TY - JOUR
T1 - Research priorities to reduce the impact of COVID-19 in low- and middle-income countries
AU - Polašek, Ozren
AU - Wazny, Kerri
AU - Adeloye, Davies
AU - Song, Peige
AU - Chan, Kit Y.
AU - Bojude, Danladi A.
AU - Ali, Sajjad
AU - Bastien, Sheri
AU - Becerra-Posada, Francisco
AU - Borrescio-Higa, Florencia
AU - Cheema, Sohaila
AU - Cipta, Darien A.
AU - Cvjetković, Smiljana
AU - Castro, Lina D.
AU - Ebenso, Bassey
AU - Femi-Ajao, Omolade
AU - Ganesan, Balasankar
AU - Glasnović, Anton
AU - He, Longtao
AU - Heraud, Jean M.
AU - Igwesi-Chidobe, Chinonso
AU - Iversen, Per O.
AU - Jadoon, Bismeen
AU - Karim, Abdulkarim J.
AU - Khan, Johra
AU - Biswas, Raaj K.
AU - Lanza, Giuseppe
AU - Lee, Shaun W.H.
AU - Li, You
AU - Liang, Li Lin
AU - Lowe, Mat
AU - Islam, Mohammad M.
AU - Marušić, Ana
AU - Mshelia, Suleiman
AU - Manyara, Anthony M.
AU - Htay, Mila N.N.
AU - Parisi, Michelle
AU - Peprah, Prince
AU - Sacks, Emma
AU - Akinyemi, Kabiru O.
AU - Shahraki-Sanavi, Fariba
AU - Sharov, Konstantin
AU - Rotarou, Elena S.
AU - Stankov, Srdjan
AU - Supriyatiningsih, Wenang
AU - Chan, Benjamin T.Y.
AU - Tremblay, Mark
AU - Tsimpida, Dialechti
AU - Vento, Sandro
AU - Glasnović, Josipa V.
AU - Wang, Liang
AU - Wang, Xin
AU - Ng, Zhi X.
AU - Zhang, Jianrong
AU - Zhang, Yanfeng
AU - Campbell, Harry
AU - Chopra, Mickey
AU - Cousens, Simon
AU - Krstić, Goran
AU - Macdonald, Calum
AU - Mansoori, Parisa
AU - Patel, Smruti
AU - Sheikh, Aziz
AU - Tomlinson, Mark
AU - Tsai, Alexander C.
AU - Yoshida, Sachiyo
AU - Rudan, Igor
N1 - Funding Information:
We would like to thank the following ISoGH members who contributed with the ideas, but did not complete the scoring (listed alphabetically by their first name): Anna Wahyuni Widayanti, Bernard Naafs, Claudia Pagliari, Danilo Buonsenso, Douglas Fraser Wares, Folorunso Fasina, Ian Russell, Joseph Cuthbertson, Joyce Wamoyi, Kabiru Akinyemi, Kathy Rowlen, Marie Buchtova, Nuzulul Putri, Nzau Mvuezolo, Obinna Oleribe, Omar Sued, Paloma Alonso-Stuyck, Purnima Madhivanan, Rosnah Sutan, Sally Brinkman, Sam Okuonzi, Tammary Esho, Timothy Carey, and Zohra Lassi.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2022. The Author(s) JoGH. All Rights Reserved.
PY - 2022/4/15
Y1 - 2022/4/15
N2 - Background The COVID-19 pandemic has caused disruptions to the functioning of societies and their health systems. Prior to the pandemic, health systems in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) were particularly stretched and vulnerable. The International Society of Global Health (ISoGH) sought to systematically identify priorities for health research that would have the potential to reduce the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in LMICs. Methods The Child Health and Nutrition Research Initiative (CHNRI) method was used to identify COVID-19-related research priorities. All ISoGH members were invited to participate. Seventy-nine experts in clinical, translational, and population research contributed 192 research questions for consideration. Fifty-two experts then scored those questions based on five pre-defined criteria that were selected for this exercise: 1) feasibility and answerability; 2) potential for burden reduction; 3) potential for a paradigm shift; 4) potential for translation and implementation; and 5) impact on equity. Results Among the top 10 research priorities, research questions related to vaccination were prominent: health care system access barriers to equitable uptake of COVID-19 vaccination (ranked 1st), determinants of vaccine hesitancy (4th), development and evaluation of effective interventions to decrease vaccine hesitancy (5th), and vaccination impacts on vulnerable population/s (6th). Health care delivery questions also ranked highly, including: effective strategies to manage COVID-19 globally and in LMICs (2nd) and integrating health care for COVID-19 with other essential health services in LMICs (3rd). Additionally, the assessment of COVID-19 patients' needs in rural areas of LMICs was ranked 7th, and studying the leading socioeconomic determinants and consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic in LMICs using multi-faceted approaches was ranked 8th. The remaining questions in the top 10 were: clarifying paediatric case-fatality rates (CFR) in LMICs and identifying effective strategies for community engagement against COVID-19 in different LMIC contexts. Interpretation Health policy and systems research to inform COVID-19 vaccine uptake and equitable access to care are urgently needed, especially for rural, vulnerable, and/or marginalised populations. This research should occur in parallel with studies that will identify approaches to minimise vaccine hesitancy and effectively integrate care for COVID-19 with other essential health services in LMICs. ISoGH calls on the funders of health research in LMICs to consider the urgency and priority of this research during the COVID-19 pandemic and support studies that could make a positive difference for the populations of LMICs.
AB - Background The COVID-19 pandemic has caused disruptions to the functioning of societies and their health systems. Prior to the pandemic, health systems in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) were particularly stretched and vulnerable. The International Society of Global Health (ISoGH) sought to systematically identify priorities for health research that would have the potential to reduce the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in LMICs. Methods The Child Health and Nutrition Research Initiative (CHNRI) method was used to identify COVID-19-related research priorities. All ISoGH members were invited to participate. Seventy-nine experts in clinical, translational, and population research contributed 192 research questions for consideration. Fifty-two experts then scored those questions based on five pre-defined criteria that were selected for this exercise: 1) feasibility and answerability; 2) potential for burden reduction; 3) potential for a paradigm shift; 4) potential for translation and implementation; and 5) impact on equity. Results Among the top 10 research priorities, research questions related to vaccination were prominent: health care system access barriers to equitable uptake of COVID-19 vaccination (ranked 1st), determinants of vaccine hesitancy (4th), development and evaluation of effective interventions to decrease vaccine hesitancy (5th), and vaccination impacts on vulnerable population/s (6th). Health care delivery questions also ranked highly, including: effective strategies to manage COVID-19 globally and in LMICs (2nd) and integrating health care for COVID-19 with other essential health services in LMICs (3rd). Additionally, the assessment of COVID-19 patients' needs in rural areas of LMICs was ranked 7th, and studying the leading socioeconomic determinants and consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic in LMICs using multi-faceted approaches was ranked 8th. The remaining questions in the top 10 were: clarifying paediatric case-fatality rates (CFR) in LMICs and identifying effective strategies for community engagement against COVID-19 in different LMIC contexts. Interpretation Health policy and systems research to inform COVID-19 vaccine uptake and equitable access to care are urgently needed, especially for rural, vulnerable, and/or marginalised populations. This research should occur in parallel with studies that will identify approaches to minimise vaccine hesitancy and effectively integrate care for COVID-19 with other essential health services in LMICs. ISoGH calls on the funders of health research in LMICs to consider the urgency and priority of this research during the COVID-19 pandemic and support studies that could make a positive difference for the populations of LMICs.
KW - COVID-19/epidemiology
KW - COVID-19 Vaccines
KW - Child
KW - Developing Countries
KW - Humans
KW - Pandemics/prevention & control
KW - Research Design
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85128946942&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85128946942&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - https://www.mendeley.com/catalogue/08ccf5eb-08f6-35a3-8feb-19a999877668/
U2 - 10.7189/jogh.12.09003
DO - 10.7189/jogh.12.09003
M3 - Article
C2 - 35475006
AN - SCOPUS:85128946942
SN - 2047-2978
VL - 12
SP - 1
EP - 14
JO - Journal of Global Health
JF - Journal of Global Health
ER -