Author Profile

Alexander Vu

https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/emergencymedicine/Faculty/JHH/vu.html

Affiliation: Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, USA

I am a physician researcher. I serve as Director of the International Emergency and Public Health Fellowship at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and the Bloomberg School of Public Health. My work is focused on measuring and developing interventions to improve health outcomes for refugee and displaced persons in conflict and post-conflict settings. I have 7 years of research experience in conducting community based interventions in diverse populations across multiple settings globally. I am currently PI on four funded research studies (World Bank, Department of State, Bureau of Population, Refugee and Migration (BPRM) and foundations). Through these research studies and others, I have successfully collaborated with investigators across multiple disciplines and institutions, mentored graduate and post-graduate students in diverse disciplines as well as partnered with community experts and organizations to conduct studies to improve health for individuals, families and communities.

Recent Posts

The Prevalence of Sexual Violence among Female Refugees in Complex Humanitarian Emergencies: a Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

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Importance: Refugees and internally displaced persons are highly vulnerable to sexual violence during conflict and subsequent displacement. However, accurate estimates of the prevalence of sexual violence among in these populations remain uncertain.

Objective: Our objective was to estimate the prevalence of sexual violence among refugees and displaced persons in complex humanitarian emergencies.

Data Source: We conducted systematic review of relevant literature in multiple databases (EMBASE, CINAHL, and MEDLINE) through February 2013 to identify studies. We also reviewed reference lists of included articles to identify any missing sources.

Study Selection: Inclusion criteria required identification of sexual violence among refugees and internally displaced persons or those displaced by conflict in complex humanitarian settings. Studies were excluded if they did not provide female sexual violence prevalence, or that included only single case reports, anecdotes, and those that focused on displacement associated with natural disasters. After a review of 1175 citations 19 unique studies were selected.

Data Extraction: Two reviewers worked independently to identify final selection and a third reviewer adjudicated any differences. Descriptive and quantitative information was extracted; prevalence estimates were synthesized. Heterogeneity was assessed using I2.

Main Outcomes: The main outcome of interest was sexual violence among female refugees and internally displaced persons in complex humanitarian settings.

Results: The prevalence of sexual violence was estimated at 21.4% (95% CI, 14.9-28.7; I2=98.3%), using a random effects model. Statistical heterogeneity was noted with studies using probability sampling designs reporting lower prevalence of sexual violence (21.0%, 95% CI, 13.2-30.1; I2=98.6%), compared to lower quality studies (21.7%, 95% CI, 11.5-34.2; I2=97.4%). We could not rule out the presence of publication bias.

Conclusions: The findings suggest that approximately one in five refugees or displaced women in complex humanitarian settings experienced sexual violence. However, this is likely an underestimation of the true prevalence given the multiple existing barriers associated with disclosure. The long-term health and social consequences of sexual violence for women and their families necessitate strategies to improve identification of survivors of sexual violence and increase prevention and response interventions in these complex settings.

Earthquake-Related Injuries in the Pediatric Population: A Systematic Review

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Background: Children are a special population, particularly susceptible to injury. Registries for various injury types in the pediatric population are important, not only for epidemiological purposes but also for their implications on intervention programs. Although injury registries already exist, there is no uniform injury classification system for traumatic mass casualty events such as earthquakes.
Objective: To systematically review peer-reviewed literature on the patterns of earthquake-related injuries in the pediatric population.
Methods: On May 14, 2012, the authors performed a systematic review of literature from 1950 to 2012 indexed in Pubmed, EMBASE, Scopus, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library. Articles written in English, providing a quantitative description of pediatric injuries were included. Articles focusing on other types of disasters, geological, surgical, conceptual, psychological, indirect injuries, injury complications such as wound infections and acute kidney injury, case reports, reviews, and non-English articles were excluded.
Results: A total of 2037 articles were retrieved, of which only 10 contained quantitative earthquake-related pediatric injury data. All studies were retrospective, had different age categorization, and reported injuries heterogeneously. Only 2 studies reported patterns of injury for all pediatric patients, including patients admitted and discharged. Seven articles described injuries by anatomic location, 5 articles described injuries by type, and 2 articles described injuries using both systems.
Conclusions: Differences in age categorization of pediatric patients, and in the injury classification system make quantifying the burden of earthquake-related injuries in the pediatric population difficult. A uniform age categorization and injury classification system are paramount for drawing broader conclusions, enhancing disaster preparation for future disasters, and decreasing morbidity and mortality.