Public Health Commons^™

Infant Mortality Data: Missing Pieces To Prevention In Lesotho, Jacinda Croissant

Master's Projects and Capstones

Lower-middle-income countries (LMICs) like Lesotho lack complete and quality infant mortality data. Without infant mortality data, it can be challenging to develop public health education, programming, and policies to address preventative infant deaths in specific populations (Rao et al., 2004). A literature review identified strategies to improve infant mortality data in LMICs. Through a community engagement model and digital storytelling, community members can gain awareness, begin an ongoing conversation about local public health issues, and participate in an improved data collection system. Infant mortality is often used as an indicator of health for a population; improved infant mortality data can …

Evaluating The Effectiveness Of Hiv/Aids Interventions In Lesotho, Maya Gomez Velardez

Master's Projects and Capstones

Lesotho faces a severe HIV/AIDS epidemic, with one of the highest prevalence rates globally, impacting its public health, economy, and society. Despite numerous efforts, the country continues to struggle with persistently high infection rates, highlighting the need to thoroughly evaluate current interventions. This review examines the effectiveness of various HIV/AIDS interventions in Lesotho, focusing on multi-level strategies within the Social Ecological Model. The paper synthesizes literature from 2013 to 2023, concentrating on antiretroviral therapy (ART) coverage, community initiatives, and efforts targeting high-risk groups. Key strategies involve expanding ART coverage, strengthening community-based healthcare through community health workers (CHWs), and enhancing initiatives …

Examining Global Mental Health, Bio-Politics And Depression In Ethiopia: A Critical Ethnography Study., Gojjam B. Limenih

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Depressive disorder stands as a significant global health challenge and recognized as the primary cause of disability worldwide. Collaborating with the World Health Organization (WHO), Global Mental Health (GMH) initiatives have devised tailored international guidelines and intervention programs for low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) in response to this crisis. Despite concerted efforts, depressive disorder often remains underdiagnosed and undertreated in LMICs. However, our global understanding of depression is predominantly based on Western nosology, potentially limiting its universality. Consequently, existing clinical research and practices may fail to capture culturally relevant and salient aspects of depression.

Utilizing qualitative ethnographic methods, including Foucauldian …

Closing The Know-Do Gap In Global Health In Sub-Saharan Africa: A Critical Scoping Review Of Knowledge Translation Practices In Global Health Research Partnerships., Wale Fadare

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Introduction: Sub-Saharan Africa is unlikely to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. With poor health outcomes and a dependence on external funding, global health research partnerships (GHRPs) with high-income countries are criticized for being inequitable and inadequately representing local researchers.

Objective: This study examined the barriers and facilitators to Knowledge Translation (KT) in GHRPs in Sub-Saharan Africa, critiquing them through the lens of local researchers’ experiences and the degree of congruence with partnership principles in contemporary literature.

Methods: A critical scoping review of literature from five databases was conducted to identify barriers and facilitators to KT. Alignment with published …

Examining Fragility Of Health Systems In Afghanistan: Development And Application Of A Theoretical Framework For Fragile Health Systems, Faiza Rab

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Globally, health systems face destabilization amidst conflicts and natural disasters, adversely affecting populations' well-being. Understanding domains of health system fragility remains a gap in literature, hampering effective mitigation. In protracted conflict, Afghanistan's health system offers a crucial case for studying health system fragility. This research aimed to bridge gaps in comprehending health system fragility, with research questions:

1. What is the conceptual understanding of the fragility of health systems and its relationship with resilience, and how can it be applied in Afghanistan?

2. Did the introduction of female health workers to support Maternal, Neonatal, and Child Health service delivery by …

Motivations Behind The Rise And Success Of Homeopathy In India, Kavya Patchipulusu

Senior Theses

Homeopathy is a form of medicine that is incredibly controversial and is often labeled as a fraudulent, placebo effect drug, that can have potentially dangerous side effects. This is the picture that is painted of homeopathy in the United States and many other countries in which these medicines are banned in distribution or highly unregulated. In contrast, India has popularized and well-integrated homeopathy into their medical systems with government backing and consistent funding towards accredited homeopathic institutions and funding hospital systems. This paper will explore the circumstances and health care dynamics of India that allowed homeopathy to gain the level …

Optimizing The Community Health Worker (Chw) Program In Belize And Understanding Its Unique Intermediary Position Within The Health System: Perspective From The World Health Organization (Who) Health Systems Approach, Andrei R. Chell

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

Human resources for health (HRH) are the backbone of a well-functioning and resilient health system. Issues related to HRH recruitment, retention, planning, leadership and governance have been amplified by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and have posed additional and unprecedented challenges in many countries. Community health workers (CHWs) in particular, are uniquely positioned to be frontline health care workers (HCWs) that are considered a vital link between communities and the formal health system. Globally, the benefits of CHW programs have been well documented, and there is substantial evidence of the efficacy and effectiveness of these programs. However, countries are …