Translated from Spanish and reprinted with permission from Revista Cubana de Salud Pública Vol 44 No 2, Apr–Jun 2018. Original available from: http://www.revsaludpublica.sld.cu/index.php/spu/article/view/1065

The process of research and evaluation of new products and technologies requires a combination of transdisciplinary theoretical and methodological approaches for managing and achieving objectives. The research, development and evaluation strategy of the new Cuban pneumococcal vaccine combines the approaches of team science and accelerated vaccine introduction. These frameworks are proposed for discussions regarding biotech product evaluation, using their application to the Pneumococcus Project as an example. Emphasis is on the use of team science to eliminate obstacles to obtaining a product of great scientific and technological complexity while establishing robust scientific evidence to support its use and marketing. All of this is in support of opportune and efficient decisions for accelerated introduction of new vaccines in Cuba.

KEYWORDS Team science, vaccines, pneumococcal conjugate vaccine, Cuba

Excerpted by the author, translated and reprinted with permission from Revista Cubana de Salud Pública. 2015Jan–Mar;41(1):94–114. Original available from: http://scielo.sld.cu/scielo.php?pid=S0864-34662015000100009&script=sci_arttext

This paper discusses integration and implementation of population health and social determinants approaches to the health-disease–care process in the context of ongoing changes to Cuba’s health system. Ideas for strengthening the social conceptualization of public health and prioritizing population health actions over those of individual medical care are discussed, with a view to encouraging rethinking of these as social practice. The paper aims to advance new and renewed strategic proposals for change, based on a broad view of public health and a focus on social medicine that favors a population health perspective and inclusion of a wide range of health determinants. It advances the need to develop or extend debate on the theory and social practice of epidemiology and public health while implementing needed changes in health services and medical care. The paper recommends embarking on technical discussions among all actors and protagonists, not just in the health care system but in the entire health sector, to better integrate and practice a population health approach with social determinants of health.