Skip to main content

Posts

Showing posts from 2012

Primary Care in London: meeting future challenges

There are significant variations in the quality of primary care in London, according to a  new report commissioned by NHS London from The King’s Fund and Imperial College London . The report was featured by a number of media outlets, including the  BBC  and  Pulse . General practice in London faces unique challenges - its population is more transient and diverse, with hundreds of different first languages spoken. It is also growing faster than elsewhere in England. While on some measures Londoners are healthier than people from other parts of the country, widespread inequalities exist, with life expectancy varying by up to nine years and infant mortality three years between different parts of the capital. The report highlights some examples of excellent performance - for example, some deprived parts of the capital have the highest rates of child immunisation in the country, and London practices have made good progress in adopting new information technology. However, Londoners also r

Global HIV Policy

School of Public Health and Business School Joint Seminar: “Global HIV Policy” Dr David Wilson, Global HIV/AIDS Program Director | The World Bank David Wilson is the World Bank's Global AIDS Program Director and was previously the Bank's Lead HIV Specialist. His work on HIV/AIDS spans almost 25 years. During his career he has worked as a scientist and program manager in over 50 countries and published approximately 100 scientific papers. His interests lie in HIV epidemiology, HIV prevention science and program evaluation. He has developed prevention programs that have been recognized as best practice by the Wold Bank, WHO and DFID, and have been influential in international HIV prevention science. In addition, he has served as technical consultant and adviser to many international agencies, including USAID, DFID, EU, AUSAID, SIDA, NORAD, UNAIDS, UNICEF and WHO. Date: Wednesday, October 24th Time: 6.30 pm Venue: St Mary’s Campus, Paddington, W2 1PG Room: The

Could the Brazilian health model work in the Welsh NHS?

A Brazilian health model in which all households receive a monthly home visit regardless of need could be adopted in North Wales. Dr Matthew Harris, academic clinical lecturer at Imperial College London, said home visits in Brazil were made by community health workers who had one to two months' training. These workers covered small areas and were fully integrated into primary care. See full article at GP Online .

Applying for the 2013-14 Imperial College MPH Programme

Thank you for your interest in the Imperial College MPH programme. The 2013-14 MPH course starts in October 2013. Applications for entry will open in November 201. I cannot tell you at this stage whether you will be eligible for the MPH because the decision is made by the Admissions Team when they have an opportunity to view your degree results and IELTS score if relevant. We generally require a First Class or Upper Second Class degree from a good university, or a medical degree. A good personal statement about why you want to undertake the MPH course is essential. Previous public health experience is also helpful. You should take the opportunity to find out more about public health, for example, from the  FPH website  ( www.fph.org.uk ). We have several international student societies at Imperial to provide students with some peer support away from their home country. Do check out the visa rules before you apply if you intend to stay in the UK after the MPH as these opportunities a

The Grandest Challenge - Global Health & Innovation

This talk will be delivered by the Professor Abdallah Daar from 18.00 - 20.00 on Thursday, 11 October at Imperial College London, Blackett 1 Lecture Theatre, Physics Building. The talk is based on the author's recently published book “The Grandest Challenge: Taking Life-saving Science from Lab to Village”. It will discuss, among other issues, Professor Daar's work in Oman in medical education and organ transplantation; his work with international organizations such as WHO, UNESCO, the UN etc; his move to the University of Toronto, the programmes he established there, including his award winning work on global health, ethics (for which he won the UNESCO Avicenna Prize on the Ethics of Science), and innovation in science and technology. He will also discuss Oman's potential role in research and innovation. Professor Abdallah Daar is currently Professor of Public Health Sciences and Surgery at the University of Toronto and a Senior Scientist at University Health Network.

2011-12 MPH Student Prizes

The 2011-12 MPH Prize for the Best Overall Performance was awarded to Thomas Cowling. Thomas' thesis was titled Access to general practice and attendance at accident and emergency departments: a systematic review and ecological, cross-sectional analysis . The 2011-12 Prize for the Best Dissertation was awarded to Louise McGrath. Louise's dissertation was titled  Evaluation of the sexual health and service utilisation of sex workers attending GUM clinics in England using routine data .

Public Health in the Arab World

Dr. Samer Jabbour, lead editor and book project coordinator, and Dr. Sameen Siddiqi, one of the contributors, will be visiting Imperial College London to launch Public Health in the Arab World . Joined by Professor Salman Rawaf, also one of the contributors, of Imperial College London’s Department of Primary Care and Public Health and the World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Public Health Education & Training, they will present and discuss the book’s “story”. The book launch will tkae place at 2pm on Friday 14 September 2012 in Lecture Theatre 1.47, Royal School of Mines Building, South Kensington Campus, Imperial College London. No region has changed as radically as the Arab world in the past 18 months. Current developments are altering the public health landscape, but the full impact will take years to unfold. Popular uprisings have exposed important social issues: unemployment, exclusion, and poor social services, including poor health services. These are key so

Presentation of 2011-12 MPH Research Projects

The presentation of projects from students from the 2011-2012 class will take place on Thursday 20 September 2012 & Friday 21 September 2012. The project titles are: The impact of task shifting within the healthcare workforce: How can Bangladesh continue to reduce neonatal mortality? Diabetes Prevention, Peer Led Education and Self-Management Programmes (DIMPLE): an impact evaluation of the Champions Project. Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa and Health. Evaluation of the sexual health and service utilisation of sex workers attending GUM clinics in England using routine data. Micro and macro level costs and benefits of malaria control-Systematic review. Hospitals Safe from the Disasters.  Lessons learned from the Great East Japan Earthquake. Perceived quality of malaria treatment in a context of decreasing endemicity: a qualitative study examining the impact of changes in treatment guidelines in The Gambia. Modelling and understanding the role of climatic variabl

Careers Morning - 5th September 2012

A careers morning will be held on 5th September 2012. See below for timetable. Time Title Speaker 09:30-10:15 Imperial College Careers Advisory Service: services offered to Master’s alumni (within 3 years of graduating) Ms Yasmina Mallam Hassam, Careers Consultant, Careers Advisory Service, Level 5, Sherfield Building, South Kensington Campus 10:15-11:00 A career as a modeller Dr. Peter White Head of Modelling and Economics Unit at Health Protection Agency and, Sen. Lecturer, MRC Centre for Outbreak Analysis and Modelling,  Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology, Imperial College London 11:00-11:15 Break 11:15-12:00 A career in global health/public health Dr. Bhargavi  Rao Wellcome Trust Clinical Research Fellow Department Infectious Disease Epidemiology Imperial College London

Media Mentions

Anthony Laverty’s work on patient choice has received attention in both  The Guardian  and on Radio 4. A research assistant with CLAHRC and an MPH Tutor, Anthony’s paper, published in the March edition of  Health Affairs , finds that although there was widespread media coverage of serious lapses of performance in three hospitals, this had no overall effect in patient numbers at those hospitals. The results of the study, a culmination of work Anthony begun before joining the department, are in line with what is known from other settings. Anthony hopes the results of this paper will lead to the recognition that patient choice alone cannot be relied upon to improve quality in the NHS. He plans to follow this up with other work on more specific clinical areas.

University of Mauritius

Ricky Banarsee has been working with the University of Mauritius and the Mauritian Government to set up an MPH course. The programme has been running since January 2012 and is aimed at students from Mauritius, Seychelles as well sub Saharan countries. Academic input includes staff from the Department of Primary Care & Public Health at Imperial College, as well as from other universities across the UK.

WHO Collaborating Centre

Members of the WHO Collaborating Centre for Public Health Education & Training recently travelled to Egypt to run a training course in Advanced Leadership and Health Management. This was organised jointly with the Arab Administrative Development Organisation (ARADO) and the Health Ministers’ Council for GCC States. The course took place in the beautiful Red Sea resort of Sharm El-Sheikh. Participants came from 13 countries, ranging from Tunisia to the Philippines and from Kuwait to Sudan. The course went very well, with participants praising the interactive format, and in particular, the sharing of successful examples in health leadership from around the world.

Two MPH students offered a Rector’s Scholarship

Two students undertaking the 2012-13 MPH Programme will be offered a Rector’s scholarship. There are just three scholarships available to masters students in the Faculty of Medicine. Awarding two of these scholarships to MPH students r eflects the very high calibre of student in the 2012-13 MPH intake. Congratulations to both the successful applicants. 

MPH Lecturer hosts joint UK-Brazil Symposium at Department of Health

In May, a Brazilian delegation from the Ministry of Health led by Deputy Minister Luis Odorico de Andrade was welcomed to the UK by the Department of Health. They took part in a four-day symposium, which was conceived, organized and chaired by Dr Matthew Harris , Academic Clinical Lecturer in Public Health. This was the second in a series of workshops to progress collaboration under a Brazil-UK MoU (Memorandum of Understanding). A range of topics of mutual interest were discussed over the four days with the focus being very much on reciprocity--discovering what the UK can learn from the Brazilian experience regarding best practice and vice versa, as well as sharing knowledge and experience between the two countries. A key initiative of the collaboration is the Brazilian Community Health Worker project which is being led by Dr Matthew Harris. The Brazilian model uses lay Community Health Workers to pro-actively engage the population, promoting good health in the first instance and e

Departmental seminar series

The summer 2012 seminar series in the Department of Primary Care & Public Health , which started on Wednesday 25 May, was compiled by Felix Greaves. He has organised some very exciting speakers to visit the Department this term and explains the benefits of the seminars.  “ The seminar series is important because it gives us access to some of the other fascinating work being done in our department, in other parts of Imperial and beyond. A real highlight of the series so far has been Professor Atun talking about the real challenges of global health funding, with wonderful examples fresh from his experiences operating at the highest levels at the Global Fund in Geneva ”. All MPH students are welcome to attend the seminar series. The Autumn series will start in October. 

Article published by former MPH student Dr Ji Bang

An article published recently in the  Journal of Public Health  by Dr Ji Bang, a former MPH student at Imperial College, reported wide variations in cervical screening uptake, both across primary care trusts (PCTs), and also at general practice level. Rates were lowest in general practices with high proportions of women who are young, non-white, and deprived. The study showed that the proportion of female patients aged 25-49 years, the percentage of black and ethnic minority patients, and the Index of Multiple Deprivation score were all associated with significantly lower rates of cervical screening in both PCTs and individual practices. In contrast, the percentage of female patients aged 50–64 years was associated with higher uptake of cervical screening. In her paper, which was based on her MPH Summer Dissertation,  Dr Ji Bang suggested that “ a multifaceted approach is needed that includes patients, physicians, individual practices and policy makers,” if cervical screening upta

Applying for the 2012-13 Imperial College MPH Programme

Thank you for your interest in the Imperial College MPH programme. The 2012-13 MPH course starts in October 2012. I cannot tell you at this stage whether you will be eligible for the MPH because the decision is made by the Admissions Team when they have an opportunity to view your degree results and IELTS score if relevant. We generally require a First Class or Upper Second Class degree from a good university, or a medical degree. A good personal statement about why you want to undertake the MPH course is essential. Previous public health experience is also helpful. You should take the opportunity to find out more about public health, for example, from the  FPH website  ( www.fph.org.uk ). We have several international student societies at Imperial to provide students with some peer support away from their home country. Do check out the visa rules before you apply if you intend to stay in the UK after the MPH as these opportunities are now more limited than in the past. Our MPH st