People in Public Health. Research Summary

Members of the public are becoming increasingly important in the delivery of public health programmes. The work they do varies. They might give out information about a health issue or tell people about a local service. They might help someone who is going to a health improvement activity for the first time or organise a group that encourages healthy living. Some are paid, others are volunteers. The People in Public Health research study wanted to find out more about these lay health workers. It wanted to discover what type of things they do in public health programmes, how they are recruited, trained and supported and what is needed to make these approaches work well

A translational framework for public health research

<p><b>Background</b></p> <p>The paradigm of translational medicine that underpins frameworks such as the Cooksey report on the funding of health research does not adequately reflect the complex reality of the public health environment. We therefore outline a translational framework for public health research.</p> <p><b>Discussion</b></p> <p>Our framework redefines the objective of translation from that of institutionalising effective interventions to that of improving population health by influencing both individual and collective determinants of health. It incorporates epidemiological perspectives with those of the social sciences, recognising that many types of research may contribute to the shaping of policy, practice and future research. It also identifies a pivotal role for evidence synthesis and the importance of non-linear and intersectoral interfaces with the public realm.</p> <p><b>Summary</b></p> <p>We propose a research agenda to advance the field and argue that resources for 'applied' or 'translational' public health research should be deployed across the framework, not reserved for 'dissemination' or 'implementation'.</p&gt

COVID-19 transmission and case fatality in long-term care facilities during the epidemic first wave

Institutionalized populations experience a higher risk of several infectious diseases especially in settings with frequent interpersonal close contact and overcrowding. Besides the higher risk of infection, institutionalized people tend to be more vulnerable to its consequences as they are older and present multiple and severe comorbidities. Large proportions of cases and deaths due to COVID-19 occurred in long-term care facilities (LTCF) in several countries: in May 2020, 37–66% of COVID-19 fatal cases occurred in LTCF. In Portugal, by November 2020 about 34% of COVID-19 deaths had occurred in these facilities. The heterogeneity of COVID-19 impact raises the hypotheses of transmission inside LTCF merely reflect the infection dynamics in the surrounding community or COVID-19 more severely affect those institutionalized. Thus, we estimated the cumulative incidence and the case fatality rate of SARS-CoV-2 infection in LTCF, considering age-adjusted comparisons to the general population.This research did not receive any funding

International Public Health Research Involving Interpreters: a Case Study from Bangladesh

Background: Cross-cultural and international research are important components of public health research, but the challenges of language barriers and working with interpreters are often overlooked, particularly in the case of qualitative research. Methods: A case-study approach was used to explore experiences of working with an interpreter in Bangladesh as part of a research project investigating women's experiences of emergency obstetric care. The case study: Data from the researcher's field notes provided evidence of experiences in working with an interpreter and show how the model of interviewing was adapted over time to give a more active role to the interpreter. The advantages of a more active role were increased rapport and "flow" in interviews. The disadvantages included reduced control from the researcher's perspective. Some tensions between the researcher and interpreter remained hard to overcome, irrespective of the model used. Independent transcription and translation of the interviews also raised questions around accuracy in translation. Conclusion: The issues examined in this case study have broader implications for public health research. Further work is needed in three areas: 1) developing effective relationships with interpreters; 2) the impact of the interpreter on the research process; and 3) the accuracy of the translation and level of analysis needed in any specific public health research. Finally, this paper highlights the importance to authors of reflecting on the potential impact of translation and interpretation on the research process when disseminating their research

Newsprint coverage of smoking in cars carrying children : a case study of public and scientific opinion driving the policy debate

Acknowledgements Date of Acceptance:17/10/2014 Acknowledgements: This project was funded by Cancer Research UK (MC_U130085862) and the Scottish School of Public Health Research. Cancer Research UK and the Scottish School of Public Health Research was not involved in the collection, analysis, and interpretation of data, writing of the manuscript or the decision to submit the manuscript for publication. Shona Hilton, Karen Wood, Josh Bain and Chris Patterson are funded by the UK Medical Research Council as part of the Understandings and Uses of Public Health Research programme (MC_UU_12017/6) at the MRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit, University of Glasgow. We thank Alan Pollock who provided assistance with coding.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Community Engagment in Public Health Research

Community engagement (CE) is a collaborative practice between communities and researchers to improve the health outcomes and well-being of the community afflicted, while also potentially mitigating the negative consequences that result from the sometimes haphazard research conducted by outsiders. Presently, there is confusion regarding community engagement techniques due to discrepancies between prescribed models. To address the confusion surrounding community engagement, I created a consistent model that compounds current effective methods with ethical considerations for application across varying cultural and research contexts. I use a literature review to assess the different existing frameworks of community engagement for their advantages and disadvantages in public health research. Using this information, I constructed the new model with 5 major tenets including: prior understanding of community, encompassing application, involvement and representation, genuine consent, and self-reflection. This CE model is applied to a well-known case study involving a young Hmong girl, Lia Lee, who is caught in the crossfire of two conflicting cultures and their understanding of medicine. This analysis suggests that if the new CE model was properly employed, the frustration and pain in both the Hmong community, as well as the doctors treating Lia, may have been mitigated. While past health interventions cannot be changed, the way researchers conduct public health measures in the future can be adapted to implement community engagement as the default approach, instead.Sociolog

PHLD 9130 – Public Health Research Methods

The course focuses on the concepts and methods of health services and public health research. It is structured around the primary stages of research proposal development. It is designed for DrPH students in the College of Public Health and other graduate or professional students who have successfully completed the appropriate prerequisites. By the completion of this course, Students will acquire the necessary knowledge and skills to write a research proposal, plan for the dissertation, and develop and carry-out research projects

PHLD 9130 - Public Health Research Methods

The course focuses on the concepts and methods of health services and public health research. It is structured around the primary stages of research proposal development. It is designed for DrPH students in the College of Public Health and other graduate or professional students who have successfully completed the appropriate prerequisites. By the completion of this course, Students will acquire the necessary knowledge and skills to write a research proposal, plan for the dissertation, and develop and carry-out research projects

Involving citizens in priority setting for public health research: Implementation in infection research

Background Public sources fund the majority of UK infection research, but citizens currently have no formal role in resource allocation. To explore the feasibility and willingness of citizens to engage in strategic decision making, we developed and tested a practical tool to capture public priorities for research. Method A scenario including six infection themes for funding was developed to assess citizen priorities for research funding. This was tested over two days at a university public festival. Votes were cast anonymously along with rationale for selection. The scenario was then implemented during a three-hour focus group exploring views on engagement in strategic decisions and in-depth evaluation of the tool. Results 188/491(38%) prioritized funding research into drug-resistant infections followed by emerging infections(18%). Results were similar between both days. Focus groups contained a total of 20 citizens with an equal gender split, range of ethnicities and ages ranging from 18 to >70 years. The tool was perceived as clear with participants able to make informed comparisons. Rationale for funding choices provided by voters and focus group participants are grouped into three major themes: (i) Information processing; (ii) Knowledge of the problem; (iii) Responsibility; and a unique theme within the focus groups (iv) The potential role of citizens in decision making. Divergent perceptions of relevance and confidence of “non-experts” as decision makers were expressed. Conclusion Voting scenarios can be used to collect, en-masse, citizens' choices and rationale for research priorities. Ensuring adequate levels of citizen information and confidence is important to allow deployment in other formats