characteristics of hospital utilization by the elderly in three hospitals in Mexico City during 1992 and 1993. Main reason for admission, average length of stay and type of treatment received were some of the variables studied., Material and Methods: A random sample of 820 clinical files were selected, 308 from the Instituto Nacional de la Nutrición Salvador Zubirán (INNSZ), 189 from the Hospital General Manuel Gea González (HGMGG) and 323 from the Hospital Regional Adolfo López Mateos (HRALM). The principal reasons for admission, average days spent in the hospital and type of treatment received were identified for patients 60 years and older. Univariate and bivariate analysis was performed with hypothesis test for differences between sexes., Results: Diabetes mellitus and hypertension were the principal reasons for admission length of stay varied considerably and was the longest at the INNSZ (median: 12 days) and the shortest at the HRALM (median: 8 days). Most of the patients were admitted through the emergency service, except in the INNSZ where most came for ambulatory visit.

The problem of population aging and its consequences for health has not been analysed in depth in Mexico. This paper is a critical review of available data on the epidemiology of aging in Mexico. Available data, even though incomplete serves us to identify the main problems afflicting the elderly population: poverty, absence of specialized services, high prevalence of disabilities and multiple pathology and weakening of the family and social support network. throughout the analysis of this information, a proposal is made towards the development of a gerontological services network.