Abstract:
Recent large scale clinical trials have provided evidence that mass drug administration (MDA) of the antibiotic, Azithromycin, results in moderate reductions of child mortality. While much is still unknown, current evidence suggests the effectiveness of such campaigns are largest in high mortality settings (e.g. U5MR >80 IMR >60), but additional trial results and secondary analyses are providing more nuance to these recommendations. As more evidence is generated on the efficacy of the intervention, stakeholders are interested in understanding the potential “real-world” impact of the intervention under different scale-up scenarios. In this talk, I’ll provide an overview of a modeling exercise conducted by our team at the Institute for Disease Modeling that aims to assess the potential impact of roll-out of MDA of Azithromycin in different geographies. Along with the discussing the approach taking, I will overview the global public data and modeling resources that supported this exercise, along with gaps and challenges we faced along the way.
Anu is a UW alumna, graduating from the Department of Biostatics in 2019. Since graduating she has held positions at UNICEF and Imperial College London working on projects ranging from stillbirth to childhood obesity, using hierarchical and Bayesian models. More recently her interests have turned towards application of small area estimation methods and digging into measurement and modeling of maternal mortality.
