{ "items": [ "\n\n
Although the map of malaria in Africa has seen little reduction since 1970, the likelihood of getting infected has never been so low. For further progress, we need better tools \u2013 insecticides, drugs and vaccines \u2013 as well as economic development and investments in health systems. Cartography of the disease helps design interventions, and a better understanding of how immunity develops will also shape the future of malaria in Africa.
\n \n\n \n \nChild mortality from infectious diseases in the tropics has decreased, but a high fatality rate in hospital and post-discharge remains for vulnerable groups such as newborns and malnourished children. The CHAIN Networks looks at preventable causes of death across 9 sites in Africa and South Asia, conducting clinical trials to improve treatments and guidelines, to improve outcomes.
\n \n\n \n \nCommunity and public engagement not only allows researchers to give information and receive feedback, it can be embedded in a research project from the beginning, from protocol development to consent documents. Relationship and trust building is a continuous process, a skill that researchers need to improve as it will eventually benefit the community where they reside.
\n \n\n \n \nChronic respiratory diseases disproportionately affect young adults in low income settings, particularly when they had been exposed to noxious substances from biomass smoke in early life. Using methods developed to understand airway inflammation caused by viral infections can help us understand the mechanisms underlying this pathology and better devise interventions.
\n \n\n \n \nBiobanking, the sharing of samples for research purposes, is an emerging area in LMICs. The issue of broad, un-specified consent needs to be addressed, as well as consent given by parents on behalf of their children. We also need to ensure that biobanking doesn\u2019t increase the inequity between developed and developing countries, and that community perceptions about biobanking ultimately feed into policies, guidelines and ethical frameworks.
\n \n\n \n \nWe are very grateful to the following sponsors for their support to fund delegates from LMICs.
\n \n\n \n \nAccurate journalistic reporting is essential to ensure that the public are aware of the dangers of falsified and substandard medicines but are not discouraged from taking appropriate medicines and seeking medical advice. Therefore, the 2018 Global Health Journalism Fellowship invited outstanding young journalists to participate in the first ever international conference on Medicine Quality and Public Health at the University of Oxford, from 23-28 September.
\n \n\n \n \nThere is no doubt participants enjoyed their time at the conference!
\n \n\n \n \nThe conference was proud to welcome prominent speakers from academia, government agencies, international organisations, funders and pharmaceutical industry.
\n \n\n \n \nGlobally, medicine regulatory authorities, research groups, international organisations, law enforcement agencies and other key stakeholders, including the pharmaceutical industry, are trying to keep patients safe and ensure that the benefits of modern medicine are delivered to patients. However, organisations working in this field tend to be fragmented with the wide diversity of professionals required to tackle this important issue, from chemists to lawyers, rarely discussing solutions together.
\n \n\n \n \nThe Oxford Statement was developed and signed by the conference delegates, and released shortly after the conference.
\n \n\n \n \nThe first-ever academic conference on Medicine Quality & Public Health was supported by numerous partners from academia, government organisations, international organisations, NGOs and funders.
\n \n\n \n \nFor the duration of the conference, professional cartoonist Alex Hughes from Drawnalism illustrated key moments of conference presentations.
\n \n\n \n \nOur researchers in Oxford and in our overseas units in Thailand, Vietnam and Kenya share their research with the wider Oxford Tropical Network community
\n \n\n \n \nNurses are the largest part of the health care workforce an millions more will be needed in LMIC if high quality care is to be available to everyone. Research that addresses the consequences of the shortage of nurses but also helps generate ideas on solutions is important and should be conducted in partnership with the nursing profession.
\n \n\n \n \nCare for even the sickest newborns in many countries is limited by the resources available but there are some key interventions that can save lives. Delivering these interventions requires doctors and nurses to work together and often it is the continuous care provided by the nursing team together with families that is critical. Despite this a number of babies die and understanding risks is important to help provide information to families, to help plan care and should help us design better systems of care.
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