A systematic review with epidemiological update of male genital schistosomiasis (MGS): A call for integrated case management across the health system in sub-Saharan Africa

Abstract Introduction Programmes that merge management of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and tuberculosis (TB) aim to improve HIV/TB co-infected patients’ access to comprehensive treatment. However, several reports from sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) indicate suboptimal uptake of antiretroviral therapy (ART) even after integration of HIV and TB treatment. This study assessed ART uptake, its barriers and enablers in programmes integrating TB and HIV treatment in SSA. Method A systematic review was performed. Seven databases were searched for eligible quantitative, qualitative and mixed-methods studies published from March 2004 through July 2019. Random-effects meta-analysis was used to obtain pooled estimates of ART uptake. A thematic approach was used to analyse and synthesise data on barriers and enablers. Results Of 5139 references identified, 27 were included in the review: 23/27 estimated ART uptake and 10/27 assessed barriers to and/or enablers of ART uptake. The pooled ART uptake was 53% (95% CI: 42, 63%) and between-study heterogeneity was high (I2 = 99.71%, p < 0.001). WHO guideline on collaborative TB/HIV activities and sample size were associated with heterogeneity. There were statistically significant subgroup effects with high heterogeneity after subgroup analyses by region, guideline on collaborative TB/HIV activities, study design, and sample size. The most frequently described socioeconomic and individual level barriers to ART uptake were stigma, low income, and younger age group. The most frequently reported health system-related barriers were limited staff capacity, shortages in medical supplies, lack of infrastructure, and poor adherence to or lack of treatment guidelines. Clinical barriers included intolerance to anti-TB drugs, fear of drug toxicity, and contraindications to antiretrovirals. Health system enablers included good management of the procurement, supply, and dispensation chain; convenience and accessibility of treatment services; and strong staff capacity. Availability of psychosocial support was the most frequently reported enabler of uptake at the community level. Conclusions In SSA, programmes integrating treatment of TB and HIV do not, in general, achieve high ART uptake but we observe a net improvement in uptake after WHO issued the 2012 guidelines on collaborative TB/HIV activities. The recurrence of specific modifiable system-level and patient-level factors in the literature reveals key intervention points to improve ART uptake in these programmes. Systematic review registration: CRD42019131933.

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Improving quality of surgical and anaesthesia care at hospital level in sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic review protocol of health system strengthening interventions

BMJ Open ◽

10.1136/bmjopen-2019-036615 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (5) ◽

pp. e036615

Author(s):

Nataliya Brima ◽

Justine Davies ◽

Andrew JM Leather

Keyword(s):

Systematic Review ◽

Health System ◽

Primary Outcome ◽

Sub Saharan Africa ◽

Health System Strengthening ◽

African Countries ◽

Implementation Outcomes ◽

Sub Saharan ◽

Anaesthesia Care

IntroductionOver 5 billion people in the world do not have access to safe, affordable surgical and anaesthesia care when needed. In order to improve health outcomes in patients with surgical conditions, both access to care and the quality of care need to be improved. A recent commission on high-quality health systems highlighted that poor-quality care is now a bigger barrier than non-utilisation of the health system for reducing mortality.AimTo carry out a systematic review to provide an evidence-based summary of hospital-based interventions associated with improved quality of surgical and anaesthesia care in sub-Saharan African countries (SSACs).Methods and analysisThree search strings (1) surgery and anaesthesia, (2) quality improvement hospital-based interventions and (3) SSACs will be combined. The following databases EMBASE, Global Health, MEDLINE, CINAHL, Web of Science and Scopus will be searched. Further relevant studies will be identified from national and international health organisations and publications and reference lists of all selected full-text articles. The review will include all type of original articles in English published between 2008 and 2019. Article screening, data extraction and assessment of methodological quality will be done by two reviewers independently and any disputes will be resolved by a third reviewer or team consensus. Three types of outcomes will be collected including clinical, process and implementation outcomes. The primary outcome will be mortality. Secondary outcomes will include other clinical outcomes (major and minor complications), as well as process and implementation outcomes. Descriptive statistics and outcomes will be summarised and discussed. For the primary outcome, the methodological rigour will be assessed.Ethics and disseminationThe results will be published in a peer reviewed open access journal and presented at national and international conferences. As this is a review of secondary data no formal ethical approval is required.PROSPERO registration numberCRD42019125570.

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Patient and health system costs of managing pregnancy and birth-related complications in sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic review

Health Economics Review ◽

10.1186/s13561-020-00283-y ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Amani Thomas Mori ◽

Peter Binyaruka ◽

Peter Hangoma ◽

Bjarne Robberstad ◽

Ingvild Sandoy

Keyword(s):

Systematic Review ◽

Health System ◽

Sub Saharan Africa ◽

Sub Saharan ◽

Pregnancy And Birth

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Why are IPTp coverage targets so elusive in sub-Saharan Africa? A systematic review of health system barriers

Malaria Journal ◽

10.1186/1475-2875-12-353 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 12 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 28

Author(s):

Sylla Thiam ◽

Victoria Kimotho ◽

Patrick Gatonga

Keyword(s):

Systematic Review ◽

Health System ◽

Sub Saharan Africa ◽

Sub Saharan

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Health System Factors That Influence Treatment Delay in Women With Breast Cancer in Sub-saharan Africa: A Systematic Review

10.21203/rs.3.rs-234691/v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Gloria Gbenonsi ◽

Mouna Boucham ◽

Zakaria Belrhiti ◽

Chakib Nejjari ◽

Inge Huybrechts ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Breast Cancer ◽

Systematic Review ◽

Health Care ◽

Health System ◽

Assessment Tool ◽

Treatment Delay ◽

Sub Saharan Africa ◽

Quality Assessment Tool ◽

System Factors ◽

Sub Saharan

Abstract BackgroundBreast cancer patients in sub-Saharan Africa experience long delays between their first presentation to a health care facility and the start of cancer treatment. The role of the health system in the increasing delays in treatment has not been widely investigated. This review aimed to identify existing information on health system factors that influence treatment delays in women with breast cancer in sub-Saharan Africa to contribute to the reorientation of health policies in the region.MethodsPubMed, ScienceDirect, African Journals Online, Mendeley, ResearchGate and Google Scholar were searched to identify relevant studies published between 2010 and July 2020. We performed a qualitative synthesis in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement. Related health system factors were extracted and classified according to the World Health Organization’s six health system building blocks. The quality of qualitative and quantitative studies was assessed by using the Critical Appraisal Skills Program quality-assessment tool and the National Institute of Health Quality Assessment Tool, respectively. In addition, we used the Confidence in the Evidence from Reviews of Qualitative Research tool to assess the evidence for each qualitative finding.ResultsFrom 14,184 identified studies, this systematic review included 28 articles. We identified a total of 36 barriers and 8 facilitators that may influence treatment delay in women with breast cancer. The principal health system factors identified were mainly related to human resources and service delivery, particularly difficulty accessing health care, diagnostic errors, poor management, and treatment cost.ConclusionThe present review shows that treatment delay among women with breast cancer in sub-Saharan Africa is influenced by many related health system factors. Policy makers in sub-Saharan Africa need to tackle the financial accessibility to breast cancer treatment by adequate universal health coverage policies and reinforce the clinical competencies for health workers to ensure timely diagnosis and appropriate care for women with breast cancer in this region.

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Health System Governance for the Integration of Mental Health Services into Primary Health Care in the Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia Region: A Systematic Review

INQUIRY The Journal of Health Care Organization Provision and Financing ◽

10.1177/00469580211028579 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 58 ◽

pp. 004695802110285

Author(s):

Arifah Abd Rahim ◽

Rosliza Abdul Manaf ◽

Muhammad Hanafiah Juni ◽

Normala Ibrahim

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Systematic Review ◽

Mental Health Services ◽

Health Services ◽

Health System ◽

South Asia ◽

Mental Healthcare ◽

Sub Saharan Africa ◽

Human Resource Capacity ◽

Sub Saharan

Governance has been highlighted as an important building block underpinning the process of mental health integration into primary healthcare. This qualitative systematic review aims to identify the governance issues faced by countries in the Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia Region in the implementation of integrated primary mental healthcare. PRISMA guideline was used to conduct a systematic search of relevant studies from 4 online databases that were filtered according to inclusion and exclusion criteria. Using the Critical Appraisal Skills Program (CASP) Qualitative Checklist, a quality appraisal of the selected articles was performed. By drawing upon institutional theory, data was extracted based on a pre-constructed matrix. The CERQual approach synthesized evidence and rank confidence level as low, moderate or high for 5 key findings. From 567 references identified, a total of 8 studies were included. Respondents were policymakers or implementers involved in integrated primary mental healthcare from the national, state, and district level. Overall, the main governance issues identified were a lack of leadership and mental health prioritization; inadequate financing and human resource capacity; and negative mental health perceptions/attitudes. The implication of the findings is that such issues must be addressed for long-term health system performance. This can also improve policymaking for better integration of primary mental health services into the health systems of countries in the Sub-Saharan and South Asia region.

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A systematic review of qualitative literature on antimicrobial stewardship in Sub-Saharan Africa

Global Health Research and Policy ◽

10.1186/s41256-021-00216-0 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 6 (1) ◽

Author(s):

George James Porter ◽

Stephen Owens ◽

Matthew Breckons

Keyword(s):

Systematic Review ◽

Antibiotic Resistance ◽

Health System ◽

Antimicrobial Stewardship ◽

Literature Search ◽

Critical Appraisal ◽

Barriers And Facilitators ◽

Sub Saharan Africa ◽

Sub Saharan ◽

Qualitative Literature

Abstract Background Antibiotic resistance is a major problem in every region of the globe and Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is no exception. Several systematic reviews have addressed the prevalence of resistant organisms but few have examined the underlying causes in this region. This systematic review of qualitative literature aims to highlight barriers and facilitators to antimicrobial stewardship in SSA. Methods A literature search of Embase and MEDLINE(R) was carried out. Studies were included if they were in English, conducted in SSA, and reported qualitative data on the barriers and facilitators of antimicrobial stewardship or on attitudes towards resistance promoting behaviours. Studies were screened with a simple critical appraisal tool. Secondary constructs were extracted and coded into concepts, which were then reviewed and grouped into themes in light of the complete dataset. Results The literature search yielded 169 results, of which 14 studies from 11 countries were included in the final analysis. No studies were excluded as a result of the critical appraisal. Eight concepts emerged from initial coding, which were consolidated into five major themes: ineffective regulation, health system factors, clinical governance, patient factors and lack of resources. The ineffective regulation theme highlighted the balance between tightening drugstore regulation, reducing over-the-counter sale of antibiotics, and maintaining access to medicines for rural communities. Meanwhile, health system factors explored the tension between antimicrobial stewardship and the need of pharmacy workers to maintain profitable businesses. Additionally, a lack of resources, actions by patients and the day-to-day challenges of providing healthcare were shown to directly impede antimicrobial stewardship and exacerbate other factors which promote resistance. Conclusion Antibiotic resistance in SSA is a multi-faceted issue and while limited resources contribute to the problem they should be viewed in the context of other factors. We identify several contextual factors that affect resistance and stewardship that should be considered by policy makers when planning interventions. This literature base is also incomplete, with only 11 nations accounted for and many studies being confined to regions within countries, so more research is needed. Specifically, further studies on implementing stewardship interventions, successful or not, would be beneficial to inform future efforts.

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Health system factors that influence diagnostic and treatment intervals in women with breast cancer in sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic review

BMC Public Health ◽

10.1186/s12889-021-11296-5 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 21 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Gloria Gbenonsi ◽

Mouna Boucham ◽

Zakaria Belrhiti ◽

Chakib Nejjari ◽

Inge Huybrechts ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Breast Cancer ◽

Systematic Review ◽

Health Care ◽

Health System ◽

Assessment Tool ◽

Sub Saharan Africa ◽

Quality Assessment Tool ◽

Time Intervals ◽

System Factors ◽

Sub Saharan

Abstract Background Breast cancer patients in sub-Saharan Africa experience long time intervals between their first presentation to a health care facility and the start of cancer treatment. The role of the health system in the increasing treatment time intervals has not been widely investigated. This review aimed to identify existing information on health system factors that influence diagnostic and treatment intervals in women with breast cancer in sub-Saharan Africa to contribute to the reorientation of health policies in the region. Methods PubMed, ScienceDirect, African Journals Online, Mendeley, ResearchGate and Google Scholar were searched to identify relevant studies published between 2010 and July 2020. We performed a qualitative synthesis in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement. Related health system factors were extracted and classified according to the World Health Organization’s six health system building blocks. The quality of qualitative and quantitative studies was assessed by using the Critical Appraisal Skills Program Quality-Assessment Tool and the National Institute of Health Quality Assessment Tool, respectively. In addition, we used the Confidence in the Evidence from Reviews of Qualitative Research tool to assess the evidence for each qualitative finding. Results From 14,184 identified studies, this systematic review included 28 articles. We identified a total of 36 barriers and 8 facilitators that may influence diagnostic and treatment intervals in women with breast cancer. The principal health system factors identified were mainly related to human resources and service delivery, particularly difficulty accessing health care, diagnostic errors, poor management, and treatment cost. Conclusion The present review shows that diagnostic and treatment intervals among women with breast cancer in sub-Saharan Africa are influenced by many related health system factors. Policy makers in sub-Saharan Africa need to tackle the financial accessibility to breast cancer treatment by adequate universal health coverage policies and reinforce the clinical competencies for health workers to ensure timely diagnosis and appropriate care for women with breast cancer in this region.

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