Effect of the Integrated Management of Childhood Illness strategy on health care quality in Morocco

"The staff are not motivated anymore": Health care worker perspectives on the Integrated Management of Childhood Illness (IMCI) program in the Philippines

BACKGROUND

Studies focusing on the Integrated Management of Childhood Illness (IMCI) program in the Philippines are limited, and perspectives of frontline health care workers (HCWs) are largely absent in relation to the introduction and current implementation of the program. Here, we describe the operational challenges and opportunities described by HCWs implementing IMCI in five regions of the Philippines. These perspectives can provide insights into how IMCI can be strengthened as the program matures, in the Philippines and beyond.

METHODS

In-depth interviews (IDIs) were conducted with HCWs (n = 46) in five provinces (Ilocos Sur, Quezon, National Capital Region, Bohol and Davao), with full transcription and translation as necessary. In parallel, data collectors observed the status (availability and placement) of IMCI-related materials in facilities. All data were coded using NVivo 12 software and arranged along a Social Ecological Model.

RESULTS

HCWs spoke of the benefits of IMCI and discussed how they developed workarounds to ensure that integral components of the program could be delivered in frontline facilities. Five key challenges emerged in relation to IMCI implementation in primary health care (PHC) facilities: 1) insufficient financial resources to fund program activities, 2) inadequate training, mentoring and supervision among and for providers, 3) fragmented leadership and governance, 4) substandard access to IMCI relevant written documents, and 5) professional hierarchies that challenge fidelity to IMCI protocols.

CONCLUSION

Although the IMCI program was viewed by HCWs as holistic and as providing substantial benefits to the community, more viable implementation processes are needed to bolster acceptability in PHC facilities.

Knowledge Translation Strategies Used by Healthcare Professionals in Child Health Settings: An Updated Systematic Review

PROBLEM

Strategies assisting healthcare professionals to make evidence-based decisions are crucial for quality patient care and outcomes. To date, there is one systematic review (Albrecht et al., 2016) examining knowledge translation (KT) efforts in child health settings. This systematic review aims to provide an update on current evidence identifying KT interventions implementing research into child health settings.

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

Nine electronic databases were searched, restricted by date (2011-2018) and language (English). Eligibility included: 1) randomized controlled trials (RCT), controlled clinical trials (CCT), or controlled before-and-after (CBA) studies; 2) interventions implementing research into child health practice; and 3) outcomes were measured at the healthcare professional/process, patient, or economic level.

SAMPLE

Health care professionals working in child health settings.

RESULTS

48 studies (38 RCT, 7 CBA, 3 CCT) were included. Studies employed single (n = 34) and multiple (n = 14) interventions. The methodological quality of studies was moderate (n = 18), strong (n = 16) and weak (n = 14). Studies showing significant, positive effects included (n = 9) RCTs, (n = 3) CBAs and (n = 2) CCTs. These studies employed (n = 11) single KT interventions and (n = 3) multiple KT interventions. Interventions included educational (n = 6), reminders (n = 3), computerized decision supports (n = 2), multidisciplinary teams (n = 2) and financial and educational interventions combined (n = 1).

CONCLUSIONS

Effective KT strategies used by health care professionals in child health settings were found to be online education curriculums and computerized decision supports or reminders.

IMPLICATIONS

This review update serves as an up-to-date 'state of the science' on KT strategies used in pediatric health professionals' clinical practice, assessed by the most rigorous research designs.

Distribution and determinants of pneumonia diagnosis using Integrated Management of Childhood Illness guidelines: a nationally representative study in Malawi

Background

Pneumonia remains the leading cause of child mortality in sub-Saharan Africa. The Integrated Management of Childhood Illness (IMCI) strategy was developed to standardise care in low-income and middle-income countries for major childhood illnesses and can effectively improve healthcare worker performance. Suboptimal clinical evaluation can result in missed diagnoses and excess morbidity and mortality. We estimate the sensitivity of pneumonia diagnosis and investigate its determinants among children in Malawi.

Methods

Data were obtained from the 2013-2014 Service Provision Assessment survey, a census of health facilities in Malawi that included direct observation of care and re-examination of children by trained observers. We calculated sensitivity of pneumonia diagnosis and used multilevel log-binomial regression to assess factors associated with diagnostic sensitivity.

Results

3136 clinical visits for children 2-59 months old were observed at 742 health facilities. Healthcare workers completed an average of 30% (SD 13%) of IMCI guidelines in each encounter. 573 children met the IMCI criteria for pneumonia; 118 (21%) were correctly diagnosed. Advanced practice clinicians were more likely than other providers to diagnose pneumonia correctly (adjusted relative risk 2.00, 95% CI 1.21 to 3.29). Clinical quality was strongly associated with correct diagnosis: sensitivity was 23% in providers at the 75th percentile for guideline adherence compared with 14% for those at the 25th percentile. Contextual factors, facility structural readiness, and training or supervision were not associated with sensitivity.

Conclusions

Care quality for Malawian children is poor, with low guideline adherence and missed diagnosis for four of five children with pneumonia. Better sensitivity is associated with provider type and higher adherence to IMCI. Existing interventions such as training and supportive supervision are associated with higher guideline adherence, but are insufficient to meaningfully improve sensitivity. Innovative and scalable quality improvement interventions are needed to strengthen health systems and reduce avoidable child mortality.

Adherence to the integrated management of childhood illness guidelines in Namibia, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda: evidence from the national service provision assessment surveys

Background

Integrated Management of Childhood Illness (IMCI) is regarded as a standard public health approach to lowering child mortality in developing countries. However, little is known about how health workers adhere to the guidelines at the national level in sub-Saharan African countries.

Methods

Data from the Service Provision Assessment surveys of Namibia (NA) (survey year: 2009), Kenya (KE) (2010), Tanzania (TZ) (2006) and Uganda (UG) (2007) were analysed for adherence to the IMCI guidelines by health workers. Potential influencing factors included the survey country, patient’s age, the different levels of the national health system, the training level of the health care provider (physician, non-physician clinician, nurse-midwife, auxiliary staff), and the status of re-training in IMCI.

Results

In total, 6856 children (NA: 1495; KE: 1890; TZ: 2469; UG: 1002 / male 51.2–53.5%) aged 2–73 months (2–24 months, 65.3%; median NA: 19 months; KE: 18 months; TZ: 16 months; UG: 15 months) were clinically assessed by 2006 health workers during the surveys.

Less than 33% of the workers carried out assessment of all three IMCI danger signs, namely inability to eat/drink, vomiting everything, and febrile convulsions (NA: 11%; KE: 11%; TZ: 14%; UG: 31%) while the rate for assessing all three of the IMCI main symptoms of cough/difficult breathing, diarrhoea, and fever was < 60% (NA: 48%; KE: 34%; TZ: 50%; UG: 57%). Physical examination rates for fever (temperature) (NA: 97%; KE: 87%; TZ: 73%; UG: 90%), pneumonia (respiration rate/auscultation) (NA: 43%; KE: 24%; TZ: 25%; UG: 20%) and diarrhoea (dehydration status) (NA: 29%; KE: 19%; TZ: 20%; UG: 39%) varied widely and were highest when assessing children with the actual diagnosis of pneumonia and diarrhoea.

Adherence rates tended to be higher in children ≤ 24 months, at hospitals, among higher-qualified staff (physician/non-physician clinician) and among those with recent IMCI re-training.

Conclusion

Despite nationwide training in IMCI the adherence rates for assessment and physical examination remained low in all four countries. IMCI training should continue to be provided to all health staff, particularly nurses, midwives, and auxiliary staff, with periodic re-training and an emphasis to equally target children of all age groups.

Assessment of the impact of quality improvement interventions on the quality of sick child care provided by Health Extension Workers in Ethiopia

Background

Ethiopia has scaled up integrated community case management of childhood illness (iCCM), including several interventions to improve the performance of Health Extension Workers (HEWs). We assessed associations between interventions to improve iCCM quality of care and the observed quality of care among HEWs.

Methods

We assessed iCCM implementation strength and quality of care provided by HEWs in Ethiopia. Multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed to assess associations between interventions to improve iCCM quality of care and correct management of iCCM illnesses.

Findings

Children who were managed by an HEW who had attended a performance review and clinical mentoring meeting (PRCMM) had 8.3 (95% confidence interval (CI) 2.34–29.51) times the odds of being correctly managed, compared to children managed by an HEW who did not attend a PRCMM. Management by an HEW who received follow–up training also significantly increased the odds of correct management (odds ratio (OR) = 2.09, 95% CI 1.05–4.18). Supervision on iCCM (OR = 0.63, 95% CI 0.23–1.72) did not significantly affect the odds of receiving correct care.

Conclusions

These results suggest PRCMM and follow–up training were effective interventions, while implementation of supportive supervision needs to be reviewed to improve impact.

Integrated management of childhood illness (IMCI) strategy for children under five

BACKGROUND

More than 7.5 million children younger than age five living in low- and middle-income countries die every year. The World Health Organization (WHO) developed the integrated management of childhood illness (IMCI) strategy to reduce mortality and morbidity and to improve quality of care by improving the delivery of a variety of curative and preventive medical and behavioral interventions at health facilities, at home, and in the community.

OBJECTIVES

To evaluate the effects of programs that implement the IMCI strategy in terms of death, nutritional status, quality of care, coverage with IMCI deliverables, and satisfaction of beneficiaries.

SEARCH METHODS

We searched the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL; 2015, Issue 3), including the Cochrane Effective Practice and Organisation of Care (EPOC) Group Specialised Register; MEDLINE; EMBASE, Ovid; the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), EbscoHost; the Latin American Caribbean Health Sciences Literature (LILACS), Virtual Health Library (VHL); the WHO Library & Information Networks for Knowledge Database (WHOLIS); the Science Citation Index and Social Sciences Citation Index, Institute for Scientific Information (ISI) Web of Science; Population Information Online (POPLINE); the WHO International Clinical Trials Registry Platform (WHO ICTRP); and the Global Health, Ovid and Health Management, ProQuest database. We performed searches until 30 June 2015 and supplemented these by searching revised bibliographies and by contacting experts to identify ongoing and unpublished studies.

SELECTION CRITERIA

We sought to include randomised controlled trials (RCTs) and controlled before-after (CBA) studies with at least two intervention and two control sites evaluating the generic IMCI strategy or its adaptation in children younger than age five, and including at minimum efforts to improve health care worker skills for case management. We excluded studies in which IMCI was accompanied by other interventions including conditional cash transfers, food supplementation, and employment. The comparison group received usual health services without provision of IMCI.

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS

Two review authors independently screened searches, selected trials, and extracted, analysed and tabulated data. We used inverse variance for cluster trials and an intracluster co-efficient of 0.01 when adjustment had not been made in the primary study. We used the GRADE (Grades of Recommendation, Assessment, Development and Evaluation Working Group) approach to assess the certainty of evidence.

MAIN RESULTS

Two cluster-randomised trials (India and Bangladesh) and two controlled before-after studies (Tanzania and India) met our inclusion criteria. Strategies included training of health care staff, management strengthening of health care systems (all four studies), and home visiting (two studies). The two studies from India included care packages targeting the neonatal period.One trial in Bangladesh estimated that child mortality may be 13% lower with IMCI, but the confidence interval (CI) included no effect (risk ratio (RR) 0.87, 95% CI 0.68 to 1.10; 5090 participants; low-certainty evidence). One CBA study in Tanzania gave almost identical estimates (RR 0.87, 95% CI 0.72 to 1.05; 1932 participants).One trial in India examined infant and neonatal mortality by implementing the integrated management of neonatal and childhood illness (IMNCI) strategy including post-natal home visits. Neonatal and infant mortality may be lower in the IMNCI group compared with the control group (infant mortality hazard ratio (HR) 0.85, 95% CI 0.77 to 0.94; neonatal mortality HR 0.91, 95% CI 0.80 to 1.03; one trial, 60,480 participants; low-certainty evidence).We estimated the effect of IMCI on any mortality measured by combining infant and child mortality in the one IMCI and the one IMNCI trial. Mortality may be reduced by IMCI (RR 0.85, 95% CI 0.78 to 0.93; two trials, 65,570 participants; low-certainty evidence).Two trials (India, Bangladesh) evaluated nutritional status and noted that there may be little or no effect on stunting (RR 0.94, 95% CI 0.84 to 1.06; 5242 participants, two trials; low-certainty evidence) and there is probably little or no effect on wasting (RR 1.04, 95% CI 0.87 to 1.25; two trials, 4288 participants; moderate-certainty evidence).The Tanzania CBA study showed similar results.Investigators measured quality of care by observing prescribing for common illnesses at health facilities (727 observations, two studies; very low-certainty evidence) and by observing prescribing by lay health care workers (1051 observations, three studies; very low-certainty evidence). We could not confirm a consistent effect on prescribing at health facilities or by lay health care workers, as certainty of the evidence was very low.For coverage of IMCI deliverables, we examined vaccine and vitamin A coverage, appropriate care seeking, and exclusive breast feeding. Two trials (India, Bangladesh) estimated vaccine coverage for measles and reported that there is probably little or no effect on measles vaccine coverage (RR 0.92, 95% CI 0.80 to 1.05; two trials, 4895 participants; moderate-certainty evidence), with similar effects seen in the Tanzania CBA study. Two studies measured the third dose of diphtheria, pertussis, and tetanus vaccine; and two measured vitamin A coverage, all providing little or no evidence of increased coverage with IMCI.Four studies (2 from India, and 1 each from Tanzania and Bangladesh) reported appropriate care seeking and derived information from careful questioning of mothers about recent illness. Some studies on effects of IMCI may report better care seeking behavior, but others do not report this.All four studies recorded maternal responses on exclusive breast feeding. They provided mixed results and very low-certainty evidence. Therefore, we do not know whether IMCI impacts exclusive breast feeding.No studies reported on the satisfaction of mothers and service users.

AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS

The mix of interventions examined in research studies evaluating the IMCI strategy varies, and some studies include specific inputs to improve neonatal health. Most studies were conducted in South Asia. Implementing the integrated management of childhood illness strategy may reduce child mortality, and packages that include interventions for the neonatal period may reduce infant mortality. IMCI may have little or no effect on nutritional status and probably has little or no effect on vaccine coverage. Maternal care seeking behavior may be more appropriate with IMCI, but study results have been mixed, providing evidence of very low certainty about whether IMCI has effects on adherence to exclusive breast feeding.

Systematic Review of Knowledge Translation Strategies to Promote Research Uptake in Child Health Settings

Strategies to assist evidence-based decision-making for healthcare professionals are crucial to ensure high quality patient care and outcomes. The goal of this systematic review was to identify and synthesize the evidence on knowledge translation interventions aimed at putting explicit research evidence into child health practice.

METHODS

A comprehensive search of thirteen electronic databases was conducted, restricted by date (1985-2011) and language (English). Articles were included if: 1) studies were randomized controlled trials (RCT), controlled clinical trials (CCT), or controlled before-and-after (CBA) studies; 2) target population was child health professionals; 3) interventions implemented research in child health practice; and 4) outcomes were measured at the professional/process, patient, or economic level. Two reviewers independently extracted data and assessed methodological quality. Study data were aggregated and analyzed using evidence tables.

RESULTS

Twenty-one studies (13 RCT, 2 CCT, 6 CBA) were included. The studies employed single (n=9) and multiple interventions (n=12). The methodological quality of the included studies was largely moderate (n=8) or weak (n=11). Of the studies with moderate to strong methodological quality ratings, three demonstrated consistent, positive effect(s) on the primary outcome(s); effective knowledge translation interventions were two single, non-educational interventions and one multiple, educational intervention.

CONCLUSIONS

This multidisciplinary systematic review in child health setting identified effective knowledge translation strategies assessed by the most rigorous research designs. Given the overall poor quality of the research literature, specific recommendations were made to improve knowledge translation efforts in child health.

Primary Health Care Physicians' Adherence and Attitude Towards Integrated Management of Childhood Illness Guidelines in Alexandria Governorate in Egypt

Background:

Integrated Management of Childhood Illness (IMCI) is a cost-effective strategy that improves the quality of care provided to under-five children. Alexandria was the first governorate that applied the Integrated Management of Childhood Illness guidelines in Egypt. The aim of this study was to assess the degree of primary health care physicians’ adherence and attitude towards those guidelines after 17 years of application.

Methods:

This cross-sectional study was carried out on a representative sample from the primary health care facilities in Alexandria from which physicians using IMCI guidelines were included in the study. The sample units were chosen randomly from all districts of Alexandria. Observational checklists were developed to assess the degree of adherence of physicians based on the guidelines booklet.

Results:

The highest adherence score reported was that of writing disease classification (100%). As regards infants aged up to 2 months, the highest physicians’ adherence score reported was that of jaundice and possible bacterial infection assessment (100% and 95% respectively). And in spite of its importance, only 85.7% of physicians were complied with weight assessment and its plotting in the growth curve. For children aged from 2 months up to 5 years physicians were generally well complied with the guidelines especially for assessment of dangerous signs and possible bacterial infection.

Conclusion:

Despite being applied for years, IMCI guidelines still show certain areas of poor adherence, an issue that need further investigation in order to maximize physicians’ adherence and achieve the best of their performance.

Perioperative Care and the Importance of Continuous Quality Improvement--A Controlled Intervention Study in Three Tanzanian Hospitals

INTRODUCTION

Surgical services are increasingly seen to reduce death and disability in Sub-Saharan Africa, where hospital-based mortality remains alarmingly high. This study explores two implementation approaches to improve the quality of perioperative care in a Tanzanian hospital. Effects were compared to a control group of two other hospitals in the region without intervention.

METHODS

All hospitals conducted quality assessments with a Hospital Performance Assessment Tool. Changes in immediate outcome indicators after one and two years were compared to final outcome indicators such as Anaesthetic Complication Rate and Surgical Case Fatality Rate.

RESULTS

Immediate outcome indicators for Preoperative Care in the intervention hospital improved (52.5% in 2009; 84.2% in 2011, p<0.001). Postoperative Inpatient Care initially improved to then decline again (63.3% in 2009; 70% in 2010; 58.6% in 2011). In the control group, preoperative care declined from 50.8% (2009) to 32.8% (2011, p <0.001), while postoperative care did not significantly change. Anaesthetic Complication Rate in the intervention hospital declined (1.89% before intervention; 0.96% after intervention, p = 0.006). Surgical Case Fatality Rate in the intervention hospital declined from 5.67% before intervention to 2.93% after intervention (p<0.0010). Surgical Case Fatality Rate in the control group was 4% before intervention and 3.8% after intervention (p = 0.411). Anaesthetic Complication Rate in the control group was not available.

DISCUSSION

Immediate outcome indicators initially improved, while at the same time final outcome declined (Surgical Case Fatality, Anaesthetic Complication Rate). Compared to the control group, final outcome improved more in the intervention hospital, although the effect was not significant over the whole study period. Documentation of final outcome indicators seemed inconsistent. Immediate outcome indicators seem more helpful to steer the Continuous Quality Improvement program.

CONCLUSION

Specific interventions as part of Continuous Quality Improvement might lead to sustainable improvement of the quality of care, if embedded in a multi-faceted approach.

Predictors of health worker performance after Integrated Management of Childhood Illness training in Benin: a cohort study

Background

Correct treatment of potentially life-threatening illnesses (PLTIs) in children under 5 years, such as malaria, pneumonia, and diarrhea, can substantially reduce mortality. The Integrated Management of Childhood Illness (IMCI) strategy has been shown to improve treatment of child illnesses, but multiple studies have shown that gaps in health worker performance remain after training. To better understand factors related to health worker performance, we analyzed 9,330 patient consultations in Benin from 2001–2002, after training one of the first cohorts of 32 health workers in IMCI.

Methods

With data abstracted from patient registers specially designed for IMCI-trained health workers, we examined associations between health facility-, health worker-, and patient-level factors and 10 case-management outcomes for PLTIs.

Results

Altogether, 63.6 % of children received treatment for all their PLTIs in accordance with IMCI guidelines, and 77.8 % received life-saving treatment (i.e., clinically effective treatment, even if not exactly in accordance with IMCI guidelines). Performance of individual health workers varied greatly, from 15–88 % of patients treated correctly, on average. Multivariate regression analyses identified several factors that might have influenced case-management quality, many outside a manager’s direct control. Younger health workers significantly outperformed older ones, and infants received better care than older children. Children with danger signs, those with more complex illnesses, and those with anemia received worse care. Health worker supervision was associated with improved performance for some outcomes.

Conclusions

A variety of factors, some outside the direct control of program managers, can influence health worker practices. An understanding of these influences can help inform the development of strategies to improve performance.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12913-015-0910-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Knowledge gaps on paediatric respiratory infections in Morocco, Northern Africa

BACKGROUND

The burden of acute respiratory infections (ARI) among Moroccan children remains significant. However, scarce information is available regarding trends in its epidemiology and etiology, or regarding its associated prognostic factors. The purpose of this work was to review available data on the burden of ARI among children under five years of age in Morocco.

METHODS

A systematic review was conducted for the period 1997-2014 using the PRISMA proposed methodology. Various online databases were screened, in addition to physical libraries of Moroccan medical schools, and official reports of the Moroccan Ministry of Health. Search queries in English and French languages included: Respiratory Tract Infections, pneumonia, epidemiology, etiology, microbiology, mortality and Morocco. The documents were included for analysis when they reported original data on the incidence, distribution, or a clinical description of the diseases or their etiology or described clinical management or national preventive strategies.

RESULTS

Thirty-two documents were included in the final analysis. 21 of which had been published. In 2012, ARI caused 13% of paediatric deaths, half of the consultations at health facilities and third of the paediatric admissions. The microorganisms more frequently identified among hospitalized children were Streptococcus pneumoniae (38%) and Haemophilus influenza type b (Hib) (15%). The MOH introduced Hib vaccines into the national immunization program (PNI) in 2007and the 13-valent vaccine against pneumococcus in 2010. The national first line antibiotics recommended for non-severe ambulatory treatment is Amoxicillin. Studies of antibiotic resistance showed from 1998 to 2008 a 22% increase in the rate of penicillin non-susceptibility among Streptococcus pneumoniae isolates. Viral respiratory infections and the role attributed to air pollution in the incidence of ARI have been poorly characterized.

CONCLUSIONS

Further efforts should be made towards the development of adequate surveillance programs to better clarify the epidemiology, etiology, antimicrobial susceptibility patterns and the effectiveness of the preventives and curatives strategies in place against paediatric ARIs in Morocco. Additionally, a holistical approach should be used to identify the heath determinants of ARIs among children.

Implementation in Indonesia of the WHO Pocket Book of Hospital Care for Children

BACKGROUND

Effective implementation of evidence-based practice guidelines has the potential to improve quality of hospital care for children. To achieve this in Indonesia, a locally adapted version of the WHO Pocket Book of Hospital Care for Children was published in 2009.

OBJECTIVES

To document implementation of the Pocket Book in Indonesia and to compare uptake in health facilities in which there has been a quality-improvement approach involving audit and feedback with uptake in settings in which there has been only passive dissemination.

METHODS

Indonesian district health offices, district hospitals, health centres with beds, and medical schools were surveyed by telephone, and an online and telephone survey of paediatricians was conducted. Health facilities in four provinces were visited, and key stakeholders were interviewed. Health facilities were assessed on availability of the guidelines, use by staff, and their incorporation into hospital procedures and activities.

RESULTS

There was evidence of use of the Pocket Book across Indonesia, despite limited funding for implementation. Its distribution had reached all provinces; 61% (33/54) of health facilities surveyed had a copy of the guidelines. Hospitals involved in a related quality audit were more likely to report use of the guidelines than hospitals exposed to passive dissemination, although this difference was not significant. Of 150 paediatricians sampled, 109 (73%) reported referring to the guidelines in their clinical practice. The guidelines have been incorporated into the postgraduate paediatric curriculum in four of 13 universities sampled.

CONCLUSION

There was encouraging evidence of uptake of the Pocket Book in Indonesia following local adaptation, nationwide mailing distribution and small-scale local implementation activities.

Antibiotic Usage Prior and During Hospitalization for Clinical Severe Pneumonia in Children under Five Years of Age in Rabat, Morocco

Scarce and limited epidemiological, clinical and microbiological data are available regarding pediatric respiratory tract infections in the Kingdom of Morocco, a middle-income country in Northwestern Africa. Data on antibiotic usage for such infections are also scarce. A good understanding of pre-admission and intra-hospital usage of antibiotics in children with respiratory infections linked with an adequate surveillance of the antibiotic susceptibility from circulating pathogens could help policy makers improve their recommendations on management of respiratory infections. We hereby present data on antibiotic usage prior and during admission and antibiotic susceptibility of major circulating respiratory pathogens in children under five years of age admitted to the Hôpital d’Enfants de Rabat, Morocco, with a diagnosis of clinical severe pneumonia (using World Health Organization (WHO) standardized case definitions) during a period of 14 months (November 2010–December 2011), as part of a larger hospital-based surveillance study designed to understand the etiology and epidemiology of severe pneumonia cases among children.

Health worker factors associated with prescribing of artemisinin combination therapy for uncomplicated malaria in rural Tanzania

Background

Improving malaria case management is partially dependent on health worker compliance with clinical guidelines. This study assessed health worker factors associated with correct anti-malarial prescribing practices at two sites in rural Tanzania.

Methods

Repeated cross-sectional health facility surveys were conducted during high and low malaria transmission seasons in 2010 and collected information on patient consultations and health worker characteristics. Using logistic regression, the study assessed health worker factors associated with correct prescription for uncomplicated malaria defined as prescription of artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) for patients with fever and Plasmodium falciparum asexual infection based on blood slide or malaria rapid diagnostic test (RDT) according to national treatment guidelines.

Results

The analysis included 685 patients with uncomplicated malaria who were seen in a health facility with ACT in stock, and 71 health workers practicing in 30 health facilities. Overall, 58% of malaria patients were correctly treated with ACT. Health workers with three or more years’ work experience were significantly more likely than others to prescribe correctly (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) 2.9; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.2-7.1; p = 0.019). Clinical officers (aOR 2.2; 95% CI 1.1-4.5; p = 0.037), and nurse aide or lower cadre (aOR 3.1; 95% CI 1.3-7.1; p = 0.009) were more likely to correctly prescribe ACT than medical officers. Training on ACT use, supervision visits, and availability of job aids were not significantly associated with correct prescription.

Conclusions

Years of working experience and health worker cadre were associated with correct ACT prescription for uncomplicated malaria. Targeted interventions to improve health worker performance are needed to improve overall malaria case management.

Does integrated management of childhood illness (IMCI) training improve the skills of health workers? A systematic review and meta-analysis

Background

An estimated 6.9 million children die annually in low and middle-income countries because of treatable illneses including pneumonia, diarrhea, and malaria. To reduce morbidity and mortality, the Integrated Management of Childhood Illness strategy was developed, which included a component to strengthen the skills of health workers in identifying and managing these conditions. A systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted to determine whether IMCI training actually improves performance.

Methods

Database searches of CIHAHL, CENTRAL, EMBASE, Global Health, Medline, Ovid Healthstar, and PubMed were performed from 1990 to February 2013, and supplemented with grey literature searches and reviews of bibliographies. Studies were included if they compared the performance of IMCI and non-IMCI health workers in illness classification, prescription of medications, vaccinations, and counseling on nutrition and admistration of oral therapies. Dersminion-Laird random effect models were used to summarize the effect estimates.

Results

The systematic review and meta-analysis included 46 and 26 studies, respectively. Four cluster-randomized controlled trials, seven pre-post studies, and 15 cross-sectional studies were included. Findings were heterogeneous across performance domains with evidence of effect modification by health worker performance at baseline. Overall, IMCI-trained workers were more likely to correctly classify illnesses (RR = 1.93, 95% CI: 1.66–2.24). Studies of workers with lower baseline performance showed greater improvements in prescribing medications (RR = 3.08, 95% CI: 2.04–4.66), vaccinating children (RR = 3.45, 95% CI: 1.49–8.01), and counseling families on adequate nutrition (RR = 10.12, 95% CI: 6.03–16.99) and administering oral therapies (RR = 3.76, 95% CI: 2.30–6.13). Trends toward greater training benefits were observed in studies that were conducted in lower resource settings and reported greater supervision.

Conclusion

Findings suggest that IMCI training improves health worker performance. However, these estimates need to be interpreted cautiously given the observational nature of the studies and presence of heterogeneity.

The effect of performance indicator category on estimates of intervention effectiveness

BACKGROUND

A challenge for systematic reviews on improving health worker performance is that included studies often use different performance indicators, and the validity of comparing interventions with different indicators is unclear. One potential solution is to adjust comparisons by indicator category, with categories based on steps of the case-management process that can be easily recognized (assessment of symptoms, treatment etc.) and that might require different levels of effort to bring about improvements. However, this approach would only be useful if intervention effect sizes varied by indicator category. To explore this approach, studies were analyzed that evaluated the Integrated Management of Childhood Illness (IMCI) strategy.

METHODS

Performance indicators were grouped into four categories: patient assessment, diagnosis, treatment and counseling. An effect size of IMCI was calculated for each indicator. Linear regression modeling was used to test for differences among the mean effect sizes of the indicator categories.

RESULTS

Six studies were included, with data from 3136 ill child consultations. Mean effect sizes for 63 assessment indicators, 12 diagnosis indicators, 31 treatment indicators and 34 counseling indicators were 50.9 percentage-points (%-points), 44.7, 36.5 and 46.6%-points, respectively. After adjusting for baseline indicator value, compared with the assessment mean effect size, the diagnosis mean was 7.3%-points lower (P = 0.23), the treatment mean was 15.2%-points lower (P = 0.0004) and the counseling mean was 12.9%-points lower (P = 0.0027).

CONCLUSION

Adjusting the results of systematic reviews for indicator category and baseline indicator value might be useful for improving the validity of intervention comparisons.

Integration of priority population, health and nutrition interventions into health systems: systematic review

BACKGROUND

Objective of the study was to assess the effects of strategies to integrate targeted priority population, health and nutrition interventions into health systems on patient health outcomes and health system effectiveness and thus to compare integrated and non-integrated health programmes.

METHODS

Systematic review using Cochrane methodology of analysing randomised trials, controlled before-and-after and interrupted time series studies. We defined specific strategies to search PubMed, CENTRAL and the Cochrane Effective Practice and Organisation of Care Group register, considered studies published from January 1998 until September 2008, and tracked references and citations. Two reviewers independently agreed on eligibility, with an additional arbiter as needed, and extracted information on outcomes: primary (improved health, financial protection, and user satisfaction) and secondary (improved population coverage, access to health services, efficiency, and quality) using standardised, pre-piloted forms. Two reviewers in the final stage of selection jointly assessed quality of all selected studies using the GRADE criteria.

RESULTS

Of 8,274 citations identified 12 studies met inclusion criteria. Four studies compared the benefits of Integrated Management of Childhood Illnesses in Tanzania and Bangladesh, showing improved care management and higher utilisation of health facilities at no additional cost. Eight studies focused on integrated delivery of mental health and substance abuse services in the United Kingdom and United States of America. Integrated service delivery resulted in better clinical outcomes and greater reduction of substance abuse in specific sub-groups of patients, with no significant difference found overall. Quality of care, patient satisfaction, and treatment engagement were higher in integrated delivery models.

CONCLUSIONS

Targeted priority population health interventions we identified led to improved health outcomes, quality of care, patient satisfaction and access to care. Limited evidence with inconsistent findings across varied interventions in different settings means no general conclusions can be drawn on the benefits or disadvantages of integrated service delivery.

The challenges of achieving high training coverage for IMCI: case studies from Kenya and Tanzania

Health worker training is a key component of the integrated management of childhood illness (IMCI). However, training coverage remains low in many countries. We conducted in-depth case studies in two East African countries to examine the factors underlying low training coverage 10 years after IMCI had been adopted as policy. A document review and in-depth semi-structured interviews with stakeholders at facility, district, regional/provincial and national levels in two districts in Kenya (Homa Bay and Malindi) and Tanzania (Bunda and Tarime) were carried out in 2007-08. Bunda and Malindi achieved higher levels of training coverage (44% and 25%) compared with Tarime and Homa Bay (5% and 13%). Key factors allowing the first two districts to perform better were: strong district leadership and personal commitment to IMCI, which facilitated access to external funding and encouraged local-level policy adaptation; sensitization and training of district health managers; and lower staff turnover. However, IMCI training coverage remained well below target levels across all sites. The main barrier to expanding coverage was the cost of training due to its duration, the number of facilitators and its residential nature. Mechanisms for financing IMCI also restricted district capacity to raise funds. In Tanzania, districts could not spend more than 10% of their budgets on training. In Kenya, limited financial decentralization meant that district managers had to rely on donors for financial support. Critically, the low priority given to IMCI at national and international levels also limited the expansion of training. Levels of domestic and donor support for IMCI have diminished over time in favour of vertical programmes, partly due to the difficulty in monitoring and measuring the impact of an integrated intervention like IMCI. Alternative, lower cost methods of IMCI training need to be promoted, and greater advocacy for IMCI is needed both nationally and internationally.

Non-prescription antimicrobial use worldwide: a systematic review

In much of the world antimicrobial drugs are sold without prescription or oversight by health-care professionals. The scale and effect of this practice is unknown. We systematically reviewed published works about non-prescription antimicrobials from 1970-2009, identifying 117 relevant articles. 35 community surveys from five continents showed that non-prescription use occurred worldwide and accounted for 19-100% of antimicrobial use outside of northern Europe and North America. Safety issues associated with non-prescription use included adverse drug reactions and masking of underlying infectious processes. Non-prescription use was common for non-bacterial disease, and antituberculosis drugs were available in many areas. Antimicrobial-resistant bacteria are common in communities with frequent non-prescription use. In a few settings, control efforts that included regulation decreased antimicrobial use and resistance. Non-prescription antimicrobial and antituberculosis use is common outside of North America and northern Europe and must be accounted for in public health efforts to reduce antimicrobial resistance.

Does shortening the training on Integrated Management of Childhood Illness guidelines reduce its effectiveness? A systematic review

OBJECTIVE

Implementation of the Integrated Management of Childhood Illness (IMCI) strategy with an 11-day training course for health workers improves care for ill children in outpatient settings in developing countries. The 11-day course duration is recommended by the World Health Organization, which developed IMCI. Our aim was to determine if shortening the training (to reduce cost) reduces its effectiveness.

METHODS

We conducted a systematic review to compare IMCI's effectiveness with standard training (duration ≥ 11 days) versus shortened training (5-10 days). Studies were identified from a search of MEDLINE, two existing systematic reviews, and by contacting investigators. We included published or unpublished studies that evaluated IMCI's effectiveness in developing countries and reported quantitative measures of health worker practices related to managing ill children under 5 years old in public or private health facilities. Summary measures were the median of effect sizes for all outcomes from a given study, and the percentage of patients needing oral antimicrobials or rehydration who were treated according to IMCI guidelines.

FINDINGS

Twenty-nine studies were included. Direct comparisons from three studies showed little difference between standard and shortened training. Indirect comparisons from 26 studies revealed that effect sizes for standard training versus no IMCI were greater than shortened training versus no IMCI. Across all comparisons, differences ranged from -3 to +23 percentage-points, and our best estimate was a 2 to 16 percentage-point advantage for standard training. No result was statistically significant. After IMCI training (of any duration), 34% of ill children needing oral antimicrobials or rehydration were not receiving these treatments according to IMCI guidelines.

CONCLUSIONS

Based on limited evidence, standard IMCI training seemed more effective than shortened training, although the difference might be small. As sizable performance gaps often existed after IMCI training, countries should consider implementing other interventions to support health workers after training, regardless of training duration.

Quality of outpatient hospital care for children under 5 years in Afghanistan

OBJECTIVE

To determine the quality of outpatient hospital care for children under 5 years in Afghanistan.

DESIGN

Case management observations were conducted on 10-12 children under five selected by systematic random sampling in 31 outpatient hospital clinics across the country, followed by interviews with caretakers and providers.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Quality of care defined as adherence to the clinical standards described in the Integrated Management of Childhood Illness.

RESULTS

Overall quality of outpatient care for children was suboptimal based on patient examination and caretaker counseling (median score: 27.5 on a 100 point scale). Children receiving care from female providers had better care than those seen by male providers (OR: 6.6, 95% CI: 2.0-21.9, P = 0.002), and doctors provided better quality of care than other providers (OR: 2.7, 95% CI: 1.1-6.4, P = 0.02). The poor were more likely to receive better care in hospitals managed by non-governmental organizations than those managed by other mechanisms (OR: 15.2, 95% CI: 1.2-200.1, P = 0.04).

CONCLUSIONS

Efforts to strengthen optimal care provision at peripheral health clinics must be complemented with investments at the referral and tertiary care facilities to ensure care continuity. The findings of improved care by female providers, doctors and NGO's for poor patients, warrant further empirical evidence on care determinants. Optimizing care quality at referral hospitals is one of the prerequisites to ensure service utilization and outcomes for the achievement of the Child health Millennium Development Goals for Afghanistan.

Randomised primary health center based interventions to improve the diagnosis and treatment of undifferentiated fever and dengue in Vietnam

Background

Fever is a common reason for attending primary health facilities in Vietnam. Response of health care providers to patients with fever commonly consists of making a presumptive diagnosis and proposing corresponding treatment. In Vietnam, where malaria was brought under control, viral infections, notably dengue, are the main causes of undifferentiated fever but they are often misdiagnosed and inappropriately treated with antibiotics.

This study investigate if educating primary health center (PHC) staff or introducing rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) improve diagnostic resolution and accuracy for acute undifferentiated fever (AUF) and reduce prescription of antibiotics and costs for patients.

Methods

In a PHC randomized intervention study in southern Vietnam, the presumptive diagnoses for AUF patients were recorded and confirmed by serology on paired (acute and convalescence) sera. After one year, PHCs were randomized to four intervention arms: training on infectious diseases (A), the provision of RDTs (B), the combination (AB) and control (C). The intervention lasted from 2002 until 2006.

Results

The frequency of the non-etiologic diagnosis "undifferentiated fever" decreased in group AB, and - with some delay- also in group B. The diagnosis "dengue" increased in group AB, but only temporarily, although dengue was the most common cause of fever. A correct diagnosis for dengue initially increased in groups AB and B but only for AB this was sustained. Antibiotics prescriptions increased in group C. During intervention it initially declined in AB with a tendency to increase afterwards; in B it gradually declined. There was a substantial increase of patients' costs in B.

Conclusions

The introduction of RDTs for infectious diseases such as dengue, through free market principles, does improve the quality of the diagnosis and decreases the prescription of antibiotics at the PHC level. However, the effect is more sustainable in combination with training; without it RDTs lead to an excess of costs.

Overworked? On the relationship between workload and health worker performance

The shortage of health workers in many low-income countries poses a threat to the quality of health services. When the number of patients per health worker grows sufficiently high, there will be insufficient time to diagnose and treat all patients adequately. This paper tests the hypothesis that high caseload reduces the level of effort per patient in the diagnostic process. We observed 159 clinicians in 2095 outpatient consultations at 126 health facilities in rural Tanzania. Surprisingly, we find no association between caseload and the level of effort per patient. Clinicians appear to have ample amounts of idle time. We conclude that health workers are not overworked and that scaling up the number of health workers is unlikely to raise the quality of health services. Training has a positive effect on quality but is not in itself sufficient to raise quality to adequate levels.

National implementation of Integrated Management of Childhood Illness (IMCI): policy constraints and strategies

Integrated Management of Childhood Illness (IMCI) is a pediatric care management strategy that has been shown to improve health care service quality and increase health care cost savings in multi-country evaluations. However, many countries have faced significant training, health system, political, and financial constraints to national implementation and, as a result, have not been able to observe sustained benefits of IMCI. This article reviews the literature for evidence of IMCI health impacts, common implementation constraints, and policy strategies for health system strengthening and successful implementation.

A systematic review of the evidence on integration of targeted health interventions into health systems

A longstanding debate on health systems organization relates to benefits of integrating health programmes that emphasize specific interventions into mainstream health systems to increase access and improve health outcomes. This debate has long been characterized by polarization of views and ideologies, with protagonists for and against integration arguing the relative merits of each approach. However, all too frequently these arguments have not been based on hard evidence. The presence of both integrated and non-integrated programmes in many countries suggests there may be benefits to either approach, but the relative merits of integration in various contexts and for different interventions have not been systematically analysed and documented. In this paper we present findings of a systematic review that explores a broad range of evidence on: (i) the extent and nature of the integration of targeted health programmes that emphasize specific interventions into critical health systems functions, (ii) how the integration or non-integration of health programmes into critical health systems functions in different contexts has influenced programme success, (iii) how contextual factors have affected the extent to which these programmes were integrated into critical health systems functions. Our analysis shows few instances where there is full integration of a health intervention or where an intervention is completely non-integrated. Instead, there exists a highly heterogeneous picture both for the nature and also for the extent of integration. Health systems combine both non-integrated and integrated interventions, but the balance of these interventions varies considerably.

Improving pneumonia case-management in Benin: a randomized trial of a multi-faceted intervention to support health worker adherence to Integrated Management of Childhood Illness guidelines

BACKGROUND

Pneumonia is a leading cause of death among children under five years of age. The Integrated Management of Childhood Illness strategy can improve the quality of care for pneumonia and other common illnesses in developing countries, but adherence to these guidelines could be improved. We evaluated an intervention in Benin to support health worker adherence to the guidelines after training, focusing on pneumonia case management.

METHODS

We conducted a randomized trial. After a health facility survey in 1999 to assess health care quality before Integrated Management of Childhood Illness training, health workers received training plus either study supports (job aids, non-financial incentives and supervision of workers and supervisors) or "usual" supports. Follow-up surveys were conducted in 2001, 2002 and 2004. Outcomes were indicators of health care quality for Integrated Management-defined pneumonia. Further analyses included a graphical pathway analysis and multivariable logistic regression modelling to identify factors influencing case-management quality.

RESULTS

We observed 301 consultations of children with non-severe pneumonia that were performed by 128 health workers in 88 public and private health facilities. Although outcomes improved in both intervention and control groups, we found no statistically significant difference between groups. However, training proceeded slowly, and low-quality care from untrained health workers diluted intervention effects. Per-protocol analyses suggested that health workers with training plus study supports performed better than those with training plus usual supports (20.4 and 19.2 percentage-point improvements for recommended treatment [p=0.08] and "recommended or adequate" treatment [p=0.01], respectively). Both groups tended to perform better than untrained health workers. Analyses of treatment errors revealed that incomplete assessment and difficulties processing clinical findings led to missed pneumonia diagnoses, and missed diagnoses led to inadequate treatment. Increased supervision frequency was associated with better care (odds ratio for recommended treatment=2.1 [95% confidence interval: 1.13.9] per additional supervisory visit).

CONCLUSION

Integrated Management of Childhood Illness training was useful, but insufficient, to achieve high-quality pneumonia case management. Our study supports led to additional improvements, although large gaps in performance still remained. A simple graphical pathway analysis can identify specific, common errors that health workers make in the case-management process; this information could be used to target quality improvement activities, such as supervision (ClinicalTrials.gov number NCT00510679).

Trends in the quality of health care for children aged less than 5 years in Afghanistan, 2004-2006

OBJECTIVE

To study trends in the quality of the health care provided to children aged less than 5 years in Afghanistan between 2004 and 2006. In particular, to determine the effect on such quality of a basic package of health services (BPHS), including Integrated Management of Childhood Illness (IMCI), introduced in 2003.

METHODS

In each year of the study, 500-600 health facilities providing the BPHS were selected by stratified random sampling in 29 provinces of Afghanistan. We observed consultations for children aged less than 5 years, interviewed their caretakers, interviewed health-care providers and measured adherence to case management standards for assessment and counselling in a random sample.

FINDINGS

The quality of the assessment and counselling provided to sick children aged less than 5 years improved significantly between 2004 and 2006. A 43.4% increase in the assessment index and a 28.7% increase in the counselling index (P < 0.001) were noted. Assessment quality improved significantly every year and was statistically associated with certain characteristics of the provider (being a doctor, having a higher knowledge score, being trained in IMCI, being part of a "contracting-in" mechanism and providing a longer consultation time) and the child (being younger and having a female caretaker). Counselling quality was also significantly associated with these characteristics, except for provider cadre and child age. The presence of clinical guidelines and the frequency of supervision were significantly associated with improved quality scores in 2006 (P < 0.05 and < 0.01, respectively).

CONCLUSION

Quality of care improved over the study period, but performance remained suboptimal in some areas. Continued investments in Afghanistan's health system capacity are needed.

Documenting the experiences of health workers expected to implement guidelines during an intervention study in Kenyan hospitals

Background

Although considerable efforts are directed at developing international guidelines to improve clinical management in low-income settings they appear to influence practice rarely. This study aimed to explore barriers to guideline implementation in the early phase of an intervention study in four district hospitals in Kenya.

Methods

We developed a simple interview guide based on a simple characterisation of the intervention informed by review of major theories on barriers to uptake of guidelines. In-depth interviews, non-participatory observation, and informal discussions were then used to explore perceived barriers to guideline introduction and general improvements in paediatric and newborn care. Data were collected four to five months after in-service training in the hospitals. Data were transcribed, themes explored, and revised in two rounds of coding and analysis using NVivo 7 software, subjected to a layered analysis, reviewed, and revised after discussion with four hospital staff who acted as within-hospital facilitators.

Results

A total of 29 health workers were interviewed. Ten major themes preventing guideline uptake were identified: incomplete training coverage; inadequacies in local standard setting and leadership; lack of recognition and appreciation of good work; poor communication and teamwork; organizational constraints and limited resources; counterproductive health worker norms; absence of perceived benefits linked to adoption of new practices; difficulties accepting change; lack of motivation; and conflicting attitudes and beliefs.

Conclusion

While the barriers identified are broadly similar in theme to those reported from high-income settings, their specific nature often differs. For example, at an institutional level there is an almost complete lack of systems to introduce or reinforce guidelines, poor teamwork across different cadres of health worker, and failure to confront poor practice. At an individual level, lack of interest in the evidence supporting guidelines, feelings that they erode professionalism, and expectations that people should be paid to change practice threaten successful implementation.

Why first-level health workers fail to follow guidelines for managing severe disease in children in the Coast Region, the United Republic of Tanzania

OBJECTIVE

To determine why health workers fail to follow integrated management of childhood illness (IMCI) guidelines for severely ill children at first-level outpatient health facilities in rural areas of the United Republic of Tanzania.

METHODS

Retrospective and prospective case reviews of severely ill children aged < 5 years were conducted at health facilities in four districts. We ascertained treatment and examined the characteristics associated with referral, conducted follow-up interviews with parents of severely ill children, and gave health workers questionnaires and interviews.

FINDINGS

In total, 502 cases were reviewed at 62 facilities. Treatment with antimalarials and antibiotics was consistent with the diagnosis given by health workers. However, of 240 children classified as having 'very severe febrile disease', none received all IMCI-recommended therapies, and only 25% of severely ill children were referred. Lethargy and anaemia diagnoses were independently associated with referral. Most (91%) health workers indicated that certain severe conditions can be managed without referral.

CONCLUSION

The health workers surveyed rarely adhered to IMCI treatment and referral guidelines for children with severe illness. They administered therapy based on narrow diagnoses rather than IMCI classifications, disagreed with referral guidelines and often considered referral unnecessary. To improve implementation of IMCI, attention should focus on the reasons for health worker non-adherence.

A multifaceted intervention to improve health worker adherence to integrated management of childhood illness guidelines in Benin

OBJECTIVES

We evaluated an intervention to support health workers after training in Integrated Management of Childhood Illness (IMCI), a strategy that can improve outcomes for children in developing countries by encouraging workers' use of evidence-based guidelines for managing the leading causes of child mortality.

METHODS

We conducted a randomized trial in Benin. We administered a survey in 1999 to assess health care quality before IMCI training. Health workers then received training plus either study supports (job aids, nonfinancial incentives, and supervision of workers and supervisors) or usual supports. Follow-up surveys conducted in 2001 to 2004 assessed recommended treatment, recommended or adequate treatment, and an index of overall guideline adherence.

RESULTS

We analyzed 1244 consultations. Performance improved in both intervention and control groups, with no significant differences between groups. However, training proceeded slowly, and low-quality care from health workers without IMCI training diluted intervention effects. Per-protocol analyses revealed that workers with IMCI training plus study supports provided better care than did those with training plus usual supports (27.3 percentage-point difference for recommended treatment; P < .05), and both groups outperformed untrained workers.

CONCLUSIONS

IMCI training was useful but insufficient. Relatively inexpensive supports can lead to additional improvements.

Human resource management interventions to improve health workers' performance in low and middle income countries: a realist review

Background

Improving health workers' performance is vital for achieving the Millennium Development Goals. In the literature on human resource management (HRM) interventions to improve health workers' performance in Low and Middle Income Countries (LMIC), hardly any attention has been paid to the question how HRM interventions might bring about outcomes and in which contexts. Such information is, however, critical to assess the transferability of results. Our aim was to explore if realist review of published primary research provides better insight into the functioning of HRM interventions in LMIC.

Methodology

A realist review not only asks whether an intervention has shown to be effective, but also through which mechanisms an intervention produces outcomes and which contextual factors appear to be of critical influence. Forty-eight published studies were reviewed.

Results

The results show that HRM interventions can improve health workers' performance, but that different contexts produce different outcomes. Critical implementation aspects were involvement of local authorities, communities and management; adaptation to the local situation; and active involvement of local staff to identify and implement solutions to problems. Mechanisms that triggered change were increased knowledge and skills, feeling obliged to change and health workers' motivation. Mechanisms to contribute to motivation were health workers' awareness of local problems and staff empowerment, gaining acceptance of new information and creating a sense of belonging and respect. In addition, staff was motivated by visible improvements in quality of care and salary supplements. Only a limited variety of HRM interventions have been evaluated in the health sector in LMIC. Assumptions underlying HRM interventions are usually not made explicit, hampering our understanding of how HRM interventions work.

Conclusion

Application of a realist perspective allows identifying which HRM interventions might improve performance, under which circumstances, and for which groups of health workers. To be better able to contribute to an understanding of how HRM interventions could improve health workers' performance, a combination of qualitative and quantitative research methods would be needed and the use of common indicators for evaluation and a common reporting format would be required.

The importance of context in malaria diagnosis and treatment decisions - a quantitative analysis of observed clinical encounters in Tanzania

OBJECTIVE

To gain a better understanding of the decision-making context in the diagnosis of malaria in order to inform behaviour change strategies, using quantitative methods.

METHODS

We observed hospital outpatient and inpatient consultations in northeast Tanzania where malaria testing was routinely available, recording potential influences on testing and prescribing decisions. We analysed the effects of variables at patient, clinical context and clinician levels on three key decisions in malaria diagnosis and treatment: decision to test for malaria, presumptive treatment and treatment of test-negative patients with antimalarials.

RESULTS

Observation of 2082 consultations took place during 120 clinics (different shifts on different days and in different departments) with 34 clinicians. Malaria tests were requested for 16.9% of patients. This decision was driven primarily by clinical symptoms. Of patients not tested for malaria, 36.0% were prescribed antimalarials, this decision being associated with both clinical and non-clinical factors. In outpatients fever was a strong predictor of presumptive treatment [adjusted odds ratio (AOR): 45.9, 95% CI: 30-73], in inpatients this was less so (AOR: 2.7, 95% CI: 0.98-7.7). Outpatient clinicians who were working alone or who had attended <2 in-service training sessions in the past year were more likely to prescribe antimalarials presumptively. The decision to prescribe antimalarials without also prescribing antibiotic treatment to 22.8% patients who tested negative for malaria was not driven by clinical symptoms but was associated with age over 5 years, lower patient load and male sex of clinician.

CONCLUSIONS

Non-clinical factors are important in the overdiagnosis of malaria. Strategies to target antimalarials and antibiotics better need to use methods that address the context of clinical decision making in addition to the dissemination of conventional clinical algorithms.

Translation of artemether-lumefantrine treatment policy into paediatric clinical practice: an early experience from Kenya

Objective

To describe the quality of outpatient paediatric malaria case-management approximately 4–6 months after artemether–lumefantrine (AL) replaced sulfadoxine–pyrimethamine (SP) as the nationally recommended first-line therapy in Kenya.

Methods

Cross-sectional survey at all government facilities in four Kenyan districts. Main outcome measures were health facility and health worker readiness to implement AL policy; quality of antimalarial prescribing, counselling and drug dispensing in comparison with national guidelines; and factors influencing AL prescribing for treatment of uncomplicated malaria in under-fives.

Results

We evaluated 193 facilities, 227 health workers and 1533 sick-child consultations. Health facility and health worker readiness was variable: 89% of facilities stocked AL, 55% of health workers had access to guidelines, 46% received in-service training on AL and only 1% of facilities had AL wall charts. Of 940 children who needed AL treatment, AL was prescribed for 26%, amodiaquine for 39%, SP for 4%, various other antimalarials for 8% and 23% of children left the facility without any antimalarial prescribed. When AL was prescribed, 92% of children were prescribed correct weight-specific dose. AL dispensing and counselling tasks were variably performed. Higher health worker's cadre, in-service training including AL use, positive malaria test, main complaint of fever and high temperature were associated with better prescribing.

Conclusions

Changes in clinical practices at the point of care might take longer than anticipated. Delivery of successful interventions and their scaling up to increase coverage are important during this process; however, this should be accompanied by rigorous research evaluations, corrective actions on existing interventions and testing cost-effectiveness of novel interventions capable of improving and maintaining health worker performance and health systems to deliver artemisinin-based combination therapy in Africa.

The effect of training in Integrated Management of Childhood Illness (IMCI) on the performance and healthcare quality of pediatric healthcare workers: a systematic review

OBJECTIVES: to analyze the effect of training in Integrated Management of Childhood Illness (IMCI) on the quality of case management by healthcare workers based on a systematic review of the literature. METHODS: the authors searched the databases MEDLINE, LILACS, PAHO and WHOLIS for the search terms Integrated Management of Childhood Illness (IMCI), and analyzed documents published by Pan American Health Organization, World Health Organization and the Brazilian Ministry of Health between January 1993 and July 2006. The quality of the methodology was assessed using the criteria developed by Downs and Black. RESULTS: thirty-five papers were reviewed. Twelve of these validated the IMCI algorithm and found the sensitivity to be high and the specificity to be over 80% for major illnesses. Twenty-three papers assessed the performance of healthcare workers, eight of these with no control group. The present study shows clear evidence of improvement in the performance of healthcare workers employed at healthcare facilities with IMCI. The main methodological weaknesses of the study were lack of control of confounding factors and lack of information regarding statistical power. CONCLUSIONS: the performance of healthcare workers tends to improve at public healthcare facilities when IMCI is introduced.

Longitudinal analysis of community health workers' adherence to treatment guidelines, Siaya, Kenya, 1997-2002

OBJECTIVES

To investigate community health workers' (CHW) adherence over time to guidelines for treating ill children and to assess the effect of refresher training on adherence.

METHODS

Analysis of 7151 ill-child consultations performed by 114 CHWs in their communities from March 1997-May 2002. Adherence was assessed with a score (percentage of recommended treatments that were prescribed), calculated for each consultation. Recommended treatments were those that were indicated based on CHW assessments. We used piecewise regression models to evaluate adherence before and after training.

RESULTS

The average adherence score was 79.4%. Multivariable analyses indicate that immediately after the first refresher training, the mean adherence level improved for patients with a severe illness, but worsened for patients without severe illness. Adherence scores declined rapidly during the 6 months after the second refresher training.

CONCLUSIONS

The first refresher was partially effective, the second refresher had an effect contrary to that intended, and patient characteristics had a strong influence on adherence patterns. Longitudinal studies are useful for monitoring the dynamics of CHW performance and evaluating effects of quality improvement interventions.

Effect of multiple interventions on community health workers' adherence to clinical guidelines in Siaya district, Kenya

Evaluation of a community health worker (CHW) programme in Siaya district, Kenya, showed CHWs commonly made errors in managing childhood illness. We assessed the effect of multiple interventions on CHW healthcare practices. A sample of 192 ill-child consultations performed by 114 CHWs in a hospital outpatient department between February and March 2001 were analysed. The mean percentage of assessment, classification and treatment procedures performed correctly for each child was 79.8% (range 13.3-100%). Of the 187 children who required at least one treatment or referral to a health facility, only 38.8% were prescribed all treatments (including referral) recommended by the guidelines. Multivariate analyses found no evidence that the intervention-related factors studied (refresher training, supervision, involvement of community women in the CHW selection process, adequacy of medicine supplies, and use of a guideline flipchart during consultations) were significantly associated with overall or treatment-specific guideline adherence. A multivariate linear regression analysis revealed that several non-intervention-related factors, such as patient characteristics, were significantly associated with overall guideline adherence. Given that our study was cross-sectional and our measurement of exposure to several interventions was based on CHW recall, the estimated effects of the interventions should be interpreted with caution. Despite these limitations, however, our results raise questions about the effectiveness, in the setting of Siaya district, of several interventions commonly used to improve the quality of care given by CHWs.

Predictors of treatment error for children with uncomplicated malaria seen as outpatients in Blantyre district, Malawi

BACKGROUND

Past studies have shown that health workers in developing countries often do not follow clinical guidelines, though few studies have explored with appropriate methods why errors occur. To develop interventions that improve health worker performance, factors affecting treatment practices must be better understood.

METHODS

We analysed data from a health facility survey in Blantyre District, Malawi, in which health workers were observed treating ill children, and then children were independently re-examined by 'gold-standard' study clinicians. The analysis was limited to children with uncomplicated malaria (defined according to Malawi's guidelines as fever or anaemia without signs of severe illness), and a treatment error was defined as failure to treat with an effective antimalarial.

RESULTS

Twenty-eight health workers and 349 ill-child consultations were evaluated; 247 (70.8%) children were treated with an effective antimalarial, and 102 (29.2%) were subject to treatment error. Logistic regression analysis revealed that in-service malaria training was not associated with treatment quality (univariate odds ratio (OR) = 1.16, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.46-2.93); whereas acute respiratory infections training was associated with making an error (adjusted OR (aOR) = 2.42, 95% CI: 1.23-4.76). High fever and chief complaint of fever were associated with fewer errors (aOR = 0.25, 95% CI: 0.10-0.60 and aOR = 0.25, 95% CI: 0.13-0.48, respectively). Errors were more likely to occur in consultations starting before 1 p.m. (aOR = 1.88, 95% CI: 1.07-3.31). Supervision was not associated with better treatment quality.

CONCLUSIONS

These results suggest that the disease-specific training and supervision, performed before the survey, did not lead to long-term improvements in health care quality. Furthermore, case management training for one specific disease may have worsened quality of care for another disease. These results support integration of guidelines for multiple conditions. Interventions should be evaluated for unintended negative effects on overall quality of care.