Evaluation of a savings-led family-based economic empowerment intervention for AIDS-affected adolescents in Uganda: A four-year follow-up on efficacy and cost-effectiveness

Background Children who have lost a parent to HIV/AIDS, known as AIDS orphans, face multiple stressors affecting their health and development. Family economic empowerment (FEE) interventions have the potential to improve these outcomes and mitigate the risks they face. We present efficacy and cost-effectiveness analyses of the Bridges study, a savings-led FEE intervention among AIDS-orphaned adolescents in Uganda at four-year follow-up. Methods Intent-to-treat analyses using multilevel models compared the effects of two savings-led treatment arms: Bridges (1:1 matched incentive) and BridgesPLUS (2:1 matched incentive) to a usual care control group on the following outcomes: self-rated health, sexual health, and mental health functioning. Total per-participant costs for each arm were calculated using the treatment-on-the-treated sample. Intervention effects and per-participant costs were used to calculate incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs). Findings Among 1,383 participants, 55% were female, 20% were double orphans. Mean age was 12 years at baseline. At 48-months, BridgesPLUS significantly improved self-rated health, (0.25, 95% CI 0.06, 0.43), HIV knowledge (0.21, 95% CI 0.01, 0.41), self-concept (0.26, 95% CI 0.09, 0.44), and self-efficacy (0.26, 95% CI 0.09, 0.43) and lowered hopelessness (-0.28, 95% CI -0.43, -0.12); whereas Bridges improved self-rated health (0.26, 95% CI 0.08, 0.43) and HIV knowledge (0.22, 95% CI 0.05, 0.39). ICERs ranged from $224 for hopelessness to$298 for HIV knowledge per 0.2 standard deviation change. Conclusions Most intervention effects were sustained in both treatment arms at two years post-intervention. Higher matching incentives yielded a significant and lasting effect on a greater number of outcomes among adolescents compared to lower matching incentives at a similar incremental cost per unit effect. These findings contribute to the evidence supporting the incorporation of FEE interventions within national social protection frameworks

Household costs and time to treatment for children with severe febrile illness in rural Burkina Faso: the role of rectal artesunate

UNICEF/UNDP/World Bank/WHO Special Programme for Research & Training in Tropical Diseases (TDR), World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland [Project ID number: Burkina Faso: A80553

Pain Intensity and Its Objective Determinants Following Implant Surgery and Sinus Lifting: A 1-Year Prospective Study

Objectives: The main goal of this study was to evaluate the relationship between postoperative pain and short-term implant survival. Objective parameters, such as implant-related factors (type, diameter, length) and the surgical approach were also assessed to correlate them with pain. Materials and Methods: This prospective, single-center study consisted of 144 patients scheduled for the surgical placement of one or more implants either with conventional surgery or with sinus-lifting together. All patients were asked to complete a questionnaire form of pain with a visual-analog scale (VAS, 1–10) for 7 days following surgery. The association of pain scores at each time-point was assessed on implant- and surgery-related factors. Results: The overall cumulative survival rate of 546 implants in 144 patients was 98.17 % (10 implants lost) after 1-year follow-up. No statistical difference was found in pain (VAS) scores between patients with loss and survived implants at any observation period. The length and diameter of placed implants and the presence of a sinus-lifting procedure did not influence the pain scores at any period (P > 0.05). In patients with bilateral sinus lifting, the decrease in pain scores was significant after 3 days (P < 0.05), whereas it was significant after 6 hours for the conventionally treated group (P < 0.01). Although no severe pain was reported at any time, this study found a significant difference in pain intensities among different implant brands. Conclusions: This study was able to show that increased postoperative pain is not a sign of early implant failure. In addition to this, the implant dimensions and presence of sinus lifting procedure did not influence the pain experience. However, the bilateral sinus lifting prolongs the recovery time.Keywords: Dental implant, pain, postoperative, sinus lifting, surger

Pain Intensity and Its Objective Determinants Following Implant Surgery and Sinus Lifting: A 1-Year Prospective Study

Objectives: The main goal of this study was to evaluate the relationship between postoperative pain and short-term implant survival. Objective parameters, such as implant-related factors (type, diameter, length) and the surgical approach were also assessed to correlate them with pain. Materials and Methods: This prospective, single-center study consisted of 144 patients scheduled for the surgical placement of one or more implants either with conventional surgery or with sinus-lifting together. All patients were asked to complete a questionnaire form of pain with a visual-analog scale (VAS, 1-10) for 7 days following surgery. The association of pain scores at each time-point was assessed on implant-and surgery-related factors. Results: The overall cumulative survival rate of 546 implants in 144 patients was 98.17 % (10 implants lost) after 1-year follow-up. No statistical difference was found in pain (VAS) scores between patients with loss and survived implants at any observation period. The length and diameter of placed implants and the presence of a sinus-lifting procedure did not influence the pain scores at any period (P > 0.05). In patients with bilateral sinus lifting, the decrease in pain scores was significant after 3 days (P < 0.05), whereas it was significant after 6 hours for the conventionally treated group (P < 0.01). Although no severe pain was reported at any time, this study found a significant difference in pain intensities among different implant brands. Conclusions: This study was able to show that increased postoperative pain is not a sign of early implant failure. In addition to this, the implant dimensions and presence of sinus lifting procedure did not influence the pain experience. However, the bilateral sinus lifting prolongs the recovery time

Reviewing estimates of the basic reproduction number for dengue, Zika and chikungunya across global climate zones

BACKGROUND: Globally, dengue, Zika virus, and chikungunya are important viral mosquito-borne diseases that infect millions of people annually. Their geographic range includes not only tropical areas but also sub-tropical and temperate zones such as Japan and Italy. The relative severity of these arboviral disease outbreaks can vary depending on the setting. In this study we explore variation in the epidemiologic potential of outbreaks amongst these climatic zones and arboviruses in order to elucidate potential reasons behind such differences. METHODOLOGY: We reviewed the peer-reviewed literature (PubMed) to obtain basic reproduction number (R0) estimates for dengue, Zika virus, and chikungunya from tropical, sub-tropical and temperate regions. We also computed R0 estimates for temperate and sub-tropical climate zones, based on the outbreak curves in the initial outbreak phase. Lastly we compared these estimates across climate zones, defined by latitude. RESULTS: Of 2115 studies, we reviewed the full text of 128 studies and included 65 studies in our analysis. Our results suggest that the R0 of an arboviral outbreak depends on climate zone, with lower R0 estimates, on average, in temperate zones (R0 = 2.03) compared to tropical (R0 = 3.44) and sub-tropical zones (R0 = 10.29). The variation in R0 was considerable, ranging from 0.16 to 65. The largest R0 was for dengue (65) and was estimated by the Ross-Macdonald model in the tropical zone, whereas the smallest R0 (0.16) was for Zika virus and was estimated statistically from an outbreak curve in the sub-tropical zone. CONCLUSIONS: The results indicate climate zone to be an important determinant of the basic reproduction number, R0, for dengue, Zika virus, and chikungunya. The role of other factors as determinants of R0, such as methods, environmental and social conditions, and disease control, should be further investigated. The results suggest that R0 may increase in temperate regions in response to global warming, and highlight the increasing need for strengthening preparedness and control activities

Evaluation of a savings-led family-based economic empowerment intervention for AIDS-affected adolescents in Uganda: A four-year follow-up on efficacy and cost-effectiveness.

BackgroundChildren who have lost a parent to HIV/AIDS, known as AIDS orphans, face multiple stressors affecting their health and development. Family economic empowerment (FEE) interventions have the potential to improve these outcomes and mitigate the risks they face. We present efficacy and cost-effectiveness analyses of the Bridges study, a savings-led FEE intervention among AIDS-orphaned adolescents in Uganda at four-year follow-up.MethodsIntent-to-treat analyses using multilevel models compared the effects of two savings-led treatment arms: Bridges (1:1 matched incentive) and BridgesPLUS (2:1 matched incentive) to a usual care control group on the following outcomes: self-rated health, sexual health, and mental health functioning. Total per-participant costs for each arm were calculated using the treatment-on-the-treated sample. Intervention effects and per-participant costs were used to calculate incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs).FindingsAmong 1,383 participants, 55% were female, 20% were double orphans. Mean age was 12 years at baseline. At 48-months, BridgesPLUS significantly improved self-rated health, (0.25, 95% CI 0.06, 0.43), HIV knowledge (0.21, 95% CI 0.01, 0.41), self-concept (0.26, 95% CI 0.09, 0.44), and self-efficacy (0.26, 95% CI 0.09, 0.43) and lowered hopelessness (-0.28, 95% CI -0.43, -0.12); whereas Bridges improved self-rated health (0.26, 95% CI 0.08, 0.43) and HIV knowledge (0.22, 95% CI 0.05, 0.39). ICERs ranged from $224 for hopelessness to$298 for HIV knowledge per 0.2 standard deviation change.ConclusionsMost intervention effects were sustained in both treatment arms at two years post-intervention. Higher matching incentives yielded a significant and lasting effect on a greater number of outcomes among adolescents compared to lower matching incentives at a similar incremental cost per unit effect. These findings contribute to the evidence supporting the incorporation of FEE interventions within national social protection frameworks