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Erzse A, Rwafa-Ponela T, Goldstein S, Motlhatlhedi M, Watson D, Hofman KJ, Danis M, Norris SA, Ward KA, Tugendhaft A. What values drive communities' nutrition priorities in a resource constrained urban area in South Africa? BMC Public Health 2023; 23:873. [PMID: 37170249 PMCID: PMC10175056 DOI: 10.1186/s12889-023-15761-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2022] [Accepted: 04/26/2023] [Indexed: 05/13/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Voices of under-resourced communities are recognised as important yet are often unheard in decisions about healthcare resource allocation. Deliberative public engagement can serve as an effective mechanism for involving communities in establishing nutrition priorities. This study sought to identify the priorities of community members of a South African township, Soweto, and describe the underlying values driving their prioritisation process, to improve nutrition in the first 1000 days of life. METHODS We engaged 54 community members (28 men and 26 women aged > 18 years) from Soweto. We conducted seven group discussions to determine how to allocate limited resources for prioritising nutrition interventions. We used a modified public engagement tool: CHAT (Choosing All Together) which presented 14 nutrition intervention options and their respective costs. Participants deliberated and collectively determined their nutritional priorities. Choices were captured quantitatively, while group discussions were audio-recorded. A thematic analysis was undertaken to identify the reasons and values associated with the selected priorities. RESULTS All groups demonstrated a preference to allocate scarce resources towards three priority interventions-school breakfast provisioning, six-months paid maternity leave, and improved food safety. All but one group selected community gardens and clubs, and five groups prioritised decreasing the price of healthy food and receiving job search assistance. Participants' allocative decisions were guided by several values implicit in their choices, such as fairness and equity, efficiency, social justice, financial resilience, relational solidarity, and human development, with a strong focus on children. Priority interventions were deemed critical to supporting children's optimal development and well-being, interrupting the intergenerational cycle of poverty and poor human development in the community. CONCLUSION Our study demonstrates how public engagement can facilitate the incorporation of community values and programmatic preferences into nutrition priority setting, enabling a responsive approach to local community needs, especially in resource constrained contexts. Findings could guide policy makers to facilitate more appropriate decisions and to improve nutrition in the first 1000 days of life.
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Affiliation(s)
- Agnes Erzse
- SAMRC/ Wits Centre for Health Economics and Decision Science, PRICELESS SA, Faculty of Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.
| | - Teurai Rwafa-Ponela
- SAMRC/ Wits Centre for Health Economics and Decision Science, PRICELESS SA, Faculty of Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - Susan Goldstein
- SAMRC/ Wits Centre for Health Economics and Decision Science, PRICELESS SA, Faculty of Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - Molebogeng Motlhatlhedi
- SAMRC/ Wits Developmental Pathways for Health Research Unit, Faculty of Health Sciences, School of Clinical Medicine, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - Daniella Watson
- Global Health Research Institute, School of Human Development and Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
| | - Karen J Hofman
- SAMRC/ Wits Centre for Health Economics and Decision Science, PRICELESS SA, Faculty of Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - Marion Danis
- Department of Bioethics, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Shane A Norris
- SAMRC/ Wits Developmental Pathways for Health Research Unit, Faculty of Health Sciences, School of Clinical Medicine, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - Kate A Ward
- SAMRC/ Wits Developmental Pathways for Health Research Unit, Faculty of Health Sciences, School of Clinical Medicine, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
- Global Health Research Institute, School of Human Development and Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
- Medical Research Council Lifecourse Epidemiology Centre, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
| | - Aviva Tugendhaft
- SAMRC/ Wits Centre for Health Economics and Decision Science, PRICELESS SA, Faculty of Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
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Fleming P, Caffrey L, Belle SV, Barry S, Burke S, Conway J, Siersbaek R, Mockler D, Thomas S. How International Health System Austerity Responses to the 2008 Financial Crisis Impacted Health System and Workforce Resilience - A Realist Review. Int J Health Policy Manag 2022; 12:7420. [PMID: 37579453 PMCID: PMC10125082 DOI: 10.34172/ijhpm.2022.7420] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/27/2022] [Accepted: 11/19/2022] [Indexed: 08/16/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The Great Recession, following the 2008 financial crisis, led many governments to adopt programmes of austerity. This had a lasting impact on health system functionality, resources, staff (numbers, motivation and morale) and patient outcomes. This study aimed to understand how health system resilience was impacted and how this affects readiness for subsequent shocks. METHODS A realist review identified legacies associated with austerity (proximal outcomes) and how these impact the distal outcome of health system resilience. EMBASE, CINAHL, MEDLINE, EconLit and Web of Science were searched (2007-May 2021), resulting in 1081 articles. Further theory-driven searches resulted in an additional 60 studies. Descriptive, inductive, deductive and retroductive realist analysis (utilising excel and Nvivo) aided the development of context-mechanism-outcome configurations (CMOCs), alongside stakeholder engagement to confirm or refute emerging results. Causal pathways, and the interplay between context and mechanisms that led to proximal and distal outcomes, were revealed. The refined CMOCs and policy recommendations focused primarily on workforce resilience. RESULTS Five CMOCs demonstrated how austerity-driven policy decisions can impact health systems when driven by the priorities of external agents. This created a real or perceived shift away from the values and interests of health professionals, a distrust in decision-making processes and resistance to change. Their values were at odds with the realities of implementing such policy decisions within sustained restrictive working conditions (rationing of staff, consumables, treatment options). A diminished view of the profession and an inability to provide high-quality, equitable, and needs-led care, alongside stagnant or degraded working conditions, led to moral distress. This can forge legacies that may adversely impact resilience when faced with future shocks. CONCLUSION This review reveals the importance of transparent, open communication, in addition to co-produced policies in order to avoid scenarios that can be detrimental to workforce and health system resilience.
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Affiliation(s)
- Padraic Fleming
- Centre for Health Policy and Management, Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland
| | - Louise Caffrey
- School of Social Work and Social Policy, Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin, College Green, Dublin 2, Ireland
| | | | - Sarah Barry
- Centre for Health Policy and Management, Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland
| | - Sara Burke
- Centre for Health Policy and Management, Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland
| | - Jacki Conway
- Everlake, 5 Marine Terrace, Dun Laoghaire, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Rikke Siersbaek
- Centre for Health Policy and Management, Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland
| | - David Mockler
- Library Reader Services, Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin, St James Hospital, Dublin 8, Ireland
| | - Steve Thomas
- Centre for Health Policy and Management, Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland
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Tuck CZ, Akparibo R, Gray LA, Aryeetey RNO, Cooper R. What influences cancer treatment service access in Ghana? A critical interpretive synthesis. BMJ Open 2022; 12:e065153. [PMID: 36198450 PMCID: PMC9535186 DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2022-065153] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Multiple social-cultural and contextual factors influence access to and acceptance of cancer treatment in Ghana. The aim of this research was to assess existing literature on how these factors interplay and could be susceptible to local and national policy changes. DESIGN This study uses a critical interpretive synthesis approach to review qualitative and quantitative evidence about access to adult cancer treatment services in Ghana, applying the socioecological model and candidacy framework. RESULTS Our findings highlighted barriers to accessing cancer services within each level of the socioecological model (intrapersonal, interpersonal community, organisational and policy levels), which are dynamic and interacting, for example, community level factors influenced individual perceptions and how they managed financial barriers. Evidence was lacking in relation to determinants of treatment non-acceptance across all cancers and in the most vulnerable societal groups due to methodological limitations. CONCLUSIONS Future policy should prioritise multilevel approaches, for example, improving the quality and affordability of medical care while also providing collaboration with traditional and complementary care systems to refer patients. Research should seek to overcome methodological limitations to understand the determinants of accessing treatment in the most vulnerable populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chloe Zabrina Tuck
- School of Health and Related Research (ScHARR), The University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
| | - Robert Akparibo
- School of Health and Related Research (ScHARR), The University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
| | - Laura A Gray
- School of Health and Related Research (ScHARR), The University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
| | | | - Richard Cooper
- School of Health and Related Research (ScHARR), The University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
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Pahlman K, Fehross A, Fox GJ, Silva DS. Ethical health security in the age of antimicrobial resistance. BMJ Glob Health 2022; 7:e007407. [PMID: 34996766 PMCID: PMC8743836 DOI: 10.1136/bmjgh-2021-007407] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2021] [Accepted: 12/16/2021] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Owing to its potential human, social and economic costs, antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is frequently referred to as a threat to health security. Simultaneously, health security and the preservation of antimicrobials are often described as a global public good. However, how the term 'public good' is used in the context of health security, and the values that underpin it, remains ambiguous. Policymaking is never value-free, and a better examination of such values is critical to understanding how issues such as AMR are problematised and how policy decisions are informed. DESIGN We used McDougall's version of critical interpretive synthesis to capture the recurring concepts and arguments within public policy, political science and applied ethics literature on AMR. Articles were analysed by identifying recurring ideas and developing themes across the literature. RESULTS A total of 77 papers were included in our review. In the context of health security and AMR, the concept of 'public good' appears to be used interchangeably with 'common good', reflecting confusion, but sometimes meaningful differences, regarding how antimicrobials, as a good, are conceived. Main approaches to addressing AMR are statism, globalism and regionalism, which appeal to different values in guiding policymakers. Common justificatory values underpinning preservation of antimicrobials as a public good were prevention of harm, solidarity, justice and rights. CONCLUSION The findings suggest that within the literature there is a lack of conceptual clarity as to whether antimicrobials constitute a public good or a common good. Moreover, the way in which antimicrobials are conceived and the approaches through which AMR as a threat to health security is addressed appear to be grounded in values that are often implicit. Being explicit about the values that underpin AMR and health security is not simply an intellectual exercise but has very real policy and programmatic implications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kari Pahlman
- Sydney Health Ethics, School of Public Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Anson Fehross
- Sydney Health Ethics, School of Public Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Greg J Fox
- Central Clinical School, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Diego S Silva
- Sydney Health Ethics, School of Public Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
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