scholarly journals High maternal and under-five mortality in an ethnic minority predominant area in rural China: a mixed-methods study exploring mother and health-provider experiences

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bonnie Odelia Wong ◽  
Junguo Xin ◽  
Lihua Jiang ◽  
Ruiou Wang ◽  
Yi Liu ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: China as a country met Millennium Development Goals regarding maternal mortality rate (MMR) and under 5 mortality rate (U5MR), but high MMR and U5MR persist in various counties, especially rural areas of Western China with predominantly ethnic-minority populations. This study aims to understand multiple factors impacting MMR and U5MR in Xide and Mianning counties in Liangshan Area of Sichuan Province with majority Yi ethnic minority population, as well as the experiences of healthcare providers and mothers in these counties. Methods: Quantitative birth and mortality data from 2012 to 2014 were derived from public and hospital databases. Qualitative methods were used to identify factors which impact MMR and U5MR. We administered structured close-ended surveys to 60 mothers with neonates and 60 healthcare providers and administrators and conducted semi-structured interviews with 26 recently-pregnant mothers regarding their delivery and peri-natal care experiences and with 23 healthcare providers regarding health behaviors and factors driving health disparities. Results: MMR in Xide (72.02 per 100,000) and Mianning (68.10) county are significantly higher than the average MMR for the overall Liangshan Area (43.41), Sichuan (24.40) or the national average (21.8). U5MR in Xide County (12.7%) is consistently higher than in Mianning (7.29%). Of 22 cases of maternal deaths occurring between 2012 and 2014, a disproportionate number (59.9%) were non-hospital births, and 81.81% of those deaths were of Yi ethnic minority women. 73% of medical providers have less than a Bachelor degree and only 40.74% (Xide) or 68.52% (Mianning) scored >80% on evaluations of obstetric and perinatal knowledge and skill. Only 57% of mothers were advised to take folic acid. Mothers who participated in prenatal care programs were more likely to have hospital deliveries (p=0.033) and participate in post-natal care (p=0.05). Significant barriers to care exist due to limited of resources, transportation, cost, health literacy, and cultural norms. Conclusions: MMR and U5MR are higher in Xide and Mianning County and Yi women are disproportionately likely to die in childbirth. Policy changes are necessary to address these inequities, to increase access to quality medical care and improve knowledge and skill-based training for existing medical personnel.

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Umedjon Ibragimov ◽  
Katherine E. Cooper ◽  
Evan Batty ◽  
April M. Ballard ◽  
Monica Fadanelli ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Enrolling sufficient number of people who inject drugs (PWID) into syringe services programs (SSP) is important to curtail outbreaks of drug-related harms. Still, little is known about barriers and facilitators to SSP enrollment in rural areas with no history of such programs. This study’s purpose was to develop a grounded theory of the role of the risk environment and individual characteristics of PWID in shaping SSP enrollment in rural Kentucky. Methods We conducted one-on-one semi-structured interviews with 41 clients of 5 SSPs that were established in rural counties in Appalachian Kentucky in 2017–2018. Interviews covered PWID needs, the process of becoming aware of SSPs, and barriers and facilitators to SSP enrollment. Applying constructivist grounded theory methods and guided by the Intersectional Risk Environment Framework (IREF), we applied open, axial and selective coding to develop the grounded theory. Results Stigma, a feature of IREF’s meso-level social domain, is the main factor hampering SSP enrollment. PWID hesitated to visit SSPs because of internalized stigma and because of anticipated stigma from police, friends, family and healthcare providers. Fear of stigma was often mitigated or amplified by a constellation of meso-level environmental factors related to healthcare (e.g., SSPs) and social (PWID networks) domains and by PWID’s individual characteristics. SSPs mitigated stigma as a barrier to enrollment by providing low threshold services in a friendly atmosphere, and by offering their clients program IDs to protect them from paraphernalia charges. SSP clients spread positive information about the program within PWID networks and helped their hesitant peers to enroll by accompanying them to SSPs. Individual characteristics, including child custody, employment or high social status, made certain PWID more susceptible to drug-related stigma and hence more likely to delay SSP enrollment. Conclusions Features of the social and healthcare environments operating at the meso-level, as well as PWID’s individual characteristics, appear to enhance or mitigate the effect of stigma as a barrier to SSP enrollment. SSPs opening in locations with high stigma against PWID need to ensure low threshold and friendly services, protect their clients from police and mobilize PWID networks to promote enrollment.


2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Homayoun Sadeghi-Bazargani ◽  
Mehrdad Amir-Behghadami ◽  
Masoumeh Gholizadeh ◽  
Ali Janati ◽  
Farzad Rahmani

Abstract Background Management of Life-threatening Emergency (LTE) patients in urban and rural areas is an important challenge, which can affect pre-hospital mortality rate. Therefore, Non-hospital Health Center (NHHC) must be prepared to manage such emergency cases that may occur in the geographic area where these centers act. The aim of this study was to explore domains related to the preparedness of NHHCs to manage LTE patients through resorting to healthcare providers’ and experts’ perspectives. Methods A qualitative exploratory study was applied using Semi-Structured Interviews (SSIs) and Focus Group Discussions (FGDs). Prior to beginning data collection, the study and its objectives were explained to the participants and their informed consents were obtained. Then, SSIs and FGDs were conducted by two trained researchers using an interview guide, which was developed through literature review and consulting experts. In total, 12 SSIs were done with the providers at different NHHCs in Tabriz. In addition, 2 FGDs were conducted with the specialists in Emergency Medicine (EM) and Primary Health Care (PHC), and the executives of health centers, with over 5 years of work experience, and Emergency Medical Services (EMS) experts. Purposive sampling method was used in this study. All SSIs and FGDs were audio recorded and subsequently transcribed. Framework Analysis was employed to manually analyze the interview transcripts from all the SSIs and FGDs. Results The interview transcripts analysis resulted in the emergence of 3 themes and 11 sub-themes, categorized according to Donabedian’s triple model. 5 sub-themes were related to input, including medical equipment and supplies, environmental infrastructures of the centers, emergency medicines, human resource, and protocols, guidelines and policies. 4 sub-themes were related to process, including providing clinical services, medicine storage capacity, maintenance of equipment, and management process. Finally, 2 sub-themes were related to outcome, which were patients’ satisfaction with the quality of care and improved survival of LTE patients. Conclusions The results of this study can provide a new perspective for health managers and policy makers on how to evaluate the preparedness of NHHCs in managing LTE patients. In addition, it will be used to develop instruments to measure the preparedness of these centers.


2020 ◽  
Vol 35 (8) ◽  
pp. 918-930
Author(s):  
Lana Meiqari ◽  
Thi-Phuong-Lan Nguyen ◽  
Dirk Essink ◽  
Pamela Wright ◽  
Fedde Scheele

Abstract In Vietnam, the overall prevalence of hypertension (HTN) was 21%, with lower estimates for the prevalence of HTN awareness and treatment. The health systems, like other low- and middle-income countries, were designed to provide acute care for episodic conditions, rather than a chronic condition where patients need long-term care across time and disciplines. This article describes the delivery and organization of HTN care at primary healthcare (PHC) settings in both urban and rural areas at Hue Province of Central Vietnam in comparison with Thai Nguyen province in Northern Vietnam based on the infrastructure capacity and patients’ and providers’ perspectives and experiences We used mixed-methods design that included in-depth semi-structured interviews with patients and healthcare providers at purposively selected PHC facilities in two districts of each province and a modified version of the service availability and readiness assessment inventory at all PHC facilities. We found that HTN patients in both provinces can access healthcare services to diagnose, treat and control their HTN condition at the PHC level with a focus on district facilities. Health services in Hue have allowed commune health stations (CHSs) to provide routine monitoring and prescription refills for HTN patients while maintaining periodical visits to a higher level of care to monitor the stability of the disease. Such provision of care at CHSs remained restricted in Thai Nguyen. Further improvements are necessary for referral procedures, information system to allow for longitudinal follow-up across levels of care and defining a basic health insurance or benefits package, which meets patients’ preferences with a monthly timespan for prescription refills.


Author(s):  
Desfira Ahya ◽  
Inas Salsabila ◽  
Miftahuddin

Angka Kematian Bayi/ Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) merupakan indikator penting dalam mengukur keberhasilan pengembangan kesehatan. Nilai IMR juga dapat digunakan untuk mengetahui tingkat kesehatan ibu, kondisi kesehatan lingkungan dan secara umum, tingkat pengembangan sosio-ekonomi masyarakat. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk memperoleh model IMR terbaik menggunakan tiga pendekatan: Model Linear, Model Linear Tergeneralisir dan Model Aditif Tergeneralisir dengan basis P-spline. Sebagai tambahan, berdasarkan model tersebut akan terlihat variabel yang mempengaruhi tingkat kematian bayi di provinsi Aceh. Penelitian ini menggunakan data jumlah kematian bayi di tahun 2013-2015. Data dalam penelitian ini diperoleh dari Profil Kesehatan Aceh. Hasil menunjukkan bahwa model terbaik dalam menjelaskan angka kematian bayi di provinsi Aceh tahun 2013-2015 ialah Model Linear Tergeneralisir dengan basis P-spline menggunakan parameter penghalusan 100 dan titik knots 8. Faktor yang sangat mempengaruhi angka kematian ialah jumlah pekerja yang sehat.   Infant mortality rate (IMR) is an important indicator in measuring the success of health development. IMR also can be used to knowing the level of maternal health, environmental health conditions and generally the level of socio-economic development in community. This research aims to get the best model of infant mortality data using three approaches: Linear Model, Generalized Linear Model and Generalized Additive Model with Penalized Spline (P-spline) base. In addition, based on the model can be seen the variables that affect to infant mortality in Aceh Province. This research uses data number of infant mortality in Aceh Province period 2013-2015. The data in this research were obtained from Aceh’s Health Profile. The results show that the best model can be explain infant mortality rate in Aceh Province period 2013-2015 is GAM model with P-spline base using smoothing parameter 100 and knots 8. Factor that high effect to infant mortality is number of health workers.


Author(s):  
Nguyen Duy Dung

New rural construction is one of the key tasks identified by the Party and State as the national target program until 2020. Many documents of the Party and the State have been issued expressing political will to implement the tasks of building new rural areas, over 6 years of implementation, the National Target Program for new rural construction has achieved certain achievements, the appearance of rural areas of ethnic minorities and mountainous areas has gradually changed dramatically, contributing significantly to promoting socio-economic and cultural development. Many provinces and cities throughout the whole country have built some new rural models that meet nineteen criterias and arrive on time.


Author(s):  
Valeria Cardenas ◽  
Anna Rahman ◽  
Yujun Zhu ◽  
Susan Enguidanos

Background: Despite some insurance plans now paying for home-based palliative care, recent reports have suggested that insurance coverage for palliative care may be insufficient in expanding patient access to home-based palliative care. Aim: To identify patients’ and caregivers’ perceived barriers to home-based palliative care and their recommendations for overcoming these barriers. Design: We conducted a qualitative study using semi-structured individual interviews. Our interview protocol elicited participants’ perspectives on home-based palliative care services; positive and negative aspects of the palliative program explanation; and suggestions for improving messaging around home-based palliative care. Setting/Participants: Twenty-five participants (patients, proxies, and their caregivers) who were eligible for a randomized controlled trial of home-based palliative care were interviewed by telephone. Results: Themes related to home-based palliative care referral barriers included reluctance to have home visits, enrollment timing, lack of palliative care knowledge, misconceptions about palliative care, and patients’ self-perceived health condition. Themes related to recommendations for overcoming these obstacles included ensuring that palliative care referrals come from healthcare providers or insurance companies and presenting palliative care services more clearly. Conclusion: Findings reinforce the need for additional palliative care education among patients with serious illness (and their caregivers) and the importance of delivering palliative care information and referrals from trusted sources.


2021 ◽  
pp. jclinpath-2021-207446
Author(s):  
David R Taylor ◽  
Devon Buchanan ◽  
Wiaam Al-Hasani ◽  
Jessica Kearney ◽  
Tina Mazaheri ◽  
...  

AimsPublic Health England has identified that in COVID-19, death rates among ethnic minorities far exceeds that of the white population. While the increase in ethnic minorities is likely to be multifactorial, to date, no studies have looked to see whether values for routine clinical biochemistry parameters differ between ethnic minority and white individuals.MethodsBaseline biochemical data for 22 common tests from 311 SARS-CoV-2 positive patients presenting to hospital in April 2020 in whom ethnicity data were available was retrospectively collected and evaluated. Data comparisons between ethnic minority and white groups were made for all patient data and for the subset of patients subsequently admitted to intensive care.ResultsWhen all patient data were considered, the ethnic minority population had statistically significant higher concentrations of C reactive protein (CRP), aspartate aminotransferase and gamma-glutamyl transferase, while troponin T was higher in the white group. A greater proportion of ethnic minority patients were subsequently admitted to intensive care, but when the presenting biochemistry of this subset of patients was compared, no significant differences were observed between ethnic minority and white groups.ConclusionOur data show for the first time that routine biochemistry at hospital presentation in COVID-19 differs between ethnic minority and white groups. Among the markers identified, CRP was significantly higher in the ethnic minority group pointing towards an increased tendency for severe inflammation in this group.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mahboobeh Asadi ◽  
Mahnaz Noroozi ◽  
Mousa Alavi

Abstract Background Numerous changes occur in different aspects of women’s lives in the postpartum period. Women’s adjusting with problems and taking advantage of this opportunity can develop their personality. In this regard, accurate knowledge of their experiences and feelings is necessary to help them to benefit from this period. Therefore, the present study aimed to explore the experiences related to postpartum changes in women. Methods In the present qualitative study, 23 participants, including women of childbearing age who gave birth and healthcare providers (midwives and obstetricians) in Isfahan, Iran were selected using purposive sampling with a maximum variation strategy. Data were collected through in-depth semi structured interviews, field notes, and daily notes, and simultaneously analyzed using the conventional qualitative content analysis. Results The data analysis results led to the extraction of three main categories including “feeling of decreased female attractiveness” (with two sub-categories of “ feeling of decreased beauty” and “feeling of decreased sexual function”), “feeling of insolvency and helplessness” (with two sub-categories of “physical burnout”, and “mental preoccupations”) and “beginning a new period in life” (with three sub-categories of “changing the meaning of life”, “feeling of maturity” and “deepening the communication”). Conclusions Findings of this study can provide a good context for designing interventions to improve the women’s quality of life by explaining and highlighting their experiences in the postpartum period. In this regard, providing sufficient empathy, social and psychological support from family members (especially husband), performing appropriate educational interventions and also regular assessment of women’s psychological state by healthcare providers in postpartum period can reduce their concerns and help to improve their health.


BMC Nursing ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Katharine W. Buek ◽  
Dagoberto Cortez ◽  
Dorothy J. Mandell

Abstract Background Perinatal care nurses are well positioned to provide the education and support new fathers need to navigate the transition to fatherhood and to encourage positive father involvement from the earliest hours of a child’s life. To effectively serve fathers in perinatal settings, it is important to understand the attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors of healthcare providers that may encourage and engage them, or alternatively alienate and discourage them. Methods This qualitative study involved structured interviews with ten NICU and postpartum nurses from hospitals in two large Texas cities. The interview protocol was designed to elicit descriptive information about nurses’ attitudes and beliefs, sense of efficacy and intention for working with fathers, as well as their father-directed behaviors. Nurses were recruited for the study using a purposive sampling approach. Interviews were conducted by telephone and lasted approximately 25 to 35 min. Data were analyzed using a qualitative descriptive approach. Results Overall, study participants held very positive subjective attitudes toward fathers and father involvement. Nevertheless, many of the nurses signaled normative beliefs based on race/ethnicity, gender, and culture that may moderate their intention to engage with fathers. Participants also indicated that their education as well as the culture of perinatal healthcare are focused almost entirely on the mother-baby dyad. In line with this focus on mothers, participants comments reflected a normative belief that fathers are secondary caregivers to their newborns, there to help when the mother is unavailable. Conclusions Nurse attitudes and practices that place mothers in the role of primary caregiver may be interpreted by fathers as excluding or disregarding them. Further research is needed to validate the results of this small-scale study, and to assess whether and how provider attitudes impact their practices in educating and engaging fathers in newborn care.


2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 56-63
Author(s):  
Claire McCarthy ◽  
Sarah Meaney ◽  
Marie Rochford ◽  
Keelin O’Donoghue

Healthcare providers commonly experience risky situations in the provision of maternity care, and there has been increased focus on the lived experience in recent years. We aimed to assess opinions on, understanding of and behaviours of risk on the LW by conducting a mixed methods study. Staff working in a LW setting completed a descriptive questionnaire-based study, followed by qualitative structured interviews. Statistical analysis was performed with SPSS on quantitative data and thematic analysis performed on qualitative data. Nearly two thirds of staff (64%; 73/114) completed the questionnaire, with 56.2% (n = 47) experiencing risk on a daily basis. Experiencing risk evoked feelings of apprehension (68.4%; n = 50) and worry (60.2%; n = 44) which was echoed in the qualitative work. Structured clinical assessment was utilised in risky situations, and staff described “ going on autopilot” to manage these situations. A large number of respondents reflected on their provision of care following an adverse event (87.7%; n = 64). Debriefing was mentioned as an important practice following such events by all respondents. This study describes the negative terminology prevailing in emergency obstetric care. These experiences can have a profound impact on staff. Risk reduction strategies and the provision of increased staff support and training are crucial to improve staff wellbeing in stressful scenarios.


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