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Migrants are at increased risk of developing tuberculosis (TB) and have poor treatment outcomes. The National TB program (NTP) of the Kyrgyz Republic recognizes two types of migrants: internal (intra-country) and external (inter-country) migrants. This cohort study compared the characteristics, timeliness of diagnosis and treatment initiation, and treatment outcomes of TB patients (internal migrant vs. external migrant vs. non-migrant) identified during treatment in the country in 2021. The TB treatment register and treatment cards of 5114 patients (156 internal, 430 external, and 4528 non-migrants) were reviewed. Risk factors (unemployment, smoking, alcohol use, and homelessness) were higher (p-value < 0.001) in internal (84%) than in external migrants (66%) and non-migrants (43%). The median delay in seeking care post-symptom onset was longer (p-value= 0.03) in external (30 days) than in internal migrants (21 days) and non-migrants (25 days). Successful treatment outcomes for drug-sensitive TB were higher in internal (89%, p-value = 0.012) and external migrants (86%, p-value = 0.001) than in non-migrants (78%). Internal and external migrants should be separately considered with respect to TB care and monitoring under the NTP. Success rates seem to be high in migrants, but our findings may be biased, as migrants with poor healthcare access may remain undetected and untreated and have undocumented poor outcomes.
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Background: Improving tuberculosis (TB) care in key populations is an operational research priority in the Kyrgyz Republic. Here, we describe the characteristics of TB/HIV co-infected individuals, their affiliations with key country-wide population groups, and their TB treatment outcomes. Methods: This was a cohort study using national programmatic data (2018-2022). The key population groups included people with increased exposure to TB, limited access to TB services, and increased risk of acquiring TB. Results: Among 693 individuals with TB/HIV co-infection, the majority (58%) of individuals were from two regions of the Kyrgyz Republic (Chui and Bishkek). Eighty-four percent (84%) individuals had one or more affiliations to eight key population groups, with 49% of the individuals affiliated to ≥2 groups and 92% of the individuals were on both antiretroviral treatment and cotrimoxazole preventive therapy. Overall, 406 (59%) of the individuals had successful outcomes and 287 (41%) of the individuals had unsuccessful outcomes. Unsuccessful outcomes increased from 36% (n-39) with TB/HIV alone to 47% (n-86) with affiliations to ≥3 key population groups (P-0.03). Unsuccessful outcomes were associated with co-morbidities (diabetes mellitus and hepatitis B/C), migration, alcohol use, and extrapulmonary TB. Conclusions: For a long time, people with TB/HIV co-infection have been recognized as a "double priority". Affiliation to key populations accentuates their status to "triple priority". We advocate for increased attention and equity towards these populations.
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INTRODUCTION: The aim of this article was to compare patients' health-related quality of life (HR-QoL) outcomes between ileal orthotopic neobladder (IONB) and standard bilateral cutaneous ureterostomy (CU) using validated diversion-specific HR-QoL questionnaires. MATERIAL AND METHODS: This study utilized a retrospective cohort design, including all male patients who underwent open radical cystectomy with either IONB or CU from January 2010 until December 2017. In total, 69 and 57 male patients with a minimum of 12 months of follow-up were included in each group respectively, after applying the following exclusion criteria: female, pre- and postoperative radio- and chemotherapy and palliative surgery. For every patient, HR-QoL was evaluated using the European Association of Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Core (EORTC-QLQ-C30) and Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy for patients undergoing radical cystectomy (FACT-Bl-Cys) validated questionnaires. RESULTS: In multivariable analysis, the type of the urinary diversion, and the occurrence of early and late postoperative complications were independently associated with the change of scores of HR-QoL domains. When comparing the 2 surgical methods (IONB vs. CU), after adjusting for confounders, such EORTC-QLQ-C30 domains as physical functioning (66.5 vs. 57.9, p = 0.011) and global health status (58.1 vs. 42.6, p <0.001) were superior in the IONB arm which was statistically significant. Similarly, functional health (15.3 vs. 11.9, p <0.001) and total score (110.1 vs. 101.7, p = 0.009) from the FACT-Bl-Cys questionnaire were superior in the IONB arm. CONCLUSIONS: In our study, patients with IONB possessed statistically significant, better scores of HR-QoL domains assessed with EORTC-QLQ-C30 and FACT-Bl-Cys questionnaires compared to those with CU. The occurrence of early major and late complications negatively affected patients' HR-QOL.
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BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: In health care, information technologies (IT) hold a promise to harness an ever-increasing flow of health related information and bring significant benefits including improved quality of care, efficiency, and cost containment. One of the main tools for collecting and utilizing health data is the Electronic Health Record (EHR). EHRs implementation can face numerous barriers to acceptance including attitudes and perceptions of potential users, required effort attributed to their implementation and usage, and resistance to change. Various theories explicate different aspects of technology deployment, implementation, and acceptance. One of the common theories is the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), which helps to study the implementation of different healthcare IT applications. The objectives of this study are: to understand the barriers of EHR implementation from the perspective of physicians; to identify major determinants of physicians' acceptance of technology; and develop a model that explains better how EHRs (and technologies in general) are accepted by physicians. METHODS: The proposed model derives from a cross-sectional survey of physicians selected through multi-stage cluster sampling from the hospitals of Yerevan, Armenia. The study team designed the survey instrument based on a literature review on barriers of EHR implementation. The analysis employed exploratory structural equation modeling (ESEM) with a robust weighted least squares (WLSMV) estimator for categorical indicators. The analysis progressed in two steps: appraisal of the measurement model and testing of the structural model. RESULTS: The derived model identifies the following factors as direct determinants of behavioral intention to use a novel technology: projected collective usefulness; personal innovativeness; patient influence; and resistance to change. Other factors (e.g., organizational change, professional relationships, administrative monitoring, organizational support and computer anxiety) exert their effects through projected collective usefulness, perceived usefulness, and perceived ease of use. The model reconciles individual-oriented and environment-oriented theoretical approaches and proposes a Tripolar Model of Technology Acceptance (TMTA), bringing together three key pillars of the healthcare: patients, practitioners, and provider organizations. The proposed TMTA explains 85% of variance of behavioral intention to use technology. CONCLUSIONS: The current study draws from the barriers of EHR implementation and identifies major determinants of technology acceptance among physicians. The study proposes TMTA as affording stronger explanative and predictive abilities for the health care system. TMTA paves a long overlooked gap in TAM and its descendants, which, in organizational settings, might distort construal of technology acceptance. It also explicates with greater depth the interdependence of different participants of the healthcare and complex interactions between healthcare and technologies.