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Oxford Centre for Tropical Medicine and Global Health
Applying a multi-layered, mixed methods approach to evaluate technology and workforce interventions in Kenyan neonatal units
Posted 07/10/2025. How do we design and ethically implement complex health interventions and evaluations in settings that are under resourced without compromising patient care or research data? Michuki Maina and colleagues used layered mixed methodologies and sustained stakeholder engagement to design and conduct implementation research of a complex intervention in Kenyan neonatal hospitals.
Communication among health professionals using newborn technology for care: an exploratory scoping review
Posted 30/09/2025. Effective communication supports the adoption of health interventions. Gloria Ngaiza and colleagues reviewed communication among health professionals using newborn technology for care. The findings showed limited information, centred on a few technologies and disciplines of health professionals. The context of technology use was also crucial in communication, and further research is necessary to explore these areas.
Delivery of care in high mortality hospital settings: a direct observational study examining 1848 h of neonatal nursing in Kenya
Posted 20/08/2025. In resource-constrained countries, deploying better technologies is expected to improve neonatal care, but little attention has been paid to nurse staffing. Abdulazeez Imam and colleagues demonstrate high levels of missed nursing care and ‘off-loading’ of care to largely unsupervised nursing students and mothers, resulting from severe newborn unit nursing shortages in Kenya.
Handheld Spatially Offset Raman Spectroscopy for rapid non-invasive detection of ethylene glycol and diethylene glycol in medicinal syrups
Posted 06/08/2025. Pavel Matousek, Paul Newton and colleagues from the Medicine Quality Research Group developed a portable laser-based method, SORS, to detect toxic contaminants in medicinal syrups without opening bottles. This innovation addresses the urgent need for accessible screening, following deadly contamination incidents in Asia and Africa. The technology enables rapid, non-invasive testing across supply chains to improve medicine safety.
Pneumococcal density and respiratory co-detection in severe pediatric pneumonia in Laos
Posted 03/06/2025. Worldwide, acute respiratory infection is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in children. The first study in Laos on respiratory pathogen co-detection was conducted at Mahosot Hospital and confirmed an association between pneumococcal density and influenza but not between respiratory syncytial virus and severe pneumonia in children less than 5 years old. By Audrey Dubot-Peres and Sue Lee.
Hide and seek with falsified medicines: Current challenges and physico-chemical and biological approaches for tracing the origin of trafficked products
Posted 28/05/2025. The trade in falsified medical products is a major public health threat and also a huge, profitable business. Despite detection methods, tracing their origin remains difficult. Cathrin Hauk and colleagues explore analytical techniques adapted from other fields such as food, drug, and wildlife investigation to help identify their sources and empower enforcement efforts.
Genetic surveillance of Plasmodium falciparum populations following treatment policy revisions in the Greater Mekong Subregion
Posted 27/05/2025. The GenRe-Mekong project analysed 5,982 Plasmodium falciparum samples in the Greater Mekong Subregion (2017–2022), using genetic surveillance to inform malaria control. A sharp decline in piperaquine-resistant strains followed drug policy changes, highlighting how real-time genetic data can support timely, evidence-based responses to shifting malaria threats. By Varanya Wasakul
Defining the noma research agenda
Posted 30/04/2025. The results from a September 2024 symposium on Defining the Noma Research Agenda at the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute has identified research needs and the way forward. The symposium included noma survivors as well as clinical and epidemiological researchers, and follows the WHO’s official recognition of noma as a neglected tropical disease. By Philippe Guerin.
Creating different global health futures: mapping the health research ecosystem and taking decolonial action
Posted 29/04/2025. Decolonisation in global health emphasises the need to challenge and change entrenched power asymmetries and unfair health research practices. Nadia Tagoe, Sassy Molyneux, Caesar Atuire and colleagues have proposed practical decolonial action using a four-step framework and a reflexive tool that can help transform key domains of the global health knowledge ecosystem.
Longitudinal tracking of healthcare professionals: a methodological scoping review
Posted 09/04/2025. How do health workers move through their careers - and how do we know? A new scoping review led by Yingxi Zhao and colleagues examined 263 studies tracking healthcare professionals over time, exploring how career choices, working conditions and wellbeing are measured. The review highlights the need for stronger, standardised tracking methods to inform workforce planning and better support health worker wellbeing across contexts.
Situational analysis of antibiotic prescriptions in Kenyan neonatal units for antimicrobial stewardship: a retrospective longitudinal study
Posted 08/04/2025. High antibiotic use in Kenyan neonatal units may contribute to antimicrobial resistance. A study of 88,000 neonatal admissions in 22 hospitals found 62.6% received antibiotics at admission, mostly first-line drugs. However, non-first-line use was higher in outborn neonates. Monitoring antibiotic patterns at scale feasible and crucial for assessing antimicrobial stewardship and reducing resistance. With Jalemba Aluvaala and Mike English
Reducing global inequities in medical oxygen access: the Lancet Global Health Commission on medical oxygen security
Posted 01/04/2025. Medical oxygen is a critical treatment in severe illness, yet global access remains inequitable, especially in low-income countries. The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted these disparities. The Lancet Global Health Commission emphasizes systemic improvements, investments in infrastructure, workforce training, and affordability. Addressing these gaps can save millions of lives and strengthen global health resilience. With Jacquie Oliwa and Mike English as members of this Lancet Commission.
Effects of health system limitations on the use of blood culture and sensitivity testing in Kenyan county hospitals: an interview-based qualitative study using causal loop diagrams
Posted 02/04/2025. Antibiotic resistance is rising in Africa, but blood culture and sensitivity (BCS) testing faces challenges in Kenyan hospitals. A study using a complex systems approach across eight hospitals found that interconnected issues in both demand and supply, including cost, turnaround time, and logistical barriers undermine the use and sustainability of BCS testing at scale; targeted antimicrobial stewardship may offer a viable alternative. By Jacob McKnight & Mike English with KWTRP colleagues.
Treatment and treatment outcomes of snakebite envenoming in Uganda: a retrospective analysis
Posted 20/03/2025. Snakebite envenoming is a neglected tropical disease that causes significant morbidity and mortality in rural sub-Saharan Africa. While victims seek emergency care, documentation on their treatment remains limited. Stella Nanyonga and colleagues reviewed snakebite management in Uganda among 532 snakebite victims and found that only 6.9% of patients received snake antivenom.
Can solidarity in global health curb the next outbreak? A commentary on mpox
Posted 18/03/2025. Appeals to solidarity are common during disease outbreaks. Yet, what solidarity means and how it is practiced varies across contexts. Caesar Atuire and colleagues bring conceptual clarity by distinguishing between deep and responsive solidarity. They argue that global health needs deep solidarity to curb outbreaks like mpox and to ensure that responsive solidaristic appeals are effective.
Submicroscopic malaria in pregnancy and associated adverse pregnancy events: A case-cohort study of 4,352 women on the Thailand–Myanmar border
Posted 11/03/2025. Malaria is known to be dangerous for pregnant women and their developing babies. But how much malaria is too much malaria? Using an ultra-sensitive PCR method that detects one parasite per drop of blood, Mary Ellen Gilder and SMRU colleagues found that even infections with very few parasites are associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes.
Adaptation of Plasmodium falciparum to its transmission environment
Posted 20/02/2018. The malaria parasite is a major cause of illness and deaths throughout the tropics. To survive, the malaria parasite needs to be transmitted by mosquitos form person to person. In this paper Martin Rono and colleagues show at the cellular and molecular level how the parasite balances its investment between growing efficiently in humans and maximising the chances of being transmitted by mosquitos, depending on the local environment.
Antibiotic duration for common bacterial infections - a systematic review
Posted 07/03/2025. Reducing antibiotic duration is key to antimicrobial stewardship. A review of 315 trials found strong evidence for shorter courses in common infections but limited data for severe infections and low-income settings. Only 15% had low bias risk. More research is needed in critical care and resource-limited environments. By Mo Yin
Cost-effectiveness of a short-course antibiotic treatment strategy for the treatment of ventilator-associated pneumonia: an economic analysis of the REGARD-VAP trial
Posted 04/03/2025. Previously, the REGARD-VAP trial found that giving patients with ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) a personalised, shorter antibiotic treatment was just as effective as usual care. Mo Yin and colleagues showed this approach is also cost-effective in Nepal, Singapore, and Thailand. This approach could save money, reduce antibiotic use, and help policymakers make better healthcare decisions despite some uncertainties.
Catastrophic expenditure associated with childhood hospitalisation for acute illness in Kenya and Uganda: a cross-sectional study
Posted 04/02/2025. In Kenya and Uganda, hospital care for under-fives is intended to be free. James Berkley and colleagues studied families’ healthcare, travel, other costs, and loss of earnings due to child admissions at six hospitals. 74% to 92% of households experienced ‘catastrophic’ expenditure (depending on the definition used) in relation to monthly income.