Glossary of Themes

Asymptomatic Reservoir: Studies concerning the presence of parasites in the blood of infected humans without symptoms of illness [ref]. The activities listed here may include but are not limited to any primary investigation (trial or discovery), or secondary research (review) into the characteristics, infection mechanisms, and strategies of targeting asymptomatic/sub-microscopic infections, including:

• their epidemiology and risk factors
• gametocyte carriage
• their genetic diversity
• their mechanism(s) in contributing to transmission
• innovative approaches (e.g. molecular methods, serology, etc.) to identify such infections
• identifying individuals who harbour hypnozoites
• evaluation of strategies to prevent, detect and/or treat such infections
• non-human hosts of Plasmodium parasites that can act as reservoirs of infection

 

Basic Science: Studies addressing our understanding of the biology of the Plasmodium species, the anopheline mosquito and the relationships between human populations and the different species of mosquito and parasite [ref].

 

Capacity Building: Studies concerning the process of developing and strengthening the skills, instincts, abilities, processes and resources that organizations and communities need to survive, adapt, and thrive in a fast-changing world [ref]. The activities listed here may include and not limited to any primary investigation (trial or discovery), or secondary research (review) into:

• programs enhancing skills in malaria diagnosis, treatment, vector control, and data management
• developing leadership skills in individuals overseeing malaria control programs
• improving the structure and workflows of national malaria control programs, research organizations, and NGOs involved in malaria initiatives
• empowering communities through participatory approaches that foster malaria awareness, prevention, and treatment adherence

 

Climate Change: Studies concerning the impact of climate change on human health through its effects on the physical environment, natural and human systems, including social and economic conditions, as well as the functioning of health systems [ref]. The activities listed here may include and not limited to any primary investigation (trial or discovery), or secondary research (review) into:

• climate change expanding malaria risk zones to new regions
• changes in seasonal transmission patterns
• temperature and rainfall affecting mosquito populations and breeding
• climate impacts on resistance to treatments and insecticides
• malaria exposure changes due to climate-related displacement
• climate-related malaria changes affecting high-risk populations
• policy strategies for climate-adapted malaria control programs

 

Combination of interventions: Studies concerning any combination of intervention tools and strategies and their evaluation [ref].

 

Diagnostics: Studies concerning tools and methods used in the process of establishing the cause of an illness. Malaria diagnostic testing could consist of microscopy, rapid diagnostic testing or nucleic acid-based amplification (e.g. polymerase chain reaction assays to detect parasite DNA or RNA) ([ref]). Activities listed here may include but are not limited to any primary investigation (trial or discovery), or secondary research (review) into:

• evaluating different screening tools and/or strategies to detect malaria infections
• developing new diagnostic methods
• improvement on the sensitivity and specificity of existing diagnostic methods
• developing new methods to identify asymptomatic/sub-microscopic infections
• implementing tools to detect infections

 

Digital Tools: Studies concerning the key technological innovations targeting different areas of the malaria response, which include surveillance, microplanning, prevention, diagnosis and management. The activities listed here may include and not limited to any primary investigation (trial or discovery), or secondary research (review) into web-based innovations, mobile application-based technologies, drone-based technologies, diagnostic tools and other devices developed for malaria intervention.

 

Drug-based Strategies: Studies concerning the use of medicines either in absence of or in combination with other interventions to treat malaria infections and their consequences. Activities listed here may include but are not limited to any primary investigation (trial or discovery), or secondary research (review) on implementing and evaluating:

• artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs) or any other regimen to treat Plasmodium infections
• drug delivery and targeting approaches, including any form of mass and targeted drug administration

 

Drug Resistance: Studies concerning the ability of a parasite strain to survive and/or multiply despite the absorption of a medicine given in doses equal to or higher than those usually recommended [ref]. Activities listed here may include but are not limited to any primary investigation (trial or discovery), or secondary research (review) into:

• the epidemiology and risk factors of drug resistance
• the use of mathematical models to predict drug resistance
• mechanisms and molecular basis of drug resistance
• the genetic diversity of drug resistant parasites
• developing technologies to detect parasite resistance
• monitoring drug resistance
• evaluating strategies to contain and/or mitigate drug resistance
• developing effective drugs against malaria resistant parasites
• measuring impact of drug resistance on malaria transmission

 

Enabling Technologies & Assays: Studies concerning the testing of new technologies and laboratory procedures. The activities listed here may include but are not limited to any primary investigation (trial or discovery), or secondary research (review) into biological platforms, DNA sequencing, etc.

 

Epidemiology: Studies concerning the distribution of health-related states by occurrence of events or determinants (including disease transmission or incidence), and the understanding of which can be applicable towards control and intervention of such health factors [ref].

 

Financing & Economics: Studies concerning the financing function of a health system, particularly with the mobilization, accumulation and allocation of money to cover the health needs of the people, individually and collectively. The purpose of health financing is to make funding available, as well as to set the right incentives to providers, to ensure that all individuals have access to effective public and personal health care [ref]. The activities listed here may include but are not limited to any primary investigation (trial or discovery), or secondary research (review) into targeting the value, effectiveness, efficiency and/or the resources needed to achieve the coverage and service delivery objectives (e.g. budgeting of services, cost-effectiveness of interventions, estimation of the costs, economic impact, etc.).

 

Genetics and Genomics: Studies concerning the genetic characteristics of the malaria parasite, the vector and the human host, and the functions and interactions of all the genes in the genome. The activities listed here may include but are not limited to any primary investigation (trial or discovery), or secondary research (review) into:

• development and use of genetic/genomic tools and gene editing technologies
• genetic characteristics of the Plasmodium species
• generic characteristics of the Anopheles species
• population genetics structure, complexity and diversity
• genetic diversity of asymptomatic/sub-microscopic infections
• genomic surveillance for emerging threats (e.g. drug/insecticide resistance, diagnostic/immune escape)
• genomic sequencing or genotyping
• gene function, gene-gene interaction, and genotype-phenotype association
• malaria-associated human genetic variation

 

Health Systems: Studies that address the structure (health system) or programme that englobes all the activities whose primary purpose is to promote, restore or maintain health. The activities listed here may include but are not limited to any primary investigation (trial or discovery), or secondary research (review) into the (i) access to essential medicine including availability and affordability; (ii) health workforce; and (iii) service delivery [ref].

 

Humanitarian Emergencies: Studies concerning a calamitous situation in which the functioning of a community or society is severely disrupted, causing human suffering and material loss that exceeds the affected population’s ability to cope using its own resources [ref]. The activities listed here may include and not limited to any primary investigation (trial or discovery), or secondary research (review) into:

• response strategies for managing malaria outbreaks during emergencies
• access to health care, antimalarial medications and vector control tools during emergencies
• strategies to mitigate the impact of supply chain disruptions on the availability of mosquito nets, medications, and diagnostic kits
• building health system resilience to continue providing essential malaria services despite crisis conditions
• changes in vector populations and breeding sites due to environmental changes or inadequate sanitation and their impact on malaria transmission
• policy measures to prioritize and secure funding for malaria interventions during emergencies

 

Immunology: Studies concerning the immune system that confers protection against infectious disease [ref]. Activities listed here may include but are not limited to any primary investigation (trial or discovery), or secondary research (review) into:

• the development and mechanisms of malaria immunity (innate and adaptive)
• the relationship between immunity and malaria transmission
• the interaction and evasion of the immune system by malaria parasites
• the mosquito immune responses against malaria parasites 

 

Impact of interventions: Studies concerning the outcomes, consequences and repercussions of the strategies and programmes when they are implemented in the field. The activities listed here may include and not limited to any primary investigation (trial or discovery), or secondary research (review) into:

• estimation and/or determination of the repercussions or effects of the strategies or programmes
• implementation and/or evaluation of new combination of interventions or approaches

 

Indigenous & Imported Cases: Studies concerning the investigation of the cases contracted locally with no evidence of importation and no direct link to transmission from an imported case (indigenous) and the malaria cases or infections in which the infection was acquired outside the area in which it is diagnosed (imported) ([ref]). Activities listed here may include and but not limited to any primary investigation (trial or discovery), or secondary research (review) into:

• identifying and/or characterizing pockets of transmission
• reducing transmission and/or eliminating malaria foci
• detecting outbreaks, responding & preventing onward transmission
• developing malaria transmission maps

 

Information Systems: Studies concerning information systems (physical or procedural) and processes that collect data from health and other relevant sectors, which altogether provide the underpinnings for decision-making and have four key functions: data generation, compilation, analysis and synthesis, and communication and use [ref]. The activities listed here may include but not limited to any primary investigation (trial or discovery), or secondary research (review) into the analysis of the data to ensure overall quality, relevance and timeliness, and into effective conversion from data to information for health-related decision-making.

 

Insecticide Resistance: Studies concerning the property of mosquitoes to survive exposure to a standard dose of insecticide; may be the result of physiological or behavioural adaptation [ref]. Activities listed here may include but are not limited to any primary investigation (trial or discovery), or secondary research (review) into:

• epidemiology and sources of insecticide resistance
• mechanisms and molecular basis of insecticide resistance
• genetic diversity of insecticide resistance mosquitoes
• the use of mathematical models to predict insecticide resistance
• developing technologies to detect mosquito resistance
• monitoring insecticide resistance
• evaluating strategies to contain and/or mitigate insecticide resistance
• developing effective insecticides against resistant mosquitoes
• the effectiveness of vector tools in areas of insecticide resistance
• measuring the impact of insecticide resistance on malaria transmission

 

Last mile of Elimination: Studies concerning the final phase of eliminating malaria by targeting the disease in “hotspots” or within a particular area, such as hard-to-reach populations living and working in remote, forested, or mountainous settings [ref]. Elimination planning strategically integrates anti-malaria efforts within the larger health ecosystem to ensure ongoing suppression of transmission until zero cases are reached [ref]. Therefore, the activities listed here may include, but are not limited to, any primary investigation (trial or discovery) or secondary research (review) into surveillance, political commitment and advocacy, financial sustainment, environmental management, community engagement and health education.

 

Leadership & Governance: Studies concerning the leadership and management structures and approaches in building and governing a health system to ensure that strategic policy frameworks exist and that are combined with effective oversight, coalition-building, regulation, attention to system design and accountability [ref].

 

Measurement of Transmission: Studies concerning the measurement and understanding of malaria transmission [ref]. The activities listed here may include but are not limited to any primary investigation (trial or discovery), or secondary research (review) into:

• assessment of the determinants of transmission
• characterizing malaria vector species and investigating their capacity to transmit malaria infection
• serological markers of infection and their role in monitoring transmission
• development and/or implementation of tools to measure transmission
• malaria patterns of transmission and/or its epidemiology in a given area
• development of malaria transmission maps
• modeling aimed at evaluating the impact of malaria interventions on malaria transmission
• monitoring patterns of malaria transmission in relation to coverage and use of interventions

 

Modeling: Studies concerning but not limited to primary investigation (trial or discovery), or secondary research (review) into understanding and applying the role of mathematics and mathematical models in providing an explicit framework for understanding the disease transmission dynamics within and between hosts and parasites ([ref], [ref]).

 

Monitoring & Evaluation: Studies concerning the systematic assessment of program activities to determine the extent to which inputs, actions and outputs align with plans, as well as to evaluate the relevance, effectiveness, efficiency and impact of activities based on specified objectives [ref].

 

Operational Research: Studies concerning the search for knowledge on interventions, strategies, or tools that can enhance the quality, effectiveness, or coverage of programmes in which the research is being done. These studies encompass the application of social science, research methods, statistical analysis, and other scientific methods to judge, compare, and improve policies and program outcomes from the earliest stages of defining and designing programs through their development and implementation, with the goal of informing programmatic decision-making and improving real-world operations ([ref], [ref]).

 

P. vivax: Studies concerning any primary investigation (trial or discovery), or secondary research (review) on the species Plasmodium vivax.

 

Product Development: Studies concerning the multistep process that leads to new product development and use and to outline the economic and institutional context for products developed specifically for malaria [ref]. Activities listed here may include but are not limited to any primary investigation (trial or discovery) or secondary research (review) into the establishment of product development partnerships (PDPs), research and development of new drugs, diagnostics, vaccines, etc.

 

Program Evaluation: Studies concerning a systematic method for collecting, analyzing, and using information to provide basic answers about a program [ref]. The activities listed here may include and not limited to any primary investigation (trial or discovery), or secondary research (review) into the routine measuring of programmatic effectiveness:

• way the program works and its efficiency in producing results
• extent to which the program achieves its predefined goals or objectives
• check the benefit sustainment and how they ‘stick’ to the organization

 

Residual Transmission: Studies concerning the persistence of transmission following the implementation in time and space of a widely effective malaria programme. The activities listed here may include but are not limited to any primary investigation (trial or discovery), or secondary research (review) into:

• identifying and/or characterizing pockets of such transmission
• reducing and/or eliminating such transmission
• detecting outbreaks, responding & preventing onward transmission
• developing malaria transmission maps

 

Social Science: Studies concerning the society and how populations behave and interact with each other and with the environment, in order to understand the effects of the habits, traditions and/or sociodemographic characteristics of the people and the communities, role of religion, rituals, etc. in the context of health and healthcare.

 

Surveillance: Studies concerning the continuous and systematic collection, analysis and interpretation of disease-specific data and use in planning, implementing and evaluating public health practice [ref]. The activities listed here may include and not limited to any primary investigation (trial or discovery), or secondary research (review) into:

• different strategies for case investigation
• different approaches for data collection and/or reporting
• improvement of the malaria surveillance system
• approaches for outbreak detection or detecting malaria re-introduction
• case management
• implementation and/or evaluation of new surveillance approaches

 

Urban Malaria: Studies concerning malaria transmission that occurs within cities and urban areas, where it is crucial to determine the extent of “local transmission” around urban dwellings [ref]. The activities listed here may include and not limited to any primary investigation (trial or discovery), or secondary research (review) into:

• the extent of local transmission within urban areas
• mosquito species’ behavior, adaptation to urban habitats, and the role of specific breeding sites in sustaining urban malaria transmission
• effectiveness of different vector control interventions in urban settings, such as larviciding, insecticide-treated nets (ITNs), and indoor residual spraying
• urban microclimate variables (e.g., temperature, humidity) affecting mosquito survival, reproduction, and development, influencing malaria transmission
• the impact of socioeconomic variables, such as poverty, housing conditions, and access to healthcare, on malaria transmission risk in urban areas
• the impact of urbanization trends and land-use changes on malaria transmission, including the development of mosquito-friendly environments
• geographic information systems (GIS) and spatial modeling to identify high-risk areas and map transmission trends in cities

 

Vaccines: Studies concerning the stages of vaccine development such as research and discovery, proof of concept, testing via clinical trials, and monitoring the safety after approval [ref], or addressing the measurable signs associated with vaccine-induced protection [ref]. Activities listed here may include but are not limited to any primary investigation (trial or discovery), or secondary research (review) into:

• malaria antigens that activate the immune system
• identifying vaccine targets
• Immunogenicity studies in animal models
• vaccine formulation
• adjuvants and delivery systems for malaria vaccines 
• safety and immunogenicity of vaccine candidates

 

Vector Control: Studies concerning the deployment of any countermeasure against malaria- transmitting mosquitoes, intended to limit their ability to transmit the disease [ref]. Activities listed here may include but are not limited to any primary investigation (trial or discovery), or secondary research (review) into:

• the effectiveness of vector tools, such as LLINs or IRS
• testing new vector control tools
• the effectiveness of different vector control strategies
• testing new vector control strategies in the field

 

Vulnerable populations: Studies concerning groups of people who are particularly at considerably higher risk of contracting or will likely suffer greater burden subsequent to malaria infection in certain situations or contexts ([ref], [ref]). Activities listed here may include but are not limited to any primary investigation (trial or discovery), or secondary research (review) into understanding risk factor or targeting intervention on:

• pregnant women, infants and children
• people suffering from HIV/AIDS or patients with other mutually effective co-infections
• high-risk groups, including indigenous communities and mobile workers
• non-immune migrants, and mobile or displaced populations
• populations out of catchment or coverage of the health system or established intervention