WHO Collaborating Centre for KT and HTA in Health Equity
In November 2020, the Bruyère Research Institute and the Ottawa Centre for Health Equity were redesignated as the WHO Collaborating Centre for Knowledge Translation and Health Technology Assessment in Health Equity.
WHO collaborating centres are institutions designated by the WHO’s director-general. They form an international collaborative network in support of the WHO’s programs. Collaborating centres participate in the strengthening of country resources in terms of information, services, research, and training, in support of national health development.
The mandate of the WHO Collaborating Centre includes:
- Promoting the importance of technology assessment in support of health policy development;
- The collection and distribution of information on the safety, efficacy, effectiveness, cost, and other social and ethical implications of medical and health technology;
- Promoting collaboration among other member countries in the various fields of technology assessment.
Workplan
- To support PAHO/WHO in the development of targeted evidence and gap maps
- To support PAHO/WHO in the development of training activities related to evidence and gap maps with a focus on Caribbean countries
- To support PAHO/WHO in the development of guidance for multi-stakeholder engagement
- At PAHO/WHO’s request, develop and provide capacity building on HTA for English speaking Caribbean countries through webinars
- To support PAHO/WHO in the development of evidence summaries
- To support PAHO/WHO in capacity building for evidence synthesis
- To support PAHO/WHO in the development of advocacy and knowledge translation strategies
- To support PAHO/WHO in the development of evidence-based decision making tools with an emphasis on equity and vulnerable groups
- To support PAHO/WHO in the development of equity-oriented knowledge translation strategies
Co-Directors of the WHO Collaborating Centre
Janet Hatcher Roberts, MSc
Janet Hatcher Roberts has extensive experience in the areas of international public health policy, health systems strengthening capacity building and research. Currently, Janet is the Co-Director of the WHO Collaborating Centre on Technology Assessment, Knowledge Translation and Health Equite at Bruyere Research Institute, University of Ottawa. She is an Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Medicine, School of Epidemiology and Public Health, at the University of Ottawa where she co-coordinates a graduate courses in global health and collaborates on global health research. She served as senior technical advisor to the Canadian Society for International Health focusing on HCV from 2013-2020.
Peter Tugwell, MD
Dr. Peter Tugwell is Professor of Medicine and Epidemiology & Public Health at the University of Ottawa and is a practicing rheumatologist at the Ottawa Hospital. In 2001, he became Director for the Ottawa Centre for Health Equity (formerly the Centre for Global Health at the University of Ottawa). He has built a research program and multidisciplinary team around his Canada Research Chair in Health Equity. In 2002 he was appointed the North American Editor for the Journal of Clinical Epidemiology. In 2013, His Excellency the Right Honourable David Johnston, Governor General of Canada appointed Dr Tugwell to the rank of Officer of the Order of Canada, the second-highest ranking conferred by Canada. Dr Tugwell was recognized for his contributions as an epidemiologist reducing global disparities in health care access. Dr. Tugwell's publication record includes over 900 journal articles, monographs, and book chapters.
Our members
Orvill Adams, BA, MA Economics; MA International Affairs
Orvill Adams is human resources for health and health systems specialist with extensive knowledge and expertise in Health Workforce Policy and Planning, Policy Analysis, Strategic Planning in Health, Health Service Organization and Service Delivery, Monitoring and Evaluation, Primary Health Care Policy and Implementation Strategies, Management of Health Services, Quality Improvement, Human Resource Management and Organizational Development. He has also advised and led teams in support of improving performance in general education
Orvill Adams was previously a Director of Departments in the World Health Organization, Geneva. He supported Member Stares to improve their capacity to develop appropriate policies, plan, educate and manage their health workforce. He managed teams to improve health systems performance through analysis, tracking, and advising on the most effective approaches for affordable quality service provision and resource use (human, physical, and technological), and their organization and management. They examined different models of health facility organization, care networks, the relationship between levels of care, referral patterns and approaches to contracting in and contracting out of support and ancillary services.
Orvill Adams has also led teams to provide support and coach senior Government Officials in The Republic of Lebanon, The Republic of Georgia, The Bahamas, The Republic of Kazakhstan, South Africa, Uganda, Kenya, and several other countries in Africa. These jobs included the development of tools to create more effective allocation and use of resources. The tools included planning approaches, clinical practice guidelines, health technology assessment and the strengthening of management and leadership.
In general education he has provided support in the development of a 5-year strategic plan for the delivery of general education services in the complex environment of Lebanon with large non-Lebanese students, and a predominance of the private sector.
He is an adjunct professor in the University of Ottawa Medical School, Department of Epidemiology and Public Health and a researcher in the WHO Collaborating Centre for Technology Assessment. He is also a visiting professor at the National Medical University, Almaty in the National University of Kazakhstan. He is the Owner and Director of Orvill Adams & Associates Incorporated a Canadian based, international consultancy.
Fawad Akbari, MD, MSc
Shehzad Ali, PhD
Dr. Shehzad Ali holds a Canada Research Chair in Public Health Economics at Western University. He also holds adjunct positions at University of York (UK), Macquarie University (Australia), Centre for Addictions and Mental Health (CAMH) and Bruyere Research Institute (Ottawa). Dr. Ali was previously the Health Economics Lead at the Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health (CADTH). He has received funding in the UK, Canada, Australia and US, with a career income of >$31m as principal or co-investigator. His research focuses on four areas: (1) Economic evaluation of public health policies and health care technologies, using decision models, observational studies and randomized trials; (2) Health system performance evaluation in terms of efficiency and equity of access, utilization and patient outcomes using patient-level linked administrative data (“big data”) and population surveys; (3) Elicitation of public value judgments using equity-efficiency trade-off experiments, to inform resource allocation decisions; and (4) Developing statistical algorithms to predict health outcomes in clinical practice. Dr. Ali’s research has been published in leading journals, including the Lancet, Lancet Psychiatry, Addiction, Obesity, Health Economics and Social Science and Medicine. He is an associate editor of the British Journal of Psychiatry.
Michelle Amri, MPA, PhD
Michelle is a SSHRC Postdoctoral Fellow and Takemi Fellow at Harvard University, conducting global health research, largely focused on health equity, situated in the emerging field of politics of health. Her previous work has been centred in global health, health promotion, and public policy, at both the World Health Organization and the Ontario Public Service. Michelle serves on the board of directors for the Canadian Association for Global Health, assisted in organizing the CCGH and PEGASUS conferences, is a steering committee member for MentorNet and has been for several years, and has been named on the Canadian Women in Global Health list. Michelle has also taught courses both at the University of Victoria and University of Toronto (where she was recognized with a teaching award), and she continues to supervise research students. To learn more about Michelle, please visit her personal website.
Maria Cannataro
Maria Cannataro is a part-time administrative assistant for the Collaborating Centre and the Ottawa Centre for Health Equity. She has previous experience working in the epidemiology departments of the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute (OHRI) and Canadian Blood Services. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Western University.
Reiner Banken, PhD
Sherrie Kelly, PhD
For the past 20 years, I have collaborated with over 30 low- and middle-income countries to better invest in their HIV, TB, malaria, maternal-child health, and COVID-19 budgets, working with partners and funders including the World Health Organization, Global Fund, World Bank, CDC, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. My research passions also extend to climate change and health, Indigenous health, as well as health systems strengthening. I have served as a health specialist with UNAIDS in Switzerland, the Burnet Institute in Australia, the DTU National Food Institute in Denmark, and the Public Health Agency (PHAC) of Canada in Canada, as well as a Deputy Editor with Journal of the International AIDS Society (JIAS). I began my scientific career at the National Microbiology Laboratory (NML) with PHAC in Winnipeg. Throughout my career I have had the opportunity to translate evidence-based health findings, including acting as a keynote speaker at IAS2019 and a speaker at AIDS2020. I was awarded my PhD in Infectious Disease Modelling in 2017 from Monash University (Australia), a MSc in Biochemistry and Medical Genetics, and BSc Honours in Medical Genetics from the University of Manitoba (Canada). I am now based in Ottawa, Canada. In 2024, I joined The Lancet as the first Canadian-based editor with The Lancet Group. My participation in WHO Collaborating Centre for Knowledge Translation and Health Technology Assessment for Health Equity activities is outside of my capacity as an editor with The Lancet.
Srikanth Kondreddy, PhD
Alison Krentel, PhD
Husein Moloo, MD, MPH
Innocent Ntaganira, MD, MSC, MA
A public Health expert with more than 38 years of professional experience including 19 years with the World Health Organization (WHO). He retired from the WHO on 30 June 2021, the last position being that of WHO Representative to the African Union (AU) and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA). Innocent is an alumni of the University of London (Master of Arts in Global Diplomacy), Université Laval (Master of Science in Epidemiology) and Université du Burundi (Medical Doctorate). Other short term academic trainings are with John Hopkins University (USA), Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB),University of East Anglia , Norwich (UK) and the Graduate Institute of International Studies and Development (Switzerland).
Current engagements include mentorship/lecturing for the Global Health course of the Addis Ababa University in Ethiopia, the University of Ottawa International Health and Development (IHAD) Course, the Mc Gill Summer Institutes in Health Systems strengthening and Global Governance, the McGill Summer Institute in Peace, Global Health and Sustainability, The Dalla Lana School of Public Health Global Health Diplomacy Course.
Jennifer O'Neil, PhD
Dr. O’Neil is a physiotherapist and assistant professor in the Faculty of Health Sciences, School of Rehabilitation Sciences at the University of Ottawa. She is also an affiliate investigator at the Bruyère Research Institute. Her research focuses on increasing accessibility to rehabilitation interventions and the use of technology to improve access to rehabilitation. Her doctorate thesis targeted the implementation of intensive home-based telerehabilitation programs for people living with a moderate or severe traumatic brain injury across Canada. Her current work focuses on pan-Canadian implementation of a telehealth falls prevention program for francophone communities living in minority situations, implementing teleconsultation to improve access to rehabilitation in Uganda, and conducting a rehabilitation needs assessment for people living in vulnerable situations.
Patrick Okwen, MD, MSc
Jordi Pardo Pardo
Jordi Pardo Pardo joined the Centre for Global Health in 2009. Jordi was trained as a journalist. Early in his career, he started working in Systematic Reviews with the Iberoamerican Cochrane Centre in Barcelona, where he is from. On his four days a week at the Centre for Global Health, Jordi contributes as one of the Managing Editors of the Cochrane Musculoskeletal Group, and supporting the activities of the Equity Methods Group. Jordi is currently co-chair of the Executive of Managing Editors and a member of Cochrane’s Governing Board. Jordi is also the liaison person between Cochrane Musculoskeletal and the Canadian Rheumatology Association for the production of guidelines. In his free time, Jordi loves to watch and play football, European style.
Jennifer Petkovic, PhD
Jennifer is the Coordinator of the Campbell and Cochrane Equity Methods Group and the MuSE Guidelines Project. She is an Affiliate Investigator at the Bruyère Research Institute. Jennifer earned her PhD in Public Health at the University of Split in Croatia in 2017 and her MSc in Population and Public Health (Global Health) from Simon Fraser University in 2007. Her research interests include systematic review methods for disadvantaged populations, multi-stakeholder engagement in research and guidelines and knowledge translation. Jennifer supports our WHO CC as Coordinator.
David Ponka, MDCM, CCFP (EM), FCFP, MSc
David is the Director of the Besrour Centre for Global Family Medicine at the College of Family Physicians of Canada. He has also served as the Besrour Centre Research Director and the Chair of the Besrour Centre Advisory Council.
A family doctor in Ottawa, where he is a Professor at the Faculty of Medicine, David has extensive experience in caring for vulnerable and migrant populations in Canada and abroad in nations such as Haiti, Chad and Guyana, where he tries to support integrating research into the new discipline of family medicine.
He has served as a Medical Advisor to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada and is a member of the World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Knowledge Translation and Health Technology Assessment in Health Equity.
David earned his medical degree from McGill, holds a CCFP(EM) and FCFP, and has a Master of Science degree in International Primary Care from the University of London. He enjoys raising his three young girls in Ottawa to think and act as global citizens.
Kevin Pottie, MD
Dr. Kevin Pottie, MD, CCFP, MClSc, is a Distinguished Professor and Research Chair in Family Medicine at Dalhousie University, Halifax, Canada. His research covers health equity and digital transformation. Dr. Pottie's systematic reviews and clinical guidelines are transforming primary care clinical approaches to refugee and migrant health, homeless populations, and 'deprescribing' for the elderly. His influential evidence-based refugee health contributions extend to leading roles in organizations like Cochrane Health Equity Thematic Group, the Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care and collaborations with IOM and WHO Geneva. Canadian Researcher of the Year Award in 2021, he received the international Springer Nature Inclusive Health Research Award in 2023. He is fluent in French, Spanish and English and he runs an academic family practice including many recently arrived refugees. Dr. Pottie's work embodies a dedication to fostering a diverse and vibrant research culture that accelerates medical discovery, with a shared vision of positively impacting health and quality of life. He enjoys kayaking, skating and surfing and is learning to play the guitar.
Sandra Orci, MSc
Sandra is President of Global Health Booster and CEO of H-Integral, an App to track maternal health and to evaluate maternity care. She is Research Fellow of the WHO Collaborating Centre for Knowledge Translation, Technology Assessment for Health Equity at the Bruyère Institute (University of Ottawa) and of the Geneva Transformative Governance Lab at the University of Geneva. Sandra has professional experience in public policy, mainly in the areas of social security and public health in the Mexican Federal Government. Her last official position in Mexico was Chief of Advisors of the Vice-Minister of Integration and Development of the Health Sector.
Her research interests involve maternal health and using information technologies to improve quality care and reduce inequalities. Her current research includes adapting a birth satisfaction instrument to measure and understand women’s experiences in low resource settings and fostering interdisciplinary education and systems thinking in the area of global studies.
Sandra has a Bachelor in Actuarial Science at ITAM (Mexico), a Master´s degree in Government and Public Policy by the Pan-American University (Mexico) and another one in Global Health by the University of Geneva (Switzerland).
Alison Riddle, MSc, PhD (c)
Alison Riddle is a PhD candidate in the School of Epidemiology and Public Health at the University of Ottawa (Canada) and a Research Associate at the Bruyère Research Institute (Ottawa, Canada). Her research focuses on the design and measurement of empowerment-based health and nutrition interventions for women and adolescent girls. Alison has 20+ years of experience in the fields of gender equality, women’s empowerment, and global health. She is a former diplomat with the Canadian International Development Agency (now Global Affairs Canada) and has worked as a Senior Policy Advisor at the Public Health Agency of Canada, and a Senior Country Manager at Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. In addition to her PhD studies, Alison works as an independent gender equality and global health consultant with Canadian and international organizations, including Gavi, USAID, Nutrition International, World Vision Canada, and Stanford University.
Don de Savigny, PhD
Carol Vlassof, PhD
Gail Webber, MD, PhD
Vivian Welch, PhD
Dr. Vivian Welch is Editor in Chief of the Campbell Collaboration (www.campbellcollaboration.org) and director of the Methods Centre at the Bruyère Research Institute and Associate Professor at the School of Epidemiology and Public Health at the University of Ottawa. Vivian's research interests include evidence synthesis and exchange related to global health, health equity and healthy ageing, in partnership with relevant stakeholders including members of the public, practitioners and decision-makers.
Dr. Welch is a co-convenor of the Campbell and Cochrane Equity Methods Group and the Cochrane Agenda Setting and Priority Setting group and co-director of Cochrane-Campbell Global Ageing. She leads the GRADE working group (http://www.gradeworkinggroup.org/) on considering health equity in guideline development.
Alice Zwerling, PhD
Dr. Alice Zwerling is an Assistant Professor in the School of Epidemiology and Public Health at the University of Ottawa. As an infectious disease epidemiologist with a special interest in tuberculosis (TB) and a focus on health economics, her main areas of expertise and interest involve cost-effectiveness analyses to guide thoughtful implementation of new tools and treatment regimens for TB both globally and at home in Canada. Dr. Zwerling received her PhD in Epidemiology from McGill University, and specialized in health economics during a postdoctoral fellowship at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. For more than a decade Dr. Zwerling has worked with partners in India, Malawi, Cambodia, Myanmar, Bangladesh, South Africa, and many others to end TB in the developing world. Dr. Zwerling also works with the government of Nunavut to address key questions around TB elimination across the Canadian arctic and among Inuit in Canada.
Equity-oriented Toolkit
Equity-Oriented Toolkit
The toolkit project was developed to assist health professionals, policy-makers and health system planners in the efficient, fair and effective allocation of health care resources, including human resources.
Burden of Illness
This step measures the burden of illness in a population, incorporating societal ('upstream') and individual ('downstream") determinants of health.
Community Effectiveness
Describes how well the intervention will work when it is applied in the community; the 'real-world' effectiveness.
Economic Evaluation
Describes the relationship between the health benefits and the costs.
Knowledge Translation & Implementation
The synthesis, dissemination, and exchange of information and knowledge.
Workplan Activities
1. To support PAHO/WHO in the development of targeted evidence and gap maps
Name(s) of responsible staff: Vivian Welch, Jennifer Petkovic
Link to TOR: TOR3
Reasons for and purposes of this activity:
PAHO/WHO aims to develop targeted evidence, gap maps and training as per PAHO/WHO Resolution CD49.R15 Plan of Action on the Health of Older Persons, Including Active and Healthy Aging and WHO Global Strategy and Action Plan on Ageing and Health 2016-2020. The importance of equity in health is also defined in the Sustainable Health Agenda for the Americas 2018-2030 as well as the importance to use evidence and knowledge in health to promote research and innovation (goal 7-SHAA).
Concrete actions to be taken:
At PAHO/WHO’s request, the Bruyère Research Institute will:
- Adapt and implement methods for systematic reviews in relation to the America’s Strategy on Aging and Health, and performance based financing (PBF) with equity bonus
- Develop and adapt evidence gap maps in relation to aging and health in the Americas
- Provide research support to address identified gaps in evidence in support of the Aging and Health Strategy in the Americas
- Develop equity-oriented training on evaluation of mobile apps for e-vouchers for access to services for the aging population
- Provide training on equity-oriented evidence through relevant case studies developed by the member states within PBF platforms
Expected deliverables:
At PAHO/WHO’s request, the Bruyère Research Institute will deliver:
- Evidence summaries for select reviews and coded systematic reviews to assess gender inequalities and develop user-friendly reports
- Visual and interactive Campbell Evidence and gap maps to allow users to use various filters (e.g. WHO/PAHO regions, PROGRESS factors, health condition, study quality, etc.)
- Identification and prioritization, based on PAHO’s recommendation, of research gaps in evidence related to aging and health in the Americas
- Equity-oriented training workshops (webinars) on evaluation of mobile apps for e-vouchers, and through relevant case studies within performance-based financing
The activities to be performed by the Bruyère Research Institute are in no case related or leading to the development and issuance of qualifying diplomas (e.g. MA, MSc, PhD) or delivery of courses offered as part of an established degree program. The PAHO/WHO name and emblem may not be used on any certificates of attendance, diplomas or similar awards to participants in training or other courses organized as part of a WHO CC's workplan.
2. Develop training activities related to evidence & gap maps with a focus on Caribbean countries
Name(s) of responsible staff: Vivian Welch
Link to TOR: TOR1
Reasons for and purposes of this activity:
PAHO/WHO aims to provide research and evidence for reviews as per PAHO/WHO Resolution CD49/10 Policy on Research for Health and WHO resolution WHA63.21 on health research. This is also endorsed as per the Sustainable Health Agenda for the Americas 2018-2030, Goal 7 on evidence and knowledge in health.
Concrete actions to be taken:
At PAHO/WHO’s request, the Bruyère Research Institute will provide training on systematic review and evidence gap map methods, including equity methods, via virtual training workshops (webinars).
Expected deliverables:
At PAHO/WHO’s request, the Bruyère Research Institute will deliver:
- Training workshops on systematic reviews and evidence gap map methods through webinars to support the gathering of relevant evidence for systematic reviews and gap maps.
The activities to be performed by the Bruyère Research Institute are in no case related or leading to the development and issuance of qualifying diplomas (e.g. MA, MSc, PhD) or delivery of courses offered as part of an established degree program. The PAHO/WHO name and emblem may not be used on any certificates of attendance, diplomas or similar awards to participants in training or other courses organized as part of a WHO CC's workplan.
3. To support PAHO/WHO in the development of guidance for multi-stakeholder engagement
Name(s) of responsible staff at the institution: Peter Tugwell, Vivian Welch, Jennifer Petkovic, Alison Riddle
Link to TOR: TOR2
Reasons for and purposes of this activity:
PAHO/WHO aims to further the development of guidance for multi stakeholder engagement as per PAHO/WHO resolution CD53/R2 Plan of Action on Health in All Policies which seeks to engage all relevant stakeholders across sectors and create supportive structure and processes.
Concrete actions to be taken:
At PAHO/WHO’s request, the Bruyère Research Institute will:
- Present content of completed systematic reviews on stakeholder engagement in guideline development through webinars
- Pilot test the checklist (GIN-McMaster Guideline Development Checklist) following consultations with member states
- Utilize findings from pilot test to refine the draft guidance to the Region of the Americas.
- Publish revisions, adaptation and dissemination of guidance on stakeholder engagement in guideline development to the Region of the Americas
Expected deliverables:
At PAHO/WHO’s request, the Bruyère Research Institute will deliver:
- Review of existing frameworks for stakeholder engagement in guideline development in the Americas through consultations with member states to identify barriers, facilitators and conflicts of interest to stakeholder engagement in guideline development
- Present content of systematic reviews on stakeholder engagement in guideline development through webinars
- Pilot test, integrate, and disseminate the checklist into guidelines development in the Americas
4. Webinars to develop & provide capacity building on HTA for English speaking Caribbean countries
Name(s) of responsible staff: Janet Hatcher Roberts, Peter Tugwell, Jordi Pardo Pardo
Link to TOR: TOR1
Reasons for and purposes of this activity:
PAHO/WHO aims to further the importance of health technology assessment as per PAHO/WHO Resolutions CSP28.R9 and WHA67.23 which aim to encourage and support the importance of HTA for decision making. PAHO/WHO is asking for this activity to support the development of HTA and capacity-building in the Caribbean. As most Caribbean countries are in the early phases of HTA, furthering training and education is key in the area.
Concrete actions to be taken:
At PAHO/WHO’s request, the Bruyère Research Institute will:
- Provide training sessions to Caribbean Member States. A series of webinars is currently being developed between the proposed institution and PAHO/RedETSA. A total of seven webinars will take place with the global aim of strengthening evidence-informed decision on health technologies and rational use towards Universal Health in the Caribbean. Further webinars based on other activities in the work plan addressing specific methods and strategies will be developed as requested by PAHO.
Expected deliverables:
At PAHO/WHO’s request, the Bruyère Research Institute will deliver:
- A series of seven webinars (one webinar per month starting 2020). Prospective webinars are as follows:
- A brief reminder about where HTA fits into health systems strengthening and why it is important.
- The role of evidence in your everyday work: what would a comprehensive process look like?
- The role of systematic reviews, and evidence gap maps for improved HTA and EBDM
- Resources and approaches to strengthening HTA: Campbell Collaboration, Cochrane Collaboration and other evidence synthesis initiatives like GES
- What elements need to be strengthened for EBDM; what is good evidence? how do we know it addresses effectiveness from the perspective of equity?
- HTA for health systems strengthening: building institutions and systems
- Final webinar (Case study): two countries will present a case study of an intervention or technology
- Additional webinars, as requested by PAHO/WHO related to any of the other activities of the Bruyère Research Institute.
The activities to be performed by the Bruyère Research Institute are in no case related or leading to the development and issuance of qualifying diplomas (e.g. MA, MSc, PhD) or delivery of courses offered as part of an established degree program. The PAHO/WHO name and emblem may not be used on any certificates of attendance, diplomas or similar awards to participants in training or other courses organized as part of a WHO CC's workplan.
5. To support PAHO/WHO in the development of evidence summaries
Name(s) of responsible staff: Peter Tugwell, Jordi Pardo Pardo
Link to TOR: TOR2
Reasons for and purposes of this activity:
PAHO/WHO aims to use evidence summaries to support research as per PAHO/WHO Resolution CD49/10 Policy on Research for Health and WHO resolution WHA63.21 on health research. This is also endorse as per the Sustainable Health Agenda for the Americas 2018-2030, Goal 7 on evidence and knowledge in health. PAHO/WHO also aims to provide support on the definition of essential medicine lists as per SDG 3 (Target 3.8 and 3b) and PAHO/WHO Resolution CD55/10.
Concrete actions to be taken:
At PAHO/WHO’s request, the Bruyère Research Institute will:
- Develop an evidence summary regarding the consideration of anti-TNF biological agents to inform the WHO Essential Drug list to produce additional evidence summaries
- Provide training workshops (webinars) on evidence summaries for the implementation of essential drug lists in the region of the Americas
Expected deliverables:
At PAHO/WHO’s request, the Bruyère Research Institute will deliver:
- Evidence summaries:
- ○ Provide executive reports of relevant topic areas to facilitate decision-making (i.e. Essential Drug list)
- Training workshops (webinars) on priority areas for evidence summaries for selected institutions responsible for the implementation of essential drug lists in the Americas
The activities to be performed by the Bruyère Research Institute are in no case related or leading to the development and issuance of qualifying diplomas (e.g. MA, MSc, PhD) or delivery of courses offered as part of an established degree program. The PAHO/WHO name and emblem may not be used on any certificates of attendance, diplomas or similar awards to participants in training or other courses organized as part of a WHO CC's workplan.
6. To support PAHO/WHO in capacity building for evidence synthesis
Name(s) of responsible staff: Peter Tugwell
Link to TOR: TOR3
Reasons for and purposes of this activity:
PAHO/WHO aims to support capacity building through the use of evidence and research as per PAHO/WHO Resolution CD49/10 Policy on Research for Health and WHO resolution WHA63.21 on health research. This is also endorse as per the Sustainable Health Agenda for the Americas 2018-2030, Goal 7 on evidence and knowledge in health.
Concrete actions to be taken:
At PAHO/WHO’s request, the Bruyère Research Institute will:
- Build capacity through virtual training workshops on how to generate and use evidence synthesis in the Americas
Expected deliverables:
At PAHO/WHO’s request, the Bruyère Research Institute will:
- Facilitate the sharing of expertise and experiences through virtual training workshops on how to generate and use evidence synthesis through establishing and supporting centers for evidence synthesis in the Americas.
The activities to be performed by the Bruyère Research Institute are in no case related or leading to the development and issuance of qualifying diplomas (e.g. MA, MSc, PhD) or delivery of courses offered as part of an established degree program. The PAHO/WHO name and emblem may not be used on any certificates of
attendance, diplomas or similar awards to participants in training or other courses organized as part of a WHO CC's workplan.
7. To support PAHO/WHO in the development of advocacy and knowledge translation strategies
Name(s) of responsible staff: Alison Krentel
Link to TOR: TOR3
Reasons for and purposes of this activity:
PAHO/WHO aims to support the development of advocacy and knowledge translation strategies as per resolution CSP28.R2 Strategy and Plan of Action on Knowledge Management and Communications
Concrete actions to be taken:
At PAHO/WHO’s request, the Bruyère Research Institute will:
- Build capacity through virtual training workshops on how to generate and use evidence synthesis in the Americas
The activities to be performed by the Bruyère Research Institute are in no case related or leading to the development and issuance of qualifying diplomas (e.g. MA, MSc, PhD) or delivery of courses offered as part of an established degree program. The PAHO/WHO name and emblem may not be used on any certificates of
attendance, diplomas or similar awards to participants in training or other courses organized as part of a WHO CC's workplan.
Expected deliverables:
At PAHO/WHO’s request, the Bruyère Research Institute will deliver:
- Training on advocacy and awareness approaches, sharing and dissemination of tools for advocacy and awareness for specific diseases, e.g. neglected tropical diseases
The activities to be performed by the Bruyère Research Institute are in no case related or leading to the development and issuance of qualifying diplomas (e.g. MA, MSc, PhD) or delivery of courses offered as part of an established degree program. The PAHO/WHO name and emblem may not be used on any certificates of
attendance, diplomas or similar awards to participants in training or other courses organized as part of a WHO CC's workplan.
8. Develop evidence-based decision making tools with an emphasis on equity & vulnerable groups
Name(s) of responsible staff: Alison Krentel, Alice Zwerling
Link to TOR: TOR2
Reasons for and purposes of this activity:
PAHO/WHO aims to promote evidence-based decision making as per PAHO/WHO Resolution CD49/10 Policy on Research for Health and WHO resolution WHA63.21 on health research. This is also endorse as per
the Sustainable Health Agenda for the Americas 2018-2030, Goal 6 on Strengthening information systems for health to support the development of evidence-based policies and decision-making and Goal 7 on evidence and knowledge in health.
Concrete actions to be taken:
At PAHO/WHO’s request, the Bruyère Research Institute will:
- Develop training modules to be delivered via webinars that examines cost effectiveness and equity
- Develop training modules via webinars that examines novel approaches to community wide programs using mixed methods
- Develop a toolbox for effective advocacy at the national level in support of disease interventions, and support mixed methods approaches in terms of tool development, data analysis, training of students, program implementers and decision makers on the evidence related to acceptability of therapies
Expected deliverables:
At PAHO/WHO’s request, the Bruyère Research Institute will deliver:
- Training modules on equity effectiveness and equity
- Training modules on novel approaches and mixed methods
- Toolbox for effective advocacy
The activities to be performed by the Bruyère Research Institute are in no case related or leading to the development and issuance of qualifying diplomas (e.g. MA, MSc, PhD) or delivery of courses offered as part of an established degree program. The PAHO/WHO name and emblem may not be used on any certificates of
attendance, diplomas or similar awards to participants in training or other courses organized as part of a WHO CC's workplan.
9. To support PAHO/WHO in the development of equity-oriented knowledge translation strategies
Name(s) of responsible staff: Peter Tugwell, Vivian Welch
Link to TOR: TOR3
Reasons for and purposes of this activity:
PAHO/WHO aims to develop equity-oriented knowledge translation strategies through research and evidence as per PAHO/WHO Resolution CD49/10 Policy on Research for Health and WHO resolution WHA63.21 on health research. This is also endorsed as per the Sustainable Health Agenda for the Americas 2018-2030, Goal 7 on evidence and knowledge in health.
Concrete actions to be taken:
At PAHO/WHO’s request, the Bruyère Research Institute will:
- Synthesize scientific information to use to make evidence-based decisions related with the Sustainable Development Goals
- Research support on how to produce and use research synthesis amongst policymakers and practitioners
- Create structures and formal integrated mechanisms to support the use of evidence at all levels of health systems
- Synthesize evidence on equity-oriented strategies to improve policy and program
Expected deliverables:
At PAHO/WHO’s request, the proposed Bruyère Research Institute will deliver:
- Evidence maps and synthesis related to the SDGs 3&10
- Systematic reviews on strategies to improve program and policy implementation related to SDGs
- Methodological studies and implementation research publications related to equity-oriented knowledge translation mechanisms
- Publication on how to consider health equity in evidence-informed policies, programs and practice