Axis 3

Evaluating public health inventions through impact and mixed method evaluations

Improving the evidence for effective interventions for infectious diseases is an urgent priority in endemic and at-risk regions, particularly environmentally sustainable approaches to control. Mixed method evaluations that include impact evaluation and different evaluations such as process, acceptability, and fidelity, provide essential information that is required for scaling up or out an intervention. For impact evaluations, we use secondary data such as cohort or surveillance data to measure the effectiveness of an intervention.

Sustainable, healthy cities: a cluster randomized controlled trial for Aedes control in Brazil

A mixed methods cluster randomized controlled trial (CRT) is currently being implemented in Fortaleza, Brazil, to measure the effectiveness of community mobilization in reducing dengue incidence in children. The aim of this project is to determine if an EcoHealth intervention based upon community mobilization reduces the risk of dengue virus infection among 3 to 9 years olds compared to usual dengue control practice in Fortaleza, Brazil.

Additionally, a series of implementation science evaluations are embedded within the CRT to allow us to understand how the intervention brings about sustainable change, the influence of context on the intervention, and the potential for transferability and scaling up.

HoSPiCOVID Study

The aim of this project is to compare the public health response to COVID-19 in Brazil, Canada, France, and Mali. Using a case study approach, we identify strengths and weaknesses in the response, including challenges for health professionals and health systems.

The research team is composed of international and national experts in epidemic response and health systems analysis from each of the four countries, such as infectious disease clinicians, social scientists, public health practitioners, epidemiologists, data scientists, and a knowledge transfer expert.