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On your mark, get set, go levels of physical activity in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 2013
With the lack of appropriate data, we conducted a large household survey in 2013 to determine current rates of physical activity in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA).
Vectorial capacity and vector control: reconsidering sensitivity to parameters for malaria elimination
Major gains have been made in reducing malaria transmission in many parts of the world, principally by scaling-up coverage with long-lasting insecticidal nets and indoor residual spraying. Using analytical solutions to updated equations for vectorial capacity we build on previous work to show that, while adult killing methods can be highly effective under many circumstances, other vector control methods are frequently required to fill effective coverage gaps.
Efficiency of health care production in low-resource settings: a Monte-Carlo simulation to compare the performance of Data Envelopment Analysis, Stochastic Distance Functions, and an ensemble model
Low-resource countries can greatly benefit from even small increases in efficiency of health service provision, supporting a strong case to measure and pursue efficiency improvement in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). However, the knowledge base concerning efficiency measurement remains scarce for these contexts.
Global and national burden of diseases and injuries among children and adolescents between 1990 and 2013: Findings from the Global Burden of Disease 2013 study
The literature focuses on mortality among children younger than 5 years. Comparable information on nonfatal health outcomes among these children and the fatal and nonfatal burden of diseases and injuries among older children and adolescents is scarce.
Diarrhea prevalence, care, and risk factors among poor children under 5 years of age in Mesoamerica
Care practices and risk factors for diarrhea among impoverished communities across Mesoamerica are unknown. Using Salud Mesoamérica Initiative baseline data, collected 2011–2013, we assessed the prevalence of diarrhea, adherence to evidence-based treatment guidelines, and potential diarrhea correlates in poor and indigenous communities across Mesoamerica. This study surveyed 14,500 children under 5 years of age in poor areas of El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico (Chiapas State), Nicaragua, and Panama.
Stroke prevalence, mortality and disability-adjusted life years in children and youth aged 0–19 years: Data from the global and regional burden of stroke 2013
Background There is increasing recognition of stroke as an important contributor to childhood morbidity and mortality. Current estimates of global childhood stroke burden and its temporal trends are sparse. Accurate and up-to-date estimates of childhood stroke burden are important for planning research and the resulting evidence-based strategies for stroke prevention and management.
Anticipating the international spread of Zika virus from Brazil
In May, 2015, locally acquired cases of Zika virus—an arbovirus found in Africa and Asia-Pacific and transmitted via Aedes mosquitoes—were confirmed in Brazil. The presence of Aedes mosquitoes across Latin America, coupled with suitable climatic conditions, have triggered a Zika virus epidemic in Brazil, currently estimated at 440 000–1 300 000 cases.
Identifying gaps for research prioritization: global burden of external causes of injury as reflected in the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews
To analyze the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (CDSR) and determine whether systematic reviews and protocols accurately represent disease burden, as measured by disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2010 study.
A supervised learning process to validate online disease reports for use in predictive models
Pathogen distribution models that predict spatial variation in disease occurrence require data from a large number of geographic locations to generate disease risk maps. We have developed a supervised learning process to validate geolocated disease outbreak data in a timely manner.
Use of dental clinics and oral hygiene practices in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 2013
We conducted a large household survey in 2013 to determine the current status of oral health practices and use of oral health services in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA).
Patient satisfaction and perceived quality of care: evidence from a cross-sectional national exit survey of HIV and non-HIV service users in Zambia
In this study, we report findings from exit surveys of patients receiving HIV and non-HIV services at a diverse sample of facilities across Zambia.
Mapping residual transmission for malaria elimination
As countries get closer to eliminating malaria, targeting their resources effectively becomes an increasingly urgent question. Swaziland has made great progress in reducing malaria in recent years. Its National Malaria Control Program has reported a substantial decline in cases since 1999, and it has the potential to achieve the goal of eliminating the disease entirely. In order to do so, though, decision-makers in Swaziland need to look beyond national trends and focus more closely on differences that exist within the country – to identify the hot spots where malaria hasn’t yet been eliminated, and where risk of transmission is highest. In order to help in this effort, researchers have developed a model that captures an important aspect of the potential for malaria transmission in the country: how many new malaria infections are caused by each case, and how this varies across Swaziland.
Coverage and system efficiencies of insecticide-treated nets in Africa from 2000 to 2017
Insecticide-treated nets (ITNs) for malaria control are widespread but coverage remains inadequate. We developed a Bayesian model using data from 102 national surveys, triangulated against delivery data and distribution reports, to generate year-by-year estimates of four ITN coverage indicators.
A shortened verbal autopsy instrument for use in routine mortality surveillance systems
Verbal autopsy (VA) is recognized as the only feasible alternative to comprehensive medical certification of deaths in settings with no or unreliable vital registration systems. However, a barrier to its use by national registration systems has been the amount of time and cost needed for data collection. In this paper we describe a shortened version of the VA instrument developed for the Population Health Metrics Research Consortium Gold Standard Verbal Autopsy Validation Study using a systematic approach.
Improving performance of the Tariff Method for assigning causes of death to verbal autopsies
In the absence of comprehensive medical certification of deaths, the only feasible way to collect essential mortality data is verbal autopsy (VA). The Tariff Method was developed by the Population Health Metrics Research Consortium to ascertain causes of death from VA information. We describe the further development of the Tariff Method.
Benchmarking health system performance across regions in Uganda: a systematic analysis of levels and trends in key maternal and child health interventions and outcomes, 1990–2011
Globally, countries are increasingly prioritizing the reduction of health inequalities and provision of universal health coverage. While national benchmarking has become more common, such work at subnational levels is rare. The timely and rigorous measurement of local levels and trends in key health interventions and outcomes is vital to identifying areas of progress and detecting early signs of stalled or declining health system performance.
The global burden of injury: incidence, mortality, disability-adjusted life years and time trends from the Global Burden of Disease study 2013
The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors study (GBD) used the disability-adjusted life year (DALY) to quantify the burden of diseases, injuries, and risk factors. This paper provides an overview of injury estimates from the 2013 update of GBD, with detailed information on incidence, mortality, DALYs, and rates of change from 1990 to 2013 for 26 causes of injury, globally, by region, and by country.
Assessing Impact, Improving Health: Progress in Child Health Across Regions in Uganda
Assessing Impact, Improving Health: Progress in Child Health Across Regions in Uganda is the culmination of the Malaria Control Policy Assessment (MCPA) project, which has sought to quantify the impact of malaria control and other child health interventions on reductions in under-5 mortality.
Ambient air pollution exposure estimation for the Global Burden of Disease 2013
Exposure to ambient air pollution is a major risk factor for global disease. Assessment of the impacts of air pollution on population health and the evaluation of trends relative to other major risk factors requires regularly updated, accurate, spatially resolved exposure estimates.
Estimating distributions of health state severity for the Global Burden of Disease study
Many major causes of disability in the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study present with a range of severity, and for most causes finding population distributions of severity can be difficult due to issues of sparse data, inconsistent measurement, and need to account for comorbidities. We developed an indirect approach to obtain severity distributions empirically from survey data.
Deficiencies under plenty of sun: Vitamin D status among adults in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 2013
Vitamin D deficiency has been correlated with several diseases and injuries including diabetes, osteoporosis, fractures, and falls. In the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), current data on vitamin D status are lacking. To inform Saudi public health authorities on the current status of blood levels vitamin D deficiency, we analyzed data from the Saudi Health Interview Survey.