Abstract
Aim Infectious diseases in children pose a significant health burden and result in substantial health inequalities globally. The International Child Health Group (ICHG) organised its 11th Winter Meeting on 15th December 2023, on the theme of ‘Inequalities in Childhood Infectious Diseases’. The main objective of this meeting was to provide an opportunity to increase awareness and understanding of the interrelationship between childhood inequality and infection globally, fostering a collaborative approach to develop effective solutions for the future.
Material and Method The event was hosted online, providing access to international attendees. Free tickets were offered to professionals from low-and middle-income countries (LMIC). Through keynotes and panel sessions, experts led discussions on antimicrobial resistance (AMR), HIV, sexually transmitted infections, neglected tropical diseases, migration and vaccines. Additional skills-based workshops were led by the medical education, advocacy, and research leads within ICHG. All attendees received anonymous pre-and post-conference questionnaires, were asked to rate their comprehension of key themes before and after the conference using a 5-point Likert scale. This provided quantitative feedback of participants’ knowledge. Mann-Whitney U-tests were performed to compare differences in pre-and post-conference questionnaire results.
Results Of the 129 child health professionals who registered, 40 were from LMICs, with half completing both questionnaires. There was a significant increase in the average Likert score given by participants for their knowledge of each theme covered by the Winter Meeting (p < 0.0001)(table 1). Before the conference, only 30% reported their knowledge on the session themes at level 3 or above while this increased to 69% across all domains following the conference.
Conclusions Our conference fostered discussions and collaboration among child health professionals at different career stages based in various settings worldwide. Participants reported significant improvements in their understanding of key themes following the conference, underscoring the essential need for continued activities and international collaboration in the future.
