objectives Between 2009 and 2012, eight operational research capacity building courses were

Research to policy and practice change: is capacity building in operational research delivering the goods?

Barriers to using eHealth data for clinical performance feedback in Malawi: A case study.

Six new antituberculosis compounds in 4 classes are presently in clinical trials. Although these show substantial promise for drug-resistant (DR) tuberculosis, the presently planned studies of these compounds will not inform their optimal use, as each will be tested singly vs placebo with existing drugs, rather than in new regimens. Each successive regulatory approval will increase the size, cost, and complexity of trials for those that follow, causing delays during which suboptimal use will occur and resistance will emerge. This paper proposes the development of a novel regimen with the potential for use in both drug-sensitive (DS) and DR tuberculosis. Adaptive licensing for DR tuberculosis based on 2-month sputum culture would shorten time to initial approval by several years. A global outcomes registry would confirm safety and effectiveness in both DS and DR tuberculosis, making possible the second transformation of tuberculosis treatment. We should do our utmost to see it succeed.

/pdf/sustainable-tuberculosis-drug-development-3wqssqpsna.pdf

Sustainable Tuberculosis Drug Development

Setting: Sixty-eight primary health facilities, Koinadugu District, rural Sierra Leone. Objectives: Sierra Leone, a country with one of the highest burdens of malaria, was severely affected by the 2014-2015 Ebola virus disease outbreak. In under-five children, we compared trends in the completeness of malaria reports sent to the district office during the pre-Ebola, Ebola and post-Ebola periods, including the number of children with reported fever, malaria diagnostic testing performed and treatment for malaria initiated with artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT). Design: A cross-sectional study. Results: Of 1904 expected malaria reports, 1289 (68%) were received. Completeness of reporting was 61% pre-Ebola, increased to 88% during the outbreak and dropped to 44% post-Ebola (P = 0.003). Total malaria testing (n = 105 558) exceeded the number of fever cases (n = 105 320). Pre-Ebola, 75% (n = 43 245) of all reported fever cases received malaria treatment, dropping to 34% (n = 50 453) during the Ebola outbreak. Of 36 804 confirmed malaria cases during Ebola, 17 438 (47%) were treated, significantly fewer than in the pre-Ebola period (96%, P < 0.001). Of the fever cases, 95% in both the pre- and post-Ebola periods received ACT, a rate that increased to 99% during the Ebola outbreak. Conclusion: Pre-existing gaps in malaria reporting worsened after the Ebola outbreak. Reassuringly, malaria testing matched fever cases, although only half of all confirmed cases received treatment during the outbreak, possibly explained by outbreak-related operational difficulties. These findings could be useful to guide health systems strengthening and recovery.

/pdf/management-of-malaria-in-children-with-fever-in-rural-sierra-3f6oe7mc67.pdf

Management of malaria in children with fever in rural Sierra Leone in relation to the 2014-2015 Ebola outbreak.

Background: Routine monitoring of patients on antiretroviral therapy (ART) is crucial for measuring program success and accurate drug forecasting. However, compiling data from patient registers to measure retention in ART is labour-intensive. To address this challenge, we conducted a pilot study in Malawi to assess whether patient ART retention could be determined using pharmacy records as compared to estimates of retention based on standardized paper- or electronic based cohort reports. Methods: Twelve ART facilities were included in the study: six used paper-based registers and six used electronic data systems. One ART facility implemented an electronic data system in quarter three and was included as a paper-based system facility in quarter two only. Routine patient retention cohort reports, paper or electronic, were collected from facilities for both quarter two [April–June] and quarter three [July–September], 2010. Pharmacy stock data were also collected from the 12 ART facilities over the same period. Numbers of ART continuation bottles recorded on pharmacy stock cards at the beginning and end of each quarter were documented. These pharmacy data were used to calculate the total bottles dispensed to patients in each quarter with intent to estimate the number of patients retained on ART. Information for time required to determine ART retention was gathered through interviews with clinicians tasked with compiling the data. Results: Among ART clinics with paper-based systems, three of six facilities in quarter two and four of five facilities in quarter three had similar numbers of patients retained on ART comparing cohort reports to pharmacy stock records. In ART clinics with electronic systems, five of six facilities in quarter two and five of seven facilities in quarter three had similar numbers of patients retained on ART when comparing retention numbers from electronically generated cohort reports to pharmacy stock records. Among paper-based facilities, an average of 13 4 hours was needed to calculate patient retention for cohort reporting using patient registers as compared to 2.25 hours using pharmacy stock cards. Conclusion: The numbers of patients retained on ART as estimated using pharmacy stock records were largely similar to estimates based on either paper registers or electronic data system. Furthermore, less time and staff effort was needed to estimate ART patient retention using pharmacy stock records versus paper-based registers. Reinforcing ARV stock management may improve the precision of estimates.

https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1186%2F1472-6963-12-210.pdf

Simplifying ART cohort monitoring: Can pharmacy stocks provide accurate estimates of patients retained on antiretroviral therapy in Malawi?

SETTING: Antiretroviral treatment (ART) clinics at one central hospital, three district hospitals and one mission hospital in the central and southern regions of Malawi.

OBJECTIVE: To measure the extent of inaccuracies in the transcription of case registration and recorded deaths between electronic medical data (EMR) and paper registers. This was done to inform the Ministry of Health on the reliability of the paper-based system as backup in case of EMR failure.

DESIGN: Retrospective analysis of routine programme data.

RESULTS: A total of 31 763 registrations and 2922 deaths in the EMR were compared with those in the paper registers. In one hospital, up to 24% of overall case registrations were missing from the paper registers. At other sites, the differences were minor and included duplicate patients who should have been classified as 'transfer in' patients in the paper register. There were major differences in the number of registered deaths in two of the five facilities.

CONCLUSION: There are varying degrees of agreement between the EMR and paper registers which compromise the use of the latter as a backup solution in case of EMR failure. The reasons for this unreliability and ways forward to address the problem are discussed.

/pdf/is-transcription-of-data-on-antiretroviral-treatment-from-55l3gde48h.pdf

Is transcription of data on antiretroviral treatment from electronic to paper-based registers reliable in Malawi?

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Is transcription of data on antiretroviral treatment from electronic to paper-based registers reliable in Malawi?