scholarly journals Estimating the cost and effectiveness of different STI management strategies for sex workers in Madagascar

2002 ◽  
Author(s):  

In Madagascar, the prevalence of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) is a serious public health problem, particularly among sex workers. A Horizons study conducted in 2000 found approximately two-thirds of female sex workers had an STI, although few were infected with HIV. Since the link between STIs and transmission of HIV has been well established, affordable strategies to manage STIs among sex workers need to be developed. Study investigators also assessed STI management practices in health facilities in two urban areas of Madagascar. Health practitioners were using a syndromic approach, which may be appropriate for managing certain STIs in the general population but is less appropriate for sex workers who may have multiple, often asymptomatic infections. Diagnosing STIs with laboratory tests would make medical visits prohibitively expensive. Researchers developed a risk profile for various STIs based on characteristics of women that present with each STI, such as age, number of partners, symptoms. The investigators hypothesized that a risk assessment tool using these profiles would result in more appropriate and effective STI treatment for sex workers. This summary presents a cost-effectiveness analysis of different strategies to manage STIs among sex workers in Madagascar.

2019 ◽  
Vol 113 (11) ◽  
pp. 661-669 ◽  
Author(s):  
Viral R Bajwala ◽  
Denny John ◽  
T Daniel Rajasekar ◽  
Manoj V Murhekar

Abstract Background Dengue is major public health problem in India, especially in urban areas. We conducted a study to estimate the severity and costs of treatment among hospitalized dengue patients in Surat city, Gujarat, India. Methods We reviewed the medical records of dengue patients hospitalized in five tertiary care facilities (private [n=2], semi-government [n=2] and government [n=1]) between April 2017 and March 2018. We used the World Health Organization 2009 classification to classify the severity of dengue. A resource utilization approach was used to estimate the cost of illness in US dollars (US$) (inflation adjusted to 2018) from a quasi-societal perspective (excluding non-medical cost) for dengue hospitalization. Results Of the 732 hospitalized dengue patients, 44.7% had no warning symptoms, 39.5% had warning signs and 15.8% had severe dengue. The mean cost of hospitalization was US$86.9±170.7. The cost of hospitalization was 28.8 times higher in private hospitals compared with government hospitals. Consultant charges in private hospitals, laboratory investigations in semi-government hospitals and registration with admission charges in government hospitals accounted for 27.3%, 39.4% and 53% of the direct cost in these facilities, respectively. Conclusions A better triage system for hospitalization, subsidizing costs in the public sector and cost capping in the private sector can help to reduce the cost of hospitalization due to dengue so as to ensure affordability for larger portion of the society for universal health coverage.


Author(s):  
Dinesh Bhugra ◽  
Antonio Ventriglio

Sexual acts form the basis of human life. In urban areas, both male and female sex workers and their mental health have been studied. The risks of resulting sexually transmitted diseases are higher and, consequently, physical and psychiatric comorbidity may be higher. The theory of sex markets focuses on sexual partnering and emphasizes that it is fundamentally a local process, meaning that the two people must live within reasonable geographical proximity to initiate and develop a sexual relationship that is physical. Of course, often people do indulge in cybersex, for which adequate electronic and WiFi facilities have to be available. Economic needs and perspectives may play a major role in transient sexual partnering.


HortScience ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 39 (2) ◽  
pp. 297-302 ◽  
Author(s):  
James C. Sellmer ◽  
Nancy Ostiguy ◽  
Kelli Hoover ◽  
Kathleen M. Kelley

A mail survey was conducted in 2000 to determine awareness and use of integrated pest management (IPM) practices by nurseries in Pennsylvania. Survey participants were randomly selected from the Pennsylvania Dept. of Agriculture, Bureau of Plant Industry, list of certified nurseries. Participants answered questions pertaining to awareness of common practices, frequency that IPM practices were employed, and specifics on monitoring and pest management decision-making processes. Responses were analyzed by Cluster Analysis (SPSS Inc., Chicago), which resulted in the formation of three distinct segments. The segments were labeled “IPM Savvy” (nursery managers who were more likely to employ IPM practices); “Part-time IPMers” (nursery managers who employed some IPM strategies and were interested in future adoption of IPM practices); and “Reluctant IPMers” (nursery managers who were least likely to employ IPM strategies). The “Part-time IPMers” and “Reluctant IPMers” segments represent a substantial part of the industry (51%), who continues to have concerns about the cost, efficacy, and implementation of IPM practices into their businesses. Overall, Pennsylvania growers are aware of IPM practices; however, maintaining permanent records of pests identified and pest management strategies employed remain low. Continued education is warranted to enhance pest monitoring skills and recordkeeping along with demonstrable evidence to the cost effectiveness and marketing benefits that the implementation of IPM practices offer the nursery operators.


2011 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
pp. 64-73 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qi Yang ◽  
Glenn Benoy ◽  
Zhengyong Zhao ◽  
Thien Lien Chow ◽  
Charles P.-A. Bourque ◽  
...  

Exceedance of water-quality standards is important in assessing water quality. The effectiveness of soil conservation Beneficial Management Practices (BMPs) should be measured according to the BMPs' impact on exceedance frequencies. However, estimating exceedance frequencies for different management scenarios with field measurements is practically impossible due to difficulties in obtaining adequate data for analysing different combinations of BMPs. The objective of this modeling research was to analyse exceedance frequencies for different management strategies applied in the Black Brook Watershed (BBW). Daily concentrations of total suspended sediments (TSS) and soluble phosphorous (sol-P) were predicted with the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) and assessed against water-quality standards from the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment (CCME) and National Agri-Environmental Standards Initiative-Ideal Performance Standards (NAESI-IPS). The investigated BMPs included conservation tillage, reduced fertilizer application, crop rotation, flow diversion terraces (FDT) and the combination of all four BMPs. The results indicated that FDT was the most effective at reducing exceedance frequencies of TSS and sol-P. Under the different management scenarios, we calculated the annual exceedance frequencies of TSS and sol-P concentrations above the CCME (20–45% and 10–26%) and NAESI-IPS (32–55% and 20–38%).


Author(s):  
Tess Shiras ◽  
Oliver Cumming ◽  
Joe Brown ◽  
Becelar Muneme ◽  
Rassul Nala ◽  
...  

Shared sanitation—sanitation facilities shared by multiple households—is increasingly common in rapidly growing urban areas in low-income countries. However, shared sanitation facilities are often poorly maintained, dissuading regular use and potentially increasing disease risk. In a series of focus group discussions and in-depth interviews, we explored the determinants of shared sanitation management within the context of a larger-scale health impact evaluation of an improved, shared sanitation facility in Maputo, Mozambique. We identified a range of formal management practices users developed to maintain shared sanitation facilities, and found that management strategies were associated with perceived latrine quality. However—even within an intervention context—many users reported that there was no formal system for management of sanitation facilities at the compound level. Social capital played a critical role in the success of both formal and informal management strategies, and low social capital was associated with collective action failure. Shared sanitation facilities should consider ways to support social capital within target communities and identify simple, replicable behavior change models that are not dependent on complex social processes.


2007 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 57-67 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph Schwartz ◽  
Julie L. Andsager

The epidemic use of methamphetamine in the United States is a growing public health problem. Recently its use has increased among gay men who live in urban areas, with accompanying increases in sexually transmitted diseases. This study examined how methamphetamine and sexual health are framed. It investigated the stigma associated with heterosexuals and gay men. Stories from 13 urban newspapers in cities with large populations of gay men published from 2000 to 2006 were analyzed. Results indicated that methamphetamine and sexual health were framed primarily as an individual, present problem. Stories framed methamphetamine as a health problem slightly more often than as a crime problem, but health was the dominant frame in stories mentioning gay men. Crime was the dominant frame in stories with heterosexuals. Articles tied gay men to sexual health issues. Findings indicate gay men and heterosexuals are stigmatized in news coverage of sexual issues and methamphetamine but in different ways.


2016 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 67-88 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aleksandar Štulhofer ◽  
Matija Sinković ◽  
Jasmina Božić ◽  
Valerio Baćak

To assess the association between victimization and HIV vulnerability among Croatian female sex workers (FSWs), a survey involving 157 FSWs recruited from Croatia’s two largest urban areas was conducted in 2014. A majority of participants reported direct and indirect victimization, which was found to be significantly associated with condom use at most recent noncommercial sexual intercourse and sexually transmitted infection (STI) diagnosis in the past 12 months. The association between victimization and STI diagnosis was partially mediated by depressiveness and moderated by social support. The buffering role of social support points to the importance of including counseling services in HIV prevention programs in Croatia.


Viruses ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 855
Author(s):  
Luiz Fernando Almeida Machado ◽  
Ricardo Roberto de Souza Fonseca ◽  
Maria Alice Freitas Queiroz Aldemir Branco Oliveira-Filho ◽  
Izaura Maria Vieira Cayres-Vallinoto ◽  
Antonio Carlos Rosário Vallinoto ◽  
...  

Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) represent a worldwide public health problem and, although many of them are curable, they continue to be neglected, especially in areas with a low human development index, such as in the northern region of Brazil. This review describes the results of 30 years of studies at the Virus Laboratory at the Federal University of Pará, including the prevalence and molecular epidemiology of HIV-1, HTLV-1/2, HPV, HBV, Treponema pallidum and Chlamydia trachomatis among urban and non-urban populations, and also in vulnerable groups in the Brazilian Amazon. Control strategies and challenges in preventing STIs are discussed considering this immense geographic region, where essential health services are unable to reach the entire population, especially the most vulnerable, such as female sex workers, people who use illicit drugs, remnants of quilombolos and indigenous communities.


2021 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michaela Sidloski ◽  
Tayyab Shah ◽  
Elisa Toroca

Introduction: Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are a significant public health problem in countries within the South Pacific, including Fiji. If untreated, curable STIs such as chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis can cause infertility, adverse outcomes in pregnancy, and can increase the risk of contracting HIV in infected individuals. Methods: This research used cartographic software to map and analyze the spatial distribution of selected STIs across health regions in Fiji. Total rates of STIs, as well as the prevalence of gonorrhea and syphilis specifically, were examined for the years of 2007 and 2016 to determine how spatial distribution patterns have changed over this period, and how resources might currently be most effectively mobilized to address this public health issue. Results/Discussion: Our findings suggest that while some specific regions with high prevalence rates for 2007 and 2016 should be targeted for intervention in the short term, lack of data collecting and reporting raises concerns about the accuracy of rate estimations in non-urban areas. Conclusion: Analyzing the spatial distribution of the prevalence of STIs in a given population can better inform the development and implementation of intervention strategies at local scales, thus improving health outcomes for countries and their communities. Overall, consistent and transparent STI data collection and reporting procedures are necessary for effective long-term management and minimization of STI spread in Fiji.


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