Nationwide Rapid Assessment of Avoidable Blindness (RAAB) in Armenia.

PURPOSE: This study aimed to estimate the prevalence and main causes of blindness and visual impairment in population aged 50 years and older in Armenia using Rapid Assessment of Avoidable Blindness (RAAB) methodology. METHODS: The study team randomly selected 50 clusters (each consisting of 50 people) from all 11 regions of Armenia. Data on participants' demographics, presenting visual acuity, pinhole visual acuity, principal cause of presenting visual acuity, spectacle coverage, uncorrected refractive error (URE), and presbyopia were collected using the RAAB survey form. Four teams of trained eye care professionals completed data collection in 2019. RESULTS: Overall, 2,258 people of 50 years and older participated in the study. The age- and gender- adjusted prevalence of bilateral blindness, severe and moderate visual impairment were 1.5% (95% CI: 1.0-2.1), 1.6% (95% CI: 1.0-2.2) and 6.6% (95% CI: 5.5-7.7), respectively.The main causes of blindness were cataract (43.9%) and glaucoma (17.1%). About 54.6% and 35.3% of participants had URE and uncorrected presbyopia, respectively. The prevalence of bilateral blindness and functional low vision increased with age and was the highest in participants 80 years and older. CONCLUSION: The rate of bilateral blindness was comparable with findings from countries that share similar background and confirmed that untreated cataract was the main cause of blindness. Given that cataract blindness is avoidable, strategies should be developed aiming to further increase the volume and quality of cataract care in Armenia.

Cataract Blindness in Armenia: The Results of Nationwide Rapid Assessment of Avoidable Blindness (RAAB).

PURPOSE: This study assessed the prevalence of cataract blindness, cataract surgical coverage (CSC), effective CSC, visual outcome after cataract surgery, and barriers to cataract surgery in a population aged 50 years and older in Armenia using Rapid Assessment of Avoidable Blindness (RAAB) methodology. METHODS: The study sample included 2258 individuals aged 50 years and older who were randomly selected from 11 provinces of Armenia in 2019 following the RAAB methodology. The study team randomly selected 50 clusters, 50 people in each. The RAAB survey form was used to collect information on cataract blindness, visual outcome after cataract surgery, and barriers to cataract surgery. RESULTS: The mean age of the participants was 65.3 (SD = 9.9) ranging from 50 to 99. The majority of participants were women (65.6%). Age- and sex-adjusted prevalence of blindness due to all causes was 1.5%; of which 36.4% was bilaterally blind due to cataract. The CSC and effective CSC at a cataract surgical threshold of <6/12 were 55.1% and 24.4%, respectively. Good outcome was reported in 43.7% of eyes after cataract surgery, borderline in 37.2% of eyes, and poor outcome in 19.1%. The main barriers to cataract surgery included "cost," "need not felt," or "fear." CONCLUSION: The prevalence of cataract blindness in our study was higher compared to high-income regions and lower than estimates from South/Southeast Asia. This study suggests the urgent need to update the National Strategic Plan to prevent blindness in Armenia with a focus on improving the quality and coverage of cataract surgery.

Health equity and COVID-19: global perspectives.

The COVID-19 is disproportionally affecting the poor, minorities and a broad range of vulnerable populations, due to its inequitable spread in areas of dense population and limited mitigation capacity due to high prevalence of chronic conditions or poor access to high quality public health and medical care. Moreover, the collateral effects of the pandemic due to the global economic downturn, and social isolation and movement restriction measures, are unequally affecting those in the lowest power strata of societies. To address the challenges to health equity and describe some of the approaches taken by governments and local organizations, we have compiled 13 country case studies from various regions around the world: China, Brazil, Thailand, Sub Saharan Africa, Nicaragua, Armenia, India, Guatemala, United States of America (USA), Israel, Australia, Colombia, and Belgium. This compilation is by no-means representative or all inclusive, and we encourage researchers to continue advancing global knowledge on COVID-19 health equity related issues, through rigorous research and generation of a strong evidence base of new empirical studies in this field.

Quality of Inpatient Tuberculosis Health Care in High-Burden Resource-Limited Settings: Protocol for a Comprehensive Mixed Methods Assessment Study.

BACKGROUND: The quality of care for tuberculosis (TB) is deficient in high-burden countries and urgently needs improvement. However, comprehensively identifying the required improvements is challenging. Providing high-quality TB care is an important step toward improving patients' quality of life and decreasing TB morbidity and mortality. Effective tools for assessing the quality of TB services using international standards and guidelines can identify existing gaps in services and inform improvements to ensure high-quality inpatient TB services. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to develop evaluation instruments for defining the quality of provision of TB services. METHODS: To assess quality of services in the largest TB hospital in Armenia, we developed instruments based on the Joint Commission International Accreditation Standards for Hospitals, International Standards for TB Care, TB Laboratories Bio-Safety Standards, and the World Health Organization framework for conducting TB program reviews. A mixed methods approach was utilized, triangulating quantitative (checklists) and qualitative (in-depth interviews) results. A scoring system and strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and treats analysis was applied to detail results for each of the 122 standards assessed. A scaling approach was used to present overall performances of inpatient services for eight patient-centered functions and five organization management functions. RESULTS: Overall, 40 in-depth interviews and 91 checklists (21 observations, 16 policy papers, 20 staff qualification documents, and 34 medical records) were developed, utilized, and analyzed to explore practices of health care professionals, assess inpatient treatment experience of patients and their family members, evaluate facility environmental conditions, and define the degree of compliance to standards. CONCLUSIONS: The effective comprehensive evaluation instruments and methods developed in this study for quality of inpatient TB services support the implementation of similar effective assessments in other countries. It may also become a platform to develop similar approaches for assessing ambulatory TB services in resource-limited countries. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID): DERR1-10.2196/13903.

It's Still The Prices, Stupid: Why The US Spends So Much On Health Care, And A Tribute To Uwe Reinhardt.

A 2003 article titled "It's the Prices, Stupid," and coauthored by the three of us and the recently deceased Uwe Reinhardt found that the sizable differences in health spending between the US and other countries were explained mainly by health care prices. As a tribute to him, we used Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Health Statistics to update these analyses and review critiques of the original article. The conclusion that prices are the primary reason why the US spends more on health care than any other country remains valid, despite health policy reforms and health systems restructuring that have occurred in the US and other industrialized countries since the 2003 article's publication. On key measures of health care resources per capita (hospital beds, physicians, and nurses), the US still provides significantly fewer resources compared to the OECD median country. Since the US is not consuming greater resources than other countries, the most logical factor is the higher prices paid in the US. Because the differential between what the public and private sectors pay for medical services has grown significantly in the past fifteen years, US policy makers should focus on prices in the private sector.

Factors contributing to rapidly increasing rates of cesarean section in Armenia: a partially mixed concurrent quantitative-qualitative equal status study.

BACKGROUND: Armenia has an upward trend in cesarean sections (CS); the CS rate increased from 7.2% in 2000 to 31.0% in 2017. The purpose of this study was to investigate potential factors contributing to the rapidly increasing rates of CS in Armenia and identify the actual costs of CS and vaginal birth (VB), which are different from the reimbursement rates by the Obstetric Care State Certificate Program of the Ministry of Health. METHODS: This was a partially mixed concurrent quantitative-qualitative equal status study. The research team collected qualitative data via in-depth interviews (IDI) with obstetrician-gynecologists (OBGYN) and policymakers and focus group discussions (FGD) with women. The quantitative phase of the study utilized the bottom-up cost accounting (considering only direct variable costs) from the perspective of providers, and it included self-administered provider surveys and retrospective review of mother and child hospital records. The survey questionnaire was developed based on IDIs with providers of different medical services. RESULTS: The mean estimated direct variable cost per case was 35,219 AMD (94.72 USD) for VB and 80,385 AMD (216.19 USD) for CS. The ratio of mean direct variable costs for CS vs. VB was 2.28, which is higher than the government's reimbursement ratio of 1.64. The amount of bonus payments to OBGYNs was 11 fold higher for CS than for VB indicating that OBGYNs may have significant financial motivation to perform CS without a medical necessity. The qualitative study analysis revealed that financial incentives, maternal request and lack of regulations could be contributing to increasing the CS rates. While OBGYNs did not report that higher reimbursement for CS could lead to increasing CS rates, the policymakers suggested a relationship between the high CS rate and the reimbursement mechanism. The quantitative phase of the study confirmed the policymakers' concern. CONCLUSION: The study suggested an important relationship between the increasing CS rates and the current health care reimbursement system.

Perceived barriers of tobacco dependence treatment: a mixed-methods study among primary healthcare physicians in Armenia.

BACKGROUND: Despite compelling evidence that physicians play a prominent role in smoking cessation, most smokers do not receive the recommended smoking cessation counseling.AimTo identify perceived barriers that hinder primary healthcare physicians (PHPs) from providing smoking cessation treatment to patients in Armenia. METHODS: A sequential exploratory mixed-methods study was conducted among PHPs from two Armenian cities (Yerevan and Gyumri). We implemented qualitative phase through focus group discussions (FGDs) using a semi-structured guide. For the subsequent quantitative phase, the data were collected through cross-sectional survey. A directed deductive content analysis technique was used to analyze the FGDs and questionnaires were analyzed descriptively. Following the data collection (March 2015-May 2016) and descriptive analysis, the qualitative and quantitative data sets were merged by drawing quantitative data onto qualitative categories.FindingsOverall, 23 PHPs participated in five FGDs and 108 participants completed the survey. Three main categories of barriers were identified: physician-based, patient-based, and system-based barriers. The main physicians-based barriers were insufficient knowledge and inadequate training on tobacco-dependence treatment. Lack of patients' motivation to quit, poor compliance with the treatment, patients' withdrawal symptoms were identified as patient-based disincentives. System-based barriers included lack of reimbursement for providing smoking cessation counseling, high price and low availability of smoking cessation medications. Most of the qualitative descriptions were confirmed by quantitative findings. CONCLUSIONS: Targeted interventions are needed to address barriers that limited PHPs' involvement in providing smoking cessation services in Armenia. There is an urgent need to enhance PHPs' knowledge and skills in delivering smoking cessation counseling, to increase patients' demand for smoking cessation services, and to ensure availability and affordability of smoking cessation services in Armenia.

National Scale-Up of Results-Based Financing in Primary Health Care: The Case of Armenia.

Abstract-Results-based financing (RBF) has been integrated into the national health care financing system of Armenia covering all primary health care (PHC) facilities in the country. The RBF program contributed to a substantial increase in the utilization of PHC services and improved provider performance. Based on document and literature review and key informant interviews and focus group discussions, this article describes the successful scale-up and integration of RBF into Armenia's primary health care system throughout the period 2000-2015. The article shows how an interaction of contextual factors, actors, and processes contributed to the successful scale-up and integration of RBF into Armenia's primary health care system. Though international agencies, in this case the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), had a significant influence on the introduction and initial design of the RBF scheme, an important enabler was a well-sequenced reform process that included the most politically important stakeholders, including the State Health Agency. Embedding of RBF in national regulatory frameworks and the provision of funds from the national budget were also key contributors to success. Finally, an important enabler to the subsequent scale-up and integration of RBF into the PHC system was its introduction as part of a larger reform of the primary health care system.

Predictors of Stunting Among Children Ages 0 to 59 Months in a Rural Region of Armenia.

OBJECTIVES: The prevalence of stunting in Armenia more than doubled since the 1990 s. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence and the predictors of stunting among children younger than 5 years in a rural region of Armenia, Talin, targeted by the World Vision (WV) nutrition interventions. METHODS: Anthropometric measurements were conducted among a large representative sample of children 0 to 59 months old to identify the prevalence of stunting. Children identified as stunted were included in a case-control study as cases and compared with normally growing controls randomly selected from the same pool of children. The mothers of cases and controls were interviewed. Logistic regression analysis was applied to identify the predictors of stunting. RESULTS: Of 739 measured children, 101 (13.7%) were undernourished, including 94 (12.7%) who were stunted. The fitted logistic regression model identified 7 independent predictors of stunting, of which 4 were protective: mother's height, child's birth length, number of child's hand washings per day, and the full set of WV interventions carried out in the community; whereas 3 were risk factors, that is, never/rarely using soap during hand washing, being the fourth or later child in the family, and family size. CONCLUSIONS: The study findings suggest that although WV nutrition interventions have shown impact, there is also a nonnutritional pathway of child stunting in rural Armenia. Thus, antistunting interventions should include sanitation and hygienic measures along with adequate perinatal care and maternal and child nutrition to further reduce childhood stunting, ensuring long-term health benefits for children not only in rural Armenia but also in rural communities in other low/middle-income countries.

People-centered tuberculosis care versus standard directly observed therapy: study protocol for a cluster randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Tuberculosis is a major public health concern resulting in high rates of morbidity and mortality worldwide, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. Tuberculosis requires a long and intensive course of treatment. Thus, various approaches, including patient empowerment, education and counselling sessions, and involvement of family members and community workers, have been suggested for improving treatment adherence and outcome. The current randomized controlled trial aims to evaluate the effectiveness over usual care of an innovative multicomponent people-centered tuberculosis-care strategy in Armenia. METHODS/DESIGN: Innovative Approach to Tuberculosis care in Armenia is an open-label, stratified cluster randomized controlled trial with two parallel arms. Tuberculosis outpatient centers are the clusters assigned to intervention and control arms. Drug-sensitive tuberculosis patients in the continuation phase of treatment in the intervention arm and their family members participate in a short educational and counselling session to raise their knowledge, decrease tuberculosis-related stigma, and enhance treatment adherence. Patients receive the required medications for one week during the weekly visits to the tuberculosis outpatient centers. Additionally, patients receive daily Short Message Service (SMS) reminders to take their medications and daily phone calls to assure adherence and monitoring of treatment potential side effects. Control-arm patients follow the World Health Organization--recommended directly observed treatment strategy, including daily visits to tuberculosis outpatient centers for drug-intake. The primary outcome is physician-reported treatment outcome. Patients' knowledge, depression, quality of life, within-family tuberculosis-related stigma, family social support, and self-reported adherence to tuberculosis treatment are secondary outcomes. DISCUSSION: Improved adherence and tuberculosis treatment outcomes can strengthen tuberculosis control and thereby forestall tuberculosis and multidrug resistant tuberculosis epidemics. Positive findings on effectiveness of this innovative tuberculosis treatment people-centered approach will support its adoption in countries with similar healthcare and economic profiles. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov registration number: NCT02082340. Date of registration: 4 March 2014.

Progress towards universal health coverage in BRICS: translating economic growth into better health.

Brazil, the Russian Federation, India, China and South Africa--the countries known as BRICS--represent some of the world's fastest growing large economies and nearly 40% of the world's population. Over the last two decades, BRICS have undertaken health-system reforms to make progress towards universal health coverage. This paper discusses three key aspects of these reforms: the role of government in financing health; the underlying motivation behind the reforms; and the value of the lessons learnt for non-BRICS countries. Although national governments have played a prominent role in the reforms, private financing constitutes a major share of health spending in BRICS. There is a reliance on direct expenditures in China and India and a substantial presence of private insurance in Brazil and South Africa. The Brazilian health reforms resulted from a political movement that made health a constitutional right, whereas those in China, India, the Russian Federation and South Africa were an attempt to improve the performance of the public system and reduce inequities in access. The move towards universal health coverage has been slow. In China and India, the reforms have not adequately addressed the issue of out-of-pocket payments. Negotiations between national and subnational entities have often been challenging but Brazil has been able to achieve good coordination between federal and state entities via a constitutional delineation of responsibility. In the Russian Federation, poor coordination has led to the fragmented pooling and inefficient use of resources. In mixed health systems it is essential to harness both public and private sector resources.

Le Brésil, la Fédération de Russie, l'Inde, la Chine et l'Afrique du Sud ­ les pays connus sous le nom de BRICS ­ représentent quelques-unes des grandes économies ayant connu la croissance la plus rapide dans le monde et près de 40% de la population mondiale. Au cours des 2 dernières décennies, le groupe BRICS a engagé des réformes de son système de santé pour atteindre la couverture de santé universelle. Cet article aborde les 3 aspects clés de ces réformes: le rôle du gouvernement dans le financement de la santé; la motivation profonde derrière ces réformes; et la valeur des leçons tirées pour les pays non-BRICS. Bien que les gouvernements nationaux jouent un rôle majeur dans ces réformes, le financement privé constitue une part importante des dépenses de santé dans le groupe BRICS. Il existe une dépendance à l'égard des dépenses directes en Chine et en Inde et à l'égard d'une présence importante des assurances privées au Brésil et en Afrique du Sud. Les réformes de la santé du Brésil ont fait suite à un mouvement politique qui a fait de la santé un droit constitutionnel, alors que les réformes en Chine, en Inde, en Fédération de Russie et en Afrique du Sud ont représenté des tentatives visant à améliorer la performance du système public et à réduire les inégalités de l'accès aux soins. Les progrès vers la couverture de santé universelle ont été lents. En Chine et en Inde, les réformes n'ont pas abordé suffisamment le problème des paiements restants à charge. Les négociations entre les entités nationales et infranationales ont souvent été difficiles, mais le Brésil a pu parvenir à une coordination adéquate entre les entités fédérales et étatiques grâce à une délimitation constitutionnelle des responsabilités. Dans la Fédération de Russie, le manque de coordination a entraîné un regroupement fragmenté et une utilisation inefficace des ressources. Dans les systèmes de santé à financement mixte, il est essentiel de maîtriser à la fois les ressources des 2 secteurs: public et privé.

Brasil, la Federación de Rusia, India, China y Sudáfrica, los países conocidos como BRICS, son algunas de las grandes economías que más rápidamente están creciendo y representan casi el 40% de la población mundial. A lo largo de las últimas dos décadas, los BRICS han emprendido reformas en los sistemas sanitarios para avanzar hacia una cobertura universal de salud. Este artículo analiza tres aspectos clave de estas reformas: el papel del gobierno a la hora de financiar la salud, los motivos subyacentes de las reformas y el valor de las lecciones aprendidas de otros países distintos a los BRICS. Aunque los gobiernos nacionales tienen un papel destacado en las reformas, la financiación privada constituye una parte importante de los gastos sanitarios en estos países. Hay una dependencia de los gastos directos en China e India y una presencia significativa de seguros privados en Brasil y Sudáfrica. Las reformas sanitarias brasileñas tuvieron como resultado un movimiento político que hizo de la salud un derecho constitucional, mientras que las de China, India, la Federación de Rusia y Sudáfrica fueron un intento de mejorar el rendimiento del sistema público y reducir las desigualdades del acceso a este. El avance hacia la cobertura universal de la salud ha sido lento. En China e India, las reformas no han abordado adecuadamente el problema de los pagos directos. A menudo, las negociaciones entre las entidades nacionales y subnacionales han sido difíciles, pero Brasil ha sido capaz de lograr una buena coordinación entre las entidades federales y estatales a través de una descripción constitucional de la responsabilidad. En la Federación de Rusia, una mala coordinación ha tenido como resultado una mancomunación fragmentada y el uso ineficaz de los recursos. En los sistemas sanitarios mixtos, es fundamental emplear recursos tanto del sector público como del privado.

Short and long term determinants of incident multimorbidity in a cohort of 1988 earthquake survivors in Armenia.

BACKGROUND: Multimorbidity, presence of two or more health conditions, is a widespread phenomenon affecting populations' health all over the world. It becomes a serious public health concern due to its negative consequences on quality of life, mortality, and cost of healthcare services utilization. Studies exploring determinants of multimorbidity are limited, particularly those looking at vulnerable populations prospectively over time. This study aimed at identifying short and long term socioeconomic, psychosocial, and health behavioral determinants of incident multimorbidity among a cohort of the 1988 Armenian earthquake survivors. METHODS: The study included a representative subsample of 725 from a larger initial cohort of the earthquake survivors. Data on this subsample were collected via four phases of this cohort study during the period 1990-2012. The final logistic regression analysis eliminated all those cases with baseline multimorbidity to investigate short and long term determinants of incident multimorbidity; this subsample included 600 participants. RESULTS: More than 75% of the studied sample had multimorbidity. Perceived low affordability of healthcare services, poor living standards during the post-earthquake decade, and lower education were independent predictors of incident multimorbidity developed during the period 1990-2012. Stressful life events and poor social support were among psychosocial determinants of incident multimorbidity. Participants' baseline BMI reported in 1990 was independently associated with incident multimorbidity. CONCLUSIONS: Most of the identified determinants of incident multimorbidity in our study population were markers of social inequities, indicating that inequities pose a serious threat to both individual and public health-related outcomes. Strategies targeting to decrease such inequities along with promotion of healthy lifestyle and strengthening of social networks may considerably reduce multimorbidity among population groups with similar socioeconomic and cultural profiles.

Gender differences in predictors of self-rated health in Armenia: a population-based study of an economy in transition.

INTRODUCTION: Self-rated health is a widely used health outcome measure that strongly correlates with physical and mental health status and predicts mortality. This study identified the set of predictors of fair/poor self-rated health in adult female and male populations of Armenia during a period of long-lasting socio-economic transition to a market economy. METHODS: Differences in self-rated health were analyzed along three dimensions: socioeconomic, behavioral/attitudinal, and psychosocial. The study utilized data from a 2006 nationwide household health survey that used a multi-stage probability proportional to size cluster sampling with a combination of interviewer-administered and self-administered surveys. Both female and male representatives of a household aged 18 and over completed the self-administered survey. Multivariate odds ratios (OR) for fair/poor self-rated health were calculated for different sets of variables and logistic regression models fitted separately for women and men to identify the determinants of fair/poor self-rated health. RESULTS: Overall, 2310 women and 462 men participated in the survey. The rate of fair/poor self-rated health was 61.8% among women and 59.7% among men. For women, the set of independent predictors of fair/poor self-rated health included age, unemployment, poverty, low affordability of healthcare, depression, and weak social support. For men, the set included age, lower education, depression, weak social support, and drinking alcohol less than once a week. For both genders, depression and weak social support demonstrated the strongest independent association with fair/poor self-rated health. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of fair/poor self-rated health was similar among men and women in this study, but the sets of independent predictors of perceived health differed somewhat, possibly, reflecting lifestyle differences between men and women in Armenia. Nevertheless, psychosocial variables were the strongest predictors of fair/poor self-rated health for both genders, indicating the importance of improving the country's psychosocial environment through social reforms and poverty reduction.

It's the prices, stupid: why the United States is so different from other countries.

This paper uses the latest data from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) to compare the health systems of the thirty member countries in 2000. Total health spending--the distribution of public and private health spending in the OECD countries--is presented and discussed. U.S. public spending as a percentage of GDP (5.8 percent) is virtually identical to public spending in the United Kingdom, Italy, and Japan (5.9 percent each) and not much smaller than in Canada (6.5 percent). The paper also compares pharmaceutical spending, health system capacity, and use of medical services. The data show that the United States spends more on health care than any other country. However, on most measures of health services use, the United States is below the OECD median. These facts suggest that the difference in spending is caused mostly by higher prices for health care goods and services in the United States.