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Summary: Background: Chronic cough is a common respiratory symptom with an impact on daily activities and quality of life. Global prevalence data are scarce and derive mainly from European and Asian countries and studies with outcomes other than chronic cough. In this study, we aimed to estimate the prevalence of chronic cough across a large number of study sites as well as to identify its main risk factors using a standardised protocol and definition. Methods: We analysed cross-sectional data from 33,983 adults (≥40 years), recruited between Jan 2, 2003 and Dec 26, 2016, in 41 sites (34 countries) from the Burden of Obstructive Lung Disease (BOLD) study. We estimated the prevalence of chronic cough for each site accounting for sampling design. To identify risk factors, we conducted multivariable logistic regression analysis within each site and then pooled estimates using random-effects meta-analysis. We also calculated the population attributable risk (PAR) associated with each of the identifed risk factors. Findings: The prevalence of chronic cough varied from 3% in India (rural Pune) to 24% in the United States of America (Lexington,KY). Chronic cough was more common among females, both current and passive smokers, those working in a dusty job, those with a history of tuberculosis, those who were obese, those with a low level of education and those with hypertension or airflow limitation. The most influential risk factors were current smoking and working in a dusty job. Interpretation: Our findings suggested that the prevalence of chronic cough varies widely across sites in different world regions. Cigarette smoking and exposure to dust in the workplace are its major risk factors. Funding: Wellcome Trust.

Background Pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) is an effective strategy to improve breathlessness, health status and exercise tolerance and to reduce readmissions and mortality. In India, there is no government health programme for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) management while in the private sector availability of PR is limited. Most PR centres are in urban areas, with few services accessible to rural populations. We aimed to assess the need for PR from the perspective of patients with COPD and healthcare professionals (HCPs: registered medical practitioners and medical officers) in rural Maharashtra.Methodology Between June and October 2020, we conducted semi-structured interviews with 14 patients with COPD and 9 HCPs to explore their perceptions of, and need for, PR in rural Maharashtra. Interviews were transcribed and analysed thematically.Results We approached 14 patients with COPD and 9 HCPs practising in rural areas. Five HCPs stated that they did not advise PR for patients with COPD citing poor compliance to PR referral and follow-up of the patients. Patients with COPD had symptoms and needs that could be helped by PR but commented how transportation would be a problem for them to visit a PR centre. In contrast, they could understand the benefits of PR and expressed their willingness to join such programmes. A PR service was established that addressed these needs.Conclusion Patients with COPD have unmet needs that could benefit from attending a PR programme, but there are barriers at both healthcare and patient levels that we addressed in a new PR service for people with chronic respiratory disease in rural Maharashtra.

The Health and Demographic Surveillance System (HDSS) is a valuable longitudinal cohort study that tracks the health and demographic changes of a geographically defined population, serving as a platform for research and evidence-based policymaking. In India, there are nearly 20 HDSS sites covering diverse areas and populations totaling around two million. To foster collaboration, the Indian HDSS Network (IHN) was formed, comprising 19 sites from 16 institutes, covering a population of 1.5 million. The IHN aims to standardize data collection processes while allowing site-specific autonomy, generating high-quality longitudinal health, and demographic data. To ensure effective coordination, a governance structure with a rotating secretariat and working committee was proposed. The IHN envisions conducting robust multicentric research, supporting data-driven efforts to improve population health, and promoting research-policy synergy. The network's outcomes have the potential to optimize health research funding, generate epidemiological data, and provide evidence for public health policy. Collaboration within the IHN strengthens HDSS sites in newer technologies and community-based research, fostering capacity building. Seed funding is being sought to formalize and support the day-to-day functioning of the network, which holds promise for advancing population health and informing policymaking in India.

Abstract Several factors including sex and lifestyle have been reported to contribute to the age-related alteration of immune functions. The study was undertaken to determine age-related differences in the proportion of peripheral blood mononuclear lymphocytes in the Indian population using blood samples from 67 healthy adults (33 females and 34 males) aged between 20 and 80 years old. In the linear regression analysis to estimate the relationship with age categories, there was a significant increase in the frequency of natural killer cells with ageing, while their cytolytic activity significantly declined. The frequency of CD4+ T cells increased with age, whereas that of CD8+ T cells decreased, resulting in the age-associated increase of the CD4/CD8 ratio. The subsets of B cells did not show any significant relationship with age. Although there were variations between the male and female subgroups in effect size of ageing, the trends were in the same direction in all the parameters. Reduced fat intake was associated with a lower frequency of CD4+ T cells, and higher serum cotinine level was associated with a higher CD4/CD8 ratio. The results indicate that cellular immunity in the Indian population is affected by ageing, while humoral immunity is less susceptible to ageing.

High blood pressure (BP) remains a public health issue of concern in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Cooking with solid biomass fuel is common in LMICs, producing hazardous levels of household air pollution (HAP), and exposure to which results in significant morbidity and mortality. The primary victims are women, who are the immediate users. Therefore, a potential relationship between these factors would have massive public health reverberations. Our objective was thus to perform a literature review of the studies investigating the association between HAP and BP in women. We searched the PubMed, CORE, and Semantic Scholar databases from inception through March 2022 to identify reports investigating the relationship between BP and HAP from solid fuel use. The studies included in this report point to an increased risk of high BP from HAP generated as a consequence of using solid fuels for cooking. Conversely, few studies have reported a negative association between HAP and BP. Notably, this inconsistency and the limited evidence base necessitate confirmation of the association by more extensive and robust studies. Further, this report identifies a need to introduce and implement effective clean cooking solutions for public health benefits.

Abstract Background Evidence-based health system guidelines are pivotal tools to help outline the important financial, policy and service components recommended to achieve a sustainable and resilient health system. However, not all guidelines are readily translatable into practice and/or policy without effective and tailored implementation and adaptation techniques. This scoping review mapped the evidence related to the adaptation and implementation of health system guidelines in low- and middle-income countries. Methods We conducted a scoping review following the Joanna Briggs Institute methodology for scoping reviews. A search strategy was implemented in MEDLINE (Ovid), Embase, CINAHL, LILACS (VHL Regional Portal), and Web of Science databases in late August 2020. We also searched sources of grey literature and reference lists of potentially relevant reviews. All findings were reported following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Extension for Scoping Reviews. Results A total of 41 studies were included in the final set of papers. Common strategies were identified for adapting and implementing health system guidelines, related barriers and enablers, and indicators of success. The most common types of implementation strategies included education, clinical supervision, training and the formation of advisory groups. A paucity of reported information was also identified related to adaptation initiatives. Barriers to and enablers of implementation and adaptation were reported across studies, including the need for financial sustainability. Common approaches to evaluation were identified and included outcomes of interest at both the patient and health system level. Conclusions The findings from this review suggest several themes in the literature and identify a need for future research to strengthen the evidence base for improving the implementation and adaptation of health system guidelines in low- and middle-income countries. The findings can serve as a future resource for researchers seeking to evaluate implementation and adaptation of health system guidelines. Our findings also suggest that more effort may be required across research, policy and practice sectors to support the adaptation and implementation of health system guidelines to local contexts and health system arrangements in low- and middle-income countries.

Background: Chronic respiratory diseases (CRD), especially asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), are common public health problems resulting in a substantial burden of disease for individuals. There is a need to understand the perceptions and practices of primary care physicians (“general practitioners [GPs]”) who provide most of the health care in rural India. We surveyed all private and public practitioners listed as practising in a rural area of Western India with the aim of identifying GPs (GPs: graduates, registered and allowed to practice in India) to understand their training, working arrangements, and asthma/COPD workload. Methodology: We administered a short questionnaire at educational meetings or via e-mail to all private and public practitioners listed as providing community-based services in the Junnar block, Pune district, Maharashtra. The survey asked about qualifications, experience, and working arrangements, and about current asthma and COPD workload. A descriptive analysis was performed. Results: We approached 474 practitioners (434 from private sector and 40 from public sector). Eighty-eight were no longer practising in the study area. The response rate was 330/354 (93.2%) of private and 28/32 (87.5%) of public sector practitioners. We excluded 135 nonrespiratory hospital specialists and 23 private practitioners whose highest qualification was a diploma. Our final sample of 200 GPs (70% males) was 177 from private sector and 23 from public sector. The private GPs had more experience in clinical practice in comparison to public GPs (18.6 vs. 12.8 years). Eighty-four percent of GPs from the private sector only had Ayurveda, Yoga, Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, and Homoeopathy (AYUSH) qualifications, though >90% provided “modern medicine” services. In the public sector, 43.5% GPs only had AYUSH qualifications, though all provided “modern medicine” services. A minority (9% of private GPs and 16% of public GPs) provided both services. Nearly two-thirds (62%) of private GPs had inpatient facilities compared to only 9% of public sector GPs. In both sectors, more GPs stated that they managed people with asthma than treated COPD (Private: 97% vs. 75%; Public 87% vs. 57%). Conclusion: Many GPs practising “modern medicine” only had qualifications in Ayurveda/Homeopathy and fewer GPs are involved in the management of COPD as compared to asthma. These are important factors that form the context for initiatives seeking to improve the quality of community-based care for people with CRD in Maharashtra state in India.

Introduction: Controlled Human Infection Model (CHIM) studies provide a unique platform for studying the pathophysiology of infectious diseases and accelerated testing of vaccines and drugs in controlled settings. However, ethical issues shroud them as the disease-causing pathogen is intentionally inoculated into healthy consenting volunteers, and effective treatment may or may not be available. We explored the perceptions of the members of institutional ethics committees (IECs) in India about CHIM studies. Methods: This qualitative exploratory study, conducted across seven sites in India, included 11 focused group discussions (FGD) and 31 in-depth interviews (IDI). A flexible approach was used with the aid of a topic guide. The data were thematically analyzed using grounded theory and an inductive approach. Emerging themes and sub-themes were analyzed, and major emergent themes were elucidated. Results: Seventy-two IEC members participated in the study including 21 basic medical scientists, 29 clinicians, 9 lay people, 6 legal experts and 7 social scientists. Three major themes emerged from this analysis—apprehensions about conduct of CHIM studies in India, a perceived need for CHIM studies in India and risk mitigation measures needed to protect research participants and minimize the associated risks. Conclusion: Development of a specific regulatory and ethical framework, training of research staff and ethics committee members, and ensuring specialized research infrastructure along with adequate community sensitization were considered essential before initiation of CHIM studies in India.

Abstract Routinely children are exposed to various procedures as a part of clinical care and/or research participation. Public health strategies to contain current COVID‐19 pandemic demanded massive nasopharyngeal swab testing but limited data exist to confirm the extent of the pain and distress that result from this procedure. These data could help clinicians to formulate mitigation strategies, influence public health directives, and inform review boards/ethics committees to decide on risk‐benefit ratio of the procedure. Hence, an observational study to assess perceived distress was nested in a phase IV alternate and reduced dose schedule trial of the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) in which nasopharyngeal swab (NPS) was used to collect nasopharyngeal secretions as part of the study procedure. Out of 805 infant participants enrolled in the main study, a total of 425 infants were enrolled and observed for procedural distress at 18 weeks and 10 months of age using the Face Leg Activity Cry and Consolability (FLACC) Scale. The FLACC score and duration of cry were recorded. The mean FLACC score changed substantially from preprocedural to procedure in both age groups (from 0.08 to 5.8 at 18 weeks and from 0.5 to 7.007 at 10 months. P =

Abstract Background Micronutrient deficiency is a known cause of adverse neurodevelopment and growth. Poor adherence to oral regimes of micronutrient supplements is a known challenge during the implementation of supplementation programs. The present study evaluates the benefits of liposomal encapsulated micronutrient fortified body oils (LMF oil) that can be used for infant body massage in terms of neurodevelopment and prevention of deficiency. Study design Double-blind randomized clinical trial. Methods A total of 444 healthy infants aged 4-7 weeks were randomized to receive either LMF oil (containing iron, vitamin D, folate, and vitamin B12) or placebo oil for gentle body massage till 12 months of age. Blood samples were collected at 6 and 12 months for transferrin saturation (TSAT), hemoglobin, and 25-hydroxy vitamin (25-OH-D) levels. Mental and motor development was assessed at 12 months using developmental assessment for Indian Infants (DASII). Results A total of 391 infants completed the study. There was no significant improvement in the hemoglobin in the intervention group at 12 months of age as compared to the placebo group [− 0.50 vs.-0.54 g%]. There was a marginally significant improvement in 25-OH-D at 12 months in the LMF oil group [+ 1.46vs.-0.18 ng/ml, p = 0.049]. In the subgroup of infants with moderate anemia, the intervention prevented the decline in hemoglobin at 12 months of age [adjusted mean change + 0.11vs.-0.51 g%, p = 0.043]. The mental or motor developmental quotients in the intervention group were not significantly different from those in the placebo group. Conclusion Use of LMF oil for prevention of nutritional deficiency did not offer significant protection against nutritional anemia but prevented vitamin D deficiency to some extent with improvement in 25-OH-D at 12 months. In the subgroup of infants with moderate anemia, the intervention prevented the decline in hemoglobin at 12 months of age. The intervention did not result in significant improvement in mental or motor development. Further evaluation with increased doses needs to be undertaken. Trial registration CTRI no: CTRI/2017/11/010710 ; dated 30/11/2017.

Background: Systematic assessment of childhood asthma is challenging in low- and middle-income country (LMIC) settings due to the lack of standardised and validated methodologies. We describe the contextual challenges and adaptation strategies in the implementation of a community-based asthma assessment in four resource-constrained settings in Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan. Method: We followed a group of children of age 6–8 years for 12 months to record their respiratory health outcomes. The study participants were enrolled at four study sites of the ‘Aetiology of Neonatal Infection in South Asia (ANISA)’ study. We standardised the research methods for the sites, trained field staff for uniform data collection and provided a ‘Child Card’ to the caregiver to record the illness history of the participants. We visited the children on three different occasions to collect data on respiratory-related illnesses. The lung function of the children was assessed in the outreach clinics using portable spirometers before and after 6-minute exercise, and capillary blood was examined under light microscopes to determine eosinophil levels. Results: We enrolled 1512 children, 95.5% (1476/1512) of them completed the follow-up, and 81.5% (1232/1512) participants attended the lung function assessment tests. Pre- and post-exercise spirometry was performed successfully in 88.6% (1091/1232) and 85.7% (1056/1232) of children who attempted these tests. Limited access to health care services, shortage of skilled human resources, and cultural diversity were the main challenges in adopting uniform procedures across all sites. Designing the study implementation plan based on the local contexts and providing extensive training of the healthcare workers helped us to overcome these challenges. Conclusion: This study can be seen as a large-scale feasibility assessment of applying spirometry and exercise challenge tests in community settings of LMICs and provides confidence to build capacity to evaluate children’s respiratory outcomes in future translational research studies.

Abstract Background Globally, community health workers (CHWs) are integral contributors to many health systems. In India, Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs) have been deployed since 2005. Engaged in multiple health care activities, they are a key link between the health system and population. ASHAs are expected to participate in new health programmes prompting interest in their current workload from the perspective of the health system, community and their family. Methods This mixed-methods design study was conducted in rural and tribal Primary Health Centers (PHCs), in Pune district, Western Maharashtra, India. All ASHAs affiliated with these PHCs were invited to participate in the quantitative study, those agreeing to contribute in-depth interviews (IDI) were enrolled in an additional qualitative study. Key informants’ interviews were conducted with the Auxiliary Nurse Midwife (ANM), Block Facilitators (BFF) and Medical Officers (MO) of the same PHCs. Quantitative data were analysed using descriptive statistics. Qualitative data were analysed thematically. Results We recruited 67 ASHAs from the two PHCs. ASHAs worked up to 20 h/week in their village of residence, serving populations of approximately 800–1200, embracing an increasing range of activities, despite a workload that contributed to feelings of being rushed and tiredness. They juggled household work, other paid jobs and their ASHA activities. Practical problems with travel added to time involved, especially in tribal areas where transport is lacking. Their sense of benefiting the community coupled with respect and recognition gained in village brought happiness and job satisfaction. They were willing to take on new tasks. ASHAs perceived themselves as ‘voluntary community health workers’ rather than as ‘health activists”. Conclusions ASHAs were struggling to balance their significant ASHA work and domestic tasks. They were proud of their role as CHWs and willing to take on new activities. Strategies to recruit, train, skills enhancement, incentivise, and retain ASHAs, need to be prioritised. Evolving attitudes to the advantages/disadvantages of current voluntary status and role of ASHAs need to be understood and addressed if ASHAs are to be remain a key component in achieving universal health coverage in India.

This paper describes unique challenges faced during conduct of community research studies in rural population of Maharashtra at Vadu Rural Health Program, Pune, India. Some of the ethical issues faced include difficulty in comprehending the informed consent by rural families with low education levels and ensuring adequate compensation for study participation without undue inducement, ensuring large number of recruitments during early infancy, ensuring adherence to intervention by care-providers, retention of participants especially in studies having long follow-ups and regulatory compliance for serious adverse event reports are major operational challenges. The delays faced in approvals from the Health Ministry Screening Committee and lack of specific regulatory guidance on community-based conduct of studies pose challenges in terms of study timelines and operational aspect of these studies. Provision of study-related information during prestudy visits, designing patient information sheets in simple language, involving the decision-making member of the family, adequate time for families for decision-making are certain measures that have been useful for effective informed consent administration. Collaboration with accredited social health activists and auxillary nurse midwives for line-listing of pregnancies and births and regular conduction of prestudy visits or community sensitization meetings have been useful for the recruitment of large number of study participants during infancy. Strategies such as provision of universal immunization, selection of field research assistants from the local population, regular home visits, and provision of medical care has been helpful in retention of the study participants. Networking with local health facilities and local government bodies has helped in the provision of medical care to the study participants and in the management of serious adverse events. Our experience can provide important learnings to other investigators from developing countries working in the domain of child health.

Abstract Background Although COPD among non-smokers (NS-COPD) is common, little is known about this phenotype. We compared NS-COPD subjects with smoking COPD (S-COPD) patients in a rural Indian population using a variety of clinical, physiological, radiological, sputum cellular and blood biomarkers. Methods Two hundred ninety subjects (118 healthy, 79 S-COPD, 93 NS-COPD) performed pre- and post-bronchodilator spirometry and were followed for 2 years to study the annual rate of decline in lung function. Body plethysmography, impulse oscillometry, inspiratory-expiratory HRCT, induced sputum cellular profile and blood biomarkers were compared between 49 healthy, 45 S-COPD and 55 NS-COPD subjects using standardized methods. Spirometric response to oral corticosteroids was measured in 30 female NS-COPD patients. Results Compared to all male S-COPD subjects, 47% of NS-COPD subjects were female, were younger by 3.2 years, had greater body mass index, a slower rate of decline in lung function (80 vs 130 mL/year), more small airways obstruction measured by impulse oscillometry (p

IntroductionLarge-scale sero-prevalence studies with representation from all age groups are required to estimate the true burden of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infections in the community. Serial serological surveys in fixed cohorts enable study of dynamics of viral transmission and correlates of immune response over time in the context of gradual introduction of COVID-19 vaccines and repeated upsurge of cases during the pandemic.MethodsThis longitudinal study will involve follow-up of a cohort of 25,000 individuals (5,000 per site) aged 2 years and above recruited from five existing demographic surveillance sites in India. The cohort will be tested for the presence of IgG antibodies against S1/S2 spike protein subunits of SARS-CoV-2 in four rounds; once at baseline and subsequently, at intervals of 4 months for a year between January 2021 and January 2022. Neutralization assays will be carried out in a subset of seropositive samples in each round to quantify the antibody response and to estimate the durability of antibody response. Serial serological surveys will be complemented by fortnightly phone based syndromic surveillance to assess the burden of symptomatic acute febrile illness/ influenza like illness in the same cohort. A bio-repository will also be established to store the serum samples collected in all rounds of serological surveys.DiscussionThe population based sero-epidemiological studies will help to determine the burden of COVID-19 at the community level in urban and rural Indian populations and guide in monitoring the trends in the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Risk factors for infection will be identified to inform future control strategies. The serial serological surveys in the same set of participants will help determine the viral transmission dynamics and durability of neutralizing immune response in participants with or without symptomatic COVID infection.

Health and Demographic Surveillance Systems (HDSS) have been developed in several low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) in Africa and Asia. This paper reviews their history, state of the art and future potential and highlights substantial areas of contribution by the late Professor Peter Byass. Historically, HDSS appeared in the second half of the twentieth century, responding to a dearth of accurate population data in poorly resourced settings to contextualise the study of interventions to improve health and well-being. The progress of the development of this network is described starting with Pholela, and progressing through Gwembe, Balabgarh, Niakhar, Matlab, Navrongo, Agincourt, Farafenni, and Butajira, and the emergence of the INDEPTH Network in the early 1990’s The paper describes the HDSS methodology, data, strengths, and limitations. The strengths are particularly their temporal coverage, detail, dense linkage, and the fact that they exist in chronically under-documented populations in LMICs where HDSS sites operate. The main limitations are generalisability to a national population and a potential Hawthorne effect, whereby the project itself may have changed characteristics of the population. The future will include advances in HDSS data harmonisation, accessibility, and protection. Key applications of the data are to validate and assess bias in other datasets. A strong collaboration between a national HDSS network and the national statistics office is modelled in South Africa and Sierra Leone, and it is possible that other low- to middle-income countries will see the benefit and take this approach.

Background: To control the transmission of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection, the Government of India (GoI) had taken stringent precautionary measures during the lockdown period. This study aimed to explore determinants affecting adherence to protective measures against COVID-19 infection among rural and semi-urban settings of Maharashtra, India.Methods: A cross-sectional telephonic survey among 1,016 adults from randomly selected households was conducted between June 5 and July 16, 2020. The data were explored for knowledge, awareness, practices related to protective measures, and self-risk perception. Socio-demographic and attitudinal correlates of failure to use protective measures against COVID-19 were measured.Results: In the survey, 72% of the participants were men. The mean age was 46 years (SD: 13.8). The main source of information was television (91%); however, information from healthcare providers (65%) and mass media announcements (49%) was trustworthy. Washing hands immediately with soap after returning from outdoors was reported by 95% of the respondents, always using a mask while outdoors by 94%, never attended social gatherings by 91%, always using hand sanitizer while outside by 77%, and 68% of the respondents followed all protective measures. The knowledge score [mean score 20.3 (SD: 2.4) out of 24] was independently associated with the risk of not using protective measures, with each unit increase in knowledge score, the risk of not using protective measures reduced by 16%. No source of income was independently associated with not using protective measures [AOR 1.5 95% CI (1.01–2.3)].Conclusions: The COVID-19 public health interventions and behavior change communication strategies should be specifically directed towards the low socio-economic populations through trusted sources. The association between knowledge and practices demonstrates the importance of accurate public health communication to optimally follow preventive measures, such as structural interventions to address poverty and employment policies to address the unemployment crisis are required. Surveillance activity is needed to understand the actual behavior change among the population.

Household air pollution from the combustion of biomass and coal is estimated to cause approximately 780,000 premature deaths a year in India. The government has responded by promoting uptake of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) by tens of millions of poor rural families. Many poor households with new LPG stoves, however, continue to partially use traditional smoky chulhas. Our primary objective was to evaluate three strategies to transition pregnant women in rural Maharashtra to exclusive use of LPG for cooking. We also measured reductions in kitchen concentrations of PM2.5 before and after our interventions. Our core intervention was a free stove, 2 free LPG cylinders (one on loan until delivery), and repeated health messaging. We measured stove usage of both the traditional and intervention stoves until delivery. In households that received the core intervention, an average of 66% days had no indoor cooking on a chulha. In an adjacent area, we evaluated a conditional cash transfer (CCT) based on usage of LPG in addition to the core intervention. Results were less successful, due to challenges implementing the CCT. Pregnant women in a third nearby area received the core intervention plus a maximum of one 14.2 kg cylinder per month of free fuel. In their homes, 90% of days had no indoor cooking on a chulha. On average, exclusive LPG use decreased kitchen concentrations of PM2.5 by approximately 85% (from 520 to 72 μg/m3). 85% of participating households agreed to pay the deposit on the 2nd cylinder. This high purchase rate suggests they valued how the second cylinder permitted continuous LPG supply. A program to increase access to second cylinders may, thus, be a straightforward way to encourage use of clean fuels in rural areas. Keywords: Clean fuels, Liquefied petroleum gas, Household energy, Energy transitions, Biomass, Cooking, Intervention

Summary: Background: Human metapneumovirus is a common virus associated with acute lower respiratory infections (ALRIs) in children. No global burden estimates are available for ALRIs associated with human metapneumovirus in children, and no licensed vaccines or drugs exist for human metapneumovirus infections. We aimed to estimate the age-stratified human metapneumovirus-associated ALRI global incidence, hospital admissions, and mortality burden in children younger than 5 years. Methods: We estimated the global burden of human metapneumovirus-associated ALRIs in children younger than 5 years from a systematic review of 119 studies published between Jan 1, 2001, and Dec 31, 2019, and a further 40 high quality unpublished studies. We assessed risk of bias using a modified Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. We estimated incidence, hospital admission rates, and in-hospital case-fatality ratios (hCFRs) of human metapneumovirus-associated ALRI using a generalised linear mixed model. We applied incidence and hospital admission rates of human metapneumovirus–associated ALRI to population estimates to yield the morbidity burden estimates by age bands and World Bank income levels. We also estimated human metapneumovirus-associated ALRI in-hospital deaths and overall human metapneumovirus-associated ALRI deaths (both in-hospital and non-hospital deaths). Additionally, we estimated human metapneumovirus-attributable ALRI cases, hospital admissions, and deaths by combining human metapneumovirus-associated burden estimates and attributable fractions of human metapneumovirus in laboratory-confirmed human metapneumovirus cases and deaths. Findings: In 2018, among children younger than 5 years globally, there were an estimated 14·2 million human metapneumovirus-associated ALRI cases (uncertainty range [UR] 10·2 million to 20·1 million), 643 000 human metapneumovirus-associated hospital admissions (UR 425 000 to 977 000), 7700 human metapneumovirus-associated in-hospital deaths (2600 to 48 800), and 16 100 overall (hospital and community) human metapneumovirus-associated ALRI deaths (5700 to 88 000). An estimated 11·1 million ALRI cases (UR 8·0 million to 15·7 million), 502 000 ALRI hospital admissions (UR 332 000 to 762 000), and 11 300 ALRI deaths (4000 to 61 600) could be causally attributed to human metapneumovirus in 2018. Around 58% of the hospital admissions were in infants under 12 months, and 64% of in-hospital deaths occurred in infants younger than 6 months, of which 79% occurred in low-income and lower-middle-income countries. Interpretation: Infants younger than 1 year have disproportionately high risks of severe human metapneumovirus infections across all World Bank income regions and all child mortality settings, similar to respiratory syncytial virus and influenza virus. Infants younger than 6 months in low-income and lower-middle-income countries are at greater risk of death from human metapneumovirus-associated ALRI than older children and those in upper-middle-income and high-income countries. Our mortality estimates demonstrate the importance of intervention strategies for infants across all settings, and warrant continued efforts to improve the outcome of human metapneumovirus-associated ALRI among young infants in low-income and lower-middle-income countries. Funding: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Indian communities have the ancient cultural practice of gentle oil massage for infants which has been shown to play a beneficial role in neuro-motor development. The concept of incorporating nanosized liposomes of micronutrients (i.e., iron, folate, vitamin B12, and vitamin D) in the body oil leverages this practice for transdermal supplementation of essential micro-nutrients. This paper describes the experience of developing an intervention in the form of body oil containing nanosized liposomes of iron and micro-nutrients built on the social context of infant oil massage using a theory of change approach. The process of development of the intervention has been covered into stages such as design, decide and implement. The design phase describes how the idea of nanosized liposomal encapsulated micronutrient fortified (LMF) body oil was conceptualized and how its feasibility was assessed through initial formative work in the community. The decide phase describes steps involved while scaling up technology from laboratory to community level. The implementation phase describes processes while implementing the intervention of LMF oil in a community-based randomized controlled study. Overall, the theory of change approach helps to outline the various intermediate steps and challenges while translating novel technologies for transdermal nutrient fortification to community level. In our experience, adaptation in the technology for large scale up, formative work and pilot testing of innovation at community level were important processes that helped in shaping the innovation. Meticulous mapping of these processes and experiences can be a useful guide for translating similar innovations.

Background Research integrity and research fairness have gained considerable momentum in the past decade and have direct implications for global health epidemiology. Research integrity and research fairness principles should be equally nurtured to produce high-quality impactful research—but bridging the two can lead to practical and ethical dilemmas. In order to provide practical guidance to researchers and epidemiologist, we set out to develop good epidemiological practice guidelines specifically for global health epidemiology, targeted at stakeholders involved in the commissioning, conduct, appraisal and publication of global health research.Methods We developed preliminary guidelines based on targeted online searches on existing best practices for epidemiological studies and sought to align these with key elements of global health research and research fairness. We validated these guidelines through a Delphi consultation study, to reach a consensus among a wide representation of stakeholders.Results A total of 45 experts provided input on the first round of e-Delphi consultation and 40 in the second. Respondents covered a range of organisations (including for example academia, ministries, NGOs, research funders, technical agencies) involved in epidemiological studies from countries around the world (Europe: 19; Africa: 10; North America: 7; Asia: 5; South-America: 3 Australia: 1). A selection of eight experts were invited for a face-to-face meeting. The final guidelines consist of a set of 6 standards and 42 accompanying criteria including study preparation, protocol development, data collection, data management, data analysis, dissemination and communication.Conclusion While guidelines will not by themselves guard global health from questionable and unfair research practices, they are certainly part of a concerted effort to ensure not only mutual accountability between individual researchers, their institutions and their funders but most importantly their joint accountability towards the communities they study and society at large.

Over the past decade, two movements have profoundly changed the environment in which global health epidemiologists work: research integrity and research fairness. Both ought to be equally nurtured by global health epidemiologists who aim to produce high quality impactful research. Yet bridging between these two aspirations can lead to practical and ethical dilemmas. In the light of these reflections we have proposed the BRIDGE guidelines for the conduct of fair global health epidemiology, targeted at stakeholders involved in the commissioning, conduct, appraisal and publication of global health research. The guidelines follow the conduct of a study chronologically from the early stages of study preparation until the dissemination and communication of findings. They can be used as a checklist by research teams, funders and other stakeholders to ensure that a study is conducted in line with both research integrity and research fairness principles. In this paper we offer a detailed explanation for each item of the BRIDGE guidelines. We have focused on practical implementation issues, making this document most of interest to those who are actually conducting the epidemiological work.

Introduction Health interventions often target pregnant women and their unborn children. Interventions in rural India targeting pregnant women, however, often do not cover the critical early windows of susceptibility during the first trimester and parts of the second trimester. This pilot seeks to determine if targeting newlyweds could protect entire pregnancies with a clean stove and fuel intervention.Methods We recruited 50 newlywed couples who use biomass as a cooking fuel into a clean cooking intervention that included a liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) stove, two gas cylinders, a table to place the stove on and health education. We first evaluated whether community health workers in this region could identify and recruit couples at marriage. We quantified how many additional days of pregnancy could be covered by an intervention if we recruited at marriage versus recruiting after detection of pregnancy.Results On average, we identified and visited newlywed couples within 40 (SD 21) days of marriage. Of the 50 couples recruited, 25 pregnancies and 18 deliveries were identified during this 1-year study. Due to challenges securing fuel from the LPG supply system, not all couples received their intervention prior to pregnancy. Regardless, couples recruited in the marriage arm had substantially more days with the intervention than couples recruited into a similar arm recruited at pregnancy (211 SD 46 vs 120 SD 45). At scale, a stove intervention targeting new marriages would cover about twice as many weeks of first pregnancies as an intervention recruiting after detection of pregnancy.Conclusions We were able to recruit in early marriage using existing community health workers. Households recruited early in marriage had more days with clean fuel coverage than those recruited at pregnancy. Our findings indicate that recruitment at marriage is feasible and warrants further exploration for stove and other interventions targeting pregnancy-related outcomes.

IntroductionNeonatal infections are a common cause of death in India, but many families cannot access appropriate hospitals for its treatment due to various reasons. We implemented the World Health Organization PSBI management guideline when referral is not feasible within the public health system in Pune, India to evaluate feasibility, barriers and facilitators for its implementation.MethodsA national-level consultative meeting between government officials and study partners resulted in a consensus on adaptation and implementation in four demonstration sites in selected states in India. At the state and district levels, similar meetings to plan the implementation strategy and roles were held between KEM Hospital Research Centre (KEMHRC) Pune and the public health system Pune, Maharashtra. The public health system was responsible for implementation of the intervention at eight tribal primary health centres (PHC) in Pune district, India, including delivering the intervention and ensuring supplies of all commodities while KEMHRC was responsible for technical support including training of health workers, assistance in PSBI identification and management, data collection and documentation of the implementation strategy.ResultsA total of 175 young infants with PSBI were identified and managed. Of these, 34 had critical illness (CI), 46 had clinical severe infection (CSI) and 10 were infants aged 0-6 days with fast breathing (FB) while 85 infants aged 7-59 days had fast breathing. Assuming a 10% incidence of PSBI among all live births, with 3071 live births recorded, the actual incidence of PSBI found in the study was 5.7%, resulting in an actual coverage was of 57%. Among the 90 infants with CI, CSI and FB in 0-6 days, who were advised referral to government tertiary care centre as per the PSBI guideline algorithm, 81 (90%) accepted referral while 9 (10%) refused and were offered treatment at primary health centres (PHC) with a seven-day course of injectable gentamicin and oral amoxicillin. All infants with FB in 7-59 days were offered treatment at PHCs as per the PSBI guideline algorithm with a seven-day course of oral amoxicillin. All except six infants who died and one with FB in 7-59 days, who was lost to follow-up, were successfully cured. Of the six who died, five had CSI and one had CI. Among the 81 infants with CI, CSI and FB in 0-6 days who accepted referral; 48(53%) were successfully referred to government tertiary facility while 33 (36.6%) preferred to visit a private tertiary health facility. The implementation strategy demonstrated a relatively high fidelity, acceptance and intervention penetration. Lack of training and confidence of the public health staff were major challenges faced, which were resolved to a large extent through supportive supervision and re-trainings.ConclusionManagement of PSBI is feasible to implement in out-patient facilities in the public health system, but technical support to the health system is required to jump-start the process. Fast breathing in 7-59 days old infants can be managed with oral amoxicillin without referral. A sustainable adoption of this intervention by the health system can lead to decrease in neonatal mortality and morbidity.

Background: We performed a systematic review to evaluate factors affecting uptake of rotavirus vaccine amongst physicians, parents and health system. Methods: We identified 15 studies that met the inclusion criteria from 790 screened studies published between Jan 2005 to Jan 2016. Results: Perceived severity of rotavirus disease, efficacy of vaccine and recommendation by health authorities positively influenced uptake of vaccine amongst health care providers. Routine and timely vaccination with routine vaccines and availability of rotavirus vaccine in public health programme facilitated uptake. Family income, parental education and employment status positively influenced the decision to vaccinate by parents. Concerns about safety, high cost, additional workload and logistic problems in acquiring vaccine stocks were perceived as barriers. Conclusion: Improved awareness regarding the rotavirus vaccination amongst public and scientific community and strengthening of public health system for better and timely immunisation coverage are important factors to maximize uptake of rotavirus vaccine in India.

BackgroundLow birth weight is an important predictor of maternal and child health. Birth weight is likely to be affected by maternal health, socioeconomic status and quality of health care facilities.ObjectiveTo assess trends in the birth weight, the proportion of low birth weight, maternal factors and health care facilities for delivery in villages of Western Maharashtra from the year 2004 to 2016 and to analyze factors associated with low birth weight for total birth data of 2004-2016.MethodsData collected for 19244 births from 22 villages in Vadu Health and Demographic Surveillance System (HDSS), Pune, Maharashtra, India from the year 2004 to 2016 were used for this analysis.ResultsThere was an overall increase in the annual mean birth weight from 2640.12 gram [95% CI 2602.21-2686.84] in the year 2004 to 2781.19 gram [95% CI 2749.49-2797.95] in the year 2016. There was no secular trend to show increase or decrease in the proportion of low weight at birth. Increasing maternal age (>18 years) compounded with better education, reduced parity and increasing number of institutional deliveries were significant trends observed during the past decade. Low birth weight was found to be associated with female gender, first birth order, poor maternal education and occupation as cultivation.ConclusionChanges in maternal age, education, occupation, and increased institutionalized deliveries contributed in to increasing birth weights in rural Maharashtra. Female gender, first birth order, poor maternal education and occupation of cultivation are associated with increased risk of low birth weight.

Hybrid trials that include both clinical and implementation science outcomes are increasingly relevant for public health researchers that aim to rapidly translate study findings into evidence-based practice. The DeWorm3 Project is a series of hybrid trials testing the feasibility of interrupting the transmission of soil transmitted helminths (STH), while conducting implementation science research that contextualizes clinical research findings and provides guidance on opportunities to optimize delivery of STH interventions. The purpose of DeWorm3 implementation science studies is to ensure rapid and efficient translation of evidence into practice. DeWorm3 will use stakeholder mapping to identify individuals who influence or are influenced by school-based or community-wide mass drug administration (MDA) for STH and to evaluate network dynamics that may affect study outcomes and future policy development. Individual interviews and focus groups will generate the qualitative data needed to identify factors that shape, contextualize, and explain DeWorm3 trial outputs and outcomes. Structural readiness surveys will be used to evaluate the factors that drive health system readiness to implement novel interventions, such as community-wide MDA for STH, in order to target change management activities and identify opportunities for sustaining or scaling the intervention. Process mapping will be used to understand what aspects of the intervention are adaptable across heterogeneous implementation settings and to identify contextually-relevant modifiable bottlenecks that may be addressed to improve the intervention delivery process and to achieve intervention outputs. Lastly, intervention costs and incremental cost-effectiveness will be evaluated to compare the efficiency of community-wide MDA to standard-of-care targeted MDA both over the duration of the trial and over a longer elimination time horizon.

Health and demographic surveillance system (HDSS) is a population-based health and vital event registration system that monitors demographic and health events in a geographically defined population at regular intervals. Human microbiome research in the past decade has been the field of increasingly intense research much due to its demonstrated impact upon various health conditions including human chronic airway diseases such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Many confounding factors have been revealed to play a role in shaping the microbiome in chronic airway diseases. Asthma and COPD follows a typical pattern of disease progression, which includes stable and exacerbation state in which the microbiota is known to vary. However, many such studies lack extensive and longitudinal sampling with inadequate metadata, which has resulted in the inconsistencies in the observations. HDSS provides such a platform, which can offer a deeper understanding of the role of the microbiome in human health. In this review, we highlight opportunities and limitations in microbiome research with the help of studies conducted on chronic airway diseases like asthma and COPD. In addition, we also emphasize on the benefits of HDSS and future directions in lung microbiome research.

In Ayurveda system of medicine individuals are classified into seven constitution types, "Prakriti", for assessing disease susceptibility and drug responsiveness. Prakriti evaluation involves clinical examination including questions about physiological and behavioural traits. A need was felt to develop models for accurately predicting Prakriti classes that have been shown to exhibit molecular differences. The present study was carried out on data of phenotypic attributes in 147 healthy individuals of three extreme Prakriti types, from a genetically homogeneous population of Western India. Unsupervised and supervised machine learning approaches were used to infer inherent structure of the data, and for feature selection and building classification models for Prakriti respectively. These models were validated in a North Indian population. Unsupervised clustering led to emergence of three natural clusters corresponding to three extreme Prakriti classes. The supervised modelling approaches could classify individuals, with distinct Prakriti types, in the training and validation sets. This study is the first to demonstrate that Prakriti types are distinct verifiable clusters within a multidimensional space of multiple interrelated phenotypic traits. It also provides a computational framework for predicting Prakriti classes from phenotypic attributes. This approach may be useful in precision medicine for stratification of endophenotypes in healthy and diseased populations.

Background: Mortality from non-communicable diseases (NCDs) is a major global issue, as other categories of mortality have diminished and life expectancy has increased. The World Health Organization's Member States have called for a 25% reduction in premature NCD mortality by 2025, which can only be achieved by substantial reductions in risk factors and improvements in the management of chronic conditions. A high burden of NCD mortality among much older people, who have survived other hazards, is inevitable. The INDEPTH Network collects detailed individual data within defined Health and Demographic Surveillance sites. By registering deaths and carrying out verbal autopsies to determine cause of death across many such sites, using standardised methods, the Network seeks to generate population-based mortality statistics that are not otherwise available. Objective: To describe patterns of adult NCD mortality from INDEPTH Network sites across Africa and Asia, according to the WHO 2012 verbal autopsy (VA) cause categories, with separate consideration of premature (15–64 years) and older (65+ years) NCD mortality. Design: All adult deaths at INDEPTH sites are routinely registered and followed up with VA interviews. For this study, VA archives were transformed into the WHO 2012 VA standard format and processed using the InterVA-4 model to assign cause of death. Routine surveillance data also provide person-time denominators for mortality rates. Results: A total of 80,726 adult (over 15 years) deaths were documented over 7,423,497 person-years of observation. NCDs were attributed as the cause for 35.6% of these deaths. Slightly less than half of adult NCD deaths occurred in the 15–64 age group. Detailed results are presented by age and sex for leading causes of NCD mortality. Per-site rates of NCD mortality were significantly correlated with rates of HIV/AIDS-related mortality. Conclusions: These findings present important evidence on the distribution of NCD mortality across a wide range of African and Asian settings. This comes against a background of global concern about the burden of NCD mortality, especially among adults aged under 70, and provides an important baseline for future work.

Background: Because most deaths in Africa and Asia are not well documented, estimates of mortality are often made using scanty data. The INDEPTH Network works to alleviate this problem by collating detailed individual data from defined Health and Demographic Surveillance sites. By registering all deaths over time and carrying out verbal autopsies to determine cause of death across many such sites, using standardised methods, the Network seeks to generate population-based mortality statistics that are not otherwise available. Objective: To build a large standardised mortality database from African and Asian sites, detailing the relevant methods, and use it to describe cause-specific mortality patterns. Design: Individual demographic and verbal autopsy (VA) data from 22 INDEPTH sites were collated into a standardised database. The INDEPTH 2013 population was used for standardisation. The WHO 2012 VA standard and the InterVA-4 model were used for assigning cause of death. Results: A total of 111,910 deaths occurring over 12,204,043 person-years (accumulated between 1992 and 2012) were registered across the 22 sites, and for 98,429 of these deaths (88.0%) verbal autopsies were successfully completed. There was considerable variation in all-cause mortality between sites, with most of the differences being accounted for by variations in infectious causes as a proportion of all deaths. Conclusions: This dataset documents individual deaths across Africa and Asia in a standardised way, and on an unprecedented scale. While INDEPTH sites are not constructed to constitute a representative sample, and VA may not be the ideal method of determining cause of death, nevertheless these findings represent detailed mortality patterns for parts of the world that are severely under-served in terms of measuring mortality. Further papers explore details of mortality patterns among children and specifically for NCDs, external causes, pregnancy-related mortality, malaria, and HIV/AIDS. Comparisons will also be made where possible with other findings on mortality in the same regions. Findings presented here and in accompanying papers support the need for continued work towards much wider implementation of universal civil registration of deaths by cause on a worldwide basis.

Background: Malaria continues to be a major cause of infectious disease mortality in tropical regions. However, deaths from malaria are most often not individually documented, and as a result overall understanding of malaria epidemiology is inadequate. INDEPTH Network members maintain population surveillance in Health and Demographic Surveillance System sites across Africa and Asia, in which individual deaths are followed up with verbal autopsies. Objective: To present patterns of malaria mortality determined by verbal autopsy from INDEPTH sites across Africa and Asia, comparing these findings with other relevant information on malaria in the same regions. Design: From a database covering 111,910 deaths over 12,204,043 person-years in 22 sites, in which verbal autopsy data were handled according to the WHO 2012 standard and processed using the InterVA-4 model, over 6,000 deaths were attributed to malaria. The overall period covered was 1992–2012, but two-thirds of the observations related to 2006–2012. These deaths were analysed by site, time period, age group and sex to investigate epidemiological differences in malaria mortality. Results: Rates of malaria mortality varied by 1:10,000 across the sites, with generally low rates in Asia (one site recording no malaria deaths over 0.5 million person-years) and some of the highest rates in West Africa (Nouna, Burkina Faso: 2.47 per 1,000 person-years). Childhood malaria mortality rates were strongly correlated with Malaria Atlas Project estimates of Plasmodium falciparum parasite rates for the same locations. Adult malaria mortality rates, while lower than corresponding childhood rates, were strongly correlated with childhood rates at the site level. Conclusions: The wide variations observed in malaria mortality, which were nevertheless consistent with various other estimates, suggest that population-based registration of deaths using verbal autopsy is a useful approach to understanding the details of malaria epidemiology.

Background: As the HIV/AIDS pandemic has evolved over recent decades, Africa has been the most affected region, even though a large proportion of HIV/AIDS deaths have not been documented at the individual level. Systematic application of verbal autopsy (VA) methods in defined populations provides an opportunity to assess the mortality burden of the pandemic from individual data. Objective: To present standardised comparisons of HIV/AIDS-related mortality at sites across Africa and Asia, including closely related causes of death such as pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) and pneumonia. Design: Deaths related to HIV/AIDS were extracted from individual demographic and VA data from 22 INDEPTH sites across Africa and Asia. VA data were standardised to WHO 2012 standard causes of death assigned using the InterVA-4 model. Between-site comparisons of mortality rates were standardised using the INDEPTH 2013 standard population. Results: The dataset covered a total of 10,773 deaths attributed to HIV/AIDS, observed over 12,204,043 person-years. HIV/AIDS-related mortality fractions and mortality rates varied widely across Africa and Asia, with highest burdens in eastern and southern Africa, and lowest burdens in Asia. There was evidence of rapidly declining rates at the sites with the heaviest burdens. HIV/AIDS mortality was also strongly related to PTB mortality. On a country basis, there were strong similarities between HIV/AIDS mortality rates at INDEPTH sites and those derived from modelled estimates. Conclusions: Measuring HIV/AIDS-related mortality continues to be a challenging issue, all the more so as anti-retroviral treatment programmes alleviate mortality risks. The congruence between these results and other estimates adds plausibility to both approaches. These data, covering some of the highest mortality observed during the pandemic, will be an important baseline for understanding the future decline of HIV/AIDS.

Background: Mortality from external causes, of all kinds, is an important component of overall mortality on a global basis. However, these deaths, like others in Africa and Asia, are often not counted or documented on an individual basis. Overviews of the state of external cause mortality in Africa and Asia are therefore based on uncertain information. The INDEPTH Network maintains longitudinal surveillance, including cause of death, at population sites across Africa and Asia, which offers important opportunities to document external cause mortality at the population level across a range of settings. Objective: To describe patterns of mortality from external causes at INDEPTH Network sites across Africa and Asia, according to the WHO 2012 verbal autopsy (VA) cause categories. Design: All deaths at INDEPTH sites are routinely registered and followed up with VA interviews. For this study, VA archives were transformed into the WHO 2012 VA standard format and processed using the InterVA-4 model to assign cause of death. Routine surveillance data also provide person-time denominators for mortality rates. Results: A total of 5,884 deaths due to external causes were documented over 11,828,253 person-years. Approximately one-quarter of those deaths were to children younger than 15 years. Causes of death were dominated by childhood drowning in Bangladesh, and by transport-related deaths and intentional injuries elsewhere. Detailed mortality rates are presented by cause of death, age group, and sex. Conclusions: The patterns of external cause mortality found here generally corresponded with expectations and other sources of information, but they fill some important gaps in population-based mortality data. They provide an important source of information to inform potentially preventive intervention designs.

Background: Comparing self-rating health responses across individuals and cultures is misleading due to different reporting behaviors. Anchoring vignettes is a technique that allows identifying and adjusting self-rating responses for reporting heterogeneity (RH). Objective: This article aims to test two crucial assumptions of vignette equivalence (VE) and response consistency (RC) that are required to be met before vignettes can be used to adjust self-rating responses for RH. Design: We used self-ratings, vignettes, and objective measures covering domains of mobility and cognition from the WHO study on global AGEing and adult health, administered to older adults aged 50 years and above from eight low- and middle-income countries in Africa and Asia. For VE, we specified a hierarchical ordered probit (HOPIT) model to test for equality of perceived vignette locations. For RC, we tested for equality of thresholds that are used to rate vignettes with thresholds derived from objective measures and used to rate their own health function. Results: There was evidence of RH in self-rating responses for difficulty in mobility and cognition. Assumptions of VE and RC between countries were violated driven by age, sex, and education. However, within a country context, assumption of VE was met in some countries (mainly in Africa, except Tanzania) and violated in others (mainly in Asia, except India). Conclusion: We conclude that violation of assumptions of RC and VE precluded the use of anchoring vignettes to adjust self-rated responses for RH across countries in Asia and Africa.

Background: Research in mainly developed countries has shown that some changes in weather are associated with increased mortality. However, due to the lack of accessible data, few studies have examined such effects of weather on mortality, particularly in rural regions in developing countries. Objective: In this study, we aimed to investigate the relationship between temperature and rainfall with daily mortality in rural India. Design: Daily mortality data were obtained from the Health and Demographic Surveillance System (HDSS) in Vadu, India. Daily mean temperature and rainfall data were obtained from a regional meteorological center, India Meteorological Department (IMD), Pune. A Poisson regression model was established over the study period (January 2003–May 2010) to assess the short-term relationship between weather variables and total mortality, adjusting for time trends and stratifying by both age and sex. Result: Mortality was found to be significantly associated with daily ambient temperatures and rainfall, after controlling for seasonality and long-term time trends. Children aged 5 years or below appear particularly susceptible to the effects of warm and cold temperatures and heavy rainfall. The population aged 20–59 years appeared to face increased mortality on hot days. Most age groups were found to have increased mortality rates 7–13 days after rainfall events. This association was particularly evident in women. Conclusion: We found the level of mortality in Vadu HDSS in rural India to be highly affected by both high and low temperatures and rainfall events, with time lags of up to 2 weeks. These results suggest that weather-related mortality may be a public health problem in rural India today. Furthermore, as changes in local climate occur, adaptation measures should be considered to mitigate the potentially negative impacts on public health in these rural communities.

Background: Globally, ageing impacts all countries, with a majority of older persons residing in lower- and middle-income countries now and into the future. An understanding of the health and well-being of these ageing populations is important for policy and planning; however, research on ageing and adult health that informs policy predominantly comes from higher-income countries. A collaboration between the WHO Study on global AGEing and adult health (SAGE) and International Network for the Demographic Evaluation of Populations and Their Health in developing countries (INDEPTH), with support from the US National Institute on Aging (NIA) and the Swedish Council for Working Life and Social Research (FAS), has resulted in valuable health, disability and well-being information through a first wave of data collection in 2006–2007 from field sites in South Africa, Tanzania, Kenya, Ghana, Viet Nam, Bangladesh, Indonesia and India. Objective: To provide an overview of the demographic and health characteristics of participating countries, describe the research collaboration and introduce the first dataset and outputs. Methods: Data from two SAGE survey modules implemented in eight Health and Demographic Surveillance Systems (HDSS) were merged with core HDSS data to produce a summary dataset for the site-specific and cross-site analyses described in this supplement. Each participating HDSS site used standardised training materials and survey instruments. Face-to-face interviews were conducted. Ethical clearance was obtained from WHO and the local ethical authority for each participating HDSS site. Results: People aged 50 years and over in the eight participating countries represent over 15% of the current global older population, and is projected to reach 23% by 2030. The Asian HDSS sites have a larger proportion of burden of disease from non-communicable diseases and injuries relative to their African counterparts. A pooled sample of over 46,000 persons aged 50 and over from these eight HDSS sites was produced. The SAGE modules resulted in self-reported health, health status, functioning (from the WHO Disability Assessment Scale (WHODAS-II)) and well-being (from the WHO Quality of Life instrument (WHOQoL) variables). The HDSS databases contributed age, sex, marital status, education, socio-economic status and household size variables. Conclusion: The INDEPTH WHO–SAGE collaboration demonstrates the value and future possibilities for this type of research in informing policy and planning for a number of countries. This INDEPTH WHO–SAGE dataset will be placed in the public domain together with this open-access supplement and will be available through the GHA website (www.globalhealthaction.net) and other repositories. An improved dataset is being developed containing supplementary HDSS variables and vignette-adjusted health variables. This living collaboration is now preparing for a next wave of data collection.

Background: Declining rates of fertility and mortality are driving demographic transition in all regions of the world, leading to global population ageing and consequently changing patterns of global morbidity and mortality. Understanding sex-related health differences, recognising groups at risk of poor health and identifying determinants of poor health are therefore very important for both improving health trajectories and planning for the health needs of ageing populations. Objectives: To determine the extent to which demographic and socio-economic factors impact upon measures of health in older populations in Africa and Asia; to examine sex differences in health and further explain how these differences can be attributed to demographic and socio-economic determinants. Methods : A total of 46,269 individuals aged 50 years and over in eight Health and Demographic Surveillance System (HDSS) sites within the INDEPTH Network were studied during 2006–2007 using an abbreviated version of the WHO Study on global AGEing and adult health (SAGE) Wave I instrument. The survey data were then linked to longitudinal HDSS background information. A health score was calculated based on self-reported health derived from eight health domains. Multivariable regression and post-regression decomposition provide ways of measuring and explaining the health score gap between men and women. Results: Older men have better self-reported health than older women. Differences in household socio-economic levels, age, education levels, marital status and living arrangements explained from about 82% and 71% of the gaps in health score observed between men and women in South Africa and Kenya, respectively, to almost nothing in Bangladesh. Different health domains contributed differently to the overall health scores for men and women in each country. Conclusion: This study confirmed the existence of sex differences in self-reported health in low- and middle-income countries even after adjustments for differences in demographic and socio-economic factors. A decomposition analysis suggested that sex differences in health differed across the HDSS sites, with the greatest level of inequality found in Bangladesh. The analysis showed considerable variation in how differences in socio-demographic and economic characteristics explained the gaps in self-reported health observed between older men and women in African and Asian settings. The overall health score was a robust indicator of health, with two domains, pain and sleep/energy, contributing consistently across the HDSS sites. Further studies are warranted to understand other significant individual and contextual determinants to which these sex differences in health can be attributed. This will lay a foundation for a more evidence-based approach to resource allocation, and to developing health promotion programmes for older men and women in these settings.

Background: India’s older population is projected to increase up to 96 million by 2011 with older people accounting for 18% of its population by 2051. The Study on Global Ageing and Adult Health aims to improve empirical understanding of health and well-being of older adults in developing countries. Objectives: To examine age and socio-economic changes on a range of key domains in self-reported health and well-being amongst older adults. Design: A cross-sectional survey of 5,430 adults aged 50 and over using a shortened version of the SAGE questionnaire to assess self-reported assessments (scales of 1–5) of performance, function, disability, quality of life and well-being. Self-reported responses were calibrated using anchoring vignettes in eight key domains of mobility, self-care, pain, cognition, interpersonal relationships, sleep/energy, affect, and vision. WHO Disability Assessment Schedule Index and WHO health scores were calculated to examine for associations with socio-demographic variables. Results: Disability in all domains increased with increasing age and decreasing levels of education. Females and the oldest old without a living spouse reported poorer health status and greater disability across all domains. Performance and functionality self-reports were similar across all SES quintiles. Self-reports on quality of life were not significantly influenced by socio-demographic variables. Discussion: The study provides standardised and comparable self-rated health data using anchoring vignettes in an older population. Though expectations of good health, function and performance decrease with age, self-reports of disability severity significantly increased with age, more so if female, if uneducated and living without a spouse. However, the presence or absence of spouse did not significantly alter quality of life self-reports, suggesting a possible protective effect provided by traditional joint family structures in India, where older people are social if not financial assets for their children.

Influenza is vaccine-preventable; however, the burden of severe influenza in India remains unknown. We conducted a population-based study to estimate the incidence of laboratory confirmed influenza-associated hospitalizations in a rural community in western India.We conducted active surveillance for hospitalized patients with acute medical illnesses or acute chronic disease exacerbations in Pune during pandemic and post pandemic periods (May 2009-April 2011). Nasal and throat swabs were tested for influenza viruses. A community health utilization survey estimated the proportion of residents hospitalized with respiratory illness at non-study facilities and was used to adjust incidence estimates from facility-based surveillance.Among 9,426 hospitalizations, 3,391 (36%) patients were enrolled; 665 of 3,179 (20.9%) tested positive for influenza. Of 665 influenza positives, 340 (51%) were pandemic A(H1N1)pdm09 and 327 (49%) were seasonal, including A/H3 (16%), A/H1 (3%) and influenza B (30%). The proportion of patients with influenza peaked during August 2009 (39%) and 2010 (42%). The adjusted annual incidence of influenza hospitalizations was 46.8/10,000 during pandemic and 40.5/10,000 during post-pandemic period with comparable incidence of A(H1N1)pdm09 during both periods (18.8 and 20.3, respectively). The incidence of both pH1N1 and seasonal hospitalized influenza disease was highest in the 5-29 year olds.We document the previously unrecognized burden of influenza hospitalization in a rural community following the emergence of influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 viruses in India. During peak periods of influenza activity circulation i.e during the monsoon period, 20% of all hospital admissions in the community had influenza positivity. These findings can inform development of influenza prevention and control strategies in India.

IntroductionLack of reliable population-based data, especially morbidity data, is a barrier to preventing and controlling chronic diseases in developing countries. We report the self-reported prevalences of major chronic diseases in Southeast Asia and examine their relation to selected sociodemographic variables in adults.MethodsData are from a 2005 cross-site study of 8 sites in 5 Asian countries that surveyed 18,484 people aged 25–64 years. Respondents were asked whether they had been told by a health care worker that they had any of 7 chronic health conditions: joint problems, stroke, heart disease, diabetes, pulmonary disease, hypertension, or cancer. Information about participants’ sex, age, and educational level was also obtained.ResultsWe found that 22.7% of men and 31.6% of women reported having at least 1 of the chronic health conditions of interest, and 5.1% of men and 9.2% of women reported having 2 or more chronic conditions. Multivariate regression analyses showed that women had more chronic conditions than men, the prevalence of chronic conditions increased with age, and people with the least education were more likely to have chronic conditions.ConclusionChronic conditions are commonly reported among adults in Asian countries. Disparities in the prevalence of chronic conditions by sex and education are evident.

OBJECTIVE: To assess case definitions for influenza in a rural community in India. METHODS: Residents of the study area who were hospitalized for any acute medical condition for at least one night between May 2009 and April 2011 were enrolled. Respiratory specimens were collected and tested for influenza viruses in a reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The PCR results were taken as the "gold standard" in evaluating the performance of several case definitions. FINDINGS: Of the 3179 patients included in the final analysis, 21% (665) were PCR-positive for influenza virus, 96% reported fever and 4% reported shortness of breath. The World Health Organization (WHO) case definition for severe acute respiratory illness had a sensitivity of 11% among patients aged < 5 years and of 3% among older patients. When shortness of breath was excluded from the definition, sensitivities increased (to 69% and 70%, respectively) and corresponding specificities of 43% and 53% were recorded. Among patients aged ≥ 5 years, WHO's definition of a case of influenza-like illness had a sensitivity of 70% and a specificity of 53%. The addition of "cough and reported or measured fever" increased sensitivity to 80% but decreased specificity to 42%. CONCLUSION: The inclusion of shortness of breath in WHO's case definition for severe acute respiratory illness may grossly underestimate the burden posed by influenza in hospitals. The exclusion of shortness of breath from this definition or, alternatively, the inclusion of "cough and measured or reported fever" may improve estimates of the burden.

OBJECTIVE: To compare processes and outcomes of four public-private mix (PPM) projects on DOTS implementation for tuberculosis (TB) control in New Delhi, India; Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam; Nairobi, Kenya; and Pune, India. METHODS: Cross-project analysis of secondary data from separate project evaluations was used. Differences among PPM project sites in impact on TB control (change in case detection, treatment outcomes and equity in access) were correlated with differences in chosen intervention strategies and structural conditions. FINDINGS: The analysis suggests that an effective intervention package should include the following provider-side components: (1) orienting private providers (PPs) and the staff of the national TB programme (NTP); (2) improving the referral and information system through simple practical tools; (3) the NTP adequately supervising and monitoring PPs; and (4) the NTP providing free anti-TB drugs to patients treated in the private sector. CONCLUSION: Getting such an intervention package to work requires that the NTP be strongly committed to supporting, supervising and evaluating PPM projects. Further, using a local nongovernmental organization or a medical association as an intermediary may facilitate collaboration. Investing time and effort to ensure that sufficient dialogue takes place among all stakeholders is important to help build trust and achieve a high level of agreement.