Evaluations of effective coverage of maternal and child health services: A systematic review.

Conventionally used coverage measures do not reflect the quality of care. Effective coverage (EC) assesses the extent to which health care services deliver potential health gains to the population by integrating concepts of utilization, need and quality. We aimed to conduct a systematic review of studies evaluating EC of maternal and child health services, quality measurement strategies and disparities across wealth quantiles. A systematic search was performed in six electronic databases [MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health (CINAHL), Scopus, Web of Science and Maternity and Infant Care] and grey literature. We also undertook a hand search of references. We developed search terms having no restrictions based on publication period, country or language. We included studies which reported EC estimates based on the World Health Organization framework of measuring EC. Twenty-seven studies, all from low- and middle-income settings (49 countries), met the criteria and were included in the narrative synthesis of the results. Maternal and child health intervention(s) and programme(s) were assessed either at an individual level or as an aggregated measure of health system performance or both. The EC ranged from 0% for post-partum care to 95% for breastfeeding. When crude coverage measures were adjusted to account for the quality of care, the EC values turned lower. The gap between crude coverage and EC was as high as 86%, and it signified a low quality of care. The assessment of the quality of care addressed structural, process and outcome domains individually or combined. The wealthiest 20% had higher EC of services than the poorest 20%, an inequitable distribution of coverage. More efforts are needed to improve the quality of maternal and child health services and to eliminate the disparities. Moreover, considering multiple dimensions of quality and the use of standard measurements are recommended to monitor coverage effectively

Assessing the efficacy of cancer screening

© 2017 Jacklyn et al. Background: Population-based cancer screening has been established for several types of cancer in Australia and internationally. Screening may perform differently in practice from randomised controlled trials, which makes evaluating programs complex. Materials and methods: We discuss how to assess the evidence of benefits and harms of cancer screening, including the main biases that can mislead clinicians and policy makers (such as volunteer, lead-time, length-time and overdiagnosis bias). We also discuss ways in which communication of risks can inform or mislead the community. Results: The evaluation of cancer screening programs should involve balancing the benefits and harms. When considering the overall worth of an intervention and allocation of scarce health resources, decisions should focus on the net benefits and be informed by systematic reviews. Communication of screening outcomes can be misleading. Many messages highlight the benefits while downplaying the harms, and often use relative risks and 5-year survival to persuade people to screen rather than support informed choice. Lessons learned: An evidence based approach is essential when evaluating and communicating the benefits and harms of cancer screening, to minimise misleading biases and the reliance on intuition

Allied health leadership in New South Wales: A study of perceptions and priorities of allied health leaders

© AHHA 2018. Objective. The aim of the present study was to investigate the opinions and perceptions of senior allied health (AH) leaders in relation to AH leadership, governance and organisation from an Australian public health perspective. The target group was the New South Wales (NSW) Health AH directors or advisors, the most senior public AH professionals in NSW. Methods. The study was conducted over a 6-month period in 2014-15 and comprised two parts: (1) data collection through a 46-question online survey that sought the views of AH leaders about the field of AH in NSW; and (2) two confirmatory focus groups with members of the NSW Health Allied Health Directors Committee. Results. The online questionnaire generated novel information about the field of AH in the public sector of NSW, including the current organisation, governance and culture of AH. Focus group participants explored key findings in greater depth, including the effects of AH on and value of AH to the health system as a whole, as well as the attributes and competencies required by AH leaders. Participants identified the need to build and grow their influence, to more clearly demonstrate AH's contribution and to realign efforts towards more strategic issues influencing governance, performance, professional standards and advocacy. This entailed broadening the vision and scope of AH Directors as well as across discipline leaders. Conclusion. The results provide new information about Australian AH leadership, governance, culture and organisation, and highlight potential priorities for future leadership activities

Legacy effect of fibrate add-on therapy in diabetic patients with dyslipidemia: a secondary analysis of the ACCORDION study.

BACKGROUND:The Action to Control Cardiovascular Risk in Diabetes (ACCORD)-Lipid study found no evidence of a beneficial effect of statin-fibrate combined treatment, compared to statins alone, on cardiovascular outcomes and mortality in type 2 diabetes mellitus after 5 years of active treatment. However, a beneficial reduction in major CVD events was shown in a pre-specified sub-group of participants with dyslipidemia. The extended follow-up of this trial provides the opportunity to further investigate possible beneficial effects of fibrates in this group of patients. We aimed to evaluate possible "legacy effects" of fibrate add-on therapy on mortality and major cardiovascular outcomes in patients with dyslipidemia. METHODS:The ACCORD-lipid study was a randomized controlled trial of 5518 participants assigned to receive simvastatin plus fenofibrate vs simvastatin plus placebo. After randomized treatment allocation had finished at the end of the trial, all surviving participants were invited to attend an extended follow-up study (ACCORDION) to continue prospective collection of clinical outcomes. We undertook a secondary analysis of trial and post-trial data in patients who had dyslipidemia. The primary outcome was all-cause and cardiovascular mortality, and secondary outcomes were nonfatal myocardial infarction, stroke, congestive heart failure and major coronary heart disease. We used an intention-to-treat approach to analysis to make comparisons between the original randomized treatment groups. RESULTS:853 participants with dyslipidemia had survived at the end of the trial. Most participants continued to use statins, but few used fibrates in either group during the post-trial period. The incidence rates in the fenofibrate group were lower with respect to all-cause mortality, CVD mortality, nonfatal myocardial infarction, congestive heart failure and major coronary heart disease than those in the placebo group over a post-trial follow-up. Allocation to the combined fibrate-statin treatment arm during the trial period had a beneficial legacy effect on all-cause mortality (adjusted HR = 0.65, 95% CI 0.45-0.94; P = 0.02). CONCLUSIONS:Fibrate treatment during the initial trial period was associated with a legacy benefit of improved survival over a post-trial follow-up. These findings support re-evaluation of fibrates as an add-on strategy to statins in order to reduce cardiovascular risk in diabetic patients with dyslipidemia. Trial registration clinicaltrials.gov, Identifier: NCT00000620

Geographical accessibility of emergency neonatal care services in Ethiopia: analysis using the 2016 Ethiopian Emergency Obstetric and Neonatal Care Survey.

INTRODUCTION: Access to emergency neonatal health services has not been explored widely in the Ethiopian context. Accessibility to health services is a function of the distribution and location of services, including distance, travel time, cost and convenience. Measuring the physical accessibility of health services contributes to understanding the performance of health systems, thereby enabling evidence-based health planning and policies. The physical accessibility of Ethiopian health services, particularly emergency neonatal care (EmNeC) services, is unknown. OBJECTIVE: To analyse the physical accessibility of EmNeC services at the national and subnational levels in Ethiopia. METHODS: We analysed the physical accessibility of EmNeC services within 30, 60 and 120 min of travel time in Ethiopia at a national and subnational level. We used the 2016 Ethiopian Emergency Obstetric and Neonatal Care survey in addition to several geospatial data sources. RESULTS: We estimated that 21.4%, 35.9% and 46.4% of live births in 2016 were within 30, 60 and 120 min of travel time of fully EmNeC services, but there was considerable variation across regions. Addis Ababa and the Hareri regional state had full access (100% coverage) to EmNeC services within 2 hours travel time, while the Afar (15.3%) and Somali (16.3%) regional states had the lowest access. CONCLUSIONS: The physical access to EmNeC services in Ethiopia is well below the universal health coverage expectations stated by the United Nations. Increasing the availability of EmNeC to health facilities where routine delivery services currently are taking place would significantly increase physical access. Our results reinforce the need to revise service allocations across administrative regions and consider improving disadvantaged areas in future health service planning

Estimated legacy effects from simulated post-trial data were less biased than from combined trial/post-trial data

© 2019 Elsevier Inc. Objectives: “Legacy effects” describe the phenomena where treatment effects are apparent during the post-trial period that are not attributable to the direct effects observed within the trial. We investigate different approaches to analysis of trial and extended follow-up data for the evaluation of legacy effects. Study Design and Setting: We conducted a simulation to compare three approaches, which differed in terms of the time period and selection of trial participants included in the analysis. Results: The most common approach used for estimating legacy effects in the literature, which combines initial trial and post-trial follow-up data, gave the most biased estimates. Approaches using post–randomized controlled trial data had better performance in most scenarios. When the size of the legacy effect was set to differ according to whether or not drugs were taken after trial, the stratified approach using post-trial data but only from participants taking the drug after trial was less biased but often had lower power to detect a legacy effect. Conclusion: When estimating legacy effects, approaches to analysis that are restricted to post-trial follow-up data are preferred. If data are available on participant drug use after trial, then both stratified and unstratified approaches to analysis of the post-trial data should be investigated

Developing allied health leaders to enhance person-centred healthcare

© 2018, Emerald Publishing Limited. Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to present findings from a mixed methods study investigating leadership development of allied health practitioners within a large public healthcare organization in Australia. Design/methodology/approach: The South Eastern Sydney Local Health District Allied Health Leadership Development Program was undertaken with an allied health cohort (n=16) between May 2014 and March 2015 and comprised all-day workshops, action learning sets and individual coaching. Using experiential learning, the program tested whether practice development methods and action learning approaches developed the leadership skills of participants compared with a control group (n=17). Descriptive statistics were collected to evaluate participant and program outcomes. Leadership, workplace culture and engagement measures were analyzed as part of the study. Findings: The Allied Health Leadership Development Program received high ratings by participants. They reported enhanced skills in leading self and others through mechanisms such as critical reflection and facilitation, and greater confidence managing change and with engaging staff, colleagues and patients in decision making, affecting the quality and safety of healthcare. Statistically significant differences were found with transformational leadership elements, leadership outcomes, and measures of workplace culture and engagement after program completion for intervention group participants, compared with the control group. Research limitations/implications: Results provide new empirical evidence about the effectiveness of using practice development for allied health leadership development. Practical implications: This low-cost leadership program can be replicated by other organizations. Originality/value: Outcomes from an Allied Health Leadership Development Program have not been previously reported in the literature

Bayesian spatial analysis of factors influencing neonatal mortality and its geographic variation in Ethiopia.

BACKGROUND: Ethiopia is a Sub-Saharan country with very high neonatal mortality rates, varying across its regions. The rate of neonatal mortality reduction in Ethiopia is slow, and Ethiopia may not meet the third United Nations sustainable development target by 2030. This study aimed to investigate the spatial variations and contributing factors for neonatal mortality rates in Ethiopia. METHODS: We analysed data from the 2016 Ethiopian Demographic and Health Survey (EDHS), which used a two-stage cluster sampling technique with a census enumeration area as primary and households as secondary sampling units. A Bayesian spatial logistic regression model using the Stochastic Partial Differential Equation (SPDE) method was fitted accounting for socio-economic, health service-related and geographic factors. RESULTS: Higher neonatal mortality rates were observed in eastern, northeastern and southeastern Ethiopia, and the Somali region had higher risks of neonatal mortality. Neonates from frequently drought-affected areas had a higher mortality risk than less drought-affected areas. Application of traditional substances on the cord increased the risk of neonatal mortality (Adjusted Odds Ratio (AOR) = 2.07, 95% Credible Interval (CrI): 1.12 to 4.30) and getting health facility delivery services had a lower odds of neonatal mortality (AOR = 0.60, 95% CrI: 0.37, 0.98). CONCLUSIONS: Residing in drought-affected areas, applying traditional substances on the umbilical cord and not delivering at health facilities were associated with a higher risk of neonatal mortality. Policy-makers and resource administrators at different administrative levels could leverage the findings to prioritise and target areas identified with higher neonatal mortality rates

Predictors of Early Introduction of Core and Discretionary Foods in Australian Infants-Results from HSHK Birth Cohort Study.

Early introduction of complementary foods can have a detrimental impact on children's long-term health. This study examined the timing and determinants of early introduction of core and discretionary foods among infants in Sydney, Australia. Mothers (n = 1035) from an ongoing population-based birth cohort study were interviewed at 8, 17, 34 and 52 weeks postpartum. The outcome was 'age at which particular core and discretionary food items were first introduced'. Multivariable logistic regression models were used to investigate family and infant-related determinants of early introduction of core (<17 weeks of age) and discretionary foods (<52 weeks of age). Of the 934 mother-infant dyads interviewed, 12% (n = 113) of infants were introduced core foods before 17 weeks of age (median: 22). Mothers working part-time (adjusted odds ratio (OR): 3.42, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.54-7.62) and those exclusively formula-feeding their babies at four-weeks postpartum (adjusted OR 3.26, 95% CI: 1.99-5.33) were most likely to introduce core foods early. Ninety-five percent (n = 858) of infants were introduced discretionary foods before 52 weeks of age (median: 28). Low socio-economic status was significantly associated with early introduction of discretionary foods (adjusted OR: 3.72, 95% CI: 1.17-11.78). Compliance with infant feeding guidelines related to core foods was better; however, discretionary foods were introduced early in most infants