Globalization and Health
http://www.globalizationandhealth.com/
[Accessed 25 June 2016]

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Research
Local and foreign authorship of maternal health interventional research in low- and middle-income countries: systematic mapping of publications 2000–2012
Matthew F. Chersich, Duane Blaauw, Mari Dumbaugh, Loveday Penn-Kekana, Ashar Dhana, Siphiwe Thwala, Leon Bijlmakers, Emily Vargas, Elinor Kern, Francisco Becerra-Posada, Josephine Kavanagh, Priya Mannava, Langelihle Mlotshwa, Victor Becerril-Montekio, Katharine Footman and Helen Rees
Published on: 23 June 2016
Abstract
Background
Researchers in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) are under-represented in scientific literature. Mapping of authorship of articles can provide an assessment of data ownership and research capacity in LMICs over time and identify variations between different settings.
Methods
Systematic mapping of maternal health interventional research in LMICs from 2000 to 2012, comparing country of study and of affiliation of first authors. Studies on health systems or promotion; community-based activities; and haemorrhage, hypertension, HIV/STIs and malaria were included. Following review of 35,078 titles and abstracts, 2292 full-text publications were included. Data ownership was measured by the proportion of articles with an LMIC lead author (author affiliated with an LMIC institution).
Results
The total number of papers led by an LMIC author rose from 45.0/year in 2000–2003 to 98.0/year in 2004–2007, but increased only slightly thereafter to 113.1/year in 2008–2012. In the same periods, the proportion of papers led by a local author was 58.4 %, 60.8 % and 60.1 %, respectively. Data ownership varies markedly between countries. A quarter of countries led more than 75 % of their research; while in 10 countries, under 25 % of publications had a local first author. Researchers at LMIC institutions led 56.6 % (1297) of all papers, but only 26.8 % of systematic reviews (65/243), 29.9 % of modelling studies (44/147), and 33.2 % of articles in journals with an Impact Factor ≥5 (61/184). Sub-Saharan Africa authors led 54.2 % (538/993) of studies in the region, while 73.4 % did in Latin America and the Caribbean (223/304). Authors affiliated with United States (561) and United Kingdom (207) institutions together account for a third of publications. Around two thirds of USAID and European Union funded studies had high-income country leads, twice as many as that of Wellcome Trust and Rockefeller Foundation.
Conclusions
There are marked gaps in data ownership and these have not diminished over time. Increased locally-led publications, however, does suggest a growing capacity in LMIC institutions to analyse and articulate research findings. Differences in author attribution between funders might signal important variations in funders’ expectations of authorship and discrepancies in how funders understand collaboration. More stringent authorship oversight and reconsideration of authorship guidelines could facilitate growth in LMIC leadership. Left unaddressed, deficiencies in research ownership will continue to hinder alignment between the research undertaken and knowledge needs of LMICs.

Globalization and Health
http://www.globalizationandhealth.com/
[Accessed 25 June 2016]

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Research
Training the next generation of global health experts: experiences and recommendations from Pacific Rim universities
Mellissa Withers, David Press, Heather Wipfli, Judith McCool, Chang-Chuan Chan, Masamine Jimba, Christopher Tremewan and Jonathan Samet
Published on: 23 June 2016
Abstract
Background
Finding solutions to global health problems will require a highly-trained, inter-disciplinary workforce. Global health education and research can potentially have long-range impact in addressing the global burden of disease and protecting and improving the health of the global population.
Methods
We conducted an online survey of twelve higher education institutions in the Pacific Rim that spanned the period 2005–2011. Program administrators provided data on program concentrations, student enrollment and student funding opportunities for 41 public health programs, including those specific to global health.
Results
The Master of Public Health (MPH) was the most common degree offered. A growing demand for global health education was evident. Enrollment in global health programs increased over three-fold between 2005–2011. Very few institutions had specific global health programs or offered training to undergraduates. Funding for student scholarships was also lacking.
Conclusions
The growing demand for global health education suggests that universities in the Pacific Rim should increase educational and training opportunities in this field. Schools of medicine may not be fully equipped to teach global health-related courses and to mentor students who are interested in global health. Increasing the number of dedicated global health research and training institutions in the Pacific Rim can contribute to building capacity in the region. Faculty from different departments and disciplines should be engaged to provide multi-disciplinary global health educational opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students. New, innovative ways to collaborate in education, such as distance education, can also help universities offer a wider range of global health-related courses. Additional funding of global health is also required.

Health and Human Rights
Volume 18, Issue 1, June 2016
http://www.hhrjournal.org/

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Special Section: Tuberculosis and the Right to Health
in collaboration with the International Human Rights Clinic, University of Chicago Law School
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Editorial: Developing a Human Rights-Based Approach to Tuberculosis
Brian Citro, Evan Lyon, Mihir Mankad, Kiran Raj Pandey, and Camila Gianella, Guest Editors

Falling Short of the Rights to Health and Scientific Progress: Inadequate TB Drug Research and Access
Mike Frick, Ian Henry, and Erica Lessem

TB in Vulnerable Populations: The Case of an Indigenous Community in the Peruvian Amazon
Camila Gianella, César Ugarte-Gil, Godofredo Caro, Rula Aylas, César Castro, and Claudia Lema

Double Standards in Global Health: Medicine, Human Rights Law, and Multidrug-Resistant TB Treatment Policy
Thomas Nicholson, Catherine Admay, Aaron Shakow, and Salmaan Keshavjee

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Perspective Essays on TB and the Right to Health
Petition 329: A Legal Challenge to the Involuntary Confinement of TB Patients in Kenyan Prisons
Allan Maleche and Nerima Were

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General Papers
An Independent Review and Accountability Mechanism for the Sustainable Development Goals: The Possibilities of a Framework Convention on Global Health
Eric A. Friedman

Essential Medicines in National Constitutions: Progress Since 2008
S. Katrina Perehudoff, Brigit Toebes, and Hans Hogerzeil

Human Trafficking Identification and Service Provision in the Medical and Social Service Sectors
Corinne Schwarz, Erik Unruh, Katie Cronin, Sarah Evans-Simpson, Hannah Britton, and Megha Ramaswamy

Indigenous Child Health in Brazil: The Evaluation of Impacts as a Human Rights Issue
Anna R. Coates, Sandra del Pino Marchito, and Bernardino Vitoy

Assessing and Improving Children’s Rights in Hospitals: Case Studies from Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Moldova
Ana Isabel Fernandes Guerreiro, Aigul Kuttumuratova, Kubanychbek Monolbaev, Larisa Boderscova, Zulfiya Pirova, and Martin W. Weber

Human Rights-Based Approaches to Mental Health: A Review of Programs
Sebastian Porsdam Mann, Valerie J. Bradley, and Barbara J. Sahakian

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Perspective Essays
Medical Hostages: Detention of Women and Babies in Hospitals
Delan Devakumar and Rob Yates

Infectious Diseases of Poverty
http://www.idpjournal.com/content
[Accessed 25 June 2016]

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Short Report
Good laboratory practices guarantee biosafety in the Sierra Leone-China friendship biosafety laboratory
Qin Wang, Wei-Min Zhou, Yong Zhang, Huan-Yu Wang, Hai-Jun Du, Kai Nie, Jing-Dong Song, Kang Xiao, Wen-Wen Lei, Jian-Qiang Guo, He-Jiang Wei, Kun Cai, Yan-Hai Wang, Jiang Wu, Gerard Kamara, Idrissa Kamara…
Published on: 23 June 2016
Abstract
Background
The outbreak of Ebola virus disease (EVD) in West Africa between 2014 and 2015 was the largest EDV epidemic since the identification of Ebola virus (EBOV) in 1976, and the countries most strongly affected were Sierra Leone, Guinea, and Liberia.
Findings
The Sierra Leone-China Friendship Biological Safety Laboratory (SLE-CHN Biosafety Lab), a fixed Biosafety Level 3 laboratory in the capital city of Sierra Leone, was established by the Chinese government and has been active in EBOV detection since 11 March 2015. Complete management and program documents were created for the SLE-CHN Biosafety Lab, and it was divided into four zones (the green, yellow, brown, and red zones) based on the risk assessment. Different types of safe and appropriate personnel protection equipment (PPE) are used in different zones of the laboratory, and it fully meets the Biosafety Level 3 laboratory standards of the World Health Organization.
Conclusion
Good preparedness, comprehensive risk assessment and operation documents, appropriate PPE, effective monitoring and intensive training, together with well-designed and reasonable laboratory sectioning are essential for guaranteeing biosafety.

International Journal of Infectious Diseases
July 2016 Volume 48, p1-124 Open Access
http://www.ijidonline.com/current

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Editorial
Why is the yellow fever outbreak in Angola a ‘threat to the entire world’?
J.P. Woodall, T.M. Yuill
p96–97
Published online: May 6 2016
Preview
The short answer to the World Health Organization (WHO) declaration is because yellow fever has spread throughout the country, causing probably thousands of cases and hundreds of deaths, and the world has run out of vaccine. This is very bad because cases so far have been imported into the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Mauritania, Kenya, and even China, the first time in history that cases have been confirmed in Asia. In fact, more travelers infected with yellow fever have now been seen than in the last 50 years, each one with the potential to spread it on arrival, and still further to more countries worldwide via international airlines.

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Reviews
Traditional and syndromic surveillance of infectious diseases and pathogens
Cédric Abat, Hervé Chaudet, Jean-Marc Rolain, Philippe Colson, Didier Raoult
p22–28
Published online: April 30 2016
Preview
Classified as the second leading cause of death in humans by the World Health Organization, with approximately 15 million deaths worldwide every year,1 infectious diseases remain a serious public health problem in the 21st century. Among them, HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria have been nicknamed the ‘big three’ because of their important impact on global human health. In 2011, tuberculosis infected two billion people and killed 1.3 million, malaria infected 207 million people and killed 62 700, and HIV infected 35.3 million people and killed 1.6 million.

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Original Papers
Yellow fever vaccination status and safety in hemodialysis patients
Tila Facincani, Maia Nogueira Crown Guimarães, Sigrid De Sousa dos Santos
p91–95
Published online: May 18 2016
Preview
The live attenuated yellow fever vaccine seems to be safe in patients on hemodialysis in a transition area.

International Migration Review
Summer 2016 Volume 50, Issue 2 Pages 267–533, e17–e32
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/imre.2016.50.issue-2/issuetoc

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IMMIGRATION POLICIES: STATE, CHURCH, AND NON-GOVERNMENTAL ACTORS
Alternative Approaches to the Governance of Transnational Labor Recruitment (pages 269–314)
Patricia Pittman
Version of Record online: 11 FEB 2015 | DOI: 10.1111/imre.12164
Abstract
As globalization advances, the governance challenges relating to cross-border labor recruitment have also grown. Transnational companies that manage the employment-based migration process often take advantage of individuals seeking work abroad. While some states have implemented recruitment regulations, a combination of jurisdictional constraints and economic interests have limited states’ capacity and political will to take action. Supplemental strategies are emerging led by international organizations, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), labor unions, and corporate trade groups. This paper reviews the strengths and weaknesses of strategies led by each of these different types of actors and explores potential synergies among them.

Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health
Volume 18, Issue 3, June 2016
http://link.springer.com/journal/10903/18/2/page/1
[Issue focus on a range of health parameters and challenges among Latino migrants]

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Open Access :: Original Paper
First Online: 21 June 2016
Mental Health of Refugees and Non-refugees from War-Conflict Countries: Data from Primary Healthcare Services and the Norwegian Prescription Database
DOI: 10.1007/s10903-016-0450-y
Melanie L. Straiton, Anne Reneflot, Esperanza Diaz
Abstract
High rates of mental health problems are consistently found among immigrants from refugee generating countries. While refugees and their family members may have experienced similar traumas, refugees are more likely to have undergone a stressful asylum period. This study aims to determine whether their mental health differs. Using national registry data, refugees and non-refugees from the same countries were compared on primary healthcare service use for mental health problems and purchase of psychotropic medicine. Refugees had higher odds of using primary health care services than non-refugees. Refugee women were more likely to purchase psychotropic medicine than non-refugee women. Refugee men were more likely to purchase anti-depressants. The findings suggest that refugees have poorer mental health than non-refugees. This may be due to a combination of greater pre-migration trauma and post-migration stressors such as enduring a difficult asylum period.

The Lancet
Jun 25, 2016 Volume 387 Number 10038 p2575-2664 e30
http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/issue/current

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Editorial
What can public health do for mental health?
The Lancet
Summary
Public health practitioners should prioritise and advance the public’s mental health wherever possible, argues Better Mental Health For All, a report published last week by the UK’s Faculty of Public Health, in collaboration with the Mental Health Foundation. The report aims to be a resource for public health professionals to support the promotion of mental wellbeing and the primary prevention of mental ill health.

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Comment
Who should finance WHO’s work on emergencies?
Y-Ling Chi, Jaya Krishnakumar, Jürgen Maurer, Dejan Loncar, Antoine Flahault
Summary
In May, 2015, the 68th World Health Assembly approved the decision to reform the work of WHO on emergencies by creating a single programme for outbreaks and health emergencies, and an accompanying Contingency Fund for Emergencies (CFE).1 According to latest estimations, the core funding needs for the programme and the initial capital of the CFE will, respectively, range about US$300 million per year and $100 million.2 To respond effectively to emergencies, these resources should be flexible, predictable, and directly accessible.

New England Journal of Medicine
June 23, 2016 Vol. 374 No. 25
http://www.nejm.org/toc/nejm/medical-journal

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Perspective
From Patient to Patient — Sharing the Data from Clinical Trials
Charlotte J. Haug, M.D., Ph.D.
N Engl J Med 2016; 374:2409-2411 June 23, 2016 DOI: 10.1056/NEJMp1605378
[Excerpt]
…Instead of spending time and resources on complicated techniques to try to deidentify and anonymize complex patient data — and risk failing and making populations or patient groups skeptical about the whole concept of data sharing — it may be better to define a core set of data that can be released (and freely accessed) from all trials and to allow sharing of the more complex data only through real and inclusive collaborations, the way successful data sharing related to specific diseases already happens in global health today. “It is not only about sharing of the raw data, but sharing of the questions, the problems, and the code that everybody is using,” Shasha Jumbe said. “It means collaborations throughout the whole process, definition of the goals, framing of the questions — and also thinking about inclusive attribution all the way from subjects that are part of these studies to the data science team.”

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Perspective
A Global, Neutral Platform for Sharing Trial Data
Barbara E. Bierer, M.D., Rebecca Li, Ph.D., Mark Barnes, J.D., LL.M., and Ida Sim, M.D., Ph.D.
N Engl J Med 2016; 374:2411-2413 June 23, 2016 DOI: 10.1056/NEJMp1605348

PLOS Currents: Disasters
http://currents.plos.org/disasters/
[Accessed 25 June 2016]

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Research Article
Behavior Problems and Post-traumatic Stress Symptoms in Children Beginning School: A Comparison of Pre- and Post-Earthquake Groups
June 22, 2016 ·
Introduction: Literature reviews caution that estimating the effects of disasters on the behavior of children following a disaster is difficult without baseline information and few studies report the effects of earthquakes on young children. In addition the relationship between age at the time of disaster and consequential behavior problems have not been reported for young children who experience disaster-related stress during a developmentally sensitive period.

Methods: Behavior problems and symptoms of post-traumatic stress (PTS) were reported for two groups of children from nearby neighborhoods during their first term at school, using the Behavior Problem Index by teacher report, following approved informed consent procedures. Data on one group, “Pre-EQ” (N=297), was collected four years before the beginning of the earthquakes on children born 2001-2002. Data on the second group, “Post-EQ” (N=212), was collected approximately three to four years after the beginning of the earthquakes on children born 2007-2009 and living in heavily damaged neighborhoods. The Post-EQ group had significantly more children from high socioeconomic neighborhoods but no other significant differences on main demographic characteristics.

Results: The mean behavior problem score was significantly higher in the Post-EQ group (Mean =6.11) as compared to the Pre-EQ group (Mean = 3.78). PTS symptoms were also significantly higher in the Post-EQ group (Mean =2.91) as compared to the Pre-EQ group (Mean=1.98) and more children had high PTS scores (20.9% v. 8.8%, OR= 2.73, 95%CI =1.57, 4.76). Model testing identified that a younger age at the time of exposure was the only significant predictor of high numbers of PTS symptoms in the Post-EQ group.

Discussion: Rates of teacher-reported behavior problems in young children more than doubled following the Christchurch earthquakes. Younger children may be more vulnerable to the effects of earthquakes that occur during a developmentally sensitive period. Additional research is needed to consider the effects of age and duration of disaster effects to better understand the effects of disasters on children, their families and communities.

PLoS Medicine
http://www.plosmedicine.org/
(Accessed 25 June 2016)

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Essay
Why Most Clinical Research Is Not Useful
John P. A. Ioannidis
Essay | published 21 Jun 2016 | PLOS Medicine
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1002049
Summary Points
:: Blue-sky research cannot be easily judged on the basis of practical impact, but clinical research is different and should be useful. It should make a difference for health and disease outcomes or should be undertaken with that as a realistic prospect.
:: Many of the features that make clinical research useful can be identified, including those relating to problem base, context placement, information gain, pragmatism, patient centeredness, value for money, feasibility, and transparency.
:: Many studies, even in the major general medical journals, do not satisfy these features, and very few studies satisfy most or all of them. Most clinical research therefore fails to be useful not because of its findings but because of its design.
:: The forces driving the production and dissemination of nonuseful clinical research are largely identifiable and modifiable.
:: Reform is needed. Altering our approach could easily produce more clinical research that is useful, at the same or even at a massively reduced cost.
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Research Article
Exclusive Breastfeeding and Cognition, Executive Function, and Behavioural Disorders in Primary School-Aged Children in Rural South Africa: A Cohort Analysis
Tamsen J. Rochat, Brian Houle, Alan Stein, Hoosen Coovadia, Anna Coutsoudis, Chris Desmond, Marie-Louise Newell, Ruth M. Bland
| published 21 Jun 2016 | PLOS Medicine
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1002044

PLoS One
http://www.plosone.org/
[Accessed 25 June 2016]
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Research Article
The Challenge of Timely, Responsive and Rigorous Ethics Review of Disaster Research: Views of Research Ethics Committee Members
M Hunt, CM Tansey, J Anderson, RF Boulanger…
Published: June 21, 2016
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0157142
Abstract
Background
Research conducted following natural disasters such as earthquakes, floods or hurricanes is crucial for improving relief interventions. Such research, however, poses ethical, methodological and logistical challenges for researchers. Oversight of disaster research also poses challenges for research ethics committees (RECs), in part due to the rapid turnaround needed to initiate research after a disaster. Currently, there is limited knowledge available about how RECs respond to and appraise disaster research. To address this knowledge gap, we investigated the experiences of REC members who had reviewed disaster research conducted in low- or middle-income countries.
Methods
We used interpretive description methodology and conducted in-depth interviews with 15 respondents. Respondents were chairs, members, advisors, or coordinators from 13 RECs, including RECs affiliated with universities, governments, international organizations, a for-profit REC, and an ad hoc committee established during a disaster. Interviews were analyzed inductively using constant comparative techniques.
Results
Through this process, three elements were identified as characterizing effective and high-quality review: timeliness, responsiveness and rigorousness. To ensure timeliness, many RECs rely on adaptations of review procedures for urgent protocols. Respondents emphasized that responsive review requires awareness of and sensitivity to the particularities of disaster settings and disaster research. Rigorous review was linked with providing careful assessment of ethical considerations related to the research, as well as ensuring independence of the review process.
Conclusion
Both the frequency of disasters and the conduct of disaster research are on the rise. Ensuring effective and high quality review of disaster research is crucial, yet challenges, including time pressures for urgent protocols, exist for achieving this goal. Adapting standard REC procedures may be necessary. However, steps should be taken to ensure that ethics review of disaster research remains diligent and thorough.

PLoS One
http://www.plosone.org/
[Accessed 25 June 2016]
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Health and Ethical Consequences of Outsourcing Pivotal Clinical Trials to Latin America: A Cross-Sectional, Descriptive Study
Núria Homedes, Antonio Ugalde
Research Article | published 23 Jun 2016 | PLOS ONE
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0157756
Abstract
Introduction
The implications of conducting clinical trials in low and middle income countries on the financial accessibility and safety of the pharmaceutical products available in those markets have not been studied. Regulatory practices and ethical declarations lead to the commercialization of the new products, referred to as New Molecular Entities (NMEs), in the countries where tested as soon as they are approved in high surveillance countries. Patients and patients’ associations use the Latin American courts to access new and expensive treatments, regardless of their safety profile and therapeutic value.
Design and Objectives
Cross-sectional, descriptive study. To determine the therapeutic value and safety profile of the NMEs approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2011 and 2012 that had been tested in Latin America, and the implications of their market approval for the pharmaceutical budgets in the countries where tested.
Setting
Latin America.
Measures
To assess the therapeutic value and safety of the NMEs commercialized in the different countries we used f independent drug bulletins. The prices of the NMEs for the consumers were obtained from the pharmaceutical price observatories of the countries were the medicines had been tested. If the price was not available in the observatories, it was obtained from pharmaceutical distributors. We used the countries’ minimum wage and per capita income to calculate the financial accessibility of a course of treatment with the NMEs.
Results
We found that 33 NMEs approved by the FDA in 2011 and 2012 have been tested in Latin America. Of these, 26 had been evaluated by independent drug bulletins and only five were found to add some value to a subset of patients and had significant side-effects. The pharmaceutical prices were very high, varied widely across countries and were unrelated to the countries’ income per capita or minimum wage.
Conclusion
The implementation of clinical trials in Latin America results in the commercialization of medicines with questionable safety profiles and limited therapeutic value, putting patients at risk and causing budgetary strains in pharmaceutical budgets.

PLoS One
http://www.plosone.org/
[Accessed 25 June 2016]
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Hitting the Optimal Vaccination Percentage and the Risks of Error: Why to Miss Right
Michael J. Harvey, Lisa A. Prosser, Mark L. Messonnier, David W. Hutton
Research Article | published 22 Jun 2016 | PLOS ONE
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0156737
Abstract
Objective
To determine the optimal level of vaccination coverage defined as the level that minimizes total costs and explore how economic results change with marginal changes to this level of coverage.
Methods
A susceptible-infected-recovered-vaccinated model designed to represent theoretical infectious diseases was created to simulate disease spread. Parameter inputs were defined to include ranges that could represent a variety of possible vaccine-preventable conditions. Costs included vaccine costs and disease costs. Health benefits were quantified as monetized quality adjusted life years lost from disease. Primary outcomes were the number of infected people and the total costs of vaccination. Optimization methods were used to determine population vaccination coverage that achieved a minimum cost given disease and vaccine characteristics. Sensitivity analyses explored the effects of changes in reproductive rates, costs and vaccine efficacies on primary outcomes. Further analysis examined the additional cost incurred if the optimal coverage levels were not achieved.
Results
Results indicate that the relationship between vaccine and disease cost is the main driver of the optimal vaccination level. Under a wide range of assumptions, vaccination beyond the optimal level is less expensive compared to vaccination below the optimal level. This observation did not hold when the cost of the vaccine cost becomes approximately equal to the cost of disease.
Discussion and Conclusion
These results suggest that vaccination below the optimal level of coverage is more costly than vaccinating beyond the optimal level. This work helps provide information for assessing the impact of changes in vaccination coverage at a societal level.

PLoS One
http://www.plosone.org/
[Accessed 25 June 2016]
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Research Article
Use of Seasonal Influenza Vaccination and Its Associated Factors among Elderly People with Disabilities in Taiwan: A Population-Based Study
Yu-Chia Chang, Ho-Jui Tung, Shang-Wei Hsu, Lei-Shin Chen, Pei-Tseng Kung, Kuang-Hua Huang, Shang-Jyh Chiou, Wen-Chen Tsai
| published 23 Jun 2016 | PLOS ONE
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0158075
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Cost-Effectiveness of Increasing Influenza Vaccination Coverage in Adults with Type 2 Diabetes in Turkey
Levent Akın, Bérengère Macabéo, Zafer Caliskan, Serdar Altinel, Ilhan Satman
Research Article | published 20 Jun 2016 | PLOS ONE
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0157657

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Science
24 June 2016 Vol 352, Issue 6293
http://www.sciencemag.org/current.dtl

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Policy Forum
Capitalizing on convergence for health care
By Phillip Sharp, Tyler Jacks, Susan Hockfield
Science24 Jun 2016 : 1522-1523
Summary
For decades, scientists have called for more collaboration between the life and physical sciences, and in the past 5 years, we have been among those calling for a new national research strategy—one we call “convergence”—that would integrate engineering, physical, computational, and mathematical sciences with biomedical science (1). Thanks to the accelerating pace of biological discovery, the expanding power of computation, and a new focus in engineering on biocompatible materials and nanotechnology, the potential of such a strategy for advances in health care is greater than ever (see the photo). Technologies emerging from such efforts have potential implications far beyond health care: creating jobs; speeding products to market; and improving everything from agriculture and the environment to defense, the economy, and energy production. It all adds up to a moment of unprecedented opportunity, if we choose to invest in it meaningfully. But so far we have not. We detail below, and in greater depth in a new report with colleagues from across the country (2), the stakes in the convergence revolution and what we should do to capitalize on it.

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Review
Childhood undernutrition, the gut microbiota, and microbiota-directed therapeutics
By Laura V. Blanton, Michael J. Barratt, Mark R. Charbonneau, Tahmeed Ahmed, Jeffrey I. Gordon
Science24 Jun 2016 : 1533
Editor’s Summary
Gut microbiota and undernutrition
Poor nutrition during the early years of life can have severe consequences for subsequent skeletal, immunological, and intellectual development. Blanton et al. review the evidence showing that undernutrition is not caused by food insecurity alone. Other factors range from the length of the breastfeeding period and the availability of milk oligosaccharides, enteropathogen exposure, and enteric dysfunction marked by villus atrophy and loss of gut barrier function. Unfortunately, nutritional restoration with or without antibiotic treatment may not be effective in the longer term. Differences in the succession of microbial establishment and maturity can explain much of family discordances in nutritional status. The evidence indicates that microbiota-directed therapeutics could be a promising route to nutritional restoration in these children

TORTURE Journal
Volume 26, Nr. 2, 2016
http://www.irct.org/Default.aspx?ID=5768
Scientific Articles
Creating community life among immigrant survivors of torture and their allies
Nancy Bothne, Christopher B. Keys

Measuring change and changing measures: The development of a torture survivor specific measure of change
Rebecca Horn, Andy Keefe

Prevalence of torture and other war-related traumatic events in forced migrants: A systematic review
Erika Sigvardsdotter, Marjan Veaz, Ann-Marie Rydholm Hedman, Fredrik Saboonchi

Torture survivors’ symptom load compared to chronic pain and psychiatric in-patients
Uwe Harlacher, Linda Nordin, Peter Polatin

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Statement
Statement on Anal Examinations in Cases of Alleged Homosexuality
Independent Forensic Expert Group

From Google Scholar & other sources: Selected Journal Articles, Newsletters, Dissertations, Theses, Commentary

International Journal of Research & Method in Education
Published online: 20 Jun 2016
Original Article
Respecting and fulfilling the right of post-primary pupils to consent to participate in trials and evaluative research: a discussion paper
DOI:
10.1080/1743727X.2016.1200028
Lisa K. Maguireab*, Bronagh Byrnec & Susan Kehoed
ABSTRACT
This paper provides an introduction to issues surrounding the participation rights of young people in research and the implications of their growing involvement in research as well as providing a discourse on the ethical implications related to consent. The unique contribution of this paper is that it considers children’s rights in respect to the increasing opportunities for young people to take part in evaluation research. The aim of this paper, therefore, is to acknowledge the growing involvement for young people in research and the implications of ensuring that their rights of participation are respected. Secondly, we will consider the children’s rights legislation and our obligations as researchers to implement this. Finally, we will explore consent as an issue in its own right as well as the practicalities of accessing participants. This paper will postulate that any research about young people should involve and prioritize at all stages of the research process; including participation in decision-making. We conclude by identifying five key principles, which we believe can help to facilitate the fulfilment of post-primary pupils’ ability to consent to participate in trials and evaluative research.

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Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities
Early View (Online Version of Record published before inclusion in an issue)
Original Article
A Comparison of Two Methods for Recruiting Children with an Intellectual Disability
Dawn Adams1,*, Louise Handley1,2, Mary Heald1, Doug Simkiss3, Alison Jones1,
Emily Walls1 and Chris Oliver1
Version of Record online: 21 JUN 2016
Abstract
Background
Recruitment is a widely cited barrier of representative intellectual disability research, yet it is rarely studied. This study aims to document the rates of recruiting children with intellectual disabilities using two methods and discuss the impact of such methods on sample characteristics.
Methods
Questionnaire completion rates are compared between (i) participants being approached in child development centre waiting rooms and (ii), one year later, the same participants being invited to take part by phone, email and/or post.
Results
The face-to-face recruitment method resulted in a better recruitment rate (58.5% compared to 18.5%) and a larger sample (n = 438) than the telephone/email/post sample (n = 40). It also required less hours of researcher time per completed questionnaire.
Conclusions
In-line with previous research, recruitment of participants with intellectual disabilities (or their parents/carers) requires significant time and resources to get a sample of an acceptable size

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Australasian Journal on Ageing
Volume 35, Issue 2, pages 90–97, June 2016
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ajag.2016.35.issue-2/issuetoc
Review Articles
What keeps you strong? A systematic review identifying how primary health‐care and aged‐care services can support the well‐being of older Indigenous peoples
Carol Davy1,*, Elaine Kite1, Graham Aitken2, Garth Dodd3, Janice Rigney3, Jenny Hayes4 and
Jan Van Emden5
Abstract
Aim
The objective of this systematic review was to identify primary health-care or aged-care strategies that have or could support the well-being of older Indigenous peoples.
Methods
A search was undertaken of primary databases including Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System Online and Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature. Papers which reported on the perspectives of older Indigenous peoples, community members and provider participants were included. Findings were pooled using a meta-aggregative approach.
Results
Three high-level synthesised findings – maintaining Indigenous identity, promoting independence and delivering culturally safe care – were believed to be important for supporting the well-being of older Indigenous peoples.
Conclusions
As physical independence often diminishes with age, having the support of culturally safe primary health-care and aged-care services that understand the importance of maintaining an Indigenous identity and promoting independence will be crucial for the well-being of older Indigenous peoples.

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Journal of Empirical Research on Human Research Ethics
April 2016; 11 (2)
http://jre.sagepub.com/content/11/2.toc
Informed Consent—Uninformed Participants Shortcomings of Online Social Science Consent Forms and Recommendations for Improvement
EK Perrault, SA Nazione – Research …, 2016
June 21, 2016 1556264616654610
Abstract
As informed consent forms continue to lengthen, are these lengthening forms helping to create better informed participants? The aim of this research was to determine whether the length of consent forms affected reading frequency and comprehension, and to provide recommendations on how to improve consent forms in the social sciences so they are more likely to be read. A quasi-experiment was conducted using actual consent forms at two liberal arts schools, one requiring a long form (463 words, n = 73) and one requiring a shorter form (236 words, n = 57). Participants exposed to the shorter form reported fully reading, or at least skimming the form more frequently than those exposed to the longer form. Those exposed to the shorter form also comprehended more of the form’s information. The majority of participants indicated consent forms need to be shortened if researchers want future participants to be more likely to read these forms’ contents. Additional recommendations are discussed.

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World Medical & Health Policy
Volume 8, Issue 2, pages 197–200, June 2016
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/wmh3.v8.2/issuetoc
Commentary
The Rapidly Increasing Number of Emergency Global Food Crises and the Implications for the International Community
Allan Jury –
. Abstract. The following text served as the basis of remarks delivered at the Second Annual Summit on Global Food Security and Health at the School of Policy, Government and International Affairs at George Mason University on October 15, 2015.

The Sentinel

Human Rights Action :: Humanitarian Response :: Health :: Education :: Heritage Stewardship ::
Sustainable Development
__________________________________________________
Week ending 18 June 2016

This weekly digest is intended to aggregate and distill key content from a broad spectrum of practice domains and organization types including key agencies/IGOs, NGOs, governments, academic and research institutions, consortia and collaborations, foundations, and commercial organizations. We also monitor a spectrum of peer-reviewed journals and general media channels. The Sentinel’s geographic scope is global/regional but selected country-level content is included. We recognize that this spectrum/scope yields an indicative and not an exhaustive product. Comments and suggestions should be directed to:

David R. Curry
Editor &
Founding Managing Director
GE2P2 – Center for Governance, Evidence, Ethics, Policy, Practice
david.r.curry@ge2p2center.net

pdf version: The Sentinel_ week ending 18 June 2016

Hate is being mainstreamed – global update by the High Commissioner
In a wide-ranging update to the Human Rights Council [at its current meeting] the High Commissioner detailed concerns in more than 50 countries and situations, and outlined ways the Office can assist.

[Initial text of speech]
When the Inter-American Commission announces it has to cut its personnel by forty percent – and when States have already withdrawn from it and the Inter-American Court;

When States Parties have threatened to withdraw from the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court – and, even more recently, others threaten to leave the United Nations, or the European Court of Human Rights and the European Union;

When those calling for departure have seemingly already fled in their minds from the urge to protect the world from the untold sorrow and miseries which twice swept it, and brought about the creation of many of these very institutions;

When filthy abuse by politicians of the vulnerable is tolerated; when the laws – human rights law, refugee law, international humanitarian law – are increasingly violated, and when hospitals are bombed – but no one is punished;

When human rights, the two words, are so rarely found in the world of finance and business, in its literature, in its lexicon – why? Because it is shameful to mention them?

When working for the collective benefit of all people, everywhere is apparently losing its ardour, and features only in empty proclamations swelling with unjustified self-importance and selfishness –

Then do we really still have an international community? When the threads forming it are being tugged away and the tapestry, our world, is unravelling? Or are there only fragmented communities of competing interests – strategic and commercial – operating behind a screen of feigned allegiance to laws and institutions?…

Mr President,
As I speak before this 32nd session of the Human Rights Council, at which all of the 193 Member States of the United Nations are represented, the international community’s familiar customs and procedures are much in evidence.

And yet the workable space in which we function as one community – resolving disputes, coming to consensus – is under attack. The common sets of laws, the institutions – and deeper still, the values – which bind us together are buckling. And suffering most from this onslaught are our fellow human beings – your people – who bear the brunt of the resulting deprivation, misery, injustice, and bloodshed.

I, and many others, seek your support.

Hate is becoming mainstreamed. Walls – which tormented previous generations, and have never yielded any sustainable solution to any problem – are returning. Barriers of suspicion are rising, snaking through and between our societies – and they are killers. Clampdowns on public freedoms, and crackdowns on civil society activists and human rights defenders, are hacking away at the forces which uphold the healthy functioning of societies. Judicial institutions which act as checks on executive power are being dismantled. Towering inequalities are hollowing out the sense that there are common goods.

These trends bleed nations of their innate resilience. They do not make them safe: they make them weaker. Piece by piece, these mutually reinforcing trends are shearing off the protections that maintain respect, enable development, and provide the only fragile basis for world peace. They are attacks on sanity. And they can be reversed…