Browsing by Author "Azam, James M."

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    Opening the floor for discussion : a perspective on how scholars perceive attitudes to science in policymaking in South Africa
    (ASSAf, 2021-01-29) Czachur, Molly V.; Todd, Melvi; Goncalves Loureiro, Taina; Azam, James M.; Nyeleka, Siphokazi; Alblas, Amanda; Davies, Sarah J.
    Policymakers are a vital group with whom scientific research should be communicated, especially when the reason for many research projects is linked to relevance for socio-political and economic management. Science communication has a vital role in transforming research into policy, and a core element of this process is understanding the target group, namely policymakers. Science and policy influence each other deeply, so researchers and policymakers should improve their understanding of each other and of the processes involved in both fields in order to better collaborate. Accordingly, an in-depth understanding of how scholars perceive policymakers is a precondition for scientists to achieve any desired management and policy impacts. In December 2019, six researchers and one research manager from Stellenbosch University, South Africa, gathered to discuss their understanding of policymakers. The discussion was part of a Science Communication Masterclass hosted by the South African Research Chair in Science Communication and Econnect Communication, Australia. The purpose of the group discussion was to develop a science communication strategy that would enhance the sharing of scientific research outputs with policymakers in South Africa. We explored five questions to help us record our perception of policymakers: (1) Who do we think the policymakers are? (2) How do we think that policymakers perceive research? (3) What concerns do we believe that policymakers have about research? (4) What information do we think policymakers are interested in? (5) What forms of communication do we think policymakers prefer? This Commentary presents our view on how we think researchers perceive policymakers, as discussed in the Science Communication Masterclass. We hope to initiate a discussion around science communication with policymakers, and improve current practices.
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    Outbreak response intervention models of vaccine-preventable diseases in humans and foot-and- mouth disease in livestock : a protocol for a systematic review
    (BMJ Publishing Group, 2020) Azam, James M.; Are, Elisha B.; Pang, Xiaoxi; Ferrari, Matthew J.; Pulliam, Juliet R. C.
    Introduction Outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases continue to threaten public health, despite the proven effectiveness of vaccines. Interventions such as vaccination, social distancing and palliative care are usually implemented, either individually or in combination, to control these outbreaks. Mathematical models are often used to assess the impact of these interventions and for supporting outbreak response decision making. The objectives of this systematic review, which covers all human vaccine-preventable diseases, are to determine the relative impact of vaccination compared with other outbreak interventions, and to ascertain the temporal trends in the use of modelling in outbreak response decision making. We will also identify gaps and opportunities for future research through a comparison with the foot-and- mouth disease outbreak response modelling literature, which has good examples of the use of modelling to inform outbreak response intervention decision making. Methods and analysis We searched on PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, Google Scholar and some preprint servers from the start of indexing to 15 January 2020. Inclusion: modelling studies, published in English, that use a mechanistic approach to evaluate the impact of an outbreak intervention. Exclusion: reviews, and studies that do not describe or use mechanistic models or do not describe an outbreak. We will extract data from the included studies such as their objectives, model types and composition, and conclusions on the impact of the intervention. We will ascertain the impact of models on outbreak response decision making through visualisation of time trends in the use of the models. We will also present our results in narrative style. Ethics and dissemination This systematic review will not require any ethics approval since it only involves scientific articles. The review will be disseminated in a peer-reviewed journal and at various conferences fitting its scope