Validation transculturelle d'une échelle en contexte humanitaire : dépistage des difficultés psychologiques du jeune enfant haoussa au Niger (Maradi)

Psychological difficulties are sometimes difficult to assess during a medical consultation by a non-specialist (psychologist, psychiatrist). This is especially the case when it comes to young children, in humanitarian intervention contexts, entailing an insufficient answer to the needs of mental health care. The lack of cross culturally validated tools that meet the requirement of such intervention, fast and simple to identify the needs combined with a lack of professional involve difficulties even impossibility of implementing appropriate care. In this study, we implemented a cross cultural validation of a screening tool for psychological difficulties in humanitarian context for children aged 3 to 6 years old, the PSYCa 3-6 (Psychological Screening tool for Young Children aged 3 to 6 years old). This tool was originally created and developed during a humanitarian intervention; its content has been refined and modified along its use. The main validation took place in Niger, and two additional validations have been implemented in Colombia and Kenya. In total, 888 children aged 3 to 6 years were recruited between October 2009 and February 2012. Qualitative research has been also implemented to collect information regarding the local perception of psychological difficulties, prior to the validation. Quantitative research has focused on the psychometric and clinical properties of the tool. The three versions, Hausa, Spanish and Swahili showed adequate psychometric and clinical qualities including a good concurrent validity, scores being correlated with the gold standard. Qualitative research was used to refine and to strengthen the results. To our knowledge, this is the first validation of a screening tool for preschool children including a cross cultural component for use in several humanitarian contexts. Such tools, cross culturally validated in several contexts, are a key component to promote access to mental health care for children, often not on the list of priorities during the interventions.Les difficultés psychologiques sont parfois difficiles à évaluer au cours d'une consultation médicale par un non professionnel (psychologue, psychiatre). Ceci est d'autant plus vrai dans le cas particulier des jeunes enfants lors d'interventions humanitaires, ce qui conduit souvent à une réponse insuffisante aux besoins de soins psychiques. Le manque d'outils validés de manière transculturelle qui répondent aux exigences d'intervention, rapide et simple pour identifier les besoins combinés à un manque de professionnels impliquent des difficultés voire l'impossibilité de mettre en place les prises charges adéquates. Dans ce travail, nous avons réalisé la validation transculturelle d'un outil de dépistage des difficultés psychologiques en contexte humanitaire destiné aux enfants âgés de 3 à 6 ans, le PSYCa 3-6 (Psychological Screening tool for Young Children aged 3 to 6). Cet outil a été initialement créé et développé en 1999 lors d'une intervention humanitaire, son contenu a été affiné et modifié au fur et à mesure de son utilisation. La validation principale a eu lieu au Niger, et deux validations complémentaires ont été mises en place en Colombie et au Kenya. Au total, 888 enfants âgés de 3 à 6 ans ont été inclus entre Octobre 2009 et Février 2012. Une recherche qualitative a été mise en place en amont de la validation pour collecter des informations concernant la perception des difficultés psychologiques localement au Niger. La recherche quantitative s'est intéressée aux qualités psychométriques et cliniques de l'outil.Les trois versions haoussa, espagnole et swahili ont montré des qualités psychométriques et cliniques adéquates incluant une bonne validité concurrente, les scores obtenus à l'outil étant corrélés au gold standard. La recherche qualitative a permis d'affiner et de renforcer les résultats.A notre connaissance, il s'agit de la première validation d'un outil de dépistage pour des enfants d'âge préscolaire incluant un volet transculturel pour usage dans des contextes humanitaires variés. De tels outils validés pour des contextes différents sont indispensables pour promouvoir l'accès aux soins psychiques pour les enfants, souvent non prioritaires dans ces interventions

Intra-household use and acceptability of Ready-to-Use-Supplementary-Foods distributed in Niger between July and December 2010.

Few studies have looked at consumption of Ready-to-Use-Supplementary-Foods (RUSFs) during a nutritional emergency. Here, we describe the use and acceptability of RUSF within households in four districts of the region of Maradi, Niger during large scale preventive distributions with RUSF in 2010 targeted at children 6-35months of age. Our study comprised both quantitative and qualitative components to collect detailed information and to allow in-depth interviews. We performed a cross-sectional survey in 16 villages between two monthly distributions of RUSF (October-November 2010). All households with at least one child who received RUSF were included and a total of 1842 caregivers were interviewed using a structured questionnaire. Focus groups and individual interviews of 128 caregivers were conducted in eight of the selected villages. On average, 24.7% of households reported any sharing of RUSF within the household. Sharing practices outside the household remained rare. Most of the sharing reported occurred among children under 5years of age living in the household. On average, 91% of caregivers in all districts rated the child's appreciation of the products as good or very good. Program planning may need to explicitly accounting for the sharing of products among children under 5 within household

Hand hygiene compliance and environmental contamination with gram-negative bacilli in a rural hospital in Madarounfa, Niger

Abstract Background Healthcare-associated infections pose a major, yet often preventable risk to patient safety. Poor hand hygiene among healthcare personnel and unsanitary hospital environments may contribute to this risk in low-income settings. We aimed to describe hand hygiene behaviour and environmental contamination by season in a rural, sub-Saharan African hospital setting. Methods We conducted a concurrent triangulation mixed-methods study combining three types of data at a hospital in Madarounfa, Niger. Hand hygiene observations among healthcare personnel during two seasons contributed quantitative data describing hand hygiene frequency and its variability in relation to seasonal changes in caseload. Semistructured interviews with healthcare personnel contributed qualitative data on knowledge, attitudes and barriers to hand hygiene. Biweekly environmental samples evaluated microbial contamination from October 2016 to December 2017. Triangulation identified convergences, complements and contradictions across results. Results Hand hygiene compliance, or the proportion of actions (handrubbing or handwashing) performed out of all actions required, was low (11% during non-peak and 36% during peak caseload seasons). Interviews with healthcare personnel suggesting good general knowledge of hand hygiene contradicted the low hand hygiene compliance. However, compliance by healthcare activity was convergent with poor knowledge of precise hand hygiene steps and the motivation to prevent personal acquisition of infection identified during interviews. Contamination of environmental samples with gram-negative bacilli was high (45%), with the highest rates of contamination observed during the peak caseload season. Conclusion Low hand hygiene compliance coupled with high contamination rates of hospital environments may increase the risk of hospital-acquired infections in sub-Saharan African settings. </jats:sec

Development of a patient rated scale for mental health global state for use during humanitarian interventions

Funding: Médecins Sans FrontièresWe present the results of a cross-cultural validation of the Mental Health Global State (MHGS) scale for adults and adolescents (<14 years old). We performed two independent studies using mixed methods among 103 patients in Hebron, Occupied Palestinian Territories and 106 in Cauca, Colombia. The MHGS was analyzed psychometrically, sensitivity and specificity, ability to detect clinically meaningful change, compared to the Clinical Global Impression-Severity scale (CGI-S). Principal component analysis was used to reduce the number of questions after data collection. The scale demonstrated good internal consistency, with a Cronbach alpha score of 0.80 in both settings. Test retest reliability was high, ICC 0.70 (95% CI [0.41-0.85]) in Hebron and 0.87 (95% CI [0.76-0.93]) in Cauca; inter-rater reliability was 0.70 (95% CI [0.42-0.85]) in Hebron and 0.76 (95% CI [0.57-0.88]) in Cauca. Psychometric properties were also good, and the tool demonstrated a sensitivity of 85% in Hebron and 100% in Cauca, with corresponding specificity of 80% and 79%, when compared to CGI-S. The MHGS showed promising results to assess global mental health thereby providing an additional easy to use tool in humanitarian interventions. Additional work should focus on validation in at least one more context, to adhere to best practices in transcultural validation

A rapid screening tool for psychological distress in children 3--6years old: results of a validation study.

International audienceABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: The mental health needs of young children in humanitarian contexts often remain unaddressed. The lack of a validated, rapid and simple tool for screening combined with few mental health professionals able to accurately diagnose and provide appropriate care mean that young children remain without care. Here, we present the results of the principle cross-cultural validation of the "Psychological Screening for Young Children aged 3 to 6" (PSYCAa3-6). The PSYCa 3--6 is a simple scale for children 3 to 6 years old administered by non-specialists, to screen young children in crises and thereby refer them to care if needed. METHODS: This study was conducted in Maradi, Niger. The scale was translated into Hausa, using corroboration of independent translations. A cross-cultural validation was implemented using quantitative and qualitative methods. A random sample of 580 mothers or caregivers of children 3 to 6 years old were included. The tool was psychometrically examined and diagnostic properties were assessed comparing the PSYCa 3--6 against a clinical interview as the gold standard. RESULTS: The PSYCa 3--6 Hausa version demonstrated good concurrent validity, as scores correlated with the gold standard and the Clinical Global Impression Severity Scale (CGI-S) [rho = 0.41, p-value = 0.00]. A reduction procedure was used to reduce the scale from 40 to 22 items. The test-retest reliability of the PSYCa 3--6 was found to be high (ICC 0.81, CI95% [0.68; 0.89]). In our sample, although not the purpose of this study, approximately 54 of 580 children required subsequent follow-up with a psychologist. CONCLUSIONS: To our knowledge, this is the first validation of a screening scale for children 3 to 6 years old with a cross-cultural validation component, for use in humanitarian contexts. The Hausa version of the PSYCa 3--6 is a reliable and a valuable screening tool for psychological distress. Further studies to replicate our findings and additional validations of the PSYCa 3--6 in other populations may help improve the delivery of mental health care to children

Perceptions, attitudes, and willingness of healthcare and frontline workers to participate in an Ebola vaccine trial in Uganda.

BACKGROUND: Understanding the knowledge, perception and attitudes towards Ebola vaccines is an important factor in ensuring future use of these vaccines. A qualitative methods study embedded in an Ebola vaccine immunogenicity and safety trial (NCT04028349) was conducted to explore the knowledge and perceptions of healthcare (HCWs) and frontline workers (FLWs), about Ebola vaccines and their willingness to participate or recommend participation in Uganda. METHOD: We carried out focus group discussions and semi-structured interviews before and after vaccination, with 70 HCWs and FLWs who consented to participate in the trial, and in the qualitative component, from August to September 2019. Data were analysed using thematic content analysis. RESULTS: Respondents showed good knowledge about Ebola and the vaccines in general, and had wide access to information through several channels, including the study team. On prevention, particular attention was given to effective communication within health facilities. Misconceptions were mainly around route of transmission, animal origin and types of vaccines. Previous fears were based on rumours circulating in the community, mainly about the presence of the virus in the vaccine, side effects and intention to harm (e.g. by "the whites"), ultimately insisting on transparency, trust and involvement of local leaders. Acceptability of participation was motivated by the need to protect self and others, and the willingness to advance research. Majority were willing to recommend participation to their community. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, information sharing leads to a better understanding and acceptance of vaccine trials and a positive vaccination experience can be a deciding factor in the acceptance of others. Particular attention should be paid to involving the community in addressing misconceptions and fears, while ensuring that participants have access to vaccination sites in terms of transport, and that they are properly accommodated at the study site including staying for a reasonable period of time

Cross cultural validation of a tool in humanitarian context, screening for psychological difficulties in young Hausa children in Niger (Maradi)

Les difficultés psychologiques sont parfois difficiles à évaluer au cours d'une consultation médicale par un non professionnel (psychologue, psychiatre). Ceci est d'autant plus vrai dans le cas particulier des jeunes enfants lors d'interventions humanitaires, ce qui conduit souvent à une réponse insuffisante aux besoins de soins psychiques. Le manque d'outils validés de manière transculturelle qui répondent aux exigences d'intervention, rapide et simple pour identifier les besoins combinés à un manque de professionnels impliquent des difficultés voire l'impossibilité de mettre en place les prises charges adéquates. Dans ce travail, nous avons réalisé la validation transculturelle d'un outil de dépistage des difficultés psychologiques en contexte humanitaire destiné aux enfants âgés de 3 à 6 ans, le PSYCa 3-6 (Psychological Screening tool for Young Children aged 3 to 6). Cet outil a été initialement créé et développé en 1999 lors d'une intervention humanitaire, son contenu a été affiné et modifié au fur et à mesure de son utilisation. La validation principale a eu lieu au Niger, et deux validations complémentaires ont été mises en place en Colombie et au Kenya. Au total, 888 enfants âgés de 3 à 6 ans ont été inclus entre Octobre 2009 et Février 2012. Une recherche qualitative a été mise en place en amont de la validation pour collecter des informations concernant la perception des difficultés psychologiques localement au Niger. La recherche quantitative s'est intéressée aux qualités psychométriques et cliniques de l'outil. Les trois versions haoussa, espagnole et swahili ont montré des qualités psychométriques et cliniques adéquates incluant une bonne validité concurrente, les scores obtenus à l'outil étant corrélés au gold standard. La recherche qualitative a permis d'affiner et de renforcer les résultats. A notre connaissance, il s'agit de la première validation d'un outil de dépistage pour des enfants d'âge préscolaire incluant un volet transculturel pour usage dans des contextes humanitaires variés. De tels outils validés pour des contextes différents sont indispensables pour promouvoir l'accès aux soins psychiques pour les enfants, souvent non prioritaires dans ces interventions.Psychological difficulties are sometimes difficult to assess during a medical consultation by a non-specialist (psychologist, psychiatrist). This is especially the case when it comes to young children, in humanitarian intervention contexts, entailing an insufficient answer to the needs of mental health care. The lack of cross culturally validated tools that meet the requirement of such intervention, fast and simple to identify the needs combined with a lack of professional involve difficulties even impossibility of implementing appropriate care. In this study, we implemented a cross cultural validation of a screening tool for psychological difficulties in humanitarian context for children aged 3 to 6 years old, the PSYCa 3-6 (Psychological Screening tool for Young Children aged 3 to 6 years old). This tool was originally created and developed during a humanitarian intervention; its content has been refined and modified along its use. The main validation took place in Niger, and two additional validations have been implemented in Colombia and Kenya. In total, 888 children aged 3 to 6 years were recruited between October 2009 and February 2012. Qualitative research has been also implemented to collect information regarding the local perception of psychological difficulties, prior to the validation. Quantitative research has focused on the psychometric and clinical properties of the tool. The three versions, Hausa, Spanish and Swahili showed adequate psychometric and clinical qualities including a good concurrent validity, scores being correlated with the gold standard. Qualitative research was used to refine and to strengthen the results. To our knowledge, this is the first validation of a screening tool for preschool children including a cross cultural component for use in several humanitarian contexts. Such tools, cross culturally validated in several contexts, are a key component to promote access to mental health care for children, often not on the list of priorities during the interventions

Maternal perception of emotional difficulties of preschool children in rural Niger

Mental health care for infants and young children is often greatly limited in low-resource settings. The purpose of this study was to describe maternal perception of emotional difficulties of preschool children in a rural area of Niger (Maradi). In this context, both mental health awareness and services were scarce. This research was part of a larger cross-cultural validation study of a screening tool for psychological difficulties in children aged 3 to 6 years old. Data collection included group discussion and individual interviews. A total of 10 group interviews and 83 individual interviews were conducted. The results highlight mothers’ perceptions concerning their children’s psychological difficulties. Sleep difficulties were considered significant by the mothers and were used often as an entry point for further discussion of concerns. Peer and sibling relationships, separation anxiety, and reactions to difficult events were also described. Identification of mothers’ perceptions of children’s main difficulties through a mixed-method approach shows promise as a way to inform interventions to provide culturally appropriate care for children in need. </jats:p

Hand hygiene compliance and environmental contamination with gram-negative bacilli in a rural hospital in Madarounfa, Niger

AbstractBackgroundHealthcare-associated infections pose a major, yet often preventable risk to patient safety. Poor hand hygiene among healthcare personnel and unsanitary hospital environments may contribute to this risk in low-income settings. We aimed to describe hand hygiene behaviour and environmental contamination by season in a rural, sub-Saharan African hospital setting.MethodsWe conducted a concurrent triangulation mixed-methods study combining three types of data at a hospital in Madarounfa, Niger. Hand hygiene observations among healthcare personnel during two seasons contributed quantitative data describing hand hygiene frequency and its variability in relation to seasonal changes in caseload. Semistructured interviews with healthcare personnel contributed qualitative data on knowledge, attitudes and barriers to hand hygiene. Biweekly environmental samples evaluated microbial contamination from October 2016 to December 2017. Triangulation identified convergences, complements and contradictions across results.ResultsHand hygiene compliance, or the proportion of actions (handrubbing or handwashing) performed out of all actions required, was low (11% during non-peak and 36% during peak caseload seasons). Interviews with healthcare personnel suggesting good general knowledge of hand hygiene contradicted the low hand hygiene compliance. However, compliance by healthcare activity was convergent with poor knowledge of precise hand hygiene steps and the motivation to prevent personal acquisition of infection identified during interviews. Contamination of environmental samples with gram-negative bacilli was high (45%), with the highest rates of contamination observed during the peak caseload season.ConclusionLow hand hygiene compliance coupled with high contamination rates of hospital environments may increase the risk of hospital-acquired infections in sub-Saharan African settings.</jats:sec