Using internet technology and search engines for learning about health problems trends is cost effective and cheap tool in the hand of today’s epidemiologists.

Each week, millions of users around the world search for online health information. As you might expect, there are more flu-related searches during flu season, more allergy-related searches during allergy season, and more sunburn-related searches during the summer. You can explore all of these phenomena using Google Trends. But can search query trends provide an accurate, reliable model of real-world phenomena?

Google team has found a close relationship between how many people search for flu-related topics and how many people actually have flu symptoms. Of course, not every person who searches for “flu” is actually sick, but a pattern emerges when all the flu-related search queries from each state and region are added together. Google compared its query counts with data from a surveillance system managed by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and discovered that some search queries tend to be popular exactly when flu season is happening. By counting how often we see these search queries, we can estimate how much flu is circulating in various regions of the United States.

At the end of his second term as the 42nd President of the United States, President Clinton established the William J. Clinton Foundation. Since then the Foundation has grown into a global nongovernmental organization with more than 800 staff and volunteers around the world, with offices in New York City, Little Rock, Arkansas, and Boston, Massachusetts.

On the top of its web page, you can see this simple and powerful measure:

The success of our work is measured by a single question: Are people better off now than we started?

The Clinton Foundation generally does not make grants to outside organizations. The Clinton Foundation directs its financial resources to its own programs, both domestically and throughout the world. Combating climate change, treating HIV/AIDS and Malaria, fighting childhood obesity, promoting economic opportunity, and creating sustainable development in Africa are among current initiatives in the Foundation.

In 2002, President Clinton established the Clinton HIV/AIDS Initiative (CHAI) to reorganize markets and work with governments to make treatment more accessible in the developing world. Just six years later, CHAI is providing 69 countries with access to affordable drugs and diagnostics, and working intensively with 22 countries to scale up care and treatment. More than 1.4 million people living with HIV/AIDS are now on lifesaving antiretroviral (ARV) treatment purchased under CHAI agreements.
In addition, CHAI’s efforts are helping to create and improve overall health systems in several ways: lowering the cost of essential tests and treatments, establishing major programs that focus on bringing HIV/AIDS care to vulnerable populations, building human resource capacity, and providing targeted assistance where it is needed most.

Total revenue of the organization in 2007 was $131,450,000. Only 3.2 % of expenses were related to administration and management.

“ If we work to leave people better off than when we started, if we give our children more opportunitiesand a chance to live their dreams, if we focus on our common humanity instead of our interestingdifferences, and if we value our shared responsibilities, we can build a community of global citizensand have a tremendously positive impact on our world and the lives of others.”

- Wi l l i a m J . Cl i n t o n

Based on the US Bureau of Labor Statistics Report in October 2008, job losses continued in manufacturing, construction, and several service-proving industries. Health care and mining continued to add jobs. Nonfarm payroll employment fell by 240,000 in October, and the unemployment rate rose from 6.1 to 6.5 percents. Employment has fallen by 1-2 million in the first 10 months of 2008; over half of the decrease in the past 3 months.

Health care employment continued to expand in October, with an increase of 26,000. Over the past 12 months, health care employment has grown by 348,000. The mining industry added 7,000 jobs in October. Since a low in April 2003, mining employment has grown by 246,000.

Each time I watch his speech at Grant Park in Chicago, I can’t control my tears. Can you understand this moment? He is not only a black candidate (now elected president of the United States of America), but also a son of an immigrant from Kenya. The son of an African man can be the president of the United States of America. This is the moment, this is the reason that why so many people want to come to this country. Your son can be the president of the US if he is qualified. Can you imagine? a black family will live in “White House” for at least four years? This is the moment; this is the moment of change. I am sure Martin watches this moment and can tell you, his dream finally came true.

This generation may forget many things, but the past generation remembers how Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat in a public bus to a white passenger. She was arrested and convicted for disorderly conduct and violating a local ordinance in 1955. The past generation remembers 200,000 people joined the March on Washington D.C and Martin Luther King Jr gave his famous speech “I have a dream”.

Each time I think about Barak and Michelle and their dates in Harvard Square, I feel more connected to these respectful fellows. I usually do my groceries at Market Basket very close to the Harvard Law School, because of better deal, who knows, may Barack and Michelle would go there as well.

Devex is a resource for jobs, business opportunities, professional networking, and news for professionals working in international development, global health, and foreign assistance.

Vision, Do Good, Do it well

Each year, international development agencies such as the World Bank and foundations such as the Gates Foundation spend over 200 billion euros on projects to improve lives in the developing world. We are doing our small part to empower the professionals who implement these projects to spend each of those euros, dollars, pounds, and yen more efficiently toward more effective development projects.

It’s time to open up the development industry to new participants and ideas - by creating partnerships among firms and NGOs from around the world and by increasing the involvement of the people of the developing world. It’s time to spend more money on the development projects themselves and less on administrative expenses. It’s time that we ensure development assistance truly brings about development.

We know that today’s international development professionals are seeking out innovative tools to make their work more efficient and effective, rather than just relying on old methods of doing business. That’s why we have a vision to “Do Good. Do It Well.TM” by supporting all of you who make development happen. We are a small, focused organization and we are striving to be your first resource and your long-term partner for improving lives in the developing world.

During the time of economic crisis finding a right job for an entry level international health professional is not easy. It is a process and you need to plan the process in advance.You need to practice preparation and develop your skills for getting a job. Hunting a job, conducting a successful interview, starting a job and maintaining the job need a lot of skills. Communication skills, stress management and technical skills are among most important skills that you need to master.

Remember,  job market is very competitive during the economic crisis. Suppose you are an employer with a lot of financial stress and for an important task you want to hire somebody, sounds like gambling. There is no room for making mistake. On the other hand, because of the economic problem a lot of qualified people are out there looking for job. If you are an entry level professional you have very difficult time to find a right job. So be prepared.

The first step is that you must be patient. The average job search is 2-6 months. Get ready for 6 months of hard work. Keep calm and remind yourself you need to keep trying hard. Job hunting is a job itself. You need to work day to day on this job. Everyday work on it and let your friends know that you are on the process, so you may take advantage of their social networks as well. Don’t wait for the job to come to you, go and get it. Walk around; go to companies, meet people and ask colleagues in different companies to set an informational interview with you (1) . Sitting with middle and high level employees in your job category and asking them to tell you about their experiences for job hunting and the nature of the job will give  you a better picture of the process and it is a kind of formative evaluation.

Knowing the job market means knowing who is hiring. Increase your network, participate in professional events, conferences, seminars, and meet as many as people you can. Let everybody know you, as a hard worker and enthusiastic professional, are looking for a job. Go review your courses and books. Sharp your professional knowledge. Be flexible, don’t be idealistic, reduce your expectations, you need to go through the door, so start with a low level job, if you are qualified soon you can get promotion or even find a right job in another company with your experiences in the low level job.

Don’t put all of your eggs in one basket, get your career plan flexible, and have different strategies. If there is no job in the field of international health, find a domestic work. If there is no program manager position available, ask for research assistant position. Job hunting is a job itself, as soon as you start it, you actually start a job, so don’t postpone it. You need to make a living, work on it and Good Luck.

[1] I learned this fact from Professor Donald Thea at the BU School of Public Health when I asked him for job hunting advice last week.

source of facts

The Economist has created a global virtual electoral college with each country represented according to the size of its population. The votes will not really count for the US election of course, but the results could be revealing all the same.

Will the world divide into a clear pattern of “red” countries and “blue” ones? Who is your country supporting? And how do readers around the world, given the chance to comment, view the candidates and the issues? Log on now and find out.

So far, Democratic candidate Barack Obama is winning the poll by 8,932 to 130 electoral college votes.

The Global Electoral College is running alongside The Economist’s regular coverage of the election and its blog dedicated to American politics, “Democracy in America”.

Vote Now

The nomination deadline for the Gates Award is October 31, 2008.

In December, 2000, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced the establishment of the International Gates Award for Global Health. The Gates Award has been established to recognize an organization yearly that has made a major and lasting contribution to the field of global health.

The prize consists of a distinctive award sculpture and a prize amount of 1 million dollars.

The Gates Award for Global Health was established by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to reward and exemplify organizations which have developed processes for improving health, especially in resource poor settings, with measurable results. The Gates Award for Global Health recognizes past achievements and the promise of continuing activity and improvement.

Any organization from any country in the world that has substantively improved the health and the lives of people in need may be nominated for the Gates Award for Global Health; the organization may be a charitable institution, a private company, or a public entity.

Nominations will be considered by an international jury consisting of health professionals from developing countries and the Global Health Council’s Board of Directors. Nominations submitted will be reviewed by this jury and a winner will be selected. The jury member names will be publicized on the Global Health Council website once it is established.

The award will be presented in Washington, D.C., at a special Awards Ceremony during the Global Health Council’s Annual International Conference. The winner’s name is embargoed until the time of the ceremony.

This will be the 9^th year that this award will be presented. The past seven recipients have represented a broad range of global health players. They are:

2001 ICDDR, B, a research-based organization

2002 Rotary, a large service based organization

2003Brazil’s National AIDS Program, a governmental program

2004 BRAC, a community-based health program

2005 AMREF, an organization who’s mission is to improve the health of disadvantaged people in Africa as a means for them to escape poverty and improve the quality of their lives

2006 The Carter Center, guided by a fundamental commitment to human rights and the alleviation of human suffering

2007 The Population and Community Development Association, leading the way in Thailand with their groundbreaking AIDS and Positive Partnerships programs

2008 Aravind Eye Care System, fulfilling their mission of eradicating needless blindness through highly effective sustainability models

Click here for background and criteria.

Reducing Birth Defects: …
Read this FREE online! Full Book | PDF Summary

Each year more than 4 million children are born with birth defects. This book highlights the unprecedented opportunity to improve the lives of children and families in developing countries by preventing some birth defects and reducing the consequences of others. A number of developing countries with more comprehensive health care systems are making significant progress in the prevention and care of birth defects. In many other developing countries, however, policymakers have limited knowledge of the negative impact of birth defects and are largely unaware of the affordable and effective interventions available to reduce the impact of certain conditions. Reducing Birth Defects: Meeting the Challenge in the Developing World includes descriptions of successful programs and presents a plan of action to address critical gaps in the understanding, prevention, and treatment of birth defects in developing countries. This study also recommends capacity building, priority research, and institutional and global efforts to reduce the incidence and impact of birth defects in developing countries.

Improving Birth Outcomes: …
Read this FREE online! Full Book | PDF Summary

Birth outcomes have improved dramatically worldwide in the past 40 years. Yet there is still a large gap between the outcomes in developing and developed countries. This book addresses the steps needed to reduce that gap. It reviews the available statistics of low birth weight, prematurity, and birth defects; reviews current knowledge and practices of a healthy pregnancy, identifies cost-effective opportunities for improving birth outcomes and supporting families with an infant handicapped by birth problems, and recommens priority research, capacity building, and institutional and global efforts to reduce adverse birth outcomes in developing countries. The committee has based its study on data and information from several developing countries, and provides recommendations that can assist the March of Dimes, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and NIH in tailoring their international program and forging new partnerships to reduce the mortality and morbidity associated with adverse birth outcomes.

An Iranian band (in Iran ), Arian Band, has been produced a great song with Chris De Burg.

The below training resource is designed by Family Health International, to build skills for conducting quality monitoring and evaluation (M&E) activities. The course is anchored by three core modules: Introduction to M&E; Collecting, Analyzing and Using Monitoring Data; and Developing an M&E.

Work Plan. The course features seven additional modules designed for specific contexts, such as home-based care programs, voluntary counseling and testing programs, programs for orphans, and clinical care activities. Each module includes both a facilitator’s guide and a participant’s guide. The training is based on adult learning theory and is a combination of lectures, discussions, small group work, interactive practical exercises and role-plays. The course was produced by the IMPACT Project, managed by FHI for USAID.

Download the M&E course materials in English as PDF files below.
View Arabic adaptation published by FHI/Egypt in 2007.
Télécharger en Français.

Core M&E Modules

The following core modules are compulsory and must be taken by all participants.

	Introduction to Monitoring and Evaluation Facilitator’s Guide - 82 pages (703KB) Participant Guide - 14 pages (176KB)
	Collecting, Analyzing, and Using Monitoring Data Facilitator’s Guide - 65 pages (1.06MB) Participant Guide - 30 pages (691KB)
	Developing a Monitoring and Evaluation Work Plan Facilitator’s Guide - 48 pages (744KB) Participant Guide - 6 pages (114KB)

Global Environmental Health in the 21st Century: …
Read this FREE online! Full Book | PDF Summary

Environmental management systems (EMSs) are tools that corporations and some government agencies use to manage environmental issues. These systems may vary from facility (or agency) to facility but the basic premise is to implement the broader concept of sound and proactive environmental management. In recent years, EMS has evolved further to respond to increasing stakeholder pressure to improve social responsibility. As more companies, federal agencies, and organizations choose to implement EMSs, such as ISO 14001, it is important to consider the current state of the research concerning the relative successes and obstacles associated with existing systems in practice and what impact it will have, if any, on environmental health.

Reproductive Health in Developing Countries: …
Read this FREE online! Full Book | PDF Summary

Sexually transmitted diseases, unintended pregnancies, infertility, and other reproductive problems are major concerns around the world, especially in developing countries. This book describes the magnitude of these problems and what is known about the effectiveness of interventions in four areas: infection-free sex, intended pregnancies and births, healthy pregnancy and delivery, and healthy sexuality.

Cancer Control Opportunities in Low- and Middle-Income Coun …
Read this FREE online! Full Book | PDF Summary | PDF Report Brief

Cancer is low or absent on the health agendas of low- and middle-income countries (LMCs) despite the fact that more people die from cancer in these countries than from AIDS and malaria combined. International health organizations, bilateral aid agencies, and major foundations—which are instrumental in setting health priorities—also have largely ignored cancer in these countries.

This book identifies feasible, affordable steps for LMCs and their international partners to begin to reduce the cancer burden for current and future generations. Stemming the growth of cigarette smoking tops the list to prevent cancer and all the other major chronic diseases. Other priorities include infant vaccination against the hepatitis B virus to prevent liver cancers and vaccination to prevent cervical cancer. Developing and increasing capacity for cancer screening and treatment of highly curable cancers (including most childhood malignancies) can be accomplished using “resource-level appropriateness” as a guide. And there are ways to make inexpensive oral morphine available to ease the pain of the many who will still die from cancer.

Control of Cardiovascular Diseases in Developing Countries: …
Read this FREE online! Full Book | PDF Summary

Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are increasing in epidemic proportions in developing countries. CVD already accounts for almost 10 percent of the developing world’s burden of disease and is likely to become the developing world’s leading cause of death. There is reason for hope, however, given that huge potential exists for applying R&D to control this emerging epidemic–both in creating powerful new interventions such as vaccines and dietary supplements and in guiding behavior. In addition, a considerable body of evidence suggests that current risk-factor prevention programs and low-cost case management of CVD offer feasible, cost-effective ways to reduce CVD mortality and disability in developing country populations. Large-scale CVD control efforts are lacking, however, and thus governments and individuals are left to make choices about health and health care services without the benefit of appropriate knowledge. This report was designed to promote a policy dialogue on CVD based on informed knowledge of R&D opportunities that offer effective, affordable, and widely applicable responses in developing countries. The report examines (a) the emerging burden of CVD in developing countries, (b) the future worldwide burden of CVD, (c) current prevention and treatment of CVD in developing countries, (d) R&D to support CVD control, (e) opportunities and priorities for R&D, and the need for institutional arrangements for collaboration in facing the epidemic.

Today I met with David Flynn, one of the knowledgeable and very helpful librarians, at Boston University Medical Library.

I told David for conducting a review of literature, I usually use Google to see the magnitude of the literature in the field, and then I search in Cochran Systematic Review, PubMed, Medline and Lexis Nexis.

I told him I also use the advanced search option in Google by choosing language and file type. I asked him if he can help me to learn more about advanced search in Google.

He taught me a very powerful trick in advanced search. It is very useful specially for conducting search on Public Health stuff.

As you know Medline searches among peer reviewed papers and articles. When you want to learn about WHO guidelines, lesson learned by NGOs and those materials as non peer reviewed web published you need to take advantage on 1 billion $ Google search engine.

So the trick is, go to advanced search, put your keywords, language as well as file type. Then in the Search within a site or domain box input the .org if you want Google search your words among NGOs, put .who.int/en (if you want Google does search for you among WHO materials in English), put .edu ( if you want Google conducts the search among universities), and put .gov (if you are looking for materials in Governments websites such as CDC).

Today I enjoyed this trick with finding priceless stuff in Best Practices in International Health. I hope you enjoy it as well.

Preventing chronic diseases: a vital investment, is a Book wrote by WHO. You can see the book below. I found it very useful for understanding the current challenges in global health.

Key messages

Table of contents Key messages Chronic diseases: major cause of death Poorest countries are the worst affected The risk factors are widespread Misunderstanding #10 Misunderstanding #9 Misunderstanding #8. Story of Roberto Severino Misunderstanding #7 Story of Malri Twalib Misunderstanding #6. Story of Menaka Seni Misunderstanding #5. Story of Faiz Mohammad Misunderstanding #4 Misunderstanding #3 Half-truth #2 Half-truth #1. Story of Jonas Kassa A vision for the future: reducing deaths, improving lives The global goal for 2015 Taking the first steps A final word Acknowledgements

This report shows that the impact of chronic diseases in many low and middle income countries is steadily growing. It is vital that the increasing importance of chronic disease is anticipated, understood and acted upon urgently. This requires a new approach by national leaders who are in a position to strengthen chronic disease prevention and control efforts, and by the international public health community. It is essential to communicate the latest and most accurate knowledge and information to front-line health professionals and the public at large.

The problem

• 80% of chronic disease deaths occur in low and middle income countries and these deaths occur in equal numbers among men and women
• The threat is growing – the number of people, families and communities afflicted is increasing
• This growing threat is an under-appreciated cause of poverty and hinders the economic development of many countries

The solution

• The chronic disease threat can be overcome using existing knowledge
• The solutions are effective – and highly cost-effective
• Comprehensive and integrated action at country level, led by governments, is the means to achieve success

The goal

How will we ensure a healthy future for children like Luciano dos Santos, who suffers from hearing loss, and others facing chronic diseases?

• An additional 2% reduction in chronic disease death rates worldwide, per year, over the next 10 years
• This will prevent 36 million premature deaths by 2015
• The scientific knowledge to achieve this goal already exists

10 widespread misunderstandings about chronic disease - and the reality

Ten of the most common misunderstandings and two principal half-truths that have contributed to the neglect of chronic disease are presented in this report. Notions that chronic diseases are a distant threat and are less important and serious than some infectious diseases can be dispelled by the strongest evidence.

Face to face with chronic disease

This chapter presents stories of people from different countries living with chronic diseases and common underlying risks. In a world where more and more people are dying as a result of chronic diseases, and many more millions are disabled, these stories aim to demonstrate the strong and personal impact of chronic diseases on individuals and their families.

Overview - Preventing chronic diseases: a vital investment: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20 | Next page

25 April is a day of unified commemoration of the global effort to provide effective control of malaria around the world.

World Malaria Day is an opportunity for malaria-free countries to learn about the devastating consequences of the disease and for new donors to join a global partnership against malaria. It is an occasion for research and academia institutions to flag their scientific advances to both experts and the general public. It is chance for countries in affected regions to learn from each other’s experiences and back each other efforts. It is an opportunity for international partners, companies and foundations to showcase their results and reflect together on how to scale up what has been proven to work.

Health students and professionals make posters all the time, but it happens sometimes, you have been asked to make a poster and you do have no idea how you can do that. I started to right a step by step guideline for this purpose, and during my search I found a guideline written by University of Washington.

1. Start PowerPoint: Make a New presentation – a blank one. When asked for a Layout, choose a blank one – one without anything – even a title.
2. Choose the size of your poster: For example 48-60″ wide (across) and exactly 36″ in height (top to bottom). This applies for your individual poster even though you will print it out much smaller than this for grading purposes; doing this will allow you to have the flexibility to print your file as a large poster if your group chooses it.
3. Adding text: In order to add text, the text needs a “container” – a Text Box. Make a text box by
a.Click on the Text Box tool or selecting Text Box under the Insert menu.
b.Click or click-and-drag where you want the text to be. After this second step, you should see the rectangular shape of the Text Box. You can re-size it at any time by dragging one of the little square “handles”. The box will also grow automatically as you type (if it needs to).
As in many programs, you can change the font and size by highlighting the text to be changed and then making the changes. A 100-point font is about an inch high. If you don’t see the size you want in the selection list, you can enter it in by hand.
To move a Text Box, position your pointer over a part of the edge of the box that is not a handle. The pointer should become shaped like a plus sign with arrows. Click and drag the Text Box to the wanted position.
You can change the color of the text, the edge, and the fill as well as other things under the Format menu/Text Box.
Make a separate Text Box for each separate piece of text. “Separate text” means a portion of text that you want to be able to move independently from the others.
4. Adding images: The two ways to add images are with Insert/Picture and with Copy and Paste:
Insert/Picture: This is the most common way of adding graphics to a PowerPoint document. If you have a file that is in one of several standard graphic formats (like JPEG, GIF, PICT, etc.), use the Insert menu/Picture/From-file and select your file. The image will appear on your document with handles. Use one of the corner handles to re-size it. (The corner handles will keep the same aspect ratio; the side handles will not.) Click and drag in the middle of the graphic to move it. You can do many other things to an image (including brightness, cropping, and resetting it to how it was originally brought in) under Format/Picture.
Image size: You need to plan ahead – in the package that created the graphic (or in program like PhotoShop) figure out the final print size of your graphic and scale it to about 200 dpi (dots per inch). The HP-3000 prints at 600 dpi, but the dithering it needs to do for most colors (all except the seven colors RGB and CMYK) takes up space – anything over 200 dpi is ignored for most colors. 150 dpi or even 100 dpi will look fine for most images.
Copy and Paste: Use this if you have something like an Excel graph you want to add to your document. Generally avoid this method if you can – Copy and Paste will often only give you a low-resolution copy of a graphic.
5. Background: You can select a background under the Format menu/Background. If you want a picture background, select “Background” off the Format menu, then click on the down arrow for more options. Select “fill effects” and then the tab for “picture”. Click on “select picture” and find the picture you want from your hard drive. You will probably want to fade or lighten the image prior to using it as background or you may risk the picture competing with your text.
6. Lines, Boxes, Arrows: There are many other things that PowerPoint can do. Next to the Text Box tool are tools to make ovals, boxes, lines, arrows, etc. When you have made one of these, you can change it (when it is selected) with the Format menu/Colors and Lines.
7. Zoom: You can control the zoom amount by clicking on the zoom choice box (if visible), or using the View menu/Zoom.
8. Printing.
If you are printing your individual poster for grading purposes only (not for display), then the following instructions apply to you: Chose “File” then “Print”. Select all to print (default setting), but SELECT the box that says “scale to fit”. You will end up with a small poster (8.5″ X 11″ or 8.5″ x 14″ if you use legal paper). To get maximum benefit from the use of color you should use a color printer, although a black & white printer will also show some gray variations that demonstrate where color is used in the document.

The New Your Times published a report from AP yesterday talking about the Internet search giant Google Inc. unveiled a new feature Tuesday for its popular mapping programs that shines a spotlight on the movement of refugees around the world.

The maps will aid humanitarian operations as well as help inform the public about the millions who have fled their homes because of violence or hardship, according to the office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, which is working with Google on the project.

”All of the things that we do for refugees in the refugee camps around the world will become more visible,” U.N. Deputy High Commissioner for Refugees L. Craig Johnstone said at the launch in Geneva.

Users can download Google Earth software to see satellite images of refugee hot spots such as Darfur, Iraq and Colombia. Information provided by the U.N. refugee agency explains where the refugees have come from and what problems they face.

For downloading the Google Earth software click here

For access to the NY times article click her

Iranian Journal of Public Health has been continuously published since 1971, as the only Journal in all health domains with wide distribution (including WHO in Geneva and Cairo) in two languages (English and Persian). From 2001 issue, the Journal is published only in English language. During the last 35 years more than 1000 scientific research papers, results of health activities, surveys and services, have been published in this Journal. You can have access to the articles of this journal for free, by clicking here.

Nowruz, the Iranian New Year, starts in the first day of spring. The Persian Parade is an annual event in New York City each year in the last week of March. This year it was on March 30th. Iranians start the parade in Madison Ave from 41st street to 27th street. Please find below the slides that I made during 2008 event.