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The Department of Public Health contributes to the worldwide development of sustainable effective health care systems that assure equity, quality, efficiency and participation. We have adopted an integrated strategy in which teaching, research and technical assistance mutually interact. The units of the department, Nutrition and Child Health, Public Health, Epidemiology and Disease Control, embody specific technical expertise, particularly with respect to teaching. The research of the department, however, is increasingly managed in task-oriented groups. These may also involve members of other ITM departments.
Research, field work and policy development cannot be separated from our teaching. Capacity strengthening is an essential component in all our projects, which by definition involves national institutes or organisations (see chapter on International Cooperation).
Our research priorities are primarily based on the relevance for health care systems in the developing world, the objectives and values contained in our mission statement, and the pursuit of added value or innovation in international health policies.
Over the past year we have updated our research portfolio, focusing on four partially overlapping lines: accessibility, quality, disease control and health policies.
In the coming years we will further strengthen this research matrix in order to intergrate and synergise local, national and international activities. At the same time, our impact on service organisation, disease control and international health policies will remain deeply rooted in the realities of the field and the true needs of the populations.
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Epidemiology and Disease Control Unit
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Objectives:
- To produce scientific evidence for equity-based health policy formulation and to promote sustainable, effective and efficient health services development by conducting epidemiological research.
- To translate methodological advances in quantitative epidemiological theory into appropriate and useful tools for the field.
- To offer health workers epidemiological and statistical training that is relevant to their needs and functions in patient care, disease control and the organisation of health systems.
Research:
- The unit's research focuses on three axes:
- Epidemiological evidence for health policy and health care organisation.
- Technology assessment and cost-effectiveness of health care strategies.
- Surveillance systems and integrated disease control.
Education:
- Amongst other things, the unit coordinates the training in epidemiology and bio-statistics at ITM, co-organises the "European Course in Tropical Epidemiology" and sets up the monthly "ITM Epidemiology Seminars".
- European Course in Tropical Epidemiology
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Public Policy and Management Unit
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The Public Policy and Management Unit's general aim is to contribute to the development of health systems in accordance with the principles stated in the Department's mission. This is done through a variety of activities including training (in various masters' programmes and other postgraduate and vocational training programmes), research and technical assistance in the field of health service organisation and related policy formulation. Specific health problems such as maternal health, as well as horizontal organisational, policy related issues and the complementary specificities of health care professionals at different levels of the health care system are included in the themes of interest. Research, training and intervention projects aim at geographical and cultural diversity, and include issues of quality improvement, financing of health services, performance optimisation, policy support and development of family medicine.
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Quality and Human Resources Unit
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Objectives
The Quality & Human Resources Unit (Q&HR Unit) aims at contributing to better healthcare services and systems through research, education and consultancies for public-oriented health organisations.
Research domains
Using equitable access and utilisation, and quality of healthcare as outcomes, the Q&HR Unit is carrying out research on health service organisation at operational level (hospitals, districts, local health systems) and on policy issues affecting healthcare provision at the operational level.
Currently, our research themes include
- Family practice and first line health services.
- Strengthening policies for effective local health systems.
- Health workforce and health service management.
- Safe motherhood and reproductive health policy.
Since the unit's research often deals with complex problems, a fifth theme is research methodology. Given that health service organisation deals with multiple disciplines, the unit has an interest in medical sociology and anthropology, organizational theory, policy analysis and decision-making theory.
Most studies use the case study design, and when appropriate, using the realist evaluation methodology. More straightforward issues, for which good knowledge of best practices exists, are preferably dealt with through action research.
In practice, research is carried out in LMIC in partnership with local research institutions and health services. At the ITM, the unit members participate in research clusters on Gender, Human resources, and International Health Policies.
Education
The unit contributes to education for health service management through teaching and coaching public health, health service organisation, safe motherhood, demography and decision-making in virtually all programmes of the ITM and at the National Institute of Health Administration (INAS) in Rabat, Morocco.
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Health Policy and Financing Unit
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The Health Policy and Financing Unit is composed of a multidisciplinary team of researchers from North and South.
The area of activity of the unit encompasses the broad field of health systems in developing countries, with special emphasis on health policy at national and international level on the one hand, and financing of health care on the other.
The unit tries to optimize the mix between micro, meso and macro health systems in its research and fieldwork.
The research, teaching and service provision of the unit are aimed at the development, in a complex globalising world, of qualitative, pluralistic and accessible health care systems.
Removing User Fees in the Health Sector in Low-Income Countries
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Nutrition and Child Health Unit
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The activities of the unit focus on education, research and services.
The unit is responsible for the module 'health of the next generation'. This module is a part of the postgraduate training for physicians and offered in two languages. The unit also coordinates the postgraduate training for physicians and paramedics and teaches the 'nutrition' course for paramedics. The unit is also responsible for courses on health and nutrition of mother and child taught in the master courses.
Together with the University of Ghent, the unit organises the 'International Master Course in Nutrition and Rural Development'. The unit also participates in the Nutrition course of Wageningen. On a regular basis, short courses in nutrition planning and nutrition surveillance are organised.
As far as research is concerned, the policy of the unit is to support institutional collaborations, which exist in Africa, Asia and Latin America. The Nutrition and Child Health Unit also collaborates closely with the nutrition unit of the 'Institut de Recherche pour le Développement' from France, with whom they have a joint programme.
Over the last years the research field in nutrition has evolved towards improving child health in particular, but not exclusively. The areas of research include: micronutrients, operational aspects for improving deficiencies and malnutrition in general with a particular emphasis on health service delivery, the improvement of child growth and development, and nutrition transition. An important part of the research efforts develop qualitative research methodologies and their use.
The unit collaborates closely with major national and international organisations to which it provides technical support in the form of consultancies, participation in workshops or on a more formal contractual basis.
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Sections
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More detailed information on the Public Health Department can be found in the following sections:
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Phone: +32 3 247.66.66 - Fax: +32 3 216.14.31 - Email:info@itg.be
Nationalestraat 155 - B-2000 Antwerpen
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Departments - Public Health - General 
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