Health Systems & Infectious Diseases

The health systems and infectious diseases division conducts research to strengthen health systems and services and to reduce the burden of infectious diseases in less-advantaged populations. Health systems researchers design, test, and facilitate the replication of cost-effective and sustainable interventions that are applicable to people of developing countries, particularly those living in poverty. These include investigations in support of health policies, more effective delivery of primary healthcare services, scaling up proven life-saving technologies, and the cost and financing of health services. Researchers work in close collaboration with decision-makers to ensure that the knowledge acquired will be applied to priority health problems in real-world settings. Infectious disease researchers are engaged in studies on emerging and re-emerging communicable diseases, the testing of new vaccines, investigations of outbreaks, and prevention of the spread of infectious diseases of highest priority to the people of Bangladesh and other developing countries.

Recognizing the need for timely dissemination of research findings to healthcare providers and decision-makers throughout Bangladesh, the division coordinates the publication of the quarterly Health and Science Bulletin (HSB). In 2007, more than 7500 health professionals in Bangladesh and internationally regularly received the Bulletin. This publication is now in its third year, with issues sent out on a quarterly basis and is also available at www.icddrb.org/hsb.

The Division maintains three field sites that are used for demographic surveillance and for supporting investigations carried out by ICDDR,B researchers, including large scale effectiveness studies. Current activities include trials of new vaccines, tests of nutritional interventions, studies on the appropriate management of sexually transmitted infections, and epidemiology of dengue fever. The field sites include two rural field stations and an urban slum field station in Dhaka city. In all these three settings, people benefit from the government and NGO health services; however, the primary source of curative health services remains the private sector.