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An interview with BMC Public Health Section Editor, Dr Shankar Viswanathan
Please tell us about yourself and your research interests I am a trained biostatistician with experience over two-decades in both methodological and public health research. My research interest includes developing new statistical methods to analyze further questions arising from medicine or public health. Specifically, I focus on survival analysis, longitudinal data analysis and missing data,…
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Giardia, deworming, and WASH: a complex picture
Scanning electron micrograph (SEM) of an in vitro Giardia lamblia culture. (Picture by CDC/ Dr. Stan Erlandsen, from the Public Health Image Library) Giardiasis and intestinal worms: two neglected tropical diseases Giardiasis, caused by the parasite Giardia duodenalis (also known as Giardia intestinalis or Giardia lamblia), has been associated with malnutrition and poor growth in…
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Allowing food companies to put nutrition claims on their products may run counter to health promotion efforts
Flickr: Alex Vilomara Nutrition claims (such as “low in fat” or “sugar free”) on food packaging may lead people to increase their consumption of those products and their overall energy intake. When unhealthy products are allowed to carry these claims it may contribute to unhealthy diets and obesity. Policy makers should therefore consider restricting the…
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Thinking outside the cube: The political determinants of universal health coverage
© Syda Productions / stock.adobe.com The politics of UHC Universal health coverage (UHC) is a key policy priority of our times, endorsed by the United Nations General Assembly as central to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. The World Health Organization defines UHC as all people having access to the health services they need, when and where they…
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MinION: Democratising biodiversity research by misusing a portable long-read sequencer for short-read barcoding
Most undescribed biodiversity consists of countless of small organisms that belong to millions of species. This makes it hard to find new and rare species in samples that often comprise thousands of organisms (such as bulk insect samples). One solution is using DNA sequences to sort specimens into putative species using high-throughput methods (“reverse workflow”).…
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Mangy Mites Mess up the Mammalian Microbiome
Mites are small arthropods, closely related to spiders. While not all mites are parasitic, and many parasitize plants, some mites do cause problems for mammals. The most important of these are scabies mites, such Sarcoptes scabiei, belonging to the Sarcoptidae family. These mites crawl on and within the skin of mammals, and create burrows to…
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Doing research with those who use it
We are excited to release our special collection of concept papers exploring the history, boundaries, and future of research co-production – what we in Canada call integrated knowledge translation (IKT). It is well known that the application of research findings in health care and policy is less than optimal. Up to 50% of patients do…
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Achieving and sustaining elimination: How the Geshiyaro Project might shape the future of schistosomiasis and soil-transmitted helminths programmes
Photo taken during a field trip to Wolaita Zone, Ethiopia to visit the Geshiayaro Project. Photo credit Justine Marshall. Deworming and Elimination Schistosomiasis and STH are neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) that thrive in underdeveloped areas where access to clean water and sanitation is limited. More than one billion people are infected with these parasitic infections,…
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All together to end COPD
(Image by Semevent from Pixabay, CC0 license) What is COPD? Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is just not one disease. It is a group of diseases characterized by breathing difficulties. COPD includes emphysema, damaged air sacs in the lungs, chronic bronchitis, and inflamed airways. In COPD, the airways are narrowed due to inflammation, making it…
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Communities make the difference: World AIDS Day 2019
© chuwy / iStock This year’s theme for World AIDS Day recognizes the vital role of communities in supporting and educating at a local level, helping to deliver services at a regional level and raising awareness at a global level. This blog highlights research registered at the ISRCTN registry that investigates how to harness community…