scholarly journals A Protocol for a Scoping Review Comparative Bibliometric Analysis of Infectious Disease Research in Africa

2022 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adrianna Perryman ◽  
Gebremedhin Beedemariam Gebretekle ◽  
Adeteju Ogunbameru ◽  
Joanna M. Bielecki ◽  
Beate Sander
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Infectious Diseases ◽  
Bibliometric Analysis ◽  
Scoping Review ◽  
Health Research ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean Region ◽  
Open Science ◽  
Global Health Research ◽  
Disease Research

Introduction: Evidence on authorship trends of health research conducted about or in Africa shows that there is a lack of local researchers in the first and last authorship positions, with high income country collaborations taking up these positions. The differences in authorship calls into question power imbalances in global health research and who benefits from the production of new discoveries and innovations. Health studies may further go on to inform policy and clinical practice within the region having an impact on public health. This paper aims to compare the differences in authorship between COVID-19 and relevant infectious diseases in Africa.Materials and Methods: We will conduct a bibliometric analysis comparing authorship for COVID-19 research during a public health emergency with authorship for four other infectious diseases of relevance to Africa namely: Ebola, Zika Virus (ZIKV), Tuberculosis (TB) and Influenza. Our scoping review will follow the framework developed by Arksey and O'Malley and reviewed by Levac et al. We will search MEDLINE (Ovid), African Index Medicus (AIM), Eastern Mediterranean Region (IMEMR) Index Medicus, Embase (Ovid), and Web of Science (Clarivate). We will compare the different trends of disease research between the selected diseases. This study is registered with OSF registries and is licensed with the Academic Free License version 3.0. The open science registration number is 10.17605/OSF.IO/5ZPGN.

scholarly journals Field Epidemiology and Public Health Research Priorities in the Eastern Mediterranean Region: Delphi Technique

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohannad Al Nsour ◽  
Tala Chahien ◽  
Yousef Khader ◽  
Mirwais Amiri ◽  
Hana Taha
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health Research ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean Region ◽  
Research Priorities ◽  
Public Health Research ◽  
Communicable Diseases ◽  
Field Epidemiology ◽  
Public Health Professionals ◽  
Epidemiology And Public Health

Research is essential for evidence-based decision making. This study aimed to identify research priorities in the areas of field epidemiology and public health in the Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR) from the perspectives of public health professionals. A Delphi technique, using online survey, was employed to reach 168 public health professionals who have experience in the EMR countries. The study took place between November 2019 and January 2020. Consensus on the research priorities was reached after two-round online questionnaires. A list of top 10 field epidemiology and public health research priorities in the EMR was developed. Of those priorities, four fell under health in emergency, war and armed conflict, two under communicable diseases, two under immunization, one under digital health, and one under sexual, reproductive, and adolescent health. Availability, adequacy, and quality of health services in crisis settings were scored as a top priority (mean = 4.4, rank 1), followed by use of technology to improve the collection, documentation, and analysis of health data (mean = 4.28, rank 2), and capacity of countries in the region to respond to emergencies (mean = 4.25, rank 3). This study was conducted prior to COVID-19 pandemic and, thus, it did not capture COVID-19 research as a priority area. Nevertheless, identified priorities under communicable diseases including outbreak investigation of infectious diseases, epidemics and challenges related to communicable diseases in the EMR were still notable. In conclusion, the field epidemiology and public health research priorities identified in this study through a systematic inclusive process could be useful to make informed decisions and gear the research efforts to improve the health of people in the EMR.

Public Health Surveillance Systems in the Eastern Mediterranean Region: a Bibliometric Analysis of Scientific Literature (Preprint)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Randa Saad ◽  
Mohannad A l Nsour ◽  
Yousef Khader ◽  
Magid Al Gunaid
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Bibliometric Analysis ◽  
Mediterranean Region ◽  
Public Health Surveillance ◽  
Scientific Literature ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean Region ◽  
Health Surveillance ◽  
Scientific Development ◽  
Link Strength

BACKGROUND The two main general categories of surveillance include indicator-based surveillance and event or case-based surveillance. However, new and novel approaches in surveillance are in a constant state of high and immediate demand to tackle unexpected health challenges in a timely manner directly, and address community health concerns. Bibliometric analysis of scientific literature on surveillance helps foster an understanding of the scientific development and thus potentially supports future development directions. OBJECTIVE To illustrate the scientific production, quantify the scholarly impact, and highlight the characteristics of publications on public health surveillance (PHS) in the Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR) over the last decade. METHODS We performed a Scopus search using keywords relating to PHS or its disciplines, cross referenced with EMR countries, from 2011-July 2021. Data were exported and analyzed using Microsoft Excel and VOSviewer. Quality of Journals was determined using SCImago journal rank. RESULTS We retrieved 1,987 documents, of which 97% were articles or reviews. There was an incremental increase in the number of publications (exponential growth, R2=0.80) over the last decade. Publications were mostly affiliated with Iran (N=501, 25%), United States (N=468, 24%), Pakistan (N=243, 12%), Egypt (N=224, 11%) and Saudi Arabia (N=209, 11%). However, Iran only had links with 40 other countries (total link strength 164) and the biggest collaborator from the EMR was Egypt, with 67 links (total link strength 402). Within the other EMR countries, only Morocco, Lebanon, and Jordan produced ≥79 publications in the 10-year period. Most publications (N=1,551, 78%), were affiliated with EMR universities. Most Journals were categorized as medical journals, and the Eastern Mediterranean Health Journal (SJR 0.442) published the most. Retrieved documents had an average of 18.4 citations/document, and an h-index of 66. The top three most cited documents were from the Global Burden of Diseases study. We found 70 high frequency terms, occurring ≥10 times in author keywords, connected in three cluster. COVID-19, SARS-COV-2 and pandemic represent the most recent 2020 cluster. CONCLUSIONS This is the first study to scholarly quantify the published literature on PHS and its disciplines in the EMR. It provides an analysis of the scientific research, with evidence-based descriptions and visualizations of research output, also shedding light on the gaps in research.

scholarly journals A participatory modelling approach for investigating the spread of COVID-19 in countries of the Eastern Mediterranean Region to support public health decision-making

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. e005207
Author(s):  
Keyrellous Adib ◽  
Penelope A Hancock ◽  
Aysel Rahimli ◽  
Bridget Mugisa ◽  
Fayez Abdulrazeq ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Mediterranean Region ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean Region ◽  
Epidemiological Data ◽  
Regional Office ◽  
Participatory Modelling ◽  
Public Health Decision ◽  
Epidemiological Modelling

Early on in the COVID-19 pandemic, the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Regional Office recognised the importance of epidemiological modelling to forecast the progression of the COVID-19 pandemic to support decisions guiding the implementation of response measures. We established a modelling support team to facilitate the application of epidemiological modelling analyses in the Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR) countries. Here, we present an innovative, stepwise approach to participatory modelling of the COVID-19 pandemic that engaged decision-makers and public health professionals from countries throughout all stages of the modelling process. Our approach consisted of first identifying the relevant policy questions, collecting country-specific data and interpreting model findings from a decision-maker’s perspective, as well as communicating model uncertainty. We used a simple modelling methodology that was adaptable to the shortage of epidemiological data, and the limited modelling capacity, in our region. We discuss the benefits of using models to produce rapid decision-making guidance for COVID-19 control in the WHO EMR, as well as challenges that we have experienced regarding conveying uncertainty associated with model results, synthesising and comparing results across multiple modelling approaches, and modelling fragile and conflict-affected states.

scholarly journals A participatory modelling approach for investigating the spread of COVID-19 in countries of the Eastern Mediterranean Region to support public health decision-making

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keyrellous Adib ◽  
Penelope A. Hancock ◽  
Aysel Rahimli ◽  
Bridget Mugisa ◽  
Fayez Abdulrazeq ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Mediterranean Region ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean Region ◽  
Epidemiological Data ◽  
Regional Office ◽  
Participatory Modelling ◽  
Public Health Decision ◽  
Epidemiological Modelling

AbstractEarly on in the COVID-19 pandemic, the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Regional Office (WHO EMRO) recognised the importance of epidemiological modelling to forecast the progression of the COVID-19 pandemic to support decisions guiding the implementation of response measures. We established a modelling support team to facilitate the application of epidemiological modelling analyses in the Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR) countries. Here we present an innovative, stepwise approach to participatory modelling of the COVID-19 pandemic that engaged decision-makers and public health professionals from countries throughout all stages of the modelling process. Our approach consisted of first identifying the relevant policy questions, collecting country-specific data, and interpreting model findings from a decision-maker’s perspective, as well as communicating model uncertainty. We used a simple modelling methodology that was adaptable to the shortage of epidemiological data, and the limited modelling capacity, in our region. We discuss the benefits of using models to produce rapid decision-making guidance for COVID-19 control in the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR), as well as challenges that we have experienced regarding conveying uncertainty associated with model results, synthesizing and comparing results across multiple modelling approaches, and modelling fragile and conflict-affected states.

scholarly journals A Collaborative Initiative to Strengthen Sustainable Public Health Capacity for Polio Eradication and Routine Immunization Activities in the Eastern Mediterranean Region

10.2196/14664 ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. e14664
Author(s):  
Magid Al Gunaid ◽  
Faris Lami ◽  
Najwa Jarour
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Mediterranean Region ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean Region ◽  
Polio Eradication ◽  
Routine Immunization ◽  
Vaccine Preventable Diseases ◽  
Global Polio Eradication Initiative ◽  
Eradicate Polio ◽  
And Control

The many challenges in the Eastern Mediterranean region put the involved countries at risk of polio transmission and affect their ability to meet progress targets in eliminating vaccine-preventable diseases. The Global Health Development (GHD) and Eastern Mediterranean Public Health Network (EMPHNET) are working together on the project “Strengthening sustainable public health capacity in the Eastern Mediterranean region for polio eradication and routine immunization activities” with an overall goal of improving routine immunization, eradicating poliovirus, and controlling/eliminating or eradicating other vaccine-preventable diseases in the Eastern Mediterranean region. The aim of this manuscript is to describe the project and the achievements of GHD/EMPHNET over the last 3 years (2016-2018) to build effective surveillance and immunization systems in the Eastern Mediterranean region through the development of a sustainable and competent public health system to eradicate polio and control/eliminate vaccine-preventable diseases. This project assists the targeted Eastern Mediterranean region countries to build effective surveillance and immunization systems in an effort to expand their capacities to eradicate polio and control/eliminate other vaccine-preventable diseases. The project is streamlined with the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Strategic Framework for Global Immunization 2016-2020, and the Polio Eradication and Endgame Strategic Plan 2013-2018. The project also supports the Global Health Security Agenda by focusing on efforts to accelerate progress toward a world safe and secure from infectious disease threats. Project activities were designed to respond to countries’ needs and assist them in building their institutional and workforce capacity to effectively plan, implement, and evaluate activities to eradicate polio and strengthen routine immunization activities. The project activities covered a set of areas including surveillance of acute flaccid paralysis and other vaccine-preventable diseases, family and community engagement, workforce capacity building, improvement of data quality, management and use of information systems, use of polio assets to control/eliminate other vaccine-preventable diseases, support of countries to develop national strategies, piloting of innovative initiatives, program evaluation and accountability, and immunization strengthening. The project adopts the Global Polio Eradication Initiative strategies for assisting countries to strengthen routine immunization services, maintain highly sensitive acute flaccid paralysis surveillance, and sustain polio eradication functions.

scholarly journals Emergence of novel human coronavirus: public health implications in the Eastern Mediterranean Region

2012 ◽  
Vol 18 (11) ◽  
pp. 1084-1085 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mamunur Malik ◽  
◽  
Jaouad Mahjour ◽  
Martin Opoka ◽  
Ali Reza Mafi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Mediterranean Region ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean Region ◽  
Human Coronavirus ◽  
Health Implications
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