Publications by authors named "Imelda Bates"

Background: Solutions to global health challenges depend on nations' capacity for cross-disciplinary research in global health. Despite longstanding demands for practical guidelines, published guidance and frameworks for evaluating cross-disciplinary research are scarce and scattered among disciplines. We aimed to bring together information on how cross-disciplinary research has been evaluated and collate the frameworks and tools that have been used to advance knowledge and practice about the design and evaluation of cross-disciplinary research in global health.

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Introduction: In sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), an adequate supply of safe blood for transfusion is a major developmental challenge. In Ghana, deferral from blood donation for anemia accounts for nearly half of the ineligible blood donors. We conducted a longitudinal two-arm parallel-group non-inferiority trial to test if iron supplementation among blood donors with iron deficiency (ID) or anemia could increase their hemoglobin levels to near those without ID or anemia.

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Article Synopsis
  • - The study established normal reference ranges for spleen size in different age groups of healthy individuals in North-Eastern Nigeria to serve as a baseline for assessing spleen size in patients with sickle cell disease.
  • - Spleen sizes were measured using ultrasound in both healthy controls and steady-state sickle cell disease patients, with classifications into small, normal, or enlarged sizes based on age-specific values.
  • - Findings indicated that among the sickle cell disease patients, 8.87% had small spleens, 33.3% had normal-sized spleens, and 10.3% had enlarged spleens, providing important data for monitoring spleen health in malaria-endemic areas.
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Objective: To determine structural and process readiness for postpartum haemorrhage (PPH) care at referral-level facilities in Ghana and Uganda to identify opportunities for strengthening.

Design: Mixed-methods cross-sectional study.

Setting: Three districts in Ghana and two in Uganda.

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'Research capacity strengthening' (RCS) is an umbrella term that can be used to describe a wide variety of activities conducted in support of diverse objectives premised upon distinct, potentially opposing, views. Despite this, the ultimate objective of RCS activities is rarely made explicit which can be problematic when diverse objectives are possible. By 'ultimate' objective we are referring to the overarching (often long-term) goal an RCS initiative is intended to contribute towards (e.

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The optimum number of units of blood and the associated number of blood donors required to meet a given population's needs remain undetermined globally. Typically, a whole blood donation rate of ten donations per 1000 population, at a minimum, is necessary to meet a country's blood needs. This rate is attributed to a WHO recommendation that 1% of a given country's population should donate blood to ensure a blood supply that is sufficient to meet clinical needs.

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Anaemia is one of the most common conditions in low- and middle-income countries, with prevalence increasing during pregnancy. The highest burden is in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, where the prevalence of anaemia in pregnancy is 41.7% and 40%, respectively.

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Background: The Africa Capacity Building Initiative (ACBI) programme aimed to 'strengthen the research and training capacity of higher education institutions and support the development of individual scientists in sub-Saharan Africa through UK-Africa research collaborations' including by funding PhD studentships. We conducted research to understand students' experiences and to see how consortia-based programmes such as ACBI and their own institutions can enhance PhD students' research environment and progress.

Methods: In-depth interviews with 35 ACBI-funded PhD students explored their perspectives about how their research and personal development benefitted from belonging to a research consortium.

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Background: Maternal anaemia (anaemia in pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum period) remains a persistent challenge, particularly in Kano State, Nigeria, which has the highest prevalence of maternal anaemia globally, at 72%.

Methods: We conducted a qualitative study in Murtala Muhammad Specialist Hospital in Kano State, Nigeria. We aimed to identify factors constraining uptake and provision of maternal anaemia care, exploring perspectives across different stakeholders.

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Malaria is considered an important cause of morbidity and mortality among people living with sickle cell disease (SCD). This has partly been attributed to the loss of splenic function that occurs early in the disease process. We conducted a cross-sectional study and determined the frequency of malaria infection among SCD patients and explored the association with spleen's presence on ultrasonography and spleen function assessed using the frequency of Howell-Jolly bodies (HJBs).

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Article Synopsis
  • There is a new focus on improving health research in Africa by putting more control in the hands of African leaders and researchers.
  • Experts found that the ways to check and measure how well these research programs are working need to improve, especially in collecting more complete data.
  • Sharing what they learn from measuring these programs can help everyone get better at supporting health research in the future.
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Introduction: The Partnership to Increase the Impact of Vector Control sought to develop the research and leadership capacity of 10 African postdoctoral vectorborne disease scientists via a 'learn-by-doing' approach. We identified factors that either supported or hindered their development and, drawing on this information, determined key lessons for future programmes with similar objectives.

Methods: A longitudinal qualitative study encompassing focus group discussions and semistructured interviews conducted with the cohort of African postdoctoral fellows, programme leadership, supervisory and research support staff (N=28).

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Background: Although loss of splenic function is the expected natural course for individuals with sickle cell disease (SCD), factors such as high HbF and coexistence of alpha thalassemia may ameliorate this process. We evaluated factors associated with two surrogate markers of spleen dysfunction, namely Howell-Jolly bodies (HJBs) and argyrophilic inclusion (AI) red cell counts, among patients with SCD.

Methods: Cross-sectional data of 182 patients with SCD (median age 11 y; 1-45 y) and 102 normal controls (median age 12 y; 1-32 y) were evaluated.

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Objective: In patients with sickle cell disease (SCD), the spleen commonly enlarges during early childhood, but undergoes reduction in size and fibrosis from repeated episodes of vaso-occlusion and infarction. The rate of progression of this process varies markedly among these patients. The aim of current study was to explore clinical and laboratory factors associated with the preservation of the spleen among these patients.

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The loss of splenic function is associated with an increased risk of infection in sickle cell disease (SCD); however, spleen function is rarely documented among SCD patients in Africa, due partly to the non-availability of sophisticated techniques such as scintigraphy. Methods of assessing splenic function which may be achievable in resource-poor settings include counting red blood cells (RBC) containing Howell Jolly Bodies (HJB) and RBC containing silver-staining (argyrophilic) inclusions (AI) using a light microscope. We evaluated the presence of HJB-and AI-containing RBC as markers of splenic dysfunction among SCD patients in Nigeria.

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Research systems and cultures have been criticised for their detrimental effect on members' mental health and well-being. Many international research programmes operate through research consortia that have the resources to make a substantial contribution to improving the research environment in their member organisations. This paper collates real-life examples from several large international consortia-based research programmes about how they strengthened organisations' research capacity.

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Background And Objective: Blood donation is known to result in iron deficiency (ID), with a higher prevalence in females. There is little published data on the frequency of ID among blood donors in resource-poor settings. We determined the prevalence of ID in blood donors in Uganda.

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Objectives: To estimate the fraction of anaemia attributable to malaria and sickle cell disease (SCD) among children aged 6-59 months in Nigeria.

Design: Cross-sectional analysis of data from Nigeria's 2018 Demographic and Health Survey (DHS).

Setting: Nigeria.

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Article Synopsis
  • - The BLOODSAFE Program was created to address the critical shortage of blood supply in Sub-Saharan Africa, aiming to improve access to safe blood transfusions through collaborative research efforts.
  • - Research teams in Ghana, Kenya, and Malawi are tackling various challenges related to blood donation, including iron deficiency among donors, blood donation workflows, and donor retention strategies in schools.
  • - The initiative fosters collaboration among the teams and a data coordinating center, working together to understand donor motivations and outcomes, ultimately leading to sustainable improvements in blood access and enhancing research capabilities in the region.
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The 'DELTAS Africa CPE seed fund' was a pilot scheme designed to strengthen capacity in community and public engagement (CPE) via a 'learn by doing' approach.   The scheme supported a total of 25 early career researchers and research support staff belonging to the DELTAS Africa network to design and implement a variety of CPE projects between August 2019 and February 2021.  We examine recipient experiences of the DELTAS Africa CPE seed fund initiative, changes in their CPE attitudes, knowledge and proficiency and their CPE practice and/or practice intentions post-award.

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Introduction: COVID-19 has tested the resilience of health systems globally and exposed existing strengths and weaknesses. We sought to understand health systems COVID-19 adaptations and decision making in Liberia and Merseyside, UK.

Methods: We used a people-centred approach to carry out qualitative interviews with 24 health decision-makers at national and county level in Liberia and 42 actors at county and hospital level in the UK (Merseyside).

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Introduction: We explore how health research consortia may be better structured to support research capacity strengthening (RCS) outcomes. The primary research questions include: in what ways do consortium members perceive that they and their respective institutions' research capacity is strengthened from said membership? And, drawing on member experiences, what are the common factors that enable these perceived gains in research capacity to be realised?

Methods: A qualitative study set within the 'Developing Excellence in Leadership, Training and Science' (DELTAS) Africa initiative. Semi-structured interviews were completed with 69 participants from seven institutions across six African countries belonging to three DELTAS Africa consortia.

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