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Medicine for Global Health

Improvements to medical practice and delivery of treatment has been the focus of many international collaborations aiming to address the global burden of disease. Delivering appropriate health care, as well as implementation of research in low-and-middle-income countries, is compounded by resource allocation issues. Vulnerable populations continue to be seriously affected by non-communicable and infectious diseases including neglected tropical diseases, while complications during pregnancy and childbirth in these regions leave mothers and infants at risk of severe disability or death. These are ethical as well as medical problems, as many of these outcomes are preventable. To focus on the public health initiatives, the development of health care policies and evidence-based guidelines, in addition to research into the control and treatment of diseases, BMC Medicine has launched an article collection on Medicine for Global Health.

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  1. Pragmatic randomized trials aim to examine the effects of interventions in the full spectrum of patients seen by clinicians who receive routine care. Such trials should be employed in parallel with efforts to ...

    Authors: Mike English, Jamlick Karumbi, Michuki Maina, Jalemba Aluvaala, Archna Gupta, Merrick Zwarenstein and Newton Opiyo
    Citation: BMC Medicine 2016 14:5
    Content type: Debate Published on:

  2. The 1994 genocide against the Tutsi destroyed the health system in Rwanda. It is impressive that a small country like Rwanda has advanced its health system to the point of now offering near universal health in...

    Authors: Sabin Nsanzimana, Krishna Prabhu, Haley McDermott, Etienne Karita, Jamie I. Forrest, Peter Drobac, Paul Farmer, Edward J. Mills and Agnes Binagwaho
    Citation: BMC Medicine 2015 13:216
    Content type: Review Published on:

  3. Chronic diseases contribute a large share of disease burden in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Chronic diseases have a tendency to occur simultaneously and where there are two or more such conditions...

    Authors: Perianayagam Arokiasamy, Uttamacharya Uttamacharya, Kshipra Jain, Richard Berko Biritwum, Alfred Edwin Yawson, Fan Wu, Yanfei Guo, Tamara Maximova, Betty Manrique Espinoza, Aarón Salinas Rodríguez, Sara Afshar, Sanghamitra Pati, Gillian Ice, Sube Banerjee, Melissa A. Liebert, James Josh Snodgrass…
    Citation: BMC Medicine 2015 13:178
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  4. Mortality in paediatric emergency care units in Africa often occurs within the first 24 h of admission and remains high. Alongside effective triage systems, a practical clinical bedside risk score to identify ...

    Authors: Elizabeth C. George, A. Sarah Walker, Sarah Kiguli, Peter Olupot-Olupot, Robert O. Opoka, Charles Engoru, Samuel O. Akech, Richard Nyeko, George Mtove, Hugh Reyburn, James A. Berkley, Ayub Mpoya, Michael Levin, Jane Crawley, Diana M. Gibb, Kathryn Maitland…
    Citation: BMC Medicine 2015 13:174
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  5. The Alere point-of-care (POC) Pimaâ„¢ CD4 analyzer allows for decentralized testing and expansion to testing antiretroviral therapy (ART) eligibility. A consortium conducted a pooled multi-data technical perform...

    Authors: Lesley E. Scott, Jennifer Campbell, Larry Westerman, Luc Kestens, Lara Vojnov, Luciana Kohastsu, John Nkengasong, Trevor Peter and Wendy Stevens
    Citation: BMC Medicine 2015 13:168
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  6. Individual income and poverty are associated with poor health outcomes. The poor face unique challenges related to access, education, financial capacity, environmental effects, and other factors that threaten ...

    Authors: Ali H. Mokdad, Marielle C. Gagnier, K. Ellicott Colson, Paola Zúñiga-Brenes, Diego Ríos-Zertuche, Annie Haakenstad, Erin B. Palmisano, Brent W. Anderson, Sima S. Desai, Catherine W. Gillespie, Tasha Murphy, Paria Naghavi, Jennifer Nelson, Dharani Ranganathan, Alexandra Schaefer, Gulnoza Usmanova…
    Citation: BMC Medicine 2015 13:164
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  7. Up to 50 % of HIV-infected persons in sub-Saharan Africa are lost from care between HIV diagnosis and antiretroviral therapy (ART) initiation. Structural barriers, including cost of transportation to clinic an...

    Authors: Mark J. Siedner, Data Santorino, Alexander J. Lankowski, Michael Kanyesigye, Mwebesa B. Bwana, Jessica E. Haberer and David R. Bangsberg
    Citation: BMC Medicine 2015 13:160
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  8. In 2010 falls were responsible for approximately 80 % of disability stemming from unintentional injuries excluding traffic accidents in adults 50 years and over. Falls are becoming a major public health proble...

    Authors: Jennifer Stewart Williams, Paul Kowal, Heather Hestekin, Tristan O’Driscoll, Karl Peltzer, Alfred Yawson, Richard Biritwum, Tamara Maximova, Aarón Salinas Rodríguez, Betty Manrique Espinoza, Fan Wu, Perianayagam Arokiasamy and Somnath Chatterji
    Citation: BMC Medicine 2015 13:147
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  9. In countries with high incomes, frailty indicators predict adverse outcomes in older people, despite a lack of consensus on definition or measurement. We tested the predictive validity of physical and multidim...

    Authors: Jotheeswaran AT, Renata Bryce, Matthew Prina, Daisy Acosta, Cleusa P Ferri, Mariella Guerra, Yueqin Huang, Juan J. Llibre Rodriguez, Aquiles Salas, Ana Luisa Sosa, Joseph D. Williams, Michael E. Dewey, Isaac Acosta, Zhaorui Liu, John Beard and Martin Prince
    Citation: BMC Medicine 2015 13:138
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  10. The endgame of polio eradication is hampered by the international spread of poliovirus via travelers. In response to ongoing importations of poliovirus into polio-free countries, on 5 May 2014, WHO’s Director-...

    Authors: Annelies Wilder-Smith, Wei-Yee Leong, Luis Fernandez Lopez, Marcos Amaku, Mikkel Quam, Kamran Khan and Eduardo Massad
    Citation: BMC Medicine 2015 13:133
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  11. The burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) is increasing in sub-Saharan Africa, but data available for intervention planning are inadequate. We determined the prevalence of selected NCDs and HIV infection,...

    Authors: Bazil Kavishe, Samuel Biraro, Kathy Baisley, Fiona Vanobberghen, Saidi Kapiga, Paula Munderi, Liam Smeeth, Robert Peck, Janneth Mghamba, Gerald Mutungi, Eric Ikoona, Jonathan Levin, Maria Assumpció Bou Monclús, David Katende, Edmund Kisanga, Richard Hayes…
    Citation: BMC Medicine 2015 13:126
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  12. Ready-to-use therapeutic foods (RUTFs) are a key component of a life-saving treatment for young children who present with uncomplicated severe acute malnutrition in resource limited settings. Increasing recogn...

    Authors: J Thomas Brenna, Peter Akomo, Paluku Bahwere, James A Berkley, Philip C Calder, Kelsey D Jones, Lei Liu, Mark Manary, Indi Trehan and André Briend
    Citation: BMC Medicine 2015 13:117
    Content type: Commentary Published on:

  14. Ready-to-use therapeutic foods (RUTF) are lipid-based pastes widely used in the treatment of acute malnutrition. Current specifications for RUTF permit a high n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) content and ...

    Authors: Kelsey DJ Jones, Rehema Ali, Maureen A Khasira, Dennis Odera, Annette L West, Grielof Koster, Peter Akomo, Alison WA Talbert, Victoria M Goss, Moses Ngari, Johnstone Thitiri, Said Ndoro, Miguel A Garcia Knight, Kenneth Omollo, Anne Ndungu, Musa M Mulongo…
    Citation: BMC Medicine 2015 13:93
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  15. There is a large treatment gap for mental health care in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), with the majority of people with mental, neurological, and substance use (MNS) disorders receiving no or inade...

    Authors: Maya Semrau, Sara Evans-Lacko, Atalay Alem, Jose Luis Ayuso-Mateos, Dan Chisholm, Oye Gureje, Charlotte Hanlon, Mark Jordans, Fred Kigozi, Heidi Lempp, Crick Lund, Inge Petersen, Rahul Shidhaye and Graham Thornicroft
    Citation: BMC Medicine 2015 13:79
    Content type: Correspondence Published on:

  16. Low haemoglobin concentrations may be predictive of incident tuberculosis (TB) and death in HIV-infected patients receiving antiretroviral therapy (ART), but data are limited and inconsistent. We examined thes...

    Authors: Andrew D Kerkhoff, Robin Wood, Frank G Cobelens, Ankur Gupta-Wright, Linda-Gail Bekker and Stephen D Lawn
    Citation: BMC Medicine 2015 13:70
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  17. The current epidemic of obesity and cardiometabolic diseases in developing countries is described as being driven by socioeconomic inequalities. These populations have a greater vulnerability to cardiometaboli...

    Authors: Patricio Lopez-Jaramillo, Diego Gomez-Arbelaez, Aristides Sotomayor-Rubio, Daniel Mantilla-Garcia and Jose Lopez-Lopez
    Citation: BMC Medicine 2015 13:41
    Content type: Review Published on:

  18. Serum retinol concentration determined by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) is recommended by the World Health Organization to assess population vitamin A status. This assay is expensive, technical...

    Authors: Elise F Talsma, Hans Verhoef, Inge D Brouwer, Anne S Mburu-de Wagt, Paul JM Hulshof and Alida Melse-Boonstra
    Citation: BMC Medicine 2015 13:30
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  19. Malnourished HIV-infected African adults are at high risk of early mortality after starting antiretroviral therapy (ART). We hypothesized that short-course, high-dose vitamin and mineral supplementation in lip...

    Authors: Suzanne Filteau, George PrayGod, Lackson Kasonka, Susannah Woodd, Andrea M Rehman, Molly Chisenga, Joshua Siame, John R Koethe, John Changalucha, Denna Michael, Jeremiah Kidola, Daniela Manno, Natasha Larke, Daniel Yilma, Douglas C Heimburger, Henrik Friis…
    Citation: BMC Medicine 2015 13:17
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  20. Although the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control prioritizes monitoring of tobacco use by population-based surveys, information about the prevalence and patterns of tobacco use in sub-Saharan Africa is lim...

    Authors: Chandrashekhar T Sreeramareddy, Pranil Mansingh Pradhan and Shwe Sin
    Citation: BMC Medicine 2014 12:243
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  21. We herein evaluate the Spanish population’s trends in health burden by comparing results of two Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Studies (the GBD studies) performed 20 years apart.

    Authors: Josep Maria Haro, Stefanos Tyrovolas, Noe Garin, Cesar Diaz-Torne, Loreto Carmona, Lidia Sanchez-Riera, Fernando Perez-Ruiz and Christopher JL Murray
    Citation: BMC Medicine 2014 12:236
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  23. Iron-deficient erythropoiesis results in excess formation of zinc protoporphyrin (ZPP), which can be measured instantly and at low assay cost using portable haematofluorometers. ZPP is used as a screening mark...

    Authors: Martin N Mwangi, Sumi Maskey, Pauline EA Andang’o, Noel K Shinali, Johanna M Roth, Laura Trijsburg, Alice M Mwangi, Han Zuilhof, Barend van Lagen, Huub FJ Savelkoul, Ayşe Y Demir and Hans Verhoef
    Citation: BMC Medicine 2014 12:229
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  24. Population-based epidemiological research has established that refugees in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) are at increased risk for a range of mental, neurological and substance use (MNS) problems. Im...

    Authors: Jeremy C Kane, Peter Ventevogel, Paul Spiegel, Judith K Bass, Mark van Ommeren and Wietse A Tol
    Citation: BMC Medicine 2014 12:228
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  26. Current approaches are unlikely to achieve the aggressive global tuberculosis (TB) control targets set for 2035 and beyond. Active case finding (ACF) may be an important tool for augmenting existing strategies...

    Authors: Andrew S Azman, Jonathan E Golub and David W Dowdy
    Citation: BMC Medicine 2014 12:216
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  27. China, like other countries, is facing a growing burden of chronic disease but the prevalence of multimorbidity and implications for the healthcare system have been little researched. We examined the epidemiol...

    Authors: Harry HX Wang, Jia Ji Wang, Samuel YS Wong, Martin CS Wong, Fang Jian Li, Pei Xi Wang, Zhi Heng Zhou, Chun Yan Zhu, Sian M Griffiths and Stewart W Mercer
    Citation: BMC Medicine 2014 12:188
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  28. The forthcoming post-Millennium Development Goals era will bring about new challenges in global health. Low- and middle-income countries will have to contend with a dual burden of infectious and non-communicab...

    Authors: Alan D Lopez, Thomas N Williams, Adeera Levin, Marcello Tonelli, Jasvinder A Singh, Peter GJ Burney, Jürgen Rehm, Nora D Volkow, George Koob and Cleusa P Ferri
    Citation: BMC Medicine 2014 12:200
    Content type: Forum Published on:

  31. Alcohol consumption is a major global risk factor for mortality and morbidity. Much discussion has revolved around the diverse findings on the complex relationship between alcohol consumption and the leading c...

    Authors: Michael Roerecke and Jürgen Rehm
    Citation: BMC Medicine 2014 12:182
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  35. Voluntary medical male circumcision has been conclusively demonstrated to reduce the lifetime risk of male acquisition of HIV. The strategy has been adopted as a component of a comprehensive strategy towards a...

    Authors: Vincent Mutabazi, Jamie I Forrest, Nathan Ford and Edward J Mills
    Citation: BMC Medicine 2014 12:184
    Content type: Commentary Published on:

  38. Liver cirrhosis is a major yet largely preventable and underappreciated cause of global health loss. Variations in cirrhosis mortality at the country level reflect differences in prevalence of risk factors suc...

    Authors: Ali A Mokdad, Alan D Lopez, Saied Shahraz, Rafael Lozano, Ali H Mokdad, Jeff Stanaway, Christopher JL Murray and Mohsen Naghavi
    Citation: BMC Medicine 2014 12:145
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  40. Adherence to combination antiretroviral therapy (ART) is a key predictor of the success of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) treatment, and is potentially amenable to intervention. Insight into predictors or ...

    Authors: Nienke Langebeek, Elizabeth H Gisolf, Peter Reiss, Sigrid C Vervoort, Thóra B Hafsteinsdóttir, Clemens Richter, Mirjam AG Sprangers and Pythia T Nieuwkerk
    Citation: BMC Medicine 2014 12:142
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  41. The impact of mental disorders among homeless people is likely to be substantial in low income countries because of underdeveloped social welfare and health systems. As a first step towards advocacy and provis...

    Authors: Abebaw Fekadu, Charlotte Hanlon, Emebet Gebre-Eyesus, Melkamu Agedew, Haddis Solomon, Solomon Teferra, Tsehaysina Gebre-Eyesus, Yonas Baheretibeb, Girmay Medhin, Teshome Shibre, Abraham Workneh, Teketel Tegegn, Alehegn Ketema, Philip Timms, Graham Thornicroft and Martin Prince
    Citation: BMC Medicine 2014 12:138
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  43. Environmental enteric dysfunction (EED) is an acquired syndrome of impaired gastrointestinal mucosal barrier function that is thought to play a key role in the pathogenesis of stunting in early life. It has be...

    Authors: Kelsey DJ Jones, Barbara Hünten-Kirsch, Ahmed MR Laving, Caroline W Munyi, Moses Ngari, Jenifer Mikusa, Musa M Mulongo, Dennis Odera, H Samira Nassir, Molline Timbwa, Moses Owino, Greg Fegan, Simon H Murch, Peter B Sullivan, John O Warner and James A Berkley
    Citation: BMC Medicine 2014 12:133
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  44. Intimate partner violence (IPV) and HIV are important and interconnected public health concerns. While it is recognized that they share common social drivers, there is limited evidence surrounding the potentia...

    Authors: Tanya Abramsky, Karen Devries, Ligia Kiss, Janet Nakuti, Nambusi Kyegombe, Elizabeth Starmann, Bonnie Cundill, Leilani Francisco, Dan Kaye, Tina Musuya, Lori Michau and Charlotte Watts
    Citation: BMC Medicine 2014 12:122
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  45. The epidemics of HIV and hypertension are converging in sub-Saharan Africa. Due to antiretroviral therapy (ART), more HIV-infected adults are living longer and gaining weight, putting them at greater risk for ...

    Authors: Robert N Peck, Rehema Shedafa, Samuel Kalluvya, Jennifer A Downs, Jim Todd, Manikkam Suthanthiran, Daniel W Fitzgerald and Johannes B Kataraihya
    Citation: BMC Medicine 2014 12:125
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  46. Recent transcriptomic studies revived a hypothesis suggested by historical studies in rabbits that the ratio of peripheral blood monocytes to lymphocytes (ML) is associated with risk of tuberculosis (TB) disea...

    Authors: Vivek Naranbhai, Soyeon Kim, Helen Fletcher, Mark F Cotton, Avy Violari, Charles Mitchell, Sharon Nachman, George McSherry, Helen McShane, Adrian VS Hill and Shabir A Madhi
    Citation: BMC Medicine 2014 12:120
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  47. The RTS,S malaria vaccine is currently undergoing phase 3 trials. High vaccine-induced antibody titres to the circumsporozoite protein (CSP) antigen have been associated with protection from infection and epis...

    Authors: Michael T White, Philip Bejon, Ally Olotu, Jamie T Griffin, Kalifa Bojang, John Lusingu, Nahya Salim, Salim Abdulla, Nekoye Otsyula, Selidji T Agnandji, Bertrand Lell, Kwaku Poku Asante, Seth Owusu-Agyei, Emmanuel Mahama, Tsiri Agbenyega, Daniel Ansong…
    Citation: BMC Medicine 2014 12:117
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  48. Recently, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared that the spread of polio is an international public health emergency, and a coordinated international response is sought. Although the importance of such ...

    Authors: Mohammad Ali and David A Sack
    Citation: BMC Medicine 2014 12:116
    Content type: Commentary Published on:

  49. An understanding of the mechanisms mediating protective immunity against malaria in humans is currently lacking, but critically important to advance the development of highly efficacious vaccines. Antibodies p...

    Authors: Faith HA Osier, Gaoqian Feng, Michelle J Boyle, Christine Langer, Jingling Zhou, Jack S Richards, Fiona J McCallum, Linda Reiling, Anthony Jaworowski, Robin F Anders, Kevin Marsh and James G Beeson
    Citation: BMC Medicine 2014 12:108
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  50. Tuberculous pericarditis (TBP) is associated with high morbidity and mortality, and is an important treatable cause of heart failure in developing countries. Tuberculous aetiology of pericarditis is difficult ...

    Authors: Shaheen Pandie, Jonathan G Peter, Zita S Kerbelker, Richard Meldau, Grant Theron, Ureshnie Govender, Mpiko Ntsekhe, Keertan Dheda and Bongani M Mayosi
    Citation: BMC Medicine 2014 12:101
    Content type: Research article Published on: