| 1. |
- Henriksson, Dorcus Kiwanuka, 1976-
(författare)
-
Health systems bottlenecks and evidence-based district health planning : Experiences from the district health system in Uganda
- 2017
-
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- In low-income countries where maternal and child mortality remains high, there is limited use of context-specific evidence for decision making and prioritization of interventions in the planning process at the sub-national level, such as the district level. Knowledge on the utility of tools and interventions to promote use of district-specific evidence in the planning process is limited, yet it could contribute to the prioritization of high-impact interventions for women and children.This thesis aims to investigate, in the planning process, the use of district-specific evidence to identify gaps in service delivery in the district health system in Uganda in order to contribute to improving health services for women and children.Study I evaluated the use of the modified Tanahashi model to identify bottlenecks for service delivery of maternal and newborn interventions. Study II and III used qualitative methods to document the experiences of district managers in adopting tools to facilitate the utilization of district-specific evidence, and the barriers and enablers to the use of these tools in the planning process. Study IV used qualitative methods, and analysis of district annual health work plans and reports.District managers were able to adopt tools for the utilization of district-specific evidence in the planning process. Governance and leadership were a major influence on the use of district-specific evidence. Limited decision space and fiscal space, and limited financial resources, and inadequate routine health information systems were also barriers to the utilization of district-specific evidence.Use of district-specific evidence in the planning process is not an end in itself but part of a process to improve the prioritization of interventions for women and children. In order to prioritize high impact interventions at the district level, a multifaceted approach needs to be taken that not only focuses on use of evidence, but also focuses on broader health system aspects like governance and leadership, the decision and fiscal space available to the district managers, limited resources, and inadequate routine health information systems.
|
|
| 2. |
- KC, Ashish, 1982-
(författare)
-
Neonatal Resuscitation : Understanding challenges and identifying a strategy for implementation in Nepal
- 2016
-
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Despite the unprecedented improvement in child health in last 15 years, burden of stillbirth and neonatal death remain the key challenge in Nepal and the reduction of these deaths will be crucial for reaching the health targets for Sustainable development goal by 2030.The aim of this thesis was to explore the risk factors for stillbirth and neonatal death and change in perinatal outcomes after the introduction of the Helping Babies Breathe Quality Improvement Cycle (HBB QIC) in Nepal.This was a prospective cohort study with a nested case-control design completed in a tertiary hospital in Nepal. Information were collected from the women who had experienced perinatal death and live birth among referent population; a video recording was done in the neonatal resuscitation corner to collect information on the health workers’ performance in neonatal resuscitation. Lack of antenatal care had the highest association with antepartum stillbirth (aOR 4.2, 95% CI 3.2–5.4), births that had inadequate fetal heart rate monitoring were associated with intrapartum stillbirth (aOR 1.9, CI 95% 1.5–2.4), and babies who were born premature and small-for-gestational-age had the highest risk for neonatal death in the hospital (aOR 16.2, 95% CI 12.3–21.3). Before the introduction of the HBB QIC, health workers displayed poor adherence to the neonatal resuscitation protocol. After the introduction of HBB QIC, the health workers demonstrated improvement in their neonatal resuscitation skills and these were retained until six months after training. Daily bag-and-mask skill checks (RR 5.1 95% CI 1.9–13.5), preparation for birth (RR 2.4, 95% CI 1.0–5.6), self-evaluation checklists (RR 3.8, 95% CI 1.4–9.7) and weekly review and reflection meetings (RR 2.6, 95% 1.0–7.4) helped the health workers to retain their neonatal resuscitation skills. The health workers demonstrated improvement in ventilation of babies within one minute of birth and there was a reduction in intrapartum stillbirth (aOR 0.46, 95% CI 0.32–0.66) and first-day neonatal mortality (aOR 0.51, 95% CI 0.31–0.83). The study provides information on challenges in reducing stillbirth and neonatal death in low income settings and provides a strategy to improve health workers adherence to neonatal resuscitation to reduce the mortality. The HBB QIC can be implemented in similar clinical settings to improve quality of care and survival in Nepal, but for primary care settings, the QIC need to be evaluated further.
|
|
| 3. |
- Johansson, Emily White, 1976-
(författare)
-
Beyond “test and treat” : Malaria diagnosis for improved pediatric fever management in sub-Saharan Africa
- 2016
-
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This thesis examined malaria test use, adherence and integration into clinical practice for improved pediatric fever management in sub-Saharan African countries and explored Access, Facility Readiness and Clinical Practice bottlenecks to achieve this program goal.Study I examined diagnostic testing rates and its determinants for pediatric fevers across 13 countries in 2009-2012 including Access bottlenecks. Study II evaluated the effect of testing on treatment decisions at the population level in 12 countries in 2010-2012 and explored reasons for varying country results across Access, Facility Readiness and Clinical Practice bottlenecks. Study III explored Facility Readiness and Clinical Practice bottlenecks for using malaria diagnosis for improved pediatric fever management in Mbarara District Uganda. Study IV examined integrated pediatric fever management using RDT and IMCI in Malawi health facilities in 2013-2014 including Facility Readiness and Clinical Practice bottlenecks.Malaria testing of pediatric fevers was low (17%) and inequitable at the outset of new guidelines with febrile children in least poor household more often tested than in poorest (OR: 1.63, 95% CI: 1.39-1.91) (Study I). Significant variability was found in the effect of testing on ACT use across countries (e.g. Uganda OR: 0.84, 95% CI: 0.66-1.06; Mozambique OR: 3.54, 95% CI: 2.33-5.39). Four main themes explained varying results: available diagnostics and medicines; quality of care; care-seeking behavior; and malaria epidemiology (Study II). In Mbarara District Uganda malaria over-treatment for RDT-negative results reportedly occurred and was driven by RDT perceptions, system constraints and provider-client interactions (Study III). In Malawi health facilities, there was common compliance to malaria treatment guidelines in sick child consultations. 72% were tested or referred for malaria diagnosis and 85% with RDT-confirmed malaria were prescribed first-line anti-malarials. Yet integrated pediatric fever management was sub-optimal in terms of other assessments completed and antibiotic targeting. 28% with IMCI-pneumonia were not prescribed any antibiotic and 59% ‘without antibiotic need’ were prescribed any antibiotic. Few eligible clients had respiratory rates counted to identify antibiotic need for IMCI-pneumonia (18%). RDT-negative children had 16.8 (95% CI: 8.6-32.7) times higher antibiotic over-treatment odds compared to positive cases and this effect was conditioned by cough or difficult breathing complaints (Study IV).Thesis findings highlight Access, Facility Readiness and Clinical Practice bottlenecks that need to be addressed to use malaria diagnosis for improved pediatric fever management. Programs must move beyond malaria-focused ‘test and treat’ strategies towards ‘IMCI with testing’ in order to conceptualize RDT as one part of the established algorithm for managing sick children in an integrated manner. RDT should also be viewed as an important entry point for contributing to ongoing health system strengthening efforts.
|
|
