Improving Use of Medicines
Appropriate use of medicines is a major building block of all health systems and can be used as a tracer of service delivery. The Improving use of medicines team has made major contributions in relation to measuring, understanding, and improving antimicrobial adherence.
The thematic area also addresses the global threat of antibiotic resistance by conducting research, training, and policy dialogues aiming at improved use of antibiotics by consumers and providers, both at a global and local level. In addition, the team is also further developing research on antibiotics and the environment, especially in water sources.
Implications of Digital Interventions and Pharmacovigilance Databases in Tackling Antimicrobial Resistance
In today's digital age, tackling antimicrobial resistance (AMR) requires proactive strategies and innovative solutions. The scarcity of comprehensive AMR data in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) emphasizes the urgent need for improved surveillance systems. The project aims to explore the role of digital tools like Electronic Medical Record (EMR) systems and Pharmacovigilance (PV) databases in addressing AMR, particularly in LMICs with India as a case study.
Contact: Hager Saleh
The value of global pharmacovigilance databases to help combat antibiotic resistance from a 'one health' perspective
My project primarily examines the reporting of antibiotic resistance in humans, animals and environmental sources to pharmacovigilance databases. It also studies the inter-relationship of antibiotic resistance between humans, animals and environment and the attitudes of pharmacovigilance experts towards reporting antibiotic resistance. The aim is to explore if and how pharmacovigilance databases or lessons from pharmacovigilance databases can help with antibiotic resistance surveillance.
Contact: Joseph Mitchell
Evaluation of Antimicrobial Prescription, Antibiotic Susceptibility Pattern and Practices of Self-Medication in Montserrado County, North-Western Liberia
My PhD research focuses on evaluating the antimicrobial prescription, antibiotic susceptibility pattern and practices of self-medication in Montserrado County, North-Western Liberia. It is expected that this study will serve as a critical step in creating the evidence base on the prevalence of risk factors for AMR, and provide information for determining prudent antibiotic therapy and informing the development of strategies to minimize self-medication with antibiotics and avert the emergence of drug resistance.
Contact: Bode Ireti Shobayo
PRevalence and factOrs associated with POlypharmacy and Self-medication among the Elderly population residing in six major Indian cities (PROPOSE)
This study aims to estimate the prevalence and factors associated with polypharmacy and self-medication among elderly patients residing in six major Indian cities (New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Indore, and Guwahati) and to assess the patient and prescriber-reported qualitative factors behind such medication practices. The insights generated related to such unsafe medication practices among elderly patients in Indian urban community settings could help in improvising customized interventional plans to mitigate this preventable problem.This study will be performed in collaboration with the Department of Global Public Health, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden and the Indian Council of Medical research-Centre for Ageing and Mental Health, Kolkata, India.
Contact: Saibal Das
The strategies and achievements of antibiotic resistance governance in China across healthcare system
The actions for ABR in China could be divided into three stages: controls of medicine use, clinical ABR surveillance, and multi-sectional governance (including animal and environment). The sub-studies in this PhD will describe and analyze China’s policies for containing ABR, then according to the results of the policy analysis, explore the achievements and challenges of ABR governance in China in the past decade from the perspective of hospital, primary healthcare facility and retail pharmacy, using Shandong Province as a proxy for all of mainland China. In addition, the sub-studies will help to provide a comprehensive insight to improve the measures against ABR in China.
Contact: Ding Yang
Epidemiological surveillance of Legionnaires’ disease. A study of determinants of surveillance quality in the European Union
The research project aims to better understand the variation in Legionnaires’ disease reporting rates, based on study of two major determinants: travel, a determinant of the disease, and diagnostic intensity, a determinant of the surveillance quality.The research will assess how variation in travel and diagnostic intensity affect the temporal and spatial disease reporting incidence. The results will allow to better estimate the incidence of the disease, the extent of under-diagnosis and under-reporting, and the role of the determinants.
Contact: Emmanuel Robesyn
Understanding the use of pediatric Tuina in preventing children’s recurrent respiratory tract infections in Southern China
My research interest is how to improve the use of medicine among young children. Currently, my PhD project aims to understand the use of pediatric Tuina(massage) in preventing children’s recurrent respiratory tract infections among young children in Southern China. The quantitative one is an retrospective cohort study based on the medical records and is designed to explore the association of pediatric Tuina and the number of respiratory tract infections among young children who were sick repeatedly. The qualitative studies is designed to understand caregivers’ and pediatric Tuina practitioners’ perceptions and experiences on using pediatric Tuina in preventing children’s recurrent respiratory tract infections.
Contact: Lingjia Ying
Antibiotic prescription patterns, trends, and prescribing behaviour in LMICs, focusing on India: challenges and efficient interventions to reduce antibiotic resistance.
The aim is to: (i) investigate 10 years’ antibiotic prescription patterns and trends in orthopaedic and surgery departments, (ii) assess the incidence and identify risk factors for SSIs in operated patients, and to identify antibiotic susceptibility patterns, (iii) explore surgeons’ antibiotic prescribing behaviour in two Indian private-sector hospitals, (iv) assess and rank the effectiveness of various interventions to ensure appropriate antibiotic prescribing by the primary care physicians from LMICs. This research project would employ the combination of quantitative and qualitative methods, as well as network meta-analysis.
Contact: Kristina Skender
Adherence to dietary recommendations and its clinical consequences in patients with chronic kidney disease.
Project describes the nutritional status, guideline adherence and evaluate the association between adherence to dietary recommendation and renal related outcomes in non-dialysis CKD patients in Southern China. Study-1: What are the dietary characteristics of CKD patients and how do their diets comply with relevant China national guidelines in Southern China? Study-2: Is there any association between self-efficacy and dietary guideline adherence in Chinese CKD patients, consider social support as a moderator Study-3: Whether adherence to different dietary quality scores (aMED, DASH, CHEI, HEI-2005) and their key components at baseline predicts a better habitual sleep at 1 year in CKD population? Study-4: Is diet potassium restriction associated with low risk of hyperkalemia independently of comorbidities and medications?
Contact: Ouyang Wenwei
Bronchiectasis exacerbations a global public health challenge - detecting interactions between microbiome, pathophysiology, and clinical characterization
This project will investigate the role of the pulmonary microbiome (the gut microbiome might also be involved if appropriate), and its interactions with the host immune response in patients with bronchiectasis in Guangzhou, China. Both retrospective and prospective studies will be conducted to address research questions, including the detection of airway microbial compositions by laboratory culture and molecular biology methods; the evaluation of potential immune system reaction, particularly when associated with microbiome change or bronchiectasis exacerbations; and the development of a predictive instrument from respiratory symptom changes to exacerbations.
Contact: Yuanyuan Wang