Does enrollment status in community-based insurance lead to poorer quality of care? Evidence from Burkina Faso

Introduction: In 2004, a community-based health insurance (CBI) scheme was introduced in Nouna health district, Burkina Faso, with the objective of improving financial access to high quality health services. We investigate the role of CBI enrollment in the quality of care provided at primary-care facilities in Nouna district, and measure differences in objective and perceived quality of care and patient satisfaction between enrolled and non-enrolled populations who visit the facilities. Methods: We interviewed a systematic random sample of 398 patients after their visit to one of the thirteen primary-care facilities contracted with the scheme; 34% (n = 135) of the patients were currently enrolled in the CBI scheme. We assessed objective quality of care as consultation, diagnostic and counselling tasks performed by providers during outpatient visits, perceived quality of care as patient evaluations of the structures and processes of service delivery, and overall patient satisfaction. Two-sample t-tests were performed for group comparison and ordinal logistic regression (OLR) analysis was used to estimate the association between CBI enrollment and overall patient satisfaction. Results: Objective quality of care evaluations show that CBI enrollees received substantially less comprehensive care for outpatient services than non-enrollees. In contrast, CBI enrollment was positively associated with overall patient satisfaction (aOR = 1.51, p = 0.014), controlling for potential confounders such as patient socio-economic status, illness symptoms, history of illness and characteristics of care received. Conclusions: CBI patients perceived better quality of care, while objectively receiving worse quality of care, compared to patients who were not enrolled in CBI. Systematic differences in quality of care expectations between CBI enrollees and non-enrollees may explain this finding. One factor influencing quality of care may be the type of provider payment used by the CBI scheme, which has been identified as a leading factor in reducing provider motivation to deliver high quality care to CBI enrollees in previous studies. Based on this study, it is unlikely that perceived quality of care and patient satisfaction explain the low CBI enrollment rates in this community

Health Worker Preferences for Community-Based Health Insurance Payment Mechanisms: A Discrete Choice Experiment

Background: In 2004, a community-based health insurance scheme (CBI) was introduced in Nouna health district, Burkina Faso. Since its inception, coverage has remained low and dropout rates high. One important reason for low coverage and high dropout is that health workers do not support the CBI scheme because they are dissatisfied with the provider payment mechanism of the CBI. Methods: A discrete choice experiment (DCE) was used to examine CBI provider payment attributes that influence health workers’ stated preferences for payment mechanisms. The DCE was conducted among 176 health workers employed at one of the 34 primary care facilities or the district hospital in Nouna health district. Conditional logit models with main effects and interactions terms were used for analysis. Results: Reimbursement of service fees (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) 1.49, p < 0.001) and CBI contributions for medical supplies and equipment (aOR 1.47, p < 0.001) had the strongest effect on whether the health workers chose a given provider payment mechanism. The odds of selecting a payment mechanism decreased significantly if the mechanism included (i) results-based financing (RBF) payments made through the local health management team (instead of directly to the health workers (aOR 0.86, p < 0.001)) or (ii) RBF payments based on CBI coverage achieved in the health worker’s facility relative to the coverage achieved at other facilities (instead of payments based on the numbers of individuals or households enrolled at the health worker’s facility (aOR 0.86, p < 0.001)). Conclusions: Provider payment mechanisms can crucially determine CBI performance. Based on the results from this DCE, revised CBI payment mechanisms were introduced in Nouna health district in January 2011, taking into consideration health worker preferences on how they are paid

Implémentation du Field Epidemiology Training Programme Frontline au Burkina Faso, 2016 à 2019: leçons apprises et Défis: Implementation of the Frontline Field Epidemiology Training Programme in Burkina Faso, 2016 to 2019: Lessons Learned and Challenges

Introduction: Dans le contexte de l'agenda de la sécurité mondiale de la santé lancé en 2015. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC Atlanta) a initié le renforcement de capacités des acteurs dans l'épidémiologie de terrain Frontline (FETP). Pour l'implémentation du programme, des réunions, une évaluation de base, le recrutement et formation de mentors, sélection et formation de participants en utilisant l'approche « One Health », travaux de terrain, supervision et interviews de sortie ont été menés. Au Burkina Faso ce programme a commencé en avril 2016. L'objectif de cette étude était de décrire le processus d'implémentation, les défis et les leçons apprises. Méthodes: Une étude transversale rétrospective qualitative à visée descriptive conduite d'avril 2016 à septembre 2019 incluant tous les participants. Des interviews et une revue documentaire avaient été réalisés. Résultats: L'évaluation de base avait montré un besoin dans le renforcement des capacités pour le système de surveillance. Au total 22 mentors formés. Fin décembre 2019, neuf cohortes (100%) formées dont 6 (75%) avec approche « One Health ». Au total 210 participants devraient être formés sans distinction de sexe, ainsi 267 capacités (127%). Sur les 267 formés, 22 femmes (8%). Deux qui n'ont pas achevé la formation (0,7%), un décès (0,3%). Au total 1040 travaux réalisés. Les défis restent le suivi post formation, les mutations des agents formés et la pérennisation. Conclusion: L'implémentation de FETP Frontline au Burkina Faso a été effective et a fait face à plusieurs défis et des leçons apprises ont été tirées. Il est recommandé la poursuite de ces formations pour le renforcement des capacités des acteurs de la surveillance. Introduction: In the context of the global health security agenda launched in 2015, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC Atlanta) initiated capacity building for stakeholders in Frontline Field Epidemiology (FETP). To implement the programme, meetings, a baseline assessment, recruitment and training of mentors, selection and training of participants using the "One Health" approach, fieldwork, supervision and exit interviews were conducted. In Burkina Faso this programme started in April 2016. The objective of this study was to describe the implementation process, challenges and lessons learned. Methods: A retrospective qualitative descriptive cross-sectional study conducted from April 2016 to September 2019 including all participants. Interviews and a literature review were conducted. Results: The baseline assessment showed a need in capacity building for the surveillance system. In total 22 mentors trained. By the end of December 2019, nine cohorts (100%) trained, of which six (75%) with a "One Health" approach. A total of 210 participants should be trained regardless of gender, thus 267 were trained (127%). Of the 267 trained, 22 were women (8%). Two did not complete the training (0.7%), one died (0.3%). A total of 1,040 works were completed. The challenges remain post-training follow-up, transfers of trained agents and sustainability. Conclusion: The implementation of FETP Frontline in Burkina Faso was effective, faced several challenges and lessons were learned. It is recommended that these training sessions be continued in order to strengthen the capacities of surveillance actors

Etiology and risk factors for meningitis during an outbreak in Batié Health District, Burkina Faso, January-March 2016

Introduction: On 16 March 2016, Batié Health District notified the Burkina Faso Ministry of Health Surveillance unit of 12 suspected cases of meningitis. During the same period, Batié´s neighboring districts in Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana were experiencing a meningitis epidemic. We investigated to establish the etiology and risk factors for the disease and to recommend prevention and control measures. Methods: We conducted unmatched case control study. A case was any person living in Batié with fever (temp. ≥ 38.5°C) and any of the following: neck stiffness, neurological disorder, bulging fontanelle, convulsion during January to April 2016 with cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) positive to PCR. Controls were non sick household members, neighbors or friends to the cases. We analyzed the investigation and laboratory records. We included all confirmed cases and two neighborhood controls per case. We used a standard questionnaire to collect data. We analyzed data by Epi info 7 and calculated odds ratio (ORs),adjusted odds ratios (AOR) and 95% confidence interval. We proceeded to univariate, bivariate, multivariate and logistic regression analysis. Results: We interviewed 93 participants including 31 meningitis cases and 62 controls. The median age of cases was 8 years old [2 months-55 years] and 6.5 years old [5 months-51 years] for controls. Streptococcus pneumoniae 16(51.61%), Neisseria meningitidis W 14(45.16%) and Haemophilus influenzae b 1(3.23%) were the identified germs. The independent risk factors identified were travel to meningitis affected areas (Adjusted odd ratio(AOR)=12[2.3-60],p=0.0029); &gt;5 persons sharing bedroom (AOR=5.7[1.5-22],p=0.012) and rhinopharyngitis (AOR=26[1.8-380],p=0.017). Conclusion: Streptococcus pneumoniae and Neisseria meningitidis W caused the outbreak in Batié. The risk factors were overcrowding, travel to affected areas, and rhinopharyngitis. We recommended reactive vaccination against Neisseria meningitidis W, limited travel to affected areas and ventilation of rooms

Ampleur de la dengue dans la ville de Ouagadougou, Burkina-Faso, 2016: Magnitude of dengue fever in the city of Ouagadougou, Burkina-Faso, 2016

Introduction: En Octobre 2016, le Burkina Faso a connu une flambée de cas de dengue dont l’ampleur est peu connue. Aussi aucune étude n’a été réalisée durant les dix dernières années, donnant lieu à un manque d’information actualisée sur sa prévalence et son incidence. Cette étude avait pour objectif de déterminer l’ampleur de la dengue à Ouagadougou et le type de virus circulant. Méthodes: Nous avons mené une étude transversale sur les cas de dengue enregistrés dans les formations sanitaires (FS) de la ville de Ouagadougou du 1er août au 31 décembre 2016. Un cas de dengue était défini comme toute personne résident dans la ville de Ouagadougou présentant une maladie fébrile aiguë (2-7 jours), avec au moins deux des symptômes suivants : céphalées, douleur rétro-orbitale, myalgie, arthralgie, éruption cutanée, manifestations hémorragiques, syndrome de choc et un test biologique positif à la PCR ou avec TDR-Dengue positif ayant un lien épidémiologique avec un cas confirmé. Nous avons réalisé une recherche active des cas à travers une revue documentaire des registres de laboratoire, consultation et/ou d’hospitalisation des FS, Une fiche de collecte a été utilisée pour recueillir les caractéristiques sociodémographiques, cliniques, biologiques des cas. Résultats: Au total, 5094 cas de dengue ont été enregistrés dans les FS. L’âge médian était de 27 ans avec un intervalle interquartile de 16 à 37 ans. Quinze cas (51,72%) ont été testés positifs à la PCR dont 10 (66,67%) au DENV2 et 5 (33,33%) au DENV3. Parmi les cas, 2569 (50,76%) étaient de sexe féminin et 1494 (28,16%) cas avaient été hospitalisés. Sur les cas recensés, 73% avaient été notifiés par les structures privées et 3174 (88,88%) étaient des éleves/étudiants ou fonctionnaires ou commerçants. Le taux d’attaque global était de 201 cas (5094/2532311) pour 100000 habitants. Le taux de létalité était de 35/5094 (0,69%). Conclusion: Le taux d’attaque global de la dengue en 2016 était de 201 cas pour 100000 habitants. La dengue touchait plus les adultes jeunes surtout les élèves/étudiants et les fonctionnaires et était causée par les types 2 et 3. Les cas étaient plus notifiés par les structures privées. Une surveillance hebdomadaire associée à une surveil-lance sentinelle et la sensibilisation de la population sur la dengue contribueraient à endiguer ce fléau au Burki-na Faso. Background: In October 2016, Burkina Faso experienced an outbreak of dengue fever that the magnitude is little known. Also, no studies have been performed in the past ten years, giving rise to a lack of updated information on its prevalence and incidence. We conducted an investigation to determine the magnitude of dengue fever in Ouagadougou’s city and the type of virus circulating. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study on the cases of dengue recorded in health facilities (HF) in Ouagadougou’s city from August 1st to December 31st, 2016. We defined a case of dengue as any person resident in the city of Ouagadougou with acute febrile illness (2-7days), with at least two of the following symptoms (headache, retro-orbital pain, myalgia, arthralgia, rash, hemorrhagic manifestations, shock syndrome) and a positive PCR test or with dengue-RDT positive, having an epidemiological link with a confirmed case. We carried out an active search for cases through a documentary review of laboratory, consultation and/or hospitalization registers of HF, used a file to collect the socio-demographic, clinical and biological characteristics of the cases. Results: A total of 5094 cases of dengue fever were recorded in the HF. The median age was 27 years with an interquartile range of 16 to 37 years old. Fifteen (51.72%) cases tested positive with PCR including 10(66.67%) for DENV2 and 5(33.33%) for DENV3. Among the cases, 2,569(50.76%) were female and 1,494(28.16%) cases were hospitalized. Of the cases listed, 73% were notified by private’s hospitals and 3,174 (88.88%) were pupils/students or civil servants or traders. The overall attack rate was 201 cases (5094/2532311) per 100,000 populations. The case fatality rate was 35/5094 (0.69%). Conclusion: The overall dengue attack rate in 2016 was 201 cases per 100,000 populations. Dengue more affected young adults especially the pupils/students or civil servants and was caused by types 2 and 3. The cases were more notified by the private hospitals. We recommend weekly surveillance, sentinel surveillance and public awareness of dengue fever

Health system performance for people with diabetes in 28 low- and middle-income countries:A cross-sectional study of nationally representative surveys

International audienceThe prevalence of diabetes is increasing rapidly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), urgently requiring detailed evidence to guide the response of health systems to this epidemic. In an effort to understand at what step in the diabetes care continuum individuals are lost to care, and how this varies between countries and population groups, this study examined health system performance for diabetes among adults in 28 LMICs using a cascade of care approach

The state of hypertension care in 44 low-income and middle-income countries:a cross-sectional study of nationally representative individual-level data from 1·1 million adults

Evidence from nationally representative studies in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) on where in the hypertension care continuum patients are lost to care is sparse. This information, however, is essential for effective targeting of interventions by health services and monitoring progress in improving hypertension care. We aimed to determine the cascade of hypertension care in 44 LMICs-and its variation between countries and population groups-by dividing the progression in the care process, from need of care to successful treatment, into discrete stages and measuring the losses at each stage. In this cross-sectional study, we pooled individual-level population-based data from 44 LMICs. We first searched for nationally representative datasets from the WHO Stepwise Approach to Surveillance (STEPS) from 2005 or later. If a STEPS dataset was not available for a LMIC (or we could not gain access to it), we conducted a systematic search for survey datasets; the inclusion criteria in these searches were that the survey was done in 2005 or later, was nationally representative for at least three 10-year age groups older than 15 years, included measured blood pressure data, and contained data on at least two hypertension care cascade steps. Hypertension was defined as a systolic blood pressure of at least 140 mm Hg, diastolic blood pressure of at least 90 mm Hg, or reported use of medication for hypertension. Among those with hypertension, we calculated the proportion of individuals who had ever had their blood pressure measured; had been diagnosed with hypertension; had been treated for hypertension; and had achieved control of their hypertension. We weighted countries proportionally to their population size when determining this hypertension care cascade at the global and regional level. We disaggregated the hypertension care cascade by age, sex, education, household wealth quintile, body-mass index, smoking status, country, and region. We used linear regression to predict, separately for each cascade step, a country's performance based on gross domestic product (GDP) per capita, allowing us to identify countries whose performance fell outside of the 95% prediction interval. Our pooled dataset included 1 100 507 participants, of whom 192 441 (17·5%) had hypertension. Among those with hypertension, 73·6% of participants (95% CI 72·9-74·3) had ever had their blood pressure measured, 39·2% of participants (38·2-40·3) had been diagnosed with hypertension, 29·9% of participants (28·6-31·3) received treatment, and 10·3% of participants (9·6-11·0) achieved control of their hypertension. Countries in Latin America and the Caribbean generally achieved the best performance relative to their predicted performance based on GDP per capita, whereas countries in sub-Saharan Africa performed worst. Bangladesh, Brazil, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Kyrgyzstan, and Peru performed significantly better on all care cascade steps than predicted based on GDP per capita. Being a woman, older, more educated, wealthier, and not being a current smoker were all positively associated with attaining each of the four steps of the care cascade. Our study provides important evidence for the design and targeting of health policies and service interventions for hypertension in LMICs. We show at what steps and for whom there are gaps in the hypertension care process in each of the 44 countries in our study. We also identified countries in each world region that perform better than expected from their economic development, which can direct policy makers to important policy lessons. Given the high disease burden caused by hypertension in LMICs, nationally representative hypertension care cascades, as constructed in this study, are an important measure of progress towards achieving universal health coverage. Harvard McLennan Family Fund, Alexander von Humboldt Foundation

Association between country preparedness indicators and quality clinical care for cardiovascular disease risk factors in 44 lower- and middle-income countries:A multicountry analysis of survey data

BackgroundCardiovascular diseases are leading causes of death, globally, and health systems that deliver quality clinical care are needed to manage an increasing number of people with risk factors for these diseases. Indicators of preparedness of countries to manage cardiovascular disease risk factors (CVDRFs) are regularly collected by ministries of health and global health agencies. We aimed to assess whether these indicators are associated with patient receipt of quality clinical care.Methods and findingsWe did a secondary analysis of cross-sectional, nationally representative, individual-patient data from 187,552 people with hypertension (mean age 48.1 years, 53.5% female) living in 43 low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) and 40,795 people with diabetes (mean age 52.2 years, 57.7% female) living in 28 LMICs on progress through cascades of care (condition diagnosed, treated, or controlled) for diabetes or hypertension, to indicate outcomes of provision of quality clinical care. Data were extracted from national-level World Health Organization (WHO) Stepwise Approach to Surveillance (STEPS), or other similar household surveys, conducted between July 2005 and November 2016. We used mixed-effects logistic regression to estimate associations between each quality clinical care outcome and indicators of country development (gross domestic product [GDP] per capita or Human Development Index [HDI]); national capacity for the prevention and control of noncommunicable diseases ('NCD readiness indicators' from surveys done by WHO); health system finance (domestic government expenditure on health [as percentage of GDP], private, and out-of-pocket expenditure on health [both as percentage of current]); and health service readiness (number of physicians, nurses, or hospital beds per 1,000 people) and performance (neonatal mortality rate). All models were adjusted for individual-level predictors including age, sex, and education. In an exploratory analysis, we tested whether national-level data on facility preparedness for diabetes were positively associated with outcomes. Associations were inconsistent between indicators and quality clinical care outcomes. For hypertension, GDP and HDI were both positively associated with each outcome. Of the 33 relationships tested between NCD readiness indicators and outcomes, only two showed a significant positive association: presence of guidelines with being diagnosed (odds ratio [OR], 1.86 [95% CI 1.08-3.21], p = 0.03) and availability of funding with being controlled (OR, 2.26 [95% CI 1.09-4.69], p = 0.03). Hospital beds (OR, 1.14 [95% CI 1.02-1.27], p = 0.02), nurses/midwives (OR, 1.24 [95% CI 1.06-1.44], p = 0.006), and physicians (OR, 1.21 [95% CI 1.11-1.32], p ConclusionIn this study, we observed that indicators of country preparedness to deal with CVDRFs are poor proxies for quality clinical care received by patients for hypertension and diabetes. The major implication is that assessments of countries' preparedness to manage CVDRFs should not rely on proxies; rather, it should involve direct assessment of quality clinical care

Multiple cardiovascular risk factor care in 55 low- and middle-income countries:A cross-sectional analysis of nationally-representative, individual-level data from 280,783 adults

The prevalence of multiple age-related cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors is high among individuals living in low- and middle-income countries. We described receipt of healthcare services for and management of hypertension and diabetes among individuals living with these conditions using individual-level data from 55 nationally representative population-based surveys (2009–2019) with measured blood pressure (BP) and diabetes biomarker. We restricted our analysis to non-pregnant individuals aged 40–69 years and defined three mutually exclusive groups (i.e., hypertension only, diabetes only, and both hypertension-diabetes) to compare individuals living with concurrent hypertension and diabetes to individuals with each condition separately. We included 90,086 individuals who lived with hypertension only, 11,975 with diabetes only, and 16,228 with hypertension-diabetes. We estimated the percentage of individuals who were aware of their diagnosis, used pharmacological therapy, or achieved appropriate hypertension and diabetes management. A greater percentage of individuals with hypertension-diabetes were fully diagnosed (64.1% [95% CI: 61.8–66.4]) than those with hypertension only (47.4% [45.3–49.6]) or diabetes only (46.7% [44.1–49.2]). Among the hypertension-diabetes group, pharmacological treatment was higher for individual conditions (38.3% [95% CI: 34.8–41.8] using antihypertensive and 42.3% [95% CI: 39.4–45.2] using glucose-lowering medications) than for both conditions jointly (24.6% [95% CI: 22.1–27.2]).The percentage of individuals achieving appropriate management was highest in the hypertension group (17.6% [16.4–18.8]), followed by diabetes (13.3% [10.7–15.8]) and hypertension-diabetes (6.6% [5.4–7.8]) groups. Although health systems in LMICs are reaching a larger share of individuals living with both hypertension and diabetes than those living with just one of these conditions, only seven percent achieved both BP and blood glucose treatment targets. Implementation of cost-effective population-level interventions that shift clinical care paradigm from disease-specific to comprehensive CVD care are urgently needed for all three groups, especially for those with multiple CVD risk factors

Clinical presentation, outcomes and factors associated with mortality: A prospective study from three COVID-19 referral care centres in West Africa

OBJECTIVES: The overall death toll from COVID-19 in Africa is reported to be low but there is little individual-level evidence on the severity of the disease. This study examined the clinical spectrum and outcome of patients monitored in COVID-19 care centres (CCCs) in two West-African countries. METHODS: Burkina Faso and Guinea set up referral CCCs to hospitalise all symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 carriers, regardless of the severity of their symptoms. Data collected from hospitalised patients by November 2020 are presented. RESULT: A total of 1,805 patients (64% men, median age 41 years) were admitted with COVID-19. Symptoms lasted for a median of 7 days (IQR 4-11). During hospitalisation, 443 (25%) had a SpO2 < 94% at least once, 237 (13%) received oxygen and 266 (15%) took corticosteroids. Mortality was 5% overall, and 1%, 5% and 14% in patients aged <40, 40-59 and ≥60 years, respectively. In multivariable analysis, the risk of death was higher in men (aOR 2.0, 95% CI 1.1; 3.6), people aged ≥60 years (aOR 2.9, 95% CI 1.7; 4.8) and those with chronic hypertension (aOR 2.1, 95% CI 1.2; 3.4). CONCLUSION: COVID-19 is as severe in Africa as elsewhere, and there must be more vigilance for common risk factors such as older age and hypertension