Azeb Gebresilassie Tesema
Biographic Data
| ID | 6579243 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Azeb Gebresilassie Tesema |
| GIVEN NAMES | Azeb Gebresilassie |
| FAMILY NAME | Tesema |
| SIGNATURE | TESEMA A G |
| AFFILIATIONS | UNSW Sydney |
| ORCID | 0000-0003-0618-4499 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 24 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 0 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 21 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 3 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2017 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 0 |
Health-system challenges, resilience strategies, and actionable priorities for non-communicable disease care in humanitarian crises
Humanitarian crises disrupt the continuous care required for non-communicable diseases (NCDs), yet evidence on effective health-system responses remains fragmented. We conducted a scoping review, reported in accordance with PRISMA-ScR, to map health-system challenges, implemented and recommended strategies, resilience functions, and evidence gaps for cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, cancer, and chronic respiratory diseases in humanitarian setti…
Use of digital health in task-sharing for prevention and management of non-communicable diseases in Africa
Task-sharing with non-physician health workers (NPHWs), supported by digital health, has emerged as a critical strategy to address workforce shortage and improve the delivery of health services. The use of digital health shows promise in supporting task-sharing for the prevention and management of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) elsewhere; however, the evidence from Africa remains limited. This study aims to review the use of digital health in t…
Implementing public health emergency operations centres according to an international framework in Ethiopia, Nigeria, and Senegal
A public health emergency operations centre (PHEOC) is a hub for effective coordination of information and resources. Countries have established PHEOCs as part of the effort to strengthen their emergency management capabilities. However, there is limited documented evidence of best practices in PHEOC implementation in accordance with the world health organization PHEOC framework. A survey was conducted to document best practices and experiences i…
Lifestyle interventions to prevent gestational and type 2 diabetes among migrant women from low- and middle-income countries
Migrant women from low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) living in high-income settings experience disproportionately high risk of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). This review aimed to identify and synthesise culturally adapted lifestyle interventions for preventing or managing GDM and T2DM among migrant women from LMICs, focusing on intervention components, cultural adaptation strategies, and behavioura…
Lived Experience of Secondary Vicarious Trauma Among the Tegaru Australian Diaspora in the Postwar Context of Tigray
Background The war in Tigray has caused humanitarian and public health crises in North Ethiopia in addition to a high prevalence of mental health symptoms among the Tegaru (people from Tigray) diaspora in Australia. To date, there have been no studies that have explored mechanisms of vicarious mental health and resilience among Tegaru diasporas in Australia. Methods We conducted 14 in‐depth interviews with Tegaru people living in South Australia …
Exploring the implementation of community health worker program in Fiji
In Fiji, community health workers (CHWs) play a critical role in providing primary health care, especially in remote and hard-to-reach areas. This study aims to comprehensively explore the implementation of the CHW program and identify policy-implementation gaps that will strengthen the country’s primary health care. We conducted a qualitative exploratory study in Fiji’s six sub-divisions across the four administrative divisions—Central, Eastern,…
Task-sharing for non-communicable disease prevention and control in low- and middle-income countries in the context of health worker shortages
Health workers are pivotal for non-communicable disease (NCD) service delivery, yet often are unavailable in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). There is limited evidence on what NCD-related tasks non-physician health workers (NPHWs) can perform and their effectiveness. This study aims to understand how task-sharing is used to improve NCD prevention and control in LMICs. We also explored barriers, facilitators, and unexpected consequences o…
Understanding implementation, adoption, and acceptability of the WHO package of essential noncommunicable (PEN) disease interventions in Fiji
The Package of Essential Noncommunicable (PEN) disease interventions in response to the high prevalence of cardiovascular diseases and diabetes was implemented in Fiji commencing in 2012. This study aimed to understand implementation outcomes, and its contextual influences. Semi-structured interviews with health workers and patients across Fiji was conducted. Thematic analysis was mapped to the health system building blocks to understand PEN serv…
“We just have to help”
Introduction: Nigeria's skilled health professional health workforce density is insufficient to achieve its national targets for non-communicable diseases (NCD) which include 25% reduction in the prevalence of diabetes and hypertension, particularly at the primary health care (PHC) level. This places a great demand on community health workers (CHWs) who constitute the majority of PHC workers. Traditionally, CHWs are mainly involved in infectious …
Global implementation research capacity building to address cardiovascular disease
Cardiovascular diseases are the leading causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide, but implementation of evidence-based interventions for risk factors such as hypertension is lacking, particularly in low and middle income countries (LMICs). Building implementation research capacity in LMICs is required to overcome this gap. Members of the Global Research on Implementation and Translation Science (GRIT) Consortium have been collaborating in rece…
Socio-demographic correlates of unhealthy lifestyle in Ethiopia
In our analysis, we observed a higher prevalence of concurrent unhealthy lifestyles. Socio-demographic characteristics, such as sex, age, marital status, residence, income, and education, were found to correlate with individuals' lifestyles. Consequently, tailored interventions are imperative to mitigate the burden of unhealthy lifestyles in Ethiopia
It is not all about salary
INTRODUCTION: Community health workers (CHWs) constitute the majority of primary healthcare (PHC) workers in Nigeria, yet little is understood about their motivations or the most effective interventions to meet their needs to ensure quality health coverage across the country. We aimed to identify factors that would motivate CHWs for quality service delivery. METHODS: A discrete-choice experiment was conducted among 300 CHWs across 44 PHC faciliti…
Exploring complementary and competitive relations between non-communicable disease services and other health extension programme services in Ethiopia
BACKGROUND: Ethiopia has recently revitalised its health extension programme (HEP) to address the rising burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs). We examined the effects of existing essential HEP services on the uptake of NCD preventive services. METHODS: We applied a mixed-effect non-linear model with a logit link function to identify factors associated with a community resident's probability of receiving NCD prevention services through the H…
The impact of war on the health system of the Tigray region in Ethiopia
The impact of war on the health system of the Tigray region in Ethiopia: a response to complaints
Community health extension workers’ training and supervision in Ethiopia
Training and supervision of health workers are critical components of any health system;thus, we assessed how they impact health extension workers’ (HEWs) role in non-communicable disease (NCD) service delivery in Ethiopia’s health extension program (HEP), using an in-depth qualitative study conducted in 2019.The study covered two regions—the Tigray and the South Nations, Nationalities and Peoples Region (SNNPR)—and involved the Federal Ministry …
The organisation of primary health care service delivery for non-communicable diseases in Nigeria
As chronic diseases, non-communicable diseases (NCDs) require sustained person-centred and community-based care. Given its direct link to communities and households, Primary Health Care (PHC) is well positioned to achieve such care. In Nigeria, the national government has prioritized PHC system strengthening as a means of achieving national NCD targets. However, strengthening PHC systems for NCDs require re-organization of PHC service delivery, b…
The Covid-19 pandemic and healthcare systems in Africa
BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic has overwhelmed health systems in both developed and developing nations alike. Africa has one of the weakest health systems globally, but there is limited evidence on how the region is prepared for, impacted by and responded to the pandemic. METHODS: We conducted a scoping review of PubMed, Scopus, CINAHL to search peer-reviewed articles and Google, Google Scholar and preprint sites for grey literature. The scopi…
Reorienting and rebuilding the health system in war-torn Tigray, Ethiopia
box Armed conflict and war, directly and indirectly, affect health and health systems.1 2 Globally, conflict was responsible for over 63 000 deaths and over 2.7 million years of lives lost due to disability in 2019.3 The war in the Tigray region of Ethiopia, which started in November 2020, has already caused a considerable number of casualties, massive internal displacement and over 70 000 refugees in neighbouring Sudan.4 A recent report by World…
The impact of war on the health system of the Tigray region in Ethiopia
The war in Tigray region of Ethiopia that started in November 2020 and is still ongoing has brought enormous damage to the health system. This analysis provides an assessment of the health system before and during the war. Evidence of damage was compiled from November 2020 to June 2021 from various reports by the interim government of Tigray, and also by international non-governmental organisations. Comparison was made with data from the prewar c…
Health system capacity and readiness for delivery of integrated non-communicable disease services in primary health care
Background Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) now account for about 71% and 32% of all the deaths globally and in Ethiopia. Primary health care (PHC) is a vital instrument to address the ever-increasing burden of NCDs and is the best strategy for delivering integrated and equitable NCD care. We explored the capacity and readiness of Ethiopia’s PHC system to deliver integrated, people-centred NCD services. Methods A qualitative study was conducted i…
Aligning policymaking in decentralized health systems
Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) are leading causes of death globally and in Nigeria they account for 29% of total deaths. Nigeria’s health system is decentralized. Fragmentation in governance in federalised countries with decentralised health systems is a well-recognised challenge to coherent national health policymaking. The policy response to the rising NCD burden therefore requires strategic intent by national and sub-national governments. Thi…
Prevalence of, Factors Associated with and Level of Dependence of Psychoactive Substance Use among Mekelle University Students, Ethiopia
Approximately half of Mekelle University undergraduate students were using psychoactive substances with almost one in five at risk of dependency. The likelihood of use increased with seniority. Evidence-based strategies are needed to prevent school-aged children from using psychoactive substances and university students becoming dependent on substances. Interventions designed to stop current psychoactive substance use may also have promise for re…
Measuring performance on the Healthcare Access and Quality Index for 195 countries and territories and selected subnational locations
BACKGROUND: A key component of achieving universal health coverage is ensuring that all populations have access to quality health care. Examining where gains have occurred or progress has faltered across and within countries is crucial to guiding decisions and strategies for future improvement. We used the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study 2016 (GBD 2016) to assess personal health-care access and quality with the Healthc…
Healthcare Access and Quality Index based on mortality from causes amenable to personal health care in 195 countries and territories, 1990–2015
BACKGROUND: National levels of personal health-care access and quality can be approximated by measuring mortality rates from causes that should not be fatal in the presence of effective medical care (ie, amenable mortality). Previous analyses of mortality amenable to health care only focused on high-income countries and faced several methodological challenges. In the present analysis, we use the highly standardised cause of death and risk factor …
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Healthcare Access and Quality Index based on mortality from causes amenable to personal health care in 195 countries and territories, 1990–2015
BACKGROUND: National levels of personal health-care access and quality can be approximated by measuring mortality rates from causes that should not be fatal in the presence of effective medical care (ie, amenable mortality). Previous analyses of mortality amenable to health care only focused on high-income countries and faced several methodological challenges. In the present analysis, we use the highly standardised cause of death and risk factor …
Measuring performance on the Healthcare Access and Quality Index for 195 countries and territories and selected subnational locations
BACKGROUND: A key component of achieving universal health coverage is ensuring that all populations have access to quality health care. Examining where gains have occurred or progress has faltered across and within countries is crucial to guiding decisions and strategies for future improvement. We used the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study 2016 (GBD 2016) to assess personal health-care access and quality with the Healthc…
Prevalence of, Factors Associated with and Level of Dependence of Psychoactive Substance Use among Mekelle University Students, Ethiopia
Approximately half of Mekelle University undergraduate students were using psychoactive substances with almost one in five at risk of dependency. The likelihood of use increased with seniority. Evidence-based strategies are needed to prevent school-aged children from using psychoactive substances and university students becoming dependent on substances. Interventions designed to stop current psychoactive substance use may also have promise for re…
The Covid-19 pandemic and healthcare systems in Africa
BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic has overwhelmed health systems in both developed and developing nations alike. Africa has one of the weakest health systems globally, but there is limited evidence on how the region is prepared for, impacted by and responded to the pandemic. METHODS: We conducted a scoping review of PubMed, Scopus, CINAHL to search peer-reviewed articles and Google, Google Scholar and preprint sites for grey literature. The scopi…
Reorienting and rebuilding the health system in war-torn Tigray, Ethiopia
box Armed conflict and war, directly and indirectly, affect health and health systems.1 2 Globally, conflict was responsible for over 63 000 deaths and over 2.7 million years of lives lost due to disability in 2019.3 The war in the Tigray region of Ethiopia, which started in November 2020, has already caused a considerable number of casualties, massive internal displacement and over 70 000 refugees in neighbouring Sudan.4 A recent report by World…
The impact of war on the health system of the Tigray region in Ethiopia
The war in Tigray region of Ethiopia that started in November 2020 and is still ongoing has brought enormous damage to the health system. This analysis provides an assessment of the health system before and during the war. Evidence of damage was compiled from November 2020 to June 2021 from various reports by the interim government of Tigray, and also by international non-governmental organisations. Comparison was made with data from the prewar c…
Health system capacity and readiness for delivery of integrated non-communicable disease services in primary health care
Background Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) now account for about 71% and 32% of all the deaths globally and in Ethiopia. Primary health care (PHC) is a vital instrument to address the ever-increasing burden of NCDs and is the best strategy for delivering integrated and equitable NCD care. We explored the capacity and readiness of Ethiopia’s PHC system to deliver integrated, people-centred NCD services. Methods A qualitative study was conducted i…
Aligning policymaking in decentralized health systems
Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) are leading causes of death globally and in Nigeria they account for 29% of total deaths. Nigeria’s health system is decentralized. Fragmentation in governance in federalised countries with decentralised health systems is a well-recognised challenge to coherent national health policymaking. The policy response to the rising NCD burden therefore requires strategic intent by national and sub-national governments. Thi…
It is not all about salary
INTRODUCTION: Community health workers (CHWs) constitute the majority of primary healthcare (PHC) workers in Nigeria, yet little is understood about their motivations or the most effective interventions to meet their needs to ensure quality health coverage across the country. We aimed to identify factors that would motivate CHWs for quality service delivery. METHODS: A discrete-choice experiment was conducted among 300 CHWs across 44 PHC faciliti…
Exploring complementary and competitive relations between non-communicable disease services and other health extension programme services in Ethiopia
BACKGROUND: Ethiopia has recently revitalised its health extension programme (HEP) to address the rising burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs). We examined the effects of existing essential HEP services on the uptake of NCD preventive services. METHODS: We applied a mixed-effect non-linear model with a logit link function to identify factors associated with a community resident's probability of receiving NCD prevention services through the H…
The impact of war on the health system of the Tigray region in Ethiopia
The impact of war on the health system of the Tigray region in Ethiopia: a response to complaints
Community health extension workers’ training and supervision in Ethiopia
Training and supervision of health workers are critical components of any health system;thus, we assessed how they impact health extension workers’ (HEWs) role in non-communicable disease (NCD) service delivery in Ethiopia’s health extension program (HEP), using an in-depth qualitative study conducted in 2019.The study covered two regions—the Tigray and the South Nations, Nationalities and Peoples Region (SNNPR)—and involved the Federal Ministry …
The organisation of primary health care service delivery for non-communicable diseases in Nigeria
As chronic diseases, non-communicable diseases (NCDs) require sustained person-centred and community-based care. Given its direct link to communities and households, Primary Health Care (PHC) is well positioned to achieve such care. In Nigeria, the national government has prioritized PHC system strengthening as a means of achieving national NCD targets. However, strengthening PHC systems for NCDs require re-organization of PHC service delivery, b…
“We just have to help”
Introduction: Nigeria's skilled health professional health workforce density is insufficient to achieve its national targets for non-communicable diseases (NCD) which include 25% reduction in the prevalence of diabetes and hypertension, particularly at the primary health care (PHC) level. This places a great demand on community health workers (CHWs) who constitute the majority of PHC workers. Traditionally, CHWs are mainly involved in infectious …
Global implementation research capacity building to address cardiovascular disease
Cardiovascular diseases are the leading causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide, but implementation of evidence-based interventions for risk factors such as hypertension is lacking, particularly in low and middle income countries (LMICs). Building implementation research capacity in LMICs is required to overcome this gap. Members of the Global Research on Implementation and Translation Science (GRIT) Consortium have been collaborating in rece…
Socio-demographic correlates of unhealthy lifestyle in Ethiopia
In our analysis, we observed a higher prevalence of concurrent unhealthy lifestyles. Socio-demographic characteristics, such as sex, age, marital status, residence, income, and education, were found to correlate with individuals' lifestyles. Consequently, tailored interventions are imperative to mitigate the burden of unhealthy lifestyles in Ethiopia
Exploring the implementation of community health worker program in Fiji
In Fiji, community health workers (CHWs) play a critical role in providing primary health care, especially in remote and hard-to-reach areas. This study aims to comprehensively explore the implementation of the CHW program and identify policy-implementation gaps that will strengthen the country’s primary health care. We conducted a qualitative exploratory study in Fiji’s six sub-divisions across the four administrative divisions—Central, Eastern,…
Task-sharing for non-communicable disease prevention and control in low- and middle-income countries in the context of health worker shortages
Health workers are pivotal for non-communicable disease (NCD) service delivery, yet often are unavailable in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). There is limited evidence on what NCD-related tasks non-physician health workers (NPHWs) can perform and their effectiveness. This study aims to understand how task-sharing is used to improve NCD prevention and control in LMICs. We also explored barriers, facilitators, and unexpected consequences o…
Understanding implementation, adoption, and acceptability of the WHO package of essential noncommunicable (PEN) disease interventions in Fiji
The Package of Essential Noncommunicable (PEN) disease interventions in response to the high prevalence of cardiovascular diseases and diabetes was implemented in Fiji commencing in 2012. This study aimed to understand implementation outcomes, and its contextual influences. Semi-structured interviews with health workers and patients across Fiji was conducted. Thematic analysis was mapped to the health system building blocks to understand PEN serv…
Health-system challenges, resilience strategies, and actionable priorities for non-communicable disease care in humanitarian crises
Humanitarian crises disrupt the continuous care required for non-communicable diseases (NCDs), yet evidence on effective health-system responses remains fragmented. We conducted a scoping review, reported in accordance with PRISMA-ScR, to map health-system challenges, implemented and recommended strategies, resilience functions, and evidence gaps for cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, cancer, and chronic respiratory diseases in humanitarian setti…
Use of digital health in task-sharing for prevention and management of non-communicable diseases in Africa
Task-sharing with non-physician health workers (NPHWs), supported by digital health, has emerged as a critical strategy to address workforce shortage and improve the delivery of health services. The use of digital health shows promise in supporting task-sharing for the prevention and management of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) elsewhere; however, the evidence from Africa remains limited. This study aims to review the use of digital health in t…
Implementing public health emergency operations centres according to an international framework in Ethiopia, Nigeria, and Senegal
A public health emergency operations centre (PHEOC) is a hub for effective coordination of information and resources. Countries have established PHEOCs as part of the effort to strengthen their emergency management capabilities. However, there is limited documented evidence of best practices in PHEOC implementation in accordance with the world health organization PHEOC framework. A survey was conducted to document best practices and experiences i…
Lifestyle interventions to prevent gestational and type 2 diabetes among migrant women from low- and middle-income countries
Migrant women from low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) living in high-income settings experience disproportionately high risk of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). This review aimed to identify and synthesise culturally adapted lifestyle interventions for preventing or managing GDM and T2DM among migrant women from LMICs, focusing on intervention components, cultural adaptation strategies, and behavioura…
Lived Experience of Secondary Vicarious Trauma Among the Tegaru Australian Diaspora in the Postwar Context of Tigray
Background The war in Tigray has caused humanitarian and public health crises in North Ethiopia in addition to a high prevalence of mental health symptoms among the Tegaru (people from Tigray) diaspora in Australia. To date, there have been no studies that have explored mechanisms of vicarious mental health and resilience among Tegaru diasporas in Australia. Methods We conducted 14 in‐depth interviews with Tegaru people living in South Australia …
Medicine (16 works) · Environmental health (12 works) · Global Maternal and Child Health (12 works) · Nursing (12 works) · Business (10 works) · Public health (9 works) · Political science (8 works) · Economic growth (7 works) · Global Public Health Policies and Epidemiology (7 works) · Healthcare Systems and Reforms (7 works)