From Google Scholar & other sources: Selected Journal Articles, Newsletters, Dissertations, Theses, Commentary

Health Research Policy and Systems
http://www.health-policy-systems.com/content
[Accessed 13 September 2014]
Research
Advancing the application of systems thinking in health: analysing the contextual and social network factors influencing the use of sustainability indicators in a health system – a comparative study in Nepal and Somaliland
Karl Blanchet1*, Jennifer Palmer1, Raju Palanchowke2, Dorothy Boggs3, Ali Jama4 and Susan Girois5
Author Affiliations
1 International Centre for Evidence in Disability, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Keppel St, Bloomsbury, London WC1E 7HT, UK
2 Handicap International, Narayan Gopal Chowk Sallaghari, PO Box 10179, Kathmandu, Nepal
3 Handicap International, 9 Rushworth Street, London SE1, UK
4 Disability Action Network, Hargeisa, Somaliland
5 Norfolk Community Services Board, 6401 Tidewater Dr, Norfolk, VA 23509, USA
Health Research Policy and Systems 2014, 12:46 doi:10.1186/1478-4505-12-46
Abstract
Background
Health systems strengthening is becoming a key component of development agendas for low-income countries worldwide. Systems thinking emphasizes the role of diverse stakeholders in designing solutions to system problems, including sustainability. The objective of this paper is to compare the definition and use of sustainability indicators developed through the Sustainability Analysis Process in two rehabilitation sectors, one in Nepal and one in Somaliland, and analyse the contextual factors (including the characteristics of system stakeholder networks) influencing the use of sustainability data.
Methods
Using the Sustainability Analysis Process, participants collectively clarified the boundaries of their respective systems, defined sustainability, and identified sustainability indicators. Baseline indicator data was gathered, where possible, and then researched again 2 years later. As part of the exercise, system stakeholder networks were mapped at baseline and at the 2-year follow-up. We compared stakeholder networks and interrelationships with baseline and 2-year progress toward self-defined sustainability goals. Using in-depth interviews and observations, additional contextual factors affecting the use of sustainability data were identified.
Results
Differences in the selection of sustainability indicators selected by local stakeholders from Nepal and Somaliland reflected differences in the governance and structure of the present rehabilitation system. At 2 years, differences in the structure of social networks were more marked. In Nepal, the system stakeholder network had become more dense and decentralized. Financial support by an international organization facilitated advancement toward self-identified sustainability goals. In Somaliland, the small, centralised stakeholder network suffered a critical rupture between the system’s two main information brokers due to competing priorities and withdrawal of international support to one of these. Progress toward self-defined sustainability was nil.
Conclusions
The structure of the rehabilitation system stakeholder network characteristics in Nepal and Somaliland evolved over time and helped understand the changing nature of relationships between actors and their capacity to work as a system rather than a sum of actors. Creating consensus on a common vision of sustainability requires additional system-level interventions such as identification of and support to stakeholders who promote systems thinking above individual interests.

Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health
2014;68:A59-A60 doi:10.1136/jech-2014-204726.127
PP31 Factors affecting variation in the uptake of HPV vaccine in secondary schools in the West Midlands
Oral Presentations
CM Chivu, A Clarke, G Hundt
Author Affiliations
Warwick Medical School, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK
Abstract
Background
In 2008, the health departments of the United Kingdom implemented routine and catch-up human papillomavirus (HPV) immunisation programme in schools to reduce the incidence of cervical cancer. European studies conducted from 2007 to 2012 showed inconsistent results on HPV vaccine uptake in relation to ethnicity and girls’ age. The aim of the study was to explore the views and experiences of students, teachers and health providers on the HPV vaccine to understand how mechanisms of delivery contributed to HPV vaccine uptake in a town in the West Midlands.
Methods
Data was collected through 47 semi-structured individual interviews with nine nurses, four school staff and 34 year 8 girls as well as through non-participant observations in 12 schools during the delivery of the first, the second and the third dose of HPV vaccine between February and September 2013. The school staff and the girls were sampled from four secondary schools that accepted to participate in the study. Thematic analysis was employed to identify major themes related to the school context of implementation of the HPV vaccine programme in secondary schools in the town of the study.
Results
Year 8 girls were aged 12–13 years. Some were Christian, Muslim and Hindu while others had no religion. The health professionals were nurse coordinators, school nurses, vaccinators, sexual health nurses and practice nurses. The school staff were teachers, support staff and head of year 8. Three main themes emerged from the analysis (1) school policy related to HPV vaccine, (2) the organisation of delivery of HPV vaccination programme in the schools before and on the day of vaccination, (3) promotion of HPV vaccine in schools. The findings showed that most of the schools have supported the delivery of the programme, but it has been more difficult for nurses to go to some of the faith schools in comparison to others. Chasing up the consent forms and communication with the parents have been the most challenging activities in the HPV vaccination administration, however they are essential for a high HPV vaccine uptake. The HPV vaccine was poorly promoted in the school environment because of tight curriculum for compulsory subjects and lack of adequate staff.
Conclusion
Implementation of a school-based HPV programme is resource intensive in terms of time as well as of school staff and staff nurse.

Technovation
Available online 5 September 2014
In Press, Corrected Proof
Policy-driven ecosystems for new vaccine development
Julia Fan Li, Elizabeth Garnsey1,
Abstract
This paper examines the relationship between biomedical policies and entrepreneurial R&D strategies. Public health programs have been unable to provide effective and affordable treatment of infectious diseases for the poor. While governments have become more open to private sector contributions to policy objectives, it is rare to find new ventures commercializing healthcare innovations for neglected diseases. Two case studies of entrepreneurial ventures, in the UK and China, provide evidence on how resource-constrained firms mobilize participants in policy-specific ecosystems to achieve their goals of new vaccine development for tuberculosis. Ecosystem analysis reveals how the innovators’ business models can align their strategies with national policy objectives.

International Journal for Parasitology
Available online 13 September 2014
In Press, Uncorrected Proof
Invited Review
Genome-based vaccine design: the promise for malaria and other infectious diseases
Denise L. Doolan, Simon H. Apte, Carla Proietti
DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpara.2014.07.010
Highlights
:: Vaccines against complex pathogens and chronic diseases have proved challenging.
:: Rational vaccine design exploiting advances in genomics and other ‘omics’ has great potential.
:: Malaria is an excellent model for genome-based vaccine design.
Abstract
Vaccines are one of the most effective interventions to improve public health, however, the generation of highly effective vaccines for many diseases has remained difficult. Three chronic diseases that characterise these difficulties include malaria, tuberculosis and HIV, and they alone account for half of the global infectious disease burden. The whole organism vaccine approach pioneered by Jenner in 1796 and refined by Pasteur in 1857 with the “isolate, inactive and inject” paradigm has proved highly successful for many viral and bacterial pathogens causing acute disease but has failed with respect to malaria, tuberculosis and HIV as well as many other diseases. A significant advance of the past decade has been the elucidation of the genomes, proteomes and transcriptomes of many pathogens. This information provides the foundation for new 21st Century approaches to identify target antigens for the development of vaccines, drugs and diagnostic tests. Innovative genome-based vaccine strategies have shown potential for a number of challenging pathogens, including malaria. We advocate that genome-based rational vaccine design will overcome the problem of poorly immunogenic, poorly protective vaccines that has plagued vaccine developers for many years.

Journal of Consumer Health On the Internet
Volume 18, Issue 3, 2014
Beta-Test Results for an HPV Information Web Site: GoHealthyGirls. org—Increasing HPV Vaccine Uptake in the United States
Randall Starlinga*, Jessica A. Nodulmana, Alberta S. Kongb, Cosette M. Wheelerc, David B. Bullerd & W. Gill Woodalla
DOI: 10.1080/15398285.2014.931771
pages 226-237
Abstract
A Web site, GoHealthyGirls, was developed to educate and inform parents and their adolescent daughters about human papillomavirus (HPV) and HPV vaccines. This article provides an overview of web site development and content followed by the results of a beta-test of the Web site. Sixty-three New Mexican parents of adolescent girls tested the site. Results indicated that GoHealthyGirls was a functioning and appealing Web site. During this brief educational intervention, findings suggest that the Web site has the potential to increase HPV vaccine uptake. This research supports the Internet as a valuable channel to disseminate health education and information to diverse populations.