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Guillerm N, Dar Berger S, Bissell K, Kumar AMV, Ramsay A, Reid AJ, Zachariah R, Harries AD. Sustained research capacity after completing a Structured Operational Research and Training (SORT IT) course. Public Health Action 2016; 6:207-208. [PMID: 27695687 DOI: 10.5588/pha.16.0057] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/26/2016] [Accepted: 07/26/2016] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- N Guillerm
- International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union), Paris, France
| | - S Dar Berger
- International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union), Paris, France
| | - K Bissell
- International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union), Paris, France
| | - A M V Kumar
- International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union), Paris, France ; The Union South-East Asia Office, New Delhi, India
| | - A Ramsay
- Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases, World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland ; School of Medicine, University of St Andrews, Fife, Scotland, UK
| | - A J Reid
- Médecins Sans Frontières, Operational Centre Brussels, Luxembourg
| | - R Zachariah
- Médecins Sans Frontières, Operational Centre Brussels, Luxembourg
| | - A D Harries
- International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union), Paris, France ; London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UK
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Guillerm N, Cesari G. Fighting ambient air pollution and its impact on health: from human rights to the right to a clean environment. Int J Tuberc Lung Dis 2016; 19:887-97. [PMID: 26162353 DOI: 10.5588/ijtld.14.0660] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Clean air is one of the basic requirements of human health and well-being. However, almost nine out of 10 individuals living in urban areas are affected by air pollution. Populations living in Africa, South-East Asia, and in low- and middle-income countries across all regions are the most exposed. Exposure to outdoor air pollution ranks as the ninth leading risk factor for mortality, killing 3.2 million people each year, especially young children, the elderly, persons with lung or cardiovascular disease, those who work or exercise outdoors and low-income populations. In October 2013, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classified outdoor air pollution as carcinogenic to humans, calling air pollution 'a major environmental health problem'. Human rights and environmental norms are powerful tools to combat air pollution and its impact on health. The dependence of human rights on environmental quality has been recognised in international texts and by human rights treaty bodies. The growing awareness of the environment has already yielded considerable legislative and regulatory output. However, the implementation of standards remains a pervasive problem. In the fight against violations of norms, citizens have a crucial role to play. We discuss the relevance of a yet to be proclaimed standalone right to a healthy environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- N Guillerm
- The International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease, Paris, France
| | - G Cesari
- The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, Geneva, Switzerland
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Kumar AMV, Shewade HD, Tripathy JP, Guillerm N, Tayler-Smith K, Berger SD, Bissell K, Reid AJ, Zachariah R, Harries AD. Does research through Structured Operational Research and Training (SORT IT) courses impact policy and practice? Public Health Action 2016; 6:44-9. [PMID: 27051612 DOI: 10.5588/pha.15.0062] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/09/2015] [Accepted: 12/01/2015] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
SETTING Structured Operational Research and Training Initiative (SORT IT) courses are well known for their output, with nearly 90% of participants completing the course and publishing in scientific journals. OBJECTIVE We assessed the impact of research papers on policy and practice that resulted from six SORT IT courses initiated between July 2012 and March 2013. DESIGN This was a cross-sectional study involving e-mail-based, self-administered questionnaires and telephone/skype/in-person responses from first and/or senior co-authors of course papers. A descriptive content analysis of the responses was performed and categorised into themes. RESULTS Of 72 participants, 63 (88%) completed the course. Course output included 81 submitted papers, of which 76 (94%) were published. Of the 81 papers assessed, 45 (55%) contributed to a change in policy and/or practice: 29 contributed to government policy/practice change (20 at national, 4 at subnational and 5 at hospital level), 11 to non-government organisational policy change and 5 to reinforcing existing policy. The changes ranged from modifications of monitoring and evaluation tools, to redrafting of national guidelines, to scaling up existing policies. CONCLUSION More than half of the SORT IT course papers contributed to a change in policy and/or practice. Future assessments should include more robust and independent verification of the reported change(s) with all stakeholders.
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Affiliation(s)
- A M V Kumar
- International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union), South-East Asia Regional Office, New Delhi, India
| | - H D Shewade
- International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union), South-East Asia Regional Office, New Delhi, India
| | - J P Tripathy
- International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union), South-East Asia Regional Office, New Delhi, India
| | | | - K Tayler-Smith
- Medical Department, Operational Centre Brussels, Médecins Sans Frontières, MSF-Luxembourg, Luxembourg
| | | | | | - A J Reid
- Medical Department, Operational Centre Brussels, Médecins Sans Frontières, MSF-Luxembourg, Luxembourg
| | - R Zachariah
- Medical Department, Operational Centre Brussels, Médecins Sans Frontières, MSF-Luxembourg, Luxembourg
| | - A D Harries
- The Union, Paris, France ; London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UK
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Guillerm N, Tayler-Smith K, Dar Berger S, Bissell K, Kumar AMV, Ramsay A, Reid AJ, Zachariah R, Harries AD. Research output after participants complete a Structured Operational Research and Training (SORT IT) course. Public Health Action 2015; 5:266-8. [PMID: 26767182 DOI: 10.5588/pha.15.0045] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/08/2015] [Accepted: 09/25/2015] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Eighteen months after successfully completing one of six Structured Operational Research and Training Initiative (SORT IT) courses, e-mail questionnaires assessing post-course research output were returned by 63 participants (100% response rate). Thirty-two (51%) participants had completed new research projects, 24 (38%) had published papers, 28 (44%) had presented abstracts at conferences, 15 (24%) had facilitated at further OR courses, and 21 (33%) had reviewed scientific papers. Seven (11%) had secured further research funding and 22 (35%) stated that their institutions were involved in implementation or capacity building in operational research. Significant research output continues beyond course completion, further endorsing the value of the SORT IT model.
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Affiliation(s)
- N Guillerm
- International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union), Paris, France
| | - K Tayler-Smith
- Medical Department, Médecins Sans Frontières, Operational Centre Brussels, MSF-Luxembourg, Luxembourg
| | - S Dar Berger
- International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union), Paris, France
| | - K Bissell
- International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union), Paris, France
| | - A M V Kumar
- The Union South-East Asia Regional Office, New Delhi, India
| | - A Ramsay
- Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases, World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland ; Bute Medical School, University of St Andrews, Fife, Scotland, UK
| | - A J Reid
- Medical Department, Médecins Sans Frontières, Operational Centre Brussels, MSF-Luxembourg, Luxembourg
| | - R Zachariah
- Medical Department, Médecins Sans Frontières, Operational Centre Brussels, MSF-Luxembourg, Luxembourg
| | - A D Harries
- International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union), Paris, France ; London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UK
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Guillerm N, Tayler-Smith K, Berger SD, Bissell K, Kumar AMV, Ramsay A, Reid AJ, Zachariah R, Harries AD. What happens after participants complete a Union-MSF structured operational research training course? Public Health Action 2015; 4:89-95. [PMID: 26399205 DOI: 10.5588/pha.14.0014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/04/2014] [Accepted: 04/17/2014] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
SETTING Eight operational research (OR) courses run by the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union) and Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) for participants from low- and middle-income countries. There is a knowledge gap about whether participants continue OR after course completion. OBJECTIVES To determine 1) the research output of participants and their institutions after course completion; 2) the influence of OR fellowships on output; and 3) the output of non-OR fellows stratified by sex, region and staff position. DESIGN A self-administered e-mail questionnaire survey. RESULTS Of 83 participants who completed a course, 76 (92%) responded to the questionnaire. Following course completion, 47 (62%) participants completed new research projects, 38 (50%) published papers (vs. 25 [33%] who had published before the course), 42 (55%) presented posters or oral abstracts at conferences, 33 (43%) facilitated at further OR courses, 29 (38%) reviewed scientific papers, 25 (33%) secured further OR funding and 55 (72%) said their institutions were involved in OR implementation or capacity building. OR fellows performed better than non-OR fellows. Among the latter, males and participants from Asia had better output than females and participants from Africa (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION The significant proportion of participants continuing to engage in OR after course completion provides encouraging evidence of the long-term value of this capacity building model.
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Affiliation(s)
- N Guillerm
- International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union), Paris, France
| | - K Tayler-Smith
- Medical Department, Operational Centre Brussels, Médecins Sans Frontières, MSF-Luxembourg, Luxembourg
| | - S D Berger
- International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union), Paris, France
| | - K Bissell
- International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union), Paris, France
| | - A M V Kumar
- The Union, South-East Asia Regional Office, New Delhi, India
| | - A Ramsay
- Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases, World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland ; Bute Medical School, University of St Andrews, Fife, Scotland
| | - A J Reid
- Medical Department, Operational Centre Brussels, Médecins Sans Frontières, MSF-Luxembourg, Luxembourg
| | - R Zachariah
- Medical Department, Operational Centre Brussels, Médecins Sans Frontières, MSF-Luxembourg, Luxembourg
| | - A D Harries
- International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union), Paris, France ; London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UK
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