New article to be published in BMC Public Health on SIALON II

Bio-behavioural HIV and STI surveillance among Men who have Sex with Men in Europe: the Sialon II protocols

Background

Globally, the HIV epidemic is representing a pressing public health issue in Europe and
elsewhere. There is an emerging and progressively urgent need to harmonise HIV and
STI behavioural surveillance among MSM across European countries through the
adoption of common indicators, as well as the development of trend analysis in order
to monitor the HIV-STI epidemic over time. The Sialon II project protocols have been
elaborated for the purpose of implementing a large-scale bio-behavioural survey
among MSM in Europe in line with a Second Generation Surveillance System (SGSS)
approach.

Methods/Design
Sialon II is a multi-centre biological and behavioural cross-sectional survey carried out
across 13 European countries (Belgium, Bulgaria, Germany, Italy, Lithuania, Poland,
Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and the UK) in community
settings. A total of 4.966 MSM were enrolled in the study (3.661 participants in the TLS
survey, 1.305 participants in the RDS survey). Three distinct components are foreseen
in the study protocols: first, a preliminary formative research in each participating
country. Second, collection of primary data using two sampling methods designed
specifically for ‘hard-to-reach’ populations, namely Time Location Sampling (TLS) and
Respondent Driven Sampling (RDS). Third, implementation of a targeted HIV/STI
prevention campaign in the broader context of the data collection.

Discussion
Through the implementation of combined and targeted prevention complemented by
meaningful surveillance among MSM, Sialon II represents a unique opportunity to pilot
a bio-behavioural survey in community settings in line with the SGSS approach in a
large number of EU countries. Data generated through this survey will not only provide
a valuable snapshot of the HIV epidemic in MSM but will also offer an important trend
analysis of the epidemiology of HIV and other STIs over time across Europe.
Therefore, the Sialon II protocol and findings are likely to contribute significantly to
increasing the comparability of data in EU countries through the use of common
indicators and in contributing to the development of effective public health strategies
and policies in areas of high need.

For the full ‘accepted’ version of the paper see the link. The final published version will shortly be avaialble on BMC Public Health’s website. PUBH-D-15-00881_R2 (002)

 

Building capacity to reduce health inequalities through health promotion in Europe

New article published by nIGEL SHERRIFF AND COLLEAGUES LINKED TO THE eUROPEAN ACTION FOR HEALTH PROJECT. http://www.action-for-health.eu/. cOPY OF THE ARTICLE CAN BE FOUND BY FOLLOWING THE LNK AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PAGE

ABSTRACT

Aim

Whilst considerable attention has been paid to describing and measuring health inequalities, relatively little attention has been paid to ways to effectively reduce health inequalities within and among populations. This article presents a conceptual framework for capacity building to assist stakeholders at the regional level within Europe to maximise the potential of healthy public policies and practices to reduce these inequalities as a core part of strategic action plans to access European Structural Funds.

Subject and methods

Within the ACTION-FOR-HEALTH (A4H) project co-funded by the European Commission (EC), a conceptual framework for capacity building to reduce health inequalities was developed and evaluated. The evaluation design adopted mixed methods involving a series of focus groups (n = 22), interviews (n = 14) and questionnaires (n = 34) involving the project partners.

Results

We present the A4H conceptual framework, which is based on a series of capacity-building actions comprising three key areas: (1) developing knowledge and skills; (2) building partnerships; (3) creating action plans. The evaluation data show that the project contributed to enhancing capacities in all three of these areas, at the regional, organisational, and individual levels.

Conclusion

Focussing mostly on building capacities, the A4H project has the potential to have several sustainable outcomes. Our results underscore the importance of the capacity-building approach for the reduction of health inequalities in Europe.Gugglberger, Sherriff et al 2015_A4H

Fit for the future – online consultation closes Jan 31

This week I attended a Public Health Workforce review consultation meeting with PHE – there are some interesting changes afoot, and a promising sense of recognition that public health is not just for medically or clinically trained professionals. Much of the discussion was decidedly ‘health promotion’ – talk of empowering people from all walks of life to address health issues. The chief of Berkshire Firefighters gave an impressive talk on how home-fire prevention services can also bring in health promotion.  There is also talk of developing a public health skills passport.

There is an online consultation on the future direction of public health workforce – the closing deadline has been extended to Jan 31st -it takes about 15 minutes and has some thought provoking questions. DO have your say: https://surveys.phe.org.uk/PHWorkforceReview

The background document – best to read if first- is at https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/fit-for-the-future-a-review-of-the-public-health-workforce