Perceptions of Healthcare Workers on the Attributes of the Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response System in Zimbabwe.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate healthcare workers' perceptions of the integrated disease surveillance and response (IDSR) strategy. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey of healthcare workers (HCWs) was conducted from December 2021 to June 2022 to assess their perceptions of the IDSR system attributes. RESULTS: Of the 409 respondents, 12 (2.9%) reported no prior training on disease surveillance. The IDSR was deemed simple, acceptable, useful, and timely by most participants. There were sharp differences in perceptions of flexibility and simplicity between doctors and the other healthcare professionals. However, acceptability, timeliness, and usefulness were uniformly perceived. Healthcare workers with at least 11-years' experience perceived the usefulness of the IDSR system significantly higher than those with lesser years of experience. However, work experience did not have an impact on HCWs perceptions of the simplicity, timeliness, and flexibility of the IDSR system. CONCLUSIONS: Most healthcare workers have positive perceptions of the IDSR approach. However, there are reservations about how well the system can adapt to changing conditions and demands (flexibility) and how well it simplifies the implementation processes. These findings demonstrate the necessity of adopting cutting-edge strategies for capacity building as well as ongoing professional development of healthcare professionals responsible for the implementation of the IDSR strategy.

Financing community partnerships for health equity: Findings and insights from cross-sector professionals.

OBJECTIVE: To enhance understanding of financial alignment challenges facing cross-sector partnerships (CSPs) pursuing health equity and offer insights to guide research and practice. DATA SOURCES AND STUDY SETTING: We collected data through surveys and interviews with cross-sector professionals in 16 states, 2020-2021. STUDY DESIGN: We surveyed 51 CSP leaders and received 26 responses. Following administration of the surveys to CSP leaders, we also conducted interviews with cross-sector professionals. The data are analyzed descriptively, comparatively, and qualitatively using thematic analysis. DATA COLLECTION/EXTRACTION METHODS: For quantitative survey data, we compare partnership responses, differentiating perceived levels of alignment among partnerships certified by the Pathways Community HUB Institute (PCHI), partnerships interested in certification, and partnerships without connection to the PCHI® Model of care coordination. For interviews, we engaged CSP professionals and those who fund their work. Two research team members took notes for interviews, which were combined and made available for review by those interviewed. Data were analyzed independently by two team members who met to integrate, identify, and finalize thematic findings. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Our work supports previous findings that financing is a challenge for CSPs, while also suggesting that PCHI-certified partnerships may perceive greater progress in financial alignment than others. We identify four major financial barriers: limited and competitive funding; state health service delivery structures; cultural and practice divides across healthcare, social service, and public health sectors; and needs for further evidence of cross-sector service impacts on client health and costs. We also offer a continuum of measures of financial sustainability progress and identify key issues relating to financial incentivization/accountability. CONCLUSION: Findings suggest a need for public policy reviews and improvements to aid CSPs in addressing financial alignment challenges. We also offer a measurement framework and ideas to guide research and practice on financial alignment, based on empirical data.

Assessment of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among Zimbabweans: A rapid national survey.

BACKGROUND: As a way of minimising the devastating effects of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, scientists hastily developed a vaccine. However, the scale-up of the vaccine is likely to be hindered by the widespread social media misinformation. We therefore conducted a study to assess the COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among Zimbabweans. METHODS: We conducted a descriptive online cross-sectional survey using a self-administered questionnaire among adults. The questionnaire assessed willingness to be vaccinated; socio-demographic characteristics, individual attitudes and perceptions, effectiveness and safety of the vaccine. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was utilized to examine the independent factors associated with vaccine uptake. RESULTS: We analysed data for 1168 participants, age range of 19-89 years with the majority being females (57.5%). Half (49.9%) of the participants reported that they would accept the COVID-19 vaccine. Majority were uncertain about the effectiveness of the vaccine (76.0%) and its safety (55.0%). About half lacked trust in the government's ability to ensure availability of an effective vaccine and 61.0% mentioned that they would seek advice from a healthcare worker to vaccinate. Chronic disease [vs no chronic disease-Adjusted Odds Ratio (AOR): 1.50, 95% Confidence Interval (CI)I: 1.10-2.03], males [vs females-AOR: 1.83, 95%CI: 1.37-2.44] and being a healthcare worker [vs not being a health worker-AOR: 1.59, 95%CI: 1.18-2.14] were associated with increased likelihood to vaccinate. CONCLUSION: We found half of the participants willing to vaccinate against COVID-19. The majority lacked trust in the government and were uncertain about vaccine effectiveness and safety. The policy makers should consider targeting geographical and demographic groups which were unlikely to vaccinate with vaccine information, education and communication to improve uptake.

Association Between Medication Adherence and Healthcare Costs Among Patients Receiving the Low-Income Subsidy.

OBJECTIVES: Significant literature exists on the effects of medication adherence on reducing healthcare costs, but less is known about the effect of medication adherence among Medicare low-income subsidy (LIS) recipients. This study examined the effects of medication adherence on healthcare costs among LIS recipients with diabetes, hypertension, and/or heart failure. METHODS: This retrospective study analyzed Medicare claims data (2012-2013) linked to the Area Health Resources Files. Using measures developed by the Pharmacy Quality Alliance, adherence to 11 medication classes was studied among patients with 7 possible combinations of the diseases mentioned. Adherence was measured in 8 categories of proportion of days covered (PDC): ≥95%, 90% to <95%, 85% to <90%, 80% to <85%, 75% to <80%, 50% to <75%, 25% to <50%, and <25%. Annual Medicare costs were compared across adherence categories. A generalized linear model was used to control for patient/community characteristics. RESULTS: Among patients with only one disease, such as diabetes, patients with the lowest adherence (PDC < 25%) had $3152/year higher Medicare costs than patients with the highest adherence (PDC ≥ 95%; $11 101 vs $7949; P < .05). The adjusted costs among patients with PDC < 25% was $1893 higher than patients with PDC ≥ 95% ($9919 vs $8026; P < .05). Among patients with multiple chronic conditions, patients' adherence to medications for fewer diseases had higher costs. CONCLUSIONS: Greater medication adherence is associated with lower Medicare costs in the Medicare LIS population. Future policy affecting the LIS program should encourage better medication adherence among patients with chronic diseases.

Embracing the complexity of modifiable risk reduction: A registry of modifiable risks for 0-12 month infants.

Despite relatively high medical expenditures, the United States performs poorly on population health indicators relative to many other countries. A key step in addressing this situation involves determining impactful and cost-effective interventions for at-risk populations. This requires an understanding of medical, social, behavioral health and safety domains of risk. Of immediate interest are those risks that are modifiable at the individual and family levels and could be reduced through intervention and broader care coordination efforts. Unfortunately, a comprehensive list of such risks does not exist in the published literature. Using multiple interrelated methods, including clinical, social, and care coordination experience, expert elaboration and validation, and reviews of existing assessments and literature, we present what we believe to be the most comprehensive listing of individually modifiable risk factors (IMRFs), relevant to care coordination, available for individuals aged 0-12 months. The list addresses IMRFs within four broad domains of risk (medical, social, behavioral health, and safety). Comprehensive risk registries such as the one presented here can enhance our collective efforts to identify and mitigate risks for specific populations. Such registries can also support research to build understandings of the impact of risks, individually and in interconnected signature combinations. The risk registry presented here and the enhanced understandings flowing from it may yield useful insights for clinicians, social service providers and researchers seeking a whole person approach to care, as well as for payers and policymakers seeking to enable health policy and payment reforms to improve population health.

Prevalence of depressive symptoms among older adults who reported medical cost as a barrier to seeking health care: findings from a nationally representative sample.

BACKGROUND: Older adults aged 65 and over will make up more than 20% of U.S. residents by 2030, and in 2050, this population will reach 83.7 million. Depression among older adults is a major public health concern projected to be the second leading cause of disease burden. Despite having Medicare, and other employer supplements, the burden of out of pocket healthcare expenses may be an important predictor of depression. The current study aims to investigate whether delay in seeing a doctor when needed but could not because of medical cost is significantly associated with symptoms of current depression in older adults. METHODS: Cross-sectional data from the 2011 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BFRSS) from 12 states and Puerto Rico were used for this study (n = 24,018). RESULTS: The prevalence of symptoms of current depression among older adults who reported medical cost as a barrier to seeking health care was significantly higher (17.8%) when compared to older adults who reported medical cost not being a barrier to seeking health care (5.5%). Older adults who reported medical cost as a barrier to seeking health care were more likely to report current depressive symptoms compared to their counterparts [Adjusted Odds Ratio (AOR): 2.2 [95% CI: 1.5-3.3]). CONCLUSIONS: Older adults (≥ 65 years of age) who experience the burden of medical cost for health care are significantly more likely to report symptoms of depression. Health care professionals and policymakers should consider effective interventions to improve access to health care among older adults.

Cost-Effectiveness of Herpes Zoster Vaccination: A Systematic Review.

BACKGROUND: Herpes zoster (HZ) is one of the most common diseases among adults. Its reactivation is characterized by a severe and painful complication. In addition to the existing herpes zoster vaccine (ZVL), the FDA approved a new adjuvanted subunit zoster vaccine (RZV) in 2017 for use in adults aged 50 years and older. Several studies have assessed the cost-effectiveness of ZVL, many of which were conducted before the long-term vaccine  efficacy data was available in 2014. OBJECTIVE: Our objectives were to (i) summarize and compare the cost-effectiveness analyses (CEAs) of ZVL conducted before and after 2014, (ii) summarize the CEAs of RZV, and (iii) critically assess the cost-effectiveness models and identify key parameters to consider for future CEAs of RZV. METHODS: We searched PubMed and two other databases from inception to March 2018 for original cost-effectiveness, cost-utility, or cost-benefit analyses of HZ vaccines. Three investigators independently reviewed and assessed full-text articles after screening the titles and abstracts to determine eligibility. For all included studies, we assessed study quality using the Drummond and Jefferson's checklist and extracted study characteristics, model structure, vaccine characteristics, incidence of HZ and complications, incremental cost-effectiveness ratio, and sensitivity analyses. We summarized data by type of vaccine, year of publication, and funding sources. RESULTS: Twenty-seven studies met eligibility criteria. All studies were from high-income countries and were of moderate-to-high or high quality. Twenty studies repeatedly used four cost-effectiveness models. The assumption on long-term efficacy of ZVL was not based on clinical trial data in > 50% of studies. Fifteen out of 25 studies concluded that ZVL was cost-effective compared with no vaccine at a vaccine price ranging between US$93 and US$236 per dose (2018 US$), 40% of which were published after 2014. All industry-funded studies favored the use of ZVL. The single study assessing RZV found it to be more effective and less costly than ZVL, and cost-effective compared with no vaccination. More studies conducted after 2014 included various efficacy endpoints for ZVL, adverse reactions, and productivity loss compared with those conducted before 2014. CONCLUSIONS: A majority of studies of ZVL found it to be cost-effective compared with no vaccine using the authors' chosen willingness-to-pay thresholds. RZV was dominant in the single study comparing the two vaccines, but the finding needs to be confirmed with further studies in different settings. Future studies should assume vaccine efficacy in line with clinical data, account for more efficacy endpoints for ZVL, and include other HZ long-term complications, vaccine adverse reactions, and productivity loss.

PIMA Point of Care CD4+ Cell Count Machines in Remote MNCH Settings: Lessons Learned from Seven Districts in Zimbabwe.

An evaluation was commissioned to generate evidence on the impact of PIMA point-of-care CD4+ count machines in maternal and new-born child health settings in Zimbabwe; document best practices, lessons learned, challenges, and recommendations related to scale up of this new technology. A mixed methodology approach that included 31 in-depth interviews with stakeholders involved in procurement, distribution, and use of the POC machines was employed. Additionally, data was also abstracted from 207 patient records from 35 sites with the PIMA POC CD4+ count machines and 10 other comparative sites without the machine. A clearer training strategy was found to be necessary. The average time taken to initiate clients on antiretroviral treatment (ART) was substantially less, 15 days (IQR-1-149) for sites with a PIMA POC machine as compared to 32.7 days (IQR-1-192) at sites with no PIMA POC machine. There was general satisfaction because of the presence of the PIMA POC CD4+ count machine at sites that also initiated ART.

Assessing the effects of estrogen on the dynamics of breast cancer.

Worldwide, breast cancer has become the second most common cancer in women. The disease has currently been named the most deadly cancer in women but little is known on what causes the disease. We present the effects of estrogen as a risk factor on the dynamics of breast cancer. We develop a deterministic mathematical model showing general dynamics of breast cancer with immune response. This is a four-population model that includes tumor cells, host cells, immune cells, and estrogen. The effects of estrogen are then incorporated in the model. The results show that the presence of extra estrogen increases the risk of developing breast cancer.

Modelling within host parasite dynamics of schistosomiasis.

Schistosomiasis infection is characterized by the presence of adult worms in the portal and mesenteric veins of humans as part of a complex migratory cycle initiated by cutaneous penetration of the cercariae shed by infected freshwater snails. The drug praziquantel is not always effective in the treatment against schistosomiasis at larvae stage. However, our simulations show that it is effective against mature worms and eggs. As a result, the study and understanding of immunological responses is key in understanding parasite dynamics. We therefore introduce quantitative interpretations of human immunological responses of the disease to formulate mathematical models for the within-host dynamics of schistosomiasis. We also use numerical simulations to demonstrate that it is the level of T cells that differentiates between either an effective immune response or some degree of infection. These cells are responsible for the differentiation and recruitment of eosinophils that are instrumental in clearing the parasite. From the model analysis, we conclude that control of infection is much attributed to the value of a function f, a measure of the average number of larvae penetrating a susceptible individual having hatched from an egg released by an infected individual. This agrees with evidence that there is a close association between the ecology, the distribution of infection and the disease.