Determining the Impact of a School-Based Health Education Package for Prevention of Intestinal Worm Infections in the Philippines: Protocol for a Cluster Randomized Intervention Trial

Repeated mass drug administration (MDA) of antihelminthics to at-risk populations is still the main strategy for the control of soil-transmitted helminth (STH) infections. However, MDA, as a stand-alone intervention, does not prevent reinfection. Accordingly, complementary measures to prevent STH reinfection, such as health education and improved sanitation, as part of an integrated control approach, are required to augment the effectiveness of MDA for optimal efficiency and sustainabilitythe UBS-Optimus Foundation, Switzerlan

Teaching cause-of-death certification: Lessons from international experience

The accuracy of cause-of-death statistics substantially depends on the quality of cause-of-death information in death certificates, primarily completed by medical doctors. Deficiencies in cause-of-death certification have been observed across the world, and over time. Despite educational interventions targeting to improve the quality of death certification, their intended impacts are rarely evaluated. This review aims to provide empirical evidence that could guide the modification of existing educational programs, or the development of new interventions, which are necessary to improve the capacity of certifiers as well as the quality of cause-of-death certification, and thereby, the quality of mortality statistics

Building health systems capacity: an introductory training course on health information systems

The inadequate capacity of health information systems (HIS) in developing countries of Asia and the Pacific has been an ongoing issue. Training of data producers and data users in generating, analysing and using data has been identified as a key option in strengthening HIS in the region and consequently building health system capacity. Accordingly, the HIS Knowledge Hub at the School of Population Health, the University of Queensland, has developed HIS curriculum, piloted and evaluated the course. Experiences in the development and design of the curriculum, and delivery and evaluation of the course, are presented in this article. The participants evaluated that the course met their expectations in usefulness to their roles, demonstrated adequate HIS knowledge and skills in their group presentations at the end of the course, and applied what they learnt from the course in their workplace

Joint influence of patient-assessed chronic illness care and patient activation on glycaemic control in type 2 diabetes

To examine the association of the Patient Assessment of Chronic Illness Care (PACIC) with glycaemic control and the modulating effect of patient activation on this association

Association between patient activation and patient-assessed quality of care in type 2 diabetes: Results of a longitudinal study

BackgroundPrevious research using cross-sectional data has shown a positive relationship between patient activation and quality of care. The quantitative relationships in the same patients over time, however, remain undefined

The impact of concordant and discordant comorbidities on patient-assessed quality of diabetes care

Objective To examine the impact of concordant and discordant comorbidities on patients' assessments of providers' adherence to diabetes-specific care guidelines and quality of chronic illness care