Author: ibeange

Date: Begins 12 October 2015 and lasts 3 weeks (participate via email)

Summary: Participatory epidemiology (PE) is an emerging field that is based on the use of participatory techniques for the harvesting of qualitative epidemiological information contained within community observations, existing veterinary knowledge, and traditional oral history. It relies on the widely accepted techniques of participatory rural appraisal, surveys, and qualitative epidemiology (Schwabe, 1984). Thus, direct observation and the use of qualitative enquiry to collect epidemiological intelligence from the community are at the foundation of modern epidemiology.

This PE discussion forum will aim to examine the past, present, and future applications of PE.  The overall goal of this discussion will be to build on prior lessons learned and further advance PE by:

• characterising PE with the help of various examples of (un)successful implementation
• highlighting avenues for its inclusion in policy development
• indicating what future improvements can be made and how they may arise
• summarising all of the above in to a published report

If interested in participating in the PE discussion forum, please send an email to Ryan.Aguanno@fao.org

Each week during this period participants will receive a question to which they will be asked to respond by email, as well as to raise questions and concerns. On Wednesday of that week, a summary of everyone’s inputs will be released to help guide and stimulate discussion, at which point participants will again have the opportunity  to comment.

This information will be compiled and analyzed in a final report. The organisers of the event hope that the conclusions of this report will contribute to better design of animal health projects and animal health delivery systems, more efficient disease surveillance and control strategies, and form new perspectives of PE.

Further details can be found on the FAO website: http://www.fao.org/ag/againfo/programmes/en/empres/news_081015b.html 

Applications are now open for Missions occurring between 1 Oct 2015 and 30 April 2016

Deadline 1st Nov 2015

Short Term Scientific Missions (STSM) are aimed at supporting individual mobility and at strengthening the existing networks and fostering collaborations by allowing scientists to visit an institution in another participating COST country or an approved NNC or IPC institution.

This third STSM call aims to attract applications from researchers wishing to contribute to the tasks of Working Group 1 (WG1), i.e. to inform and engage in the development of a handbook/protocol for evaluation of One Health initiatives. In total, at least two STSMs (in addition to the six funded through the first and second call) are dedicated to WG1 and should preferably be performed during the year of 2015 or early 2016 to assist each of the sub-working groups initiated at the NEOH meeting in London ultimo January 2015 in their progress on chapters 1-5.

STSMs in NEOH should specifically contribute to the scientific objectives of the COST Action, whilst at the same time allowing those partaking in the missions to learn new techniques, gain access to specific data, instruments and / or methods not available in their own institutions / organisations, in particular of relevance for developing and performing evaluations of One Health activities.

Highest priority should be given to encouragement of early-stage career investigators’ (ECIs) participation in the COST Action activities.

Find out More

NEOH at the 3rd GFR One Health Summit in Davos

232 researchers, policy makers and practitioners coming from 53 developed and developing countries and working in the areas of public health, veterinary medicine, agriculture, biodiversity, ecosystem services, sustainable development and natural capital, joined on 4^th, 5^th and 6^th October 2015, in Davos, for the 3^rd One health Summit of the Global Risk Forum (GFR). GFR is a well-known foundation, based in this Swiss town, devoted to promote the worldwide exchange of know-how in integrative risk management and climate change adaptation. With a mix of formats, including keynote lectures, plenary and parallel sessions, the One Health Summit provided this year a valuable forum for dialogue and a strategic platform to foster the sharing of information and viewpoints.

 

The NEOH was represented at the event by Barbara Häsler (RVC – NEOH Coordinator), Simon Ruegg (University of Zurich), and Massimo Canali (University of Bologna). NEOH factsheets were distributed and people encouraged to join the network. Massimo Canali delivered a presentation prepared with Maurizio Aragrande (University of Bologna) on “An Operational Tool to Enhance One Health Interdisciplinarity”. The presentation was an individual contribution within the NEOH framework, focusing on key issues, such as system approach and interdisciplinarity, discussed at the NEOH Training School of Cluj-Napoca last June.

The authors, Massimo Canali and Maurizio Aragrande, have developed a multi-disciplinary matrix to manage the scientific complexity of health care issues. Complexity is challenged by a systemic approach, based on the combination of simple epidemiological and socio-economic models, in order to achieve a comprehensive understanding of real situations and case studies. The matrix is intended to find out the multiple aspects and effects of a health intervention and identify all necessary expertise. The aim is to define the scientific and cultural borders among disciplines, the grey areas where knowledge is lacking, and the overlapping territories where analytical competences are redundant and/or cooperative. This procedure intends to be a pivotal tool to coordinate different disciplinary skills and increase effectiveness in health research, policy and management.

Proceedings

Short and Extended abstracts as well as all Poster Presentations are available as e-publications for download online:

http://onehealth.grforum.org/outcomes

All presentations given at the 3^rd GRF One Health Summit 2015 are available online in an interactive conference overview:

http://onehealth.grforum.org/agenda

Our team of conference rapporteurs is currently working on a conference findings summary, which will be published soon.

Participants List

The final participants list is available for download here:

http://onehealth.grforum.org/participants-list

Impressions of the week

Impressions of the 3 days in Davos are available online at:

http://onehealth.grforum.org/pictures

Video statements

Video statements recorded during the Summit can be streamed online:

http://onehealth.grforum.org/videos

 

 

The Dynamic Drivers of Disease in Africa is a consortium of researchers from 20 institutions in Africa, Europe and America undertaking a major ESPA-funded programme to advance understanding of the connections between disease and environment in Africa. Our focus is animal-to-human disease transmission and our objective is to help move people out of poverty and promote social justice.

They have published the following resources:

1. Seven working papers consider understandings around ecosystems and health as they relate to four zoonoses in five countries in Africa (henipavirus infection in Ghana, Rift Valley fever in Kenya, Lassa fever in Sierra Leone and trypanosomiasis in Zambia and Zimbabwe):