Karen A. Ricci

Developing and Interpreting Models to Improve Diagnostics in Developing Countries

Developing a strategy for investment in diagnostic technologies requires an understanding of the need for, and the health impact of, potential new tools, as well as the necessary performance characteristics and user requirements. In this paper, we outline an approach for modelling the health benefits of new diagnostic tools.

Reducing stunting among children: the potential contribution of diagnostics

Stunting affects ~ 147 million children in developing countries. Studies have pointed to a relationship between stunting and different pathogens that are associated with diarrhoeal illness. New easy-to-use tools for diagnosing these pathogens could help to identify children at risk for growth shortfall, and reduce the prevalence of stunting and the large burden of disease associated with it.PREFACE The numbers of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS)-related deaths among infants in developing countries are exceptionally high, largely because human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection remains undiagnosed in many cases. Current HIV testing methods are either impractical for developingcountry settings or inaccurate for use in infants. There is an urgent need to develop and deploy a new, easy-to-use HIV test, which could transform the management of paediatric HIV/AIDS in developing countries and avert millions of infant deaths.

Using Quality Improvement Methods To Improve Public Health Emergency Preparedness: PREPARE For Pandemic Influenza

Many public health departments seek to improve their capability to respond to large-scale events such as an influenza pandemic. Quality improvement (QI), a structured approach to improving performance, has not been widely applied in public health. We developed and tested a pilot QI collaborative to explore whether QI could help public health departments improve their pandemic preparedness. We demonstrated that this is a promising model for improving public health preparedness and may be useful for improving public health performance overall. Further efforts are needed, however, to encourage the robust implementation of QI in public health.

Correlates of Electronic Cigarettes Use Before and During Pregnancy

Introduction Electronic cigarette use is rapidly gaining in popularity. However, little is known about correlates and reasons for electronic cigarette use by women of reproductive age, a group for which the safety and efficacy of electronic cigarette use is of particular interest. Methods As part of a clinical trial for smoking cessation, we surveyed pregnant smokers about their lifetime use of electronic cigarettes, previous use of any adjunctive treatments for smoking cessation, and use of electronic cigarettes during pregnancy. We examined associations between electronic cigarette use and participant characteristics. Results Fifty-three percent (55/103) of participants had previously tried electronic cigarettes. Ever users smoked more cigarettes per day before pregnancy (p = .049), had a greater number of previous quit attempts (p = .033), and were more likely to identify as being Hispanic or non-Hispanic white than never users (p = .027). Fifteen percent of participants (15/103) reported previous use of electronic cigarettes for smoking cessation, which was more common than the use of any specific FDA-approved smoking cessation medication. Fourteen percent of participants (14/103) reported electronic cigarette use during pregnancy, most commonly to quit smoking. A history of substance abuse (p = .043) and more previous quit attempts (p = .018) were associated with electronic cigarette use during pregnancy. Conclusions Use of electronic cigarettes to quit smoking may be common in women of reproductive age, including those who are pregnant. More research is needed to determine the risks and benefits of electronic cigarette use in this population of smokers. Implications This study shows that electronic cigarettes are used by women of reproductive age, including pregnant smokers. The implications of this finding are that there is an urgent need to examine the risks and benefits of electronic cigarette use, especially by pregnant women. The study also shows that electronic cigarettes are commonly used as a smoking cessation aid in women of reproductive age. The greater likelihood of electronic cigarette use compared to proven adjunctive smoking treatments suggests that electronic cigarettes should be examined as a potential aid to cessation in this population.

Learning from Experience

This chapter includes a description of research that took place into studying past data. The hope is that we would learn something that would benefit future users of GPS. In addition, some recommendations are given as to how one might mitigate the risks associated with GPS positioning, and accurate GPS positioning. Another topic that is included concerns surveying. Land surveying is an established discipline in which the accurate location of features and marked positions are measured. Surveyors have used GPS for some time and it is advantageous for the reader to study the approaches they adopt so as to circumvent problems.