Evidence Aid newsletter: 15 February 2022
We are pleased to send you this February 2022 newsletter from Evidence Aid, containing information on our evidence collections and projects. Please forward it to anyone who might be interested. If they would like to receive these newsletters directly, they should contact info@evidenceaid.org.
2022 Fundraising Appeal: We continue to reach out for much needed funds to continue our work through 2022 and beyond and are very grateful to those who have donated so far. For those who might like to donate on a regular basis, there are options for monthly donations on our donate page. The page also allows you to donate a one-off sum to Evidence Aid via PayPal. If you are unable to donate through PayPal, or would prefer to make a direct bank transfer, please contact Claire Allen (callen@evidenceaid.org).
Highlights: Our fourth webinar linked to the WHO Guidance on Research Methods for Health Emergency and Disaster Risk Management is taking place on Friday 18 February at 1pm GMT. Dell Saulnier of Lund University in Sweden and Ana Raquel Nunes of Warwick University in the UK will cover Disaster risk factors – hazards, exposure and vulnerability. You can register here.
We will formally launch the new Resilient Health Systems collection in collaboration with the Pan American Health Organization on Tuesday 22 February at 3pm GMT. Details of how to register will be circulated via our social media channels and e-mail.
Evidence collections: We have continued to work on our evidence collections, with three recent summaries covering:
Effects of school-based measures during the COVID-19 pandemic – This review suggests that a broad range of measures implemented in the school setting can reduce the transmission of SARS‐CoV‐2, improve the use of health care related to COVID‐19 and limit the number of cases and deaths. However, they may also lead to negative unintended consequences, such as the impact of fewer days in school. (The full summary is in our COVID-19 collection.)
Hospital disaster resilience – This review found that non-structural components such as utilities and architectural systems account for more than 80% of the total costs of a hospital. Hospital building stability (including structural and non-structural systems and resource preparedness systems) plays a significant role in hospital performance during disasters. Comprehensive assessment of hospital disaster resilience helps find weaknesses and challenges in the context of disaster risk and ways to mitigate the harmful consequences of disasters. (The full summary is in our Resilient Health Systems collection.)
Migration and mental health in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) – This review found that the evidence base concerning migration, resilience among migrants and mental health in LMICs is very limited. Low social support is associated with poor mental health and discrimination is a risk factor for poor mental health outcomes. (The full summary is in our Resilient Health Systems and Health of Refugees and Asylum Seekers collections.)
What else?
- The next phase of our work with the WHO Kobe Centre to support the creation of a Knowledge Hub for health emergency and disaster risk management is under discussion. This second phase would focus on improved communication and dissemination of the content of the chapters in the WHO Guidance on Research Methods for Health Emergency and Disaster Risk Management. The first phase of this project has already led to the updating of the website with audio podcasts and videos , and will soon include short summaries of the chapters and their further readings.
- Our free to view evidence collections now contain:
585 summaries for COVID-19
124 summaries for Resilient Health Systems
113 summaries for Health of Refugees and Asylum Seekers
111 summaries for Prevention and Treatment of Malnutrition
55 summaries for Earthquakes
42 summaries for Windstorms
34 summaries for Ebola
17 summaries for Humanitarian impact of climate change
All these summaries are available in English and most are also available in other languages.
Social media: We promote our summaries and the work of Evidence Aid generally through Twitter (@Evidence Aid), Facebook (Evidence Aid – page and group) and Instagram (evidenceaid). Please follow us and share the posts.
Volunteers: Our volunteers provide us with a huge amount of support and contribute to searching, screening and downloading reviews, preparing and writing summaries, providing web support and advising on translations. We are always grateful for their support. Anyone interested in joining as a volunteer is welcome to contact us at info@evidenceaid.org.
The Evidence Aid team: Information about the Evidence Aid staff and interns is available on our website.