Impact of peer-trainer leadership style on uptake of a peer led educational outreach intervention to improve tuberculosis care and outcomes in Malawi: a qualitative study.

BACKGROUND: Little is known about how to build leadership capacity to support implementation of evidence-based practices within health systems. We observed substantial variability across sites in uptake and sustainability of a peer-led educational outreach intervention for lay health workers (LHWs) providing tuberculosis care in Malawi. Feedback from peer-trainers (PTs) suggested that leadership may have contributed to the variation. We sought to assess the impact of PT leadership style on implementation, and to identify leadership traits of more successful PTs, to inform future implementation planning and to identify targets for leadership capacity building. METHODS: Qualitative study employing interviews with PTs and LHWs at high and low implementation sites, and review of study team and quarterly PT meeting notes. High implementation sites achieved high uptake, sustainability and fidelity of implementation including: close adherence to training content and process, high levels of coverage (training most or all eligible LHWs at their site), and outcomes were achieved with high levels of self reported competence with the intervention among both PTs and LHWs. Low implementation sites achieved limited coverage (<= 50% of LHWs trained), and intervention fidelity. RESULTS: Eight PTs and 10 LHWs from eight high and 10 low implementation sites participated in interviews. Leadership traits of more successful PTs included: flexibility in their approach to training, role modeling and provision of supportive supervision to support learning; addressing challenges proactively and as they occurred; collaborative planning; knowledgeable; and availability to support implementation. Traits unique to less successful PTs included: a poor attitude toward their role as PT and a passive-avoidant approach to challenges. CONCLUSION: This study identified leadership traits more common among unit level leaders at sites with higher uptake, sustainability, and fidelity of implementation. These findings provide a starting point for development and evaluation of a leadership capacity building intervention for unit level leaders to support implementation.

Evaluation of lay health workers' needs to effectively support anti-tuberculosis treatment adherence in Malawi.

OBJECTIVE: To identify barriers and facilitators to efforts by lay health workers (LHWs) to support anti-tuberculosis treatment adherence in Malawi to inform the design of a knowledge translation intervention for improving adherence. DESIGN: Qualitative study utilizing focus groups and interviews conducted with LHWs providing tuberculosis (TB) care in Zomba District, Malawi. RESULTS: Participants identified lack of knowledge, both general (understanding of TB and its treatment) and job-specific (understanding of tasks such as completion of treatment forms), as the key barrier to LHWs in their role as adherence supporters. Lack of knowledge among LHWs providing TB care was reported to lead to a lack of confidence, conflicting messages given to patients, poor interactions with patients and errors in documentation. In addition to lack of knowledge, a number of system barriers were identified as limiting LHWs' ability to function optimally, including a lack of physical resources, workload, communication delays and ineffective guardians. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest a gap between LHW knowledge and their responsibilities as adherence supporters. The results have informed the development of an educational outreach intervention and point-of-care tool, to be evaluated in a randomized trial in Zomba District.

Long-term morbidity from severe pneumonia in early childhood in The Gambia, West Africa: a follow-up study.

OBJECTIVE: To assess long-term outcomes in severe early childhood pneumonia in The Gambia. DESIGN: Observational cohort study of children hospitalised with severe pneumonia between 1992 and 1994 compared to age, sex, and neighbourhood-matched controls on measures of current general and pulmonary health. RESULTS: Of 83 children successfully traced, 68 of the 69 alive at follow-up agreed to participate. Thirteen per cent of cases and 4% of controls had lung disease clinically or on spirometry. Another 16 (13%) participants had abnormal spirometry but did not meet the American Thoracic Society technical criteria (formally 'inconclusive'). Odds ratios of lung disease among childhood pneumonia cases were 2.93 (95%CI 0.69-12.48, P = 0.1468) with inconclusives omitted; 2.53 (95%CI 0.61-10.59, P = 0.2033) with inconclusives included as normal; and 2.83 (95%CI 1.09-7.36, P = 0.0334) with inconclusives included as lung disease. Among deceased cases, most deaths were reported within weeks of discharge, suggesting a possible connection between admission and subsequent death. CONCLUSION: These African data, while not conclusive, add to previous data suggesting a link between severe early childhood pneumonia and later chronic lung disease. While larger-scale research is needed, increased awareness of possible long-term morbidity in children with severe pneumonia is warranted to limit its impact and optimise long-term health.