Global Burden of Disease Study to include antimicrobial resistance data
University of Washington and University of Oxford experts yesterday announced the inclusion of mortality and morbidity data related to drug-resistant infections into the annual Global Burden of Disease Study, part of a new antimicrobial resistance (AMR) project "to provide rigorous quantitative evidence of the burden of AMR, to increase awareness of AMR, to support better surveillance of AMR, and to foster the rational use of antimicrobials around the world," according to a commentary in BMC Medicine.
"There are many challenges to estimating the burden of AMR," the authors write. "Primarily, there is limited and unreliable current and historical information on the geographical distribution, prevalence, and incidence of AMR and its health burden, making the burden of AMR difficult to measure and limiting our ability to devise geographically explicit strategies for its control."
The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors (GBD) Study at the University of Washington's Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation is the largest known repository of epidemiology data and can help researchers estimate the impact of a condition or health disparity like AMR on various populations. The GBD provides comparable estimates of mortality and disability resulting from 328 disease and injury causes and from 84 risk factors.
"Including AMR in the GBD will ensure that the resulting estimates comply with the rigorous, evidence-based framework that characterizes the GBD effort," the authors conclude, adding that the effort will provide "essential health intelligence to guide interventions and policies, as well as a benchmark for measuring the impact of interventions on future burden."
The effort is funded by the UK Department of Health and Social Care, the Fleming Fund, the Wellcome Trust, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
Jun 4 BMC Med commentary
Review of One Health training finds lapses, makes recommendations
A systematic review of 45 One Health educational programs in the United States found that few have set core competencies or have consistent standards for applying them, along with other gaps, but offered recommendations for training future practitioners.
Since 2002, many institutions and universities have developed programs related to the One Health approach, which centers around the connections between human health and that of animals and the environment. Authors from the One Health Institute at the University of California (UC), Davis, and the National Academies' One Health Action Collaborative published their findings yesterday in National Academies of Medicine (NAM) Perspectives.
Lead author Eri Togami, DVM, MPH, a fellow at the UC Davis' One Health Institute, said in a press release from the school that the group believes three main skill sets are important to give future public health professionals the tools to solve complex challenges: robust health science knowledge; an understanding of local and global issues related to human, animal, and environmental health; and professional skills such as communication. "We recognize there is a large variety of educational programs for different purposes. Having these three pillars will help aspiring One Health professionals go through high quality training," she said.
Of 45 programs, 27 (60%) did not explicitly state core competencies, and only 14 (31%) listed them publicly online. Epidemiology, as well as environmental health and ecology, were covered by 75% of programs, but underrepresented disciplines included plant biology, law, and antimicrobial resistance. Also, less than half of the programs focused on communication skills required to collaborate with team member, the public, policymakers, and people in different cultural settings.
On the positive side, most programs emphasized practical, applied training for students, including internships, capstone projects, and nonacademic work settings. The report's four main recommendations include clearly stating core competencies, educating future students across a range of disciplines, emphasizing hands-on training, and emphasizing communication.
Jonna Mazet, DVM, PhD, the study's senior author, said in the press release, "I am encouraged to see the country's top educational institutions taking up this charge and creating so many new programs. Our hope is to provide some guidance to help them achieve their goals and ultimately improve the health of our planet."
Jun 4 NAM Perspectives study
Jun 4 UC Davis press release