Geospatial evaluation of trade-offs between equity in physical access to healthcare and health systems efficiency

Introduction

Decisions regarding the geographical placement of healthcare services require consideration of trade-offs between equity and efficiency, but few empirical assessments are available. We applied a novel geospatial framework to study these trade-offs in four African countries.

Methods

Geolocation data on population density (a surrogate for efficiency), health centres and cancer referral centres in Kenya, Malawi, Tanzania and Rwanda were obtained from online databases. Travel time to the closest facility (a surrogate for equity) was estimated with 1 km resolution using the Access Mod 5 least cost distance algorithm. We studied associations between district-level average population density and travel time to closest facility for each country using Pearson’s correlation, and spatial autocorrelation using the Global Moran’s I statistic. Geographical clusters of districts with inefficient resource allocation were identified using the bivariate local indicator of spatial autocorrelation.

Results

Population density was inversely associated with travel time for all countries and levels of the health system (Pearson’s correlation range, health centres: −0.89 to −0.71; cancer referral centres: −0.92 to −0.43), favouring efficiency. For health centres, negative spatial autocorrelation (geographical clustering of dissimilar values of population density and travel time) was weaker in Rwanda (−0.310) and Tanzania (−0.292), countries with explicit policies supporting equitable access to rural healthcare, relative to Kenya (−0.579) and Malawi (−0.543). Stronger spatial autocorrelation was observed for cancer referral centres (Rwanda: −0.341; Tanzania: −0.259; Kenya: −0.595; Malawi: −0.666). Significant geographical clusters of sparsely populated districts with long travel times to care were identified across countries.

Conclusion

Negative spatial correlations suggested that the geographical distribution of health services favoured efficiency over equity, but spatial autocorrelation measures revealed more equitable geographical distribution of facilities in certain countries. These findings suggest that even when prioritising efficiency, thoughtful decisions regarding geographical allocation could increase equitable physical access to services.

Feasibility of upfront mobile money transfers for transportation reimbursement to promote retention among patients receiving lymphoma treatment in Malawi

BACKGROUND

Cancer outcomes in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) remain suboptimal, in part due to poor patient retention. Many patients travel long distances to receive care, and transportation costs are often prohibitively expensive. These are well-known and established causes of delayed treatment and care abandonment in Malawi and across SSA.

METHODS

We sent visit reminder texts and offered upfront money to cover transportation costs through a mobile money transfer (MMT) platform to lymphoma patients enrolled in a prospective cohort in Malawi. The primary aim was to test the feasibility of upfront MMTs.

RESULTS

We sent 1034 visit reminder texts to 189 participating patients. Of these texts, 614 (59%) were successfully delivered, with 536 (52%) responses. 320/536 (60%) MMTs were sent to interested patients and 312/320 (98%) came to their appointment on time. Of 189 total patients, 120 (63%) were reached via text and 84 (44%) received MMTs a median of three times (IQR 2-5). Median age of reachable patients was 41 (IQR 30-50), 75 (63%) were male, 62 (52%) were HIV+ and 79 (66%) resided outside of Lilongwe.

CONCLUSION

MMTs were a feasible way to cover upfront transportation costs for patients reachable via text, however many of our patients were unreachable. Future studies exploring barriers to care, particularly among unreachable patients, may help improve the efficacy of MMT initiatives and guide retention strategies throughout SSA.

Cervical cancer screening - The challenges of complete pathways of care in low-income countries: Focus on Malawi

Cervical cancer is the fourth most common cancer among women globally, with approximately 580,000 new diagnoses in 2018. Approximately, 90% of deaths from this disease occur in low- and middle-income countries, especially in areas of high HIV prevalence, and largely due to limited prevention and screening opportunities and scarce treatment options. In this overview, we describe the opportunities and challenges faced in many low- and middle-income countries in delivery of cervical cancer detection, treatment and complete pathways of care. In particular, drawing on our experience and that of colleagues, we describe cervical screening and pathways of care provision in Malawi, as a case study of a low-resource country with high incidence and mortality rates of cervical cancer. Screening methods such as cytology – although widely used in high-income countries – have limited relevance in many low-resource settings. The World Health Organization recommends screening using human papillomavirus testing wherever possible; however, although human papillomavirus primary testing is more sensitive and detects precancers and cancers earlier than cytology, there are currently costs, infrastructure considerations and specificity issues that limit its use in low- and middle-income countries. The World Health Organization accepts the alternative screening approach of visual inspection with acetic acid as part of ‘screen and treat’ programmes as a simple and inexpensive test that can be undertaken by trained health workers and hence give wider screening coverage; however, subjectivity and variability in interpretation of findings between providers raise issues of false positives and overtreatment. Cryotherapy using either nitrous oxide or carbon dioxide is an established treatment for precancerous lesions within ‘screen and treat’ programmes; more recently, thermal ablation has been recognized as suitable to low-resource settings due to lightweight equipment, short treatment times, and hand-held battery-operated and solar-powered models. For larger lesions and cancers, complete clinical pathways (including loop excision, surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy and palliative care) are required for optimal care of women. However, provision of each of these components of cancer control is often limited due to limited infrastructure and lack of trained personnel. Hence, global initiatives to reduce cervical mortality need to adopt a holistic approach to health systems strengthening.

Study protocol for a single-centre observational study of household wellbeing and poverty status following a diagnosis of advanced cancer in Blantyre, Malawi - 'Safeguarding the Family' study

Background: Many households in low-and-middle income countries face the additional burden of crippling out-of-pocket expenditure when faced with a diagnosis of life-limiting illness. Available evidence suggests that receipt of palliative care supports cost-savings for cancer-affected households. This study will explore the relationship between receipt of palliative care, total household out-of-pocket expenditure on health and wellbeing following a first-time diagnosis of advanced cancer at Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital in Blantyre, Malawi.

Protocol: Patients and their primary family caregivers will be recruited at the time of cancer diagnosis.  Data on healthcare utilisation, related costs, coping strategies and wellbeing will be gathered using new and existing questionnaires (the Patient-and-Carer Cancer Cost Survey, EQ-5D-3L and the Integrated Palliative Care Outcome Score). Surveys will be repeated at one, three and six months after diagnosis. In the event of the patient’s death, a brief five-item questionnaire on funeral costs will be administered to caregivers not less than two weeks following the date of death. Descriptive and Poisson regression analyses will assess the relationship between exposure to palliative care and total household expenditure from baseline to six months. A sample size of 138 households has been calculated in order to detect a medium effect (as determined by Cohen’s f ²=0.15) of receipt of palliative care in a regression model for change in total household out-of-pocket expenditure as a proportion of annual household income.

Ethics and dissemination: The study has received ethical approval. Results will be reported using STROBE guidelines and disseminated through scientific meetings, open access publications and a national stakeholder meeting. 

Conclusions: This study will provide data on expenditure for healthcare by households affected by advanced cancer in Malawi. We also explore whether receipt of palliative care is associated with a reduction in out-of-pocket expenditure at household level.

Study protocol for a single-centre observational study of household wellbeing and poverty status following a diagnosis of advanced cancer in Blantyre, Malawi - ‘Safeguarding the Family’ study

Background: Many households in low-and-middle income countries face the additional burden of crippling out-of-pocket expenditure when faced with a diagnosis of life-limiting illness. Available evidence suggests that receipt of palliative care supports cost-savings for cancer-affected households. This study will explore the relationship between receipt of palliative care, total household out-of-pocket expenditure on health and wellbeing following a first-time diagnosis of advanced cancer at Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital in Blantyre, Malawi. Protocol: Patients and their primary family caregivers will be recruited at the time of cancer diagnosis.  Data on healthcare utilisation, related costs, coping strategies and wellbeing will be gathered using new and existing questionnaires (the Patient-and-Carer Cancer Cost Survey, EQ-5D-3L and the Integrated Palliative Care Outcome Score). Surveys will be repeated at one, three and six months after diagnosis. In the event of the patient’s death, a brief five-item questionnaire on funeral costs will be administered to caregivers not less than two weeks following the date of death. Descriptive and Poisson regression analyses will assess the relationship between exposure to palliative care and total household expenditure from baseline to six months. A sample size of 138 households has been calculated in order to detect a medium effect (as determined by Cohen’s f2=0.15) of receipt of palliative care in a regression model for change in total household out-of-pocket expenditure as a proportion of annual household income. Ethics and dissemination: The study has received ethical approval. Results will be reported using STROBE guidelines and disseminated through scientific meetings, open access publications and a national stakeholder meeting.  Conclusions: This study will provide data on expenditure for healthcare by households affected by cancer in Malawi. We also explore whether receipt of palliative care is associated with a reduction in out-of-pocket expenditure at household level.

Exploring Complicity of Cervical Cancer Screening in Malawi: The Interplay of Behavioral, Cultural, and Societal Influences

Objective

Cervical cancer is preventable, and early diagnosis is possible using low-cost technologies, but a scant number of women receive cancer screening in Malawi. This study aims to identify facilitators and barriers that influence the uptakes of cervical cancer screening behavior in Malawi.

Methods

A rapid ethnographic approach with the goal of optimizing planning for a future intervention study was utilized. Data were collected from three focus groups and seven individual interviews with adults in their communities, stakeholders, and health-care providers.

Results

Three categories (sociocultural influences, access to the health-care system, and individual factors) have emerged as facilitators or barriers to cervical cancer screening among Malawian women. The findings also showed that cervical cancer screening behavior is situated socially through cultural and health-care services of a given community.

Conclusions

Cancer screenings are only sought when illness symptoms persist or worsen. Awareness and knowledge of cervical cancer and cervical cancer screening is low among both health-care providers and the general population. Health-care systems are donor driven and focus on a single disease, health-care access is the greatest challenge to cervical cancer screening, and health-care providers are not adequately prepared to work for rapid increase in the prevalence of cervical cancer. Integrating cervical cancer screening into the existing health-care system is sustainable way forward, and nurses prepared to handle cervical cancer management can play an essential role to promote cervical cancer screening in a health resource-constrained setting.

A tailored approach to building specialized surgical oncology capacity: Early experiences and outcomes in Malawi

Objectives

Cervical cancer can often be cured by surgery alone, if diagnosed and treated early. However, of the cancer patients who live in the world's poorest countries less that 5% have access to safe, effective and timely cancer surgery. We designed a novel, competency-based curriculum to rapidly build surgical capacity for the treatment of cervical cancer. Here we report experiences and early outcomes of its implementation in Malawi.

Methods

Curriculum implementation consisted of preoperative evaluation of patients and surgical video review, discussion of surgical instruments and suture material, deconstruction of the surgical procedure into critical subcomponents including trainees walking through the steps of the procedure with the master trainers, high-volume surgical repetition over a short time interval, intra-operative mentoring, post-operative case review, and mental narration. This was preceded by self-directed learning and followed by clinical mentorship through electronic communication and quarterly on-site visits.

Results

Between June 2015–June 2017, 28 patients underwent radical abdominal hysterectomy with bilateral pelvic lymphadenectomy. The first 8 surgeries were performed over 5 days. After the 7th case the trainee could perform the procedure alone. During and between quarterly mentoring-visits the trainee independently performed the procedure on 20 additional patients. Major surgical complications were rare.

Conclusions

Life-saving surgical treatment for cervical cancer is now available for the first time, as a routine clinical service, in Central/Northern, Malawi.

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Rapidly building surgical capacity for the treatment of cervical cancer in Malawi.

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Initiation of a sustainable gynecologic oncology service platform in Malawi.

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A practical public health solution to cancer control in a region of severe poverty.

Development of multi-disciplinary breast cancer care in Southern Malawi

The Edinburgh Malawi Breast Cancer Project, a collaborative partnership project between the Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital (QECH) Oncology Unit, Blantyre, Malawi and the Edinburgh Cancer Centre, UK, was established in 2015. The principal objective of the project is to help to develop high quality multi-disciplinary breast cancer care in Malawi. A needs assessment identified three priority areas for further improvement of breast cancer services: multi-disciplinary working, development of oestrogen receptor (ER) testing and management of clinical data. A 3-year project plan was implemented which has been conducted through a series of reciprocal training visits. Key achievements to date have been: (1) Development of a new specialist breast care nursing role; (2) Development of multi-disciplinary meetings; (3) Completion of a programme of oncology nursing education; (4) Development of a clinical database that enables prospective collection of data of all new patients with breast cancer; (5) Training of local staff in molecular and conventional approaches to ER testing. The Edinburgh Malawi Breast Cancer Project is supporting nursing education, data use and cross-specialty collaboration that we are confident will improve cancer care in Malawi. Future work will include the development of a breast cancer diagnostic clinic and a breast cancer registry.

Cancer and Palliative Care in the United States, Turkey, and Malawi: Developing Global Collaborations

As the global cancer burden grows, so too will global inequities in access to cancer and palliative care increase. This paper will describe the cancer and palliative care landscape relative to nursing practice, education, and research, and emerging global collaborations in the United States (U.S.), Turkey, and Malawi. It is imperative that nurses lead efforts to advance health and strengthen education in these high-need areas. Leaders within the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Nursing, through a Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization Nursing Collaborating Center, have initiated collaborative projects in cancer and palliative care between the U.S., Turkey, and Malawi to strengthen initiatives that can ultimately transform practice. These collaborations will lay a foundation to empower nurses to lead efforts to reduce the global inequities for those with cancer and other serious and life-limiting illnesses.