Sweden has had a high and stable vaccination coverage for measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine (>96%) through the national immunization program (NIP), but coverage rates highlight local pockets of lower vaccination coverage. This project addressed low MMR vaccine acceptance among parents in a Somali community, in Stockholm. The objective of the intervention was to increase vaccine confidence and MMR-vaccine uptake and also to inform practices addressing vaccine acceptance.
BackgroundNazarbayev University School of Medicine has launched a Master of Public Health (MPH) program in 2016.A new MPH program is oriented towards competency-based learning and strives to increase the number of skilled public health workforce, trained according to the best international standards.A corporate fund ''University Medical Center'' provides students, faculty and clinicians a clinic-based setting for conducting research.Within the frame of an MPH course on ''Social and Behavioral Sciences in Public Health'', master students have been involved in conducting a real-world survey under the supervision of faculty and involvement of clinical researchers. ObjectivesThe main goals of the course were to (1) understand the relevance of psychological, social and behavioral factors for major public health problems, (2) apply the epidemiological and statistical knowledge through designing and implementing a health survey.This was a semester long course, consisting of a series of lectures and group work.The entire class was divided into 5 groups, each responsible for conduction of the various steps of survey. ResultsA survey has been conducted on ''Awareness, knowledge and attitudes concerning depression among perinatal women attending the University Medical Center's National Research Center for Maternal and Child Health in Astana''.Preliminary analysis showed that 45% of respondents had low level of knowledge about perinatal depression, however depression was regarded as sign of weakness only by 20% of women.About 40% of participants reported positive attitudes towards universal screening for depression during pregnancy and after childbirth.The study findings will be submitted for publication to a peer-reviewed journal.Conclusions This experience of integration of education with real-world research is important for research capacity strengthening and useful for other universities in the country.
Enabling, supporting and promoting positive health-related behaviours is critical in addressing the major public health challenges of our time, and the multifaceted nature of behaviours requires an evidence-based approach. This statement seeks to suggest how a much-needed enhanced use of behavioural and cultural science and insights for health could be advanced. and methods: Public health authorities of Europe and Central Asia and international partner organizations in September 2023 met in Copenhagen, Denmark, to discuss the way forward. Drawing on 1) country reporting to WHO, 2) interview study with public health authorities and 3) the meeting deliberations, this meeting statement was developed. The meeting statement presents a joint call for step-change accelerated use of evidence-based approaches for health behaviours. Actionable next steps for public health authorities and international and regional development partners in health are presented. The way forward involves increased resource allocation, integration of behavioural insights into health strategies, advocacy through case and cost-effectiveness examples and capacity building.
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