Equipo ISGlobal

Camila Picchio (PhD, MPH) is a multidisciplinary Post-Doctoral Researcher at ISGlobal. Her research lies at the intersection of public health, implementation science, migrant health, and health systems.

Her current primary research interests focus on simplifying the diagnosis and linkage to care pathways for hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) among greater risk populations such as migrants, refugees, and people who use drugs (PWUD) and the translation of these findings into effective community-based interventions to promote overall well-being, sustainable policy, and equitable service delivery. Camila is particularly interested in the use of novel and simplified diagnostic tools to link people to care, both in Europe and in low- and middle-income countries and how multisectoral and community-based interventions, including community health workers (CHWs), help facilitate linkage to care, health service utilization, and long-term engagement in care. Camila completed post-doctoral training at the Dornsife School of Public Health of Drexel University (Philadelphia, USA) where she explored health status and healthcare needs of Latino migrants crossing through the US-Mexico border.

Camila coordinates the EU co-funded VH-COMSAVAC project in Spain, Italy, and Greece, which is a follow-up to the HBV-COMSAVA pilot project among west African migrants living in Catalonia, Spain. She was a consultant for the WHO Regional Office for Europe on Community Engagement in Emergencies and has also consulted for PAHO on viral hepatitis, HIV, TB, and STI elimination strategies in Latin American cities. Camila is currently the Vice President of the European Public Health Association (EUPHA) section on Health Promotion.
 
She also has experience working abroad in Kampala, Uganda (Makerere University), Buenos Aires, Argentina (Fundación Huésped/Hospital Fernández), and New York (Treatment Action Group & City University of New York School of Public Health (CUNY SPH), and spent time at the Health Department of the Government of Catalonia and the Public Health Agency of Barcelona (l’ASPB).
 
Other lines of research include vaccine hesitancy in the general population and among healthcare workers. 

Líneas de investigación

• Health systems
• Viral Hepatitis
• Community-based initiatives & primary care
• HIV/AIDS & other infectious diseases
• Community engagement
• Stigma & discrimination
• Vaccine hesitancy

Principales publicaciones

• Picchio CA, Rangel MG, Gonzalez-Fagoaga JE et al. Crossing borders, confronting Health inequities: HIV, syphilis, and hepatitis B patterns among Mexican migrants at the US-Mexico border, 2020/21. Under review, Am J Pub Health 2024.
• Picchio CA, Kwakye DN, Rando-Segura A et al. Community-based screening enhances Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) linkage to care among West African migrants in Spain. Communications Medicine 2023;14(3):182.
• Picchio CA, Nicolàs A, Ayemfou Foufou IV et al. Acceptability and feasibility of a simplified blood sample collection method for the screening of viral hepatitis among people living with HIV in Cameroon and Uganda.  J Epidemiology & Glob Health 2024.
• MacKinnon M*, Picchio CA*, Nomah DK et al. Chronic conditions and multimorbidity among West African migrants in greater Barcelona, Spain. Frontiers in Public Health 2023;11. (co-first authors*) 
• Palombo L, Picchio CA, Barbier F et al. Co-creating a Mpox Elimination Campaign in the WHO European Region: The Central Role of Affected Communities. Open Forum Infect Dis 2024; 11:10.
• Palumbo L, Picchio CA, Smallwood C et al. Community COVID-19 response in WHO’s European Region.  The Lancet 2023; 402:10408; P1127. 
• van Selm L, White TM, Picchio CA et al. Drug use and access to drug dependency services for vulnerable migrants who use drugs in the European Union: Consensus statement and recommendations from civil society experts in Europe. Int J Drug Pol 2023:118(104087). 
• Picchio CA, Lens S, Manuel Hernandez-Guerra et al. Describing late presentation to care in chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) patients seeking first time specialist care in Spain: a two-year registry review. Sci Rep 2021;11:24133 
• Picchio CA, Valencia J, Swan T, Pastor M, Martró E, et al. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on harm reduction services in Spain. Harm Redu Journal 2020; doi:10.1186/s12954-020-00432-w. 
• Picchio CA, Carrasco M, Sagué-Vilavella M, Rius C. Knowledge, attitudes and beliefs about vaccination in primary healthcare workers involved in the administration of systematic childhood vaccines, Barcelona, 2016/17. EurosSurveillance 2019;24(6):pii=1800117.