Research - Our Team

Camila Picchio (PhD, MPH) is the SAFEStart+ Project Manager at the World Hepatitis Alliance working on prevention of mother to child transmission (PMTCT) of HIV, hepatitis B, Syphilis, and Chagas in WHO AFRO and PAHO regions. She is also a multidisciplinary researcher in the Public Health Liver Group at ISGlobal. Her research lies at the intersection of public health, implementation science, community engagement, 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 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 HEP-HOP project, which builds off the European VH-COMSAVAC project in Spain, Italy, and Greece, and 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 also oversees the ECDC-funded MI-GOOD-CARE project to support countries in reducing the fraction of undiagnosed and untreated SDG-related diseases (HIV, viral hepatitis, TB and STIs) among high-risk migrant populations in the EU/EEA.

Camila has published in high impact journals, contributed to values and preferences research for the updated WHO HBV treatment guidelines, and is co-chair of the The Lancet Regional Health – Europe Series on ending the chronic liver disease public health threat in Europe. Camila was the Vice President of the European Public Health Association (EUPHA) section on Health Promotion (2023-2025).

Lines of research

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

Main publications

• 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.
• 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.
• 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.