NIHR work packages - phase 1

Integration and scale up of care package – the EnDPoINT Consortium

Work package 1.

This work package aims to integrate the different foot care and psychosocial care interventions for NTDs which cause lymphoedema (including lymphatic filariasis, podoconiosis and leprosy) into a holistic care package, that is embedded into routine health care services in selected districts in Ethiopia. An implementation research approach will allow the research team (the 'Excellence in Disability Prevention Integrated across NTDs' (EnDPoINT) Consortium, drawn from UK based researchers and Ethiopia based researchers, policy makers and practitioners), to document the processes and outcomes of the integration efforts, in 'real-time'.

We will explore the factors that influence the integration process by focusing on the nature of the diseases and their perception amongst the target communities (disease narrative), the nature of the intervention, the type of policy actors involved and their interrelationships (adoption systems), the health systems' characteristics, and other pertinent factors related to the wider social, political, economic, cultural and technological context. 

This work package will inform existing plans on the part of the Ministry of Health in Ethiopia to scale up integrated foot care and psychosocial support for lymphoedema patients, nationally. This will in turn enable the research team to extend its involvement into evaluation of these national scale-up efforts. The research team intends to transfer the insights gained through this work package beyond Ethiopia to inform further research, policy and action in similar low income settings. Active involvement of local researchers, policy makers and practitioners, will also ensure that the work contributes toward building critical capacity in implementation research within Ethiopia.

Team

Prof Gail Davey >
Prof Stephen Bremner >
Dr Kebede Deribe > 
Dr Maya Semrau >
Dr Natalia Hounsome >
Prof Abebaw Fekadu > 

Watch Abraham Tesfaye, a researcher at CDT Africa, discuss his research in relation to this work package.

Identification of endemic plant extracts for limb care 

Work package 4.

The aim of this work package is to identify endemic plant extracts for use in the care of lymphoedema in Ethiopia. The work will have three stages:

1. Identification stage: Plants with potential benefits as topical anti-infective agents will be identified from published and grey literature as well as from information from local traditional healers.
2. Pre-clinical discovery stage: Tests for safety and potential efficacy in animal models on up to 10 plant products prioritised on the basis of their safety and efficacy profile.
3. Development stage: Products with the best safety and efficacy profile will be further developed. The hope is that this work will lead eventually to the design of protocols for pragmatic trials for external use.

This work will be undertaken in collaboration with CDT-Africa. The work package supports a PhD student and Post-doctoral research fellow.

Team

Prof Gail Davey >
Prof Abebaw Fekadu > 

Watch Belete Adefris Legesse, a researcher at PDRF, and Dereje Negussie, a PhD student, discuss their research in relation to this work package.

Impact evaluation – MDA with IVM for scabies 

Work package 7.

The aim of this work package is to refine the public response to scabies outbreaks in Ethiopia. In 2016 a sharp drop in the availability of water due to the worst drought the country had faced in decades led to a widespread outbreak of scabies. This work package will work closely with the MOH in Ethiopia and will involve a physical and physcosocial impact assessment of MDA with ivermectin, followed by the development and testing of outbreak responses, including economic resource planning.

Team

Prof Gail Davey >
Dr Natalia Hounsome >
Prof Stephen Bremner >
Prof Jackie Cassell > 
Prof Abebaw Fekadu >   

Watch Robel Yirgu, a Lecturer at Addis Ababa University, discuss his research in relation to this work package.