Tailoring an evidence-based clinical intervention and training package for the treatment and prevention of comorbid heavy drinking and depression in middle-income country settings: the development of the SCALA toolkit in Latin America.

BACKGROUND: Effective interventions exist for heavy drinking and depression but to date there has been limited translation into routine practice in global health systems. This evidence-to-practice gap is particularly evident in low- and middle-income countries. The international SCALA project (Scale-up of Prevention and Management of Alcohol Use Disorders and Comorbid Depression in Latin America) sought to test the impact of multilevel implementation strategies on rates of primary health care-based measurement of alcohol consumption and identification of depression in Colombia, Mexico, and Peru. OBJECTIVE: To describe the process of development and cultural adaptation of the clinical intervention and training package. METHODS: We drew on Barrero and Castro's four-stage cultural adaption model: 1) information gathering, 2) preliminary adaption, 3) preliminary adaption tests, and 4) adaption refinement. The Tailored Implementation in Chronic Diseases checklist helped us identify potential factors that could affect implementation, with local stakeholder groups established to support the tailoring process, as per the Institute for Healthcare Improvement's Going to Scale Framework. RESULTS: In Stage 1, international best practice guidelines for preventing heavy drinking and depression, and intelligence on the local implementation context, were synthesised to provide an outline clinical intervention and training package. In Stage 2, feedback was gathered from local stakeholders and materials refined accordingly. These materials were piloted with local trainers in Stage 3, leading to further refinements including developing additional tools to support delivery in busy primary care settings. Stage 4 comprised further adaptions in response to real-world implementation, a period that coincided with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, including translating the intervention and training package for online delivery, and higher priority for depression screening in the clinical pathway. CONCLUSION: Our experience highlights the importance of meaningful engagement with local communities, alongside the need for continuous tailoring and adaptation, and collaborative decision-making.

Reduced alcohol consumption during the COVID-19 pandemic: Analyses of 17 000 patients seeking primary health care in Colombia and Mexico.

Background: During the COVID-19 pandemic, an increase of heavy alcohol use has been reported in several high-income countries. We examined changes in alcohol use during the pandemic among primary health care (PHC) patients in two middle income countries, Colombia and Mexico. Methods: Data were collected during routine consultations in 34 PHC centres as part of a large-scale implementation study. Providers measured patients' alcohol consumption with the three item 'Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test' (AUDIT-C). Generalized linear mixed models were performed to examine changes in two dependent variables over time (pre-pandemic and during pandemic): 1) the AUDIT-C score and 2) the proportion of heavy drinking patients (8+ on AUDIT-C). Results: Over a period of more than 600 days, data from N = 17 273 patients were collected. During the pandemic, the number of patients with their alcohol consumption measured decreased in Colombia and Mexico. Each month into the pandemic was associated with a 1.5% and 1.9% reduction in the mean AUDIT-C score in Colombia and Mexico, respectively. The proportion of heavy drinking patients declined during the pandemic in Colombia (pre-pandemic: 5.4%, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 4.8% to 6.0%; during the pandemic: 0.8%, 95% CI = 0.6% to 1.1%) but did not change in Mexico. Conclusions: Average consumption levels declined and the prevalence of heavy drinking patterns did not increase. In addition to reduced opportunities for social drinking during the pandemic, changes in the population seeking PHC and restrictions in alcohol availability and affordability are likely drivers for lower levels of alcohol use by patients in this study.

Enzalutamida vs abiraterona en el manejo del cáncer de próstata resistente a la castración: comparación indirecta de tratamientos / Enzalutamide vs Abiraterone in Castration Resistant Prostate Cancer: Indirect Comparison of Treatments

Introducción Actualmente se dispone de nuevos medicamentos que aumentan la supervivencia en pacientes con cáncer de próstata resistente a la castración. Entre ellos están la Enzalutamida y la Abiraterona. Actualmente no se dispone de experimentos clínicos comparativos. Este estudio tiene como objetivo identificar las diferencias entre la Enzalutamida y la Abiraterona, a través de un modelo de comparación indirecta de tratamientos en pacientes con cáncer de próstata metastásico resistente a la castración. Materiales y Métodos Se realizó una búsqueda sistemática de la literatura incluyendo ensayos clínicos aleatorizados, en pacientes con cáncer de próstata resistente a la castración que recibieron manejo con Enzalutamida y Abiraterona; tomando como desenlace la supervivencia global y libre de progresión radiológica. Se realizó una comparación de la información y un modelo de Bucher para datos indirectos. Resultados Se incluyeron 2 experimentos clínicos fase 3 de manejo pre quimioterapia y 2 en manejo postquimioterapia. Se involucraron 1418 pacientes en el grupo de estudio prequimioterapia y 1596 en el grupo de estudio postquimioterapia. Al comparar la Enzalutamida versus Abiraterona, no se encontraron diferencias estadísticamente significativas. En la prequimioterapia, la supervivencia global con HR 0,87 (95%IC 0,70­1,09) (p = 0,94), supervivencia libre de progresion radiológica con HR 0,35 (95% IC 0,28­0,44) (p = 0,81) y en postquimioterapia, supervivencia global con HR 0,85 (95% IC 0,67­1,06) (p = 0,82) y supervivencia libre de progresión radiológica con HR 0,60 (95% IC 0,49­0,74) (p = 0,82). Conclusiones No existe una diferencia estadísticamente significativa en la supervivencia global y libre de progresión radiológica entre los dos medicamentos.

Introduction and Objective From translational medicine, development of new drugs that increase survival in patients with castration-resistant prostate cancer is obtained. Among these are abiraterone and Enzalutamide, with different mechanisms of action, but with an aplication in the same clinical stage. Currently, there are no comparative clinical trials between these drugs. This study aims to identify the differences between Enzalutamide and Abiraterone through a model of indirect comparison of treatment in patients with castration resistant prostate cancer in pre and post chemotherapy stages. Materials and Methods A systematic search of the literature was conducted including randomized phase 3 clinical trials in patients with castration-resistant prostate cancer receiving management with Enzalutamide and Abiraterone compared with placebo or corticoid in pre and post chemotherapy stages, taking as outcome overall survival and radiologic progression-free survival. In addition to the demographic analysis, a comparison of information and a modified model of Bucher for indirect data was performed, with the statistical program Stata version 12 and ICT CADTH program. Results 2 Phase III clinical trials were included in the pre chemotherapy stage and 2 in postchemotherapy stage. 1418 patients in the study group prechemotherapy and 1596 in the post- chemotherapy group study were involved. Control groups involved 1387 and 796 cases respectively. When comparing Enzalutamide vs Abiraterone in the pre chemotherapy group, no statistically significant difference was noted in overall survival HR 0.87 (95% CI 0.70 - 1.09) (p = 0.94) and radiologic progression-free survival HR 0.35 (95 % CI 0.28 to 0.44) (p = 0.81). In post-chemotherapy group, overall survival HR 0.85 (95 % CI 0.67 - 1.06) (p = 0.82) and radiologic progression-free survival HR 0.60 (95 % CI 0.49 to 0.74 ) (p = 0.82) no statistically significant difference was noted. Conclusions There is no statistically significant difference in overall survival and radiologic progression-free survival between the two drugs. The indirect comparison of treatments offers a valid alternative in the absence of direct comparative clinical experiences.

Estigma estructural, género e interseccionalidad: Implicaciones en la atención a la salud mental / Structural stigma, mental illness, gender and interseccionality: Implications for mental health care

El objetivo de este trabajo es describir las formas y manifestaciones más comunes del estigma estructural desde la perspectiva de un grupo de personas que acudieron a cuatro centros de atención por un diagnóstico psiquiátrico o neuropsiquiátrico (n=68), así como de un grupo de trabajadores del área de la salud que laboran en estos servicios en la Ciudad de México (n=95). Adoptamos un enfoque basado en la interseccionalidad que comprende el interjuego que existe entre los determinantes sociales, incluyendo el género, en los procesos de exclusión social en salud mental. En el estudio, de carácter cualitativo, se eligió la técnica de entrevista a profundidad, para lo cual se diseñaron guías específicas en proveedores y usuarios de servicios de atención psiquiátrica. Las entrevistas fueron registradas en audio, posteriormente transcritas y codificadas por medio de un programa especializado (Atlas ti, versión 7.0). Entre los hallazgos destaca el carácter estructural de la discriminación, la cual tiene repercusiones tanto para las personas afectadas por trastornos mentales graves como para el personal de salud. Por otra parte, en las narraciones de los entrevistados se evidencian ciertas barreras estructurales que inciden en la calidad de la atención, particularmente en el caso de aquellos usuarios que presentan múltiples condiciones de vulnerabilidad social que rebasan el alcance de los proveedores de servicios, constituyéndose en dilemas para éstos. Al final se analizan los principales desafíos para mejorar la calidad de la atención en el ámbito de la salud mental.

The purpose of this paper is to describe the most common forms and expressions of structural stigma from the perspective of a group of people who attended four treatment centers as a result of having received a psychiatric or neuropsychiatry diagnosis (n=68) and a group of health service providers engaged in these services in Mexico City (n=95). We adopted an approach, based on the intersectionality approach, which involves the interplay between social determinants, including gender, in the processes of social exclusion in mental health. In this qualitative study, the in-depth interview technique was used, for which specific guidelines were designed for providers and users of psychiatric services. The interviews were audio recorded, transcribed and subsequently encoded through a specialized program (Atlas ti, version 7.0). This paper examines the perceptions and experiences of stigma and discrimination related to psychiatric disorders, and other specific aspects related to the care process. Among the findings are the structural nature of discrimination not only directed at people affected by severe mental illness, but also at health personnel. Moreover, the respondents' accounts reveal certain structural barriers that impact the quality of care, particularly for users who have multiple conditions of social vulnerability that go beyond the scope of these service providers, constituting dilemmas for the provider. Lastly, on the basis of the analysis of the various difficulties expressed by the study population in relation to the care services, the main challenges to improving the quality of services in the field of mental health are described.