Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation [to 27 February 2016]
https://www.moore.org/newsroom/press-releases

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Press Releases
Assurance: Generating Value from External Assurance of Sustainability Reporting
World Business Council on Sustainable Development February 22, 2016
How companies generate value from external assurance of sustainability reporting – leveraging WBCSD new Assurance Maturity Model

Geneva, 15 February 2016: Companies who report on their sustainability performance can now turn to a new paper that explains how businesses at different stages of the assurance journey can use the Assurance Maturity Model to assure and validate the information in their reports.

Assurance is becoming an increasingly important element in sustainability reporting. It provides external validation of the financial, social and environmental disclosures made within those reports. Independent assurance statements help companies enhance their credibility and reassure readers of reports that their disclosures are reliable.

Released today, the new WBCSD report is titled “Assurance: Generating value from external assurance of sustainability reporting”. It shows that reporting effectiveness can be enhanced by obtaining an independent assurance statement. The report also provides key guidance from assurance providers and standard setters to assist reporters in navigating the assurance landscape…

Pew Charitable Trusts [to 27 February 2016]
http://www.pewtrusts.org/en/about/news-room/press-releases

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Press Release
Health Impact Project Provides Funding to Promote Health in Southern and Appalachian States
7 planning grants awarded to examine how factors like housing and education affect well-being
February 24, 2016 – Health Impact Project
WASHINGTON—The Health Impact Project, a collaboration of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and The Pew Charitable Trusts, announced grants today to fund projects in Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, and West Virginia. Each grantee will develop an evidence-based action plan for addressing social, economic, and environmental factors (such as housing, education, and community development) that lead to disparities in health outcomes—known as health inequities…

BMC Public Health
http://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles
(Accessed 27 February 2016)

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Study protocol
Health effects of smoke from planned burns: a study protocol
Large populations are exposed to smoke from bushfires and planned burns. Studies investigating the association between bushfire smoke and health have typically used hospital or ambulance data…
David O’Keeffe, Martine Dennekamp, Lahn Straney, Mahjabeen Mazhar, Tom O’Dwyer, Anjali Haikerwal, Fabienne Reisen, Michael J. Abramson and Fay Johnston
BMC Public Health 2016 16:186
Published on: 24 February 2016

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Research article
Enabling relationship formation, development, and closure in a one-year female mentoring program at a non-governmental organization: a mixed-method study
Mental health problems among young women aged 16–24 have increased significantly in recent decades, and interventions are called for. Mentoring is a well-established preventative/ promotive intervention…
Madelene Larsson, Camilla Pettersson, Therése Skoog and Charli Eriksson
BMC Public Health 2016 16:179
Published on: 24 February 2016

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Research article
Motivations to participate in a Phase I/II HIV vaccine trial: A descriptive study from Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
Participation in an HIV vaccine trial in a Tanzanian context is likely to be influenced by altruism and comprehensive education about the trial. Gender differences, marital status and education level need to be considered to enhance participation in future HIV vaccine trials.
E. A. M. Tarimo, M. Bakari, D. C. V. Kakoko, T. W. Kohi, F. Mhalu, E. Sandstrom and A. Kulane
BMC Public Health 2016 16:182
Published on: 24 February 2016

Development Policy Review
March 2016 Volume 34, Issue 2 Pages 177–319
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/dpr.2016.34.issue-2/issuetoc

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Original Articles
Targeting Disaster Aid in Post-Tsunami Sri Lanka (pages 179–195)
Asha Gunawardena and Jean-Marie Baland
Article first published online: 2 FEB 2016 | DOI: 10.1111/dpr.12148
Abstract
In this article we examine the allocation of boats and houses, the two major types of aid made available to tsunami-affected fishery households in Sri Lanka. We investigate the effectiveness of targeting by looking at the distributional impacts and the determinants of allocation of these transfers at the household level. We find that houses were much better targeted than boats in terms of compensating for the losses due to the tsunami. We also find that the ex post distribution of boats is much more unequal than the distribution that prevailed before the tsunami. The reverse is true for the distribution of houses, for which the government took a much more active role.

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Household Enterprises and Poverty Reduction in Sub-Saharan Africa (pages 197–221)
Louise Fox and Thomas Pave Sohnesen
Article first published online: 2 FEB 2016 | DOI: 10.1111/dpr.12152
Abstract
Employment in Household Enterprises (HEs) has been an integral part of the recent economic growth in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Yet employment and development strategies tend to exclude the sector, despite the fact that households with HEs tend to be richer. A good example is Mozambique, where 34% of households rely on income from this source. Analysis of household livelihoods using panel data shows that starting HEs is associated with upward wealth mobility and poverty reduction, particularly for rural and poorly-educated households. Targeted programmes directed towards the constraints to HE creation, survival and income growth would be likely to enhance the effectiveness of employment and poverty reduction strategies in Mozambique as well as in other low income countries in SSA.

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Effects of ‘women empowerment’ on household food security in rural KwaZulu-Natal province (pages 223–252)
S. Sharaunga, M. Mudhara and A. Bogale
Article first published online: 2 FEB 2016 | DOI: 10.1111/dpr.12151
Abstract
Understanding the dimensions of ‘women’s empowerment’ that influence food security among rural households is crucial to inform policy. This study uses the Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS) to identify the food security status of 300 primary female-headed households in Msinga, South Africa. Principal Component Analysis was then used to identify the various dimensions along which the rural women sampled were empowered. Finally, the Ordered Logit model was used to identify the dimensions of women’s empowerment that influence their household food security status. It was found that households headed by women with higher levels of economic agency, physical capital empowerment, psychological empowerment and farm financial management skills empowerment were more likely to be food secure.

Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness
Volume 10 – Issue 01 – February 2016
http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayIssue?jid=DMP&tab=currentissue

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Brief Reports
Civil-Military Engagement: An Empirical Account of Humanitarian Perceptions of Civil-Military Coordination During the Response to Typhoon Haiyan
Vincenzo Bollettino
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/dmp.2015.85 Published online: 10 July 2015
Abstract
Objective
This study sought to identify how humanitarian actors in natural disasters coordinate (or communicate) with the military to identify the needs of disaster-affected populations, identify how coordination should be undertaken for the delivery of relief goods, perceive the effectiveness of such coordination, perceive the role that training played in preparation for coordinating with the military and the effectiveness of this training, and view the overall civil-military engagement and its implications for the independence of the humanitarian sector.
Methods
A survey instrument focused on participant perceptions of the civil-military engagement in response to Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines was sent to country directors and agency leads who played a role in the response.
Results
Although the data supported anecdotal accounts that the coordination between civilian and military actors during the disaster relief efforts in Typhoon Haiyan worked well, they also revealed that fewer than half of the respondents were familiar with the Guidelines on the Use of Foreign Military and Civil Defence Assets in Disaster Relief (the “Oslo Guidelines”) and only 12% of respondents thought that the Oslo Guidelines were used to develop organizational policy on humanitarian aid agency engagement with military actors.
Conclusions
Humanitarians felt that international militaries and the Philippines Armed Forces played an important role in ensuring that aid reached people in need, particularly in the early days of the response. However, less than half of the respondents were familiar with the Oslo Guidelines. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2016;10:7-10)

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Disaster-Related Injury Management: High Prevalence of Wound Infection After Super Typhoon Haiyan
Yong Won Kim, Seong Yeop Kim, Hoon Kim, Moo Eob Ahn, Kang Hyun Lee and Eun Seok Hong
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/dmp.2015.100, Published online: 02 September 201
Abstract
Background
After Super Typhoon Haiyan, a category 5 tropical cyclone, insufficient resources were available for medical management. Many patients in the Philippines were wounded as a result of the disaster. We examined the prevalence, risk factors, and consequences of disaster-related wounds and wound infection in the post-disaster period.
Methods
We performed a retrospective review of consecutive patients admitted to a Korean Disaster Relief Team clinic at St. Paul’s Hospital, Tacloban City, Republic of Philippines, between December 9 and 13, 2013. Traumatic injury patients were included; patients not exhibiting a wound were excluded.
Results
Of the 160 patients enrolled in the study, 71 (44.4%) had infected wounds. There were no significant differences in the age, sex, past medical history, wound site, wound depth, injury mechanism, or inducer of injury between the uninfected and infected groups. In the univariate analysis, a foreign-body-contaminated wound, a chronic wound, elapsed time from injury to medical contact, an inadequately cared for wound, and need for subsequent wound management were associated with wound infection (P<0.05). The multivariate analysis revealed that foreign body contamination and having an inadequately cared for wound were associated with wound infection (odds ratio [OR]: 10.12, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 3.59-28.56; OR: 3.51, 95% CI: 1.07-11.51, respectively).
Conclusion
In the post-disaster situation, many wound infections required definitive care. Wound infection was associated with inadequately cared for wounds and foreign-body-contaminated wounds. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2016;10:28–33)

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Youth Resilience Corps: An Innovative Model to Engage Youth in Building Disaster Resilience
Joie Acosta, Vivian Towe, Anita Chandra and Ramya Chari
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/dmp.2015.132 Published online: 20 October 2015
Abstract
Objective
Despite the growing awareness that youth are not just passive victims of disaster but can contribute to a community’s disaster resilience, there have been limited efforts to formally engage youth in strengthening community resilience. The purpose of this brief report was to describe the development of a Youth Resilience Corps, or YRC (ie, a set of tools to engage young people in youth-led community resilience activities) and the findings from a small-scale pilot test.
Methods
The YRC was developed with input from a range of government and nongovernmental stakeholders. We conducted a pilot test with youth in Washington, DC, during summer 2014. Semi-structured focus groups with staff and youth surveys were used to obtain feedback on the YRC tools and to assess what participants learned.
Results
Focus groups and youth surveys suggested that the youth understood resilience concepts, and that most youth enjoyed and learned from the components.
Conclusions The YRC represent an important first step toward engaging youth in building disaster resilience, rather than just focusing on this group as a vulnerable population in need of special attention. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2016;10:47–50)

Food Security
Volume 8, Issue 1, February 2016
http://link.springer.com/journal/12571/8/1/page/1

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Plant health and food security, linking economics, policy and industry
Original Paper
Plant health and food security, linking science, economics, policy and industry
Alan MacLeod, Glyn D. Jones, Helen M. Anderson, Rick A. Mumford

Original Paper
Options for managing the infectious animal and plant disease risks of international trade
Charles Perrings

Original Paper
Biosecurity and food security—effective mechanisms for public-private partnerships
Greg Fraser

Original Paper
Is resilience a useful concept in the context of food security and nutrition programmes? Some conceptual and practical considerations
Christophe Béné, Derek Headey, Lawrence Haddad, Klaus von Grebmer

Original Paper
In search of a global model of cultivation: using remote sensing to examine the characteristics and constraints of agricultural production in the developing world
Greg Husak, Kathryn Grace

Forum for Development Studies
Volume 43, Issue 1, 2016
http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/sfds20/current
Special Issue: Frontiers of Research on Development and the Environment

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The Frontiers of Poverty Reduction in Emerging Asia
Dan Banik & Arve Hansen
pages 47-68
Free access
DOI:10.1080/08039410.2015.1134646
Abstract
It is difficult, if not impossible, to satisfactorily answer the question ‘Why does poverty persist?’ Nonetheless, there appear to be two approaches that can provide a useful start. One alternative is to examine why poverty (and extreme forms of it) continue to persist in the poorest countries of the world, mainly in Sub-Saharan Africa. The other, which is the focus on this article, is to examine a set of factors or reforms that have worked in reducing poverty in middle-income countries of the ‘Emerging South’ and the challenges these countries continue to face in distributing the benefits of economic growth and addressing persistent levels of poverty within their borders. We aim to better understand successful attempts to reduce poverty in a selected few emerging economies – India, China and Vietnam – by examining the role of specific types of reforms and initiatives in shaping and determining action by national governments to reduce poverty. Do some of these emerging economies advocate and adopt different poverty-reduction policies? If so, what, how and why? And to what extent can some of these poverty-reduction models be usefully applied in other developing country contexts? We then identify and discuss two broad sets of frontiers of research and policy-making on poverty in emerging Asia – environmental challenges and growing inequality – that require considerable attention if India, China and Vietnam are to experience continued economic growth and poverty reduction.

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What Counts as Progress? The Contradictions of Global Health Initiatives
Sidsel Roalkvam & Desmond McNeill
pages 69-88
DOI:10.1080/08039410.2015.1134645
Abstract
Global initiatives to finance maternal and child health have saved millions of lives and protected millions more against the ravages of crippling and debilitating disease; for this they are to be highly commended. Such technological and vertical programmes are appealing to policy-makers at the global level; but these health interventions take place within complex social and economic structures, and pertinent questions have been raised both about some negative consequences of these programmes and the implications for governance at local, national and global levels. Based on recent and ongoing research, and especially on a case study from India, this article critically assesses these related concerns. Is it the case that these programmes may actually weaken local health systems, which are crucial both in themselves and for ensuring health improvements? Do they change the direction of accountability, with national governments becoming accountable upwards to donors (for achieving specified numerical targets) rather than downwards to their citizens? And do such programmes also serve to de-politicize the field of global public health, diverting attention from the responsibilities of powerful nations to rectify the shortcomings of the global political economy and global governance which impact negatively on people’s health?

Genocide Studies International
Volume 9, Issue 2, Fall 2015
http://www.utpjournals.press/toc/gsi/current

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Articles
Humanitarian Missions to the Nuba Mountains, Sudan: Delivery of Food to Those in Critical Need
Samuel Totten
9(2), pp. 248–268
Published online: February 23, 2016
Abstract
The following reports delineate the most recent experiences and insights gleaned by Samuel Totten, a scholar of genocide studies based in the United States, as he traveled up into the war-torn Nuba Mountains in Sudan during December 2014 and April–May 2015. During the course of both trips, accompanied by an interpreter and a driver, both from the Nuba Mountains, he served as a witness to the ongoing aerial attacks by the government of Sudan against Nuba civilians (in their villages, on their farms, in open marketplaces, in their schools, and in places of worship) and delivered food (sorghum, lentils, dried beans, salt, sugar, and cooking oil) to those Nuba in the most dire need. An untold number of Nuba have been forced out of their villages and off their farms due to the aerial bombings, and without access to their farms and stores of food, many, particularly those residing in the remotest regions, are experiencing everything from malnutrition to severe malnutrition to starvation.

Global Public Health
Volume 11, Issue 4, 2016
http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/rgph20/current

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Articles
Access and utilisation of healthcare services in rural Tanzania: A comparison of public and non-public facilities using quality, equity, and trust dimensions
pages 407-422
Elizabeth H. Shayo, Kesheni P. Senkoro, Romanus Momburi, Oystein E. Olsen, Jens Byskov, Emmanuel A. Makundi, Peter Kamuzora & Leonard E.G. Mboera
DOI:10.1080/17441692.2015.1132750
Published online: 17 Feb 2016
ABSTRACT
This study compared the access and utilisation of health services in public and non-public health facilities in terms of quality, equity and trust in the Mbarali district, Tanzania. Interviews, focus group discussions, and informal discussions were used to generate data. Of the 1836 respondents, 1157 and 679 respondents sought healthcare services on their last visit at public or non-public health facilities, respectively. While 45.5% rated the quality of services to be good in both types of facilities, reported medicine shortages were more pronounced among those who visited public rather than non-public health facilities (OR = 1.7, 95% CI 1.4, 2.1). Respondents who visited public facilities were 4.9 times less likely than those who visited non-public facilities to emphasise the influence of cost in accessing and utilising health care (OR = 4.9, CI 3.9–6.1). A significant difference was also found in the provider–client relationship satisfaction level between non-public (89.1%) and public facilities (74.7%) (OR = 2.8, CI: 1.5–5.0), indicating a level of lower trust in the later. Revised strategies are needed to ensure availability of medicines in public facilities, which are used by the majority of the population, while strengthening private–public partnerships to harmonise healthcare costs.

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The impact of global health initiatives on the health system in Angola
pages 475-495
Isabel Craveiro & Gilles Dussault
DOI:10.1080/17441692.2015.1128957
Published online: 13 Jan 2016
ABSTRACT
We assessed the impact of global health initiatives (GHIs) on the health care system of Angola, as a contribution to documenting how GHIs, such as the Global Fund, GAVI and PEPFAR, influence the planning and delivery of health services in low-income countries and how national systems respond. We collected the views of national and sub-national key informants through 42 semi-structured interviews between April 2009 and May 2011 (12 at the national level and 30 at the sub-national level). We used a snowball technique to identify respondents from government, donors and non-governmental organisations. GHIs stimulated the formulation of a health policy and of plans and strategies, but the country has yet to decide on its priorities for health. At the regional level, managers lack knowledge of how GHIs’ function, but they assess the effects of external funds as positive as they increased training opportunities, and augment the number of workers engaged in HIV or other specific disease programmes. However, GHIs did not address the challenge of attraction and retention of qualified personnel in provinces. Since Angola is not entirely dependent on external funding, national strategic programmes and the interventions of GHIs co-habit well, in contrast to countries such as Mozambique, which heavily depend on external aid.

Health Research Policy and Systems
http://www.health-policy-systems.com/content
[Accessed 27 February 2016]

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Research
Health policy and systems research and analysis in Nigeria: examining health policymakers’ and researchers’ capacity assets, needs and perspectives in south-east Nigeria
Benjamin Uzochukwu, Chinyere Mbachu, Obinna Onwujekwe, Chinenye Okwuosa, Enyi Etiaba, Monica E. Nyström and Lucy Gilson
Published on: 24 February 2016

Infectious Diseases of Poverty
http://www.idpjournal.com/content
[Accessed 27 February 2016]

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Scoping Review
Moving interdisciplinary science forward: integrating participatory modelling with mathematical modelling of zoonotic disease in Africa
Catherine Grant, Giovanni Lo Iacono, Vupenyu Dzingirai, Bernard Bett, Thomas R. A. Winnebah and Peter M. Atkinson
Published on: 25 February 2016
Abstract
This review outlines the benefits of using multiple approaches to improve model design and facilitate multidisciplinary research into infectious diseases, as well as showing and proposing practical examples of effective integration. It looks particularly at the benefits of using participatory research in conjunction with traditional modelling methods to potentially improve disease research, control and management. Integrated approaches can lead to more realistic mathematical models which in turn can assist with making policy decisions that reduce disease and benefit local people. The emergence, risk, spread and control of diseases are affected by many complex bio-physical, environmental and socio-economic factors. These include climate and environmental change, land-use variation, changes in population and people’s behaviour.

The evidence base for this scoping review comes from the work of a consortium, with the aim of integrating modelling approaches traditionally used in epidemiological, ecological and development research. A total of five examples of the impacts of participatory research on the choice of model structure are presented. Example 1 focused on using participatory research as a tool to structure a model. Example 2 looks at identifying the most relevant parameters of the system. Example 3 concentrates on identifying the most relevant regime of the system (e.g., temporal stability or otherwise), Example 4 examines the feedbacks from mathematical models to guide participatory research and Example 5 goes beyond the so-far described two-way interplay between participatory and mathematical approaches to look at the integration of multiple methods and frameworks. This scoping review describes examples of best practice in the use of participatory methods, illustrating their potential to overcome disciplinary hurdles and promote multidisciplinary collaboration, with the aim of making models and their predictions more useful for decision-making and policy formulation.

International Journal of Infectious Diseases
February 2016 Volume 43, p1-110
Open Access
http://www.ijidonline.com/current

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Editorial
Health literacy: a concept with potential to greatly impact the infectious diseases field
Richard H. Osborne, Alison Beauchamp, Roy Batterham
p101–102
Published online: December 24 2015
Preview
This edition of the International Journal of Infectious Diseases presents a comprehensive narrative review of health literacy research by Castro-Sánchez et al. that has been undertaken across conditions and countries. Health literacy is a relatively new concept in medicine and, for many, has some immediate appeal. The term was coined by Simonds in the 1970s, who argued the case for school health education, with the intention that pupils would not only be educated in the customary curriculum subjects, but might become as ‘literate’ in health as they were, for example, in history and science.

Reviews
Health literacy and infectious diseases: why does it matter?
Enrique Castro-Sánchez, Peter W.S. Chang, Rafael Vila-Candel, Angel A. Escobedo, Alison H. Holmes
p103–110
Published online: January 2 2016
Preview
The planetary scale of the threat presented by infectious diseases to human health and society has been well described.1 An intricate arrangement of clinical, societal, and ecological determinants powers the emergence of new infectious pathogens such as Ebola virus, and the resurgence of others previously considered to be under control. These same factors drive the unsustainable use and consumption of antimicrobials,2 sketching the looming prospect of a ‘world without antibiotics’ reflected upon by many,3 and without new therapeutic agents likely to be developed at a sufficient rate and periodicity to provide a significant counterbalance.
Highlights
:: Health literacy is an emerging public health and research field.
:: There are limited studies focused on health literacy and infectious diseases.
:: Infections such as malaria with a high burden of morbidity were underrepresented.
:: Most investigations considered functional but not critical health literacy.
Summary
Objectives
Multifactorial interventions are crucial to arrest the threat posed by infectious diseases. Public involvement requires adequate information, but determinants such as health literacy can impact on the effective use of such knowledge. The influence of health literacy on infectious diseases is examined in this paper.
Methods
Databases were searched from January 1999 through July 2015 seeking studies reporting on health literacy and infections such tuberculosis, malaria, and influenza, and infection-related behaviours such as vaccination and hand hygiene. HIV was excluded, as comprehensive reviews have already been published.
Results
Studies were found on antibiotic knowledge and use, the adoption of influenza and MMR immunizations, and screening for sexually transmitted and viral hepatitis infections. There was a lack of investigations on areas such as tuberculosis, malaria, hand hygiene, and diarrhoeal diseases.
Conclusions
Limited or insufficient health literacy was associated with reduced adoption of protective behaviours such as immunization, and an inadequate understanding of antibiotics, although the relationship was not consistent. Large gaps remain in relation to infectious diseases with a high clinical and societal impact, such as tuberculosis and malaria.

JAMA
February 23, 2016, Vol 315, No. 8
http://jama.jamanetwork.com/issue.aspx

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Viewpoint | February 23, 2016
Critical Care in Resource-Restricted Settings
Arjen M. Dondorp, MD, PhD1,2; Shivakumar S. Iyer, MD3; Marcus J. Schultz, MD, PhD1,4
Author Affiliations
JAMA. 2016;315(8):753-754. doi:10.1001/jama.2016.0976.
Extract
This Viewpoint discusses the challenges of providing intensive care in settings and countries with limited resources.

In many low- and middle-income countries, with improved public health services like sanitation and immunization, the relative contribution of curative care for critically ill patients to overall health and life expectancy has increased considerably. The importance of intensive care facilities as a global good was emphasized by recent epidemics in which survival was highly dependent on adequate critical care. Examples include the SARS coronavirus (2002-2003), avian influenza H5N1 (2004 and onward), pandemic influenza A(H1N1) (2009), the MERS coronavirus (2012 and onward), and Ebola virus disease (2014-2015)…

Journal of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society (JPIDS)
Volume 5 Issue 1 March 2016
http://jpids.oxfordjournals.org/content/current

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SLIPE HIGHLIGHTS: UPDATE FROM LATIN AMERICA
Influenza B Burden in Latin America and Potential Benefits of the New Quadrivalent Vaccines
Luiza Helena Falleiros Arlant, Lucia F. Bricks
Extract
Respiratory infections caused by the influenza virus have a huge impact on public health. Influenza vaccination offers many benefits to not only patients at high risk for complications of influenza but also to healthy individuals [1]. Because of pandemics, influenza A virus is perceived to carry greater risk than influenza B [2]. However, both types of influenza virus can affect people of any age group, and they cause clinically indistinguishable infections and pose equal risks [1, 2].
Globally, the influenza type B virus causes 20% to 25% of influenza infections. Influenza B viruses include 2 antigenically distinguished lineages, Victoria and Yamagata, which have been cocirculating globally since 2002 [3]. Circulation of the B lineages varies from year to year, so predicting which one to include in the next year’s trivalent influenza vaccine (IIV3) is difficult. In fact, data from the United States and Europe indicate that in half of the influenza seasons over the past decade, the B lineage included in …

New England Journal of Medicine
February 25, 2016 Vol. 374 No. 8
http://www.nejm.org/toc/nejm/medical-journal

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Review Article
Challenges in the Elimination of Pediatric HIV-1 Infection
Katherine Luzuriaga, M.D., and Lynne M. Mofenson, M.D.
N Engl J Med 2016; 374:761-770 February 25, 2016 DOI: 10.1056/NEJMra1505256
Preventing mother-to-child transmission of HIV-1 requires a series of steps in the care of women and their infants during pregnancy, delivery, and the postpartum period. This review outlines the steps and summarizes progress in resource-limited countries and elsewhere.

PharmacoEconomics
Volume 34, Issue 2, February 2016
http://link.springer.com/journal/40273/34/2/page/1
Big Data Themed Issue

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Editorial
Big Data and Its Role in Health Economics and Outcomes Research: A Collection of Perspectives on Data Sources, Measurement, and Analysis
Eberechukwu Onukwugha
Initial text
Health economists and outcomes researchers have watched the term ‘big data’ increase in prominence over the last several years. However, to date, the use of big data in medicine has not been concretely illustrated across a variety of health economics and outcomes research (HEOR). At the same time, many of the same observers agree that fundamental questions remain unanswered and include (1) “What does the term ‘big data’ mean?” and (2) “What does the availability of big data mean for individuals who produce and use findings from HEOR?” This editorial tackles the first question and leaves contributors to this issue of PharmacoEconomics to discuss the promises, possibilities and potential pitfalls of using big data in HEOR….

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Current Opinion
Big Data and Health Economics: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats
Brendan Collins
Abstract
‘Big data’ is the collective name for the increasing capacity of information systems to collect and store large volumes of data, which are often unstructured and time stamped, and to analyse these data by using regression and other statistical techniques. This is a review of the potential applications of big data and health economics, using a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) approach. In health economics, large pseudonymized databases, such as the planned care.data programme in the UK, have the potential to increase understanding of how drugs work in the real world, taking into account adherence, co-morbidities, interactions and side effects. This ‘real-world evidence’ has applications in individualized medicine. More routine and larger-scale cost and outcomes data collection will make health economic analyses more disease specific and population specific but may require new skill sets. There is potential for biomonitoring and lifestyle data to inform health economic analyses and public health policy.

PLOS Currents: Disasters
http://currents.plos.org/disasters/
[Accessed 27 February 2016]

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Assessing Households Preparedness for Earthquakes: An Exploratory Study in the Development of a Valid and Reliable Persian-version Tool
February 25, 2016 · Research Article
Introduction: Iran is placed among countries suffering from the highest number of earthquake casualties. Household preparedness, as one component of risk reduction efforts, is often supported in quake-prone areas. In Iran, lack of a valid and reliable household preparedness tool was reported by previous disaster studies. This study is aimed to fill this gap by developing a valid and reliable tool for assessing household preparedness in the event of an earthquake.
Methods: This survey was conducted through three phases including literature review and focus group discussions with the participation of eight key informants, validity measurements and reliability measurements. Field investigation was completed with the participation of 450 households within three provinces of Iran. Content validity, construct validity, the use of factor analysis; internal consistency using Cronbach’s alpha coefficient, and test-retest reliability were carried out to develop the tool.
Results: Based on the CVIs, ranging from 0.80 to 0.100, and exploratory factor analysis with factor loading of more than 0.5, all items were valid. The amount of Cronbach’s alpha (0.7) and test-retest examination by Spearman correlations indicated that the scale was also reliable. The final instrument consisted of six categories and 18 questions including actions at the time of earthquakes, nonstructural safety, structural safety, hazard map, communications, drill, and safety skills.
Conclusion: Using a Persian-version tool that is adjusted to the socio-cultural determinants and native language may result in more trustful information on earthquake preparedness. It is suggested that disaster managers and researchers apply this tool in their future household preparedness projects. Further research is needed to make effective policies and plans for transforming preparedness knowledge into behavior.

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Characteristics of an Effective International Humanitarian Assistance: A Systematic Review
February 25, 2016 · Research Article
Introduction: The objective of this study is to identify the effectiveness characteristics, review the definition of them, and develop a conceptual mapping of existing domains in the field of International Humanitarian Assistance (IHA).
Methods: We conducted a systematic review and searched the major databases (Science Direct, Scopus, Springer and Pubmed) and grey literature, including references of potentially eligible articles and conference proceedings through March 2015. Articles were included if they focused on IHA effectiveness. Reviewers independently identified the eligible studies and extracted data.
Results: 10 studies were included and 48 characteristics were identified. There is a lack of scientific studies and agreement on the characteristics of IHA effectiveness.
Conclusion: This study could be the step toward an understanding of IHA effectiveness characteristics and its definitions with the findings making a base line for more research in this area.

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Rapid and near Real-time Assessments of Population Displacement Using Mobile Phone Data Following Disasters: The 2015 Nepal Earthquake
February 24, 2016 · Research Article
Introduction: Sudden impact disasters often result in the displacement of large numbers of people. These movements can occur prior to events, due to early warning messages, or take place post-event due to damages to shelters and livelihoods as well as a result of long-term reconstruction efforts. Displaced populations are especially vulnerable and often in need of support. However, timely and accurate data on the numbers and destinations of displaced populations are extremely challenging to collect across temporal and spatial scales, especially in the aftermath of disasters. Mobile phone call detail records were shown to be a valid data source for estimates of population movements after the 2010 Haiti earthquake, but their potential to provide near real-time ongoing measurements of population displacements immediately after a natural disaster has not been demonstrated.
Methods: A computational architecture and analytical capacity were rapidly deployed within nine days of the Nepal earthquake of 25th April 2015, to provide spatiotemporally detailed estimates of population displacements from call detail records based on movements of 12 million de-identified mobile phones users.
Results: Analysis shows the evolution of population mobility patterns after the earthquake and the patterns of return to affected areas, at a high level of detail. Particularly notable is the movement of an estimated 390,000 people above normal from the Kathmandu valley after the earthquake, with most people moving to surrounding areas and the highly-populated areas in the central southern area of Nepal.
Discussion: This analysis provides an unprecedented level of information about human movement after a natural disaster, provided within a very short timeframe after the earthquake occurred. The patterns revealed using this method are almost impossible to find through other methods, and are of great interest to humanitarian agencies.

PLoS Medicine
http://www.plosmedicine.org/
(Accessed 27 February 2016)

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A Time for Global Action: Addressing Girls’ Menstrual Hygiene Management Needs in Schools
Marni Sommer, Bethany A. Caruso, Murat Sahin, Teresa Calderon, Sue Cavill, Therese Mahon, Penelope A. Phillips-Howard
Health in Action | published 23 Feb 2016 | PLOS Medicine
10.1371/journal.pmed.1001962
Summary Points
:: There is an absence of guidance, facilities, and materials for schoolgirls to manage their menstruation in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).
:: Formative evidence has raised awareness that poor menstrual hygiene management (MHM) contributes to inequity, increasing exposure to transactional sex to obtain sanitary items, with some evidence of an effect on school indicators and with repercussions for sexual, reproductive, and general health throughout the life course.
:: Despite increasing evidence and interest in taking action to improve school conditions for girls, there has not been a systematic mapping of MHM priorities or coordination of relevant sectors and disciplines to catalyze change, with a need to develop country-level expertise.
:: Columbia University and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) convened members of academia, nongovernmental organizations, the UN, donor agencies, the private sector, and social entrepreneurial groups in October 2014 (“MHM in Ten”) to identify key public health issues requiring prioritization, coordination, and investment by 2024.
:: Five key priorities were identified to guide global, national, and local action

PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases
http://www.plosntds.org/
(Accessed 27 February 2016)

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Reducing Cost of Rabies Post Exposure Prophylaxis: Experience of a Tertiary Care Hospital in Pakistan
Naseem Salahuddin, M. Aftab Gohar, Naila Baig-Ansari
Research Article | published 26 Feb 2016 | PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases
10.1371/journal.pntd.0004448

PLoS One
http://www.plosone.org/
[Accessed 27 February 2016]

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Do Maternal Knowledge and Attitudes towards Childhood Immunizations in Rural Uganda Correlate with Complete Childhood Vaccination?
Bryan J. Vonasek, Francis Bajunirwe, Laura E. Jacobson, Leonidas Twesigye, James Dahm, Monica J. Grant, Ajay K. Sethi, James H. Conway
Research Article | published 26 Feb 2016 | PLOS ONE
10.1371/journal.pone.0150131
Abstract
Improving childhood vaccination coverage and timeliness is a key health policy objective in many developing countries such as Uganda. Of the many factors known to influence uptake of childhood immunizations in under resourced settings, parents’ understanding and perception of childhood immunizations has largely been overlooked. The aims of this study were to survey mothers’ knowledge and attitudes towards childhood immunizations and then determine if these variables correlate with the timely vaccination coverage of their children. From September to December 2013, we conducted a cross-sectional survey of 1,000 parous women in rural Sheema district in southwest Uganda. The survey collected socio-demographic data and knowledge and attitudes towards childhood immunizations. For the women with at least one child between the age of one month and five years who also had a vaccination card available for the child (N = 302), the vaccination status of this child was assessed. 88% of these children received age-appropriate, on-time immunizations. 93.5% of the women were able to state that childhood immunizations protect children from diseases. The women not able to point this out were significantly more likely to have an under-vaccinated child (PR 1.354: 95% CI 1.018–1.802). When asked why vaccination rates may be low in their community, the two most common responses were “fearful of side effects” and “ignorance/disinterest/laziness” (44% each). The factors influencing caregivers’ demand for childhood immunizations vary widely between, and also within, developing countries. Research that elucidates local knowledge and attitudes, like this study, allows for decisions and policy pertaining to vaccination programs to be more effective at improving child vaccination rates.