Repeat abortion and use of contraception among post-abortion women in Nepal – A prospective cohort study

Thesis (Master's)--University of Washington, 2015University of Washington Abstract Repeat abortion and use of contraceptive among post-abortion women in Nepal – A prospective cohort study Aradhana Thapa Chair of the Supervisory Committee: Research Professor, Annette L. Fitzpatrick Department of Family Medicine and Epidemiology Adjunct, Department of Global Health Aim: The study aims to identify the associated risk factors of repeat abortions and post-abortion contraceptive use among women in Pokhara city of Nepal. Background: Nepal legalized abortion in 2002 to promote safer motherhood (7). Safe abortion was attributed to be one of the contributing factors to a sharp decline of maternal mortality and morbidity in the country (9), however, abortion should not be considered an alternative to contraceptive use. Choosing abortions, repeatedly, can be detrimental to women and child health (11, 12). Post-abortion acceptance of contraception is low (41%) in the country and repeat abortion, high (33%) (8,11). Method: This is a prospective cohort study conducted among women who had just received an abortion procedure between January 2015 to April 2015 at three abortion clinics of Pokhara city in Nepal. We recruited 220 women immediately after their abortions to conduct a baseline interview and followed these in-person interviews with a telephone interview two months later to collect information on each woman’s current contraceptive method. Findings: The present study revealed that only half of the post-abortion women use effective contraception after abortion and there is a high prevalence of repeat abortion. The main factors positively influencing use of post-abortion contraception were presence of the woman’s husband in another country and choice of Tier II contraceptive methods. The main risk factors identified for repeat abortion were age and age at first pregnancy. Better educated women were less likely to adopt effective contraceptive measure after abortion. Conclusion: Considering low contraception use after abortion, increasing numbers of abortion, and high incidence of repeat abortion, a well targeted intervention may have substantial effect to reduce risk of unintended pregnancies

An integrated community health worker intervention in rural Nepal: a type 2 hybrid effectiveness-implementation study protocol

Background: Evidence-based medicines, technologies, and protocols exist to prevent many of the annual 300,000 maternal, 2.7 million neonatal, and 9 million child deaths, but they are not being effectively implemented and utilized in rural areas. Nepal, one of South Asia’s poorest countries with over 80% of its population living in rural areas, exemplifies this challenge. Community health workers are an important cadre in low-income countries where human resources for health and health care infrastructure are limited. As local women, they are uniquely positioned to understand and successfully navigate barriers to health care access. Recent case studies of large community health worker programs have highlighted the importance of training, both initial and ongoing, and accountability through structured management, salaries, and ongoing monitoring and evaluation. A gap in the evidence regarding whether such community health worker systems can change health outcomes, as well as be sustainably adopted at scale, remains. In this study, we plan to evaluate a community health worker system delivering an evidence-based integrated reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health intervention as it is scaled up in rural Nepal. Methods: We will conduct a type 2 hybrid effectiveness-implementation study to test both the effect of an integrated reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health intervention and the implementation process via a professional community health worker system. The intervention integrates five evidence-based approaches: (1) home-based antenatal care and post-natal care counseling and care coordination; (2) continuous surveillance of all reproductive age women, pregnancies, and children under age 2 years via a mobile application; (3) Community-Based Integrated Management of Newborn and Childhood Illness; (4) group antenatal and postnatal care; and 5) the Balanced Counseling Strategy to post-partum contraception. We will evaluate effectiveness using a pre-post quasi-experimental design with stepped implementation and implementation using the RE-AIM framework. Discussion This is the first hybrid effectiveness-implementation study of an integrated reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health intervention in rural Nepal that we are aware of. As Nepal takes steps towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, the data from this three-year study will be useful in the detailed planning of a professionalized community health worker cadre delivering evidence-based reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health interventions to the country’s rural population. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03371186, registered 04 December 2017, retrospectively registered. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s13012-018-0741-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users

Additional file 2: of An integrated community health worker intervention in rural Nepal: a type 2 hybrid effectiveness-implementation study protocol

Figure S1. Supervision structure (PNG 50 kb

Additional file 1: of An integrated community health worker intervention in rural Nepal: a type 2 hybrid effectiveness-implementation study protocol

Detailed description of the intervention (DOCX 16 kb

Costing Analysis of a Pilot Community Health Worker Program in Rural Nepal.

Community health workers (CHWs) are essential to primary health care systems and are a cost-effective strategy to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Nepal is strongly committed to universal health coverage and the SDGs. In 2017, the Nepal Ministry of Health and Population partnered with the nongovernmental organization Nyaya Health Nepal to pilot a program aligned with the 2018 World Health Organization guidelines for CHWs. The program includes CHWs who: (1) receive regular financial compensation; (2) meet a minimum education level; (3) are well supervised; (4) are continuously trained; (5) are integrated into local primary health care systems; (6) use mobile health tools; (7) have consistent supply chain; (8) live in the communities they serve; and (9) provide service without point-of-care user fees. The pilot model has previously demonstrated improved institutional birth rate, antenatal care completion, and postpartum contraception utilization. Here, we performed a retrospective costing analysis from July 16, 2017 to July 15, 2018, in a catchment area population of 60,000. The average per capita annual cost is US$3.05 (range: US$1.94 to US$4.70 across 24 villages) of which 74$51.00 per capita) to 7.0% of the 2030 gross domestic product, paired with recent health care systems decentralization leading to expanded fiscal space in municipalities, this CHW program provides a feasible opportunity to make progress toward achieving universal health coverage and the health-related SDGs. This costing analysis offers insights and practical considerations for policy makers and locally elected officials for deploying a CHW cadre as a mechanism to achieve the SDG targets

Exploring the role of Community Health Workers on research studies focussed on Community Health Workers between 2017-2023: A protocol for a scoping review and survey.

Over the past decade there has been a growth in research studies exploring the role of Community Health Workers (CHWs). Yet, despite this, the extent to which CHWs are part of the research teams themselves is unclear. This study aims to explore the indexed literature on CHWs over the period 2017-2023 to explore the extent to which CHWs are part of research teams

Collaborative care model for depression in rural Nepal: a mixed-methods implementation research study.

IntroductionDespite carrying a disproportionately high burden of depression, patients in low-income countries lack access to effective care. The collaborative care model (CoCM) has robust evidence for clinical effectiveness in improving mental health outcomes. However, evidence from real-world implementation of CoCM is necessary to inform its expansion in low-resource settings.MethodsWe conducted a 2-year mixed-methods study to assess the implementation and clinical impact of CoCM using the WHO Mental Health Gap Action Programme protocols in a primary care clinic in rural Nepal. We used the Capability Opportunity Motivation-Behaviour (COM-B) implementation research framework to adapt and study the intervention. To assess implementation factors, we qualitatively studied the impact on providers' behaviour to screen, diagnose and treat mental illness. To assess clinical impact, we followed a cohort of 201 patients with moderate to severe depression and determined the proportion of patients who had a substantial clinical response (defined as ≥50% decrease from baseline scores of Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ) to measure depression) by the end of the study period.ResultsProviders experienced improved capability (enhanced self-efficacy and knowledge), greater opportunity (via access to counsellors, psychiatrist, medications and diagnostic tests) and increased motivation (developing positive attitudes towards people with mental illness and seeing patients improve) to provide mental healthcare. We observed substantial clinical response in 99 (49%; 95% CI: 42% to 56%) of the 201 cohort patients, with a median seven point (Q1:-9, Q3:-2) decrease in PHQ-9 scores (p<0.0001).ConclusionUsing the COM-B framework, we successfully adapted and implemented CoCM in rural Nepal, and found that it enhanced providers' positive perceptions of and engagement in delivering mental healthcare. We observed clinical improvement of depression comparable to controlled trials in high-resource settings. We recommend using implementation research to adapt and evaluate CoCM in other resource-constrained settings to help expand access to high-quality mental healthcare

Designing and implementing an integrated non-communicable disease primary care intervention in rural Nepal.

Low-income and middle-income countries are struggling with a growing epidemic of non-communicable diseases. To achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, their healthcare systems need to be strengthened and redesigned. The Starfield 4Cs of primary care-first-contact access, care coordination, comprehensiveness and continuity-offer practical, high-quality design options for non-communicable disease care in low-income and middle-income countries. We describe an integrated non-communicable disease intervention in rural Nepal using the 4C principles. We present 18 months of retrospective assessment of implementation for patients with type II diabetes, hypertension and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. We assessed feasibility using facility and community follow-up as proxy measures, and assessed effectiveness using singular 'at-goal' metrics for each condition. The median follow-up for diabetes, hypertension and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease was 6, 6 and 7 facility visits, and 10, 10 and 11 community visits, respectively (0.9 monthly patient touch-points). Loss-to-follow-up rates were 16%, 19% and 22%, respectively. The median time between visits was approximately 2 months for facility visits and 1 month for community visits. 'At-goal' status for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease improved from baseline to endline (p=0.01), but not for diabetes or hypertension. This is the first integrated non-communicable disease intervention, based on the 4C principles, in Nepal. Our experience demonstrates high rates of facility and community follow-up, with comparatively low lost-to-follow-up rates. The mixed effectiveness results suggest that while this intervention may be valuable, it may not be sufficient to impact outcomes. To achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, further implementation research is urgently needed to determine how to optimise non-communicable disease interventions

Designing and implementing an integrated non-communicable disease primary care intervention in rural Nepal

International audienceLow-income and middle-income countries are struggling with a growing epidemic of non-communicable diseases. To achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, their healthcare systems need to be strengthened and redesigned. The Starfield 4Cs of primary care—first-contact access, care coordination, comprehensiveness and continuity—offer practical, high-quality design options for non-communicable disease care in low-income and middle-income countries. We describe an integrated non-communicable disease intervention in rural Nepal using the 4C principles. We present 18 months of retrospective assessment of implementation for patients with type II diabetes, hypertension and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. We assessed feasibility using facility and community follow-up as proxy measures, and assessed effectiveness using singular ‘at-goal’ metrics for each condition. The median follow-up for diabetes, hypertension and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease was 6, 6 and 7 facility visits, and 10, 10 and 11 community visits, respectively (0.9 monthly patient touch-points). Loss-to-follow-up rates were 16%, 19% and 22%, respectively. The median time between visits was approximately 2 months for facility visits and 1 month for community visits. ‘At-goal’ status for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease improved from baseline to endline (p=0.01), but not for diabetes or hypertension. This is the first integrated non-communicable disease intervention, based on the 4C principles, in Nepal. Our experience demonstrates high rates of facility and community follow-up, with comparatively low lost-to-follow-up rates. The mixed effectiveness results suggest that while this intervention may be valuable, it may not be sufficient to impact outcomes. To achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, further implementation research is urgently needed to determine how to optimise non-communicable disease interventions.This is an open access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited, appropriate credit is given, any changes made indicated, and the use is non-commercial

Developing and deploying a community healthcare worker-driven, digitally- enabled integrated care system for municipalities in rural Nepal

International audienceIntegrating care at the home and facility level is a critical yet neglected function of healthcare delivery systems. There are few examples in practice or in the academic literature of affordable, digitally-enabled integrated care approaches embedded within healthcare delivery systems in low- and middle-income countries. Simultaneous advances in affordable digital technologies and community healthcare workers offer an opportunity to address this challenge. We describe the development of an integrated care system involving community healthcare worker networks that utilize a home-to-facility electronic health record platform for rural municipalities in Nepal. Key aspects of our approach of relevance to a global audience include: community healthcare workers continuously engaging with populations through household visits every three months; community healthcare workers using digital tools during the routine course of clinical care; individual and population-level data generated routinely being utilized for program improvement; and being responsive to privacy, security, and human rights concerns. We discuss implementation, lessons learned, challenges, and opportunities for future directions in integrated care delivery systems