Researchers at the Division of Global Health Equity engage in studies that seek to advance the understanding and treatment of diseases worldwide. Emphasis is placed upon the study of HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and cardiovascular disease in resource-poor settings, where disease burden is greatest.
While furthering the boundaries of medical science, research shapes clinical care at the DGHE/Partners In Health’s international and domestic sites. This partnership brings discoveries at forefront of academic medicine to underserved populations. DGHE researchers share and disseminate their findings throughout the scientific community in an effort to improve the quality of and access to healthcare for all.
Insights from medicine and the social sciences inform approaches to problems and evaluation of findings. Faculty consider from varying perspectives, social determinants of health, and multiple aspects of prevention and treatment.
The Division supports monthly global health seminars for the BWH community. These are recorded and available for viewing.
Current Research
Child Health and Development
- Randomized community trial of school-based interventions in impoverished urban neighborhoods in Santiago, Chile examining the impact of intensified case management within schools on outcomes including asthma frequency and school absenteeism
Cholera
- Measuring the impact of a cholera vaccination program in Haiti
Global Health Delivery
- Case studies development on large-scale HIV prevention programs and on the interaction between health systems and global health initiatives.
HIV
- Investigating the impact of a pilot nutritional intervention on HIV-positive individuals in Haiti
- Studying the impact of social support on medication adherence among HIV/AIDS patients and conducting a pilot study on child development in household of HIV affected parents in Peru
Primary Care
- Implementing and evaluating an integrated primary care program in rural southeastern Rwanda, analyzing change in health indicators in intervention and non-intervention areas over the five years
- Operational research projects include economic analyses of health systems, ethnographic work on understanding barriers to accessing care, and the development of a rigorous monitoring and evaluation program capable of ongoing feedback and mid-course corrections in rural Rwanda
Tuberculosis
- Molecular epidemiology and transmission dynamics of drug resistant TB in Lima, Peru engaging almost 4,000 TB patients and 12,000 household contacts
- Prevalence and consequences of mixed TB strain infection high HIV prevalence populations in South Africa
- Measurement of the transmissibility of M. tuberculosis interventions to protect healthcare workers from airborne infections. An experimental ward vents infected air to a animal lab creating exposure to airborne bacteria in South Africa
- Surveillance strategies for monitoring the prevalence of MDR TB in Moldova and South Africa
- Clinical trial of high dose rifampin for drug sensitive TB in Lima, Peru
- Studies focused on treatment outcomes, risk factors for treatment failures, and community-based care delivery models interventions in tuberculosis patients with alcohol disorders in Russia
- Exploring the interaction between co-epidemics of TB and HIV to develop tools for public health practitioners designing optimal disease control strategies
