AITHM James Cook University

The expected outcomes of the project include:

  • Completed implementation research training by 50 regional health professionals, including publication of peer-reviewed open access journal articles, and policy brief or practice guidelines
  • A comprehensive gap analysis of International Health Regulations implementation in the World Health Organization Western Pacific region
  • A flexible decision support tool to map biosecurity risk at the regional level, along with policy-maker workshops; and
  • Four 'real life models' as templates for future capacity strengthening using focussed examples, including:
    • A tuberculosis decision support tool for Fiji, to serve as a prototype for the region
    • A determination of the incidence, risk factors, vectors and clinical outcomes of Zika virus and other arboviruses in an area of the Solomon Islands, to inform existing models
    • An evaluation of the transferability of the spatial decision support systems approach for infectious disease control activities in Solomon Islands; and
    • A greater understanding of zoonotic pathogens in Papua New Guinea and will better define the risk of incursion of exotic viruses