To deliver on the 2030 Agenda and the seventeen development goals, while facing complex health challenges, we need research and education that extend across multiple scientific fields. This will enable researchers from a variety of disciplines to meet, identify research issues, apply for funding, and conduct interdisciplinary research. In addition, student involvement is key in achieving the 2030 Agenda’s global goals – and beyond. Challenges include, climate change and child health, non-peaceful societies, gender inequalities and health. The Swedish Institute for Global Health Transformation (SIGHT) was founded in 2017 at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences with the support of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. SIGHT’s mission is to promote an interdisciplinary approach in research and education in the field of global health. In order to deliver on the commitment to global health among researchers and students in various scientific fields and at universities and colleges across Sweden, SIGHT has established SIGHT Fellows, a mentoring programme for academic researchers. In collaboration with universities, established research institutions, and other stakeholders, SIGHT Student Network holds dynamic meetings for students from a variety of disciplines and universities to contribute to delivering the UN’s sustainability goals.

Background Better understanding, documentation and evaluation of different refugee health interventions and their means of health system integration and intersectoral collaboration are needed. Objectives Explore the barriers and facilitators to the integration of health services for refugees; the processes involved and the different stakeholders engaged in levaraging intersectoral approaches to protect refugees’ right to health on resettlement. Design Scoping review. Methods A search of articles from 2000 onward was done in MEDLINE, Web of Science, Global Health and PsycINFO, Embase. Two frameworks were applied in our analysis, the ‘framework for analysing integration of targeted health interventions in systems’ and ‘Health in All Policies’ framework for country action. A comprehensive description of the methods is included in our published protocol. Results 6117 papers were identified, only 18 studies met the inclusion criteria. Facilitators in implementation included: training for providers, colocation of services, transportation services to enhance access, clear role definitions and appropriate budget allocation and financing. Barriers included: lack of a participatory approach, insufficient resources for providers, absence of financing, unclear roles and insufficient coordination of interprofessional teams; low availability and use of data, and turf wars across governance stakeholders. Successful strategies to address refugee health included: networks of service delivery combining existing public and private services; system navigators; host community engagement to reduce stigma; translation services; legislative support and alternative models of care for women and children. Conclusion Limited evidence was found overall. Further research on intersectoral approaches is needed. Key policy insights gained from barriers and facilitators reported in available studies include: improving coordination between existing programmes; supporting colocation of services; establishing formal system navigator roles that connect relevant programmes; establishing formal translation services to improve access and establishing training and resources for providers.

BackgroundStigma is associated with health conditions that drive disease burden in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), including HIV, tuberculosis, mental health problems, epilepsy, and substance use disorders. However, the literature discussing the relationship between stigma and health outcomes is largely fragmented within disease-specific siloes, thus limiting the identification of common moderators or mechanisms through which stigma potentiates adverse health outcomes as well as the development of broadly relevant stigma mitigation interventions.MethodsWe conducted a scoping review to provide a critical overview of the breadth of research on stigma for each of the five aforementioned conditions in LMICs, including their methodological strengths and limitations.ResultsAcross the range of diseases and disorders studied, stigma is associated with poor health outcomes, including help- and treatment-seeking behaviors. Common methodological limitations include a lack of prospective studies, non-representative samples resulting in limited generalizability, and a dearth of data on mediators and moderators of the relationship between stigma and health outcomes.ConclusionsImplementing effective stigma mitigation interventions at scale necessitates transdisciplinary longitudinal studies that examine how stigma potentiates the risk for adverse outcomes for high-burden health conditions in community-based samples in LMICs.

: 1.026_NEP Hypertension prevalence in Zanskar, India: a study to guide future health interventions in rural health clinics M. Chan, W. Tsai, M. Dai; New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA Background: Zanskar, India is a high-altitude, remote region located near the Himalayan mountain range in Ladakh, in northern India. Due to its isolation, much of the population, especially in the farming villages, lack access to regular medical care. The aim of the study was to assess the prevalence of hypertension and to consider risk factors specific to this population. Methods: Data was collected from 318 patients aged 20 to 90 years who presented at temporary medical camps in the villages of Sani and Raru in July 2015. Patients had their blood pressure measured twice and the mean systolic and diastolic pressures were calculated. Through a translator, patients completed a questionnaire about their knowledge of their medical conditions and lifestyle risk factors. The population was stratified by age and gender and then categorized by their blood pressure status. Findings: Of the 318 patients we surveyed, 33% were pre-hypertensive and 25% were hypertensive, with 60% of that group unaware of their hypertension status. 90% of patients who were aware of their hypertension were not taking medications at the time of presentation to the clinic. The prevalence of hypertension increased with age while the prevalence of prehypertension remained relatively stable at all surveyed age groups. At 36%, the prevalence of hypertension for men was higher than that for women (21%). Men also had a higher prevalence of prehypertension (40%) than that of women (30%). Interpretation: The prevalence of hypertension is relatively high in the two villages in Zanskar, India, indicating that hypertension is not limited to urban Westernized populations and can also affect isolated, rural populations. More thorough epidemiological studies should be conducted to identify specific risk factors in other parts of Ladakh. We believe that cultural, socioeconomic, and geographical factors likely greatly influence hypertension risks in Zanskar. Our findings suggest that future interventions in similar populations should prioritize hypertension as a serious public health issue. Funding: New York University School of Medicine, International Health Program. Abstract #: 1.027_NEP: 1.027_NEP Analysis of refugee mental health screening and referral processes at the Newcomers Health Program, San Francisco General Hospital’s Refugee Medical Clinic: a quality