Nurse-Led Mobile Phone Voice Call Reminder and On-Time Antiretroviral Pills Pick-Up in Nepal: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

This study investigates the efficacy of a nurse-led mobile phone voice call reminder intervention in improving on-time antiretroviral (ARV) pills collection in Nepal. Between October and December 2017, 468 HIV-positive individuals were recruited randomly and assigned to either nurse-led mobile phone voice call reminder (intervention) group or voice call with health promotion message (control) group, 234 were allocated to each group. We assessed on-time pills pick-up at baseline and six-month follow-up and analyzed it by intention-to-treat method. In the intervention group, participants improved their on-time ARV pills pick-up from 60% (141/234) at baseline to 71% (151/234) at the six-month follow-up. After adjusting for covariates, those in the intervention group were significantly more likely to pick-up their pills on-time than those in the control group (intervention × time; adjusted odds ratio 2.02, 95% CI 1.15-3.55). Nurse-led mobile phone voice call reminder is efficacious to improve on-time ARV collection.

School health and nutrition program implementation, impact, and challenges in schools of Nepal: stakeholders' perceptions.

BACKGROUND: The School Health and Nutrition (SHN) program is a cost-effective intervention for resource-poor countries. SHN program aims to provide timely support and preventive measures to improve the health of school children, which can be associated with their cognitive development, learning, and academic performance. Stakeholders at different tiers can play significant roles in the program implementation and its success. Their perceptions are equally important to provide information on the factors influencing the implementation process and help to identify the gaps in the process. However, the evidence is scarce on the school health and nutrition policy and program implementation in developing countries. No study has yet explored stakeholders' perceptions on the SHN program implementation process in low-income countries, including Nepal. Therefore, we conducted a qualitative study to explore (1) the SHN program implementation, (2) its impact, and (3) challenges in Nepal. METHODS: We conducted a qualitative study through 32 in-depth interviews of the key informants who were actively involved in SHN program implementation in Nepal. The key informants were identified through personal network and snowballing procedure. We adopted a thematic approach for the data analysis. RESULTS: We categorized interview data into three broad themes: (1) SHN program implementation, (2) its impact, and (3) challenges during implementation. Almost all the key informants appreciated the program for its positive impact on students, schools, and communities. The positive impacts included improved students' health and school environment and enhanced community awareness. However, the key impediments in implementing the program included a lack of coordination between stakeholders, lack of resources, limited training opportunities, and doubts regarding the sustainability of the program. CONCLUSIONS: This study provided a deeper understanding of the linkage between the SHN program implementation, impact, and challenges in Nepal. Despite the challenges, all the stakeholders acknowledged that the SHN program had positive impacts on students, schools, and communities. Our findings highlighted that stakeholders from all tiers should coordinate, collaborate, and continue their efforts to effectively implement and expand the program nationwide. Awareness campaigns and advocacy for the program are indispensable to pull more resources from relevant stakeholders.

Interventions integrating non-communicable disease prevention and reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health: A systematic review.

Reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health (RMNCH) care services could be critical entry points for preventing non-communicable diseases in women and children. In high-income countries, non-communicable diseases screening has been integrated into both the medical and public health systems. To integrate these services in low- and middle-income countries, it is necessary to closely examine its effectiveness and feasibility. In this systematic review, we evaluated the effectiveness of integrating gestational and non-gestational non-communicable diseases interventions and RMNCH care among women and children in low- and middle-income countries. This systematic review included randomized and quasi-randomized controlled trials published from 2000 to 2015. Participants included reproductive-age women, children < 5 years old, and RMNCH care providers. The included interventions comprised packaged care/services that integrated RMNCH services with non-communicable disease care. The outcomes were maternal and/or infant mortality and complications, as well as health care service coverage. We analyzed six studies from 7,949 retrieved articles. Yoga exercise (p < 0.01) and nutritional improvements (p < 0.05) were effective in reducing gestational hypertension and diabetes. Additionally, integrating cervical cancer and RMNCH services was useful for identifying potential cervical cancer cases. Interventions that integrate non-communicable disease care/screening and RMNCH care may positively impact the health of women and children in low- and middle-income countries. However, as primary evidence is scarce, further research on the effectiveness of integrating non-communicable disease prevention and RMNCH care is warranted. (Review Registration: PROSPERO International prospective register of systematic reviews (CRD42015023425).).

Cumulative incidence, distribution, and determinants of catastrophic health expenditure in Nepal: results from the living standards survey.

BACKGROUND: Nepal has committed to the global community to achieve universal health coverage by 2030. Nevertheless, Nepal still has a high proportion of out-of-pocket health payment and a limited risk-pooling mechanism. Out-of-pocket payment for the healthcare services could result in catastrophic health expenditure (CHE). Evidence is required to effectively channel the efforts to lower those expenses in order to achieve universal health coverage. However, little is known about CHE and its determinants in a broad national context in Nepal. Therefore, this study was conducted to explore the cumulative incidence, distribution, and determinants of CHE in Nepal. METHODS: Data were obtained from the nationally representative survey, the Nepal Living Standards Survey-third undertaken in 2010/11. Information from 5988 households was used for the analyses. Households were classified as having CHE when their out-of-pocket health payment was greater than or equal to 40% of their capacity to pay. Remaining households were classified as not having CHE. Logistic regression analyses were used to identify determinants of CHE. RESULTS: Based on household-weighted sample, the cumulative incidence of CHE was 10.3% per month in Nepal. This incidence was concentrated in the far-western region and households in the poorer expenditure quartiles. Multivariable logistic regression revealed that households were more likely to face CHE if they; consisted of chronically ill member(s), have a higher burden of acute illness and injuries, have elderly (≥60 years) member(s), belonged to the poor expenditure quartile, and were located in the far-western region. In contrast, households were less likely to incur CHE when their household head was educated. Having children (≤5 years) in households did not significantly affect catastrophic health expenditure. CONCLUSIONS: This study identified a high cumulative incidence of CHE. CHE was disproportionately concentrated in the poor households and households located in the far-western region. Policy-makers should focus on prioritizing households vulnerable to CHE. Interventions to reduce economic burden of out-of-pocket healthcare payment are imperative to lower incidences of CHE among those households. Improving literacy rate might also be useful in order to lower CHE and facilitate universal health coverage.

Towards eliminating malaria in high endemic countries: the roles of community health workers and related cadres and their challenges in integrated community case management for malaria: a systematic review.

BACKGROUND: Human resource for health crisis has impaired global efforts against malaria in highly endemic countries. To address this, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended scaling-up of community health workers (CHWs) and related cadres owing to their documented success in malaria and other disease prevention and management. Evidence is inconsistent on the roles and challenges they encounter in malaria interventions. This systematic review aims to summarize evidence on roles and challenges of CHWs and related cadres in integrated community case management for malaria (iCCM). METHODS: This systematic review retrieved evidence from PubMed, CINAHL, ISI Web of Knowledge, and WHO regional databases. Terms extracted from the Boolean phrase used for PubMed were also used in other databases. The review included studies with Randomized Control Trial, Quasi-experimental, Pre-post interventional, Longitudinal and cohort, Cross-sectional, Case study, and Secondary data analysis. Because of heterogeneity, only narrative synthesis was conducted for this review. RESULTS: A total of 66 articles were eligible for analysis out of 1380 studies retrieved. CHWs and related cadre roles in malaria interventions included: malaria case management, prevention including health surveillance and health promotion specific to malaria. Despite their documented success, CHWs and related cadres succumb to health system challenges. These are poor and unsustainable finance for iCCM, workforce related challenges, lack of and unsustainable supply of medicines and diagnostics, lack of information and research, service delivery and leadership challenges. CONCLUSIONS: Community health workers and related cadres had important preventive, case management and promotive roles in malaria interventions. To enable their effective integration into the health systems, the identified challenges should be addressed. They include: introducing sustainable financing on iCCM programmes, tailoring their training to address the identified gaps, improving sustainable supply chain management of malaria drugs and diagnostics, and addressing regulatory challenges in the local contexts.

Clinic Attendance for Antiretroviral Pills Pick-Up among HIV-Positive People in Nepal: Roles of Perceived Family Support and Associated Factors.

INTRODUCTION: HIV-positive people's clinic attendance for medication pick-up is critical for successful HIV treatment. However, limited evidence exists on it especially in low-income settings such as Nepal. Moreover, the role of family support in clinic attendance remains under-explored. Therefore, this study was conducted to examine the association between perceived family support and regular clinic attendance and to assess factors associated with regular clinic attendance for antiretroviral pills pick-up among HIV-positive individuals in Nepal. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 423 HIV-positive people in three districts of Nepal. Clinic attendance was assessed retrospectively for the period of 12 months. To assess the factors associated, an interview survey was conducted using a semi-structured questionnaire from July to August, 2015. Multiple logistic regression models were used to assess the factors associated with regular clinic attendance. RESULTS: Of 423 HIV-positive people, only 32.6% attended the clinics regularly. They were more likely to attend them regularly when they received high family support (AOR = 3.98, 95% CI = 2.29, 6.92), participated in support programs (AOR = 1.68, 95% CI = 1.00, 2.82), and had knowledge on the benefits of antiretroviral therapy (AOR = 2.62, 95% CI = 1.15, 5.99). In contrast, they were less likely to attend them regularly when they commuted more than 60 minutes to the clinics (AOR = 0.53, 95% CI = 0.30, 0.93), when they self-rated their health status as being very good (AOR = 0.13, 95% CI = 0.04, 0.44), good (AOR = 0.14, 95% CI = 0.04, 0.46), and fair (AOR = 0.21, 95% CI = 0.06, 0.70). CONCLUSION: HIV-positive individuals are more likely to attend the clinics regularly when they receive high family support, know the benefits of antiretroviral therapy, and participate in support programs. To improve clinic attendance, family support should be incorporated with HIV care programs in resource limited settings. Service providers should also consider educating them about the benefits of antiretroviral therapy.