Effect of Supportive Supervision on Malaria Microscopy Competencies in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Although light microscopy is the reference standard for diagnosing malaria, maintaining skills over time can be challenging. Between 2015 and 2017, the U.S. President's Malaria Initiative-funded MalariaCare project supported outreach training and supportive supervision (OTSS) visits at 1,037 health facilities in seven African countries to improve performance in microscopy slide preparation, staining, and reading. During these visits, supervisors observed and provided feedback to health-care workers (HCWs) performing malaria microscopy using a 30-step checklist. Of the steps observed in facilities with at least three visits, the proportion of HCWs that performed each step correctly at baseline ranged from 63.2% to 94.2%. The change in the proportion of HCWs performing steps correctly by the third visit ranged from 16.7 to 23.6 percentage points (n = 916 observations). To assess the overall improvement, facility scores were calculated based on the steps performed correctly during each visit. The mean score at baseline was 85.7%, demonstrating a high level of performance before OTSS. Regression analysis predicted an improvement in facility scores of 3.6 percentage points (P < 0.001) after three visits across all countries. In reference-level facilities with consistently high performance on microscopy procedures and parasite detection, quality assurance (QA) mechanisms could prioritize more advanced skills, such as proficiency testing for parasite counting and species identification. However, in settings with high staff turnover and declining use of microscopy in favor of rapid diagnostic tests, additional supervision visits and/or additional QA measures may be required to improve and maintain performance.

Introduction and Evaluation of an Electronic Tool for Improved Data Quality and Data Use during Malaria Case Management Supportive Supervision.

Although on-site supervision programs are implemented in many countries to assess and improve the quality of care, few publications have described the use of electronic tools during health facility supervision. The President's Malaria Initiative-funded MalariaCare project developed the MalariaCare Electronic Data System (EDS), a custom-built, open-source, Java-based, Android application that links to District Health Information Software 2, for data storage and visualization. The EDS was used during supervision visits at 4,951 health facilities across seven countries in Africa. The introduction of the EDS led to dramatic improvements in both completeness and timeliness of data on the quality of care provided for febrile patients. The EDS improved data completeness by 47 percentage points (42-89%) on average when compared with paper-based data collection. The average time from data submission to a final data analysis product dropped from over 5 months to 1 month. With more complete and timely data available, the Ministry of Health and the National Malaria Control Program (NMCP) staff could more effectively plan corrective actions and promptly allocate resources, ultimately leading to several improvements in the quality of malaria case management. Although government staff used supervision data during MalariaCare-supported lessons learned workshops to develop plans that led to improvements in quality of care, data use outside of these workshops has been limited. Additional efforts are required to institutionalize the use of supervision data within ministries of health and NMCPs.

Effect of Supportive Supervision on Competency of Febrile Clinical Case Management in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Since 2010, the WHO has recommended that clinical decision-making for malaria case management be performed based on the results of a parasitological test result. Between 2015 and 2017, the U.S. President's Malaria Initiative-funded MalariaCare project supported the implementation of this practice in eight sub-Saharan African countries through 5,382 outreach training and supportive supervision visits to 3,563 health facilities. During these visits, trained government supervisors used a 25-point checklist to observe clinicians' performance in outpatient departments, and then provided structured mentoring and action planning. At baseline, more than 90% of facilities demonstrated a good understanding of WHO recommendations-when tests should be ordered, using test results to develop an accurate final diagnosis, severity assessment, and providing the correct prescription. However, significant deficits were found in history taking, conducting a physical examination, and communicating with patients and their caregivers. After three visits, worker performance demonstrated steady improvement-in particular, with checking for factors associated with increased morbidity and mortality: one sign of severe malaria (72.9-85.5%), pregnancy (81.1-87.4%), and anemia (77.2-86.4%). A regression analysis predicted an overall improvement in clinical performance of 6.3% (P < 0.001) by the third visit. These findings indicate that in most health facilities, there is good baseline knowledge on the processes of quality clinical management, but further training and on-site mentoring are needed to improve the clinical interaction that focuses on second-order decision-making, such as severity of illness, management of non-malarial fever, and completing the patient-provider communication loop.

Development of an interdisciplinary case management program for combat veterans.

The terrorist attack on September 11, 2001, prompted a major mobilization of Alabama active military reservists and Alabama National Guardsmen to serve in the Middle East. Health problems related to geographic relocation, environmental threats, combat and other traumatic events, and the stress associated with serving in an active capacity have resulted in an increase in the number of patients and the variety of illnesses being seen at Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Centers. The Tuscaloosa Veterans Affairs Medical Center developed a combat veterans care coordination program to efficiently and effectively manage the care of returning combat veterans. The development and first-year outcomes of the program are described.