London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine

Perspectives on adverse events reporting in hybrid implementation science (IS) clinical trials of approved medications in Sub-Saharan Africa

Implementation science (IS) hybrid type 2 and 3 clinical trials and pure implementation research of approved medications test strategies to increase uptake of evidence-based interventions (EBIs) with well-established safety profiles. Guidance on adverse event (AE) monitoring and...

High pre-frailty burden among people living with HIV in Botswana

Frailty is increasingly recognized as a significant aging-related condition in people living with HIV (PLWH), but data from sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) - where the majority of PLWH reside - remain limited. Using standardized Fried frailty criteria, we assessed the prevalence and fac...

Pneumococcal population structure influences the effects of air pollution on invasive disease risk in South Africa

Abstract Streptococcus pneumoniae is highly diverse, comprising over 100 serotypes and hundreds of genomic lineages amid widespread vaccination. While it can cause invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) which exhibits pronounced seasonal spikes, the interplay between pneumococcal di...

Effects of heat exposure on self-reported heat strain symptoms among pregnant and postpartum women in South Africa

Abstract Heat exposure can harm pregnant and postpartum women, yet heat strain symptoms in this population remain underexplored. This study implemented a novel mobile application and assessed the environmental context of five self-reported heat strain symptoms: skin rashes, sleep...

Theory–simulation–application framework to enhance biostatistical capacity for HIV and cancer data analysis in sub-Saharan Africa: lessons learnt from Tanzania

Enhancing biostatistical capacity in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is imperative for the efficient analysis of routinely collected health data and for clinical and public health decision-making. We describe the experiences and lessons learnt from implementing advanced statistical capa...

Impact of high temperatures on healthcare utilisation among older adults: a scoping review

Abstract Background Rapid global ageing coincides with rising temperatures and increasing strain on healthcare services. High temperatures are associated with increased healthcare demand, yet evidence on older people’s healthcare utilisation remains fragmented and is often servic...

Detection of opportunistic bacterial pathogens with intrinsic amoxicillin- and cephalosporin-resistance in wild koala faecal microbiomes

Opportunistic bacterial pathogens frequently associated with human clinical infections, including antimicrobial-resistant strains, are infiltrating the microbiomes of wild animals, where they have the potential to negatively impact wildlife health. Bacterial genes conferring resi...

Time, place, person: Field epidemiology as a political practice

Abstract Five years after the end of the Ebola epidemic, a district in Sierra Leone received a measles alert. This article tells the story of the epidemic that followed and the response that was mounted in the context of the new global epidemic preparedness and biosecurity paradi...

Spatial nonparametric Bayesian Poisson hurdle model for analyzing zero-inflated tick data

Abstract Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome, an infectious tick-borne disease, has been increasingly reported in South Korea. Understanding the epidemiology of its vectors will help predict the spatio-seasonal abundance of ticks and manage future health risks related to...

Pharmacological pain relief and postpartum bleeding in women with moderate or severe anemia: A cohort analysis of the WOMAN ‐2 trial

OBJECTIVE: Pain relief could minimize blood loss by limiting the adrenaline stress response to fear and trauma during birth. We examined the association between pharmacological pain relief and postpartum bleeding in a large cohort of women giving birth with anemia in sub-Saharan...

Behavior Setting Map: guiding content design for real-world VR applications

Abstract Virtual Reality (VR) applications based on real-world contexts, such as training, healthcare, and entertainment, rely on varying degrees of replication of real settings. However, there is a lack of systematic design support for determining which elements of a setting to...

Conceptual and statistical considerations for producing global estimates of health indicators: learnings from perinatal health estimates

Abstract Background Global estimates are esssential for tracking international targets such as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), therefore vital for planning and priority setting. Modelling and estimation of health indicators vary greatly in aspects of methodology, assump...

Demonstration of how group model building can be used to understand barriers and facilitators to “at-risk” young people’s access to community assets for mental health support: a participatory study

Abstract Background Community assets (e.g. green spaces, youth centres) can support the mental health of young people. However, less is known about barriers and facilitators to access these assets. This manuscript aims to demonstrate how group model building – a participatory res...

The impact of social protection interventions on treatment and socioeconomic outcomes of tuberculosis-affected people and households in low income, high burden settings: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract Introduction Tuberculosis (TB) is the leading cause of death due to infectious disease worldwide. Social protection interventions can benefit TB-affected households. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to quantify the effectiveness of social protection on...

Food Allergies and Eating Disorders: An Exploration of Screening Prevalence and Associated Factors Among Adults

Background/Objectives: Food allergy (FA) affects up to 10% of adults and requires ongoing dietary vigilance that may increase vulnerability to eating disorders (EDs), yet evidence in adults remains limited. This study compared ED screening and history between adults with and with...

Loss of salt iodization harmed child survival and academic achievement in Ethiopia

Abstract The introduction of salt iodization is associated with improved health and socioeconomic outcomes, but is not yet universally adopted and not always sustained. Using a quasi-experimental event study with difference-in-differences over space and time, we quantify the impa...

Post-tuberculosis lung disease in children and adolescents: Myth or reality – A narrative review

Childhood tuberculosis (TB) remains a major cause of morbidity and mortality in high-burden settings, with Africa carrying a disproportionate share of incident and undiagnosed disease. A longstanding cure-centered paradigm has reinforced the notion that post-TB lung disease (PTLD...

Psychological, social, and ethical implications of population-based genetic testing among adults: a systematic scoping review protocol with a focus on cancer

The standard clinical genetic testing model for hereditary cancers applies stringent eligibility criteria and consistently misses large numbers of at-risk cancer-susceptibility-gene (CSG) carriers in the general population, leading to missed opportunities for cancer screening/pre...

Reframing the epidemiological transition as increasing returns to tackling aging-related diseases

Abstract Global life expectancy has risen since 1973 from 58 to over 73 years, while the share of people aged 65 years and older has doubled to 10% and is projected to reach 21% by 2073. This shift is linked to an epidemiological transition from infectious to chronic disease. Her...

Estimating enteric fever seroincidence in rural western Cambodia: Findings from a population-based cross-sectional serosurvey

Background: Enteric fever, caused by Salmonella enterica serovars Typhi and Paratyphi, remains an important cause of febrile illness in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC). However, the exact burden is difficult to estimate due to limitations in diagnosis and surveillance.Met...