K. Tayler-Smith

Unacceptable attrition among WHO stages 1 and 2 patients in a hospital-based setting in rural Malawi: can we retain such patients within the general health system?

A study conducted among HIV-positive adults in WHO clinical stages 1 and 2 was followed up at Thyolo District Hospital (rural Malawi) to report on: (1) retention and attrition before and while on antiretroviral treatment (ART); and (2) the criteria used for initiating ART. Between June 2008 and January 2009, 1633 adults in WHO stages 1 and 2 were followed up for a total of 282 person-years. Retention in care at 1, 2, 3 and 6 months for those not on ART (n=1078) was 25, 18, 11 and 4% vs. 99, 97, 95 and 90% for patients who started ART (n=555, P=0.001). Attrition rates were 31 times higher among patients not started on ART compared with those started on ART (adjusted hazard ratio, 31.0, 95% CI 22-44). Ninety-two patients in WHO stage 1 or 2 were started on ART without the guidance of a CD4 count, and 11 were incorrectly started on ART with CD4 count > or = 250 cells/mm(3). In a rural district hospital setting in Malawi, attrition of individuals in WHO stages 1 and 2 is unacceptably high, and specific operational strategies need to be considered to retain such patients in the health system.

An ambulance referral network improves access to emergency obstetric and neonatal care in a district of rural Burundi with high maternal mortality

In 2006, Médecins sans Frontières (MSF) established an emergency obstetric and neonatal care (EmONC) referral facility linked to an ambulance referral system for the transfer of women with obstetric complications from peripheral maternity units in Kabezi district, rural Burundi. This study aimed to (i) describe the communication and ambulance service together with the cost; (ii) examine the association between referral times and maternal and early neonatal deaths; and (iii) assess the impact of the referral service on coverage of complicated obstetric cases and caesarean sections.

HIV testing uptake and retention in care of HIV-infected pregnant and breastfeeding women initiated on Option B+ in rural Zimbabwe.

Zimbabwe has started to scale up Option B+ for the prevention of mother‐to‐child transmission of HIV, but there is little published information about uptake or retention in care. This study determined the number and proportion of pregnant and lactating women in rural districts diagnosed with HIV infection and started on Option B+ along with six‐month antiretroviral treatment (ART) outcomes.

Keeping health facilities safe: one way of strengthening the interaction between disease-specific programmes and health systems

The debate on the interaction between disease‐specific programmes and health system strengthening in the last few years has intensified as experts seek to tease out common ground and find solutions and synergies to bridge the divide. Unfortunately, the debate continues to be largely academic and devoid of specificity, resulting in the issues being irrelevant to health care workers on the ground. Taking the theme ‘What would entice HIV‐ and tuberculosis (TB)‐programme managers to sit around the table on a Monday morning with health system experts’, this viewpoint focuses on infection control and health facility safety as an important and highly relevant practical topic for both disease‐specific programmes and health system strengthening. Our attentions, and the examples and lessons we draw on, are largely aimed at sub‐Saharan Africa where the great burden of TB and HIV/AIDS resides, although the principles we outline would apply to other parts of the world as well. Health care infections, caused for example by poor hand hygiene, inadequate testing of donated blood, unsafe disposal of needles and syringes, poorly sterilized medical and surgical equipment and lack of adequate airborne infection control procedures, are responsible for a considerable burden of illness amongst patients and health care personnel, especially in resource‐poor countries. Effective infection control in a district hospital requires that all the components of a health system function well: governance and stewardship, financing, infrastructure, procurement and supply chain management, human resources, health information systems, service delivery and finally supervision. We argue in this article that proper attention to infection control and an emphasis on safe health facilities is a concrete first step towards strengthening the interaction between disease‐specific programmes and health systems where it really matters – for patients who are sick and for the health care workforce who provide the care and treatment.

The published research paper: is it an important indicator of successful operational research at programme level?

Is a published research paper an important indicator of successful operational research at programme level in low‐income countries? In academia, publishing in peer‐reviewed scientific journals is highly encouraged and strongly pursued for academic recognition and career progression. In contrast, for those who engage in operational research at programme level, there is often no necessity or reward for publishing the results of research studies; it may even be criticized as being an unnecessary detraction from programme‐related work. We present arguments to support publishing operational research from low‐income countries; we highlight some of the main reasons for failure of publication at programme level and suggest ways forward.

Evaluation of four rapid tests for diagnosis and differentiation of HIV-1 and HIV-2 infections in Guinea-Conakry, West Africa

With both HIV-1 and HV-2 prevalent in Guinea-Conakry, accurate diagnosis and differentiation is crucial for treatment purposes. Thus, four rapid HIV tests were evaluated for their HIV-1 and HIV-2 diagnostic and discriminative capacity for use in Guinea-Conakry. These included SD Bioline HIV 1/2 3.0 (Standard Diagnostics Inc.), Genie II HIV1/HIV2 (Bio-Rad), First Response HIV Card Test 1-2.0 (PMC Medical) and Immunoflow HIV1-HIV2 (Core Diagnostics). Results were compared with gold standard tests (INNO-LIA HIV-I/II Score) and NEW LAV BLOT II (Bio-Rad). Four hundred and forty three sequential stored HIV-positive serum samples, of known HIV-type, were evaluated. Genie II HIV1/HIV2, Immunoflow HIV1-HIV2 and SD Bioline HIV 1/2 3.0 had 100% sensitivity (95% CI, 98.9-100%) while for First Response HIV Card Test 1-2.0 this was 99.5% (95% CI, 98.2%-99.9%). In terms of discriminatory capacity, Genie II HIV1/HIV2 identified 382/ 384(99.5%) HIV-1 samples, 49/ 52(95%) HIV-2 and 7/7(100%) HIV-positive untypable samples. Immunoflow HIV1-HIV2 identified 99% HIV-1, 67% HIV-2 and all HIV-positive untypable samples. First Response HIV Card Test 1-2.0 identified 94% HIV-1, 64% HIV-2 and 57% HIV-positive untypable samples. SD-Bioline HIV 1/2 3.0 was the worst overall performer identifying 65% HIV-1, 69% HIV-2 and all HIV-positive untypable samples. The use of SD Bioline HIV 1/2 3.0 (the current standard in Guinea-Conakry) as a discriminatory HIV test is poor and may be best replaced by Immunoflow HIV1-HIV2.

The Structured Operational Research and Training Initiative for public health programmes

In 2009, the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union) and Médecins sans Frontières Brussels-Luxembourg (MSF) began developing an outcome-oriented model for operational research training. In January 2013, The Union and MSF joined with the Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases (TDR) at the World Health Organization (WHO) to form an initiative called the Structured Operational Research and Training Initiative (SORT IT). This integrates the training of public health programme staff with the conduct of operational research prioritised by their programme. SORT IT programmes consist of three one-week workshops over 9 months, with clearly-defined milestones and expected output. This paper describes the vision, objectives and structure of SORT IT programmes, including selection criteria for applicants, the research projects that can be undertaken within the time frame, the programme structure and milestones, mentorship, the monitoring and evaluation of the programmes and what happens beyond the programme in terms of further research, publications and the setting up of additional training programmes. There is a growing national and international need for operational research and related capacity building in public health. SORT IT aims to meet this need by advocating for the output-based model of operational research training for public health programme staff described here. It also aims to secure sustainable funding to expand training at a global and national level. Finally, it could act as an observatory to monitor and evaluate operational research in public health. Criteria for prospective partners wishing to join SORT IT have been drawn up.

Achieving the Millennium Development Goal of reducing maternal mortality in rural Africa: an experience from Burundi

To estimate the reduction in maternal mortality associated with the emergency obstetric care provided by Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) and to compare this to the fifth Millennium Development Goal of reducing maternal mortality.

Factors Associated with Unfavorable Treatment Outcomes in New and Previously Treated TB Patients in Uzbekistan: A Five Year Countrywide Study

Background TB is one of the main health priorities in Uzbekistan and relatively high rates of unfavorable treatment outcomes have recently been reported. This requires closer analysis to explain the reasons and recommend interventions to improve the situation. Thus, by using countrywide data this study sought to determine trends in unfavorable outcomes (lost-to-follow-ups, deaths and treatment failures) and describe their associations with socio-demographic and clinical factors. Method A countrywide retrospective cohort study of all new and previously treated TB patients registered in the National Tuberculosis programme between January 2006 and December 2010. Results Among 107,380 registered patients, 67% were adults, with smaller proportions of children (10%), adolescents (4%) and elderly patients (19%). Sixty per cent were male, 66% lived in rural areas, 1% were HIV-infected and 1% had a history of imprisonment. Pulmonary TB (PTB) was present in 77%, of which 43% were smear-positive and 53% were smear-negative. Overall, 83% of patients were successfully treated, 6% died, 6% were lost-to-follow-up, 3% failed treatment and 2% transferred out. Factors associated with death included being above 55 years of age, HIV-positive, sputum smear positive, previously treated, jobless and living in certain provinces. Factors associated with lost-to-follow-up were being male, previously treated, jobless, living in an urban area, and living in certain provinces. Having smear-positive PTB, being an adolescent, being urban population, being HIV-negative, previously treated, jobless and residing in particular provinces were associated with treatment failure. Conclusion Overall, 83% treatment success rate was achieved. However, our study findings highlight the need to improve TB services for certain vulnerable groups and in specific areas of the country. They also emphasize the need to develop unified monitoring and evaluation tools for drug-susceptible and drug-resistant TB, and call for better TB surveillance and coordination between provinces and neighbouring countries.

Demographic characteristics and opportunistic diseases associated with attrition during preparation for antiretroviral therapy in primary health centres in Kibera, Kenya.

Using routine data from HIV‐positive adult patients eligible for antiretroviral therapy (ART), we report on routinely collected demographic characteristics and opportunistic diseases associated with pre‐ART attrition (deaths and loss to follow‐up). Among 2471 ART eligible patients, enrolled between January 2005 and November 2008, 446(18%) were lost to attrition pre‐ART. Adjusted risk factors significantly associated with pre‐ART attrition included age <35 years (Odds Ratio, OR 1.4, 95% Confidence Interval, CI 1.1–1.8), severe malnutrition (OR 1.5, 95% CI 1.1–2.0), active pulmonary tuberculosis (OR 1.6, 95% CI 1.1–2.4), severe bacterial infections including severe bacterial pneumonia (OR 1.9, 95% CI 1.2–2.8) and prolonged unexplained fever (>1 month), (OR 2.6, 95% CI 1.3–5.2). This study highlights a number of clinical markers associated with pre‐ART attrition that could serve as ‘pointers’ or screening tools to identify patients who merit fast‐tracking onto ART and/or closer clinical attention and follow‐up.