Opportunities and Challenges in North-South and South-South Global Health Collaborations During the COVID-19 Pandemic: The AFREhealth-CUGH Experience (as Reported at the CUGH 2021 Satellite Meeting)

Eichbaum, Quentin; Sam-Agudu, Nadia A.; Kazembe, Abigail; Kiguli-Malwadde, Elsie; Khanyola, Judy; Wasserheit, Judith N.; Kilmarx, Peter H.; Nachega, Jean B.

doi:10.5334/aogh.3440

Cited by 4 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 11 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…2 This hiatus in travel triggered a paradigm shift in global health, fostering virtual innovations and dramatic growth in online education and training, telemedicine, and videoconference-based collaborations. [3][4][5][6][7] Virtual global collaborations are laudable for reducing inequities stemming from unidirectional travel from the global North to the South, decreasing the carbon footprint generated by international flights, enabling broader faculty involvement in global health initiatives, and creating greater access to educational opportunities across borders. [4][5][6] This paradigm shift presents an opportunity to further the decolonization of global health by redirecting travel funding to support capacity building in low and middle-income countries, with remote and more cost-effective engagement by partners in high-income countries.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…[4][5][6] This paradigm shift presents an opportunity to further the decolonization of global health by redirecting travel funding to support capacity building in low and middle-income countries, with remote and more cost-effective engagement by partners in high-income countries. 3,6,8 While online collaboration offers clear benefits, many recognize that virtual exchanges fail to build partnerships based on interpersonal relationships and an in-depth understanding of context. 4,5,7 In addition, synchronous video-conferencing can be limited by poor bandwidth, connectivity issues, power outages, and time-zone differences.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

A framework for reinitiating global academic exchange in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic

et al. 2022

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A framework for reinitiating global academic exchange in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic

et al. 2022

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

“…The African Forum for Research and Education in Health (AFREhealth) COVID-19 Research Collaboration is a multidisciplinary, pan-African consortium addressing maternal and child health issues relevant to SARS-CoV-2 [ 1 , 8 , 9 ]. Routine data collected as part of institutional and national coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) responses are pooled from multiple countries and analyzed to inform health policy and clinical practice in SSA, where comorbidities such as human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), tuberculosis (TB), and malaria are highly prevalent and access to/availability of COVID-19 prevention and treatment is low [ 1 , 10–12 ].…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 Infection and Pregnancy in Sub-Saharan Africa: A 6-Country Retrospective Cohort Analysis

Nachega

Sam-Agudu

Machekano

et al. 2022

Clinical Infectious Diseases

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background Few data are available on COVID-19 outcomes among pregnant women in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), where high-risk comorbidities are prevalent. We investigated the impact of pregnancy on SARS-CoV-2 infection and of SARS-CoV-2 infection on pregnancy to generate evidence for health policy and clinical practice. Methods We conducted a 6-country retrospective cohort study among hospitalized women of childbearing age between 1 March 2020 and 31 March 2021. Exposures were (1) pregnancy and (2) a positive SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR test. The primary outcome for both analyses was intensive care unit (ICU) admission. Secondary outcomes included supplemental oxygen requirement, mechanical ventilation, adverse birth outcomes, and in-hospital mortality. We used log-binomial regression to estimate the effect between pregnancy and SARS-CoV-2 infection. Factors associated with mortality were evaluated using competing-risk proportional subdistribution hazards models. Results Our analyses included 1315 hospitalized women: 510 pregnant women with SARS-CoV-2, 403 nonpregnant women with SARS-CoV-2, and 402 pregnant women without SARS-CoV-2 infection. Among women with SARS-CoV-2 infection, pregnancy was associated with increased risk for ICU admission (adjusted risk ratio [aRR]: 2.38; 95% CI: 1.42–4.01), oxygen supplementation (aRR: 1.86; 95% CI: 1.44–2.42), and hazard of in-hospital death (adjusted sub-hazard ratio [aSHR]: 2.00; 95% CI: 1.08–3.70). Among pregnant women, SARS-CoV-2 infection increased the risk of ICU admission (aRR: 2.0; 95% CI: 1.20–3.35), oxygen supplementation (aRR: 1.57; 95% CI: 1.17–2.11), and hazard of in-hospital death (aSHR: 5.03; 95% CI: 1.79–14.13). Conclusions Among hospitalized women in SSA, both SARS-CoV-2 infection and pregnancy independently increased risks of ICU admission, oxygen supplementation, and death. These data support international recommendations to prioritize COVID-19 vaccination among pregnant women.

show abstract

Development of a community-based COVID-19 intervention in rural Ghana: a document analysis

et al. 2022

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background The COVID-19 pandemic has caused the loss of millions of lives and economic breakdowns in many countries across the globe. Despite the limited availability of vaccines and the challenges of poor health infrastructure, few interventions have been developed and implemented for those who live in rural areas, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. In response, Cocoa360, a global health nonprofit in rural Ghana designed an intervention called Cocoa360’s COVID-19 Preparedness and Outbreak Prevention Plan (CoCoPOPP). This paper aimed to examine the extent to which CoCoPOPP’s design aligned with the Promoting Action on Research Implementation in Health Services (PARIHS) framework. Methods We reviewed documents influencing CoCoPOPP’s design between March and June 2021. A total of 11 documents were identified for analysis. Using the Promoting Action on Research Implementation in Health Services (PARIHS) framework as a guide, thematic analysis was done to analyze the extracted data. Results Overall, CoCoPOPP’s design aligned with the evidence, context, and facilitation domains of the PARIHS framework. It positioned CoCoPOPP as an intervention that considered the unique context of a rural Ghanaian setting. It was guided by robust and high-quality published and non-published evidence and engaged external and internal stakeholders during its implementation. CoCoPOPP’s context-dependent nature positions it for potential replication in sub-Saharan Africa’s rural communities with similar farming contexts. Specific areas that were less well and/or not addressed were the unintended negative consequences of community engagement, the absence of primary data in the guiding evidence, and the lack of a facilitation continuum coupled with the role of power during the facilitation process. Conclusion CoCoPOPP, Cocoa360’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic in rural Ghana, is an evidence-driven, context-dependent public health intervention that has been designed to reduce COVID-19 infections and prevent potential deaths. This study underscores the importance of considering the unique community and cultural contexts, employing evidence, and engaging local and external actors as facilitators when designing interventions to respond to global health pandemics.

show abstract

Opportunities and Challenges in North-South and South-South Global Health Collaborations During the COVID-19 Pandemic: The AFREhealth-CUGH Experience (as Reported at the CUGH 2021 Satellite Meeting)

Cited by 4 publications

References 11 publications

A framework for reinitiating global academic exchange in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic

A framework for reinitiating global academic exchange in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 Infection and Pregnancy in Sub-Saharan Africa: A 6-Country Retrospective Cohort Analysis

Development of a community-based COVID-19 intervention in rural Ghana: a document analysis

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About