Assessment of Delays in Emergency Surgical Care and Patient Postoperative Outcomes at a Referral Hospital in Northern Rwanda.

BACKGROUND: Surgical interventions are cost-effective methods to save lives and prevent disabilities. Surgical delays and access to three Bellwether procedures are key monitoring indicators for universal access to safe and affordable surgical and anesthesia care and health system performance. This study assessed the delays in receiving surgical and anesthesia care for emergency surgical patients at a district hospital in Northern Rwanda. METHODS: A questionnaire was used to survey all emergency surgical patients who presented at the hospital between May and July 2020, to assess the delays in seeking (first) and reaching (second) care. In-hospital (third) delay and patient outcomes within the first 7 days postsurgery were collected by patient file auditing. Factors associated with third delay were identified through healthcare provider in-depth interviews. RESULTS: A total of 106 patients were surveyed, and nine healthcare providers were interviewed. The median was less than a day for first delay, 1 day for second delay, and 16.5 h for third delay for all emergency procedures. 20% of the Bellwether procedures were performed within two hours after arriving at the hospital. Factors affecting the delays included visiting a traditional healer, district of residence, referral system, income status, as well as shortage of surgeons and specialists, surgical supplies, and operating theaters. CONCLUSION: Further research to study the cause of delays within the referral system is needed. Surgical outreach, equipment, and infrastructure would help to shorten in-hospital delays. Longer-term follow-up studies on patient complications and outcomes due to delay in surgical care are needed.

Identifying risk factors of anemia among women of reproductive age in Rwanda - a cross-sectional study using secondary data from the Rwanda demographic and health survey 2014/2015.

BACKGROUND: Anemia among Women of Reproductive Age (WRA) continues to be among the major public health problems in many developing countries, including Rwanda, where it increased in prevalence between the 2015 and 2010 Rwanda Demographic and Health Survey (RDHS) reports. A thorough understanding of its risk factors is necessary to design better interventions. However, to the best of our knowledge, no study has been conducted in Rwanda on a nationally representative sample to assess factors associated with anemia among WRA. Accordingly, this study was conducted to address such gap. METHODS: A quantitative, cross-sectional study was conducted using data from the RDHS 2014-2015. The study population consisted of 6680 WRA who were tested for anemia during the survey. Anemia was defined as having a hemoglobin level equal to or below 10.9 g/dl for a pregnant woman, and hemoglobin level equal to or below 11.9 g/dl for a non-pregnant woman. Pearson's chi-squared test and multiple logistic regression were conducted for bivariate and multivariable analysis, respectively. RESULTS: The prevalence of anemia among WRA was 19.2% (95% CI: 18.0-20.5). Four factors were found to be associated with lower odds of anemia, including being obese (OR: 0.61, 95% CI: 0.40-0.91), being in the rich category (OR: 0.74, 95% CI: 0.63-0.87), sleeping under a mosquito net (OR: 0.85, 95% CI: 0.74-0.98), and using hormonal contraceptives (OR: 0.61, 95% CI: 0.50-0.73). Five factors were associated with higher odds of anemia, including being underweight (OR: 1.39, 95% CI: 1.09-1.78), using an intrauterine device (OR: 1.98, 95% CI: 1.05-3.75), being separated or widowed (OR: 1.35, 95% CI: 1.09-1.67), and living in the Southern province (OR: 1.45, 95% CI: 1.11-1.89) or in the Eastern province (OR: 1.41, 95% CI: 1.06-1.88). CONCLUSION: Anemia continues to pose public health challenges; novel public health interventions should consider geographic variations in anemia risk, seek to improve women's economic statuses, and strengthen iron supplementation especially for Intrauterine device users. Additionally, given the association between anemia and malaria, interventions to prevent malaria should be enhanced.