scholarly journals Implementing a mobile diagnostic unit to increase access to imaging and laboratory services in western Kenya

2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (5) ◽  
pp. e000947 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roshni Dhoot ◽  
John M Humphrey ◽  
Patrick O'Meara ◽  
Adrian Gardner ◽  
Clement J McDonald ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Healthcare Workers ◽  
Health Facilities ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Resource Limited Settings ◽  
Western Kenya ◽  
Remote Areas ◽  
Diagnostic Unit ◽  
Resource Limited ◽  
Laboratory Services ◽  
Sub Saharan

Access to basic imaging and laboratory services remains a major challenge in rural, resource-limited settings in sub-Saharan Africa. In 2016, the Academic Model Providing Access to Healthcare programme in western Kenya implemented a mobile diagnostic unit (MDU) outfitted with a generator-powered X-ray machine and basic laboratory tests to address the lack of these services at rural, low-resource, public health facilities. The objective of this paper is to describe the design, implementation, preliminary impact and operational challenges of the MDU in western Kenya. Since implementing the MDU at seven rural health facilities serving a catchment of over half a million people, over 4500 chest radiographs have been performed, with one or more abnormalities detected in approximately 30% of radiographs. We observed favorable feedback and uptake of MDU services by healthcare workers and patients. However, various operational challenges in the design and construction of the MDU and the transmission and reporting of radiographs in remote areas were encountered. Our experience supports the feasibility of deploying an MDU to increase access to basic radiology and laboratory services in rural, resource-limited settings.

scholarly journals International Radiotherapy Referrals From Rural Rwanda: Implementation Processes and Early Clinical Outcomes

2018 ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Maud Hanappe ◽  
Lowell T. Nicholson ◽  
Shekinah N.C. Elmore ◽  
Alexandra E. Fehr ◽  
Jean Bosco Bigirimana ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Rectal Cancer ◽  
Head And Neck ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Cancer Care ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Resource Limited Settings ◽  
Cancer Centre ◽  
Resource Limited ◽  
Centre Of Excellence ◽  
Sub Saharan

Purpose Low- and middle-income countries disproportionately comprise 65% of cancer deaths. Cancer care delivery in resource-limited settings, especially low-income countries in sub-Saharan Africa, is exceedingly complex, requiring multiple modalities of diagnosis and treatment. Given the vast human, technical, and financial resources required, access to radiotherapy remains limited in sub-Saharan Africa. Through 2017, Rwanda has not had in-country radiotherapy services. The aim of this study was to describe the implementation and early outcomes of the radiotherapy referral program at the Butaro Cancer Centre of Excellence and to identify both successful pathways and barriers to care. Methods Butaro District Hospital is located in a rural area of the Northern Province and is home to the Butaro Cancer Centre of Excellence. We performed a retrospective study from routinely collected data of all patients with a diagnosis of cervical, head and neck, or rectal cancer between July 2012 and June 2015. Results Between 2012 and 2015, 580 patients were identified with these diagnoses and were potential candidates for radiation. Two hundred eight (36%) were referred for radiotherapy treatment in Uganda. Of those referred, 160 (77%) had cervical cancer, 31 (15%) had head and neck cancer, and 17 (8%) had rectal cancer. At the time of data collection, 101 radiotherapy patients (49%) were alive and had completed treatment with no evidence of recurrence, 11 (5%) were alive and continuing treatment, and 12 (6%) were alive and had completed treatment with evidence of recurrence. Conclusion This study demonstrates the feasibility of a rural cancer facility to successfully conduct out-of-country radiotherapy referrals with promising early outcomes. The results of this study also highlight the many challenges and lessons learned in providing comprehensive cancer care in resource-limited settings.

Diagnosis and management of antiretroviral-therapy failure in resource-limited settings in sub-Saharan Africa: challenges and perspectives

2010 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 60-65 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anthony D Harries ◽  
Rony Zachariah ◽  
Joep J van Oosterhout ◽  
Steven D Reid ◽  
Mina C Hosseinipour ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Antiretroviral Therapy ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Therapy Failure ◽  
Resource Limited Settings ◽  
Diagnosis And Management ◽  
Resource Limited ◽  
Sub Saharan

scholarly journals EDITORIAL: COVID-19: Rebooting pharmacy education in resource-limited settings

2021 ◽  
pp. 67-70
Author(s):  
Jennie Lates ◽  
Dan Kibuule
Keyword(s):  
Health Systems ◽  
World Health Organisation ◽  
Pharmacy Education ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
World Health ◽  
Resource Limited Settings ◽  
Non Communicable Diseases ◽  
High Burden ◽  
Resource Limited ◽  
Sub Saharan

Globally, the COVID-19 pandemic has aggravated inequalities in access to quality pharmacy education, particularly in resource-limited settings in Africa (Engle, 2020; Fuller et al., 2020). This is a serious concern for Africa especially, given that sub-Saharan Africa ranks lowest on the global pharmaceutical workforce index and has a disproportionately high burden of infectious and non-communicable diseases, combined with weak health systems (World Health Organisation [WHO], 2013; Bates et al., 2018).

scholarly journals Intermittent screening and treatment with dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine for the prevention of malaria in pregnancy: implementation feasibility in a routine healthcare system setting in western Kenya

2020 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jenny Hill ◽  
Peter Ouma ◽  
Seth Oluoch ◽  
Jane Bruce ◽  
Simon Kariuki ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Intermittent Preventive Treatment ◽  
Preventive Treatment ◽  
Standard Of Care ◽  
Health Facilities ◽  
Malaria In Pregnancy ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Directly Observed Therapy ◽  
Western Kenya ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
In Pregnancy

Abstract Background Intermittent preventive treatment in pregnancy (IPTp) with sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine (SP) is recommended for preventing malaria in pregnancy in areas of moderate-to-high transmission in sub-Saharan Africa. However, due to increasing parasite resistance to SP, research on alternative strategies is a priority. The study assessed the implementation feasibility of intermittent screening and treatment (ISTp) in the second and third trimester at antenatal care (ANC) with malaria rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) and treatment of positive cases with dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine (DP) compared to IPTp-SP in western Kenya. Methods A 10-month implementation study was conducted in 12 government health facilities in four sub-counties. Six health facilities were assigned to either ISTp-DP or IPTp-SP. Evaluation comprised of facility audits, ANC observations, and exit interviews. Intermediate and cumulative effectiveness analyses were performed on all processes involved in delivery of ISTp-DP including RDT proficiency and IPTp-SP ± directly observed therapy (DOT, standard of care). Logistic regression was used to identify predictors of receiving each intervention. Results A total of 388 and 389 women were recruited in the ISTp-DP and IPTp-SP arms, respectively. For ISTp-DP, 90% (289/320) of eligible women received an RDT. Of 11% (32/289) who tested positive, 71% received the correct dose of DP and 31% the first dose by DOT, and only 6% were counselled on subsequent doses. Women making a sick visit and being tested in a facility with a resident microscopist were more likely to receive ISTp-DP (AOR 1.78, 95% CI 1.31, 2.41; and AOR 3.75, 95% CI 1.31, 2.40, respectively). For IPTp-SP, only 57% received a dose of SP by DOT. Payment for a laboratory test was independently associated with receipt of SP by DOT (AOR 6.43, 95% CI 2.07, 19.98). Conclusions The findings indicate that the systems effectiveness of ANC clinics to deliver ISTp-DP under routine conditions was poor in comparison to IPTp-SP. Several challenges to integration of ISTp with ANC were identified that may need to be considered by countries that have introduced screening at first ANC visit and, potentially, for future adoption of ISTp with more sensitive RDTs. Understanding the effectiveness of ISTp-DP will require additional research on pregnant women’s adherence to ACT.

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