Publications by authors named "Ayo Palmer"
The political undertones of building national health research systems--reflections from The Gambia.
Health Res Policy Syst
May 2009
Article Synopsis
- In developing countries, building national health research systems resembles a political campaign, shifting focus from ideologies to immediate voter quality of life improvements.
- Current strategies for enhancing health research emphasize logical steps like creating policies, conducting analyses, and building capacities, but many countries face challenges in initiating these processes.
- To effectively support these systems, stakeholders must analyze the political context and craft advocacy messages that highlight the benefits for health ministry leaders in engaging with health research initiatives.
Article Synopsis
- Malaria cases and related deaths in The Gambia significantly decreased from 2003 to 2007 due to increased international efforts and funding for control measures aimed at vulnerable populations like pregnant women and young children.
- Retrospective analysis showed an 82% reduction in malaria-positive blood slides and a 74% decline in malaria admissions for children, along with a total elimination of malaria deaths in some hospitals.
- Findings indicate that malaria interventions have improved overall health outcomes, suggesting that a policy to eliminate malaria in The Gambia is feasible and should be considered.
This paper discusses the factors that influence whether strategies for preventing and treating malaria in pregnancy are successfully translated into national policy and programme implementation, and identifies key operational research issues. Countries require guidance on how to assess the effectiveness of intermittent preventive treatment in pregnancy (IPTp) with sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine in the context of increasing sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine resistance. At the same time, data on the safety and efficacy of alternatives to sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine for prevention and treatment are urgently needed.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: Hypoxia predicts mortality in children with acute lower respiratory infections (ALRIs). We investigated the prevalence and predictive value of hypoxia in ALRI and other acute infectious diseases.
Methods: We studied the spectrum of hypoxaemia in 4,047 children admitted to a tertiary hospital in The Gambia.
The diagnosis of severe bacterial infection in young infants in developing countries is difficult because of the lack of sensitivity and specificity of the presenting symptoms and signs. Whether C-reactive protein (CRP) might help with the early detection of neonatal sepsis was investigated in a prospective study in The Gambia, Ethiopia and The Philippines. Infants < 3 months of age with symptoms or signs of possible sepsis were evaluated; CRP was measured and assessed for its ability to predict proven invasive bacterial infection.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: To investigate the problems, benefits, feasibility, and sustainability of implementation of WHO guidelines on management of severe malnutrition.
Methods: A postal survey invited staff from 12 African hospitals to participate in the study. Five hospitals were evaluated and two were selected to take part in the study: a district hospital in South Africa and a mission hospital in Ghana.
Objective: To describe the epidemiology of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection in a developing country.
Methods: The work was carried out in three hospitals for primary cases and in the community for secondary cases in the western region of the Gambia, West Africa. RSV infection was diagnosed by immunofluorescence of nasopharyngeal aspirate samples in children younger than two years admitted to hospital with acute lower respiratory infection (ALRI).