Skip to main content

Publications

Showing 61 - 80 of 298 results

Critical research gaps in treating growth faltering in infants under 6 months: A systematic review and meta-analysis (link is external)

|
PLOS Global Public Health
Publication Type
Article
Read More
Authors
Cecília Tomori
Deborah L. O’Connor
Dania Orta-Aleman
Katerina Paone
Chakra Budhathoki
Rafael Pérez-Escamilla

No evidence of inflated mortality reporting from the Gaza Ministry of Health (link is external)

|
The Lancet
Publication Type
Letter

Mortality reporting is a crucial indicator of the severity of a conflict setting, but it can also be inflated or under-reported for political purposes. Amidst the ongoing conflict in Gaza, some political parties have indicated scepticism about the reporting of fatalities by the Gaza Ministry of Health (MoH). The Gaza MoH has historically reported accurate mortality data, with discrepancies between MoH reporting and independent United Nations analyses ranging from 1·5% to 3·8% in previous conflicts. A comparison between the Gaza MoH and Israeli Foreign Ministry mortality figures for the 2014 war yielded an 8·0% discrepancy.  Public scepticism of the current reports by the Gaza MoH might undermine the efforts to reduce civilian harm and provide life-saving assistance.

A premature newborn born to an adolescent girl with acute Ebola virus disease and malaria survives in a resource‐limited setting in an Ebola treatment unit in DR Congo: “A case report” (link is external)

|
Clinical Case Reports
Publication Type
Report

This case describes rare preterm newborn survival in the setting of an Ebola treatment unit in Eastern DRC. The neonate was born vaginally to an acutely ill 17‐year‐old mother who was vaccinated against Ebola virus after being identified as a contact of her father, who was a confirmed case and who did not survive his infection. This woman was admitted to an Ebola treatment unit at 32 weeks of gestation and given monoclonal antibody treatment. She gave birth vaginally, succumbing to postpartum hemorrhage 14 h after delivery. This child survived despite compounding vulnerabilities of preterm birth and maternal Ebola infection. Despite a negative test for EVD, the neonate was given a single dose of monoclonal antibody therapy in the first days of life. We believe maternal vaccination and neonatal monoclonal antibody treatment contributed to the child's survival. The circumstances surrounding neonatal survival in this extremely resource‐limited context must be analyzed and disseminated in order to increase rates of neonatal and maternal survival in future outbreaks. Maternal and neonatal health are critical aspects of outbreak response that have been understudied and underreported leaving clinicians severely underresourced to provide life‐saving care in outbreak settings. Pregnancy and childbirth do not stop in times of disease outbreak, adequate equipment and trained staff required for quality neonatal care must be considered in future outbreak responses.

A Prospective Comparison of Standard and Modified Acute Malnutrition Treatment Protocols during COVID-19 in South Sudan (link is external)

|
Nutrients
Publication Type
Article

A non-randomized prospective cohort study was conducted in 2022 to compare recovery rate and length of stay (LoS) for acutely malnourished children treated under South Sudan’s standard Community Management of Acute Malnutrition (CMAM) protocol and a COVID-modified protocol. Children aged 6–59 months received acute malnutrition (AM) treatment under the standard or modified protocol (mid-upper-arm circumference-only entry/exit criteria and simplified dosing). Primary (recovery rate and LoS) were compared for outpatient therapeutic (OTP) and therapeutic supplementary feeding programs (TSFP) using descriptive statistics and mixed-effects models. Children admitted to OTP under both protocols were similar in age and sex; children admitted to TSFP were significantly older under the modified protocol than the standard protocol. Shorter LoS and higher recovery rates were observed under the modified protocol for both OTP (recovery: 93.3% vs. 87.2%; LoS: 38.3 vs. 42.8 days) and TSFP (recovery: 79.8% vs. 72.7%; LoS: 54.0 vs. 61.9 days). After adjusting for site and child characteristics, neither differences in adjusted odds of recovery [OTP: 2.63; TSFP 1.80] nor LoS [OTP −10.0; TSFP −7.8] remained significant. Modified protocols for AM performed well. Adjusted models indicate similar treatment outcomes to the standard protocol. Adopting simplified protocols could be beneficial post-pandemic; however, recovery and relapse will need to be monitored.

Attacks on health are war crimes and a public health catastrophe (link is external)

|
The Lancet
Publication Type
Commentary

he armed conflict in Israel and Gaza has strained the medical systems of both places, particularly in Gaza where at least 40 health-care workers have been killed. The destruction of hospitals and clinics in Gaza, with more than 75 attacks between Oct 7 and Oct 24, 2023, is a tragic echo of both targeted and indiscriminate violence against health care across the globe. The Safeguarding Health in Conflict Coalition reported nearly 2000 incidents of attacks on health care in 2022 globally, and the 2023 trajectory is set to surpass this.

A comparison of total cost estimates between exclusive breast-feeding and breast milk substitute usage in humanitarian contexts (link is external)

|
Public Health Nutrition
Publication Type
Article

Using a model-based analysis, we calculated the total costs associated with the exclusive breast-feeding (EBF) and breast milk substitute (BMS) usage for one infant for six months within select humanitarian contexts to (a) determine if there is a notable difference in costs and (b) use these results to inform future creation of data-informed humanitarian response standard operating procedures.

Multi-purpose cash transfers and health among vulnerable Syrian refugees in Jordan: A prospective cohort study (link is external)

|
PLOS Global Public Health
Publication Type
Article
Read More

The implementation of infection prevention and control measures and health care utilisation in ACF-supported health facilities during the COVID-19 pandemic in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, 2020 (link is external)

Publication Type
Article

Background 

Infection prevention and control (IPC) was a central component of the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s COVID-19 response in 2020, aiming to prevent infections and ensure safe health service provision.

Objectives 

We aimed to assess the evolution of IPC capacity in 65 health facilities supported by Action Contre la Faim in three health zones in Kinshasa (Binza Meteo (BM), Binza Ozone (BO), and Gombe), investigate how triage and alert validation were implemented, and estimate how health service utilisation changed in these facilities (April–December 2020).

Authors

Actually, the psychological wounds are more difficult than physical injuries:” a qualitative analysis of the impacts of attacks on health on the personal and professional lives of health workers in the Syrian conflict (link is external)

|
Conflict and Health
Publication Type
Article

Attacks on healthcare in armed conflict have far-reaching impacts on the personal and professional lives of health workers, as well as the communities they serve. Despite this, even in protracted conflicts such as in Syria, health workers may choose to stay despite repeated attacks on health facilities, resulting in compounded traumas. This research explores the intermediate and long-term impacts of such attacks on healthcare on the local health professionals who have lived through them with the aim of strengthening the evidence base around such impacts and better supporting them.

Adoption of Electronic Medical Records for Chronic Disease Care in Kenyan Refugee Camps: Quantitative and Qualitative Prospective Evaluation (link is external)

|
JMIR mHealth and uHealth
Publication Type
Article

Background

Noncommunicable disease (NCD) prevention and control in humanitarian emergencies is a well-recognized need, but there is little evidence to guide responses, leading to varying care delivery. The Sana.NCD mobile health (mHealth) app, initially developed in Lebanon, is the only known mHealth tool for NCD management designed to increase care quality and coverage for providers in humanitarian settings.

Objective

We evaluated a specialized mHealth app consisting of an abbreviated medical record for patients with hypertension or diabetes, adapted for a Kenyan refugee camp setting.

Authors

Estimating the effects of COVID-19 on essential health services utilization in Uganda and Bangladesh (link is external)

|
Frontiers in Public Health
Publication Type
Article
Read More

Cash for assets during acute food insecurity: an observational study in South Sudan (link is external)

|
Agriculture & Food Security
Publication Type
Article
Read More

Maternal, fetal, and perinatal outcomes among pregnant women admitted to an Ebola treatment center in the Democratic Republic of Congo, 2018–2020 (link is external)

|
PLOS One
Publication Type
Article
Read More

Maternal mid-upper arm circumference: Still relevant to identify adverse birth outcomes in humanitarian contexts? (link is external)

|
Field Exchange
Publication Type
Article
Read More

Effectiveness of humanitarian health interventions: a systematic review of literature published between 2013 and 2021 (link is external)

|
BMJ Open
Publication Type
Article
Read More
Authors

The crisis of maternal and child health in Afghanistan (link is external)

|
Conflict and Health
Publication Type
Article
Read More

HIV infection and engagement in the care continuum among migrants and refugees from Venezuela in Colombia: a cross-sectional, biobehavioural survey (link is external)

|
The Lancet HIV
Publication Type
Article
Read More
Authors

Area-specific covid-19 effect on health services utilization in the Democratic Republic of the Congo using routine health information system data (link is external)

|
BMC Health Services Research
Publication Type
Article
Read More