scholarly journals Telephones in public health policy processes in sub-Saharan Africa: a scoping review

Author(s):  
Wendkouni A. S. Ouedraogo ◽  
Sandrine Biau ◽  
Emmanuel Bonnet ◽  
Valéry Ridde
2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. e146-e154 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew N Phillips ◽  
Valentina Cambiano ◽  
Fumiyo Nakagawa ◽  
Paul Revill ◽  
Michael R Jordan ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna-Katharina Heuschen ◽  
Guangyu Lu ◽  
Oliver Razum ◽  
Alhassan Abdul-Mumin ◽  
Osman Sankoh ◽  
...  

Abstract Background The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in unprecedented challenges to health systems worldwide, including the control of non-COVID-19 diseases. Malaria cases and deaths may increase due to the direct and indirect effects of the pandemic in malaria-endemic countries, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). This scoping review aims to summarize information on public health-relevant effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the malaria situation in SSA. Methods Review of publications and manuscripts on preprint servers, in peer-reviewed journals and in grey literature documents from 1 December, 2019 to 9 June, 2021. A structured search was conducted on different databases using predefined eligibility criteria for the selection of articles. Results A total of 51 papers have been included in the analysis. Modelling papers have predicted a significant increase in malaria cases and malaria deaths in SSA due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Many papers provided potential explanations for expected COVID-19 effects on the malaria burden; these ranged from relevant diagnostical and clinical aspects to reduced access to health care services, impaired availability of curative and preventive commodities and medications, and effects on malaria prevention campaigns. Compared to previous years, fewer country reports provided data on the actual number of malaria cases and deaths in 2020, with mixed results. While highly endemic countries reported evidence of decreased malaria cases in health facilities, low endemic countries reported overall higher numbers of malaria cases and deaths in 2020. Conclusions The findings from this review provide evidence for a significant but diverse impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on malaria in SSA. There is the need to further investigate the public health consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic on the malaria burden. Protocol registered on Open Science Framework: https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/STQ9D


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna-Katharina Heuschen ◽  
Guangyu Lu ◽  
Oliver Razum ◽  
Alhassan Abdul-Mumin ◽  
Osman Sankoh ◽  
...  

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in unprecedented challenges to health systems worldwide, including the control of non-COVID-19 diseases. Malaria cases and deaths may increase due to the direct and indirect effects of the pandemic in malaria endemic countries, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Objectives: This scoping review aims to summarize information on public health relevant effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the malaria situation in SSA. Methods: Review of publications and manuscripts on preprint servers, in peer-reviewed journals and in grey literature documents from December 1, 2019, to June 9, 2021. A structured search was conducted on different databases using predefined eligibility criteria for the selection of articles. Results: A total of 51 papers have been included in the analysis. Modeling papers have predicted a significant increase in malaria cases and malaria deaths in SSA due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Many papers provided potential explanations for expected COVID-19 effects on the malaria burden; these ranged from relevant diagnostic and clinical aspects, to reduced access to health care services, impaired availability of curative and preventive commodities and medications, and effects on malaria prevention campaigns. Compared to previous years, fewer country reports provided data on the actual number of malaria cases and deaths in 2020, with mixed results. While highly endemic countries reported evidence of decreased malaria cases in health facilities, low endemic countries reported an overall higher numbers of malaria cases and deaths in 2020. Conclusions: The findings from this review provide evidence for a significant but diverse impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on malaria in SSA. There is the need to further investigate the public health consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic on the malaria burden.


2016 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Heide Weishaar ◽  
Lori Dorfman ◽  
Nicholas Freudenberg ◽  
Benjamin Hawkins ◽  
Katherine Smith ◽  
...  

BMJ Open ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (7) ◽  
pp. e034082 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melissa Mialon ◽  
Stefanie Vandevijvere ◽  
Angela Carriedo-Lutzenkirchen ◽  
Lisa Bero ◽  
Fabio Gomes ◽  
...  

ObjectiveWe identified mechanisms for addressing and/or managing the influence of corporations on public health policy, research and practice, as well as examples of where these mechanisms have been adopted from across the globe.DesignWe conducted a scoping review. We conducted searches in five databases on 4 June 2019. Twenty-eight relevant institutions and networks were contacted to identify additional mechanisms and examples. In addition, we identified mechanisms and examples from our collective experience working on the influence of corporations on public health policy, research and practice.SettingWe identified mechanisms at the national, regional and global levels.ResultsThirty-one documents were included in our review. Eight were peer-reviewed scientific articles. Nine discussed mechanisms to address and/or manage the influence of different types of industries; while other documents targeted specific industries. In total, we identified 49 mechanisms for addressing and/or managing the influence of corporations on public health policy, research and practice, and 43 of these were adopted at the national, regional or global level. We identified four main types of mechanisms: transparency; management of interactions with industry and of conflicts of interest; identification, monitoring and education about the practices of corporations and associated risks to public health; prohibition of interactions with industry. Mechanisms for governments (n=17) and academia (n=13) were most frequently identified, with fewer for the media and civil society.ConclusionsWe identified several mechanisms that could help address and/or manage the negative influence of corporations on public health policy, research and practice. If adopted and evaluated more widely, many of the mechanisms described in this manuscript could contribute to efforts to prevent and control non-communicable diseases.Trial registration detailsThe protocol was registered with the Open Science Framework on 27 May 2019 (https://osf.io/xc2vp).


2010 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas F. Van Wingen ◽  
Kyle A. Lemmermen ◽  
Craig Spencer ◽  
Phil Scott ◽  
Kathleen H. Sienko

Public health officials are currently supporting adult male circumcision as a public health policy to minimize the transmission of HIV during intercourse. Estimates indicate that more than 3 million lives could be saved in sub-Saharan Africa alone if the procedure becomes widely used. Complications including infection and accidental cutting/amputation of the glans during traditional circumcision ceremonies can lead to permanent injury or death. A low cost, adjustable (one-size-fits-most), culturally appropriate adult male circumcision tool was designed for use in traditional circumcision ceremonies. A surgical procedure for using the device has also been defined, which can be performed in either a clinical or nonclinical setting.


2019 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mette Winge Jakobsen ◽  
Leena Eklund Karlsson ◽  
Thomas Skovgaard ◽  
Arja R. Aro

Abstract Background Although important syntheses and theoretical works exist in relation to understanding the organisational factors that facilitate research use, these contributions differ in their scope and object of study as well as their theoretical underpinnings. Therefore, from an exploratory angle, it may be useful to map out the current literature on organisational factors of research use in public health policy-making when revisiting existing theories and frameworks to gain further theoretical insights. Methods Herein, a scoping review technique and thematic content analysis were used to bring together findings from both synthesised and empirical studies of different types to map out the organisational factors that facilitate research use in public health policy-making. Results A total of 14 reviews and 40 empirical studies were included in the analysis. These were thematically coded and the intra-organisational factors reported as enabling research use were examined. Five main categories of organisational factors that advance research use in policy organisations – (1) individual factors, (2) the management of research integration, (3) organisational systems and infrastructures of research use, (4) institutional structures and rules for policy-making, and (5) organisational characteristics – were derived as well as 18 subcategories and a total of 64 specific factors, where 27 factors were well supported by research. Conclusions Using a scoping review methodology, the intra-organisational factors influencing research use in policy-making (including individual factors) were systematically mapped and the theories applied in this area of research were assessed. The review findings confirm the importance of an intra-organisational perspective when exploring research use, showing that many organisational factors are critical facilitators of research use but also that many factors and mechanisms are understudied. The synthesis shows a lack of studies on politicians and the need for more theoretically founded research. Despite increased efforts to update the existing evidential and theoretical basis of research use, we still need frameworks that combine different approaches and theories to help us grasp the complex organisational mechanisms that facilitate research use in policy settings.


2021 ◽  
Vol 28 (1_suppl) ◽  
pp. 75-85
Author(s):  
Sarah Louart ◽  
Emmanuel Bonnet ◽  
Kadidiatou Kadio ◽  
Valéry Ridde

The indigents have long been excluded from health policies in sub-Saharan Africa. Despite recent efforts by some countries to allow them free access to health services, they face a multitude of non-financial barriers that prevent them from accessing care. Interventions to address the multiple patient-level barriers to care, such as patient navigation interventions, could help reverse this trend. However, our scoping review showed that no navigation interventions in low-income countries targeted the indigents. The objective of this qualitative study is, therefore, to go beyond the lack of evidence and discuss relevant approaches to act in favor of health care equity. We interviewed 22 public health experts with the objective of finding out which actions related to patient navigation programs (identified in the scoping review for other target groups) could be relevant and/or adapted for the indigents. For each ability to access care described by Levesque and colleagues, we were thus able to list the potential opportunities and challenges of implementing each type of action for the indigents in sub-Saharan Africa. Overall, the experts all felt that patient navigation programs were very relevant to implement for the indigents. They emphasized the need for personalized follow-up and for holistic actions to consider the whole context of the situation of indigence. The recommendations made by the experts are valuable in guiding political decision-making, while leaving room for adaptation of the proposed guidelines according to different contexts.


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