Health systems/implementation research
Introduction
Improved understanding of social issues improves public health, health care delivery, and the design and uptake of new interventions and tools – whether by health and science professionals (e.g. use of a new diagnostic method) or by the community (e.g. use of bednets).
The social sciences applied to public health include a number of sub disciplines such as health economics, medical sociology, medical anthropology, social epidemiology and health geography. Gender has particular significance as a social issue with potential impact on health – society assigns different roles to men and women and, as a result, transmission dynamics of infectious diseases may disproportionately affect women or men, or lead to differential impact of disease according to gender.
TDR related research
TDR supports research on this topic. Our work is being conducted in the following areas:
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The Global Report on Research for Infectious Diseases of Poverty
This report includes a chapter on health systems. -
Enhancing access to control
Three major multi-country research efforts in Africa
TDR and health systems/implementation research
TDR has a strong history of implementation research. During the 1980s and 1990s, some of TDR’s most significant breakthroughs emerged from applied field research initiatives. These included community-directed treatment for onchocerciasis; the introduction of insecticide-treated bednets; the development of unit-dose packaging (blister packs) for the easy use of antimalarials at home; and field testing of new artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs).
Through our work we have learned that new products and tools are not enough; we need to understand how they work and are used in real field conditions; this is the value of implementation research, which is connected to health systems research.
Latest news
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Improving fever management
14 March 2013 -
A call for closer ties to communities
5 March 2013
TDR publications and articles
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Implementation research for the control of infectious diseases of poverty
Strengthening the evidence base for the access and delivery of new and improved tools, strategies and interventions
17 October 2011 -
TDR Performance assessment framework
Measuring results
10 August 2011 -
Indicators for monitoring and evaluation of the kala-azar elimination programme
Kala-azar elimination in Bangladesh, India and Nepal
21 October 2010