Federated difference-in-differences with multiple time periods in DataSHIELD.

Difference-in-differences (DID) is a key tool for causal impact evaluation but faces challenges when applied to sensitive data restricted by privacy regulations. Obtaining consent can shrink sample sizes and reduce statistical power, limiting the analysis's effectiveness. Federated learning addresses these issues by sharing aggregated statistics rather than individual data, though advanced federated DID software is limited.

Delivering an innovative multi-infection and female genital mutilation screening to high-risk migrant populations (ISMiHealth): study protocol of a cluster randomised controlled trial with embedded process evaluation.

Introduction: ISMiHealth is a clinical decision support system, integrated as a software tool in the electronic health record system of primary care, that aims to improve the screening performance on infectious diseases and female genital mutilation (FGM) in migrants. The aim of this study is to assess the health impact of the tool and to perform a process evaluation of its feasibility and acceptability when implemented in primary care in Catalonia (Spain).

Methods And Analysis: This study is a cluster randomised control trial where 35 primary care centres in Catalonia, Spain will be allocated into one of the two groups: intervention and control.

The private market for antimicrobials: an exploration of two selected mining and frontier areas of Guyana.

Objective: To identify challenges that may raise pathogens' resistance to antimicrobial drugs by exploring the private market for antimicrobials in two selected mining and frontier areas of Guyana.

Methods: The private sector supply was mapped by approaching all authorized pharmacies and informal outlets, e.g.

The contribution of risk perception and social norms to reported preventive behaviour against selected vector-borne diseases in Guyana.

Preventing vector-borne diseases (VBDs) mainly relies on effective vector control tools and strategies, which in turn depend on population acceptance and adherence. Inspired by the abundant recent literature on SARS-COV-2, we investigate the relationship between risk perception and preventive behaviour for selected VBDs and the extent to which risk perception is determined by social norms. We use cross-sectional data collected from 497 individuals in four regions of Guyana in 2017.

Female genital schistosomiasis, human papilloma virus infection, and cervical cancer in rural Madagascar: a cross sectional study.

Background: Women's health in resource-limited settings can benefit from the integrated management of high-burden diseases, such as female genital schistosomiasis (FGS) and human papilloma virus (HPV)-related cervical cancer. In schistosomiasis-endemic countries such as Madagascar, data on FGS and HPV prevalence are lacking as well as preventive measures for both conditions. This study aims to estimate the prevalence of FGS and HPV in rural Madagascar, and to examine associated risk factors to identify opportunities for improving women's health.

Cost-effectiveness of community-based distribution of intermittent preventive treatment of malaria in pregnancy in Madagascar, Mozambique, Nigeria, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Introduction: Malaria in pregnancy is a major driver of maternal and infant mortality in sub-Saharan Africa. The WHO recommends the administration of intermittent preventive treatment with sulfadoxine pyrimethamine (IPTp-SP) at antenatal care (ANC) visits. Despite being a highly cost-effective strategy, IPTp-SP coverage and uptake remains low.

The economic costs of malaria in pregnancy: evidence from four sub-Saharan countries.

Background Malaria in pregnancy is a major public health problem in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), which imposes a significant economic burden. We provide evidence on the costs of malaria care in pregnancy to households and the health system in four high-burden countries in SSA.  Methods Household and health system economic costs associated with malaria control in pregnancy were estimated in selected areas of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Madagascar (MDG), Mozambique (MOZ) and Nigeria (NGA).

Rapid diagnostic tests for dengue would reduce hospitalizations, healthcare costs and antibiotic prescriptions in Spain: A cost-effectiveness analysis.

Background: Current gold standard diagnostic techniques for dengue are expensive and time-consuming. Rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) have been proposed as alternatives, although data about their potential impact in non-endemic areas is scarce.

Methods: We performed a cost-effectiveness analysis comparing the costs of dengue RDTs to the current standard of care for the management of febrile returning travelers in Spain.

Development of vaccines for Chagas disease (CRUZIVAX): stakeholders' preferences and potential impacts on healthcare.

A vaccine for Chagas disease does not currently exist. This study aims to inform the development of two vaccines for the prevention and treatment of Trypanosoma cruzi infection, and guide their pre-clinical phase up to clinical phase I. The three main objectives are: 1) to explore patients' and policy makers' preferences on the candidate vaccines in Argentina and Spain; 2) to investigate health-related quality of life of patients affected by Chagas disease; and 3) to assess the potential health provider savings associated with the vaccines, in terms of resource use and health care costs.

Costs and cost-effectiveness of HIV counselling and testing modalities in Southern Mozambique.

Objective: Despite the high HIV associated burden, Mozambique lacks data on HIV counselling and testing (HCT) costs. To help guide national HIV/AIDS programs, we estimated the cost per test for voluntary counselling and testing (VCT) from the patient's perspective and the costs per person tested and per HIV-positive individual linked to care to the healthcare provider for VCT, provider-initiated counselling and testing (PICT) and home-based testing (HBT). We also assessed the cost-effectiveness of these strategies for linking patients to care.

Phase 3 evaluation of an innovative simple molecular test for the diagnosis of malaria in different endemic and health settings in sub-Saharan Africa (DIAGMAL).

Background: Rapid Diagnostic Tests (RDTs) have become the cornerstone for the management of malaria in many endemic settings, but their use is constrained for several reasons: (i) persistent malaria antigen (histidine-rich protein 2; HRP2) leading to false positive test results; (ii) hrp2 deletions leading to false negative PfHRP2 results; and (iii) limited sensitivity with a detection threshold of around 100 parasites/μl blood (pLDH- and HRP2-based) leading to false negative tests. Microscopy is still the gold standard for malaria diagnosis, and allows for species determination and quantitation, but requires trained microscopists, maintained microscopes and has detection limit issues. Consequently, there is a pressing need to develop and evaluate more sensitive and accurate diagnostic tests.

Household costs associated with seeking malaria treatment during pregnancy: evidence from Burkina Faso and The Gambia.

Background: Malaria in pregnancy remains a major health threat in sub-Saharan Africa to both expectant mothers and their unborn children. To date, there have been very few studies focused on the out of pocket costs associated with seeking treatment for malaria during pregnancy.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey was undertaken in Burkina Faso and The Gambia to estimate the direct and indirect costs associated with outpatient consultations (OP) and inpatient admissions (IP).

The Impact of the Priority Review Voucher on Research and Development for Tropical Diseases.

Background: In 2007, the priority review voucher (PRV) was implemented in the US to incentivize research and development (R&D) for tropical diseases. The PRV is issued by the US FDA and grants a quicker review to manufacturers upon successful development of a product for a disease eligible for the program.

Objective: The objective of this analysis was to assess whether the PRV has incentivized R&D (measured as clinical trial activity) for the intended tropical diseases.

A broader perspective on the economics of malaria prevention and the potential impact of SARS-CoV-2.

Economic evaluations of public health interventions to prevent malaria should consider the adoption of wider perspectives and the inclusion of non-health impacts, particularly economic development outcomes, such as education. This is especially relevant in malaria elimination settings and in the context of the current SARS-CoV-2 pandemic.

The impact of a malaria elimination initiative on school outcomes: Evidence from Southern Mozambique.

Despite the significant improvements achieved over the last ten years, primary education attainment in Mozambique is still low. Potential reasons acting from the demand perspective include ill health, among other factors. In Mozambique, ill health is still largely linked to malaria, which is a leading cause of outpatient contacts, hospital admissions and death, particularly among under-five and school-aged children.

Funding patterns for biomedical research and infectious diseases burden in Gabon.

Background: Biomedical research plays an important role in improving health. There seems to exist a negative correlation between the amount of biomedical research funding and disease burden from all Sub-Saharan African countries. In this study, we describe funding patterns for biomedical research, explore the correlation between funding and burden of diseases, and quantify inequalities in funds distribution across diseases in Gabon over the period 2005-2015.

A cluster randomized controlled trial for assessing POC-CCA test based praziquantel treatment for schistosomiasis control in pregnant women and their young children: study protocol of the freeBILy clinical trial in Madagascar.

Background: Mass drug administration (MDA) of praziquantel is one of the main control measures against human schistosomiasis. Although there are claims for including pregnant women, infants and children under the age of 5 years in high-endemic regions in MDA campaigns, they are usually not treated without a diagnosis. Diagnostic tools identifying infections at the primary health care centre (PHCC) level could therefore help to integrate these vulnerable groups into control programmes.

The short-term impact of a malaria elimination initiative in Southern Mozambique: Application of the synthetic control method to routine surveillance data.

In public health epidemiology, quasi-experimental methods are widely used to estimate the causal impacts of interventions. In this paper, we demonstrate the contribution the synthetic control method (SCM) can make in evaluating public health interventions, when routine surveillance data are available and the validity of other quasi-experimental approaches may be in question. In our application, we evaluate the short-term effects of a large-scale Mass Drug Administration (MDA) based malaria elimination initiative in Southern Mozambique.

Cost-effectiveness of district-wide seasonal malaria chemoprevention when implemented through routine malaria control programme in Kita, Mali using fixed point distribution.

Background: Seasonal malaria chemoprevention (SMC) is a strategy for malaria control recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) since 2012 for Sahelian countries. The Mali National Malaria Control Programme adopted a plan for pilot implementation and nationwide scale-up by 2016. Given that SMC is a relatively new approach, there is an urgent need to assess the costs and cost effectiveness of SMC when implemented through the routine health system to inform decisions on resource allocation.

Prospective, observational study to assess the performance of CAA measurement as a diagnostic tool for the detection of Schistosoma haematobium infections in pregnant women and their child in Lambaréné, Gabon: study protocol of the freeBILy clinical trial in Gabon.

Background: Schistosoma antigen detection in urine is a valuable diagnostic approach for schistosomiasis control programmes because of the higher sensitivity compared to parasitological methods and preferred sampling of urine over stool. Highly accurate diagnostics are important in low Schistosoma transmission areas. Pregnant women and young children could particularly benefit from antigen testing as praziquantel (PZQ) can be given to only confirmed Schistosoma cases.

Fast and reliable easy-to-use diagnostics for eliminating bilharzia in young children and mothers: An introduction to the freeBILy project.

Schistosoma antigen detection tests have a large potential for schistosomiasis control programs due to their ability to detect active and ongoing Schistosoma infections, their much higher sensitivity compared to microscopical methods, and the possibility to use non-invasive urine samples. Pregnant women and young children could especially benefit from affordable and easy-to-use antigen tests as inclusion of these vulnerable groups in mass drug administration campaigns will always require higher justification hurdles, especially in low to middle endemic regions with a higher proportion of individuals who are not infected and thus unnecessarily exposed to praziquantel. The overall objective of the 'fast and reliable easy-to-use diagnostics for eliminating bilharzia in young children and mothers' (freeBILy, www.

Evidence of high bed net usage from a list randomization experiments in rural Gambia.

Background: Recording behaviours that have the potential to impact health can be doubly challenging if the behaviour takes place in private spaces that cannot be observed directly, and where respondents answer what they think the recorder may want to hear. Sleeping under a long-lasting insecticidal net (LLIN) is an important intervention for malaria prevention, yet it is difficult to gauge the extent to which coverage (how many nets are in the community) differs from usage (how many people actually sleep under a net). List randomization, a novel method which partially obscures respondents' answers to sensitive questions, was employed to estimate LLIN usage in The Gambia.