scholarly journals Improving Confirmatory Testing for the Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance Network in Ethiopia

2020 ◽  
Vol 41 (S1) ◽  
pp. s287-s288
Author(s):  
Ashutosh Wadhwa ◽  
Michele Parsons ◽  
Degefu Beyene ◽  
Dawit Assefa ◽  
Gebrie Alebachew ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Antimicrobial Resistance ◽  
Monitoring And Evaluation ◽  
Surveillance Network ◽  
Confirmatory Testing ◽  
Staff Members ◽  
Observation Process ◽  
Key Stakeholders ◽  
Document Review ◽  
Mycology Laboratory ◽  
Public Health Institute

Background: In July 2017, the Ethiopian Public Health Institute (EPHI) launched an antimicrobial resistance (AMR) surveillance network at 4 sentinel laboratories. The National Clinical Bacteriology and Mycology Laboratory (NRL) at EPHI performs monthly confirmatory testing on a subset of isolates submitted by these sites. We assessed the existing confirmatory testing program to identify gaps and develop solutions, including a monitoring and evaluation (M&E) system. Methods: We assembled a technical working group (TWG) of key stakeholders. Laboratory site visits included workflow observation, process mapping, document review, and technologist interviews. Proposed solutions to observed gaps were drafted in formats consistent with their intended application. Feedback from the TWG was incorporated into final drafts. Available AMR network staff members were trained remotely, and they will train remaining staff. Results: Table 1 describes major gaps and solutions identified. Conclusions: Confirmatory testing provides a mechanism to evaluate laboratory testing proficiency, target improvements, and estimate surveillance data quality, yet standardized methods were lacking. Our efforts highlight key components of confirmatory testing programs and provide a model for use in laboratories with similar needs.Funding: NoneDisclosures: None

scholarly journals Strengthening implementation of antimicrobial resistance national action plans

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽  
Author(s):  
M Anderson ◽  
K Schulze ◽  
A Cassini ◽  
D Plauchoras ◽  
E Mossialos
Keyword(s):  
Antimicrobial Resistance ◽  
Policy Design ◽  
Animal Health ◽  
Monitoring And Evaluation ◽  
Basic Structure ◽  
Infection Prevention And Control ◽  
Action Plans ◽  
Governance Framework ◽  
Food And Agriculture ◽  
Food And Agriculture Organization

Abstract Antimicrobial resistance is one of the major challenges of our time. Countries use national action plans as a mechanism to build engagement among stakeholders and coordinate a range of actions across human, animal, and environmental health. However, implementation of recommended policies such as stewardship of antimicrobials, infection prevention and control, and stimulating research and development of novel antimicrobials and alternatives remains inconsistent. Improving the quality of governance within antimicrobial resistance national action plans is an essential step to improving implementation. To date, no systematic approach to governance of national action plans on AMR exists. To address this issue, we aimed to develop the first governance framework to offer guidance for both the development and assessment of national action plans on AMR. We reviewed health system governance framework reviews to inform the basic structure of our framework, international guidance documents from WHO, the Food and Agriculture Organization, the World Organisation for Animal Health, and the European Commission, and sought the input of 25 experts from international organisations, government ministries, policy institutes, and academic institutions to develop and refine our framework. The framework consists of 18 domains with 52 indicators that are contained within three governance areas: policy design, implementation tools, and monitoring and evaluation. Countries must engage with a cyclical process of continuous design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation to achieve these aims.

scholarly journals Insights from the evaluation of a provincial healthy eating strategy in Nova Scotia, Canada

2012 ◽  
Vol 16 (10) ◽  
pp. 1870-1878
Author(s):  
S Meaghan Sim ◽  
Sara FL Kirk
Keyword(s):  
Nova Scotia ◽  
Healthy Eating ◽  
Policy Development ◽  
Strategy Implementation ◽  
Canadian Province ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Key Stakeholders ◽  
Health Model ◽  
Document Review ◽  
Depth Interviews

AbstractObjectiveHealthy Eating Nova Scotia represents the first provincial comprehensive healthy eating strategy in Canada and a strategy that is framed within a population-health model. Five years after strategy launch, our objective was to evaluate Healthy Eating Nova Scotia to determine perceptions of strategy implementation and strategy outputs. The focus of the current paper is on the findings of this evaluation.DesignWe conducted an evaluation of the strategy through three activities that included a document review, survey of key stakeholders and in-depth interviews with key strategy informants. The findings from each of the activities were integrated to determine what has worked well with strategy implementation, what could be improved and what outputs have resulted.SettingThe evaluation was conducted in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia.ParticipantsParticipants for this evaluation included survey respondents (n 120) and key informants (n 16). A total of 156 documents were also reviewed.ResultsSignificant investments have been made towards inter-sectoral partnerships and resourcing that has provided the necessary leadership and momentum for the strategy. Policy development has been leveraged through the strategy primarily in the health and education sectors and is perceived as a visible success. Clarity of human resource roles and funding within the context of a provincial strategy may be beneficial for continued strategy implementation, as is expansion of policy development.ConclusionsKnown to be the first evaluation of its kind, these findings and related considerations will be of interest to policy makers developing and implementing similar strategies in their own jurisdictions.

scholarly journals Institutional Barriers to Climate Change Adaptation in Burkina Faso: How could We Go around Them?

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 67
Author(s):  
Fiacre Basson ◽  
Djibril S. Dayamba ◽  
Joel Korahire ◽  
Jean M. Dipama ◽  
Francois Zougmore ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Burkina Faso ◽  
Climate Change Adaptation ◽  
Focal Point ◽  
Monitoring And Evaluation ◽  
Political Support ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Institutional Barriers ◽  
Strategic Objectives ◽  
Key Stakeholders

Despite the existence of a National Adaptation Plan to climate change (NAP) in Burkina Faso, operationalizing adaptation still face a number of challenges. The current study focused on identifying institutional barriers to the strategic objectives of climate change adaptation (CCA) using a literature review and semi-structured interviews conducted with key stakeholders / resource persons involved in the implementation of the NAP. The results revealed a weak collaboration between the NAP steering institution and the ministerial departments covered by the NAP. This situation, first, hampers the implementation of adaptation actions and secondly, the monitoring reporting and verification of adaptation initiatives. Further, the analysis revealed that lack of financial resources poses constraints to many actions that were to be taken by the steering institution and therefore creates poor ownership of the NAP by the main stakeholders that should be actively involved in the NAP process. To cope with the various constraints, it is necessary to have strong political support in many aspects. For instance, it was judged that institutionalizing the role of climate change (CC) focal point within the ministries and embedding NAP monitoring and evaluation (M&E) objectives and indicators with existing functional M&E systems in the sectorial ministries will ease CCA actions integration in operational plans, their implementation and documentation. Moreover, it is relevant to have a continuous capacity building plan to keep stakeholders updated on climate change issues as this will support them in their mandate of mainstreaming CC into ministerial operational plans and lead to optimal CCA implementation and monitoring.

Informatics for Medicines Management Systems in Resource-Limited Settings

2012 ◽  
pp. 634-645
Author(s):  
Andy Stergachis ◽  
Douglas Keene ◽  
Shabir Somani
Keyword(s):  
Information Technologies ◽  
Care Delivery ◽  
Monitoring And Evaluation ◽  
Management Systems ◽  
Medicines Management ◽  
Resource Limited Settings ◽  
Treatment And Prevention ◽  
Resource Limited ◽  
Key Stakeholders ◽  
Potential Benefits

Improved access to information is necessary to ensure achievement of the potential benefits of medicines in resource-limited countries. The scaling up of treatment and prevention programs involving medicines in resource-limited regions with high disease burdens requires proper and urgent attention to the development and use of information technologies. Areas of need for medicines management systems informatics include prescribing, dispensing, pharmaceutical care, administration, patient monitoring, education and training, supply chain management, and monitoring and evaluation of program performance. Such information systems should strive to collect and manage data that are a standardized, compiled, and made easily accessible for use by key stakeholders, including ministries of health, medicines regulators, pharmaceutical industry, public health programs, academic researchers, donor organizations, the health care delivery sector, and ultimately the public and patients. A framework is described for medicines management systems informatics in resource-limited settings.

scholarly journals Collaborating to co-produce strategies for delivering adolescent sexual and reproductive health interventions: processes and experiences from an implementation research project in Nigeria

2020 ◽  
Vol 35 (Supplement_2) ◽  
pp. ii84-ii97
Author(s):  
Chinyere Ojiugo Mbachu ◽  
Ifunanya Clara Agu ◽  
Obinna Onwujekwe
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Health ◽  
Sexual And Reproductive Health ◽  
Qualitative Interviews ◽  
Group Discussion ◽  
Implementation Strategies ◽  
Design Strategies ◽  
Secondary Sources ◽  
Key Stakeholders ◽  
Academic Researchers ◽  
Document Review

Abstract Implementation science embraces collaboration between academic researchers and key stakeholders/implementers for the dual purpose of capacity building and context-adaptation. Co-production ensures that knowledge created with inputs from various groups of stakeholders is more reflective of local contexts. This paper highlights the experiences of academic researchers and non-academic implementers in collaborating to design implementation strategies for improving access to sexual and reproductive information and services for adolescents. Data were collected through primary and secondary sources. Detailed review of project documents such as minutes of research meetings, reports of workshops and outputs of group work activities enabled detailed description of the processes and steps of co-designing implementation strategies. Information on experiences and perspectives of benefits of the collaborative were collected through in-depth interviews of non-academic partners and focus group discussion with academic researchers. Narrative synthesis was done for information extracted through document review. Thematic analysis of qualitative interviews was done. The process of designing implementation strategies happened in three chronological steps of setting up the collaborative, selecting intervention areas and convening partners’ meetings to design strategies. Specific activities include stakeholder engagement, situation analysis, selection of intervention areas, designing the implementation strategies and pre-testing implementation tools. The process of analysing and selecting collaborators was iterative, and facilitated by having an ‘insider’ key informant. Working with key stakeholders enabled knowledge sharing and exchange among partners. Information sharing within the collaborative facilitated shifting of mindsets about adolescent sexual and reproductive health, and contextual adaptation of names and labels given to strategies. Co-producing implementation strategies with non-academic implementers enabled stakeholder ownership of implementation strategies and set the scene for their adoption in implementation settings. Some challenges of co-production of knowledge are that it is time consuming; involves several iterations that may influence coherence of strategies; involves multiple interests and priorities and poses a threat to fidelity.

scholarly journals Building the European Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance network in veterinary medicine (EARS-Vet)

2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rodolphe Mader ◽  
Peter Damborg ◽  
Jean-Philippe Amat ◽  
Björn Bengtsson ◽  
Clémence Bourély ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Veterinary Medicine ◽  
Antimicrobial Resistance ◽  
Antimicrobial Stewardship ◽  
One Health ◽  
Action Plan ◽  
Animal Health ◽  
World Health ◽  
European Economic Area ◽  
Surveillance Network ◽  
Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) should be tackled through a One Health approach, as stated in the World Health Organization Global Action Plan on AMR. We describe the landscape of AMR surveillance in the European Union/European Economic Area (EU/EEA) and underline a gap regarding veterinary medicine. Current AMR surveillance efforts are of limited help to veterinary practitioners and policymakers seeking to improve antimicrobial stewardship in animal health. We propose to establish the European Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance network in Veterinary medicine (EARS-Vet) to report on the AMR situation, follow AMR trends and detect emerging AMR in selected bacterial pathogens of animals. This information could be useful to advise policymakers, explore efficacy of interventions, support antimicrobial stewardship initiatives, (re-)evaluate marketing authorisations of antimicrobials, generate epidemiological cut-off values, assess risk of zoonotic AMR transmission and evaluate the burden of AMR in animal health. EARS-Vet could be integrated with other AMR monitoring systems in the animal and medical sectors to ensure a One Health approach. Herein, we present a strategy to establish EARS-Vet as a network of national surveillance systems and highlight challenges of data harmonisation and bias. Strong political commitment at national and EU/EEA levels is required for the success of EARS-Vet.

scholarly journals Accounting for the faculty differentials in the production of PhD graduates in a South African university

2021 ◽  
Vol 35 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Tanga ◽  
F. Megbowon ◽  
V. Nkonki ◽  
T. Rulashe
Keyword(s):  
Academic Staff ◽  
Monitoring And Evaluation ◽  
Staff Members ◽  
Junior Staff ◽  
Positive Discrimination ◽  
Important Means ◽  
The Government ◽  
Set Up ◽  
Recruitment And Selection ◽  
The University

The ability of an institution to graduate students, also known as the throughput rate, is one of the most important means of an institution receiving a grant/ subsidy from the government. This article sought to interrogate the differentials in throughput rates of PhD graduates per faculty in a selected institution over a period of five years. Framed within the interpretive paradigm, a qualitative approach and a case study design were adopted. A non-probability purposive sample of 30 participants was selected the academic staff within the six faculties that make up the university under investigation. Data was collected through in-depth interviews and document analysis. Interview transcripts were analysed thematically and using the constant comparison technique. The major findings pointed to differentials in PhD production across faculties as emanating from variations in supervision approaches as reflected in the recruitment and selection of candidates, students’ composition, allocation of supervision load, preparation and orientation of candidates, mentoring of both students and junior staff members, as well as monitoring and evaluation of students’ progress. The findings also revealed challenges like lack of financial support for students, poor structural set-up of some faculties as well as “positive” discrimination in some faculties. These factors constrained the throughput rates in different faculties differently, resulting to a difference in PhD graduate production. It is concluded that there are some quality concerns resulting from the poor processes and procedures as well as the number of graduates from some staff members. It is recommended that the university harmonise its diverse PhD processes and procedures, and enlarge some faculties by creating distinct departments to provide requisite support and interventions to narrow the differentials and improve quality.

scholarly journals Decreasing and stabilising trends of antimicrobial consumption and resistance in Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae in segmented regression analysis, European Union/European Economic Area, 2001 to 2018

2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (46) ◽  
Author(s):  
Germán Peñalva ◽  
Liselotte Diaz Högberg ◽  
Klaus Weist ◽  
Vera Vlahović-Palčevski ◽  
Ole Heuer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Antimicrobial Resistance ◽  
European Economic Area ◽  
Segmented Regression ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Antimicrobial Consumption ◽  
Surveillance Network ◽  
The Public ◽  
Early Indication ◽  
Health Agenda

Investments to reduce the spread of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in the European Union have been made, including efforts to strengthen prudent antimicrobial use. Using segmented regression, we report decreasing and stabilising trends in data reported to the European Surveillance of Antimicrobial Consumption Network and stabilising trends in data reported to the European Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance Network. Our results could be an early indication of the effect of prioritising AMR on the public health agenda.

scholarly journals ACORN (A Clinically-Oriented Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance Network): a pilot protocol for case based antimicrobial resistance surveillance

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. 13
Author(s):  
Paul Turner ◽  
Elizabeth A. Ashley ◽  
Olivier J. Celhay ◽  
Anousone Douangnouvong ◽  
Raph L. Hamers ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Antimicrobial Resistance ◽  
Treatment Guidelines ◽  
Clinical Care ◽  
Local Treatment ◽  
Laboratory Data ◽  
Added Value ◽  
Pilot Phase ◽  
Surveillance Network ◽  
Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance ◽  
The Impact

Background: Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) / drug resistant infections (DRIs) are a major global health priority. Surveillance data is critical to inform infection treatment guidelines, monitor trends, and to assess interventions. However, most existing AMR / DRI surveillance systems are passive and pathogen-based with many potential biases. Addition of clinical and patient outcome data would provide considerable added value to pathogen-based surveillance. Methods: The aim of the ACORN project is to develop an efficient clinically-oriented AMR surveillance system, implemented alongside routine clinical care in hospitals in low- and middle-income country settings. In an initial pilot phase, clinical and microbiology data will be collected from patients presenting with clinically suspected meningitis, pneumonia, or sepsis. Community-acquired infections will be identified by daily review of new admissions, and hospital-acquired infections will be enrolled during weekly point prevalence surveys, on surveillance wards. Clinical variables will be collected at enrolment, hospital discharge, and at day 28 post-enrolment using an electronic questionnaire on a mobile device. These data will be merged with laboratory data onsite using a flexible automated computer script. Specific target pathogens will be Streptococcus pneumoniae, Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella spp., Klebsiella pneumoniae, Escherichia coli, and Acinetobacter baumannii. A bespoke browser-based app will provide sites with fully interactive data visualisation, analysis, and reporting tools. Discussion: ACORN will generate data on the burden of DRI which can be used to inform local treatment guidelines / national policy and serve as indicators to measure the impact of interventions. Following development, testing and iteration of the surveillance tools during an initial six-month pilot phase, a wider rollout is planned.

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