HAVANA.- The XVI Pan American Colloquium on Research in Nursing officially begins this Tuesday in Havana with representatives from some 20 nations, including Cuba, in which they will make an update on this specialty, of vital importance in health services.

This event, that will run till next Friday in the Havana Convention Center, has as its central theme the "Contribution of Nursing in Primary Health Care to Universal Health", announced Idalmis Infante Ochoa, President of the Cuban Society of Nursing (SOCUENF), and of the organizing committee.

The president of SOCUENF noted that the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) selected Cuba to host the forum since it is a model of primary health care (PHC).

The participants come from Brazil, Mexico, Spain, Portugal, Canada, United States, Venezuela, Chile, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Argentina, El Salvador and Uruguay, among others.

The event will discuss 815 papers, including 610 on free topics and 190 on posters, explained Lázaro Hernández, president of the scientific committee.

The topics will be about Primary Health Care and the 40 years of Alma Ata. Universal Access and Coverage of Health and Sustainable Development Objectives. Challenges and Opportunities for the Nursing WorkforceIt also includes community nursing within the scope of its professional competence and attention to priority groups; maternal and child health, sexual and reproductive health and care for the elderly.

It also contemplates the surveillance of adverse events; risks and prevention of diseases in vulnerable groups; the development of programs of promotion, prevention, rehabilitation and education for the health of the person, family, groups and community, announced its organizers.

As part of the Colloquium, 18 international workshops were previously held at the Conventions Center and other institutions in the capital.

Since 1988, the Pan American Colloquium on Nursing Research has been held without interruption, with the support of PAHO and the PAHO/WHO Collaborating Nursing and Midwifery Centers.