Magdalena Paczkowski

Women's preferences for place of delivery in rural Tanzania: a population-based discrete choice experiment.

OBJECTIVES We fielded a population-based discrete choice experiment (DCE) in rural western Tanzania, where only one third of women deliver children in a health facility, to evaluate health-system factors that influence womens delivery decisions. METHODS Women were shown choice cards that described 2 hypothetical health centers by means of 6 attributes (distance, cost, type of provider, attitude of provider, drugs and equipment, free transport). The women were then asked to indicate which of the 2 facilities they would prefer to use for a future delivery. We used a hierarchical Bayes procedure to estimate individual and mean utility parameters. RESULTS A total of 1203 women completed the DCE. The model showed good predictive validity for actual facility choice. The most important facility attributes were a respectful provider attitude and availability of drugs and medical equipment. Policy simulations suggested that if these attributes were improved at existing facilities, the proportion of women preferring facility delivery would rise from 43% to 88%. CONCLUSIONS In regions in which attended delivery rates are low despite availability of primary care facilities, policy experiments should test the effect of targeted quality improvements on facility use.

Community and health system factors associated with facility delivery in rural Tanzania: A multilevel analysis

OBJECTIVES Tanzania, a country with high maternal mortality, has many primary health facilities yet has a low rate of facility deliveries. This study estimated the contribution of individual and community factors in explaining variation in the use of health facilities for childbirth in rural Tanzania. METHODS A two-stage cluster population-based survey was conducted in Kasulu District, western Tanzania with women with a recent delivery. Random intercept multilevel logistic regression models were used to assess the association between individual- and village-level factors and likelihood of facility delivery. RESULTS 1205 women participated in the study. In the fully adjusted two-level model, in addition to several individual factors, positive village perception of doctor and nurse skills (odds ratio (OR) 6.72, 95% confidence interval (CI): 2.47-18.31) and negative perception of traditional birth attendant skills (OR 0.13, 95% CI: 0.04-0.40) were associated with higher odds of facility delivery. CONCLUSION This study suggests that community perceptions of the quality of the local health system influence womens decisions to deliver in a clinic. Improving quality of care at first-level clinics and communicating this to communities may assist efforts to increase facility delivery in sub-Saharan Africa.

Economic downturns and population mental health: research findings, gaps, challenges and priorities

Prior research suggests that the current global economic crisis may be negatively affecting population mental health. In that context, this paper has several goals: (1) to discuss theoretical and conceptual explanations for how and why economic downturns might negatively affect population mental health; (2) present an overview of the literature on the relationship between economic recessions and population mental health; (3) discuss the limitations of existing empirical work; and (4) highlight opportunities for improvements in both research and practice designed to mitigate any negative impact of economic declines on the mental health of populations. Research has consistently demonstrated that economic crises are negatively associated with population mental health. How economic downturns influence mental health should be considered in policies such as social protection programs that aim to promote recovery.

Psychopathology in the aftermath of the Haiti earthquake: a population-based study of posttraumatic stress disorder and major depression

In the first population‐based study of psychopathology conducted in Haiti, we documented earthquake‐related experiences associated with risk for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and major depressive disorder (MDD) 2–4 months following the 2010 Haiti earthquake.

Women’s preferences for obstetric care in rural Ethiopia: a population-based discrete choice experiment in a region with low rates of facility delivery

Background Delivery attended by skilled professionals is essential to reducing maternal mortality. Although the facility delivery rate in Ethiopias rural areas is extremely low, little is known about which health system characteristics most influence womens preferences for delivery services. In this study, womens preferences for attributes of health facilities for delivery in rural Ethiopia were investigated. Methods A population-based discrete choice experiment (DCE) was fielded in Gilgel Gibe, in southwest Ethiopia, among women with a delivery in the past 5 years. Women were asked to select a hypothetical health facility for future delivery from two facilities on a picture card. A hierarchical Bayesian procedure was used to estimate utilities associated with facility attributes: distance, type of provider, provider attitude, drugs and medical equipment, transport and cost. Results 1006 women completed 8045 DCE choice tasks. Among them, 93.8% had delivered their last child at home. The attributes with the greatest influence on the overall utility of a health facility for delivery were availability of drugs and equipment (mean β=3.9, p<0.01), seeing a doctor versus a health extension worker (mean β=2.1, p<0.01) and a receptive provider attitude (mean β=1.4, p<0.01). Conclusion Women in rural southwest Ethiopia who have limited personal experience with facility delivery nonetheless value health facility attributes that indicate high technical quality: availability of drugs and equipment and physician providers. Well-designed policy experiments that measure the contribution of quality improvements to facility delivery rates in Ethiopia and other countries with low health service utilisation and high maternal mortality may inform national efforts to reduce maternal mortality.

Sociodemographic characteristics of the neighborhood and depressive symptoms

Purpose of review The present review focuses on recent findings about the relation between neighborhood sociodemographic characteristics and depressive symptoms with particular attention paid to methodologic issues including application of theory, study design, and trajectories of depression. Recent findings The majority of recent studies found that deprivation, residential segregation, and residential instability were associated with increased depressive symptoms or depression independent of individual level characteristics, whereas a minority of studies suggested that individual level characteristics explained away the association between neighborhood level factors and depression. Of note was an increased application of longitudinal designs compared with previous studies. Summary Current research suggests that findings regarding the association between neighborhood sociodemographic characteristics and depressive symptoms remain unclear. We recommend a more rigorous approach to empirically test the theories that may explain the relation between neighborhood conditions and depression. Such an approach will highlight which neighborhood characteristics are important to consider analytically and the ways in which they are associated with depression. We may also learn whether contradictory findings reflect population differences or whether they are a result of measurement and statistical issues.

A complex systems approach to evaluate HIV prevention in metropolitan areas: preliminary implications for combination intervention strategies.

Background HIV transmission among injecting and non-injecting drug users (IDU, NIDU) is a significant public health problem. Continuing propagation in endemic settings and emerging regional outbreaks have indicated the need for comprehensive and coordinated HIV prevention. We describe the development of a conceptual framework and calibration of an agent-based model (ABM) to examine how combinations of interventions may reduce and potentially eliminate HIV transmission among drug-using populations. Methodology/Principal Findings A multidisciplinary team of researchers from epidemiology, sociology, geography, and mathematics developed a conceptual framework based on prior ethnographic and epidemiologic research. An ABM was constructed and calibrated through an iterative design and verification process. In the model, “agents” represent IDU, NIDU, and non-drug users who interact with each other and within risk networks, engaging in sexual and, for IDUs, injection-related risk behavior over time. Agents also interact with simulated HIV prevention interventions (e.g., syringe exchange programs, substance abuse treatment, HIV testing) and initiate antiretroviral treatment (ART) in a stochastic manner. The model was constructed to represent the New York metropolitan statistical area (MSA) population, and calibrated by comparing output trajectories for various outcomes (e.g., IDU/NIDU prevalence, HIV prevalence and incidence) against previously validated MSA-level data. The model closely approximated HIV trajectories in IDU and NIDU observed in New York City between 1992 and 2002, including a linear decrease in HIV prevalence among IDUs. Exploratory results are consistent with empirical studies demonstrating that the effectiveness of a combination of interventions, including syringe exchange expansion and ART provision, dramatically reduced HIV prevalence among IDUs during this time period. Conclusions/Significance Complex systems models of adaptive HIV transmission dynamics can be used to identify potential collective benefits of hypothetical combination prevention interventions. Future work will seek to inform novel strategies that may lead to more effective and equitable HIV prevention strategies for drug-using populations.

Socioeconomic position, health behaviors, and racial disparities in cause-specific infant mortality in Michigan, USA.

OBJECTIVES Studies about racial disparities in infant mortality suggest that racial differences in socioeconomic position (SEP) and maternal risk behaviors explain some, but not all, excess infant mortality among Blacks relative to non-Hispanic Whites. We examined the contribution of these to disparities in specific causes of infant mortality. METHODS We analyzed data about 2,087,191 mother-child dyads in Michigan between 1989 and 2005. First, we calculated crude Black-White infant mortality ratios independently and by specific cause of death. Second, we fit multivariable Poisson regression models of infant mortality, overall and by cause, adjusting for SEP and maternal risk behaviors. Third, Crude Black-White mortality ratios were compared to adjusted predicted probability ratios, overall and by specific cause. RESULTS SEP and maternal risk behaviors explained nearly a third of the disparity in infant mortality overall, and over 25% of disparities in several specific causes including homicide, accident, sudden infant death syndrome, and respiratory distress syndrome. However, SEP and maternal risk behaviors had little influence on disparities in other specific causes, such as septicemia and congenital anomalies. CONCLUSIONS These findings help focus policy attention toward disparities in those specific causes of infant mortality most amenable to social and behavioral intervention, as well as research attention to disparities in specific causes unexplained by SEP and behavioral differences.

Social Environments, Genetics, and Black–White Disparities in Infant Mortality

BACKGROUND Genes and environments often interplay to produce population health. However, in some instances, the scientific literature has favoured one explanation, underplaying the other, even in the absence of rigorous support. We examine parental race disparity on the risk of infant mortality to see if such an analysis might provide clues to understanding the extent to which genes and environment may shape perinatal risks. METHODS We assessed parental racial disparities in infant mortality among singletons by analysing the risk of infant mortality among racially consonant vs. dissonant couples over time between 1989-1997 and 1998-2006 in the state of Michigan (n = 1 428 199). We calculated the degree of modification of the relation between maternal race and infant mortality by paternal race dynamically across the two time periods. RESULTS Infant mortality among interracial couples decreased with time relative to white-white couples, while infant mortality among black-black couples increased with time after adjusting for socio-economic, demographic, and prenatal care differences. The degree to which paternal black race strengthened the relation between maternal black race and higher infant mortality risk relative to white mothers increased with time throughout our study. CONCLUSIONS Evidence from these data suggests that environmental factors likely play the greater role in explaining the parental race disparity and risk of infant mortality.

Depressive Symptoms and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder as Determinants of Preference Weights for Attributes of Obstetric Care among Ethiopian Women

Background Mental health, specifically mood/anxiety disorders, may be associated with value for health care attributes, but the association remains unclear. Examining the relation between mental health and attributes in a context where quality of care is low and exposure to suboptimal health conditions is increased, such as in Sub Saharan Africa (SSA), may elucidate the association. Methodology/Principal Findings We assessed whether preference weights for obstetric care attributes varied by mental health among 1006 women from Jimma Zone, Ethiopia, using estimates obtained through a discrete choice experiment (DCE), a method used to elicit preferences. Facilities were described by several attributes including provider attitude and performance and drug/equipment availability. Mental health measures included depressive symptoms and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). We used Bayesian models to estimate preference weights for attributes and linear models to investigate whether these weights were associated with mental health. We found that women with high depressive symptoms valued a positive provider attitude [β = −0.43 (95% CI: −0.66, −0.21)] and drug/equipment availability [β = −0.43 (95% CI: −0.78, −0.07)] less compared to women without high depressive symptoms. Similar results were obtained for PTSD. Upon adjusting for both conditions, value for drug/equipment availability was lower only among women with both conditions [β = −0.89 (95% CI −1.4, −0.42)]. Conclusions/Significance We found that women with psychopathology had lower preference weights for positive provider attitude and drug/equipment availability. Further work investigating why value for obstetric care attributes might vary by psychopathology in SSA is needed.