Prevention of violence against women and girls: A cost-effectiveness study across 6 low- and middle-income countries.

BACKGROUND: Violence against women and girls (VAWG) is a human rights violation with social, economic, and health consequences for survivors, perpetrators, and society. Robust evidence on economic, social, and health impact, plus the cost of delivery of VAWG prevention, is critical to making the case for investment, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) where health sector resources are highly constrained. We report on the costs and health impact of VAWG prevention in 6 countries. METHODS AND FINDINGS: We conducted a trial-based cost-effectiveness analysis of VAWG prevention interventions using primary data from 5 randomised controlled trials (RCTs) in sub-Saharan Africa and 1 in South Asia. We evaluated 2 school-based interventions aimed at adolescents (11 to 14 years old) and 2 workshop-based (small group or one to one) interventions, 1 community-based intervention, and 1 combined small group and community-based programme all aimed at adult men and women (18+ years old). All interventions were delivered between 2015 and 2018 and were compared to a do-nothing scenario, except for one of the school-based interventions (government-mandated programme) and for the combined intervention (access to financial services in small groups). We computed the health burden from VAWG with disability-adjusted life year (DALY). We estimated per capita DALYs averted using statistical models that reflect each trial's design and any baseline imbalances. We report cost-effectiveness as cost per DALY averted and characterise uncertainty in the estimates with probabilistic sensitivity analysis (PSA) and cost-effectiveness acceptability curves (CEACs), which show the probability of cost-effectiveness at different thresholds. We report a subgroup analysis of the small group component of the combined intervention and no other subgroup analysis. We also report an impact inventory to illustrate interventions' socioeconomic impact beyond health. We use a 3% discount rate for investment costs and a 1-year time horizon, assuming no effects post the intervention period. From a health sector perspective, the cost per DALY averted varies between US$222 (2018), for an established gender attitudes and harmful social norms change community-based intervention in Ghana, to US$17,548 (2018) for a livelihoods intervention in South Africa. Taking a societal perspective and including wider economic impact improves the cost-effectiveness of some interventions but reduces others. For example, interventions with positive economic impacts, often those with explicit economic goals, offset implementation costs and achieve more favourable cost-effectiveness ratios. Results are robust to sensitivity analyses. Our DALYs include a subset of the health consequences of VAWG exposure; we assume no mortality impact from any of the health consequences included in the DALYs calculations. In both cases, we may be underestimating overall health impact. We also do not report on participants' health costs. CONCLUSIONS: We demonstrate that investment in established community-based VAWG prevention interventions can improve population health in LMICs, even within highly constrained health budgets. However, several VAWG prevention interventions require further modification to achieve affordability and cost-effectiveness at scale. Broadening the range of social, health, and economic outcomes captured in future cost-effectiveness assessments remains critical to justifying the investment urgently required to prevent VAWG globally.

Evaluating the implementation of home delivery of medication by community health workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Cape Town, South Africa: a convergent mixed methods study.

BACKGROUND: Primary care services in South Africa have been challenged by increasing numbers of people with communicable and non-communicable chronic diseases. There was a need to develop alternative approaches for stable patients to access medication. With the onset of the coronavirus pandemic there was an urgent need to decongest facilities and protect people from infection. In this crisis the Metro Health Services rapidly implemented home delivery of medication by community health workers. This study aimed to evaluate the implementation of home delivery of medication by community health workers during the coronavirus pandemic in Cape Town, South Africa. METHODS: A convergent mixed methods study evaluated six implementation outcomes: adoption, feasibility, fidelity, coverage, cost, and sustainability of the initiative. Data sources included routinely collected data, a telephonic survey of 138 patients, an analysis of set-up and recurrent costs as well as 17 descriptive exploratory qualitative semi-structured interviews with 68 key informants. RESULTS: Over a 6-month period 1,054,657 pre-packaged parcels were sent to primary care facilities, 819,649 (77.7%) were delivered and of those 97,297 (11.9%) returned. The additional costs were estimated as 1.3% of a total health budget of R2,2 billion. The initiative was rapidly adopted as it decongested facilities and protected vulnerable patients. Although it was feasible to implement at scale, numerous challenges were encountered, such as incorrect addresses and contact details, transporting parcels, communicating with patients, having a reliable audit trail, and handling out-of-area patients. All role players thought the service should continue and 42.3% of patients reported better adherence to their medication. CONCLUSION: Home delivery of medication by community health workers is feasible at scale and affordable. It should continue, but as one of a menu of options for alternative delivery of medication. The following need to be improved: efficiency of the system, the audit trail, adequate support and resources for community health workers, transport of medication, communication with patients, empanelment of patients, governance of the system and training of the community health workers.

"If donors woke up tomorrow and said we can't fund you, what would we do?" A health system dynamics analysis of implementation of PMTCT option B+ in Uganda.

BACKGROUND: In October 2012 Uganda extended its prevention of mother to child HIV transmission (PMTCT) policy to Option B+, providing lifelong antiretroviral treatment for HIV positive pregnant and breastfeeding women. The rapid changes and adoptions of new PMTCT policies have not been accompanied by health systems research to explore health system preparedness to implement such programmes. The implementation of Option B+ provides many lessons which can inform the shift to 'Universal Test and Treat', a policy which many sub-Saharan African countries are preparing to adopt, despite fragile health systems. METHODS: This qualitative study of PMTCT Option B+ implementation in Uganda three years following the policy adoption, uses the health system dynamics framework to explore the impacts of this programme on ten elements of the health system. Qualitative data were gathered through rapid appraisal during in-country field work. Key informant interviews and focus group discussions (FGDs) were undertaken with the Ministry of Health, implementing partners, multilateral agencies, district management teams, facility-based health workers and community cadres. A total of 82 individual interviews and 16 focus group discussions were completed. We conducted a simple manifest analysis, using the ten elements of a health system for grouping data into categories and themes. RESULTS: Of the ten elements in the health system dynamics framework, context and resources (finances, infrastructure & supplies, and human resources) were the most influential in the implementation of Option B+ in Uganda. Support from international actors and implementing partners attempted to strengthen resources at district level, but had unintended consequences of creating dependence and uncertainty regarding sustainability. CONCLUSIONS: The health system dynamics framework offers a novel approach to analysis of the effects of implementation of a new policy on critical elements of the health system. Its emphasis on relationships between system elements, population and context is helpful in unpacking impacts of and reactions to pressures on the system, which adds value beyond some previous frameworks.

Goodstart: a cluster randomised effectiveness trial of an integrated, community-based package for maternal and newborn care, with prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV in a South African township.

BACKGROUND: Progress towards MDG4 for child survival in South Africa requires effective prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) of HIV including increasing exclusive breastfeeding, as well as a new focus on reducing neonatal deaths. This necessitates increased focus on the pregnancy and early post-natal periods, developing and scaling up appropriate models of community-based care, especially to reach the peri-urban poor. METHODS: We used a randomised controlled trial with 30 clusters (15 in each arm) to evaluate an integrated, scalable package providing two pregnancy visits and five post-natal home visits delivered by community health workers in Umlazi, Durban, South Africa. Primary outcomes were exclusive and appropriate infant feeding at 12 weeks post-natally and HIV-free infant survival. RESULTS: At 12 weeks of infant age, the intervention was effective in almost doubling the rate of exclusive breastfeeding (risk ratio 1.92; 95% CI: 1.59-2.33) and increasing infant weight and length-for-age z-scores (weight difference 0.09; 95% CI: 0.00-0.18, length difference 0.11; 95% CI: 0.03-0.19). No difference was seen between study arms in HIV-free survival. Women in the intervention arm were also more likely to take their infant to the clinic within the first week of life (risk ratio 1.10; 95% CI: 1.04-1.18). CONCLUSIONS: The trial coincided with national scale up of ARVs for PMTCT, and this could have diluted the effect of the intervention on HIV-free survival. We have demonstrated that implementation of a pro-poor integrated PMTCT and maternal, neonatal and child health home visiting model is feasible and effective. This trial could inform national primary healthcare reengineering strategies in favour of home visits. The dose effect on exclusive breastfeeding is notable as improving exclusive breastfeeding has been resistant to change in other studies targeting urban poor families.

Utilisation of private general practitioners to provide caesarean deliveries in five rural district public hospitals in South Africa: a mixed-methods study.

OBJECTIVE: Researching how public-private engagements may promote universal access to safe obstetric care including caesarean delivery is essential. The aim of this research was to document the utilisation of private general practitioners (GPs) contracted to provide caesarean delivery services in five rural district hospitals in the Western Cape, the profile and outcomes of caesarean deliveries. We also describe stakeholder experiences of these arrangements in order to inform potential models of public-private contracting for obstetric services. DESIGN: We used a mixed-methods study design to describe rural district hospitals' utilisation of private GP contracting for caesarean deliveries. Between April 2021 and March 2022, we collated routine data from delivery and theatre registers to capture the profile of deliveries and maternal outcomes. We conducted 23 semistructured qualitative interviews with district managers, hospital-employed doctors and private GPs to explore their experiences of the contracting arrangements. SETTING: The study was conducted in five rural district hospitals in the Western Cape province, South Africa. RESULTS: The use of private GPs as surgeon or anaesthetist for caesarean deliveries differed widely across the hospitals. Overall, the utilisation of private GPs for anaesthetics was similar (29% of all caesarean deliveries) to the utilisation of private GPs as surgeons (33% of all caesarean deliveries). The proportion of caesarean deliveries undertaken by private GPs as the primary surgeon was inversely related to size of hospital and mean monthly deliveries. Adverse outcomes following a caesarean delivery were rare. Qualitative data provided insights into contributions made by private GPs and the contracting models, which did not incentivise overservicing. CONCLUSION: The findings of this study suggest that private GPs can play an important role in filling gaps and expanding quality care in rural public facilities that have insufficient obstetric skills and expertise. Different approaches to enable access to safe caesarean delivery are needed for different contexts, and contracting with experienced private GP's is one resource for rural district hospitals to consider.

Models using private general practitioners to provide caesarean deliveries at five South African district public hospitals: insights for public-private contracting for obstetric care in rural areas.

BACKGROUND: Harnessing of private sector resources could play an important role in efforts to promote universal access to safe obstetric care including caesarean delivery in low- and middle-income countries especially in rural contexts but any such attempt would need to ensure that the care provided is appropriate and patterns of inappropriate care, such as high caesarean delivery rates, are not reproduced for the entire population. OBJECTIVE: To examine the contracting arrangements for using private general practitioners to provide caesarean delivery services in rural district hospitals in South Africa. METHOD: We utilised a mixed-method study design to examine the contracting models adopted by five rural district hospitals in the Western Cape, South Africa. Between April 2021 and March 2022, we collected routine data from delivery and theatre registers to capture the profile of deliveries and utilisation of contracted private GPs. We also conducted 23 semi-structured qualitative interviews with key stakeholders to explore perceptions of the contracting arrangements. RESULTS: All five hospitals varied in the level of use of private general practitioners and the contracting models (three private in-sourcing models - via locum agencies, sessional contracts, and tender contracts) used to engage them. Qualitative interviews revealed insights related to the need for flexibility in the use of contractual models to meet local contextual needs, cost implications and administrative burden. CONCLUSION: Structured appropriately, private public partnerships can fill important gaps in human resources in rural district hospitals. Policy makers should look to developing a 'contracting framework' which requires compliance with a set of underlying principles but allows for flexibility in developing context specific contracting arrangements. These underlying principles should include a 'risk' based delivery model, adherence to public sector- evidence-based protocols, time-based rather than per delivery/type of delivery remuneration models, group liability arrangements, and processes to monitor outcomes.

Experiences of public-private contracting for caesarean delivery in rural district public hospitals: A qualitative interview study.

Governments in sub-Saharan Africa are exploring public-private-engagements for the delivery of health services. While there is existing empirical literature on public-private-engagements in high-income countries, we know much less about their operation in low and middle-income countries. Obstetric services are a priority area where the private sector can make an important contribution in terms of skilled providers. The objective of this study was to describe the experiences of managers and generalist medical officers, of private general practitioner (GP) contracting for caesarean deliveries in five rural district hospitals in the Western Cape, South Africa. A regional hospital was also included to explore perceptions of public-private contracting needs amongst obstetric specialists. Between April 2021 and March 2022, we conducted 26 semi-structured interviews with district managers (n = 4), public sector medical officers (n = 8), an obstetrician in a regional hospital (1), a regional hospital manager (1) and private GPs (n = 12) with public service contracts. Thematic content analysis using an inductive, iterative approach was applied. Interviews with medical officers and managers revealed justifications for entering into these partnerships, including retention of medical practitioners with anaesthetic and surgical skills and economic considerations in staffing small rural hospitals. The arrangements held benefits for the public sector in terms of bringing in required skills and having after hours cover; and for the contracted private GPs who could supplement their income, maintain their surgical and anaesthetic skills and keep up to date with clinical protocols from visiting specialists. The arrangements held benefits for both the public sector and the contracted private GPs and were deemed to be an example of how national health insurance could be operationalised for rural contexts. Perspectives of a specialist and manager from a regional hospital provided insight into the need for different public-private solutions for this level of care in which contracting out of elective obstetric services should be considered. The sustainability of any GP contracting arrangement, such as described in this paper, will require ensuring that medical education programmes include basic surgical and anaesthetic skills training so that GPs opening practice in rural areas have the required skills to provide these services for district hospitals where needed.

Applying a framework for assessing the health system challenges to scaling up mHealth in South Africa.

BACKGROUND: Mobile phone technology has demonstrated the potential to improve health service delivery, but there is little guidance to inform decisions about acquiring and implementing mHealth technology at scale in health systems. Using the case of community-based health services (CBS) in South Africa, we apply a framework to appraise the opportunities and challenges to effective implementation of mHealth at scale in health systems. METHODS: A qualitative study reviewed the benefits and challenges of mHealth in community-based services in South Africa, through a combination of key informant interviews, site visits to local projects and document reviews. Using a framework adapted from three approaches to reviewing sustainable information and communication technology (ICT), the lessons from local experience and elsewhere formed the basis of a wider consideration of scale up challenges in South Africa. RESULTS: Four key system dimensions were identified and assessed: government stewardship and the organisational, technological and financial systems. In South Africa, the opportunities for successful implementation of mHealth include the high prevalence of mobile phones, a supportive policy environment for eHealth, successful use of mHealth for CBS in a number of projects and a well-developed ICT industry. However there are weaknesses in other key health systems areas such as organisational culture and capacity for using health information for management, and the poor availability and use of ICT in primary health care. The technological challenges include the complexity of ensuring interoperability and integration of information systems and securing privacy of information. Finally, there are the challenges of sustainable financing required for large scale use of mobile phone technology in resource limited settings. CONCLUSION: Against a background of a health system with a weak ICT environment and limited implementation capacity, it remains uncertain that the potential benefits of mHealth for CBS would be retained with immediate large-scale implementation. Applying a health systems framework facilitated a systematic appraisal of potential challenges to scaling up mHealth for CBS in South Africa and may be useful for policy and practice decision-making in other low- and middle-income settings.

Saving the lives of South Africa's mothers, babies, and children: can the health system deliver?

South Africa is one of only 12 countries in which mortality rates for children have increased since the baseline for the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in 1990. Continuing poverty and the HIV/AIDS epidemic are important factors. Additionally, suboptimum implementation of high-impact interventions limits programme effectiveness; between a quarter and half of maternal, neonatal, and child deaths in national audits have an avoidable health-system factor contributing to the death. Using the LiST model, we estimate that 11,500 infants' lives could be saved by effective implementation of basic neonatal care at 95% coverage. Similar coverage of dual-therapy prevention of mother-to-child transmission with appropriate feeding choices could save 37,200 children's lives in South Africa per year in 2015 compared with 2008. These interventions would also avert many maternal deaths and stillbirths. The total cost of such a target package is US$1.5 billion per year, 24% of the public-sector health expenditure; the incremental cost is $220 million per year. Such progress would put South Africa squarely on track to meet MDG 4 and probably also MDG 5. The costs are affordable and the key gap is leadership and effective implementation at every level of the health system, including national and local accountability for service provision.

Resource requirements for community-based care in rural, deep-rural and peri-urban communities in South Africa: A comparative analysis in 2 South African provinces.

INTRODUCTION: As South Africa embarks on the implementation of the community health care worker (CHW) 2018 policy, quantifying the resource requirements to effectively manage the programme across different geographical communities is essential. This study was conducted to quantify and compare costs associated with travel and service delivery demands on CHWs between area types in two districts. METHODS: This economic analysis adopted a provider perspective to cost CHW services between January and November 2016. A total of 221 CHWs completed diaries for 10 days to document their activities. Quintile regression and the Kruskall Wallis test were used to test for differences in time and activities across urban and rural sites. RESULTS: While travel time across rural and urban settings within each district did differ it was not the most significant predictor of differences in time utilization. Time on activities showed more significant differences with overall median time by unit of activity being 15% longer in rural than urban areas in Sedibeng and 10% longer in uMzinyathi respectively. Most CHW time was spent conducting home visits (57% in rural,66% in peri-urban/urban). Median time per home visit in uMzinyathi was 50% longer in deep-rural areas than urban areas and 20% longer in rural than urban areas in Sedibeng. Referrals and number of home visits per capita (0.4 visits in rural and 0.7 in urban/peri-urban areas) were low in both districts. Expenditure on the programme translated to under 4% of PHC expenditure per capita and remains under 5% if despite the new national minimum wage (R3,500/$245). CONCLUSION: Because home visits take longer and CHWs spend a lower share of time on visits, a higher number is required in rural and deep rural areas (33% and 66% respectively) than in urban areas. Effective budget planning will therefore need to recognize the different geographical needs.

Household coverage, quality and costs of care provided by community health worker teams and the determining factors: findings from a mixed methods study in South Africa.

OBJECTIVE: Community health workers (CHWs) are undertaking more complex tasks as part of the move towards universal health coverage in South Africa. CHW programmes can improve access to care for vulnerable communities, but many such programmes struggle with insufficient supervision. In this paper, we assess coverage (proportion of households visited by a CHW in the past year and month), quality of care and costs of the service provided by CHW teams with differing configurations of supervisors, some based in formal clinics and some in community health posts. PARTICIPANTS: CHW, their supervisors, clinic staff, CHW clients. METHODS: We used mixed methods (a random household survey, focus group discussions, interviews and observations of the CHW at work) to examine the performance of six CHW teams in vulnerable communities in Sedibeng, South Africa. RESULTS: A CHW had visited 17% of households in the last year, and we estimated they were conducting one to two visits per day. At household registration visits, the CHW asked half of the questions required. Respondents remembered 20%-25% of the health messages that CHW delivered from a visit in the last month, and half of the respondents took the action recommended by the CHW. Training, supervision and motivation of the CHW, and collaboration with other clinic staff, were better with a senior nurse supervisor. We estimated that if CHW carried out four visits a day, coverage would increase to 30%-90% of households, suggesting that some teams need more CHW, as well as better supervision. CONCLUSION: Household coverage was low, and the service was limited. Support from the local facility was key to providing a quality service, and a senior supervisor facilitated this collaboration. Greater investment in numbers of CHW, supervisors, training and equipment is required for the potential benefits of the programme to be delivered.

What will it cost to prevent violence against women and girls in low- and middle-income countries? Evidence from Ghana, Kenya, Pakistan, Rwanda, South Africa and Zambia.

Violence against women and girls (VAWG) is a global problem with profound consequences. Although there is a growing body of evidence on the effectiveness of VAWG prevention interventions, economic data are scarce. We carried out a cross-country study to examine the costs of VAWG prevention interventions in low- and middle-income countries. We collected primary cost data on six different pilot VAWG prevention interventions in six countries: Ghana, Kenya, Pakistan, Rwanda, South Africa and Zambia. The interventions varied in their delivery platforms, target populations, settings and theories of change. We adopted a micro-costing methodology. We calculated total costs and a number of unit costs common across interventions (e.g. cost per beneficiary reached). We used the pilot-level cost data to model the expected total costs and unit costs of five interventions scaled up to the national level. Total costs of the pilots varied between ∼US $208 000 in a small group intervention in South Africa to US $2 788 000 in a couples and community-based intervention in Rwanda. Staff costs were the largest cost input across all interventions; consequently, total costs were sensitive to staff time use and salaries. The cost per beneficiary reached in the pilots ranged from ∼US $4 in a community-based intervention in Ghana to US $1324 for one-to-one counselling in Zambia. When scaled up to the national level, total costs ranged from US $32 million in Ghana to US $168 million in Pakistan. Cost per beneficiary reached at scale decreased for all interventions compared to the pilots, except for school-based interventions due to differences in student density per school between the pilot and the national average. The costs of delivering VAWG prevention vary greatly due to differences in the geographical reach, number of intervention components and the complexity of adapting the intervention to the country. Cost-effectiveness analyses are necessary to determine the value for money of interventions.

A cross sectional analytic study of modes of delivery and caesarean section rates in a private health insured South African population.

BACKGROUND: Monitoring Caesarean Section (CS) rates is essential to ensure optimal use of the procedure. Information on CS rates in the South African private sector is limited and information from this study will assist in planning for the proposed NHI in South Africa. OBJECTIVES: The objectives of this paper are to assess mode of delivery patterns and to determine CS rates amongst South African private health insurance scheme members; and to assess the extent to which CS rates are influenced by age and health status of the mother. METHODS: The 2015 claims for members of 10 health insurance schemes were analysed to assess delivery type patterns. Mode of delivery patterns were assessed by 6 delivery types: emergency, elective and "other" for caesarean deliveries; and non-assisted, assisted and "other" for vaginal deliveries; as well as by age and health condition of the mother. RESULTS: Of a total of 6,542 births analysed, 4,815 were CS giving a CS rate of 73·6% (95% CI 72·5%;74·7%). Emergency CS were the most common mode of delivery (39·7%), followed by elective CS (39·5%). CS rates increased with increasing maternal age and were higher for women with a medical condition. CONCLUSIONS: CS rates for the South African private sector are considerably higher than the safe rates recommended by the WHO. The high CS rates is a cause for concern for the health system under the proposed NHI. To support initiatives encouraging evidence based practice, further research is required to understand the drivers for the high CS rates.

Population ageing in South Africa: trends, impact, and challenges for the health sector.

With more South Africans living past the age of 60, the country faces a growing chronic disease burden. Further research and action are needed for the health system to address the budgetary and social strains of this phenomenon effectively.

Mental health system costs, resources and constraints in South Africa: a national survey.

The inclusion of mental health in the Sustainable Development Goals represents a global commitment to include mental health among the highest health and development priorities for investment. Low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), such as South Africa, contemplating mental health system scale-up embedded into wider universal health coverage-related health system transformations, require detailed and locally derived estimates on existing mental health system resources and constraints. The absence of these data has limited scale-up efforts to address the burden of mental disorders in most LMICs. We conducted a national survey to quantify public expenditure on mental health and evaluate the constraints of the South African mental health system. The study found that South Africa's public mental health expenditure in the 2016/17 financial year was USD615.3 million, representing 5.0% of the total public health budget (provincial range: 2.1-7.7% of provincial health budgets) and USD13.3 per capita uninsured. Inpatient care represented 86% of mental healthcare expenditure, with nearly half of total mental health spending occurring at the psychiatric hospital-level. Almost one-quarter of mental health inpatients are readmitted to hospital within 3 months of a previous discharge, costing the public health system an estimated USD112 million. Crude estimates indicate that only 0.89% and 7.35% of the uninsured population requiring care received some form of public inpatient and outpatient mental healthcare, during the study period. Further, mental health human resource availability, infrastructure and medication supply are significant constraints to the realization of the country's progressive mental health legislation. For the first time, this study offers a nationally representative reflection of the state of mental health spending and elucidates inefficiencies and constraints emanating from existing mental health investments in South Africa. With this information at hand, the government now has a baseline for which a rational process to planning for system reforms can be initiated.

Mobile Messaging Support Versus Usual Care for People With Type 2 Diabetes on Glycemic Control: Protocol for a Multicenter Randomized Controlled Trial.

BACKGROUND: Health outcomes for people treated for type 2 diabetes could be substantially improved in sub-Saharan Africa. Failure to take medicine regularly to treat diabetes has been identified as a major problem. Resources to identify and support patients who are not making the best use of medicine in low- and middle-income settings are scarce. Mobile phones are widely available in these settings, including among people with diabetes; linked technologies, such as short message service (SMS) text messaging, have shown promise in delivering low-cost interventions efficiently. However, evidence showing that these interventions will work when carried out at a larger scale and measuring the extent to which they will improve health outcomes when added to usual care is limited. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this trial is to test the effectiveness of sending brief, automated SMS text messages for improving health outcomes and medication adherence in patients with type 2 diabetes compared to an active control. METHODS: We will carry out a randomized trial recruiting from clinics in two contrasting settings in sub-Saharan Africa: Cape Town, South Africa, and Lilongwe, Malawi. Intervention messages will advise people about the benefits of their diabetes treatment and offer motivation and encouragement around lifestyle and use of medication. We allocated patients, using randomization with a minimization algorithm, to receive either three to four intervention messages per week or non-health-related messages every 6 weeks. We will follow up with participants for 12 months, measuring important risk factors for poor health outcomes and complications in diabetes. This will enable us to estimate potential health benefits, including the primary outcome of hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) levels as a marker for long-term blood glucose control and a secondary outcome of blood pressure control. We will record the costs of performing these activities and estimate cost-effectiveness. We will also use process evaluation to capture the collection of medication and assess the reception of the intervention by participants and health care workers. RESULTS: Recruitment to the trial began in September 2016 and follow-up of participants was completed in October 2018. Data collection from electronic health records and other routinely collected sources is continuing. The database lock is anticipated in June 2019, followed by analysis and disclosing of group allocation. CONCLUSIONS: The knowledge gained from this study will have wide applications and advance the evidence base for effectiveness of mobile phone-based, brief text messaging on clinical outcomes and in large-scale, operational settings. It will provide evidence for cost-effectiveness and acceptability that will further inform policy development and decision making. We will work with a wide network that includes patients, clinicians, academics, industry, and policy makers to help us identify opportunities for informing people about the work and raise awareness of what is being developed and studied. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ISRCTN Registry ISRCTN70768808; http://www.isrctn.com/ISRCTN70768808 (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/786316Zqk). INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID): DERR1-10.2196/12377.

Roles played by community cadres to support retention in PMTCT Option B+ in four African countries: a qualitative rapid appraisal.

OBJECTIVES: To explore the roles of community cadres in improving access to and retention in care for PMTCT (prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV) services in the context of PMTCT Option B+ treatment scale-up in high burden low-income and lower-middle income countries. DESIGN/METHODS: Qualitative rapid appraisal study design using semistructured in-depth interviews and focus group discussions (FGDs) between 8 June and 31 July 2015. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: Interviews were conducted in the offices of Ministry of Health Staff, Implementing partners, district offices and health facility sites across four low-income and lower-middle income countries: Cote D'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Malawi and Uganda. A range of individual interviews and FGDs with key stakeholders including Ministry of Health employees, Implementation partners, district management teams, facility-based health workers and community cadres. A total number of 18, 28, 31 and 83 individual interviews were conducted in Malawi, Cote d'Ivoire, DRC and Uganda, respectively. A total number of 15, 9, 10 and 16 mixed gender FGDs were undertaken in Malawi, Cote d'Ivoire, DRC and Uganda, respectively. RESULTS: Community cadres either operated solely in the community, worked from health centres or in combination and their mandates were PMTCT-specific or included general HIV support and other health issues. Community cadres included volunteers, those supported by implementing partners or employed directly by the Ministry of Health. Their complimentary roles along the continuum of HIV care and treatment include demand creation, household mapping of pregnant and lactating women, linkage to care, infant follow-up and adherence and retention support. CONCLUSIONS: Community cadres provide an integral link between communities and health facilities, supporting overstretched health workers in HIV client support and follow-up. However, their role in health systems is neither standardised nor systematic and there is an urgent need to invest in the standardisation of and support to community cadres to maximise potential health impacts.

MDR-TB patients in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa: Cost-effectiveness of 5 models of care.

BACKGROUND: South Africa has a high burden of MDR-TB, and to provide accessible treatment the government has introduced different models of care. We report the most cost-effective model after comparing cost per patient successfully treated across 5 models of care: centralized hospital, district hospitals (2), and community-based care through clinics or mobile injection teams. METHODS: In an observational study five cohorts were followed prospectively. The cost analysis adopted a provider perspective and economic cost per patient successfully treated was calculated based on country protocols and length of treatment per patient per model of care. Logistic regression was used to calculate propensity score weights, to compare pairs of treatment groups, whilst adjusting for baseline imbalances between groups. Propensity score weighted costs and treatment success rates were used in the ICER analysis. Sensitivity analysis focused on varying treatment success and length of hospitalization within each model. RESULTS: In 1,038 MDR-TB patients 75% were HIV-infected and 56% were successfully treated. The cost per successfully treated patient was 3 to 4.5 times lower in the community-based models with no hospitalization. Overall, the Mobile model was the most cost-effective. CONCLUSION: Reducing the length of hospitalization and following community-based models of care improves the affordability of MDR-TB treatment without compromising its effectiveness.

Costs of implementing integrated community case management (iCCM) in six African countries: implications for sustainability.

BACKGROUND: Sub-Saharan Africa still reports the highest rates of under-five mortality. Low cost, high impact interventions exist, however poor access remains a challenge. Integrated community case management (iCCM) was introduced to improve access to essential services for children 2-59 months through diagnosis, treatment and referral services by community health workers for malaria, pneumonia and diarrhea. This paper presents the results of an economic analysis of iCCM implementation in regions supported by UNICEF in six countries and assesses country-level scale-up implications. The paper focuses on costs to provider (health system and donors) to inform planning and budgeting, and does not cover cost-effectiveness. METHODS: The analysis combines annualised set-up costs and 1 year implementation costs to calculate incremental economic and financial costs per treatment from a provider perspective. Affordability is assessed by calculating the per capita financial cost of the program as a percentage of the public health expenditure per capita. Time and financial implications of a 30% increase in utilization were modeled. Country scale-up is modeled for all children under 5 in rural areas. RESULTS: Utilization of iCCM services varied from 0.05 treatment/y/under-five in Ethiopia to over 1 in Niger. There were between 10 and 603 treatments/community health worker (CHW)/y. Consultation cost represented between 93% and 22% of economic costs per treatment influenced by the level of utilization. Weighted economic cost per treatment ranged from US$ 13 (2015 USD) in Ghana to US$ 2 in Malawi. CHWs spent from 1 to 9 hours a week on iCCM. A 30% increase in utilization would add up to 2 hours a week, but reduce cost per treatment (by 20% in countries with low utilization). Country scale up would amount to under US$ 0.8 per capita total population (US$ 0.06-US$0.74), between 0.5% and 2% of public health expenditure per capita but 8% in Niger. CONCLUSIONS: iCCM addresses unmet needs and impacts on under 5 mortality. An economic cost of under US$ 1/capita/y represents a sound investment. Utilization remains low however, and strategies must be developed as a priority to improve demand. Continued donor support is required to sustain iCCM services and strengthen its integration within national health systems.

Bolivia programme evaluation of a package to reach an underserved population: Community-based maternal and newborn care economic analysis.

To address inequitable access to health services of indigenous communities in the Bolivian highlands, the Bolivian Ministry of Health, with the support of Save the Children-Saving Newborn Lives, conducted operational research to identify, implement and test a package of maternal and newborn interventions using locally recruited, volunteer Community Health Workers (vCHW) between 2008 and 2010. The additional annual economic and financial costs of the intervention were estimated from the perspective of the Bolivian Ministry of Health in two municipalities. The cost of intervention-stimulated increases in facility attendance was estimated with national surveillance data using a pre-post comparison, adjusted for secular trends in facility attendance. Three scale-up scenarios were modelled by varying the levels of coverage and the number (per mother and child pair) and frequency of home visits. Average cost per mother and average cost per home visit are presented in constant 2015 US$. Eighteen per cent of expectant mothers in the catchment area were visited at least once. The annualized additional financial cost of the community-based intervention across both municipalities was $43 449 of which 3% ($1324) was intervention design, 20% ($8474) set-up and 77% ($33 651) implementation. Drivers of additional costs were additional paid staff (68%), 81% of which was for management and support by local implementing partner and 19% of which was for vCHW supervision. The annual financial cost per vCHW was $595. Modelled scale-up scenarios highlight potential efficiency gains. Recognizing local imperatives to reduce inequalities by targeting underserved populations, the observed low coverage by vCHWs resulted in a high cost per mother and child pair ($296). This evaluation raises important questions about this model's ability to achieve its ultimate goals of reducing neonatal mortality and inequalities through behaviour change and increased care seeking and has served to inform innovative alternative models, better equipped to tackle stagnant inequitable access to care.