About
The Vanuatu Health Research Symposium is a forum to highlight health research conducted across Vanuatu by the Ministry of Health and partners, including hospitals and provincial health offices.
It aligns with work towards NSDP Society Goal 3 (a healthy population that enjoys a high quality of physical, mental, spiritual and social well-being) and Society Policy Objective 6.9 (strengthen research, data and statistics for accountability and decision making). It also supports the development of evidence-based policies and plans, as emphasized in the Health Sector Strategy (2021-2030).
The first Symposium was held in 2019 with the second held in September 2021 and, the third in October 2022. The fourth Symposium is scheduled for October 2023.
A Vanuatu Health Research Network has been established.
Join VHRN Facebook Group2023 Symposium
The theme of the 2023 Health Research Symposium is Health and Disaster - Response, Recovery and Resilience. It will be held at in Port Vila from the 12th to the 13th of October 2023.
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Abstract Guidelines
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2022 Symposium
Event
The theme of the 2022 Health Research Symposium was Evidence to Impact. It was held in Luganville from 26 to 28 October 2022.
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Program
The Scientific Committee received a high number of quality abstracts.The Symposium program and abstracts selected for oral and poster presentation have been compiled.
Download Program & Abstracts BookA range of support has been organized for those selected to present at the Symposium.
| Mentorship is available in the lead up to the Symposium | Download Mentorship Schedule | Download Mentorship Overview |
| Presentation guidelines and a template have been developed | Download Presentation Guidelines | Download Presentation Template |
| Poster guidelines and a template have been developed | Download Poster Guidelines | Download Poster Template |
Content
There are 37 oral presentations and 13 posters presentations to be issued at the 2022 Symposium. Abstracts, presentations and posters are available below.
| Presentation type | Session | Presenter | Topic | Abstract | Presentation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oral presentation | Policy | BAGEO, Simeon | The Farm to Hospital Initiative – Driving change through collective action; Sanma Province, 2022 | View | Pending |
| Oral presentation | Maternal and Child Health | BANGALINI, Terina | Step up uterotonic medications in women with risks of Postpartum Hemorrhage at Godden Memorial Hospital, January 2020 to December 2021. | View | Pending |
| Oral presentation | Water, Sanitation and Hygiene | BANI, Ratu | The analysis of water, sanitation, and hygiene services in healthcare facilities in Vanuatu, 2020 | View | Pending |
| Oral presentation | Health Communication | BINIHI, Melissa | Rapid formative assessment on additional, COVID-19 and routine vaccines in Vanuatu, 2021 | View | Pending |
| Oral presentation | Disease Management | BINIHI, Tannia | The impact of the 2022 influenza outbreak on asthma admissions at the Vila Central Hospital | View | Pending |
| Oral presentation | Health Communication | BULE, Dorinda | Rumour monitoring and social listening using an AI tool, Talkwalker | View | Pending |
| Oral presentation | Water, Sanitation and Hygiene | COLEMAN, A | Making Inclusion Meaningful - A new way to improve sanitation and hygiene for people with disabilities in Vanuatu | View | Pending |
| Oral presentation | Maternal and Child Health | COPPARD, Miika | omen’s knowledge and beliefs about contraceptive use in West Ambae, Vanuatu | View | Pending |
| Oral presentation | Maternal and Child Health | DAMUTALAU, Boniface | The state of cervical cancer screening in Vanuatu: A retrospective analysis 2015-2020 | View | Pending |
| Oral presentation | Disease Management | DORRAS, Emma | Community utilisation of the Diabetes Support Program at Wan Smolbag Theatre, Shefa Province 2019-2021 | View | Pending |
| Oral presentation | Policy | FANAI, Saen | Road traffic injury could be minimized when individual road users take more responsibility for their safety and the safety of others: Perception of Healthcare Workers in Vanuatu | View | Pending |
| Oral presentation | Infectious Diseases | FANGARIA, Gilson | Surveillance of COVID-19 outbreak at Vila Central Hospital, Vanuatu, March-August 2022 | View | Pending |
| Oral presentation | Policy | SAEL, Fred | Strengthening community level primary health care in Vanuatu: a trial of output-based incentives for Village Health Workers | View | Pending |
| Oral presentation | Infectious Diseases | IAVRO, Edna | Improving understanding of the hepatitis B cascade of care in Vanuatu | View | Pending |
| Oral presentation | Health Communication | IAVRO, Lola | Measuring the efficacy of phone monitoring of travellers in quarantine in 2021 in Shefa Province | View | Pending |
| Oral presentation | Policy | JAMES, Sarah | Creating a more robust, inclusive, and sustainable food system for population health in Vanuatu | View | Pending |
| Oral presentation | Disease Management | JEANTINO, Jenneth | Evaluation of antibiotic prescribing patterns among inpatients at the Northern Provincial Hospital medical ward-a retrospective study. | View | Pending |
| Oral presentation | Maternal and Child Health | KAFER, Georgia | Understanding the impact of micronutrient deficiencies on birth outcomes in Vanuatu and in the wider Western Pacific | View | Pending |
| Oral presentation | Health Communication | KALMATAK, Melissa | Engaging youth voice in decision-making through U-Report | View | Pending |
| Oral presentation | Policy | MANWO, Obed | Assessing Public Awareness around the De-Centralized Model of Care in Shefa Province in 2022 | View | Pending |
| Oral presentation | Water, Sanitation and Hygiene | MARIASUA, Joanne | Low investigation rate of Leptospirosis cases reported in Vanuatu from 2020-2022 | View | Pending |
| Oral presentation | Disease Management | MATHIAS, Agnes | Analysis of outpatient antibiotic consumption at Vila Central Hospital over four years. | View | Pending |
| Oral presentation | Water, Sanitation and Hygiene | MOMMEN, Brecht | WASH in schools in Vanuatu; moving from pilot to national scale | View | Pending |
| Oral presentation | Infectious Diseases | AMOS, Renata | Descriptive analysis of national tuberculosis data, Vanuatu, 2016 to 2020 | View | Pending |
| Oral presentation | Maternal and Child Health | NARASIA, Jenny | Understanding health workers’ views on addressing the unmet need for family planning in Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands | View | Pending |
| Oral presentation | Policy | NIRUA, Marie Laure | Comparing “Fixed-Site” and “Mobile-Site” COVID-19 vaccine delivery strategies in reaching vulnerable peoples in Vanuatu | View | Pending |
| Oral presentation | Health Communication | OBED, Jimmy | Vanuatu health care workers’ attitudes to COVID-19 during community outbreak | View | Pending |
| Oral presentation | Infectious Diseases | TABI, Markson | Investigation of an outbreak of arthritis and conjunctivitis of unknown origin in Central Pentecost | View | Pending |
| Oral presentation | Policy | TARI, Mahlon | The Growing Cost of Surgical Interventions for Diabetes Treatment at Vila Central Hospital | View | Pending |
| Oral presentation | Disease Management | TARIP, Andre | Change in acuity observed following implementation of the Interagency Integrated Triage Tool at Vila Central Hospital Emergency Department, Shefa Province, 2021-2022 | View | Pending |
| Oral presentation | Water, Sanitation and Hygiene | TASSO, Graham | Vila Central Hospital baseline data on hand hygiene from June to July 2022 | View | Pending |
| Oral presentation | Infectious Diseases | TOA SITOBATA, Florita | A community prevalence study to measure the level of under-detection of COVID-19 on Efate Island, Vanuatu | View | Pending |
| Oral presentation | Health Communication | VAN GEMERT, Caroline | Evaluation of a digital tool to screen for COVID-19 symptoms among international travellers entering Vanuatu requiring quarantine, 2020 | View | Pending |
| Oral presentation | Disease Management | VUHU, Kathy | The need for control of antibiotics for the prevention and management of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) | View | Pending |
| Oral presentation | Maternal and Child Health | WARPUT, Juliana | The association between early initiation of antenatal care and birth outcomes in teenage mothers at Northern Provincial Hospital in Santo, 2021-2022 | View | Pending |
| Oral presentation | Infectious Diseases | WILLIAMS, Wendy | Assessment of the use and acceptability of electronic disease notification forms piloted during the COVID-19 response in Vanuatu, 2022 | View | Pending |
| Oral presentation | Disease Management | ZACHARIE, Nathan | Comparing self-reported rates of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCD) among people self-identifying as living with a disability to the broader population during the Vanuatu COVID-19 vaccination rollout (2021 – 2022) | View | Pending |
| Presentation type | Session | Presenter | Topic | Abstract | Presentation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Poster presentation | Infectious Diseases | AMEARA, Kali | The Missing Cog Synchronizing the Cogs of Multi-Sectoral Operation in Vanuatu during an ever-changing Health Pandemic in 2020-2022 | View | Pending |
| Poster presentation | Health System | BULE, Rhoda | Integrated curative and public oral health school outreach to Penama Province: An evaluation of implementing the Health Promoting Schools Program in rural Vanuatu | View | Pending |
| Poster presentation | Infectious Diseases | CARTER, Kevin | The prevalence of MDR-TB among TB admissions in Tafea province: A retrospective study done from 2018-2022 | View | Pending |
| Poster presentation | NCDs | COLEMAN, Allison | Struggling, Surviving or Thriving – A new way to manage incontinence for people with disabilities in Vanuatu | View | Pending |
| Poster presentation | NCDs | GAUTHIER-COLES, Christopher | Comparing self-reported rates of hypertension during the Vanuatu COVID-19 vaccination rollout (2021 – 2022) with the 2011 WHO Vanuatu country profile hypertension statistics | View | Pending |
| Poster presentation | Health System | NIMBTIK, Berlinrose | Strengths and barriers to inclusive health service delivery in the Vanuatu Health Sector | View | Pending |
| Poster presentation | Health System | POILAPA, Relvie | Leaving no-one behind: Improving menstrual health for people with intellectual disabilities and their caregivers in emergencies, Sanma, Vanuatu (2020-2022) | View | Pending |
| Poster presentation | NCDs | RAM, Sharan | Leveraging community health workers in scaling up diabetic retinopathy screening in Fiji: a qualitative study | View | Pending |
| Poster presentation | Health System | TAKOAR, Rachel | Assessing the advantages and limitations of implementing telehealth in Vanuatu | View | Pending |
| Poster presentation | Water, Sanitation and Hygiene | TALEO, Christina | Prevention of Waterborne Disease: Safe Drinking Water | View | Pending |
| Poster presentation | Water, Sanitation and Hygiene | TASSO, Graham | An Infection Prevention and Control Perspective of COVID -19 Outbreak Response at Vila Central Hospital, Vanuatu. | View | Pending |
| Poster presentation | Infectious Diseases | TELUKLUK, Antoine | Development of updated guidance for TB treatment partners in Malampa Province | View | Pending |
| Poster presentation | NCDs | WELIN-TAMATA, Anne | Congenital Talipes Equinovarus in Vanuatu | View | Pending |
2021 Symposium
The theme of the 2021 Health Research Symposium was Evidence to Impact. It was held at Holiday Inn in Port Vila from 23 to 24 September 2021.
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Program
The 2021 Health Research Symposium included plenary addresses, oral presentations and poster sessions on clinical and public health and nursing.
Download the ProgramContent
There were 32 oral presentations and 11 posters presentations issued at the 2021 Symposium. Abstracts, presentations and posters are available below.
| Session | Presenter | Topic | Abstract | Presentation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opening | Turnbull, Mark | The doctor-patient relationship: exactly how influencial are doctors in the lives of their patients. | NA | NA |
| Opening | Natuman, Sereana | Evidence to impact | NA | View |
| Opening | Williams, Wendy | Vanuatu Health Research Ethics Committee (VHREC) process | NA | View |
| Opening | Ko, Eunyoung | Partnership for health research in Vanuatu | View | View |
| Emergency Medicine | Toloka, Hillary | Patients' satisfaction of the care provided at the Emergency Department and Outpatient Department at Vila Central Hospital, Vanuatu. | View | View |
| Emergency Medicine | Kauh, Vega | Electronic data registry to help inform the Emergency Department on key performance indicators | View | View |
| Emergency Medicine | Fred, Debbie | Improving reporting rates of hospitalized pneumonia cases in Vanuatu: An evaluation study | View | View |
| Emergency Medicine | Kalsakau, Ryan Brian | Clinical audit of nebulizer use at NPH ED | View | View |
| Emergency Medicine | Hinge, Lawrence | Effectiveness of community mental health home visit in reducing inpatient admission of mentally ill patients: a look at Vila Central Hospital?s experience from 2012 to 2021 | View | View |
| Health Systems | Leodoro, Basil | Deploying telemedicine in capacity constrained contexts: lessons from the Vanuatu Inter-island Telemedicine and Learning Project | View | View |
| Health Systems | Sitobata, Mackenzie | Work challenges and opportunites faced by medica intern doctors in Vanuatu: A qualitative study | View | View |
| Health Systems | Vile, Sharin | Comparative analysis of provincial Health Emergency Structures throughout Vanuatu. | View | View |
| Health Systems | Fred, Sael | Prevalence and impacts of disability on Primary Health Care service delivery, management and utilisation in Vanuatu | View | View |
| Health Systems | Cornish, Matthew J. | Malnutrition in remote Vanuatu: cyclone response survey | View | View |
| COVID-19 | Binihi, Melissa | Understanding key COVID-19 health messages and review how and from who communities are receiving and accessing information about COVID-19. | View | View |
| COVID-19 | Kalulu, Aleesha | COVID-19 vaccine safety surveillance in Vanuatu in the first three months of implementation, 2021 | View | View |
| COVID-19 | Pheu, Alexandre | COVID-19 vaccination hesitancy in health care workers at Vila Central Hospital | View | View |
| Maternal and Child Health | Natuman, Sereana | Hepatitis B the Vanuatu Story | View | View |
| Maternal and Child Health | Garae, Annette | The outcome of low birthweight babies at VCH and NPH (May 2019 - August 2020) | View | View |
| Maternal and Child Health | Lehi, Margaret | A retrospective study of diabetes in pregnacy at Vila Central Hospital, Vanuatu from January 1st 2014 to December 31st 2018 | View | View |
| Maternal and Child Health | Noah, Leiwaku | First 1000 days End line survey results | View | View |
| Non-Communicable Diseases | Lango, Thompson | 10 Years of amputations In Santo: should the first cut be the deepest? | View | View |
| Non-Communicable Diseases | Kepoue, Andrew | Expanding NCD services to remote population of Vanuatu through mass screening and referral | View | View |
| Non-Communicable Diseases | Natuman, Walesi Valeria | A critical evaluation of rheumatic heart disease registration process after school screening program: a retrospective study of class 6 Students In Central Division of Fiji. | View | NA |
| Non-Communicable Diseases | Toa, Florita | Survival rate of proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR) patients undergoing laser treatment at Pacific Eye Institute, Suva, Fiji, from 2012 to 2017 | View | View |
| Infectious Diseases | Mariasua, Joanne | Review of outbreak thresholds of infectious diseases from the Syndromic Surveillance Database in Vanuatu from 2018-2021 | View | View |
| Infectious Diseases | Tagavi, Lekon | Deployment of Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes in Port Vila to reduce dengue | View | View |
| Infectious Diseases | Donald, Wesley | Vanuatu roadmap to malaria elimination in the Pacific Region | View | View |
| Infectious Diseases | Elliott, Lana | Access to and use of mosquito bed nets for malaria prevention in Vanuatu | View | View |
| Wrap up | van Gemert, Caroline | Taking the next steps to publication | NA | View |
| Wrap up | Guyant, Philippe | Development of a prioritised health research agenda for Vanuatu: work in progress | NA | View |
| Wrap up | Cornish, Matthew J. | Summary of Symposium outcomes and recommendations | NA | View |
| Session | Presenter | Topic | Abstract | Poster |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Emergency Medicine | Atua, Vincent | Admission trends from Port Vila Central Hospital Emergency Department for 2020: a retrospective data analysis | View | View |
| Maternal and Child Health | Deed, Emily | Vanuatu Health Facility Assessment: sexual and gender based violence services | View | View |
| Maternal and Child Health | Deed, Emily | Health facility readiness and service availability assessment for sexual and reproductive health in Vanuatu | View | View |
| COVID-19 | Garae, Crystal | Postmortem detection of SARS-CoV-2 after exposure to seawater | View | View |
| General | Ko, Eunyoung | Designing policies that work | NA | View |
| Maternal and Child Health | Leodoro, Basil | Intimate partner violence and health outcomes experienced by women who are pregnant: a cross-sectional survey in Sanma Province, Vanuatu | View | View |
| Infectious Diseases | Taleo, Fasihah | 2019 Integrated NTD MDA with NCD Screening on Tanna and Efate island | View | View |
| Infectious Diseases | Van Gemert, Caroline | Triple elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV, syphilis and hepatitis B in the Pacific Islands | View | View |
| Infectious Diseases | Williams, Wendy | Comparison of strategies for daily surveillance for symptom development among international travellers entering Vanuatu requiring quarantine, Oct to Dec 2020 | View | View |
| Infectious Diseases | Iavro, Edna | Prevalence of scabies in Sanma Province, Malampa | NA | View |
| Emergency Medicine | Clark, Danielle | Vanuatu Advanced Life Support course | NA | View |
Key Recommendations
Key recommendations from the Symposium included:
- It is recommended that the Vanuatu Health Research Symposium is held on an annual basis
- It is recommended that the Vanuatu Health Research Symposium is adopted as a key Ministry of Health activity and that the coordination and implementation is led by the Ministry of Health and that conference organisation and administrative support is obtained
- It is recommended that research skills and capacity building is strengthened and integrated with conference planning in future years
- It is recommended that future Vanuatu Health Research Symposiums continue to include both national and provincial representation from across the Ministry of Health including medical, nursing, allied health and public health areas
Award Winners
Ten presenters were selected for awards at the 2021 Symposium:
- Best presentation with a provincial focus: Hillary Toloka
- Best presentation with a national focus: Sael Fred
- Best presentation from an early career researcher: Aleesha Kalulu
- Best presentation from a senior researcher: Dr Sereana Natuman
- Best nurse-led presentation: Lawrence Hinge
- Best clinical presentation: Dr Margaret Lehi
- Best public health presentation: Lekon Tagavi
- Best poster presentation: Dr Crystal Garae
- Best overall presentation: Dr Annette Garae
- Judges choice: Joanne Mariasua
Awards were sponsored by:
- Donations from Symposium attendees
- Bank of the South Pacific
- Dr Caroline van Gemert
- Save the Children Vanuatu
- Vanuatu Red Cross Society
- Vanuatu Medical and Dental Association
- The Medical Centre
- Vanuatu Nursing Association
Organizing Committee
The Committee was chaired by Dr Vincent Atua (Vila Central Hospital) and included Dr Lawrence Boe (Vanuatu Medical and Dental Association), Dr Matthew Cornish (private physician), Dr Tessa Knox (WHO Vanuatu Country Liaison Office), Yohann Lemonnier (Vanuatu Health Program) and Dr Caroline van Gemert (Vanuatu Health Program).
Supporters
Financial and technical support for the Symposium was provided by:
- Vanuatu Ministry of Health
- Vanuatu Medical and Dental Association
- Australian Aid
- New Zealand Aid Programme
- Pasifika Medical Association Group
- Vanuatu Health Program
- World Health Organization
Resources
Workshops were conducted in advance of the 2021 Health Research Symposium, with technical assistance provided for the development of abstracts, presentations and posters. Guidance was also produced to support presenters.
Download Tips for Presenting Results Download Tips for Posters