News
March 21, 2025
MIND collaborators convene for child development research in Nairobi, Kenya
Categories: HIV and Co-Infections, Mental Health, PrEP, Research
MIND collaborators at the Palacina Suites Hotel in Nairobi, Kenya. Photo: Mugo Mureithi
It is a remarkable partnership involving several investigators and administrators from UW/Global WACh, Kenyatta National Hospital, University of Nairobi, Kenya Medical Research Institute, Emory University, Fred Hutch, Seattle Children’s Hospital, and Makerere University who share knowledge and common resources to generate evidence on biological factors that may cause adverse birth and neurodevelopmental outcomes in young children exposed to HIV but are uninfected. The two-day convening provided a forum to share progress since the inaugural meeting in January 2024 and team retreat at UW in October 2024, and to discuss future directions of research collaborations. (more…)
March 20, 2025
Enterics for Global Health (EFGH) collaborators convene in Kenya for pediatric diarrheal disease research
Categories: Gut Health and Child Survival, Research
The Enterics for Global Health (EFGH) Shigella surveillance study held its annual convening from January 27-30 in Lake Naivasha, Kenya. Over sixty collaborators from around the world gathered to collectively workshop primary manuscripts, and plan for the next phase of the study (“Phase C”) which will focus on results dissemination, supporting secondary data analyses, and conducting implementation research to characterize policy-maker priorities for Shigella vaccine adoption. (more…)
Enterics for Global Health (EFGH) Coordination Team nominated for UW Distinguished Staff Award
Categories: Awards, Gut Health and Child Survival
Staff members of the Enterics for Global Health (EFGH) Coordination Team have been nominated for a University of Washington (UW) Distinguished Staff Award in recognition of their contributions to advancing equity within global health research consortium models and implementing systems and programs that support early career investigators and researchers in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).
The team includes (pictured top row from right to left): Hannah Atlas (Research Manager), Erika Feutz (Data Manager), Sean Galagan (Senior Data Manager), Anya Lewin (Program Operations Specialist). Pictured bottom row from right to left: Chloe Morozoff (Research Assistant), Sonia Rao (Program Specialist), Olivia Schultes (Data Manager), and Alyson Shumays (Global WACh Co-Director as Program Manager). (more…)
March 19, 2025
Researchers present the latest scientific discoveries in HIV research at CROI 2025
Categories: HIV and Co-Infections, PrEP, Research
Researchers from the US and Kenya at CROI 2025.
Global WACh researchers and collaborators participated in this year’s Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI), held from March 9th-12th in San Francisco, CA. They shared the latest discoveries in the HIV and Co-Infectious Through the Lifecycle research portfolio related to health outcomes among children exposed to HIV and ART in utero, HIV acquisition and prevention during pregnancy and breastfeeding, and preventative therapies to treat tuberculosis among people living with HIV. (more…)
March 12, 2025
Mobile WACh NEO trial results on the impact of interactive text communication on neonatal mortality in Kenya
Categories: Family Planning, Publication, Research
Each year, approximately 40,000 neonatal deaths occur in Kenya. While a vast majority of these deaths are preventable, newborn care practices and clinical care seeking may be delayed by several factors including lack of knowledge, decision making ability, and poor quality of care. To support mothers during this critical phase, researchers from UW Department of Global Health/Global WACh, Kenyatta National Hospital and Women and Infants Hospital designed the Mobile WACh NEO randomized controlled trial.
Mobile WACh NEO utilized texting communication to provide information, motivation, and real time decision support to mothers in Kenya to help them identify and seek care for neonatal illness. Aiming to determine the effect of tailored, texting communication on neonatal mortality, the study had surprising results: the intervention did not reduce neonatal mortality rates but did increase clinical care seeking.
Read the full Mobile WACh NEO trial paper here: https://lnkd.in/gBp4Qymx
Via the UW Department of Global Health
December 2, 2024
Enterics for Global Health (EFGH) Phase C aims to assess policymaker preferences on Shigella vaccine characteristics
Categories: Awards, Gut Health and Child Survival, Implementation Science, Research
The Enterics for Global Health (EFGH): Shigella surveillance study was launched in 2022 and aims to establish incidence and consequences of Shigella diarrhea among children 6-35 months in Bangladesh, Kenya, Malawi, Mali, Pakistan, Peru, and The Gambia and inform future Shigella vaccine trial planning. The study protocol has been published in a supplement in Open Forum of Infectious Diseases. During Phases A and B, the EFGH Consortium built a robust collaborative research infrastructure to facilitate shared scientific decision making and protocol standardization, and recently completed enrollment of 9,476 participants in August 2024.
(more…)
November 27, 2024
Enterics for Global Health (EFGH) Symposium hosted at the American Society of Tropical Medicine & Hygiene annual meeting
Categories: Conferences, Gut Health and Child Survival, Research
The symposium was titled: “Preliminary results from The Enterics for Global Health (EFGH) Shigella surveillance study- preparing for Shigella vaccine trials in the target population of young children living in low- and middle-income countries” and aimed to: (more…)
Researchers awarded new grant to test implementation strategies to scale-up transitional care among youth living with HIV in Kenya
Categories: Awards, HIV and Co-Infections, Research
As more children and adolescents living with HIV survive into adulthood, maintaining successful and uninterrupted transitions into adult HIV care clinics has become a priority in the HIV/AIDS research community. Adolescents having “grown up” under pediatric HIV care may experience deep loss of their support system and feel less prepared to assume responsibility for themselves in adult care. The transition is a vulnerable point when adolescents are at risk of disengagement from HIV care altogether. It is critical that they maintain uninterrupted HIV care to stay healthy, maintain low viral load, and reduce further transmission.
Since 2016, Global WACh investigators Drs. Irene Njuguna, Kristin Beima-Sofie, Grace John-Stewart, and Dalton Wamalwa have led efforts to engage the Ministry of Health and local communities in Kenya in the development of the Adolescent Transition Package (ATP), a healthcare worker toolkit that includes structured educational materials and tracking tools to facilitate the transition process. (more…)
November 26, 2024
Dr. Arianna Means awarded grant to develop a researcher-friendly tool to improve translating evidence into practice
Categories: Awards, Implementation Science, Research
It is estimated that it takes an average of 17 years for 14% of clinical research to translate into practice. Many evidence-based interventions (EBIs), including biomedical interventions or practices that have demonstrated ability to improve health behaviors, health outcomes, or health-related environments, fail to translate into policy and practice.
There are several cultural, organizational, political and operational barriers that prevent effective uptake of EBIs. There may be serious constraints in policymakers’ preferences and priorities, the ability to supply the workforce training needed, and communication gaps between researchers and policymakers, among many other factors.
Dr. Arianna Means, Assistant Professor in UW Global Health, who is a trained epidemiologist and implementation scientist, is launching a new project in early 2025 to help close the gap between what scientists know can optimize health and what they do in practice (often referred to as “the know-do gap”) by identifying and addressing the barriers that slow or halt the uptake of EBIs. (more…)
November 20, 2024
Global WACh Certificate Student Emmalie Griswold supports new study to help describe decision-making processes of people living in US states with poor abortion access
Categories: Certificate Program, Family Planning, Research, students
Since the US Supreme Court Dobbs decision in June 2022 to take away the constitutional right to abortion, more than 20 US states ban or severely restrict abortion care. Consequently, about 1 in 5 seeking abortion travel across state lines, impeding access to timely and affordable care. Understanding the decision-making, journeys and care received by out-of-state patients seeking in-person care in legal states is urgently needed to improve equitable access to abortion.
The UW Access, Delivered research team, based in the Department of Family Medicine Women’s Health Research and Scholarship Lab, recently launched a new study aimed at understanding the decision-making processes of individuals living in states with severe abortion restrictions, who either choose to order medication abortion pills through an online provider or pursue in-person care in another state. The team is partnering with three clinics providing first-trimester abortion care (two in-person and one virtual), and engaging a diverse six-person Community Advisory Board. The evidence generated can inform patient-facing decision-making tools for people living in areas with poor abortion access.
During Summer 2024, Emmalie Griswold, a 2nd year MPH in Health Systems and Population Health (HSPOP) and Global WACh Graduate Certificate student, provided critical research coordination support to set up the research infrastructure of the new study, essentially laying the groundwork for smooth study execution. (more…)
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