scholarly journals A Conceptual Framework for Analysing Partnership and Synergy in a Global Health Alliance: Case of the UK Public Health Rapid Support Team (UK-PHRST)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philomena Raftery ◽  
Mazeda Hossain ◽  
Jennifer Palmer
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Global Health ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Critical Time ◽  
Team Cohesion ◽  
Outbreak Response ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Important Indicator ◽  
Support Team ◽  
The Uk

ABSTRACT Partnerships have become increasingly important in addressing complex global health challenges, a reality exemplified by the COVID-19 pandemic and previous infectious disease epidemics. Partnerships offer opportunities to create synergistic outcomes by capitalising on complimentary skills, knowledge and resources. Despite the importance of understanding partnership functioning, research on collaboration is sparse and fragmented, with few conceptual frameworks applied to evaluate real-life partnerships in global health. In this study, we aimed to adapt and apply the Bergan Model of Collaborative Functioning (BMCF) to analyse partnership functioning in the UK Public Health Rapid Support Team (UK-PHRST), a government-academic partnership, dedicated to outbreak response and research in low- and middle-income countries. We conducted a literature review identifying important elements to adapt the framework, followed by a qualitative case study to characterise how each element, and the dynamics between them, influenced functioning in the UK-PHRST, exploring emerging themes to further refine the framework. Elements of the BMCF that our study reinforced as important included the partnership’s mission, partner resources (skills, expertise, networks), leadership, the external environment, management systems, and communication. Additional elements identified in the literature and critical to partnership functioning of the UK-PHRST included governance and financial structures adopted, trust and power balance, organisational culture, strategy, and evaluation and knowledge management. Because of the way the UK-PHRST was structured, fostering team cohesion was an important indicator of synergy, alongside collaborative advantage. Dividing the funding and governance equally between organisations was considered crucial for maintaining institutional balance, however, diverse organisational cultures, weak communication practices and perceived power imbalances compromised team cohesion. Our analysis allowed us to make recommendations to improve partnership functioning at a critical time in the evolution of the UK-PHRST. The analysis approach and framework presented here can be used to evaluate and strengthen the management of global health partnerships to realise synergy.

scholarly journals An innovative and integrated model for global outbreak response and research - a case study of the UK Public Health Rapid Support Team (UK-PHRST)

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Philomena Raftery ◽  
Mazeda Hossain ◽  
Jennifer Palmer
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Global Health ◽  
Capacity Building ◽  
Operational Research ◽  
Outbreak Response ◽  
Academic Collaboration ◽  
Support Team ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Uk

Abstract Background Despite considerable institutional experimentation at national and international levels in response to calls for global health security reform, there is little research on organisational models that address outbreak preparedness and response. Created in the aftermath of the 2013–16 West African Ebola epidemic, the United Kingdom’s Public Health Rapid Support Team (UK-PHRST) was designed to address critical gaps in outbreak response illuminated during the epidemic, while leveraging existing UK institutional strengths. The partnership between the government agency, Public Health England, and an academic consortium, led by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, seeks to integrate outbreak response, operational research and capacity building. We explored the design, establishment and early experiences of the UK-PHRST as one of the first bodies of its kind globally, paying particular attention to governance decisions which enabled them to address their complex mission. Methods We conducted a qualitative case study using 19 in-depth interviews with individuals knowledgeable about the team’s design and implementation, review of organisational documents, and observations of meetings to analyse the UK-PHRST’s creation, establishment and initial 2 years of operations. Results According to key informants, adopting a triple mandate (response, research and capacity building) established the team as novel in the global epidemic response architecture. Key governance decisions recognised as vital to the model included: structuring the team as a government-academic collaboration which leveraged long-term and complementary UK investments in public health and the higher education sector; adopting a more complex, dual reporting and funding structure to maintain an ethos of institutional balance between lead organisations; supporting a multidisciplinary team of experts to respond early in outbreaks for optimal impact; prioritising and funding epidemic research to influence response policy and practice; and ensuring the team’s activities reinforced the existing global health architecture. Conclusion The UK-PHRST aims to enhance global outbreak response using an innovative and integrated model that capitalises on institutional strengths of the partnership. Insights suggest that despite adding complexity, integrating operational research through the government-academic collaboration contributed significant advantages. This promising model could be adopted and adapted by countries seeking to build similar outbreak response and research capacities.

scholarly journals The UK public health rapid support team: a novel programme integrating outbreak response, operational research, and capacity building

2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (1A) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan Ashcroft ◽  
Benedict Gannon ◽  
Hilary Bower ◽  
Emilio Hornsey ◽  
Matt Knight ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Capacity Building ◽  
Operational Research ◽  
Outbreak Response ◽  
Support Team ◽  
The Uk

scholarly journals Emphasizing the Role of Neurosurgery Within Global Health and National Health Systems: A Call to Action

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean Wilguens Lartigue ◽  
Olaoluwa Ezekiel Dada ◽  
Makinah Haq ◽  
Sarah Rapaport ◽  
Lorraine Arabang Sebopelo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Global Health ◽  
Health Systems ◽  
Global Burden ◽  
Global Public Health ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Disability Adjusted Life ◽  
Life Years ◽  
Development Goals ◽  
Global Burden Of Diseases

Background: Worldwide, neurological disorders are the leading cause of disability-adjusted life years lost and the second leading cause of death. Despite global health capacity-building efforts, each year, 22.6 million individuals worldwide require neurosurgeon's care due to diseases such as traumatic brain injury and hydrocephalus, and 13.8 million of these individuals require surgery. It is clear that neurosurgical care is indispensable in both national and international public health discussions. This study highlights the role neurosurgeons can play in supporting the global health agenda, national surgical plans, and health strengthening systems (HSS) interventions.Methods: Guided by a literature review, the authors discuss key topics such as the global burden of neurosurgical diseases, the current state of neurosurgical care around the world and the inherent benefits of strong neurosurgical capability for health systems.Results: Neurosurgical diseases make up an important part of the global burden of diseases. Many neurosurgeons possess the sustained passion, resilience, and leadership needed to advocate for improved neurosurgical care worldwide. Neurosurgical care has been linked to 14 of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), thus highlighting the tremendous impact neurosurgeons can have upon HSS initiatives.Conclusion: We recommend policymakers and global health actors to: (i) increase the involvement of neurosurgeons within the global health dialogue; (ii) involve neurosurgeons in the national surgical system strengthening process; (iii) integrate neurosurgical care within the global surgery movement; and (iv) promote the training and education of neurosurgeons, especially those residing in Low-and middle-income countries, in the field of global public health.

scholarly journals The Ministry of Health and Sanitation, Sierra Leone  – Public Health England (MOHS-PHE) Ebola Biobank

2019 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. 115
Author(s):  
Bernie Hannigan ◽  
Jimmy Whitworth ◽  
Miles Carroll ◽  
Allen Roberts ◽  
Christine Bruce ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Sierra Leone ◽  
Ebola Virus ◽  
Diagnostic Testing ◽  
Ministry Of Health ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Ongoing Research ◽  
The People ◽  
Research Organisations ◽  
The Uk

During the Ebola outbreak in 2014-2015 in Sierra Leone, residual clinical specimens and accompanying data were collected from routine diagnostic testing in Public Health England (PHE) led laboratories. Most of the samples with all the accompanying data were transferred to PHE laboratories in the UK for curation by PHE.  The remainder have been kept securely in Sierra Leone. The biobank holds approximately 9955 samples of which 1108 tested positive for Ebola virus. Researchers from the UK and overseas, from academia, government other research organisations and commercial companies can submit proposals to the biobank to access and use the samples. The Ministry of Health and Sanitation in Sierra Leone (MOHS) retains ownership of the data and materials and is working with PHE and other researchers to develop and conduct a series of research projects that will inform future healthcare and public health strategies relating to Ebola.  The Ebola Biobank Governance Group (EBGG) was established to guarantee equality of access to the biobank for the most scientifically valuable research including by researchers from low and middle-income countries. Ensuring benefit to the people of Sierra Leone is an over-arching principle for decisions of the EBGG.  Four ongoing research collaborations are based on the first wave of biobank proposals approved by EBGG.  Whilst the biobank is a valuable resource its completeness and sample quality are consistent with the outbreak conditions under which they were collected.

scholarly journals Risky business: COVAX and the financialization of global vaccine equity

2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Felix Stein
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Global Health ◽  
Health Risk ◽  
Financial Risk ◽  
Vaccine Development ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
Public Access ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Public Health Risk ◽  
Goods And Services

Abstract Background During the first year and a half of the COVID-19 pandemic, COVAX has been the world’s most prominent effort to ensure equitable access to SARS-CoV-2 vaccines. Launched as part of the Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator (Act-A) in June 2020, COVAX suggested to serve as a vaccine buyers’ and distribution club for countries around the world. It also aimed to support the pharmaceutical industry in speeding up and broadening vaccine development. While COVAX has recently come under critique for failing to bring about global vaccine equity, influential politicians and public health advocates insist that future iterations of it will improve pandemic preparedness. So far COVAX’s role in the ongoing financialization of global health, i.e. in the rise of financial concepts, motives, practices and institutions has not been analyzed. Methods This article describes and critically assesses COVAX’s financial logics, i.e. the concepts, arguments and financing flows on which COVAX relies. It is based on a review of over 109 COVAX related reports, ten in-depth interviews with global health experts working either in or with COVAX, as well as participant observation in 18 webinars and online meetings concerned with global pandemic financing, between September 2020 and August 2021. Results The article finds that COVAX expands the scale and scope of financial instruments in global health governance, and that this is done by conflating different understandings of risk. Specifically, COVAX conflates public health risk and corporate financial risk, leading it to privilege concerns of pharmaceutical companies over those of most participating countries – especially low and lower-middle income countries (LICs and LMICs). COVAX thus drives the financialization of global health and ends up constituting a risk itself - that of perpetuating the downsides of financialization (e.g. heightened inequality, secrecy, complexity in governance, an ineffective and slow use of aid), whilst insufficiently realising its potential benefits (pandemic risk reduction, increased public access to emergency funding, indirect price control over essential goods and services). Conclusion Future iterations of vaccine buyers’ and distribution clubs as well as public vaccine development efforts should work towards reducing all aspects of public health risk rather than privileging its corporate financial aspects. This will include reassessing the interplay of aid and corporate subsidies in global health.

scholarly journals Understanding Learning Trajectories Is Key to Helping Adolescent Girls

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lant Pritchett ◽  
Marla Spivack
Keyword(s):  
Adolescent Girls ◽  
Critical Time ◽  
Full Potential ◽  
Learning Trajectories ◽  
Education Systems ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Middle Income Countries ◽  
Leave Policy ◽  
The Uk ◽  
National Governments

There is a growing consensus among national governments and development partners about the importance of girls’ education. This is reflected in the UK government’s commitment to quality education for every girl for 12 years, and in targets for increasing girls’ schooling and learning adopted by the Group of 7 (G-7) countries at their meeting in mid-2021 (G7, 2021). The emergence of this consensus comes at a critical time. Education systems in low- and middle-income countries are facing a learning crisis, with many systems failing to equip children with the foundational skills they need to reach their full potential. Within this movement for girls’ education, much attention is focused on the unique challenges adolescent girls face, and on programmes to help girls stay in school. But designing interventions without sufficient understanding of the drivers of adolescent girls’ challenges will leave policy makers frustrated and girls unaided. To help adolescents reach their full potential, we must first understand what is undermining their progress in the first place. Understanding learning trajectories (how much children learn over time) is key to helping both today’s and tomorrow’s adolescent girls. This insight note briefly explains what learning trajectories are and then offers six analytical insights about learning trajectories that can inform education systems reforms to ensure that every girl meets her full potential.

scholarly journals Firearm violence: a neglected “Global Health” issue

2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Meghan Werbick ◽  
Imran Bari ◽  
Nino Paichadze ◽  
Adnan A. Hyder
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Global Health ◽  
Health Issue ◽  
Public Health Issue ◽  
Global Public Health ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Firearm Violence ◽  
The World ◽  
Global Health Issue ◽  
The Impact

AbstractPopulations around the world are facing an increasing burden of firearm violence on mortality and disability. While firearm violence affects every country globally, the burden is significantly higher in many low- and middle-income countries. However, despite overwhelming statistics, there is a lack of research, reporting, and prioritization of firearm violence as a global public health issue, and when attention is given it is focused on high-income countries. This paper discusses the impact of firearm violence, the factors which shape such violence, and how it fits into global public health frameworks in order to illustrate how firearm violence is a global health issue which warrants evidence-based advocacy around the world.

scholarly journals THE IGNORED PANDEMIC OF PUBLIC HEALTH CORRUPTION: A CALL FOR ACTION AMID AND BEYOND SARS-COV-2/COVID-19

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 108-116
Author(s):  
Jorge A. Sánchez-Duque ◽  
◽  
Zhaohui Su ◽  
Diego Rosselli ◽  
Maria Camila Chica-Ocampo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Global Health ◽  
Health Care Systems ◽  
Health Resources ◽  
Economic Consequences ◽  
Control Measures ◽  
Local Health ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Health Initiatives ◽  
Care Systems

Corruption in healthcare is on the rise. When corruption infiltrates global health, causes embezzlement of public health funds, malfunctioning medical equipment, fraudulent or ineffective health services such as expired medicines and fake vaccines that could have life-or-death consequences. A corrupt healthcare system, amid global health crises like the COVID-19 pandemic, when resources are in constraint and trust is in high demand, can lead to devastating, though avoidable, health and economic consequences. It is imperative for policymakers, health experts, patients, caregivers, and global health funders to promptly acknowledge and address corruption in healthcare. The current pandemic generates an emergency and disorder state on health care systems across the globe, especially in low- and middle-income countries, where a weakening of control measures is evident, creating the perfect storm for corruption. This paper builds on existing research to examine processes that support essential stakeholder engagement in anti-corruption efforts. In this context, an extensive review of literature has been conducted by using various databases such as PubMed, Science direct, SCOPUS, Research Gate, and Google Scholar and a total of 45 articles and documents on corruption and COVID-19 were screened and selected by authors independently. To fill the knowledge gaps about the need for actions to be taken during a pandemic like COVID-19, we propose an anti-corruption grassroots movement that focuses on changing the social norms surrounding corruption in healthcare. By pushing forward a practice that normalizes conversations about corruption in everyday health practices and involving more stakeholders in the protection of public health resources, we argue that not only local health systems can become more resilient and resistant to corruption, but also global health initiatives can become more effective and efficient to improve individual and global health.

scholarly journals Myth-busting the provider-user relationship for digital sequence information

GigaScience ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
Author(s):  
Amber Hartman Scholz ◽  
Matthias Lange ◽  
Pia Habekost ◽  
Paul Oldham ◽  
Ibon Cancio ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Common Good ◽  
Biological Diversity ◽  
Scientific Practice ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Critical Time ◽  
Benefit Sharing ◽  
Convention On Biological Diversity ◽  
Sequence Information ◽  
Scientific Publications ◽  
Middle Income

Abstract Background The United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) formally recognized the sovereign rights of nations over their biological diversity. Implicit within the treaty is the idea that mega-biodiverse countries will provide genetic resources and grant access to them and scientists in high-income countries will use these resources and share back benefits. However, little research has been conducted on how this framework is reflected in real-life scientific practice. Result Currently, parties to the CBD are debating whether digital sequence information (DSI) should be regulated under a new benefit-sharing framework. At this critical time point in the upcoming international negotiations, we test the fundamental hypothesis of provision and use of DSI by looking at the global patterns of access and use in scientific publications. Conclusion Our data reject the provider-user relationship and suggest a far more complex information flow for DSI. Therefore, any new policy decisions on DSI should be aware of the high level of use of DSI across low- and middle-income countries and seek to preserve open access to this crucial common good.

Global Health Diplomacy and Management Mechanisms of US-China Public Health Collaborations in China: Lessons for Emerging Markets

2012 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew David Brown
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Global Health ◽  
Emerging Market ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Middle Income Countries ◽  
Health Diplomacy ◽  
Department Of Health ◽  
The Us ◽  
The World ◽  
Control And Prevention

China is the largest emerging market in the world. It is also on the front lines of health diplomacy, where the tools of diplomatic statecraft are being employed by public health professions of both the US and China to help improve the practice of public health. This article examines the US Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) and the US Centers for Control and Prevention (US CDC) in China, describes critical features of the Chinese health system, presents two examples of US-China collaborations, and describes common management mechanisms and strategies supporting both. This examination will help inform other global health collaborations between the US and China as well as lessons for supporting global health collaborations in other middle income countries.

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