Hepatic Vitamin A Concentrations and Association with Infectious Causes of Child Death.

OBJECTIVES: To assess postmortem vitamin A (VA) concentrations in children under 5 years of age and evaluate the association between VA deficiency (VAD) and infectious causes of death (CoD). STUDY DESIGN: In this cross-sectional study from the Child Health and Mortality Prevention Surveillance (CHAMPS) Network, liver biopsies collected within 72 hours of death were analyzed from 405 stillbirths and children under 5 years in Kenya and South Africa. Total liver VA (TLVA) concentrations were quantified using ultra-performance liquid chromatography, and cutoffs of ≤0.1 µmol/g, >0.1 to <0.7 µmol/g, ≥0.7 to <1.0 µmol/g, and ≥1.0 µmol/g were used to define VAD, adequate VA status, high VA, and hypervitaminosis A, respectively. CoD were determined by expert panel review. RESULTS: Among 366 liver samples with viable extraction, pooled prevalences of VAD, adequacy, high VA, and hypervitaminosis were 34.2%, 51.1%, 6.0%, and 8.7%, respectively. VAD was more common among neonates compared with stillbirths, infants, or children, and among those with low birthweight (LBW), underweight, or stunting (P < .05). When adjusting for site, age, and sex, there was no significant association of VAD with increased infectious CoD (OR 1.9, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.9, 3.8, P = .073). In stratified analyses, VA deficient boys, but not girls, had an increased risk of infectious CoD (OR 3.4, 95% CI 1.3, 10.3, P = .013). CONCLUSIONS: Definitive postmortem assessment of VA status identified both VAD and VA excess among children under 5 years of age in Kenya and South Africa. VAD in boys was associated with increased risk of infectious mortality. Our findings may inform a transition from universal VA supplementation (VAS) to targeted strategies in certain countries.

Prevalence and predictors of chronic kidney disease of undetermined causes (CKDu) in Western Kenya's "sugar belt": a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Epidemics of chronic kidney disease of undetermined causes (CKDu) among young male agricultural workers have been observed in many tropical regions. Western Kenya has similar climatic and occupational characteristics as many of those areas. The study objectives were to characterize prevalence and predictors of CKDu, such as, HIV, a known cause of CKD, in a sugarcane growing region of Kenya; and to estimate prevalence of CKDu across occupational categories and evaluate if physically demanding work or sugarcane work are associated with reduced eGFR. METHODS: The Disadvantaged Populations eGFR Epidemiology Study (DEGREE) protocol was followed in a cross-sectional study conducted in Kisumu County, Western Kenya. Multivariate logistic regression was performed to identify predictors of reduced eGFR. RESULTS: Among 782 adults the prevalence of eGFR < 90 was 9.85%. Among the 612 participants without diabetes, hypertension, and heavy proteinuria the prevalence of eGFR < 90 was 8.99% (95%CI 6.8%, 11.5%) and 0.33% (95%CI 0.04%, 1.2%) had eGFR < 60. Among the 508 participants without known risk factors for reduced eGFR (including HIV), the prevalence of eGFR < 90 was 5.12% (95%CI 3.4%, 7.4%); none had eGFR < 60. Significant risk factors for reduced eGFR were sublocation, age, body mass index, and HIV. No association was found between reduced eGFR and work in the sugarcane industry, as a cane cutter, or in physically demanding occupations. CONCLUSION: CKDu is not a common public health problem in this population, and possibly this region. We recommend that future studies should consider HIV to be a known cause of reduced eGFR. Factors other than equatorial climate and work in agriculture may be important determinants of CKDu epidemics.

Contraceptive stockouts in Western Kenya: a mixed-methods mystery client study.

BACKGROUND: The prevalence of modern contraception use is higher in Kenya than in most countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. The uptake has however slowed down in recent years, which, among other factors, has been attributed to challenges in the supply chain and increasing stockouts of family planning commodities. Research on the frequency of contraceptive stockouts and its consequences for women in Kenya is still limited and mainly based on facility audits. METHODS: This study employs a set of methods that includes mystery clients, focus group discussions, key informant interviews, and journey mapping workshops. Using this multi-method approach, we aim to quantify the frequency of method denial resulting from contraceptive stockout and describe the impact of stockouts on the lived experiences of women seeking contraception in Western Kenya. RESULTS: Contraceptives were found to be out of stock in 19% of visits made to health facilities by mystery clients, with all contraceptive methods stocked out in 9% of visits. Women experienced stockouts as a sizeable barrier to accessing their preferred method of contraception and a reason for taking up non-preferred methods, which has dire consequences for heath, autonomy, and the ability to prevent unintended pregnancy. Reasons for contraceptive stockouts are many and complex, and often linked to challenges in the supply chain - including inefficient planning, procurement, and distribution of family planning commodities. CONCLUSIONS: Contraceptive stockouts are frequent and negatively impact patients, providers, and communities. Based on the findings of this study, the authors identify areas where funding and sustained action have the potential to ameliorate the frequency and severity of contraceptive stockouts, including more regular deliveries, in-person data collection, and use of data for forecasting, and point to areas where further research is needed.

Informal payments for modern family planning methods at public facilities in Tanzania: room for improvement.

BACKGROUND: Financial access to family planning (FP) is essential to the health and well-being of women in Tanzania. Tanzanian policy dictates that FP methods and services obtained at public facilities are provided for free. However, public sector FP is no longer free when providers solicit informal payments. In this analysis, we investigate the prevalence and amount of informal payments for FP in Tanzania. METHODS: We used data from the 2015-2016 Tanzania Demographic and Health Survey to investigate whether informal payments for FP had been effectively eliminated by this policy. RESULTS: We found that, at public sector facilities, the majority (84.6%) of women received their current FP method for free (95% confidence interval (CI): 81.9, 87.3), but this proportion varied meaningfully by facility and method type. Injectable contraception was the most commonly used method by women in the lowest wealth quintiles and was most frequently sought by these women from a government dispensary. One in four women (25.8%) seeking injectable contraception from government dispensaries reported paying a fee (95% CI: 19.5, 32.1). Among injectable users who reported payment for their current method, the mean cost at public sector facilities was 1420 Tanzanian Shillings (TSh) and the mean cost at private sector facilities was TSh 1930 (approximately 0.61 United States Dollars (USD) and 0.83 USD, respectively). Among implant users who reported payment for their current method, the mean cost at public sector facilities was TSh 4127 and the mean cost at private sector facilities was TSh 6194 (approximately 1.78 USD and 2.68 USD, respectively). CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that the majority of women visiting public facilities in Tanzania did not pay informal payments for FP methods or services; however, informal payments at public facilities did occur, varying by facility and method type. Adherence to existing policies mandating free FP methods and services at public facilities, especially government dispensaries, is critical for ensuring contraceptive access among the most economically vulnerable women.

Evaluating the feasibility of the Community Score Card and subsequent contraceptive behavior in Kisumu, Kenya.

BACKGROUND: Women seeking family planning services from public-sector facilities in low- and middle-income countries sometimes face provider-imposed barriers to care. Social accountability is an approach that could address provider-imposed barriers by empowering communities to hold their service providers to account for service quality. Yet little is known about the feasibility and potential impact of such efforts in the context of contraceptive care. We piloted a social accountability intervention-the Community Score Card (CSC)-in three public healthcare facilities in western Kenya and use a mix of quantitative and qualitative methodologies to describe the feasibility and impact on family planning service provision. METHODS: We implemented and evaluated the CSC in a convenience sample of three public-sector facility-community dyads in Kisumu County, Kenya. Within each dyad, communities met to identify and prioritize needs, develop corresponding indicators, and used a score card to rate the quality of family planning service provision and monitor improvement. To ensure young, unmarried people had a voice in identifying the unique challenges they face, youth working groups (YWG) led all CSC activities. The feasibility and impact of CSC activities were evaluated using mystery client visits, unannounced visits, focus group discussions with YWG members and providers, repeated assessment of score card indicators, and service delivery statistics. RESULTS: The involvement of community health volunteers and supportive community members - as well as the willingness of some providers to consider changes to their own behaviors-were key score card facilitators. Conversely, community bias against family planning was a barrier to wider participation in score card activities and the intractability of some provider behaviors led to only small shifts in quality improvement. Service statistics did not reveal an increase in the percent of women receiving family planning services. CONCLUSION: Successful and impactful implementation of the CSC in the Kenyan context requires intensive community and provider sensitization, and pandemic conditions may have muted the impact on contraceptive uptake in this small pilot effort. Further investigation is needed to understand whether the CSC - or other social accountability efforts - can result in improved contraceptive access.

Mortuary and hospital-based HIV mortality surveillance among decedents in a low-resource setting: lessons from Western Kenya.

BACKGROUND: Lack of dependable morbidity and mortality data complicates efforts to measure the demographic or population-level impact of the global HIV/AIDS epidemic. Mortuary-based mortality surveillance can address gaps in vital statistics in low-resource settings by improving accuracy of measuring HIV-associated mortality and indicators of access to treatment services among decedents. This paper describes the process and considerations taken in conducting mortuary and hospital-based HIV mortality surveillance among decedents in Kenya. MAIN TEXT: We conducted HIV mortuary and hospital-based mortality surveillance at two of the largest mortuaries in Kisumu County, Kenya (April 16-July 12, 2019). Medical charts were reviewed for documentation of HIV status among eligible decedents. HIV testing was done on blood and oral fluid samples from decedents with undocumented HIV status and those whose medical records indicated HIV-negative test results > 3 months before death. A panel of experts established the cause of death according to the International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision rules. Civil registry data for the year 2017 were abstracted and coded to corresponding ICD-10 codes. Of the 1004 decedents admitted to the two mortuaries during the study period, 49 (4.9%) were unavailable because they had been transferred to other facilities or dispatched for burial before enrolment. Of the 955 available decedents, 104 (10.9%) were ineligible for the study. Blood samples were collected from 659 (77.4%) decedents, and 654 (99.2%) were tested for HIV. Of the 564 decedents eligible for the OraQuick® validation sub-study, 154 were eligible for oral sample collection, and 132 (85.7%) matched pre- and post-embalming oral samples were collected and tested. Of the 851 eligible decedents, 241 (28.3%) had evidence of HIV infection: 119 had a diagnosis of HIV infection recorded in their patient files, and 122 had serological evidence of HIV infection. CONCLUSION: This study shows that in low-resource settings, conducting hospital and mortuary-based surveillance is feasible and can be an alternative source of mortality data when civil registry data are inadequate.

All-cause and cause-specific mortality rates for Kisumu County: a comparison with Kenya, low-and middle-income countries.

BACKGROUND: Understanding the magnitude and causes of mortality at national and sub-national levels for countries is critical in facilitating evidence-based prioritization of public health response. We provide comparable cause of death data from Kisumu County, a high HIV and malaria-endemic county in Kenya, and compared them with Kenya and low-and-middle income countries (LMICs). METHODS: We analyzed data from a mortuary-based study at two of the largest hospital mortuaries in Kisumu. Mortality data through 2019 for Kenya and all LMICs were downloaded from the Global Health Data Exchange. We provided age-standardized rates for comparisons of all-cause and cause-specific mortality rates, and distribution of deaths by demographics and Global Burden of Disease (GBD) classifications. RESULTS: The all-cause age-standardized mortality rate (SMR) was significantly higher in Kisumu compared to Kenya and LMICs (1118 vs. 659 vs. 547 per 100,000 population, respectively). Among women, the all-cause SMR in Kisumu was almost twice that of Kenya and double the LMICs rate (1150 vs. 606 vs. 518 per 100,000 population respectively). Among men, the all-cause SMR in Kisumu was approximately one and a half times higher than in Kenya and nearly double that of LMICs (1089 vs. 713 vs. 574 per 100,000 population). In Kisumu and LMICs non-communicable diseases accounted for most (48.0 and 58.1% respectively) deaths, while in Kenya infectious diseases accounted for the majority (49.9%) of deaths. From age 10, mortality rates increased with age across all geographies. The age-specific mortality rate among those under 1 in Kisumu was nearly twice that of Kenya and LMICs (6058 vs. 3157 and 3485 per 100,000 population, respectively). Mortality from injuries among men was at least one and half times that of women in all geographies. CONCLUSION: There is a notable difference in the patterns of mortality rates across the three geographical areas. The double burden of mortality from GBD Group I and Group II diseases with high infant mortality in Kisumu can guide prioritization of public health interventions in the county. This study demonstrates the importance of establishing reliable vital registry systems at sub-national levels as the mortality dynamics and trends are not homogeneous.

Findings from a mixed-methods journey map study of barriers to family planning in western Kenya.

Our objective was to map and prioritize barriers to high-quality family planning care in western Kenya. We conducted key informant interviews (n = 19); focus group discussions with clients (n = 55); mystery client visits (n = 180); unannounced visitors (n = 120); and direct observation of client-provider interactions (n = 256) at public facilities offering family planning. We synthesized the data into a client and a provider journey map, which we used to facilitate client (n = 9) and provider (n = 12) discussions. For both groups, stockouts were frequent, impactful, and important barriers. Clients also reported male partner resistance, insufficient counseling, and informal fees were priority barriers.

Global Respiratory Syncytial Virus-Related Infant Community Deaths.

BACKGROUND: Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a leading cause of pediatric death, with >99% of mortality occurring in low- and lower middle-income countries. At least half of RSV-related deaths are estimated to occur in the community, but clinical characteristics of this group of children remain poorly characterized. METHODS: The RSV Global Online Mortality Database (RSV GOLD), a global registry of under-5 children who have died with RSV-related illness, describes clinical characteristics of children dying of RSV through global data sharing. RSV GOLD acts as a collaborative platform for global deaths, including community mortality studies described in this supplement. We aimed to compare the age distribution of infant deaths <6 months occurring in the community with in-hospital. RESULTS: We studied 829 RSV-related deaths <1 year of age from 38 developing countries, including 166 community deaths from 12 countries. There were 629 deaths that occurred <6 months, of which 156 (25%) occurred in the community. Among infants who died before 6 months of age, median age at death in the community (1.5 months; IQR: 0.8-3.3) was lower than in-hospital (2.4 months; IQR: 1.5-4.0; P < .0001). The proportion of neonatal deaths was higher in the community (29%, 46/156) than in-hospital (12%, 57/473, P < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: We observed that children in the community die at a younger age. We expect that maternal vaccination or immunoprophylaxis against RSV will have a larger impact on RSV-related mortality in the community than in-hospital. This case series of RSV-related community deaths, made possible through global data sharing, allowed us to assess the potential impact of future RSV vaccines.

Postmortem investigations and identification of multiple causes of child deaths: An analysis of findings from the Child Health and Mortality Prevention Surveillance (CHAMPS) network.

BACKGROUND: The current burden of >5 million deaths yearly is the focus of the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) to end preventable deaths of newborns and children under 5 years old by 2030. To accelerate progression toward this goal, data are needed that accurately quantify the leading causes of death, so that interventions can target the common causes. By adding postmortem pathology and microbiology studies to other available data, the Child Health and Mortality Prevention Surveillance (CHAMPS) network provides comprehensive evaluations of conditions leading to death, in contrast to standard methods that rely on data from medical records and verbal autopsy and report only a single underlying condition. We analyzed CHAMPS data to characterize the value of considering multiple causes of death. METHODS AND FINDINGS: We examined deaths identified from December 2016 through November 2020 from 7 CHAMPS sites (in Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mali, Mozambique, Sierra Leone, and South Africa), including 741 neonatal, 278 infant, and 241 child <5 years deaths for which results from Determination of Cause of Death (DeCoDe) panels were complete. DeCoDe panelists included all conditions in the causal chain according to the ICD-10 guidelines and assessed if prevention or effective management of the condition would have prevented the death. We analyzed the distribution of all conditions listed as causal, including underlying, antecedent, and immediate causes of death. Among 1,232 deaths with an underlying condition determined, we found a range of 0 to 6 (mean 1.5, IQR 0 to 2) additional conditions in the causal chain leading to death. While pathology provides very helpful clues, we cannot always be certain that conditions identified led to death or occurred in an agonal stage of death. For neonates, preterm birth complications (most commonly respiratory distress syndrome) were the most common underlying condition (n = 282, 38%); among those with preterm birth complications, 256 (91%) had additional conditions in causal chains, including 184 (65%) with a different preterm birth complication, 128 (45%) with neonatal sepsis, 69 (24%) with lower respiratory infection (LRI), 60 (21%) with meningitis, and 25 (9%) with perinatal asphyxia/hypoxia. Of the 278 infant deaths, 212 (79%) had ≥1 additional cause of death (CoD) beyond the underlying cause. The 2 most common underlying conditions in infants were malnutrition and congenital birth defects; LRI and sepsis were the most common additional conditions in causal chains, each accounting for approximately half of deaths with either underlying condition. Of the 241 child deaths, 178 (75%) had ≥1 additional condition. Among 46 child deaths with malnutrition as the underlying condition, all had ≥1 other condition in the causal chain, most commonly sepsis, followed by LRI, malaria, and diarrheal disease. Including all positions in the causal chain for neonatal deaths resulted in 19-fold and 11-fold increases in attributable roles for meningitis and LRI, respectively. For infant deaths, the proportion caused by meningitis and sepsis increased by 16-fold and 11-fold, respectively; for child deaths, sepsis and LRI are increased 12-fold and 10-fold, respectively. While comprehensive CoD determinations were done for a substantial number of deaths, there is potential for bias regarding which deaths in surveillance areas underwent minimally invasive tissue sampling (MITS), potentially reducing representativeness of findings. CONCLUSIONS: Including conditions that appear anywhere in the causal chain, rather than considering underlying condition alone, markedly changed the proportion of deaths attributed to various diagnoses, especially LRI, sepsis, and meningitis. While CHAMPS methods cannot determine when 2 conditions cause death independently or may be synergistic, our findings suggest that considering the chain of events leading to death can better guide research and prevention priorities aimed at reducing child deaths.

Development and Validation of a Sociodemographic and Behavioral Characteristics-Based Risk-Score Algorithm for Targeting HIV Testing Among Adults in Kenya.

To inform targeted HIV testing, we developed and externally validated a risk-score algorithm that incorporated behavioral characteristics. Outpatient data from five health facilities in western Kenya, comprising 19,458 adults ≥ 15 years tested for HIV from September 2017 to May 2018, were included in univariable and multivariable analyses used for algorithm development. Data for 11,330 adults attending one high-volume facility were used for validation. Using the final algorithm, patients were grouped into four risk-score categories: ≤ 9, 10-15, 16-29 and ≥ 30, with increasing HIV prevalence of 0.6% [95% confidence interval (CI) 0.46-0.75], 1.35% (95% CI 0.85-1.84), 2.65% (95% CI 1.8-3.51), and 15.15% (95% CI 9.03-21.27), respectively. The algorithm's discrimination performance was modest, with an area under the receiver-operating-curve of 0.69 (95% CI 0.53-0.84). In settings where universal testing is not feasible, a risk-score algorithm can identify sub-populations with higher HIV-risk to be prioritized for HIV testing.

Connected diagnostics to improve accurate diagnosis, treatment, and conditional payment of malaria services in Kenya.

BACKGROUND: In sub-Saharan Africa, the material and human capacity to diagnose patients reporting with fever to healthcare providers is largely insufficient. Febrile patients are typically treated presumptively with antimalarials and/or antibiotics. Such over-prescription can lead to drug resistance and involves unnecessary costs to the health system. International funding for malaria is currently not sufficient to control malaria. Transition to domestic funding is challenged by UHC efforts and recent COVID-19 outbreak. Herewith we present a digital approach to improve efficiencies in diagnosis and treatment of malaria in endemic Kisumu, Kenya: Connected Diagnostics. The objective of this study is to evaluate the feasibility, user experience and clinical performance of this approach in Kisumu. METHODS: Our intervention was performed Oct 2017-Dec 2018 across five private providers in Kisumu. Patients were enrolled on M-TIBA platform, diagnostic test results digitized, and only positive patients were digitally entitled to malaria treatment. Data on socio-demographics, healthcare transactions and medical outcomes were analysed using standard descriptive quantitative statistics. Provider perspectives were gathered by 19 semi-structured interviews. RESULTS: In total 11,689 febrile patients were digitally tested through five private providers. Malaria positivity ranged from 7.4 to 30.2% between providers, significantly more amongst the poor (p < 0.05). Prescription of antimalarials was substantially aberrant from National Guidelines, with 28% over-prescription (4.6-63.3% per provider) and prescription of branded versus generic antimalarials differing amongst facilities and correlating with the socioeconomic status of clients. Challenges were encountered transitioning from microscopy to RDT. CONCLUSION: We provide full proof-of-concept of innovative Connected Diagnostics to use digitized malaria diagnostics to earmark digital entitlements for correct malaria treatment of patients. This approach has large cost-saving and quality improvement potential.

Overview and Development of the Child Health and Mortality Prevention Surveillance Determination of Cause of Death (DeCoDe) Process and DeCoDe Diagnosis Standards.

Mortality surveillance and cause of death data are instrumental in improving health, identifying diseases and conditions that cause a high burden of preventable deaths, and allocating resources to prevent these deaths. The Child Health and Mortality Prevention Surveillance (CHAMPS) network uses a standardized process to define, assign, and code causes of stillbirth and child death (<5 years of age) across the CHAMPS network. A Determination of Cause of Death (DeCoDe) panel composed of experts from a local CHAMPS site analyzes all available individual information, including laboratory, histopathology, abstracted clinical records, and verbal autopsy findings for each case and, if applicable, also for the mother. Using this information, the site panel ascertains the underlying cause (event that precipitated the fatal sequence of events) and other antecedent, immediate, and maternal causes of death in accordance with the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision and the World Health Organization death certificate. Development and use of the CHAMPS diagnosis standards-a framework of required evidence to support cause of death determination-assures a homogenized procedure leading to a more consistent interpretation of complex data across the CHAMPS network. This and other standardizations ensures future comparability with other sources of mortality data produced externally to this project. Early lessons learned from implementation of DeCoDe in 5 CHAMPS sites in sub-Saharan Africa and Bangladesh have been incorporated into the DeCoDe process, and the implementation of DeCoDe has the potential to spur health systems improvements and local public health action.

Implementation research for public sector mental health care scale-up (SMART-DAPPER): a sequential multiple, assignment randomized trial (SMART) of non-specialist-delivered psychotherapy and/or medication for major depressive disorder and posttraumatic stress disorder (DAPPER) integrated with outpatient care clinics at a county hospital in Kenya.

BACKGROUND: Mental disorders are a leading cause of global disability, driven primarily by depression and anxiety. Most of the disease burden is in Low and Middle Income Countries (LMICs), where 75% of adults with mental disorders have no service access. Our research team has worked in western Kenya for nearly ten years. Primary care populations in Kenya have high prevalence of Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). To address these treatment needs with a sustainable, scalable mental health care strategy, we are partnering with local and national mental health stakeholders in Kenya and Uganda to identify 1) evidence-based strategies for first-line and second-line treatment delivered by non-specialists integrated with primary care, 2) investigate presumed mediators of treatment outcome and 3) determine patient-level moderators of treatment effect to inform personalized, resource-efficient, non-specialist treatments and sequencing, with costing analyses. Our implementation approach is guided by the Exploration, Preparation, Implementation, Sustainment (EPIS) framework. METHODS/DESIGN: We will use a Sequential, Multiple Assignment Randomized Trial (SMART) to randomize 2710 patients from the outpatient clinics at Kisumu County Hospital (KCH) who have MDD, PTSD or both to either 12 weekly sessions of non-specialist-delivered Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT) or to 6 months of fluoxetine prescribed by a nurse or clinical officer. Participants who are not in remission at the conclusion of treatment will be re-randomized to receive the other treatment (IPT receives fluoxetine and vice versa) or to combination treatment (IPT and fluoxetine). The SMART-DAPPER Implementation Resource Team, (IRT) will drive the application of the EPIS model and adaptations during the course of the study to optimize the relevance of the data for generalizability and scale -up. DISCUSSION: The results of this research will be significant in three ways: 1) they will determine the effectiveness of non-specialist delivered first- and second-line treatment for MDD and/or PTSD, 2) they will investigate key mechanisms of action for each treatment and 3) they will produce tailored adaptive treatment strategies essential for optimal sequencing of treatment for MDD and/or PTSD in low resource settings with associated cost information - a critical gap for addressing a leading global cause of disability. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03466346, registered March 15, 2018.

Reforming medical education admission and training in low- and middle-income countries: who gets admitted and why it matters.

Recent studies reveal public-sector healthcare providers in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) are frequently absent from work, solicit informal payments for service delivery, and engage in disrespectful or abusive treatment of patients. While extrinsic factors may foster and facilitate these negative practices, it is not often feasible to alter the external environment in low-resource settings. In contrast, healthcare professionals with strong intrinsic motivation and a desire to serve the needs of their community are less likely to engage in these negative behaviors and may draw upon internal incentives to deliver a high quality of care. Reforming medical education admission and training practices in LMICs is one promising strategy for increasing the prevalence of medical professionals with strong intrinsic motivation.

Screening and testing for tuberculosis among the HIV-infected: outcomes from a large HIV programme in western Kenya.

BACKGROUND: People living with HIV (PLHIV) are at increased risk of tuberculosis (TB). TB is also the leading opportunistic infection contributing to about one-third of deaths in this population. The World Health Organization recommends regular screening for TB in PLHIV. Those identified to have any TB-related symptoms are investigated and treated if diagnosed with TB. We sought to evaluate outcomes of intensified case finding and factors associated with undesirable screening for TB in a large HIV programme in western Kenya. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective study using routine programme data from the AMPATH HIV electronic medical records database for PLHIV in care between 2015 and 2016. Screening for TB was assessed by the recorded presence of cough ≥2 weeks, fever, night sweats, unintentional weight loss, chest pain and/or breathlessness. Undesirable screening was defined as being screened in < 90% of patient clinical encounters. Data were analyzed by encounters and per-patient. Factors associated with undesirable screening were analyzed using log-binomial regression and presented as relative risks. RESULTS: There were 90,454 PLHIV, 65% females, median age 40 years, median follow-up time of 1.5 years. Total encounters were 683,898, of which screening for TB was recorded in 87%. 1424 (1.6%) PLHIV were not screened at all during the study period. 44% (95% CI: 43.6-44.3) of PLHIV were screened in < 90% of their clinical encounters (undesirable screening). TB-related symptoms were reported in 0.7% of screened encounters, while in 96% of PLHIV, no symptoms were reported. Overall, in 8% of symptomatic encounters sputum microscopy and/or chest radiography results were recorded. 92% of PLHIV did not have TB-related laboratory results recorded for all their symptomatic encounters. Factors which increased the risks of undesirable screening included: attendance at paediatric clinics (aRR: 1.27, 95% CI: 1.20-1.34), being on antiretroviral therapy (aRR: 1.16, 95% CI: 1.13-1.18), having more clinical encounters (aRR: 1.04, 95% CI: 1.04-1.04), and higher patient volumes in a clinic. CONCLUSIONS: There were missed opportunities for screening and testing for TB. Screening was reduced by being on ART, having increased patient-encounters, the clinic setup, and by high patient volumes. HIV programmes should focus on quality of TB care in HIV clinics.

Epidemiology of Pediatric Tuberculosis in Kenya and Risk Factors for Mortality during Treatment: A National Retrospective Cohort Study.

OBJECTIVES: To describe the epidemiology of childhood tuberculosis (TB) in Kenya, assess the magnitude of TB/human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) co-infection and identify risk factors for mortality during TB treatment. STUDY DESIGN: We conducted a retrospective analysis of the Kenyan national TB program data for patients enrolled from 2013 through 2015. A total of 23 753 children aged less than 15 years were included in the analysis. Survival analysis was performed with censorship at 9 months and mortality was the main outcome. We used Cox proportional hazards regression for assessing risk factors for mortality. RESULTS: Childhood TB accounted for 9% (n = 24 216) of all patients with TB; 98% of the notified children (n = 23 753) were included in the analysis. TB/HIV co-infection was 28% (n = 6112). Most TB cases (71%; n = 16 969) were detected through self-referral. Treatment was successful in 90% (n = 19 088) and 4% (n = 1058) died. Independent risk factors for mortality included being HIV infected but not on antiretroviral therapy (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR], 4.84; 95% CI, 3.59-6.51), being HIV infected and on antiretroviral therapy (aHR, 3.69; 95% CI, 3.14-4.35), children aged less than 5 years (aHR, 1.25; 95% CI, 1.08-1.44), and being diagnosed with smear negative pulmonary disease (aHR, 1.68; 95% CI, 1.27-2.24). CONCLUSIONS: Most childhood TB cases in Kenya were detected through passive case finding. TB/HIV co-infection is high among children on treatment for TB, and HIV is associated with an increased risk of death. There is a need to intensify active case finding among children. TB prevention interventions among HIV-infected children, early diagnosis of HIV, and early antiretroviral therapy initiation among children on TB treatment should be strengthened.

Rubella outbreak in a Rural Kenyan District, 2014: documenting the need for routine rubella immunization in Kenya.

BACKGROUND: Rubella infection has been identified as a leading cause of birth defects commonly known as Congenital Rubella Syndrome (CRS). Kenya does not currently have a rubella immunization program nor a CRS surveillance system. In 2014, a rubella outbreak was reported in a rural district in Kenya. We investigated the outbreak to determine its magnitude and describe the outbreak in time, place and person. We also analyzed the laboratory-confirmed rubella cases from 2010 to 2014 to understand the burden of the disease in the country. METHODS: The Rubella outbreak was detected using the case-based measles surveillance system. A suspected case was a person with generalized rash and fever while a confirmed case was a person who tested positive for rubella IgM. All laboratory-confirmed and epidemiologically linked cases were line listed. The measles case-based surveillance database was used to identify rubella cases from 2010 to 2014. RESULTS: A total of 125 rubella cases were line listed. Fifty four percent of cases were female. Case age ranged from 3 months to 32 years with a median of 4 years. Fifty-one percent were aged less than 5 years, while 82 % were aged less than 10 years. Six percent of the cases were women of reproductive age. All cases were treated as outpatients and there were no deaths. The number of confirmed rubella cases was 473 in 2010, 604 in 2011, 300 in 2012, 336 in 2013 and 646 in 2014. CONCLUSIONS: Analysis of Kenya rubella data shows that rubella is endemic throughout the country, and many outbreaks may be underestimated or undocumented. Six percent of all the cases in this outbreak were women of reproductive age indicating that the threat of CRS is real. The country should consider initiating a CRS surveillance system to quantify the burden with the goal of introducing rubella vaccine in the future.

Biomarker-confirmed suboptimal adherence to isoniazid preventive therapy among children with HIV in western Kenya.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to assess the level and correlates of biomarker-confirmed adherence to isoniazid (INH) preventive therapy (IPT) among children with HIV (CLHIV). DESIGN: This prospective cohort study assessed adherence among CLHIV on IPT in public sector HIV clinics from 2019 through 2020. METHODS: Adherence was assessed by pill counts or caregiver or self-reports, and urine biomarkers (in-house dipstick and Isoscreen). Both urine biomarker tests detect INH metabolites within 48 h of ingestion. Consistent adherence was defined as having positive results on either biomarker at all visits. Correlates of biomarker-confirmed nonadherence at each visit were evaluated using generalized estimating equations. The in-house dipstick was validated using Isoscreen as the reference. RESULTS: Among 97 CLHIV on IPT with adherence assessments, median age was 10 years (IQR 7-13). All were on ART at IPT initiation (median duration 46 months [IQR 4-89]); 81% were virally suppressed (<1000 copies/ml). At all visits, 59% ( n  = 57) of CLHIV reported taking at least 80% of their doses, while 39% ( n  = 38) had biomarker-confirmed adherence. Viral nonsuppression (adjusted risk ratio [aRR] = 1.65; 95% confidence interval [95% CI] 1.09-2.49) and the sixth month of IPT use (aRR = 2.49; 95% CI 1.34-4.65) were independent correlates of biomarker-confirmed nonadherence at each visit. Sensitivity and specificity of the in-house dipstick were 98.1% ( 94.7 - 99.6%) and 94.7% ( 88.1 - 98.3%) , respectively, versus Isoscreen. CONCLUSION: Biomarker-confirmed adherence to IPT was sub-optimal and was associated with viral nonsuppression and duration of IPT. Urine dipstick testing may be useful in assessing adherence to IPT in clinical care.

Defining a screening tool for post-traumatic stress disorder in East Africa: a penalized regression approach.

Background: Scalable PTSD screening strategies must be brief, accurate and capable of administration by a non-specialized workforce. Methods: We used PTSD as determined by the structured clinical interview as our gold standard and considered predictors sets of (a) Posttraumatic Stress Checklist-5 (PCL-5), (b) Primary Care PTSD Screen for the DSM-5 (PC-PTSD) and, (c) PCL-5 and PC-PTSD questions to identify the optimal items for PTSD screening for public sector settings in Kenya. A logistic regression model using LASSO was fit by minimizing the average squared error in the validation data. Area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC) measured discrimination performance. Results: Penalized regression analysis suggested a screening tool that sums the Likert scale values of two PCL-5 questions-intrusive thoughts of the stressful experience (#1) and insomnia (#21). This had an AUROC of 0.85 (using hold-out test data) for predicting PTSD as evaluated by the MINI, which outperformed the PC-PTSD. The AUROC was similar in subgroups defined by age, sex, and number of categories of trauma experienced (all AUROCs>0.83) except those with no trauma history- AUROC was 0.78. Conclusion: In some East African settings, a 2-item PTSD screening tool may outperform longer screeners and is easily scaled by a non-specialist workforce.