Brooke E Nichols

Datos Biográficos

ID7728244
NOMBREBrooke E Nichols
NOMBRESBrooke E
APELLIDONichols
FIRMANICHOLS B E
AFILIACIONESBoston University
ORCID0000-0003-4682-4999
VERIFICADOSí
TOTAL DE OBRAS24
TOTAL DE CITAS0
TOTAL COMO AUTOR19
TOTAL COMO EDITOR5
PRIMER AÑO DE PUBLICACIÓN2011
AÑO MÁS RECIENTE DE PUBLICACIÓN2026
ÍNDICE H0

  • Leveraging current capacity to address the high prevalence of Chlamydia trachomatis, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, and Trichomonas vaginalis in South Africa

    Open AccessNkgomeleng A Lekodeba, Katherine Snyman et al.ARTICLEPLOS Global Public Health2026

    South Africa has high sexually transmitted infections (STIs) prevalence and currently implements syndromic management, which has limitations including untreated asymptomatic infections and excess antibiotic use. Diagnostic tools like GeneXpert may offer potential improvements. We evaluated potential costs and benefits of GeneXpert for STIs testing. We developed a static analytical model using existing data over a one-year time horizon (January-De…

  • Using sputum and tongue swab specimens for in-home point-of-care targeted universal testing for tuberculosis of household contacts

    Open AccessCharl Bezuidenhout, Lawrence Long et al.ARTICLEBMJ Global Health2025

    INTRODUCTION: Effective strategies are essential for early tuberculosis (TB) detection. Reliance on passive case detection, symptom screening and collection of sputum results in delayed or undiagnosed TB, contributing to on-going TB transmission. This study assessed the acceptability of in-home targeted universal TB testing (TUTT) using GeneXpert MTB/RIF Ultra at point-of-care (POC) during household contact investigations (HCIs) and the feasibili…

  • Patterns of engagement in care during clients’ first 12 months after HIV treatment initiation in Zambia

    Open AccessMariet Benade, Mhairi Maskew et al.ARTICLEBMJ Global Health2025

    BACKGROUND: The first year after HIV treatment initiation or re-initiation is the period of highest risk of a treatment interruption or disengagement, yet little is known about the timing, patterns and effects of interruptions in the early treatment period. METHODS: Using routinely collected electronic medical record data from 543 Zambian facilities from 2018 to 2023, we described patterns of engagement during the first year of HIV treatment. We …

  • Evaluating the effect of interactive two-way texting on 6-month antiretroviral therapy outcomes

    Open AccessChristine Kiruthu-Kamamia, Robin E Klabbers et al.ARTICLEPLOS Global Public Health2025

    Retention on antiretroviral therapy (ART) is critical for achieving viral load suppression (VLS) among people living with HIV (PLHIV). Retention remains challenging in high-prevalence settings like Malawi. Short messaging service (SMS) interventions, particularly hybrid two-way texting (2wT), show promise in improving ART retention. We conducted a randomized control trial (RCT) at Lighthouse Trust in Lilongwe, Malawi, to evaluate the effectivenes…

  • Ten-year health impact, economic impact and return on investment of the South African molecular diagnostics programme for HIV, tuberculosis and Sars-CoV-2

    Open AccessBrooke E Nichols, Alexandra de Nooy et al.ARTICLEBMJ Global Health2024

    INTRODUCTION: To ensure there is adequate investment into diagnostics, an understanding of the magnitude of impact and return on investment is necessary. We, therefore, sought to understand the health and economic impacts of the molecular diagnostic programme in South Africa, to deepen the understanding of the broad value of diagnostics and guide future healthcare investments. METHODS: We calculated the 10-year (where data were available) total c…

  • A call to bridge the diagnostic gap

    Open AccessBirgitta Gleeson, Cecilia Ferreyra et al.ARTICLEBMJ Global Health2024

    BOX Low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) bear the greatest burden of neonatal mortality, with sepsis being a major contributor

  • Men’s Satisfaction with General Health Services is Associated with Future Use of HIV Testing in Malawi

    Open AccessMarguerite Thorp, Kelvin Balakasi et al.ARTICLEAIDS and Behavior2024

    Across sub-Saharan Africa, men are less likely to know their HIV status than women, leading to later treatment initiation. Little is known about how experiences with general health services affect men's use of HIV testing. We used data from a 2019 community-representative survey of men in Malawi to understand frequency and cause of men's negative health service experiences (defined as men reporting they "would not recommend" a facility) and their…

  • Reproducible Science Is Vital for a Stronger Evidence Base During the Covid‐19 Pandemic

    Open AccessKarla Therese L Sy, Laura F White et al.ARTICLEGeographical Analysis2023

    Reproducible research becomes even more imperative as we build the evidence base on SARS‐CoV‐2 epidemiology, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment. In his study, Paez assessed the reproducibility of COVID‐19 research during the pandemic, using a case study of population density. He found that most articles that assess the relationship of population density and COVID‐19 outcomes do not publicly share data and code, except for a few, including our p…

  • The integration of tuberculosis and HIV testing on GeneXpert can substantially improve access and same-day diagnosis and benefit tuberculosis programmes

    Open AccessSarah Girdwood, Mayank Pandey et al.ARTICLEPLOS Global Public Health2023

    Diagnostic network optimization (DNO), a geospatial optimization technique, can improve access to diagnostics and reduce costs through informing policy-makers’ decisions on diagnostic network changes. In Zambia, viral load (VL) testing and early infant diagnosis (EID) for HIV has been performed at centralized laboratories, whilst the TB-programme utilizes a decentralized network of GeneXpert platforms. Recently, the World Health Organization (WHO…

  • Differential in-hospital mortality and intensive care treatment over time

    Open AccessLise Jamieson, Cari van Schalkwyk et al.ARTICLEPLOS Global Public Health2023

    There are limited published data within sub-Saharan Africa describing hospital pathways of COVID-19 patients hospitalized. These data are crucial for the parameterisation of epidemiological and cost models, and for planning purposes for the region. We evaluated COVID-19 hospital admissions from the South African national hospital surveillance system (DATCOV) during the first three COVID-19 waves between May 2020 and August 2021. We describe proba…

  • The role of modelling and analytics in South African Covid-19 planning and budgeting

    Open AccessGesine Meyer‐Rath, Rachel Hounsell et al.ARTICLEPLOS Global Public Health2023

    Background The South African COVID-19 Modelling Consortium (SACMC) was established in late March 2020 to support planning and budgeting for COVID-19 related healthcare in South Africa. We developed several tools in response to the needs of decision makers in the different stages of the epidemic, allowing the South African government to plan several months ahead. Methods Our tools included epidemic projection models, several cost and budget impact…

  • Provider-led community antiretroviral therapy distribution in Malawi

    Open AccessJohn Songo, Hannah Whitehead et al.ARTICLEPLOS Global Public Health2023

    Background Outcomes of community antiretroviral therapy (ART) distribution (CAD), in which provider–led ART teams deliver integrated HIV services at health posts in communities, have been mixed in sub-Saharan African countries. CAD outcomes and costs relative to facility-based care have not been reported from Malawi. Methods We performed a retrospective cohort study in two Malawian districts (Lilongwe and Chikwawa districts), comparing CAD with f…

  • The National Covid-19 Epi Model (NCEM)

    Open AccessSheetal Silal, Juliet R C Pulliam et al.ARTICLEPLOS Global Public Health2023

    In March 2020 the South African COVID-19 Modelling Consortium was formed to support government planning for COVID-19 cases and related healthcare. Models were developed jointly by local disease modelling groups to estimate cases, resource needs and deaths due to COVID-19. The National COVID-19 Epi Model (NCEM) while initially developed as a deterministic compartmental model of SARS-Cov-2 transmission in the nine provinces of South Africa, was ada…

  • Achieving HIV Epidemic Control and Improving Maternal Healthcare Services with Community-Based HIV Service Delivery in Zambia

    Open AccessCassidy W Claassen, Ina Kafunda et al.ARTICLEAIDS and Behavior2023

  • Optimal use of Covid-19 Ag-RDT screening at border crossings to prevent community transmission

    Open AccessJacques M Chevalier, Karla Therese L Sy et al.ARTICLEPLOS Global Public Health2022

    Countries around the world have implemented restrictions on mobility, especially cross-border travel to reduce or prevent SARS-CoV-2 community transmission. Rapid antigen testing (Ag-RDT), with on-site administration and rapid turnaround time may provide a valuable screening measure to ease cross-border travel while minimizing risk of local transmission. To maximize impact, we developed an optimal Ag-RDT screening algorithm for cross-border entry…

  • What vaccination rate(s) minimize total societal costs after ’opening up’ to Covid-19? Age-structured Sirm results for the Delta variant in Australia (New South Wales, Victoria and Western Australia)

    Open AccessLong Chu, R Quentin Grafton et al.ARTICLEPLOS Global Public Health2022

    Using three age-structured, stochastic SIRM models, calibrated to Australian data post July 2021 with community transmission of the Delta variant, we projected possible public health outcomes (daily cases, hospitalisations, ICU beds, ventilators and fatalities) and economy costs for three states: New South Wales (NSW), Victoria (VIC) and Western Australia (WA). NSW and VIC have had on-going community transmission from July 2021 and were in ‘lockd…

  • Robust models of disease heterogeneity and control, with application to the Sars-CoV-2 epidemic

    Open AccessKory D Johnson, Annemarie Grass et al.ARTICLEPLOS Global Public Health2022

    In light of the continuing emergence of new SARS-CoV-2 variants and vaccines, we create a robust simulation framework for exploring possible infection trajectories under various scenarios. The situations of primary interest involve the interaction between three components: vaccination campaigns, non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs), and the emergence of new SARS-CoV-2 variants. Additionally, immunity waning and vaccine boosters are modeled to …

  • The early-stage comprehensive costs of routine PrEP implementation and scale-up in Zambia

    Open AccessCheryl Hendrickson, Lawrence Long et al.ARTICLEPLOS Global Public Health2022

    Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is an effective HIV prevention option, but cost-effectiveness is sensitive to implementation and program costs. Studies indicate that, in addition to direct delivery cost, PrEP provision requires substantial demand creation and client support to encourage PrEP initiation and persistence. We estimated the cost of providing PrEP in Zambia through different PrEP delivery models. Taking a guidelines-based approach for …

  • What If…? Pandemic policy-decision-support to guide a cost-benefit-optimised, country-specific response

    Open AccessGiorgio Mannarini, Francesco Posa et al.ARTICLEPLOS Global Public Health2022

    Background After 18 months of responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, there is still no agreement on the optimal combination of mitigation strategies. The efficacy and collateral damage of pandemic policies are dependent on constantly evolving viral epidemiology as well as the volatile distribution of socioeconomic and cultural factors. This study proposes a data-driven approach to quantify the efficacy of the type, duration, and stringency of COVID…

  • Factors associated with men’s health facility attendance as clients and caregivers in Malawi

    Open AccessMarguerite Thorp, Kelvin Balakasi et al.ARTICLEBMC Public Health2022

    Quality of services offered at local health facilities and men's health status were the only variables associated with client facility visits among men, while harmful gender norms, not being married, and being younger were negatively associated with caregiver visits

  • The cost effectiveness and optimal configuration of HIV self-test distribution in South Africa

    Open AccessLise Jamieson, Leigh F Johnson et al.ARTICLEBMJ Global Health2021

    BACKGROUND: HIV self-testing (HIVST) has been shown to be acceptable, feasible and effective in increasing HIV testing uptake. Novel testing strategies are critical to achieving the UNAIDS target of 95% HIV-positive diagnosis by 2025 in South Africa and globally. METHODS: We modelled the impact of six HIVST kit distribution modalities (community fixed-point, taxi ranks, workplace, partners of primary healthcare (PHC) antiretroviral therapy (ART) …

  • Distinct effectiveness in containing Covid-19 epidemic

    Open AccessYunpeng Ji, Pengfei Li et al.ARTICLEPLOS Global Public Health2021

    For better preparing future epidemic/pandemic, important lessons can be learned from how different parts of China responded to the early COVID-19 epidemic. In this study, we comparatively analyzed the effectiveness and investigated the mechanistic insight of two highly representative cities of China in containing this epidemic by mathematical modeling. Epidemiological data of Wuhan and Wenzhou was collected from local health commission, media rep…

  • Spinal cord injury in the emergency context

    Open AccessJo Armstrong, Brooke E Nichols et al.ARTICLEConflict and Health2014

    Provision of effective rehabilitation for spinal cord injury is possible in complex humanitarian emergency situations. A multidisciplinary approach, including psychological support along with partnerships with local and international organizations with specialized expertise, was key to the program's success

  • Density of Drinking Establishments and HIV Prevalence in a Migrant Town in Namibia

    Open AccessBrooke E Nichols, Davies Nkalamo et al.ARTICLEAIDS and Behavior2011