Person:

Feigl, Andrea

Significant funding of health programs in low-income countries comes from external sources, mainly private donors and national development agencies of high-income countries. How these external funds are allocated remains a subject of ongoing debate, as studies have revealed that external funding may misalign with the underlying disease burden. One determinant of the priorities set by both private donors and development agencies is the perceptions of populations living in high-income countries aboutwhich diseases are legitimate for global health intervention. While research has been conducted on the priorities expressed by recipient communities, relatively less has been done to assess those of the donating country. To investigate people’s beliefs about the disease burden in high-income countries, we compared publicly available data from U.S. surveys of people’s perceptions of the leading causes of death in developing countries against measures of the actual disease burden from the World Health Organization. We found little correlation between the U.S. public’s perception and the actual disease burden, measured as either mortality or disability-adjusted life years. While there is potential for reverse causality, so that donor programs drive public perceptions, these findings suggest that increasing the general population’s awareness of the true global disease burden could help better align global health funding with population health needs.

Non-communicable diseases (cardiovascular diseases, cancers, chronic respiratory diseases, diabetes, and mental illnesses) and associated risk factors (unhealthy diets, physical inactivity, harmful use of alcohol, physical inactivity) are on the rise in developing countries, posing a threat to the health and financial systems of emerging economies. In response, international organizations and Ministries of Health alike have started to tackle chronic diseases and associated risk factors with policies and treatment programs. Yet to this day, the body of evidence for best practices regarding the monitoring, prevention, and control of non-communicable diseases in low- and middle-income countries remains small. This doctoral thesis adds to this body of evidence. The first paper of my thesis assesses the impact of a national tobacco control program in high schools in Chile. Specifically, it evaluates the effectiveness and makes several policy recommendations based on the findings. My second dissertation paper assesses the modifying effect of a change in anti-retroviral treatment among HIV-positive subjects in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa on cardiovascular disease risk factors of high body mass index and high blood pressure. The third paper is based on a randomized controlled trial assessing the effectiveness of a social-network-based diabetes and weight management program in Jordan.