Call for papers, issue 4, December 2019 - Deadline for submission: 15-07-2019
Summary
Public Health Panorama is calling for the submission of papers for a themed issue on eliminating tuberculosis (TB) research gaps in the WHO European Region. This special issue will be published in December 2019 and will capture the gains of countries in the Region within the framework of the TB Research Agenda for the WHO European Region. Authors may submit papers in either Russian or English, presenting results of TB research projects carried out in priority areas, such as dynamics and drivers of disease transmission, case detection and screening, optimizing treatment regimens, infection control etc.
Deadline for submission: 15 July 2019
Background
Tuberculosis (TB) is a contagious airborne disease primarily caused by the bacteria Mycobacterium tuberculosis, which infects one-fourth of the world’s population. From a latent infection TB emerges as an active disease in about 10 million people each year and is responsible for 1.6 million deaths, with the annual figures for children standing at 1 million and 230 000 respectively. TB is currently the ninth leading cause of death worldwide.
Strengthened health systems in the WHO European Region now offer universal access to TB diagnosis and treatment. However, the high prevalence of rifampicin-resistant/ multidrug-resistant (RR/MDR)-TB, the recent discovery of incurable extensively drug-resistant (XDR)-TB strains, high levels of alcohol abuse, the fatal mix of, and alarming spread of, HIV, are important threats that could halt further progress. Risk groups such as migrants and prisoners are "neglected priorities", and little is known on the best response strategies for these populations.
Despite having the fastest annual average rate of decline in TB incidence and mortality of all WHO regions, at 5% and 10% respectively over the last 5 years. The Region is also facing one of the most rapidly growing HIV epidemics in the world, with a sharp increase in TB/HIV coinfection observed, currently at around 11% annually. In addition, eastern Europe and central Asia are the regions most affected by the drug-resistant strains of TB globally.
Goal 3 of the sustainable development goals (SDGs) aims to achieve universal health coverage, including financial risk protection, access to quality essential health-care services and access to safe, effective, high-quality and affordable essential medicines and vaccines for all by 2030. The targets set by WHO’s global End TB Strategy, engraved in SDG 3.8, will not be met by the WHO European Region with the currently observed rate of decline in the number of cases, unless these threats are addressed and health-care service delivery is adapted to the needs of populations that are (i) affected by TB, (ii) vulnerable for TB, and (iii) at risk of becoming infected and developing the disease.
Further research is desperately needed to put a stop to the suffering inflicted by TB, yet the field does not appear to attract much interest, despite TB ranking as the leading fatal infectious disease globally.
The TB Action Plan 2016-2020 outlines the need of the WHO European Region in intensifying TB research to increase its impact on the TB epidemic and to promote innovation. To support the scale-up of TB research in the Region, the WHO Regional Office for Europe launched the European Tuberculosis Research Initiative (ERI-TB) in 2017. The primary aims of the ERI-TB are to define priority research areas and questions to countries in the Region, catalyse capacity building on a country level, and to facilitate and promote collaboration between research institutions and relevant stakeholders.
In order to boost progress towards ending TB in Europe as well as the implementation of the TB Action Plan 2016-2020, the ERI-TB secretariat at the WHO Regional Office for Europe made a TB Research Agenda available to the Region. The research agenda was developed by engaging (i) core regional technical expertise and (ii) civil society, as well as (iii) national and (iv) regional stakeholders
With the passing of the midpoint mark in the TB Action Plan 2016-2020, and the approval of a progress report on the implementation of the Plan in the WHO European Region by the 68th session of the WHO Regional Committee for Europe in 2018, the timing is now appropriate to have a closer look at the core achievements made in countries of Region towards filling the research gaps outlined by the ERI-TB. This is also an opportunity to supply national TB programme managers with reliable data for strengthening their activities within national TB response efforts.
Call for papers
This themed issue on TB research aims to present the progress made in reducing high-priority research gaps within the field across the WHO European Region. Public Health Panorama is calling for papers summarizing results of research projects carried out at a high scientific level and complying with the key methodological principles for TB research. Specific attention will be given to ethical considerations of the presented research projects, taking into account the stigma and patterns of discrimination towards TB patients that still occur in the Region.
In prioritizing papers for acceptance special attention will be given to those papers addressing high priority research questions in the following areas:
Theme: epidemiological research
1. burden of disease, including latent TB infection;
2. dynamics and drivers of disease transmission;
Theme: Innovation and fundamental research
3. basic science research;
4. new diagnostics;
5. new drugs and regimens;
6. new vaccines;
Theme: Operational research
7. case detection and screening;
8. access to treatment and compliance;
9. optimizing treatment regimens;
10. health systems and the public-private mix;
11. collaboration with HIV and viral Hepatitis programmes;
12. collaboration with programmes relating to other co-morbidities;
13. infection control;
14. TB governance, management and monitoring;
15. community engagement;
16. social determinants and other risk factors;
17. linking TB research with other disciplines.
High priority will also be given to those research papers targeting national agendas and data needs for decision making in the field of TB response.
Guidelines for submitting papers
Public Health Panorama invites papers that showcase examples from the WHO European Region and beyond, and papers that are intended for policy-makers, planners, researchers, public health specialists, clinicians, educators, civil society and other interest groups.
Papers in the form of original research, reviews, project reports, policy analysis, case studies and short communications are welcome.
Manuscripts may be submitted in either English or Russian, and accepted papers will be published in both languages.
The deadline for submission is 15 July 2019. Manuscripts should be prepared in accordance with the guidelines for authors and contributors, and this call for papers should be mentioned in an accompanying cover letter. All submissions should be sent to eupanorama@who.int and consist of the manuscript, duly filled in and signed cover letter and licence agreement.
For further queries, please contact eupanorama@who.int
