IHACC Commentary in the Lancet Planetary Health

We are excited to announce the publication of a commentary in the Lancet Planetary Health, titled “Climate change and COVID-19: reinforcing Indigenous food systems”. This commentary highlights the compounding challenges of climate change and COVID-19 on Indigenous food systems, and the importance of considering this double burden in future responses.

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The commentary can be accessed here: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanplh/article/PIIS2542-5196(20)30173-X/fulltext

CITATION

Zavaleta-Cortijo C, Ford JD, Aratoma-Rojas I, Lwasa S, Lancha-Rucoba G, New M, et al. Climate change and COVID-19: reinforcing Indigenous food systems. Lancet Planet Heal 2020;5196.

New Publication! Trends in NTD and climate change research in East Africa

Congratulations to Julia Bryson and co-authors on the recent publication, “Neglected tropical diseases in the context of climate change in East Africa: A systematic scoping review”. Click here to access the article!

CITATION

Bryson, J. M., Bishop-Williams, K. E., Berrang-Ford, L., Nunez, E. C., Lwasa, S., Namanya, D. B., Indigenous Health Adaptation to Climate Change Research Team, & Harper, S.L. (2020). Neglected Tropical Diseases in the Context of Climate Change in East Africa: A Systematic Scoping Review. The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, 102(6), 1443–1454.

New Publication Reviewing a Health Information System in Uganda

Congratulations to Jessica Helwig and co-authors for their recent publication in the International Journal of Healthcare Information Systems and Informatics! Click here to access the article.

Using semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions, the authors conducted an evaluation of a health information systems (HIS) used at a hospital in Uganda to describe its areas of strength and limitations, develop potential system enhancements, and propose a framework for the integration of participatory and community-based research methods in an evaluation of a HIS. They found that the staff had mostly positive perceptions of the HIS, identifying it as being comprehensive and dynamic. Some staff recommendations to improve the HIS revolved around improving accessibility and ease of use, unabridged information flow, and adequate training. The use of a participatory approach led to more integrated outcomes and elaborate results, and allowed the stakeholders to foster ownership of the results.

CITATION

Helwig JE, Bishop-Williams KE, Berrang Ford L, Lwasa S, Namanya D, Indigenous Health Adaptation to Climate Change Research Group, Bwindi Community Hospital (2020). Doing More Than Asking for Opinions: A Framework for Participation and Ecohealth in Health Information System Evaluations. International Journal of Healthcare Information Systems and Informatics, 15(3): 22-46.

Figure 1 from Helwig et al (2020) outlines the expansion of the CDC guidelines for evaluation of health surveillance systems to include participatory methods.

Figure 1 from Helwig et al (2020) outlines the expansion of the CDC guidelines for evaluation of health surveillance systems to include participatory methods.

IHACC Holds Annual Program Meetings Online

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The IHACC Project Management Committee hosted a series of virtual meetings last week in place of our typical annual in-person meeting. The meetings were an important opportunity for international team members to come together, discuss challenges and successes in the past year, and plan activities for the year ahead.

The online meetings brought together team members from Uganda, South Africa, UK, Peru, and Canada over a three day period, spanning a time difference of 9 hours between Edmonton, Canada, and Kampala, Uganda!

New IHACC Peru Publication!

New publication!

"Climatic Changes, Water Systems, and Adaptation Challenges in Shawi Communities in the Peruvian Amazon". This community-based participatory research used a mixed-methods approach to examine the impacts of climate change in partnership with two Shawi communities in the Peruvian Amazon.

Read the open-access article here: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/8/3422/htm

Citation: Torres-Slimming PA, Wright CJ, Lancha G, Carcamo CP,  Garcia PJ, Ford JD, IHACC Research Team, and  Harper SL (2020). Climatic Changes, Water Systems, and Adaptation Challenges in Shawi Communities in the Peruvian Amazon. Sustainability12(8), 3422.