A Rapid Evidence Support System Assessment (RESSA) of health policymaking in Ireland - A Protocol.

Background: Evidence-informed policymaking promotes the use of the best available evidence in a systematic and transparent manner to guide policy decisions. It aims to ensure that policies are grounded in credible and relevant evidence while also considering factors such as feasibility, sustainability, equity, and stakeholder input. The Global Evidence Commission has emphasised the necessity for stronger national evidence infrastructures and recommended that governments evaluate their evidence-support systems, focusing on the demand for evidence from policymakers, the supply of timely and relevant evidence, and the coordination between the two.

A systematic review of the pivotal role of environmental toxicant exposure on infectious diseases in low- and middle-income countries.

Objective: The objective of this review is to identify which environmental toxicants are linked to infectious diseases in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) by synthesizing available evidence. It aims to summarize key findings, identify research gaps and provide policy recommendations based on the associations between specific toxicants and disease outcomes.

Study Design: Systematic review.

GRADE Certainty Ratings: Thresholds Rather Than Categories of Contextualization (GRADE Guidance 41).

In 2017, the GRADE (Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation) working group defined the certainty of evidence as the certainty that the true effect lies on one side of a threshold or in a particular range. This definition has proved useful as the basis for rating certainty, facilitating the interpretation of the results for the target audience. However, the categorization of suggested thresholds and ranges as levels of contextualization led to inconsistencies between the initial and subsequent papers and has proved confusing for some GRADE users.

Antibiotic prescribing patterns in the community and primary care settings through a gender lens: A systematic review.

Objectives: Gender differences affect exposure to infections, including drug-resistant ones. However, data on the relationship between gender and antibiotic use are limited. This systematic review examines gender differences in antibiotic prescribing patterns in community and primary care settings.

Synthesizing Public Health Preparedness Mechanisms for High-Impact Infectious Disease Threats: A Jurisdictional Scan.

Aim: High-impact infectious diseases pose major global health challenges, underscoring the urgent need for robust public health preparedness. Despite efforts to improve global health security, recent pandemics have revealed significant weaknesses in health systems' preparedness and response capabilities.

Methods: We reviewed and synthesized key strategies and lessons from existing public health preparedness plans for high-impact infectious diseases.