Perceptions of Health Communication, Water Treatment and Sanitation in Artibonite Department, Haiti, March-April 2012.

The international response to Haiti's ongoing cholera outbreak has been multifaceted, including health education efforts by community health workers and the distribution of free water treatment products. Artibonite Department was the first region affected by the outbreak. Numerous organizations have been involved in cholera response efforts in Haiti with many focusing on efforts to improve water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH).

CDC's Early Response to a Novel Viral Disease, Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV), September 2012-May 2014.

The first ever case of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) was reported in September 2012. This report describes the approaches taken by CDC, in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO) and other partners, to respond to this novel virus, and outlines the agency responses prior to the first case appearing in the United States in May 2014. During this time, CDC's response integrated multiple disciplines and was divided into three distinct phases: before, during, and after the initial activation of its Emergency Operations Center.

Discourse on malaria elimination: where do forcibly displaced persons fit in these discussions?

Background: Individuals forcibly displaced are some of the poorest people in the world, living in areas where infrastructure and services are at a bare minimum. Out of a total of 10,549,686 refugees protected and assisted by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees globally, 6,917,496 (65.6%) live in areas where malaria is transmitted.

Malaria in Kakuma refugee camp, Turkana, Kenya: facilitation of Anopheles arabiensis vector populations by installed water distribution and catchment systems.

Background: Malaria is a major health concern for displaced persons occupying refugee camps in sub-Saharan Africa, yet there is little information on the incidence of infection and nature of transmission in these settings. Kakuma Refugee Camp, located in a dry area of north-western Kenya, has hosted ca. 60,000 to 90,000 refugees since 1992, primarily from Sudan and Somalia.

A retrospective analysis of the change in anti-malarial treatment policy: Peru.

Background: National malaria control programmes must deal with the complex process of changing national malaria treatment guidelines, often without guidance on the process of change. Selecting a replacement drug is only one issue in this process. There is a paucity of literature describing successful malaria treatment policy changes to help guide control programs through this process.

Dispensary level pilot implementation of rapid diagnostic tests: an evaluation of RDT acceptance and usage by providers and patients--Tanzania, 2005.

Background: Malaria rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) may assist in diagnosis, improve prescribing practices and reduce potential drug resistance development. Without understanding operational issues or acceptance and usage by providers and patients, the costs of these tests may not be justified.

Objectives: To evaluate the impact of RDTs on prescribing behaviours, assess prescribers' and patients' perceptions, and identify operational issues during implementation.

Participation of African social scientists in malaria control: identifying enabling and constraining factors.

Objective: To examine the enabling and constraining factors that influence African social scientists involvement in malaria control.

Methods: Convenience and snowball sampling was used to identify participants. Data collection was conducted in two phases: a mailed survey was followed by in-depth phone interviews with selected individuals chosen from the survey.

The process of changing national malaria treatment policy: lessons from country-level studies.

Widespread resistance of Plasmodium falciparum parasites to commonly used antimalarials, such as chloroquine, has resulted in many endemic countries considering changing their malaria treatment policy. Identifying and understanding the key influences that affect decision-making, and factors that facilitate or undermine policy implementation, is critical for improving the policy process and guiding resource allocation during this process. A historical review of archival documents from Malaŵi and data obtained from in-depth policy studies in four countries (Tanzania, South Africa, Kenya and Peru) that have changed malaria treatment policy provides important lessons about decision-making, the policy cycle and complex policy environment, while specifically identifying strategies successfully employed to facilitate policy-making and implementation.

The social burden of malaria: what are we measuring?

Definitions of the burden of malaria vary by public health discipline. Epidemiologists and economists commonly use a quantitative approach to measure risk factors and associate them with disease outcomes. In contrast, since burden is itself a cultural construct, an anthropologic perspective of the burden of disease considers the sociocultural context in which these risk factors exist.

Social sciences in malaria control.

The second annual meeting of the Partnership for Social Sciences in Malaria Control was held at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, UK, from 8 to 10 January 2002.