Yearly Archives: 2021

Artificial intelligence for good health: a scoping review of the ethics literature

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BMC Medical Ethics
http://www.biomedcentral.com/bmcmedethics/content
(Accessed 20 Feb 2021)

 

Research article
Artificial intelligence for good health: a scoping review of the ethics literature
Authors: Kathleen Murphy, Erica Di Ruggiero, Ross Upshur, Donald J. Willison, Neha Malhotra, Jia Ce Cai, Nakul Malhotra, Vincci Lui and Jennifer Gibson
15 February 2021
Artificial intelligence (AI) has been described as the “fourth industrial revolution” with transformative and global implications, including in healthcare, public health, and global health. AI approaches hold promise for improving health systems worldwide, as well as individual and population health outcomes. While AI may have potential for advancing health equity within and between countries, we must consider the ethical implications of its deployment in order to mitigate its potential harms, particularly for the most vulnerable. This scoping review addresses the following question: What ethical issues have been identified in relation to AI in the field of health, including from a global health perspective?

Cost-effectiveness of pneumococcal vaccines among adults over 50 years old in low- and middle-income countries: a systematic review

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Expert Review of Vaccines
Vol 19 (12) 2020
https://www.tandfonline.com/toc/ierv20/current

 

Cost-effectiveness of pneumococcal vaccines among adults over 50 years old in low- and middle-income countries: a systematic review
Yixue Shao & Charles Stoecker
Pages: 1141-1151
Published online: 22 Jan 2021

A framework for preferred practices in conducting culturally competent health research in a multicultural society

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Health Research Policy and Systems
http://www.health-policy-systems.com/content
[Accessed 20 Feb 2021]

 

A framework for preferred practices in conducting culturally competent health research in a multicultural society
Improving the health and well-being of the whole population requires that health inequities be addressed. In an era of unprecedented international migration, meeting the health care needs of growing multicultu…
Authors: Lisa Woodland, Ilse Blignault, Cathy O’Callaghan and Ben Harris-Roxas
Citation: Health Research Policy and Systems 2021 19:24
Content type: Research
Published on: 18 February 2021
Abstract
Background
Improving the health and well-being of the whole population requires that health inequities be addressed. In an era of unprecedented international migration, meeting the health care needs of growing multicultural or multiethnic societies presents major challenges for health care systems and for health researchers. Considerable literature exists on the methodological and ethical difficulties of conducting research in a cross-cultural context; however, there is a need for a framework to guide health research in multicultural societies.
Methods
The framework was informed by “research on research” that we have undertaken in community and primary health care settings in Sydney, Australia. Case studies are presented as illustrative examples.
Results
We present a framework for preferred practices in conducting health research that is culturally informed, high-quality, safe, and actionable.
Conclusions
The framework is not intended to be universal, however many of its aspects will have relevance for health research generally. Application of the framework for preferred practices could potentially make health research more culturally competent, thus enabling enhanced policies, programmes and practices to better meet population health needs. The framework needs to be further tested and refined in different contexts.

Disability inclusion in humanitarian action

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Humanitarian Exchange Magazine
Number 78, October 2020
https://odihpn.org/magazine/inclusion-of-persons-with-disabilities-in-humanitarian-action-what-now/

 

Disability inclusion in humanitarian action
by HPN October 2020
The theme of this edition of Humanitarian Exchange, co-edited with Sherin Alsheikh Ahmed from Islamic Relief Worldwide, is disability inclusion in humanitarian action. Persons with disabilities are not only disproportionately impacted by conflicts, disasters and other emergencies, but also face barriers to accessing humanitarian assistance. At the same time, global commitments and standards and the IASC Guidelines on the inclusion of persons with disabilities in humanitarian action all emphasise how persons with disabilities are also active agents of change. Disability and age-focused organisations have led on testing and demonstrating how inclusion can be done better. Yet despite this progress, challenges to effective inclusion remain.

As Kirstin Lange notes in the lead article, chief among these challenges is humanitarian agencies’ lack of engagement with organisations of persons with disabilities. Simione Bula, Elizabeth Morgan and Teresa Thomson look at disability inclusion in humanitarian response in the Pacific, and Kathy Al Jubeh and Alradi Abdalla argue for a ‘participation revolution’, building on learning from the gender movement. Tchaurea Fleury and Sulayman AbdulMumuni Ujah outline how the Bridge Article 11 training initiative is encouraging constructive exchange between humanitarian and disability actors. The lack of good, disaggregated data is highlighted by Sarah Collinson; Frances Hill, Jim Cranshaw and Carys Hughes emphasise the need for training resources in local languages and accessible formats; and Sophie Van Eetvelt and colleagues report on a review of the evidence on inclusion of people with disabilities and older people.

Rebecca Molyneux and co-authors analyse the findings of a review of a DFID programme in north-east Nigeria, while Carolin Funke highlights the importance of strategic partnerships between disability-focused organisations, drawing on her research in Cox’s Bazar. Sherin Alsheikh Ahmed describes Islamic Relief Worldwide’s approach to mainstreaming protection and inclusion, while Pauline Thivillier and Valentina Shafina outline IRC’s Client Responsive Programming. The edition ends with reflections by Mirela Turcanu and Yves Ngunzi Kahashi on CAFOD’s SADI approach.

Declining Life Expectancy in the United StatesThe Need for Social Policy as Health Policy

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JAMA
February 16, 2021, Vol 325, No. 7, Pages 605-702
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/currentissue

 

Health Policy
Declining Life Expectancy in the United StatesThe Need for Social Policy as Health Policy
Atheendar S. Venkataramani, MD, PhD; Rourke O’Brien, PhD; Alexander C. Tsai, MD, PhD
free access
JAMA. 2021;325(7):621-622. doi:10.1001/jama.2020.26339
This Viewpoint reviews the social and economic drivers of declines in longevity in the US, especially among lower socioeconomic status groups, and proposes policy options for the Biden-Harris administration to mitigate the trend, including an increase in the federally mandated minimum wage.

Recalibrating the Use of Race in Medical Research

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JAMA
February 16, 2021, Vol 325, No. 7, Pages 605-702
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/currentissue

 

Recalibrating the Use of Race in Medical Research
John P. A. Ioannidis, MD, DSc; Neil R. Powe, MD, MPH, MBA; Clyde Yancy, MD, MSc
free access has audio
JAMA. 2021;325(7):623-624. doi:10.1001/jama.2021.0003
This Viewpoint reviews the way race has been used and misused in medical research and urges careful consideration by investigators of how its use might ameliorate or worsen health inequalities.

Race and Pharmacogenomics—Personalized Medicine or Misguided Practice?

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JAMA
February 16, 2021, Vol 325, No. 7, Pages 605-702
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/currentissue

 

Race and Pharmacogenomics—Personalized Medicine or Misguided Practice?
Christopher W. Goodman, MD; Allan S. Brett, MD
free access
JAMA. 2021;325(7):625-626. doi:10.1001/jama.2020.25473
This Viewpoint uses examples of recommendations for race-based pharmacogenetic testing to discuss flaws and inconsistencies with race and ethnicity as surrogates for biology, and the consequences of those deficiencies for clinical decision-making.

Clinical Trials of Broadly Neutralizing Monoclonal Antibodies for Human Immunodeficiency Virus Prevention: A Review

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Journal of Infectious Diseases
Volume 223, Issue 3, 1 February 2021
https://academic.oup.com/jid/issue/223/3

 

REVIEWS
Clinical Trials of Broadly Neutralizing Monoclonal Antibodies for Human Immunodeficiency Virus Prevention: A Review
Sharana Mahomed, Nigel Garrett, Cheryl Baxter, Quarraisha Abdool Karim, Salim S Abdool Karim
The Journal of Infectious Diseases, Volume 223, Issue 3, 1 February 2021, Pages 370–380, https://doi.org/10.1093/infdis/jiaa377
The use of broadly neutralizing antibodies (bnAbs) is a promising approach that could help reduce the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) epidemic burden. This review describes the status and available data on bnAbs in clinical trials for HIV prevention.

Guillain-Barré Syndrome After High-Dose Influenza Vaccine Administration in the United States, 2018–2019 Season

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Journal of Infectious Diseases
Volume 223, Issue 3, 1 February 2021
https://academic.oup.com/jid/issue/223/3

 

VIRUSES
Editor’s Choice
Guillain-Barré Syndrome After High-Dose Influenza Vaccine Administration in the United States, 2018–2019 Season
Silvia Perez-Vilar, Mao Hu, Eric Weintraub, Deepa Arya, Bradley Lufkin …
The Journal of Infectious Diseases, Volume 223, Issue 3, 1 February 2021, Pages 416–425, https://doi.org/10.1093/infdis/jiaa543
Using VSD and Medicare data, we rapidly evaluated a potential association between the 2018–2019 high-dose influenza vaccine and GBS and determined that, if a risk existed, it was similar in magnitude to that from prior seasons.

A Comparative Analysis of the Knowledge and Stigmatizing Attitude of Ghanaians and Nigerians towards COVID-19 Survivors

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Journal of Refugee & Global Health
Volume 4, Issue 1 (2021)
https://ir.library.louisville.edu/rgh/

 

Original Research
A Comparative Analysis of the Knowledge and Stigmatizing Attitude of Ghanaians and Nigerians towards COVID-19 Survivors
Emmanuel Lamptey, Dorcas Serwaa, Maxwell Hubert Antwi, Theckla Ikome Ms, and Nkechi Odogwu

Safety and efficacy of an rAd26 and rAd5 vector-based heterologous prime-boost COVID-19 vaccine: an interim analysis of a randomised controlled phase 3 trial in Russia

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The Lancet
Feb 20, 2021 Volume 397 Number 10275 p641-766
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/issue/current

Articles
Safety and efficacy of an rAd26 and rAd5 vector-based heterologous prime-boost COVID-19 vaccine: an interim analysis of a randomised controlled phase 3 trial in Russia
Denis Y Logunov, and the Gam-COVID-Vac Vaccine Trial Group

Safety and immunogenicity of S-Trimer (SCB-2019), a protein subunit vaccine candidate for COVID-19 in healthy adults: a phase 1, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial

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The Lancet
Feb 20, 2021 Volume 397 Number 10275 p641-766
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/issue/current

 

Safety and immunogenicity of S-Trimer (SCB-2019), a protein subunit vaccine candidate for COVID-19 in healthy adults: a phase 1, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial
Peter Richmond, et al.
Interpretation
The SCB-2019 vaccine, comprising S-Trimer protein formulated with either AS03 or CpG/Alum adjuvants, elicited robust humoral and cellular immune responses against SARS-CoV-2, with high viral neutralising activity. Both adjuvanted vaccine formulations were well tolerated and are suitable for further clinical development.
Funding
Clover Biopharmaceuticals and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations.

Public policy and health in the Trump era

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The Lancet
Feb 20, 2021 Volume 397 Number 10275 p641-766
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/issue/current

 

 

The Lancet Commissions
Public policy and health in the Trump era
Steffie Woolhandler,et al
This report by the Lancet Commission on Public Policy and Health in the Trump Era assesses the repercussions of President Donald Trump’s health-related policies and examines the failures and social schisms that enabled his election. Trump exploited low and middle-income white people’s anger over their deteriorating life prospects to mobilise racial animus and xenophobia and enlist their support for policies that benefit high-income people and corporations and threaten health. His signature legislative achievement, a trillion-dollar tax cut for corporations and high-income individuals, opened a budget hole that he used to justify cutting food subsidies and health care. His appeals to racism, nativism, and religious bigotry have emboldened white nationalists and vigilantes, and encouraged police violence and, at the end of his term in office, insurrection. He chose judges for US courts who are dismissive of affirmative action and reproductive, labour, civil, and voting rights; ordered the mass detention of immigrants in hazardous conditions; and promulgated regulations that reduce access to abortion and contraception in the USA and globally. Although his effort to repeal the Affordable Care Act failed, he weakened its coverage and increased the number of uninsured people by 2·3 million, even before the mass dislocation of the COVID-19 pandemic, and has accelerated the privatisation of government health programmes. Trump’s hostility to environmental regulations has already worsened pollution—resulting in more than 22 000 extra deaths in 2019 alone—hastened global warming, and despoiled national monuments and lands sacred to Native people. Disdain for science and cuts to global health programmes and public health agencies have impeded the response to the COVID-19 pandemic, causing tens of thousands of unnecessary deaths, and imperil advances against HIV and other diseases. And Trump’s bellicose trade, defence, and foreign policies have led to economic disruption and threaten an upswing in armed conflict.

Ethical considerations of COVID-19-related adjustments to clinical research

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Nature Medicine
Volume 27 Issue 2, February 2021
https://www.nature.com/nm/volumes/27/issues/2

 

Comment | 25 January 2021
Ethical considerations of COVID-19-related adjustments to clinical research
Unexpected direct and indirect risks of participating in clinical trials have emerged during COVID-19 that investigators and institutional review boards may not be sure how to investigate. How should existing guidance and ethical frameworks for clinical trials be applied in a pandemic setting?
Nina S. Hsu, Saskia Hendriks & Christine Grady

Looking beyond COVID-19 vaccine phase 3 trials

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Nature Medicine
Volume 27 Issue 2, February 2021
https://www.nature.com/nm/volumes/27/issues/2

 

Perspective | 19 January 2021
Looking beyond COVID-19 vaccine phase 3 trials
A comprehensive strategy for the next steps to ensure vaccination of the global population against SARS-CoV-2 is now required, and key steps and challenges are detailed in this Perspective.
Jerome H. Kim, Florian Marks & John D. Clemens

A global survey of potential acceptance of a COVID-19 vaccine

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Nature Medicine
Volume 27 Issue 2, February 2021
https://www.nature.com/nm/volumes/27/issues/2

 

Brief Communication | 20 October 2020
A global survey of potential acceptance of a COVID-19 vaccine
Survey data from across 19 countries reveal heterogeneity in attitudes toward acceptance of a COVID-19 vaccine and suggest that trust in government is associated with vaccine confidence.
Jeffrey V. Lazarus, Scott C. Ratzan & Ayman El-Mohandes

Estimated impact of the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine on pneumonia mortality in South Africa, 1999 through 2016: An ecological modelling study

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PLoS Medicine
http://www.plosmedicine.org/
(Accessed 20 Feb 2021)

 

Estimated impact of the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine on pneumonia mortality in South Africa, 1999 through 2016: An ecological modelling study
Jackie Kleynhans, Stefano Tempia, Kayoko Shioda, Anne von Gottberg, Daniel M. Weinberger, Cheryl Cohen
Research Article | published 16 Feb 2021 PLOS Medicine
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1003537

Determinants of dentists’ readiness to assess HPV risk and recommend immunization: A transtheoretical model of change-based cross-sectional study of Ontario dentists

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PLoS One
http://www.plosone.org/
[Accessed 20 Feb 2021]

 

Determinants of dentists’ readiness to assess HPV risk and recommend immunization: A transtheoretical model of change-based cross-sectional study of Ontario dentists
Musfer Aldossri, Chimere Okoronkwo, Virginia Dodd, Heather Manson, Sonica Singhal
Research Article | published 17 Feb 2021 PLOS ONE
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0247043

Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the utilization of routine immunization services in Lebanon

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PLoS One
http://www.plosone.org/
[Accessed 20 Feb 2021]

 

Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the utilization of routine immunization services in Lebanon
Ziad Mansour, Jinan Arab, Racha Said, Alissar Rady, Randa Hamadeh, Bernard Gerbaka, Abdul Rahman Bizri
Research Article | published 17 Feb 2021 PLOS ONE
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0246951

Evidence-based interventions implemented in low-and middle-income countries for sickle cell disease management: A systematic review of randomized controlled trials

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PLoS One
http://www.plosone.org/
[Accessed 20 Feb 2021]

 

Evidence-based interventions implemented in low-and middle-income countries for sickle cell disease management: A systematic review of randomized controlled trials
Joyce Gyamfi, Temitope Ojo, Sabrina Epou, Amy Diawara, Lotanna Dike, Deborah Adenikinju, Scholastica Enechukwu, Dorice Vieira, Obiageli Nnodu, Gbenga Ogedegbe, Emmanuel Peprah
Research Article | published 17 Feb 2021 PLOS ONE
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0246700

Opinion: A better approach for dealing with reproducibility and replicability in science

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PNAS – Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
February 16, 2021; vol. 118 no. 7
https://www.pnas.org/content/118/7

 

Opinion
Leading scientists discuss current issues
Opinion: A better approach for dealing with reproducibility and replicability in science
Front Matter
James D. Nichols, Madan K. Oli, William. L. Kendall, and G. Scott Boomer
PNAS February 16, 2021 118 (7) e2100769118; https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2100769118
Science impacts our daily lives and guides national and international policies (1). Thus, results of scientific studies are of paramount importance; yet, there are concerns that many studies are not reproducible or replicable (2). To address these concerns, the National Research Council conducted a Consensus Study [NASEM 2019 (3)] that provides definitions of key concepts, discussions of problems, and recommendations for dealing with these problems. These recommendations are useful and well considered, but they do not go far enough in our opinion. The NASEM recommendations treat reproducibility and replicability as single-study issues, despite clear acknowledgement of the limitations of isolated studies and the need for research synthesis (3). We advocate a strategic approach to research, focusing on the accumulation of evidence via designed sequences of studies, as a means of dealing more effectively with reproducibility, replicability, and related problems. These sequences are designed to provide iterative tests based on comparison of data from empirical studies with predictions from competing hypotheses. Evidence is then formally accumulated based on the relative predictive abilities of the different hypotheses as the sequential studies proceed.

Global Transmission of Live Polioviruses: Updated Dynamic Modeling of the Polio Endgame

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Risk Analysis  
Volume 41, Issue 2 Pages: 223-406 February 2021
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/toc/15396924/current

Global Transmission of Live Polioviruses: Updated Dynamic Modeling of the Polio Endgame
Dominika A. Kalkowska, Mark A. Pallansch, Steven G. F. Wassilak, Stephen L. Cochi, Kimberly M. Thompson

 

Pages: 248-265
First Published: 20 January 2020

Insights From Modeling Preventive Supplemental Immunization Activities as a Strategy to Eliminate Wild Poliovirus Transmission in Pakistan and Afghanistan

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Risk Analysis  
Volume 41, Issue 2 Pages: 223-406 February 2021
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/toc/15396924/current

Insights From Modeling Preventive Supplemental Immunization Activities as a Strategy to Eliminate Wild Poliovirus Transmission in Pakistan and Afghanistan
Dominika A. Kalkowska, Kimberly M. Thompson

 

Pages: 266-272
First Published: 06 March 2020

Inferring the effectiveness of government interventions against COVID-19

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Science
19 February 2021 Vol 371, Issue 6531
http://www.sciencemag.org/current.dtl

 

Research Articles
Inferring the effectiveness of government interventions against COVID-19
By Jan M. Brauner, Sören Mindermann, Mrinank Sharma, David Johnston, John Salvatier, Tomáš Gavenčiak, Anna B. Stephenson, Gavin Leech, George Altman, Vladimir Mikulik, Alexander John Norman, Joshua Teperowski Monrad, Tamay Besiroglu, Hong Ge, Meghan A. Hartwick, Yee Whye Teh, Leonid Chindelevitch, Yarin Gal, Jan Kulveit
Science19 Feb 2021 Open Access
The effect of nonpharmaceutical interventions on SARS-CoV-2 transmission during the early phase of the pandemic is quantified.

Broad and potent activity against SARS-like viruses by an engineered human monoclonal antibody

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Science
19 February 2021 Vol 371, Issue 6531
http://www.sciencemag.org/current.dtl

Broad and potent activity against SARS-like viruses by an engineered human monoclonal antibody
By C. Garrett Rappazzo, Longping V. Tse, Chengzi I. Kaku, Daniel Wrapp, Mrunal Sakharkar, Deli Huang, Laura M. Deveau, Thomas J. Yockachonis, Andrew S. Herbert, Michael B. Battles, Cecilia M. O’Brien, Michael E. Brown, James C. Geoghegan, Jonathan Belk, Linghang Peng, Linlin Yang, Yixuan Hou, Trevor D. Scobey, Dennis R. Burton, David Nemazee, John M. Dye, James E. Voss, Bronwyn M. Gunn, Jason S. McLellan, Ralph S. Baric, Lisa E. Gralinski, Laura M. Walker

 

Science19 Feb 2021 : 823-829 Open Access
An affinity-optimized human monoclonal antibody displays broad in vivo efficacy in murine models of SARS and COVID-19.