Dohyeong Kim

Reduction of Malaria Prevalence by Indoor Residual Spraying: A Meta-Regression Analysis

Indoor residual spraying (IRS) has become an increasingly popular method of insecticide use for malaria control, and many recent studies have reported on its effectiveness in reducing malaria burden in a single community or region. There is a need for systematic review and integration of the published literature on IRS and the contextual determining factors of its success in controlling malaria. This study reports the findings of a meta-regression analysis based on 13 published studies, which were chosen from more than 400 articles through a systematic search and selection process. The summary relative risk for reducing malaria prevalence was 0.38 (95% confidence interval = 0.31-0.46), which indicated a risk reduction of 62%. However, an excessive degree of heterogeneity was found between the studies. The meta-regression analysis indicates that IRS is more effective with high initial prevalence, multiple rounds of spraying, use of DDT, and in regions with a combination of Plasmodium falciparum and P. vivax malaria.

Private Demand for Cholera Vaccines in Hue, Vietnam

OBJECTIVES This study aims to measure the private demand for oral cholera vaccines in Hue, Vietnam, an area of relatively low endemicity of cholera, using the contingent valuation method. METHODS Interviews were conducted with either the head of household or spouse in 800 randomly selected households with children less than 18 years old. Respondents were asked whether they would purchase an oral cholera vaccine with different levels of effectiveness and durations of effectiveness (both for themselves and for other household members) at a specified price. RESULTS The median respondent willingness to pay for 50% effective/3-year vaccine was estimated to be approximately

GIS-based Association Between PM10 and Allergic Diseases in Seoul: Implications for Health and Environmental Policy.

5, although 17% of the study sample would not pay for a cholera vaccine. The median economic benefit to a household of vaccinating all household members against cholera, as measured by its stated willingness to pay, was estimated to be

The Impact of Decoupling of Telework on Job Satisfaction in U.S. Federal Agencies Does Gender Matter

40 for a vaccine with these attributes. CONCLUSIONS The perceived private economic benefits of a cholera vaccine were high, but not evenly distributed across the population. A minority of the people in Hue place no value on receiving a cholera vaccine.

Role of spatial tools in public health policymaking of Bangladesh: opportunities and challenges

Purpose The role of PM10 in the development of allergic diseases remains controversial among epidemiological studies, partly due to the inability to control for spatial variations in large-scale risk factors. This study aims to investigate spatial correspondence between the level of PM10 and allergic diseases at the sub-district level in Seoul, Korea, in order to evaluate whether the impact of PM10 is observable and spatially varies across the subdistricts. Methods PM10 measurements at 25 monitoring stations in the city were interpolated to 424 sub-districts where annual inpatient and outpatient count data for 3 types of allergic diseases (atopic dermatitis, asthma, and allergic rhinitis) were collected. We estimated multiple ordinary least square regression models to examine the association of the PM10 level with each of the allergic diseases, controlling for various sub-district level covariates. Geographically weighted regression (GWR) models were conducted to evaluate how the impact of PM10 varies across the sub-districts. Results PM10 was found to be a significant predictor of atopic dermatitis patient count (P<0.01), with greater association when spatially interpolated at the sub-district level. No significant effect of PM10 was observed on allergic rhinitis and asthma when socioeconomic factors were controlled for. GWR models revealed spatial variation of PM10 effects on atopic dermatitis across the sub-districts in Seoul. The relationship of PM10 levels to atopic dermatitis patient counts is found to be significant only in the Gangbuk region (P<0.01), along with other covariates including average land value, poverty rate, level of education and apartment rate (P<0.01). Conclusions Our findings imply that PM10 effects on allergic diseases might not be consistent throughout Seoul. GIS-based spatial modeling techniques could play a role in evaluating spatial variation of air pollution impacts on allergic diseases at the sub-district level, which could provide valuable guidelines for environmental and public health policymakers.

Exploring Household-level Risk Factors for Self-reported Prevalence of Allergic Diseases Among Low-income Households in Seoul, Korea

This study analyzes the effects of decoupling of telework on job satisfaction using the 2013 Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey. The research divides telework programs for public employees by two criteria: (a) whether or not federal agencies have officially adopted the program, and (b) whether or not public employees actually participate in the program. We find that both organizational adoption and employee participation in telework have a positive relationship with job satisfaction, and these results support the social exchange theory. We also observe that the effects of decoupling of telework on job satisfaction are more significant for female public employees than for male public employees. The results imply that female employees have the lowest levels of job satisfaction when agencies officially adopt telework but employees cannot utilize the program. However, male employees have the lowest levels of job satisfaction when they are unable to utilize a nonexistent telework program.

Stakeholder development of the Malaria Decision Analysis Support Tool (MDAST)

In spite of the increasing efforts to gather spatial data in developing countries, the use of maps is mostly for visualization of health indicators rather than informed decision-making. Various spatial tools can aid policymakers to allocate resources effectively, predict patterns in communicable or infectious diseases, and provide insights into geographical factors which are associated with utilization or adequacy of health services. In Bangladesh, the launch of District Health Information System 2, along with recent efforts to gather spatial data of facilities location, provides an interesting opportunity to study the current landscape and the potential barriers in advancing the use of spatial tools for informed decision making. This study assessed the current level of map usage and spatial tools for health sector planning in Bangladesh, focusing on investigating why map usage and spatial tools remained at a basic level for the purpose of health policy. The study design involved in-depth interviews, followed by an expert survey (n = 39) obtained through snowball sampling.Our survey revealed that assessing areas with shortage of community health workers emerged as the top most for basic map usage or primarily for visualization purpose, while planning for emergency and obstetric care services, and disease mapping was the most frequent category for intermediate and advanced map usage, respectively. Furthermore, we found lack of inter-institutional collaboration, lack of continuous availability of trained personnel, and lack of awareness on the use of geographic information system (GIS) as a decision-making tool as three most critical barriers in the current landscape. Our findings highlight the barriers in increasing the adoption of spatial tools for health policymaking and planning in Bangladesh.

Selecting Optimal Prices and Outpost Locations for Rural Vaccination Campaigns

Purpose Indoor risk factors for allergic diseases in low-income households in Korea have been characterized only partially. We evaluated the prevalences of atopic dermatitis, asthma, and allergic rhinitis in Seoul, Korea, to identify key housing and behavioral risk factors of low-income households. Methods Statistical analysis of the prevalence of these diseases and various risk factors was conducted using data from a 2010 Ministry of Environment household survey. Logistic regression models were generated using data from 511 low-income household apartments in districts of Seoul. Results In general, housing factors such as renovation history (P<0.1) and crowding status (P<0.01) were associated with allergic rhinitis, whereas behavioral factors such as frequency of indoor ventilation (P<0.05) and cleaning (P<0.1) were inversely correlated with atopic dermatitis. Indoor smoking was a major trigger of asthma and atopic dermatitis in low-income households (P<0.05). The presence of mold and water leakage in houses were the most important risk factors for all three diseases (P<0.05). Conclusions Various risk factors play a role in triggering allergic diseases among low-income households in Seoul, and health or environmental programs mitigating allergic diseases should be tailored to address appropriate housing or behavioral factors in target populations.

What Does it Take to Become a Biotech Hot Spot

Background Although exceptional progress has been made towards controlling and eventually eliminating malaria from subSaharan Africa, recent efforts have sometimes faltered. Reasons for this include the development of resistance in parasites and vectors to current control strategies, volatile funding streams, and funding allocations which sometimes do not efficiently achieve the goals of project managers, policy makers, or citizens. The project described here implements an approach to evidence-based policy for malaria control using a decision analysis framework proposed by Kramer et al. [1]. The project consists of the stakeholder-driven implementation of that framework through the development of a Malaria Decision Analysis Support Tool (MDAST) in Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda. Results from the project to date point towards large anticipated value from stakeholder-driven implementation of a tool such as MDAST at the policy, programmatic, and technical levels.

Effect of travel distance on household demand for typhoid vaccines: implications for planning

A contingent valuation survey (willingness-to-pay study) was conducted in 2004 to measure household demand for typhoid vaccines in a rural township in China with approximately 54,000 people living in 141 villages. The results showed that travel distance to vaccination sites and vaccination price affected the private demand for typhoid fever vaccinations. The number and location of vaccination outposts are thus important decision variables for a new vaccination campaign that is under consideration. This article develops and applies an optimization model for planning vaccination programs. The model determines what price to charge, how many vaccination outposts to use, where to locate them, and what capacities they need. The model uses demand information from the contingent valuation survey and cost information from similar vaccination campaigns in China and assumes that costs must be covered by user fees. The model determined that the number of outposts to use for maximizing coverage was fourteen, which would make average one-way travel distance for users about 0.6 km. The optimal vaccination price was USD 1.25, and about 87 percent of the population would be vaccinated. A suboptimal solution of the model showed that only 6 outposts instead of 14 would probably vaccinate about 83 percent of the population, and the price could be reduced to USD 0.83. The model is easy to use and solve and can be applied to different size regions.