Measuring the adequacy of antenatal health care: a national cross-sectional study in Mexico

Objective: To propose an antenatal care classification for measuring the continuum of health care based on the concept of adequacy: timeliness of entry into antenatal care, number of antenatal care visits and key processes of care. Methods: In a cross-sectional, retrospective study we used data from the Mexican National Health and Nutrition Survey (ENSANUT) in 2012. This contained self-reported information about antenatal care use by 6494 women during their last pregnancy ending in live birth. Antenatal care was considered to be adequate if a woman attended her first visit during the first trimester of pregnancy, made a minimum of four antenatal care visits and underwent at least seven of the eight recommended procedures during visits. We used multivariate ordinal logistic regression to identify correlates of adequate antenatal care and predicted coverage. Findings: Based on a population-weighted sample of 9 052 044, 98.4% of women received antenatal care during their last pregnancy, but only 71.5% (95% confidence interval, CI: 69.7 to 73.2) received maternal health care classified as adequate. Significant geographic differences in coverage of care were identified among states. The probability of receiving adequate antenatal care was higher among women of higher socioeconomic status, with more years of schooling and with health insurance. Conclusion: While basic antenatal care coverage is high in Mexico, adequate care remains low. Efforts by health systems, governments and researchers to measure and improve antenatal care should adopt a more rigorous definition of care to include important elements of quality such as continuity and processes of care

Análisis de costo-efectividad de intervenciones para incrementar la actividad física en hipertensos

   Objective: To perform a cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA) of two programs designed to increase the physical activity (PA) of hypertensive patients at the primary-care level: the first based on the Reference Scheme (RS) and the second on the Brief Counseling (BC) approach, both within the context of a Mexican social security institution: The Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS). Material and Methods: A CEA was undertaken from the perspective of service providers, with a time horizon of 24 weeks. Effectiveness was estimated in two ways: an increase in the minutes of moderate-vigorous PA (MVPA) and the percentage of patients engaging in ≥150 weekly minutes of MVPA at the end of each program. Results: RS patients performed 8.1 additional minutes of PA (week 24 = 169.29 minutes; week zero = 161.23). RS program proved approximately 1% more expensive and more effective and had an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of 299 US$ per increased percentage point of patients engaging in ≥150 weekly minutes of MVPA at the end of each program. The sensitivity analysis yielded an up to 56% probability that the RS program would be cost-effective in increasing the percentage of patients performing the targeted MVPA per week. Conclusions: Our results indicate that in the context of a social security institution such as the IMSS, it is not cost-effective to implement an RS-based program to increase physical activity levels in hypertensive patients. Further evidence is required on the cost-effectiveness of both programs regarding other effectiveness measures such as biochemical and physical condition parameters, as well as to other types of population, given that this was the first CEA of PA programs in Mexico. Keywords: Physical activity; Arterial pressure; Cost and cost analysis; Adults.   Objetivo: Realizar un análisis de costo-efectividad (ACE) de dos programas diseñados para incrementar la actividad física (AF) de pacientes hipertensos: el primero basado en el Esquema de Referencia (ER) y el segundo con un enfoque de Asesoramiento o Consejería Breve (CB), ambos en el contexto de primer nivel de atención en una institución de seguridad social de México: El Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social (IMSS). Material y métodos: Se realizó un ACE desde la perspectiva de los proveedores de servicios, con un horizonte temporal de 24 semanas. La efectividad se midió con dos indicadores: aumento en los minutos de AF moderada-vigorosa (AFMV) y en el porcentaje de pacientes que participaron en ≥150 minutos de AFMV semanales al final de cada programa. Resultados: Los pacientes con ER realizaron 8.1 minutos adicionales de AF (semana 24 = 169.29 minutos; semana cero = 161.23). El programa ER demostró ser aproximadamente 1% más costoso y efectivo, y tuvo una relación costo-efectividad incremental de 299 dólares por cada punto porcentual de incremento de pacientes que cumplían con ≥150 minutos de MVPA semanales al final de cada programa. El análisis de sensibilidad arrojó una probabilidad de hasta 56% de que el programa ER fuera costo-efectivo para aumentar el porcentaje de pacientes que cumplen con las recomendaciones de AF semanales. Conclusiones: Nuestros resultados indican que en el contexto de una institución de seguridad social como el IMSS, no es costo-efectivo implementar un programa basado en ER para aumentar los niveles de actividad física en pacientes hipertensos.Se requiere mayor evidencia sobre la relación costo-efectividad de ambos programas con respecto a otras medidas de efectividad como parámetros bioquímicos y de condición física, así como a otro tipo de población, dado que este fue el primer ACE de programas de AF en México.

Atención prenatal en grupo: efectividad y retos de su implementación

Group prenatal care is an alternative model of care during pregnancy, replacing standard individual prenatal care. The model has shown maternal benefits and has been implemented in different contexts. We conducted a narrative review of the literature in relation to its effectiveness, using databases such as PubMed, EBSCO, Science Direct, Wiley Online and Springer for the period 2002 to 2018. In addition, we discussed the challenges and solutions of its implementation based on our experience in Mexico. Group prenatal care may improve prenatal knowledge and use of family planning services in the postpartum period. The model has been implemented in more than 22 countries and there are challenges to its implementation related to both supply and demand. Supply-side challenges include staff, material resources and organizational issues; demand-side challenges include recruitment and retention of participants, adaptation of material, and perceived privacy. We highlight specific solutions that can be applied in diverse health systems.La atención prenatal en grupo es un modelo alternativo de atención durante el embarazo, que sustituye la atención prenatal individual estándar. El modelo ha mostrado beneficios maternos y se ha implementado en diferentes contextos. Llevamos a cabo una revisión narrativa de la literatura en relación a su efectividad, utilizando bases de datos como PubMed, EBSCO, Science Direct, Wiley Online y la editorial Springer, para el periodo 2002 a 2018. Adicionalmente, discutimos los retos y soluciones de su implementación desde nuestra experiencia en México. La atención prenatal en grupo puede mejorar el conocimiento prenatal y el uso de servicios de planificación familiar en el postparto. El modelo se ha implementado en más de 22 países y existen retos de su implementación desde la oferta y la demanda. Los retos desde la oferta incluyen al personal, recursos materiales y cuestiones organizacionales; desde la demanda, el reclutamiento y retención de participantes, adaptación del material y privacidad percibida. Resaltamos soluciones concretas que pueden aplicar a diversos sistemas de salud

Calidad de la atención en los Servicios de Salud Amigables para Adolescentes en Morelos, México: perspectiva de usuarios y prestadores

This study evaluates the quality of care in adolescent-friendly services in primary care units of the Health Services of Morelos, México; from the perspective of users and health personnel. This is a descriptive qualitative study, 29 semi-structured interviews were conducted with adolescents and 20 with health personnel, in 11 clinics. The quality or services was evaluated using the dimensions of equity, accessibility, acceptability, effectiveness, and appropriate services. The findings show that health services are perceived as equitable from the interviewees\u27 discourse. Adolescents manifest bureaucratic barriers to access, while health personnel perceived cultural barriers for it. This study identifies areas of opportunity to improve the quality of care in adolescent-friendly services, since unfriendly practices persist and jeopardize the health outcomes expected from their implementation.El presente estudio evalúa la calidad de la atención en los servicios amigables para adolescentes, ubicados en unidades de primer nivel de los Servicios de Salud de Morelos, México; desde la perspectiva de usuarios y personal de salud. Es un estudio cualitativo descriptivo, se realizaron 29 entrevistas semi estructuradas a adolescentes y 20 a personal de salud, en 11 unidades. Se analizó la calidad de los servicios ofertados, utilizando las dimensiones de equidad, accesibilidad, aceptabilidad, efectividad y servicios apropiados. Los hallazgos muestran servicios de salud percibidos como equitativos, desde el discurso de los entrevistados. Los adolescentes manifiestan barreras de acceso burocráticas, mientras el personal de salud percibe barreras culturales para ello. Este estudio permite observar áreas de oportunidad para mejorar la calidad de la atención en los servicios amigables para adolescentes, ya que persisten prácticas poco amigables que ponen en riesgo los resultados en salud esperados con su implementación

Servicios Amigables para Adolescentes: evaluación de la calidad con usuarios simulados

OBJETIVO: Evaluar la calidad de los servicios de salud amigables para adolescentes. MÉTODOS: Evaluación cualitativa utilizando la técnica de usuario simulado en clínicas de primer nivel de los Servicios de Salud de Morelos, México durante 2018. Se seleccionaron aleatoriamente 10 de 17 establecimientos con servicios amigables no exclusivos para adolescentes. Se incluyó adicionalmente un centro con servicios amigables exclusivo para adolescentes como submuestra de tipo intensivo. Cuatro adolescentes fungieron como usuarios simulados interpretando diferentes casos de consulta en las clínicas. Se realizaron 43 entrevistas semiestructuradas de salida y se hicieron dos grupos nominales para evaluar la calidad percibida a partir de la percepción de amigabilidad y la experiencia de los adolescentes. Se realizó análisis temático de los datos obtenidos. RESULTADOS: La actitud del personal destacó como un elemento clave para la experiencia de los adolescentes. Se encontraron fallas como la existencia de barreras burocráticas para el acceso, falta de señalamientos en las clínicas, falta de privacidad y confidencialidad, fallas en la exploración física durante la consulta y falta de seguimiento de los motivos de consulta. La clínica exclusiva para adolescentes ofreció servicios amigables más adecuados en comparación con las clínicas no exclusivas. CONCLUSIÓN: Aunque en la mayoría de los establecimientos visitados el servicio es accesible, aun distan de cumplir con las características de amigabilidad de acuerdo con las recomendaciones internacionales. La clínica exclusiva para adolescentes destacó al contar con mecanismos mejor estructurados que pueden ser implementados en clínicas no exclusivas para mejorar el proceso de atención.OBJECTIVE: To assess the quality of adolescent friendly health services. METHODS: Qualitative assessment using the simulated user technique in first level clinics of Health Services of Morelos, Mexico, during 2018. Ten out of 17 facilities with non-exclusive adolescent friendly services were randomly selected. An additional facility with exclusive adolescent friendly services was included as an intensive subsample. Four adolescents served as simulated users interpreting different cases in the clinics. The total of 43 semi-structured exit interviews were conducted, and two nominal groups were made to assess the perceived quality from the adolescents’ perception of friendliness and experience. Thematic analysis of the data obtained was performed. RESULTS: Staff attitude was highlighted as a key element in the adolescents’ experience. Failures were found, such as the existence of bureaucratic barriers to access, lack of signage in clinics, lack of privacy and confidentiality, failure of physical examination during the appointment and lack of monitoring of the reasons for appointment. The exclusive clinic for adolescents offered more appropriate friendly services compared with nonexclusive clinics. CONCLUSION: Although the service is accessible in most of the clinics visited, it is still far from being friendly according to international recommendations. The exclusive clinic for adolescents stood out for having better structured mechanisms that can be implemented in nonexclusive clinics to improve the care process

Group Prenatal Care in Mexico: perspectives and experiences of health personnel

OBJETIVO: Identificar barreras y facilitadores de la implementación del modelo de Atención Prenatal en Grupo en México (APG), desde la perspectiva del personal de salud. MÉTODOS: Estudio cualitativo descriptivo en cuatro clínicas de la Secretaría de Salud en dos estados de México (Morelos e Hidalgo) de junio de 2016 a agosto de 2018. Se realizaron 11 entrevistas semi-estructuradas a prestadores de servicios de salud. Se exploraron sus percepciones y experiencias durante la implementación del modelo de APG. Se identificaron barreras y facilitadores para su adopción en dos dimensiones: a) estructurales (espacio, recursos, personal de salud, volumen de pacientes, comunidad) y b) actitudinales (motivación, liderazgo, aceptabilidad, abordaje de problemas, clima y comunicación). RESULTADOS: Las barreras más relevantes reportadas en el nivel estructural fueron la disponibilidad de espacio físico en las unidades y la sobrecarga de trabajo del personal de salud. Se identificó la dificultad para adoptar una relación menos jerárquica durante la atención a las gestantes en el nivel actitudinal. El principal facilitador a nivel actitudinal fue la aceptabilidad que los prestadores tienen del modelo. Un hallazgo específico para el contexto de la implementación en México fue la resistencia al cambio en la relación médico-paciente; resulta difícil abandonar el modelo jerárquico prevaleciente y cambiar a una relación más horizontal con las gestantes. CONCLUSIONES: El análisis de la implementación del modelo de APG en México, desde la perspectiva del personal de salud, ha evidenciado barreras y facilitadores similares a las experiencias en otros contextos. Esfuerzos futuros para la adopción del modelo deberán enfocarse en la atención oportuna de las barreras identificadas, sobre todo aquellas señaladas en la dimensión actitudinal que pueden ser modificadas a través de capacitaciones continuas al personal de salud.OBJECTIVE: Identify barriers and facilitators to implementing the Group Prenatal Care model in Mexico (GPC) from the health care personnel’s perspective. METHODS: We carried out a qualitative descriptive study in four clinics of the Ministry of Health in two states of Mexico (Morelos and Hidalgo) from June 2016 to August 2018. We conducted 11 semi-structured interviews with health care service providers, and we examined their perceptions and experiences during the implementation of the GPC model. We identified the barriers and facilitators for its adoption in two dimensions: a) structural (space, resources, health personnel, patient volume, community) and b) attitudinal (motivation, leadership, acceptability, address problems, work atmosphere and communication). RESULTS: The most relevant barriers reported at the structural level were the availability of physical space in health units and the work overload of health personnel. We identified the difficulty in adopting a less hierarchical relationship during the pregnant women’s care at the attitudinal level. The main facilitator at the attitudinal level was the acceptability that providers had of the model. One specific finding for Mexico’s implementation context was the resistance to change the doctor-patient relationship; it is difficult to abandon the prevailing hierarchical model and change to a more horizontal relationship with pregnant women. CONCLUSION: Analyzing the GPC model’s implementation in Mexico, from the health care personnel’s perspective, has revealed barriers and facilitators similar to the experiences in other contexts. Future efforts to adopt the model should focus on timely attention to identified barriers, especially those identified in the attitudinal dimension that can be modified by regular health care personnel training

Burden of non-communicable diseases and behavioural risk factors in Mexico: Trends and gender observational analysis

BACKGROUND: There is scarce gender-disaggregated evidence on the burden of disease (BD) worldwide and this is particularly prominent in low- and middle-income countries. The objective of this study is to compare the BD caused by non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and related risk factors by gender in Mexican adults. METHODS: We retrieved disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) estimates for diabetes, cancers and neoplasms, chronic cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), chronic respiratory diseases (CRDs), and chronic kidney disease (CKD) from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) Study from 1990-2019. Age-standardized death rates were calculated using official mortality microdata from 2000 to 2020. Then, we analysed national health surveys to depict tobacco and alcohol use and physical inactivity from 2000-2018. Women-to-men DALYs and mortality rates and prevalence ratios (WMR) were calculated as a measure of gender gap. FINDINGS: Regarding DALYs, WMR was >1 for diabetes, cancers, and CKD in 1990, indicating a higher burden in women. WMR decreased over time in all NCDs, except for CRDs, which increased to 0.78. However, WMR was 1 for diabetes and cardiovascular diseases in 2000 and 1 and increasing. CONCLUSIONS: The gender gap has changed for selected NCDs in favour of women, except for CRDs. Women face a lower BD and are less affected by tobacco and alcohol use but face a higher risk of physical inactivity. Policymakers should consider a gendered approach for designing effective policies to reduce the burden of NCDs and health inequities

Global, regional, and national comparative risk assessment of 84 behavioural, environmental and occupational, and metabolic risks or clusters of risks for 195 countries and territories, 1990–2017 : a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017

Background: The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2017 comparative risk assessment (CRA) is a comprehensive approach to risk factor quantification that offers a useful tool for synthesising evidence on risks and risk outcome associations. With each annual GBD study, we update the GBD CRA to incorporate improved methods, new risks and risk outcome pairs, and new data on risk exposure levels and risk outcome associations. Methods: We used the CRA framework developed for previous iterations of GBD to estimate levels and trends in exposure, attributable deaths, and attributable disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs), by age group, sex, year, and location for 84 behavioural, environmental and occupational, and metabolic risks or groups of risks from 1990 to 2017. This study included 476 risk outcome pairs that met the GBD study criteria for convincing or probable evidence of causation. We extracted relative risk and exposure estimates from 46 749 randomised controlled trials, cohort studies, household surveys, census data, satellite data, and other sources. We used statistical models to pool data, adjust for bias, and incorporate covariates. Using the counterfactual scenario of theoretical minimum risk exposure level (TMREL), we estimated the portion of deaths and DALYs that could be attributed to a given risk. We explored the relationship between development and risk exposure by modelling the relationship between the Socio-demographic Index (SDI) and risk-weighted exposure prevalence and estimated expected levels of exposure and risk-attributable burden by SDI. Finally, we explored temporal changes in risk-attributable DALYs by decomposing those changes into six main component drivers of change as follows: (1) population growth; (2) changes in population age structures; (3) changes in exposure to environmental and occupational risks; (4) changes in exposure to behavioural risks; (5) changes in exposure to metabolic risks; and (6) changes due to all other factors, approximated as the risk-deleted death and DALY rates, where the risk-deleted rate is the rate that would be observed had we reduced the exposure levels to the TMREL for all risk factors included in GBD 2017. Findings: In 2017,34.1 million (95% uncertainty interval [UI] 33.3-35.0) deaths and 121 billion (144-1.28) DALYs were attributable to GBD risk factors. Globally, 61.0% (59.6-62.4) of deaths and 48.3% (46.3-50.2) of DALYs were attributed to the GBD 2017 risk factors. When ranked by risk-attributable DALYs, high systolic blood pressure (SBP) was the leading risk factor, accounting for 10.4 million (9.39-11.5) deaths and 218 million (198-237) DALYs, followed by smoking (7.10 million [6.83-7.37] deaths and 182 million [173-193] DALYs), high fasting plasma glucose (6.53 million [5.23-8.23] deaths and 171 million [144-201] DALYs), high body-mass index (BMI; 4.72 million [2.99-6.70] deaths and 148 million [98.6-202] DALYs), and short gestation for birthweight (1.43 million [1.36-1.51] deaths and 139 million [131-147] DALYs). In total, risk-attributable DALYs declined by 4.9% (3.3-6.5) between 2007 and 2017. In the absence of demographic changes (ie, population growth and ageing), changes in risk exposure and risk-deleted DALYs would have led to a 23.5% decline in DALYs during that period. Conversely, in the absence of changes in risk exposure and risk-deleted DALYs, demographic changes would have led to an 18.6% increase in DALYs during that period. The ratios of observed risk exposure levels to exposure levels expected based on SDI (O/E ratios) increased globally for unsafe drinking water and household air pollution between 1990 and 2017. This result suggests that development is occurring more rapidly than are changes in the underlying risk structure in a population. Conversely, nearly universal declines in O/E ratios for smoking and alcohol use indicate that, for a given SDI, exposure to these risks is declining. In 2017, the leading Level 4 risk factor for age-standardised DALY rates was high SBP in four super-regions: central Europe, eastern Europe, and central Asia; north Africa and Middle East; south Asia; and southeast Asia, east Asia, and Oceania. The leading risk factor in the high-income super-region was smoking, in Latin America and Caribbean was high BMI, and in sub-Saharan Africa was unsafe sex. O/E ratios for unsafe sex in sub-Saharan Africa were notably high, and those for alcohol use in north Africa and the Middle East were notably low. Interpretation: By quantifying levels and trends in exposures to risk factors and the resulting disease burden, this assessment offers insight into where past policy and programme efforts might have been successful and highlights current priorities for public health action. Decreases in behavioural, environmental, and occupational risks have largely offset the effects of population growth and ageing, in relation to trends in absolute burden. Conversely, the combination of increasing metabolic risks and population ageing will probably continue to drive the increasing trends in non-communicable diseases at the global level, which presents both a public health challenge and opportunity. We see considerable spatiotemporal heterogeneity in levels of risk exposure and risk-attributable burden. Although levels of development underlie some of this heterogeneity, O/E ratios show risks for which countries are overperforming or underperforming relative to their level of development. As such, these ratios provide a benchmarking tool to help to focus local decision making. Our findings reinforce the importance of both risk exposure monitoring and epidemiological research to assess causal connections between risks and health outcomes, and they highlight the usefulness of the GBD study in synthesising data to draw comprehensive and robust conclusions that help to inform good policy and strategic health planning