The role of community advisory boards in health research: Divergent views in the South African experience

In the light of the growing involvement of community advisory boards (CABs) in health research, this study presents empirical findings of the functions and operations of CABs in HIV/AIDS vaccine trials in South Africa. The individual and focus group interviews with CAB members, principal investigators, research staff, community educators, recruiters, ethics committee members, trial participants and South African AIDS Vaccine Initiative (SAAVI) staff members demonstrated differences in the respondents’ perceptions of the roles and responsibilities of CABs. These findings question the roles of the CABs. Are they primarily there to serve and be accountable to the community, or to serve the accomplishment of the research objectives? Four emergent themes are discussed here: purpose; membership and representation; power and authority; sources of support and independence. The CABs’ primary purpose carries significant implications for a wide range of issues regarding their functioning. The dual functions of advancing the research and protecting the community appear to be fraught with tension, and require careful reconsideration

Delays in HIV-1 infant polymerase chain reaction testing may leave children without confirmed diagnoses in the Western Cape province, South Africa

CITATION: Mahlakwane, K. L. et al. 2022. African Journal of Laboratory Medicine, 11(1):1485, doi:10.4102/ajlm.v11i1.1485.The original publication is available at https://ajlmonline.orgBackground: Early diagnosis and confirmation of HIV infection in newborns is crucial for expedited initiation of antiretroviral therapy. Confirmatory testing must be done for all children with a reactive HIV PCR result. There is no comprehensive data on confirmatory testing and HIV PCR test request rejections at National Health Laboratory Service laboratories in South Africa. Objective: This study assessed the metrics of routine infant HIV PCR testing at the Tygerberg Hospital Virology Laboratory, Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa, including the proportion of rejected test requests, turn-around time (TAT), and rate of confirmatory testing. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed laboratory-based data on all HIV PCR tests performed on children ≤ 24 months old (n = 43 346) and data on rejected HIV PCR requests (n = 1479) at the Tygerberg virology laboratory over two years (2017–2019). Data from sample collection to release of results were analysed to assess the TAT and follow-up patterns. Results: The proportion of rejected HIV PCR requests was 3.3%; 83.9% of these were rejected for various pre-analytical reasons. Most of the test results (89.2%) met the required 96-h TAT. Of the reactive initial test results, 53.5% had a follow-up sample tested, of which 93.1% were positive. Of the initial indeterminate results, 74.7% were negative on follow-up testing. Conclusion: A high proportion of HIV PCR requests were rejected for pre-analytical reasons. The high number of initial reactive tests without evidence of follow-up suggests that a shorter TAT is required to allow confirmatory testing before children are discharged.https://ajlmonline.org/index.php/ajlm/article/view/1485Publisher's versio

A comparative population-based study of prostate cancer incidence and mortality rates in Singapore, Sweden and Geneva, Switzerland from 1973 to 2006

10.1186/1471-2407-12-222BMC Cancer12-BCMA

Factors associated with nursing home placement of all patients admitted for inpatient rehabilitation in Singapore community hospitals from 1996 to 2005: A disease stratified analysis

10.1371/journal.pone.0082697PLoS ONE812-POLN

A cost-effectiveness analysis evaluating endoscopic surveillance for gastric cancer for populations with low to intermediate risk

10.1371/journal.pone.0083959PLoS ONE812-POLN

Empirical evidence of the continuing improvement in cost efficiency of an endoscopic surveillance programme for gastric cancer in Singapore from 2004 to 2010

10.1186/1472-6963-13-139BMC Health Services Research131

Cholesterol-raising diterpenes in types of coffee commonly consumed in Singapore, Indonesia and India and associations with blood lipids: A survey and cross sectional study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>To measure the content of cholesterol-raising diterpenes in coffee sold at the retailer level in Singapore, Indonesia and India and to determine the relationship of coffee consumption with lipid levels in a population-based study in Singapore.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Survey and cross-sectional study in local coffee shops in Singapore, Indonesia and India to measure the diterpene content in coffee, and a population-based study in Singapore to examine the relationship of coffee consumption and blood lipid levels. Interviews and coffee samples (n = 27) were collected from coffee shops in Singapore, Indonesia and India. In addition, 3000 men and women who were Chinese, Malay, and Indian residents of Singapore participated in a cross-sectional study.</p> <p>Results and Discussion</p> <p>The traditional 'sock' method of coffee preparation used in Singapore resulted in cafestol concentrations comparable to European paper drip filtered coffee (mean 0.09 ± SD 0.064 mg/cup). This amount would result in negligible predicted increases in serum cholesterol and triglyceride concentrations. Similarly low amounts of cafestol were found in Indian 'filter' coffee that used a metal mesh filter (0.05 ± 0.05 mg/cup). Coffee samples from Indonesia using the 'sock' method (0.85 ± 0.41 mg/cup) or a metal mesh filter (0.98 mg/cup) contained higher amounts of cafestol comparable to espresso coffee. Unfiltered coffee from Indonesia contained an amount of cafestol (4.43 mg/cup) similar to Scandinavian boiled, Turkish and French press coffee with substantial predicted increases in serum cholesterol (0.33 mmol/l) and triglycerides (0.20 mmol/l) concentrations for consumption of 5 cups per day. In the Singaporean population, higher coffee consumption was not substantially associated with serum lipid concentrations after adjustment for potential confounders [LDL-cholesterol: 3.07 (95% confidence interval 2.97-3.18) for <1 cup/week versus 3.12 (2.99-3.26) for ≥ 3 cups/day; p trend 0.12].</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Based on the low levels of diterpenes found in traditionally prepared coffee consumed in Singapore and India, coffee consumption in these countries does not appear to be a risk factor for elevation of serum cholesterol, whereas samples tested from Indonesia showed mixed results depending on the type of preparation method used.</p

Coffee and tea consumption in relation to inflammation and basal glucose metabolism in a multi-ethnic Asian population: a cross-sectional study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Higher coffee consumption has been associated with a lower risk of type 2 diabetes in cohort studies, but the physiological pathways through which coffee affects glucose metabolism are not fully understood. The aim of this study was to evaluate the associations between habitual coffee and tea consumption and glucose metabolism in a multi-ethnic Asian population and possible mediation by inflammation.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We cross-sectionally examined the association between coffee, green tea, black tea and Oolong tea consumption and glycemic (fasting plasma glucose, HOMA-IR, HOMA-beta, plasma HbA1c) and inflammatory (plasma adiponectin and C-reactive protein) markers in a multi-ethnic Asian population (N = 4139).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>After adjusting for multiple confounders, we observed inverse associations between coffee and HOMA-IR (percent difference: - 8.8% for ≥ 3 cups/day versus rarely or never; <it>P_trend</it>= 0.007), but no significant associations between coffee and inflammatory markers. Tea consumption was not associated with glycemic markers, but green tea was inversely associated with plasma C-reactive protein concentrations (percent difference: - 12.2% for ≥ 1 cup/day versus < 1 cup/week; <it>P_trend</it>= 0.042).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>These data provide additional evidence for a beneficial effect of habitual caffeinated coffee consumption on insulin sensitivity, and suggest that this effect is unlikely to be mediated by anti-inflammatory mechanisms.</p

Physical activity behaviours in school-going adolescents in the Western Cape Province, South Africa

The aims of this study were (a) to determine the prevalence of self-reported physical activity behaviours among adolescents in Grades 8-11 in Western Cape public schools from the YRBS 2, (b) to determine if there were statistically significant differences in these behaviours in comparison to the YRBS 1 and (c) to identify the characteristics of physically inactive participants. The study design was a cross sectional national prevalence school-based quantitative survey and focused on the results from Grade 8-11 classes in public secondary schools sampled in the Western Cape Province only. A total of 1134 students were surveyed across 22 schools