:: Journal Watch
The Sentinel will track key peer-reviewed journals which address a broad range of interests in human rights, humanitarian response, health and development. It is not intended to be exhaustive. We will add to those monitored below as we encounter relevant content and upon recommendation from readers. We selectively provide full text of abstracts and other content but note that successful access to some of the articles and other content may require subscription or other access arrangement unique to the publisher. Please suggest additional journals you feel warrant coverage.

BMC Health Services Research
http://www.biomedcentral.com/bmchealthservres/content
(Accessed 18 June 2016)

.
Research article
Insufficient access to oral paediatric medicines in Ghana: A descriptive study
Daniel N A Ankrah, Joseph T Turkson, Edith B Boateng, Frank T T Amegavie and Elizabeth Bruce
BMC Health Services Research 2016 16:198
Published on: 17 June 2016
Abstract
Background
Among the most vulnerable people in society are children and this is especially so in their access to health care Off-label prescription of paediatric medicines is known to be associated with safety outcomes some of which may be serious. This study identifies frequently prescribed children’s medicines that are not readily available in Ghana and are prepared extemporaneously.
Method
All prescriptions for extemporaneous oral preparations for children presented to the local production unit of the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital from November, 2013 were eligible for the study. Information from such prescriptions was recorded in a systematic format. Presence of the prescribed medicine on the World Health Organization Children’s Medicine List was ascertained in addition to the anatomical and therapeutic classification code. The registration of the prescribed medicine for paediatric use by the Food and Drugs Authority, Ghana was also checked. Descriptive statistics of the data was presented.
Results
In all 622 prescriptions for 35 different paediatric formulations were served. Prescriptions from several health facilities including government hospitals (6.6 %, N=622), private hospitals (2.4 %, N=622) and the University of Ghana hospital (1.1 %, N=622) were all honoured. Some of the prescribed medicines (Baclofen, Clonazepam, Hydroxyurea and Lamotrigine) were neither on the World Health Organization Children’s Medicine list nor registered with the Food and Drugs Authority, Ghana. Most prescribed medicines (88.6 %, N=35) were for non-communicable diseases.
Conclusion
Paediatric prescriptions including off-label medicines are prescribed and formulated extemporaneously in this setting. Steps should be taken to improve access and monitor benefit-risk profiles of paediatric medicines in order to improve treatment outcomes among children.

BMC Infectious Diseases
http://www.biomedcentral.com/bmcinfectdis/content
(Accessed 18 June 2016)

.
Research article
The incidence, clearance and persistence of non-cervical human papillomavirus infections: a systematic review of the literature
Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines were designed to prevent cervical cancer in women and their provision remains a major public health need. However, HPV is also a major cause of non-cervical anogenital and o…
Sylvia Taylor, Eveline Bunge, Marina Bakker and Xavier Castellsagué
BMC Infectious Diseases 2016 16:293
Published on: 14 June 2016

.

Research article
Changing distribution of age, clinical severity, and genotypes of rotavirus gastroenteritis in hospitalized children after the introduction of vaccination: a single center study in Seoul between 2011 and 2014
This study aimed to explore changes in clinical epidemiology and genotype distribution and their association among hospitalized children with rotavirus gastroenteritis after the introduction of vaccines.
Jung Ok Shim, Ju Young Chang, Sue Shin, Jin Soo Moon and Jae Sung Ko
BMC Infectious Diseases 2016 16:287
Published on: 14 June 2016

BMC Medical Ethics
http://www.biomedcentral.com/bmcmedethics/content
(Accessed 18 June 2016)

.
Research article
Steps toward improving ethical evaluation in health technology assessment: a proposed framework
While evaluation of ethical aspects in health technology assessment (HTA) has gained much attention during the past years, the integration of ethics in HTA practice still presents many challenges. In response …
Nazila Assasi, Jean-Eric Tarride, Daria O’Reilly and Lisa Schwartz
BMC Medical Ethics 2016 17:34
Published on: 6 June 2016

.

Debate
Citizen science or scientific citizenship? Disentangling the uses of public engagement rhetoric in national research initiatives
The language of “participant-driven research,” “crowdsourcing” and “citizen science” is increasingly being used to encourage the public to become involved in research ventures as both subjects and scientists. …
J. Patrick Woolley, Michelle L. McGowan, Harriet J. A. Teare, Victoria Coathup, Jennifer R. Fishman, Richard A. Settersten, Sigrid Sterckx, Jane Kaye and Eric T. Juengst
BMC Medical Ethics 2016 17:33
Published on: 4 June 2016

BMC Medicine

(Accessed 18 June 2016)

.
Research article
Maternal antenatal multiple micronutrient supplementation for long-term health benefits in children: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Multiple micronutrient supplementation for pregnant women reduces low birth weight and has been recommended in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) to improve child survival, growth and health.
Delan Devakumar, Caroline H. D. Fall, Harshpal Singh Sachdev, Barrie M. Margetts, Clive Osmond, Jonathan C. K. Wells, Anthony Costello and David Osrin
BMC Medicine 2016 14:90
Published on: 16 June 2016

BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth
http://www.biomedcentral.com/bmcpregnancychildbirth/content
(Accessed 18 June 2016)

.
Research article
The adequacy of antenatal care services among slum residents in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
There are recent efforts made to eliminate inequalities in the utilisation of basic health care services. More emphasis is given for improvement of health in developing countries including maternal and child h…
Yibeltal T. Bayou, Yohana S. Mashalla and Gloria Thupayagale-Tshweneagae
BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth 2016 16:142
Published on: 15 June 2016

.

Research Article
Boosting antenatal care attendance and number of hospital deliveries among pregnant women in rural communities: a community initiative in Ghana based on mobile phones applications and portable ultrasound scans
The World Health Organization has recommended at least four antenatal care (ANC) visits and skilled attendants at birth. Most pregnant women in rural communities in low-income countries do not achieve the mini…
Benjamin Amoah, Evelyn A. Anto, Prince K. Osei, Kojo Pieterson and Alessandro Crimi
BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth 2016 16:141
Published on: 14 June 2016

BMC Public Health
http://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles
(Accessed 18 June 2016)

.
Research article
Closing the gap in Australian Aboriginal infant immunisation rates – the development and review of a pre-call strategy
Improving timely immunisation is key to closing the inequitable gap in immunisation rates between Aboriginal children and non-Indigenous children. Aboriginal Immunisation Officers were employed in Hunter New E…
Patrick M. Cashman, Natalie A. Allan, Katrina K. Clark, Michelle T. Butler, Peter D. Massey and David N. Durrheim
BMC Public Health 2016 16:514
Published on: 16 June 2016

Conflict and Health
http://www.conflictandhealth.com/
[Accessed 18 June 2016]

.
Research
Dangerous crossing: demographic and clinical features of rescued sea migrants seen in 2014 at an outpatient clinic at Augusta Harbor, Italy
Alessia Trovato, Anthony Reid, Kudakwashe C. Takarinda, Chiara Montaldo, Tom Decroo, Philip Owiti, Francesco Bongiorno and Stefano Di Carlo
Published on: 15 June 2016

Development Policy Review
July 2016 Volume 34, Issue 4 Pages 465–619
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/dpr.2016.34.issue-4/issuetoc

.
Original Article
Responses to global challenges: trends in aid-financed global public goods (pages 483–507)
Alessandra Cepparulo and Luisa Giuriato
Version of Record online: 9 JUN 2016 | DOI: 10.1111/dpr.12163
Abstract
Based on four decades (1973–2013) of OECD-Development Assistance Committee aid to developing countries, this article aims to show aid-financed global public goods trends, their changing composition and their main drivers. In particular, a constant increase in the share of aid-financed global public goods and a shift towards weighted-sum and weakest-link global goods are observed. Economic conditions, imitation effects, global engagement and domestic spending result as the main drivers of donors’ demand for aid-financed global public goods. Besides, a certain complementarity in the provision of global goods plays a role, especially in European countries and Japan, partially easing the prognosis for the collective action problems related to global goods.

Food Policy
Volume 62, In Progress (July 2016)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/03069192

.
Original Research Article
Explaining the performance of contract farming in Ghana: The role of self-efficacy and social capital
Pages 11-27
David Wuepper, Johannes Sauer
Abstract
Self-efficacy is the belief of an individual to have the ability to be successful in a given domain. Social capital is the economic value of a person’s relationships. In the context of this study, self-efficacy is the belief of a farmer to be able to improve her income with contract farming, which increases her actual ability. Social capital increases the ability of the farmers through social support.
We surveyed 400 smallholder pineapple farmers and find that both self-efficacy and social capital are decisive for their successful integration into contract farming. To identify causal effects, we use two instruments, which are also of interest on their own: the historical presence of (1) cocoa cooperatives and (2) Christian missionary schools. During Ghana’s colonial period, the British established cocoa cooperatives, which differed in their performance as a function of biogeographic factors and thus persistently shaped the self-efficacy of the farmers. Roughly at the same time, Christian missionaries established missionary schools, which impacted the traditional societies so that social capital decreased. The finding that self-efficacy and social capital are still shaped by historic variables could indicate that these variables are only slowly changing, or that they only do so in the absence of policy intervention. The latter raises the possibility that effective policies could benefit from strong reinforcing feedbacks once self-efficacy and social capital improve.

Eurosurveillance
Volume 21, Issue 24, 16 June 2016
http://www.eurosurveillance.org/Public/Articles/Archives.aspx?PublicationId=11678

.
Research Articles
Preparing to introduce the varicella vaccine into the Italian immunisation programme: varicella-related hospitalisations in Tuscany, 2004–2012
by S Boccalini, P Bonanni, A Bechini
Abstract
A universal immunisation programme against varicella in the form of the measles-mumps-rubella-varicella (MMRV) vaccine for toddlers aged 13–15 months was introduced in Tuscany in July 2008. An assessment of the impact of this programme on varicella-related hospitalisations 4 years after its introduction could further support its adoption at a national level. The hospitalisation data were analysed in two periods: pre-vaccination (2004–2007) and vaccination period (2009–2012). The high coverage of the vaccines (84% in 2012) resulted in a significant decline in notifications, from 33,114 (2004–2007) to 13,184 cases (2009–2012), and also of hospitalisations, from 584 (pre-vaccination period) to 325 (vaccination period). The hospitalisation rate was 4.1 per 100,000 (95% confidence intervals (CI): 3.4–4.7) before the introduction of vaccination, which dropped to 2.2 per 100,000 (95% CI: 1.7–2.7) in the vaccination period (hospitalisation risk ratios: 0.54; 95% CI:  0.472–0.619). The reduction was most significant in the youngest age groups. The introduction of universal vaccination has already led to a significant decline in hospitalisations due to varicella after just 4 years of implementation. Hospitalisation rates fell noticeably among younger individuals involved in the vaccination programme. The decrease in hospitalisation rate in the older age groups suggests a possible indirect protection.

Globalization and Health
http://www.globalizationandhealth.com/
[Accessed 18 June 2016]
Commentary

.
Measuring success in global health diplomacy: lessons from marketing food to children in India
Global health diplomacy (GHD) focuses on international negotiation; principally between nation states, but increasingly non-state actors However, agreements made at the global level have to be enacted at the n…
Richard Smith and Rachel Irwin
Globalization and Health 2016 12:28
Published on: 16 June 2016

.

Methodology
Assessing the health impact of transnational corporations: its importance and a framework
The adverse health and equity impacts of transnational corporations’ (TNCs) practices have become central public health concerns as TNCs increasingly dominate global trade and investment and shape national eco…
Frances E. Baum, David M. Sanders, Matt Fisher, Julia Anaf, Nicholas Freudenberg, Sharon Friel, Ronald Labonté, Leslie London, Carlos Monteiro, Alex Scott-Samuel and Amit Sen
Globalization and Health 2016 12:27
Published on: 15 June 2016

Health Research Policy and Systems
http://www.health-policy-systems.com/content
[Accessed 18 June 2016]

.
Research
Can a quality improvement project impact maternal and child health outcomes at scale in northern Ghana?
Quality improvement (QI) interventions are becoming more common in low- and middle-income countries, yet few studies have presented impact evaluations of these approaches. In this paper, we present an impact e…
Kavita Singh, Paul Brodish, Ilene Speizer, Pierre Barker, Issac Amenga-Etego, Ireneous Dasoberi, Ernest Kanyoke, Eric A. Boadu, Elma Yabang and Sodzi Sodzi-Tettey
Health Research Policy and Systems 2016 14:45
Published on: 16 June 2016

JAMA
June 14, 2016, Vol 315, No. 22
http://jama.jamanetwork.com/issue.aspx

.
Viewpoint
Is the United States Prepared for a Major Zika Virus Outbreak? FREE
Lawrence O. Gostin, JD; James G. Hodge Jr, JD, LLM
[Initial text]
From its initial discovery in Ugandan forests nearly 70 years ago, Zika virus has emerged as a worldwide public health crisis, with active transmission in more than 40 countries in the Americas and Caribbean. On February 1, 2016, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC), concerned about clusters of microcephaly and Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS). A week later, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) triggered the highest “level 1” activation of its emergency operations center, and President Obama requested $1.86 billion in emergency funding.1 On April 7, the WHO reported there is scientific consensus that Zika is a cause of microcephaly and GBS.

Although none of the continental states has reported local mosquito-borne transmission, Health Secretary Sylvia Burwell warned that Zika has a “significant potential to affect national security or the health of Americans.”2 The virus severely threatens Puerto Rico, with one-quarter of its 3.5 million inhabitants projected to be infected.3 The Olympics in Brazil will have an amplifying affect because the competition will be during the Northern summer. Travelers visiting or returning to the United States could likely escalate the spread of Zika. Epidemiologists estimate that Zika could affect a majority of US states including large cities where Aedes species mosquitos are active.

Is the United States prepared for major clusters of Zika? Certainly, a highly functioning health system will help protect the domestic population. Yet there are signs of unpreparedness with insufficient resources and variable legal authorities…

The Lancet
Jun 18, 2016 Volume 387 Number 10037 p2479-2574
http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/issue/current

.
Comment
AIDS 2016: from aspiration to implementation
Kenneth H Mayer, Olive Shisana, Chris Beyrer
Summary
Since AIDS was first recognised in 1981, more than 75 million HIV infections and more than 36 million deaths have occurred.1 HIV infection is no longer an inexorable death sentence but a chronic manageable infection. Key factors responsible for this transformation have been an understanding of the modes of HIV transmission,2 the development of effective combination antiretroviral therapy,3 and the validation of surrogate markers to monitor the response to treatment.4 But currently less than half of all people living with HIV worldwide have access to life-saving antiretroviral therapy,5 at a time when donor interest is uncertain and global funding flattening.

.

Articles
National spending on health by source for 184 countries between 2013 and 2040
Joseph L Dieleman, Tara Templin, Nafis Sadat, Patrick Reidy, Abigail Chapin, Kyle Foreman, Annie Haakenstad, Tim Evans, Christopher J L Murray, Christoph Kurowski
2521
Summary
Background
A general consensus exists that as a country develops economically, health spending per capita rises and the share of that spending that is prepaid through government or private mechanisms also rises. However, the speed and magnitude of these changes vary substantially across countries, even at similar levels of development. In this study, we use past trends and relationships to estimate future health spending, disaggregated by the source of those funds, to identify the financing trajectories that are likely to occur if current policies and trajectories evolve as expected.
Methods
We extracted data from WHO’s Health Spending Observatory and the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation’s Financing Global Health 2015 report. We converted these data to a common purchasing power-adjusted and inflation-adjusted currency. We used a series of ensemble models and observed empirical norms to estimate future government out-of-pocket private prepaid health spending and development assistance for health. We aggregated each country’s estimates to generate total health spending from 2013 to 2040 for 184 countries. We compared these estimates with each other and internationally recognised benchmarks.
Findings
Global spending on health is expected to increase from US$7·83 trillion in 2013 to $18·28 (uncertainty interval 14·42–22·24) trillion in 2040 (in 2010 purchasing power parity-adjusted dollars). We expect per-capita health spending to increase annually by 2·7% (1·9–3·4) in high-income countries, 3·4% (2·4–4·2) in upper-middle-income countries, 3·0% (2·3–3·6) in lower-middle-income countries, and 2·4% (1·6–3·1) in low-income countries. Given the gaps in current health spending, these rates provide no evidence of increasing parity in health spending. In 1995 and 2015, low-income countries spent $0·03 for every dollar spent in high-income countries, even after adjusting for purchasing power, and the same is projected for 2040. Most importantly, health spending in many low-income countries is expected to remain low. Estimates suggest that, by 2040, only one (3%) of 34 low-income countries and 36 (37%) of 98 middle-income countries will reach the Chatham House goal of 5% of gross domestic product consisting of government health spending.
Interpretation
Despite remarkable health gains, past health financing trends and relationships suggest that many low-income and lower-middle-income countries will not meet internationally set health spending targets and that spending gaps between low-income and high-income countries are unlikely to narrow unless substantive policy interventions occur. Although gains in health system efficiency can be used to make progress, current trends suggest that meaningful increases in health system resources will require concerted action.

.

Articles
Development assistance for health: past trends, associations, and the future of international financial flows for health
Joseph L Dieleman, Matthew T Schneider, Annie Haakenstad, Lavanya Singh, Nafis Sadat, Maxwell Birger, Alex Reynolds, Tara Templin, Hannah Hamavid, Abigail Chapin, Christopher J L Murray
2536
Summary
Background
Disbursements of development assistance for health (DAH) have risen substantially during the past several decades. More recently, the international community’s attention has turned to other international challenges, introducing uncertainty about the future of disbursements for DAH.
Methods
We collected audited budget statements, annual reports, and project-level records from the main international agencies that disbursed DAH from 1990 to the end of 2015. We standardised and combined records to provide a comprehensive set of annual disbursements. We tracked each dollar of DAH back to the source and forward to the recipient. We removed transfers between agencies to avoid double-counting and adjusted for inflation. We classified assistance into nine primary health focus areas: HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, maternal health, newborn and child health, other infectious diseases, non-communicable diseases, Ebola, and sector-wide approaches and health system strengthening. For our statistical analysis, we grouped these health focus areas into two categories: MDG-related focus areas (HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, child and newborn health, and maternal health) and non-MDG-related focus areas (other infectious diseases, non-communicable diseases, sector-wide approaches, and other). We used linear regression to test for structural shifts in disbursement patterns at the onset of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs; ie, from 2000) and the global financial crisis (impact estimated to occur in 2010). We built on past trends and associations with an ensemble model to estimate DAH through the end of 2040.
Findings
In 2015, US$36·4 billion of DAH was disbursed, marking the fifth consecutive year of little change in the amount of resources provided by global health development partners. Between 2000 and 2009, DAH increased at 11·3% per year, whereas between 2010 and 2015, annual growth was just 1·2%. In 2015, 29·7% of DAH was for HIV/AIDS, 17·9% was for child and newborn health, and 9·8% was for maternal health. Linear regression identifies three distinct periods of growth in DAH. Between 2000 and 2009, MDG-related DAH increased by $290·4 million (95% uncertainty interval [UI] 174·3 million to 406·5 million) per year. These increases were significantly greater than were increases in non-MDG DAH during the same period (p=0·009), and were also significantly greater than increases in the previous period (p<0·0001). Between 2000 and 2009, growth in DAH was highest for HIV/AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis. Since 2010, DAH for maternal health and newborn and child health has continued to climb, although DAH for HIV/AIDS and most other health focus areas has remained flat or decreased. Our estimates of future DAH based on past trends and associations present a wide range of potential futures, although our mean estimate of $64·1 billion (95% UI $30·4 billion to $161·8 billion) shows an increase between now and 2040, although with a large uncertainty interval.
Interpretation
Our results provide evidence of two substantial shifts in DAH growth during the past 26 years. DAH disbursements increased faster in the first decade of the 2000s than in the 1990s, but DAH associated with the MDGs increased the most out of all focus areas. Since 2010, limited growth has characterised DAH and we expect this pattern to persist. Despite the fact that DAH is still growing, albeit minimally, DAH is shifting among the major health focus areas, with relatively little growth for HIV/AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis. These changes in the growth and focus of DAH will have critical effects on health services in some low-income countries. Coordination and collaboration between donors and domestic governments is more important than ever because they have a great opportunity and responsibility to ensure robust health systems and service provision for those most in need.

The Milbank Quarterly
A Multidisciplinary Journal of Population Health and Health Policy
June 2016 Volume 94, Issue 2 Pages 225–435
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1468-0009.2016.94.issue-2/issuetoc

.
Original Investigation
The International Health Regulations: The Governing Framework for Global Health Security
LAWRENCE O. GOSTIN1,* and REBECCA KATZ2
Version of Record online: 11 MAY 2016
DOI: 10.1111/1468-0009.1218
Abstract
Context
The International Health Regulations (IHR) have been the governing framework for global health security for the past decade and are a nearly universally recognized World Health Organization (WHO) treaty, with 196 States Parties. In the wake of the Ebola epidemic, major global commissions have cast doubt on the future effectiveness of the IHR and the leadership of the WHO.
Methods
We conducted a review of the historical origins of the IHR and their performance over the past 10 years and analyzed all of the ongoing reform panel efforts to provide a series of politically feasible recommendations for fundamental reform.
Findings
We propose a series of recommendations with realistic pathways for change. These recommendations focus on the development and strengthening of IHR core capacities; independently assessed metrics; new financing mechanisms; harmonization with the Global Health Security Agenda, Performance of Veterinary Services (PVS) Pathways, the Pandemic Influenza Preparedness Framework, and One Health strategies; public health and clinical workforce development; Emergency Committee transparency and governance; tiered public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC) processes; enhanced compliance mechanisms; and an enhanced role for civil society.
Conclusions
Empowering the WHO and realizing the IHR’s potential will shore up global health security—a vital investment in human and animal health—while reducing the vast economic consequences of the next global health emergency.

Nature
Volume 534 Number 7607 pp296-430 16 June 2016
http://www.nature.com/nature/current_issue.html

.
Comment
Nutrition: Fall in fish catch threatens human health
Christopher Golden and colleagues calculate that declining numbers of marine fish will spell more malnutrition in many developing nations.

.
Policy: Map the interactions between Sustainable Development Goals
Måns Nilsson, Dave Griggs and Martin Visbeck present a simple way of rating relationships between the targets to highlight priorities for integrated policy.

Oxford Monitor of Forced Migration
OxMo Vol. 6, No. 1
http://oxmofm.com/current-issue/

.
Firsthand Monitor
SYLVAIN GAETAN, Refugees are not a Burden, but a Resource

.
Field Monitor
CATHERINE BLANCHARD, PAULINE CARNET AND JONATHAN ELLIS, The Azure Payment Card: the Humanitarian Cost of a Cashless System
This piece describes research conducted by the British Red Cross into the effectiveness of the
Azure payment card in providing support to refused asylum seekers. It includes the viewpoint
of organisations working with these clients and the lived experience of refused asylum
seekers. The research concludes that the Azure card and support does not allow refused
asylum seekers to meet their basic needs and live with dignity. Our recommendations
included abolishing the Azure card. The piece ends with a description of the advocacy we
engaged in, based on the recommendations of the research.

MARTINA MANARA, Never Settled. The Informal Refugee Settlement of Borgo Mezzanone and its Effects on Asylum Seekers in the Reception Centre
.

Policy Monitor
LAN HOANG, Hong Kong’s Unified Screening System: Lack of unification to Improve Asylum Seekers’ Reality

DIANA IHRING, Selective Border Policies and ‘Victimhood’: The Shrinking Protection Space for Migrants in Europe

KAMYAR JARAHZADEH, Those Who Follow the Rules: Exploring Life for Afghan Refugees in Turkey

Pediatrics
June 2016, VOLUME 137 / ISSUE 6
http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/137/6?current-issue=y

.
Review Articles
Learning Problems in Children of Refugee Background: A Systematic Review
Hamish R. Graham, Ripudaman S. Minhas, Georgia Paxton
Pediatrics Jun 2016, 137 (6) e20153994; DOI: 10.1542/peds.2015-3994
Abstract
CONTEXT: Learning problems are common, affecting up to 1 in 10 children. Refugee children may have cumulative risk for educational disadvantage, but there is limited information on learning in this population.
OBJECTIVE: To review the evidence on educational outcomes and learning problems in refugee children and to describe their major risk and resource factors.
DATA SOURCES: Medline, Embase, PubMed, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, PsycINFO, and Education Resources Information Center.
STUDY SELECTION: English-language articles addressing the prevalence and determinants of learning problems in refugee children.
DATA EXTRACTION: Data were extracted and analyzed according to Arksey and O’Malley’s descriptive analytical method for scoping studies.
RESULTS: Thirty-four studies were included. Refugee youth had similar secondary school outcomes to their native-born peers; there were no data on preschool or primary school outcomes. There were limited prevalence data on learning problems, with single studies informing most estimates and no studies examining specific language disorders or autism spectrum disorders. Major risk factors for learning problems included parental misunderstandings about educational styles and expectations, teacher stereotyping and low expectations, bullying and racial discrimination, premigration and postmigration trauma, and forced detention. Major resource factors for success included high academic and life ambition, “gift-and-sacrifice” motivational narratives, parental involvement in education, family cohesion and supportive home environment, accurate educational assessment and grade placement, teacher understanding of linguistic and cultural heritage, culturally appropriate school transition, supportive peer relationships, and successful acculturation.
LIMITATIONS: Studies are not generalizable to other cohorts.
CONCLUSIONS: This review provides a summary of published prevalence estimates for learning problems in resettled refugee children, highlights key risk and resource factors, and identifies gaps in research.
.

State-of-the-art Review Articles
Breaking the Intergenerational Cycle of Disadvantage: The Three Generation Approach
Tina L. Cheng, Sara B. Johnson, Elizabeth Goodman
Pediatrics Jun 2016, 137 (6) e20152467; DOI: 10.1542/peds.2015-2467
Abstract
Health disparities in the United States related to socioeconomic status are persistent and pervasive. This review highlights how social disadvantage, particularly low socioeconomic status and the health burden it brings, is passed from 1 generation to the next. First, we review current frameworks for understanding the intergenerational transmission of health disparities and provide 4 illustrative examples relevant to child health, development, and well-being. Second, the leading strategy to break the cycle of poverty in young families in the United States, the 2-generation approach, is reviewed. Finally, we propose a new 3-generation approach that must combine with the 2-generation approach to interrupt the intergenerational cycle of disadvantage and eliminate health disparities.

PLOS Currents: Disasters
http://currents.plos.org/disasters/
[Accessed 18 June 2016]

.
Discussion
If Numbers Can Speak, Who Listens? Creating Engagement and Learning for Effective Uptake of DRR Investment in Developing Countries
June 13, 2016 ·
Introduction: With a renewed emphasis on evidence-based risk sensitive investment promoted under the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030, technical demands for analytical tools such as probabilistic cost-benefit analysis (CBA) will likely increase in the foreseeable future. This begs a number of pragmatic questions such as whether or not sophisticated quantitative appraisal tools are effective in raising policy awareness and what alternatives are available.
Method: This article briefly reviews current practices of analytical tools such as probabilistic cost-benefit analysis and identifies issues associated with its applications in small scale community based DRR interventions.
Results: The article illustrate that while best scientific knowledge should inform policy and practice in principle, it should not create an unrealistic expectation that the state-of-the art methods must be used in all cases, especially for small scale DRR interventions in developing countries, where data and resource limitations and uncertainty are high, and complex interaction and feedback may exist between DRR investment, community response and longer-term development outcome.
Discussion: Alternative and more participatory approaches for DRR appraisals are suggested which includes participatory serious games that are increasingly being used to raise awareness and identify pragmatic strategies for change that are needed to bring about successful uptake of DRR investment and implementation of DRR mainstreaming.