Guide: WHO guidelines on Good Participatory Practice for Trials of Emerging Pathogens (GPP-EP)
by Mesh Editorial Team, Dr Catherine HankinsGPP-EP were prepared in 2016 by the WHO to support prevention and treatment trials of emerging (and re-emerging) pathogens that were likely to cause severe outbreaks. The guidelines address how to engage community stakeholders and promote ethical standards throughout the research process.
Guide: WHO COVID-19 Global Risk Communication and Community Engagement Strategy – interim guidance
by World Health Organisation, Mesh Editorial TeamWHO's COVID-19 Global Risk Communication and Community Engagement Strategy, December 2020 - May 2021 is underpinned by a socio-behavioural trends analysis and builds on the learnings from the response to-date. The shift presented in the document is towards the community engagement and participatory approaches that have been proven to help control and eliminate outbreaks in the past.
Published Literature: How can community engagement in health research be strengthened for infectious disease outbreaks in Sub-Saharan Africa? A scoping review of the literature
by Mesh Editorial TeamThis literature review, published in 2021 and funded by ALERRT, looks at the body of knowledge that has been developed for community engagement specifically as it applies to emerging infectious disease outbreaks in Sub-Saharan Africa.
SSHAP (the Social Science in Humanitarian Action Platform) is a programme of work focusing on the social dimensions of emergency responses. Their site has an excellent resource page with COVID-19 as a search topic
Published Report: Research in global health emergencies
by Mesh Editorial Team, Nuffield Council on BioethicsThis Nuffield Council on Bioethics report from January 2020 contains the findings of a two year in-depth inquiry. The aim was to identify ways in which research can be undertaken ethically during emergencies, in order to promote the contribution that ethically-conducted research can make to improving current and future emergency preparedness and response.
Although these Good Participatory Practice (GPP) Guidelines were developed by AVAC and UNAIDS for HIV prevention trials, they are valuable to clinical trials across fields, research areas, geographies and populations.
This article addresses community engagement around the COVID-19 outbreak in South Africa in April 2020 and proposes a free-to-use mobile app as well as a longer-term Community Engagement Nerve Centre for the country
Watch a Livestream of the Clade X Pandemic Tabletop Exercise
by Mesh Editorial TeamOn the 15th May, the John Hopkins Center for Health Security hosted Clade X, a pandemic tabletop exercise. The exercise was designed to illustrate high-level strategic decisions and policies needed to prevent a severe pandemic or diminish its consequences should prevent fail. The exercise was streamed live and can still be accessed through this article.
Mesh Podcast: Vaccine Hesitancy and Engagement with Dr Heidi Larson
by Mesh Editorial TeamThis Podcast was recorded by the Mesh Team, based on an interview with Dr Heidi Larson from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. In this 30-minute interview, Dr Larson provides her insight into the public health community and the pitfalls researchers and engagement practitioners can find themselves in when working with communities to roll out vaccines.
Mesh Podcast: Community Engagement in Epidemic Preparedness and Response
by Mesh Editorial TeamThis short podcast examines the role provided by engagement practitioners in preparing for and responding to epidemic outbreak.