Health Systems
How personal views on the pandemic affect mask wearing and other prevention behaviors.
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Co-sponsored by the India Primary Health Care Support Initiative, IHSI is a component of the larger Health Systems Summer Institute.
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Nearly a quarter of the world’s population might not have access to a vaccine until at least 2022.
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Findings show that dexamethasone can improve survival of premature babies in LMICs.
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The studies explored methods for implementing mobile phone surveys for public health surveillance data.
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Health Systems Summer Institute
Short-term courses in global health. June 7–19, 2021. Learn More.
Our program works to design systems and implement equitable and cost-effective strategies for delivering health care and health promotion interventions to disadvantaged and underserved communities in the U.S. and abroad.
The Health Systems' mandate is carried out through research, service, and training with and for the populations being served. Priority is given to populations stressed by economic, social, and political instability, many of which have also been displaced by conflict or natural disasters.
Our principal goal is to improve the capacity of communities to deliver the best possible preventive and curative care to their respective members. To accomplish this goal, our multidisciplinary faculty work in partnership with local governments and community leaders, ministries of health, community-based health and human service agencies, universities, and research institutes.
Learn more about our master's degree programs:
News Feed
- April 6
Mass COVID-19 Vaccination Campaigns Could Impede Routine Health Services in Resource-Constrained Settings if Precautions are Not Taken, New Study Finds
A new analysis found that frequent mass vaccination campaigns conducted in Nigeria were associated with a decrease in completion of routine immunizations for children under five, maternal health care utilization, and post-birth child survival rates. - April 6
New Study Casts COVID-19 and Government Mandates in a New Light in Rural America
How personal views on the pandemic affect mask wearing and other prevention behaviors. - DECEMBER 16
Nearly a Quarter of the World's Population Might Not Have Access to a COVID-19 Vaccine Until at Least 2022, a New Study Finds
A new study published in The BMJ found that nearly a quarter of the world’s population might not have access to a vaccine until at least 2022. - November 19
Johns Hopkins Receives Grant to Study Factors Shaping the Effectiveness of National Programs to Care for Orphans and Other Children at Risk
The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health received a grant from the GHR Foundation to study the political, bureaucratic and economic forces shaping the effectiveness of national children’s care systems and identify strategies to augment their effectiveness in three low- and middle-income countries: Cambodia, Uganda and Zambia. - November 6
Dexamethasone, a Steroid, Saves Lives of Early Preterm Babies in Low-Resource Settings, New Study Finds
The results of a new clinical trial, published on October 23, 2020, in the New England Journal of Medicine, show that dexamethasone, a glucocorticoid, can improve survival of premature babies when given to pregnant women at risk of early preterm birth in low-resource settings. - October 19
Studies by Johns Hopkins Researchers Seek to Improve Mobile Phone Health Surveys in Colombia
Two studies conducted by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, in collaboration with researchers at the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana in Bogotá, Colombia, explored methods for implementing mobile phone surveys (MPS) for public health surveillance data on noncommunicable disease risk factors in Colombia. - September 25
Lessons Learned from the Global Polio Eradication Initiative Published in Special Supplement
The Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) is a 30-year effort to eradicate polio and its associated severe diseases. Researchers from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, in collaboration with seven academic and research country partners, set out to capture the lessons learned from the GPEI in a project called Synthesis and Translation of Research and Innovations from Polio Eradication (STRIPE). - September 23
New Book by Johns Hopkins Researchers Documents Community Health Worker Programs Across the Globe
Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health released a new book on community health worker programs from around the world. The book, Health for the People: National Community Health Worker Programs from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe, provides a comprehensive, in-depth examination of available information about current national community health programs. - September 21
Webinar—Anti-Oppression in Public Health: Introducing the Coin Model of Privilege and Critical Allyship
Special Gender and Health webinar featuring Stephanie Nixon, PT, PhD, Associate Professor in the Department of Physical Therapy and Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto. - September 11
Johns Hopkins Launches Global Student Design Program to Address Issues of Emerging Infections, from COVID-19 to Antimicrobial Resistance
In our era of globalization, outbreaks of emerging infectious diseases are expected to become more common, but the COVID-19 pandemic is proving to be a transformative time for emerging infectious diseases, global health, sustainable development, and health equity. The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, ReAct—Action on Antibiotic Resistance, through its Strategic Policy Program, and the International Federation of Medical Students (IFMSA) are calling on students to take up the challenge and become the future innovators to address health inequities that are exacerbated by emerging infectious diseases, like drug-resistant infections and COVID-19. - August 27
Johns Hopkins Researchers Receive Grant to Study COVID-19 Health Inequities
Researchers from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health received funding from the Johnson & Johnson Foundation to investigate how the COVID-19 pandemic disproportionately affects low-income, minority, and disenfranchised communities in the U.S. and globally. - August 12
Johns Hopkins Receives Grant to Develop Model to Project Health Expenditures in Latin America and the Caribbean
The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health received a grant from the Inter-American Development Bank to develop an economic model to project health expenditures in the Latin America and the Caribbean region over the next 30 years. - August 10
Johns Hopkins Awarded Grant to Examine Ethical Challenges of Mass Administration of Antibiotics
The Greenwall Foundation has awarded a grant to the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health to examine the ethical challenges of mass administration of antibiotics—an intervention that could save the lives of children in low- and middle-income countries, but that could potentially pose risks to the broader community and the children themselves later in life by making those same antibiotics less effective for treating bacterial infections. - August 5
MDMOM Program Launches a Severe Maternal Morbidity Surveillance and Review Pilot Program in Maryland
In July, the Maryland Maternal Health Innovation (MDMOM) Program launched a hospital-based pilot program in six birthing hospitals to test processes for severe maternal morbidity (SMM) surveillance and review in Maryland. - July 27
COVID-19 and Gender Research Team Receives Funding to Expand to Low- and Middle-Income Countries
Researchers from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health looking at the real-time impact of COVID 19 on women’s health and social and economic welfare are part of a global research team that has been awarded a $1.6 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to expand their work to five low- and middle income countries. - July 13
Global Health Experts Call for COVID-19 Research in Low- and Middle-Income Countries
In a Global Health Research and Policy Commentary, an international team of public health experts call for targeted COVID-19 research in low- and middle-income countries to help mitigate the effects of the pandemic. - July 10
Johns Hopkins Receives Grant to Support Primary Health Care Services in India
The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health received a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to support primary health care services in India. The grant will establish the India Primary Health Care Support Initiative (IPSI), which will support the Health and Wellness Center (HWC) program, India’s new initiative to strengthen comprehensive primary health care services. - June 16
New Modeling Study Estimates the Potential Impact of a COVID-19 Outbreak in Bangladesh Refugee Camps
A large-scale COVID-19 outbreak is likely after a single introduction of the virus into a Bangladesh refugee camp if left unchecked, finds a new modeling study led by researchers in the Department of International Health and the Infectious Disease Dynamics Group at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. - June 5
International Health Faculty Receive Student Assembly Awards for Mentoring and Teaching
Every year the Student Assembly at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health recognizes faculty for excellence in teaching and student support. This year, two International Health faculty were honored for their outstanding contributions and commitment to students. - May 29
First-ever Health Systems Program Student "Pitch-it" Competition
The Health Systems Program hosted a competition for master's students to develop a proposal addressing a public health problem and pitch it to a panel of faculty judges for a hypothetical $1 million grant. - May 28
International Health Faculty and Students Receive Global Health Day 2020 Awards
Each year, the Center for Global Health at Johns Hopkins University celebrates global health knowledge, expertise, and experience through its Global Health Day event. While the 2020 Global Health Day was held virtually, it still succeeded as an opportunity to acknowledge all the hard work that faculty, staff, and students put into the field of global health during the past year. - May 26
Johns Hopkins Releases Report on Digital Contact Tracing to Aid COVID-19 Response
Leading global experts contributed to the report, which offers clear guidance and recommendations on ethics and governance as digital technologies are developed to fight the pandemic - May 12
Bloomberg School Students Translate the Science in COVID-19 Video Series
COVideo19 is an initiative led by Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health students aimed at providing science-based, social media friendly information on COVID-19 in multiple languages. - April 20
How Are Refugees Affected By COVID-19?
Paul Spiegel, director of the Center for Humanitarian Health, discusses the critical vulnerabilities that put refugees and asylum seekers at risk during the coronavirus pandemic. - April 16
Global Health Metrics Initiatives: Shortfalls, Opportunities, and a New Way Forward
Public health relies on numbers. Good data help communities, organizations, and governments make well informed decisions. - March 1
Permanent Gun-Carrying Restrictions Reduce Gun-Related Mortality in Two Colombian Cities, Study Finds
Gun-related death rates dropped twice as much in cities with permanent gun-carrying bans compared to cities without them. - February 20
Tolbert Nyenswah Speaks at International Panel of Experts on the Coronavirus Disease
Tolbert Nyenswah, who successfully led Liberia’s National Ebola Response in 2014-2016, as the Incident Manager, joined an International panel of experts at the Center for Global Development in Washington, D.C, Thursday, February 13, 2020, to discuss the current Coronavirus epidemic in China, under the theme, “Battling Coronavirus: Is the World Ready?” - February 4
Schedule Released for the 2020 Health Systems Summer Institute
June 8–20, 2020. The Health Systems Summer Institute is a two-week institute in Baltimore, MD covering a variety of global health topics. - December 4
Bryan Patenaude Named One of Forbes 30 Under 30 for Achievement in Healthcare
Bryan Patenaude, ScD, MA, an assistant professor in the Department of International Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, was named to Forbes 30 Under 30 list in the healthcare field. The annual list recognizes the achievements of young leaders and innovators across 20 categories. Patenaude, a healthcare economist, was honored for his work examining the most effective interventions to prevent and treat disease and disability. - DECEMBER 2
Bloomberg Philanthropies Renews Grant with Johns Hopkins for Development of Mobile Phone Surveys in Low- and Middle-Income Countries
Bloomberg Philanthropies has awarded a new grant to the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health that will enable a team of faculty based in the Bloomberg School’s Department of International Health to focus on research and development to study ways to design, implement, and evaluate mobile phone surveys for noncommunicable disease risk factor surveillance in low- and middle-income countries. - October 2
Grant to Prevent Maternal Deaths and Severe Pregnancy Complications across Maryland Awarded to the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health was awarded a grant to improve the quality of maternal health care across the state of Maryland. The 5-year, $10.3 million award from the US Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration, will fund the creation of the Maryland Maternal Health Innovation Program. Program Director Andreea Creanga, MD, PhD, an associate professor in the Health Systems Program, will lead a team from across the Johns Hopkins University as well as the Maryland Department of Health, Maryland Patient Safety Center, and the University of Maryland Baltimore County. - September 30
Standard Thresholds for Determining Cost-Effectiveness of Public Health Interventions in Low-Income Countries Too Low, New Study Finds
A recent study elicited for the first time the value that a community in a low-income setting puts on its health. Led by Dr. Bryan Patenaude, a health economist and assistant professor in the Health Systems Program, the study calculated the first value of a statistical life-year for a low-income setting. - September 10
International Health Faculty to Co-Lead Project on Integrating Refugees into National Health Systems
Faculty in the Health Systems Program received an award from a consortium of UK funders to co-lead a project on integrating refugees into national health systems. The project, which is being led by the American University of Beirut in Lebanon (AUB), will examine how refugee health services are integrated into the host country’s national health system in Jordan, Lebanon and Uganda. - JUNE 27
Experts Weigh in on How G20 Can Help the World Achieve Universal Health Coverage
The Japanese think tank, T20 (Think20) working group on universal health coverage, recently published a policy brief on ways the G20 can help achieve global universal health coverage (UHC). The G20, comprised of countries that have a substantial influence on the global economy, is uniquely placed to implement crucial actions that will help to achieve the health-related Sustainable Development Goals of “health and well-being for all at all ages. The T20 working group includes representatives from around the world, including Dr. Krishna D. Rao from the Health Systems Program. - May 6
International Health Faculty Receives NIH Fogarty Funding to Establish Research Ethics Training Program in Ethiopia
Assistant Professor Joseph Ali received a new grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Fogarty International Center to strengthen education and capacity in research ethics in Ethiopia. - April 25
New Study Reveals the Reliability of Mobile Phone Surveys to Collect Non-Communicable Disease Risk Factor Information
A new study compared the reliability of data collected by mobile phone surveys to gather information on non-communicable disease (NCD) risk factors, such as tobacco and alcohol use, medical conditions, level of physical activity, and diet. - March 25
Abdullah Baqui Receives Funds from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to Identify Biological Markers that Predict the Risk of Preterm Birth
Abdullah Baqui, DrPH '90, MPH '85, MBBS, a professor in the Health Systems Program and director of the International Center for Maternal and Newborn Health, received a new grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to conduct analyses on and share data from the AMANHI-Bangladesh Biorepository, a repository of biological samples from mothers and infants in Bangladesh. - March 1
Study Finds Short Intervals after Stillbirths, Miscarriages or Neonatal Deaths Increase Their Likelihood in Subsequent Pregnancies
Adverse pregnancy outcomes, such as a miscarriage, stillbirth or neonatal death, are more likely when preceded by an outcome of the same type in combination with a short interval between outcomes, a new study finds. The study was led by researchers from the International Center for Maternal and Newborn Health. - February 1
New Health Policy Faculty Joins Department of International Health
Yusra Shawar, PhD, MPH, joins the Health Systems Program as the newest member of the Department’s experts on global health policy. Trained in public administration and public policy, she applies theory from these disciplines, as well as political science, international relations and sociology, to examine political dynamics in global health governance and health policy processes in low- and middle-income countries. - January 24
Global Stakeholder Survey Identifies Important Research Priorities for Ethical Requirements of Mobile Phone Surveys for Non-Communicable Diseases Surveillance
Few scholars have focused on the ethics of mobile health for active surveillance of risk factors for non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). A new study led by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health research team under the Bloomberg Philanthropies Data for Health Initiative sought to address this gap by surveying global stakeholders to identify ethics-related knowledge and perceptions on the use of mobile phone surveys to gather NCD risk factor information in LMICs. - November 20
International Health Faculty and Alumna Included on First Canadian Women in Global Health List
Nasreen Jessani, DrPH ’15 and Rosemary Morgan, PhD, MSc were two of just over 100 Canadian women included in the first Canadian Women in Global Health List. Published by the Canadian Society for International Health, the List recognizes leaders across academia, government, non-governmental organizations, civil society, and international organizations who have made substantial contributions to global health. - November 14
New Health Economics Faculty Joins the Department of International Health, Will Focus on the Economics of Non-Communicable Diseases
Andres Vecino, MD, PhD ’16, was recently appointed an assistant scientist in the Department of International Health. A health economics faculty in the Department’s Health Systems Program and a researcher with the Johns Hopkins International Injury Research Unit, Vecino’s overall research interests focus on the economics of non-communicable disease and injury (NCDI) prevention. His research also investigates how to use evidence to inform and influence NCDI prevention policies. - November 1
New Health Economics Professor Joins International Health
Assistant Professor Bryan Patenaude is a recent addition to the health economics faculty in the Health Systems Program. Previously a senior economist at the United States Agency for International Development, Patenaude brings a wealth of background experience working on the HIV/AIDS epidemic in sub-Saharan Africa. - October 29
Johns Hopkins Faculty Convene Roundtable, Publish Guidance on Implementing the Astana Declaration
The new Declaration of Astana reaffirms the critical role of primary health care in ensuring that everyone everywhere is able to enjoy the highest possible attainable standard of health. It also renews political commitment to primary health care from governments, non-governmental organizations, professional organizations, academia and global health and development organizations. To prepare for the implementation of the Astana Declaration, faculty from the Health Systems Program convened the Alma-Ata 40 Roundtable, a group of leading policymakers and scholars, to capture best practices and lessons learned from the past 40 years of primary health care. - October 25
Improved Clinician Ability Reduces Patient Bypassing of Primary Healthcare Centers More Than Improvements in Infrastructure Quality, Study Finds
Many low- and middle-income countries continue to make significant investments in strengthening primary health care services by improving facility infrastructure and provider ability. Despite this, bypassing of primary health care center (PHC) remains high. Determining why patients choose to bypass nearby PHCs and seek care elsewhere (usually private providers) has implications for the design of primary health care systems. A new study analyzed data from a household and facility survey from Chhattisgarh, India, to better understand patient bypassing behavior.