Biography
Bernardo Hernández Prado, DSc, MS, is a Professor at the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington. In this role, he works with IHME’s Integrated Surveillance Systems research team in the evaluation of the Salud Mesoamérica 2015 project, in collaboration with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Division of Social Protection and Health. IHME and IDB designed surveys for households and health facilities to measure coverage of key interventions in nutrition, immunization, and maternal and child health. The research supports efforts to improve health system performance and build capacity in Mesoamerica.
Since 2008, Dr. Hernández Prado has collaborated with IHME on the Population Health Metrics Research Consortium project for the validation of verbal autopsy and chronic disease diagnosis questionnaires, and he analyzed verbal autopsy data collected for the Grand Challenges in Global Health initiative #13 (GC-13). He also collaborates with the Verbal Autopsy research team and is involved in the evaluation of PREVENIMSS, a program of preventive actions launched by the Mexican Institute of Social Security. In addition, he serves as the director of the Health Metrics track of the Master of Public Health program at the University of Washington.
Prior to joining IHME, Dr. Hernández Prado had a long and distinguished career on the faculty of the National Institute of Public Health in Cuernavaca, Mexico. He headed the Department of Maternal Health and the Center for Research in Population Health, for which he directed the epidemiology and nutrition programs. Most recently, he served as the institute’s Director of Reproductive Health. His research has focused on maternal health and mortality, the evaluation of social and health programs, and the effect of physical activity and improved nutrition on the health of children and mothers.
From 2002 to 2006, Dr. Hernández Prado coordinated the evaluation of Oportunidades, the principal antipoverty program of the Mexican government. He helped develop the master plan for maternal and neonatal health of the Mesoamerican Initiative in 2010. He is a level 1 National Investigator for the National Council of Science and Technology of Mexico.
Dr. Hernández Prado earned a BSc in Social Psychology from the Metropolitan Autonomous University-Mexico City, a Master’s in Social Psychology from the London School of Economics, and a Doctorate in Sciences in Health and Social Behavior from the Harvard School of Public Health. Among the many honors he has received, Dr. Hernández Prado was awarded the 2005 Miguel Bustamante Prize of the National Institute of Public Health.
IHME was established at the University of Washington in Seattle in 2007. Its mission is to deliver to the world timely, relevant, and scientifically valid evidence to improve health policy and practice.
Hernandez, B., Rodriguez Angulo, E., Johnson, L.M. et al. Assessment of the quality of the vital registration system for under-5 mortality in Yucatan, Mexico. Popul Health Metrics 20, 7 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12963-022-00284-5.
Hernandez, B., Harris, K.P., Johanns, C.K. et al. Impact of the Salud Mesoamerica Initiative on delivery care choices in Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. BMC Pregnancy Childbirth 22, 5 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12884-021-04279-2.
Kamath, A.M., Thom, M.G., Johanns, C.K. et al. Tackling equitable coverage and quality of care for neonates in hospitals: a pre-post assessment on asphyxia interventions in Mesoamerica. BMC Pediatr 21, 534 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12887-021-02999-0.
Hernández-Prado B, Rodríguez-Angulo EM, Palmisano EB, Ojeda-Rodríguez R, Ojeda-Baranda RJ, Andueza-Pecha MG, Johnson LM, Chen A, Johanns C, Marquez N, Kamath AM, Camarda JN, Flaxman AD. Factors associated with delays in the search for care in under-5 deaths in Yucatán, Mexico. Salud Publica de Mexico. 20 May 2021. doi: 10.21149/12216.
Rios-Zertuche D, Carter KH, Panhorst Harris K. Performance of passive case detection for malaria surveillance: results from nine countries in Mesoamerica and the Dominican Republic. Malaria Journal. 30 April 2021. doi: 10.1186/s12936-021-03645-x.
Shelley, K.D., Kamya, C., Mpanya, G., et al. Partnership and Participation—A Social Network Analysis of the 2017 Global Fund Application Process in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda. Annals of Global Health, 86(1), p.140. DOI: http://doi.org/10.5334/aogh.2961.
Phillips DE, Ambrosio G, Batzel A, et al. Bringing a health systems modelling approach to complex evaluations: multicountry applications in HIV, TB and malaria. BMJ Global Health. 2020;5:e002441.
Gutierrez JP, Agudelo-Botero M, Garcia-Saiso S, Zepeda-Tena C, Davila-Cervantes CA, Gonzalez-Robledo MC, Fullman N, Razo C, Hernandez-Prado B, Martinez G, Barquera S, Lozano R. Advances and challenges on the path toward the SDGs: subnational inequalities in Mexico, 1990–2017. BMJ Global Health. 29 October 2020. doi: 10.1136/bmjgh-2020-002382.
Híjar M, Pérez-Núñez R, Hidalgo-Solórzano E, Hernández Prado B, Valdez-Santiago R, Hamilton EB, James SL, Bertolacci GJ, Cunningham M, Dingels ZV, Fox JT, Liu Z, Roberts NLS, Sylte DO, Agudelo-Botero M, Borges G, Cahuana-Hurtado L, Campos-Nonato IR, Cardenas R, Davila-Cervantes CA, Denova-Guiterrez E, Diaz D, Lansingh VC, Martinez G, Montero-Zamora PA, Servan-Mori E, Lozano R. Unintentional injuries in Mexico, 1990–2017: findings from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017. Injury Prevention. 1 April 2020. doi:10.1136/injuryprev-2019-043532.
Kamath AM, Schaefer AM, Palmisano EB, Johanns CK, Marmol AG, Mendoza MD, Schwarzbauer K, Zuniga-Brenes P, Rios-Zertuche D, Iriarte E, Mokdad AH, Prado BH. Access and use of oxytocin for postpartum haemorrhage prevention: a pre-post study targeting the poorest in six Mesoamerican countries. BMJ Open. 16 March 2020. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2019-034084.
Kamath AM, Johanns CK, Thom MG, Cogen RM, Rios-Zertuche D, Mokdad AH, Hernandez B. Assessing multidimensional care coverage for pre‐eclampsia in the era of universal health coverage: A pre–post evaluation of the Salud Mesoamérica Initiative. International Journal of Gynecology & Obstetrics. 29 February 2020. doi:10.1002/ijgo.13131.
Local Burden of Disease Child Growth Failure Collaborators. Mapping child growth failure across low- and middle-income countries. Nature. 8 January 2020. doi:10.1038/s41586-019-1878-8.
Local Burden of Disease Educational Attainment Collaborators. Mapping disparities in education across low- and middle-income countries. Nature. 25 December 2019. doi:10.1038/s41586-019-1872-1.
McNellan CR, Dansereau E, Wallace MCG, Colombara DV, Palmisano EB, Johanns CK, Schaefer A, Ríos-Zertuche D, Zúñiga-Brenes P, Hernandez B, Iriate E, Mokdad AH. Antenatal care as a means to increase participation in the continuum of maternal and child healthcare: an analysis of the poorest regions of four Mesoamérican countries. BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth. 12 Feb 2019;19:66. doi:10.1186/s12884-019-2207-9.
El Bcheraoui C, Kamath AM, Dansereau E, Palmisano EB, Schaefer A, Hernandez B, Mokdad AH. Results-based aid with lasting effects: sustainability in the Salud Mesoamérica Initiative. Globalization and Health. 16 Oct 2018;14(1):97. doi:10.1186/s12992-018-0418-x.
Rios-Zertuche D, Zúñiga-Brenes P, Palmisano E, Hernández B, Schaefer A, Johanns CK, Gonzalez-Marmol A, Mokdad AH, Iriarte E. Methods to measure quality of care and quality indicators through health facility surveys in low- and middle-income countries. International Journal for Quality in Health Care. 18 June 2018; mzy136. doi:10.1093/intqhc/mzy136/503991
Duber HC, Hartford EA, Schaefer AM, Johanns CK, Colombara DV, Iriarte E, Palmisano EB, Rios-Zertuche D, Hernandez-Prado B, Mokdad AH. Appropriate and timely antibiotic administration for neonatal sepsis in Mesoamérica. BMJ Global Health. 2018;3:e000650. doi: 10.1136/bmjgh-2017-000650.
Mokdad AH, Palmisano EB, Zúñiga-Brenes P, et al. Supply-side interventions to improve health: Findings from the Salud Mesoamérica Initiative. PLoS ONE. 16 Apr 2018; 13(4):e0195292. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0195292
El Bcheraoui C, Palmisano EB, Dansereau E, Schaefer A, Woldeab A, Moradi-Lakeh M, Salvatierra B, Hernandez-Prado B, Mokdad AH. Healthy competition drives success in results-based aid: Lessons from the Salud Mesoamérica Initiative. PLoS ONE. 2017 Oct 27; 12(10): e0187107. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0187107
Dansereau E, Schaefer A, Hernandez B, Nelson J, Palmisano EB, Ríos-Zertuche D, Woldeab A, Zúñiga MP, Iriarte E, Mokdad A, El Bcheraoui C. Perceptions of and barriers to family planning services in the poorest regions of Chiapas, Mexico: a qualitative study of men, women, and adolescents. Contraception. 2017 Oct 17; 14:129. doi: 10.1186/s12978-017-0392-4
Hernandez B, Colombara DV, Gagnier MC, Desai SS, Haakenstad A, Johanns C, CR McNellan, Nelson J, Palmisano EB, Ríos-Zertuche D, Schaefer A, Zúñiga-Brenes P, Iriarte E, Mokdad AH. Barriers and facilitators for institutional delivery among poor Mesoamerican women: a cross-sectional study. Health Policy and Planning. 15 Mar 2017. doi: https://doi.org/10.1093/heapol/czx010
Rios-Zertuche D, Cuchilla J, Zúñiga-Brenes P, Hernández B, Jara P, Mokdad AH, Iriarte E. Alcohol abuse and other factors associated with risky sexual behaviors among adolescent students from the poorest areas in Costa Rica. International Journal of Public Health. 29 Aug 2017; 62: 271. doi:10.1007/s00038-016-0859-z
Dansereau E, McNellan CR, Gagnier MC, Desai SS, Haakenstad A, Johanns CK, Palmisano EB, Ríos-Zertuche D, Schaefer A, Zúñiga-Brenes P, Hernandez B, Iriarte E, Mokdad AH. Coverage and timing of antenatal care among poor women in 6 Mesoamerican countries. BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth. 2016 Aug 19; 16:234. DOI: 10.1186/s12884-016-1018-5
Colombara DV, Hernández B, Schaefer A, Zyznieuski N, Bryant MF, Desai SS, Gagnier MC, Johanns CK, McNellan CR, Palmisano EB, Ríos-Zertuche D, Zúñiga-Brenes P, Iriarte E, Mokdad AH. Institutional Delivery and Satisfaction among Indigenous and Poor Women in Guatemala, Mexico, and Panama. PLoS ONE. 2016 Apr 27; 11(4): e0154388. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0154388
Colombara DV, Hernández B, McNellan CR, Desai SS, Gagnier MC, Haakenstad A, Johanns C, Palmisano EB, Ríos-Zertuche D, Schaefer A, Zúñiga-Brenes P, Zyznieuski N, Iriarte E, Mokdad AH. Diarrhea prevalence, care, and risk factors among poor children under 5 years of age in Mesoamerica. The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. 2016 Jan 19. doi: 10.4269/ajtmh.15-0750.
Serina P, Riley I, Stewart A, et al. A shortened verbal autopsy instrument for use in routine mortality surveillance systems. BMC Medicine. 2015 Dec 16; 13:302. doi:10.1186/s12916-015-0528-8.
Serina P, Riley I, Stewart A, et al. Improving performance of the Tariff Method for assigning causes of death to verbal autopsies. BMC Medicine. 2015 Dec 8; 13:291. doi: 10.1186/s12916-015-0527-9.
Mokdad AH, Gagnier MC, Colson KE, Dansereau E, Zúñiga-Brenes P, Ríos-Zertuche D, et al. Missed Opportunities for Measles, Mumps, and Rubella (MMR) Immunization in Mesoamerica: Potential Impact on Coverage and Days at Risk. PLoS ONE . 2015; 10(10): e0139680. doi:10.1371/journal.pone. 0139680.
Flaxman AD, Serina PT, Hernandez B, Murray CJL, Riley I, Lopez A. Measuring causes of death in populations: a new metric that corrects cause-specific mortality fractions for chance. Population Health Metrics. 2015 Oct 12; 13:28. doi:10.1186/s12963-015-0061-1.
Mokdad AH, Gagnier MC, Colson KE, Zúñiga-Brenes P, Ríos-Zertuche D, Haakenstad A, Palmisano EB, Anderson BW, Desai SS, Gillespie CW, Murphy T, Naghavi P, Nelson J, Ranganathan D, Schaefer A, Usmanova G, Wilson S, Hernandez B, Lozano R, Iriarte E. Health and wealth in Mesoamerica: findings from Salud Mesoamérica 2015. BMC Medicine. 2015 Jul 14; 13:164. doi:10.1186/s12916-015-0393-5.
Colson KE, Zúñiga-Brenes P, Ríos-Zertuche D, Conde-Glez C, Gagnier MC, Palmisano E, Ranganathan D, Usmanova G, Salvatierra B, Nazar A, Tristao I, Sanchez Monin E, Anderson BW, Haakenstad A, Murphy T, Lim S, Hernandez B, Lozano R, Iriarte E, Mokdad AH. Comparative estimates of crude and effective coverage of measles immunization in low-resource settings: Findings from Salud Mesoamérica 2015. PLOS One. 2015 Jul 2. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0130697.
Colombara DV, Hernández B, Gagnier MC, Johanns C, Desai SS, Haakenstad A, McNellan CR, Palmisano EB, Ríos-Zertuche D, Schaefer A, Zúñiga-Brenes P, Zyznieuski N, Iriarte E, Mokdad AH. Breastfeeding practices among poor women in Mesoamerica. The Journal of Nutrition. 2015 Jul 1. doi:10.3945/jn.115.213736.
Colson KE, Potter A, Conde-Glez C, Hernandez B, Ríos-Zertuche D, Zúñiga-Brenes P, SM2015 Collaborators, Iriarte E, Mokdad AH. Use of a commercial ELISA for the detection of measles-specific immunoglobulin G (IgG) in dried blood spots collected from children living in low-resource settings. Journal of Medical Virology. 2015 May 18; 87:1491–1499.
Mokdad AH, Colson KE, Zúñiga-Brenes P, et al. Salud Mesoamérica 2015 Initiative: design, implementation, and baseline findings. Population Health Metrics. 2015 Feb 7; 13:3. doi:10.1186/s12963-015-0034-4.
James SL, Romero M, Ramírez-Villalobos D, Gómez S, Pierce K, Flaxman A, Serina P, Stewart A, Murray CJL, Gakidou E, Lozano R, Hernandez B. Validating estimates of prevalence of non-communicable diseases based on household surveys: the symptomatic diagnosis study. BMC Medicine. 2015 Jan 26; 13:15. doi:10.1186/s12916-014-0245-8.
Murray CJL, Lozano R, Flaxman AD, et al. Using verbal autopsy to measure causes of death: the comparative performance of existing methods. BMC Medicine. 2014 Jan 9; 12(5). doi:10.1186/1741-7015-12-5
Hernandez B, Ramirez-Villalobos D, Romero M, Gomez S, Atkinson C, Lozano R. Assessing quality of medical death certification: concordance between gold standard diagnoses and underlying cause of death in selected Mexican hospitals. Population Health Metrics. 2011; 9:38.
Murray CJL, Lopez AD, Black R, et al. Population Health Metrics Research Consortium gold standard verbal autopsy validation study: design, implementation, and development of analysis datasets. Population Health Metrics. 2011; 9:27.
