International Centre for Reproductive Health (ICRH): an international multidisciplinary centre of excellence in the field of reproductive health

The International Centre for Reproductive Health (ICRH) was established by Prof. dr. Marleen Temmerman in the aftermath of the UN Conference on Population and Development in Cairo in 1994. This conference called for worldwide action to improve the sexual and reproductive health situation of the global population in general and for vulnerable groups in particular, and this is exactly what ICRH is striving for and has been working on for the last 15 years. ICRH is a multidisciplinary centre of excellence, in research, capacity building and fieldwork in sexual and reproductive health and HIV prevention, and an advocate for sexual and reproductive health and rights. Right from the start, ICRH has opted for a global approach, which has resulted in a broad geographical spread of activities, with projects in Africa, Latin America, Asia and Europe. Since its inception, ICRH has participated in more than 120 projects, often as the coordinator, and through this work it has contributed considerably not only to scientific knowledge, improvement of health systems and increased accessibility of health services for vulnerable groups, but also to the quality of live of numerous individuals. Since 2004, ICRH has been recognized as a WHO Collaborating Centre for Research on Sexual and Reproductive Health

Quality of care in family planning services in rural Mozambique with a focus on long acting reversible contraceptives : a cross-sectional survey

Background: In Mozambique, both the government and partners have undertaken efforts over the last decade to improve FP (family planning) services, especially through training health care providers and promoting the uptake of LARCs (Long Acting Reversible Contraceptives). Despite this, uptake of FP methods has not increased significantly. This study aims to examine women's knowledge on LARCs, including their main sources of information, and the quality of care of FP services in rural areas.MethodsWe conducted a repeated cross-sectional study, interviewing 417 women leaving FP consultations in 15 health facilities in Maputo Province, Mozambique. The main quality outputs measured were: 1)discussed, preferred and received contraceptive methods, 2)information received on usage and side-effects, 3)client-provider interaction, 4)being informed about the need for a follow-up visit 5)health examinations conducted and travel time to the facility. In addition, knowledge on LARCs was measured among the clients as well as sources of information regarding FP methods. Taking into account the design effect of the study, Chi-square statistics were used to detect differences between groups and linear regression analyses to identify associations between sources of information and higher knowledge. Results: We found that IUDs (intrauterine devices) and implants were discussed in 23 and 33% of the consultations respectively, but only administered in a very few cases(<1%). Half of the women were counselled on side-effects of contraceptives; this did not differ between first time clients and follow-up clients. Almost all women(98%) were satisfied with the received service and 83% of the women found the waiting time acceptable. Health examinations were performed on 18% of the women. Overall, women's knowledge about LARCs was poor and misconceptions are still common. Women who had received FP information through outreach activities had better knowledge than those counselled at a facility. Conclusions: Our study highlights that only a minority of the women received information regarding LARCs during the consultation and that usage is almost non-existent. Counseling about all types of contraceptives during the consultation is sub-optimal, resulting in poorly informed clients. Multifaceted long-term interventions, focusing on both users and providers, are needed to improve uptake of contraceptives (including LARCs) in rural areas

Polyfunctional CD4+ T cell responses in HIV-1-infected viral controllers compared with those in healthy recipients of an adjuvanted polyprotein HIV-1 vaccine

AbstractA recombinant fusion protein (F4) consisting of HIV-1 p17, p24, reverse transcriptase (RT) and Nef, adjuvanted with AS01, induced strong and broad CD4+ T cell responses in healthy volunteers. Here we compare these vaccine-induced CD4+ T cell responses with the ones induced by natural infection in patients with varying disease courses.Thirty-eight HIV-infected, antiretroviral treatment-naïve subjects were classified into four categories: 8 long-term non-progressors (infection ≥7 years; CD4+ T cells ≥500/μL), 10 recently infected individuals (infection ≤2 years; CD4+ T cells ≥500/μL), 10 typical early progressors (CD4+ T cells ≤350/μL), and 10 viral controllers (plasma HIV-1 RNA <1000copies/mL). Peripheral blood mononuclear cells were stimulated in vitro with p17, p24, RT and Nef peptide pools and analyzed by flow cytometry for expression of IL-2, IFN-γ, TNF-α and CD40L. CD4+ T cell responses were compared to those measured with the same method in 50 HIV-uninfected subjects immunized with the F4/AS01 candidate vaccine (NCT00434512).After in vitro stimulation with p17, p24 and RT antigen viral controllers had significantly more CD4+ T cells co-expressing IL-2, IFN-γ and TNF-α than other HIV patient categories. The magnitude and quality of these responses in viral controllers were comparable to those observed in F4/AS01 vaccine recipients. In contrast with viral controllers, triple cytokine producing CD4+ T cells in vaccinees also expressed CD40L.Subjects who spontaneously control an HIV infection display polyfunctional CD4+ T cell responses to p17, p24, RT and Nef, with similar magnitude and qualities as those induced in healthy volunteers by an adjuvanted HIV candidate vaccine (F4/AS01)

Opportunities for linking research to policy: lessons learned from implementation research in sexual and reproductive health within the ANSER network

Background: The uptake of findings from sexual and reproductive health and rights research into policy-making remains a complex and non-linear process. Different models of research utilisation and guidelines to maximise this in policy-making exist, however, challenges still remain for researchers to improve uptake of their research findings and for policy-makers to use research evidence in their work. Methods: A participatory workshop with researchers was organised in November 2017 by the Academic Network for Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights Policy (ANSER) to address this gap. ANSER is a consortium of experienced researchers, some of whom have policy-making experience, working on sexual and reproductive health and rights issues across 16 countries and 5 continents. The experiential learning cycle was used to guide the workshop discussions based on case studies and to encourage participants to focus on key lessons learned. Workshop findings were thematically analysed using specific stages from Hanney et al.’s (Health Res Policy Syst 1:2, 2003) framework on the place of policy-making in the stages of assessment of research utilisation and outcomes. Results: The workshop identified key strategies for translating research into policy, including joint agenda-setting between researchers and policy-makers, as well as building trust and partnerships with different stakeholders. These were linked to stages within Hanney et al.’s framework as opportunities for engaging with policy-makers to ensure uptake of research findings. Conclusion: The engagement of stakeholders during the research development and implementation phases, especially at strategic moments, has a positive impact on uptake of research findings. The strategies and stages described in this paper can be applied to improve utilisation of research findings into policy development and implementation globally

Discharge of Debts of Individuals including Economical and Social Impact of the Debtor

Import 23/08/2017Diplomová práce je zaměřena na oddlužení fyzických osob v České republice včetně ekonomických a sociálních dopadů na dlužníka. V práci je uvedena základní charakteristika úpadku, způsoby jeho řešení a zároveň jsou představeny procesní subjekty, které mohou v insolvenčním řízení vystupovat. Dále je také přiblížen proces oddlužení a jeho dopady na dlužníky. V závěrečné části je provedena a vyhodnocena analýza oddlužení fyzických osob v České republice ve vybraném městě.This diploma thesis is focused on discharge of debts of individuals in the Czech Republic including its economical and social impacts on the debtor. In the thesis basic features of bankruptcy and ways of its solutions are given together with processional subjects who can appear during the insolvency process. There is also described a process of discharging of debts including its impacts on the debtors. In the last part of the thesis there is an analysis of discharge of debts of individuals in the Czech Republic, which is related to a chosen city.117 - Katedra účetnictví a danívýborn

Opportunities for linking research to policy: lessons learned from implementation research in sexual and reproductive health within the ANSER network

Background: The uptake of findings from sexual and reproductive health and rights research into policy-making remains a complex and non-linear process. Different models of research utilisation and guidelines to maximise this in policy-making exist, however, challenges still remain for researchers to improve uptake of their research findings and for policy-makers to use research evidence in their work. Methods: A participatory workshop with researchers was organised in November 2017 by the Academic Network for Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights Policy (ANSER) to address this gap. ANSER is a consortium of experienced researchers, some of whom have policy-making experience, working on sexual and reproductive health and rights issues across 16 countries and 5 continents. The experiential learning cycle was used to guide the workshop discussions based on case studies and to encourage participants to focus on key lessons learned. Workshop findings were thematically analysed using specific stages from Hanney et al.’s (Health Res Policy Syst 1:2, 2003) framework on the place of policy-making in the stages of assessment of research utilisation and outcomes. Results: The workshop identified key strategies for translating research into policy, including joint agenda-setting between researchers and policy-makers, as well as building trust and partnerships with different stakeholders. These were linked to stages within Hanney et al.’s framework as opportunities for engaging with policy-makers to ensure uptake of research findings. Conclusion: The engagement of stakeholders during the research development and implementation phases, especially at strategic moments, has a positive impact on uptake of research findings. The strategies and stages described in this paper can be applied to improve utilisation of research findings into policy development and implementation globally

Reproductieve rechten alleen zijn niet genoeg

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