Predictors of sexual and reproductive health knowledge and utilization of services among adolescents in Ghana's Adaklu district.

Objective: To explore factors associated with adolescents' sexual and reproductive health (SRH) knowledge and their engagement with educational and clinical services. Design: Regression analysis of secondary data collected during a community survey. Setting: Adaklu district, Volta Region, Ghana. Participants: 221 adolescent caregiver pairs. Main outcome measures: The study employed three main outcome measures: (1) adolescents' level of SRH knowledge (assessed via questionnaire), (2) membership in district-sponsored adolescent health clubs (AHCs), and (3) ever-utilization of clinical SRH services. Results: Greater SRH knowledge was significantly associated with older age, AHC membership, and relying primarily on teachers or friends for SRH information. Increased odds of AHC membership were observed among females (AOR = 2.38, 95% CI 1.14-4.95); those who had communicated with one parent about sexual issues (OR 2.70, 95% CI 1.17-6.21); and those with a history of transactional sex (OR 5.53, 95% CI 1.04-29.37). Decreased odds were observed among adolescents whose caregivers were educated to the primary level (AOR = 0.24, 95% CI = 0.07-0.79). Overall, utilization of clinical SRH services was low, but higher odds were detected among individuals reporting a history of forced sex (AOR = 117.07, 95% CI 3.82-3588.52) and those who had discussed sexual issues with both of their parents (AOR = 13.11, 95% CI 1.85-92.93). Conclusions: Awareness of the predictors of knowledge, AHC involvement, and clinical service utilization can empower adolescent SRH initiatives-both present and future-to enhance their teaching, develop targeted outreach to underserved groups, and promote engagement with key clinical resources. Funding: This work has been supported by grants from the International Development Research Centre [108936] (IDRC), Canada.

Factors influencing primary care access, utilisation and quality of management for patients living with hypertension in West Africa: a scoping review protocol.

INTRODUCTION: Hypertension, one of the most prevalent non-communicable diseases in West Africa, can be well managed with good primary care. This scoping review will explore what is documented in the literature about factors that influence primary care access, utilisation and quality of management for patients living with hypertension in West Africa. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: The scoping review will employ the approach described by Arksey and O'Malley (2005) . The approach has five stages: (1) formulating the research questions, (2) identifying relevant studies, (3) selecting eligible studies, (4) charting the data and (5) collating, summarising and reporting the results. This review will employ the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic review and Meta-Analysis extension for scoping reviews to report the results. PubMed, Embase, Scopus, Cairn Info and Google Scholar will be searched for publications from 1 January 2000 to 31 December 2023. Studies reported in English, French or Portuguese will be considered for inclusion. Research articles, systematic reviews, observational studies and reports that include information on the relevant factors that influence primary care management of hypertension in West Africa will be eligible for inclusion. Study participants should be adults (aged 18 years or older). Clinical case series/case reports, short communications, books, grey literature and conference proceedings will be excluded. Papers on gestational hypertension and pre-eclampsia will be excluded. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: This review does not require ethics approval. Our dissemination strategy includes peer-reviewed publications, policy briefs, presentations at conferences, dissemination to stakeholders and intervention co-production forums.

Provision and experience of care among women with hypertension in pregnancy: a multi-center qualitative study in Ghana.

BACKGROUND: Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP) remain a leading global health problem with complex clinical presentations and potentially grim birth outcomes for both mother and fetus. Improvement in the quality of maternal care provision and positive women's experiences are indispensable measures to reduce maternal and perinatal adverse outcomes. OBJECTIVE: To explore the perspectives and lived experiences of healthcare provision among women with HDP and the associated challenges. METHODS: A multi-center qualitative study using in-depth interviews (IDIs) and focus group discussions (FGDs) was conducted in five major referral hospitals in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana between June 2018 and March 2019. Women between 26 and 34 weeks' gestation with confirmed HDP who received maternity care services were eligible to participate. Thematic content analysis was performed using the inductive analytic framework approach. RESULTS: Fifty IDIs and three FGDs (with 22 participants) were conducted. Most women were between 20 and 30 years, Akans (ethnicity), married/cohabiting, self-employed and secondary school graduates. Women reported mixed (positive and negative) experiences of maternal care. Positive experiences reported include receiving optimal quality of care, satisfaction with care and good counselling and reassurance from the health professionals. Negative experiences of care comprised ineffective provider-client communication, inappropriate attitudes by the health professionals and disrespectful treatment including verbal and physical abuse. Major health system factors influencing women's experiences of care included lack of logistics, substandard professionalism, inefficient national health insurance system and unexplained delays at health facilities. Patient-related factors that influenced provision of care enumerated were financial limitations, chronic psychosocial stress and inadequate awareness about HDP. CONCLUSION: Women with HDP reported both positive and negative experiences of care stemming from the healthcare system, health providers and individual factors. Given the importance of positive women's experiences and respectful maternal care, dedicated multidisciplinary women-centered care is recommended to optimize the care for pregnant women with HDP.

High blood pressure (hypertension) in pregnancy can have severe complications for both mother and fetus including loss of life. The outcome of pregnancy for women who develop hypertension during pregnancy can be improved by ensuring optimal quality of care. In this study, we explored the opinions and experiences of women whose pregnancies were affected by hypertension concerning the care they received during their recent admission at different hospitals in Ghana and the challenges they faced. In four major referral hospitals in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana, we interviewed the women and had focus group discussions. Women who were pregnant for 26 weeks up to 34 weeks and had hypertension in pregnancy were invited for inclusion in the study.We conducted in-depth interviews with fifty women and three focus group discussions with 22 women. Most women who participated in the study were between 20 and 30 years old, Akans (ethnicity), married/cohabiting, self-employed and secondary school graduates. The women reported both positive and negative experiences of care during their admission at the hospitals. Examples of positive experiences were receiving good quality of care, satisfaction with care, and adequate counselling from the health workers. Examples of negative experiences were poor communication between the providers and affected women, inappropriate attitudes by the healthcare providers, and disrespectful treatment such as verbal and physical abuse. The major factors in the health system that influenced women's experiences of care were lack of logistics, substandard professionalism, inefficient national health insurance system and long delays at health facilities prior to receiving treatment. The individual women's factors that affected the quality of care included financial constraints, psychosocial stress and inadequate knowledge about hypertension during pregnancy.In conclusion, we determined that women with hypertension in pregnancy experience both positive and negative aspects of care and these may be due to challenges associated with the healthcare system, health providers and women themselves. There is the need to ensure optimal quality and respectful maternity care considering the nature of hypertension in pregnancy. These women require dedicated hospital staff with significant  experience to improve the quality of care provided to women with hypertension in pregnancy.

Rethinking integrated service delivery for malaria.

Despite worldwide efforts and much progress toward malaria control, declines in malaria morbidity and mortality have hit a plateau. While many nations achieved significant malaria suppression or even elimination, success has been uneven, and other nations have made little headway-or even lost ground in this battle. These alarming trends threaten to derail the attainment of global targets for malaria control. Among the challenges impeding success in malaria reduction, many strategies center malaria as a set of technical problems in commodity development and delivery. Yet, this narrow perspective overlooks the importance of strong health systems and robust healthcare delivery. This paper argues that strategies that move the needle on health services and behaviors offer a significant opportunity to achieve malaria control through a comprehensive approach that integrates malaria with broader health services efforts. Indeed, malaria may serve as the thread that weaves integrated service delivery into a path forward for universal health coverage. Using key themes identified by the "Rethinking Malaria in the Context of COVID-19" effort through engagement with key stakeholders, we provide recommendations for pursuing integrated service delivery that can advance malaria control via strengthening health systems, increasing visibility and use of high-quality data at all levels, centering issues of equity, promoting research and innovation for new tools, expanding knowledge on effective implementation strategies for interventions, making the case for investing in malaria among stakeholders, and engaging impacted communities and nations.

Obstetric referral processes and the role of inter-facility communication: the district-level experience in the Greater Accra region of Ghana.

Objective: To describe the capacity of primary health care facilities to manage obstetric referrals, the reasons, and processes for managing obstetric referrals, and how an enhanced inter-facility communication system may have influenced these. Design: Mixed methods comparing data before and during the intervention period. Setting: Three districts in the Greater Accra region, Ghana from May 2017 to February 2018. Participants: Referred pregnant women and their relatives, health workers at referring and referral facilities, facility and district health managers. Intervention: An enhanced inter-facility communication system for obstetric referrals. Results: Twenty-two facilities and 673 referrals were assessed over the period. The major reason for referrals was pregnancy complications (85.5%). Emergency obstetric medicines - oxytocin and magnesium sulfate (MgSO4) were available in 81.8% and 54.5% facilities, respectively, and a health worker accompanied 110(16.3%) women to the referral centre. Inter-facility communication about the referral occurred for 240 (35.7%) patients. During the intervention period, referrals joining queues at the referral facility decreased (7.8% to 0.0%; p=0.01), referrals coming in with referral notes improved (78.4% to 91.2%) and referrals with inter-facility communication improved (43.1% to 52.9%). Health workers and managers reported improvement in feedback to lower-level facilities and better filling of referral forms. Conclusion: Facilities had varying levels of availability of infrastructure, protocols, guidelines, services, equipment, and logistics for managing obstetric referrals. Enhanced inter-facility communication for obstetric referrals which engages health workers and provides requisite tools, can facilitate an efficient referral process for desired outcomes. Funding: This study was funded by the WHO/TDR Postdoctoral grant number B40347 to the NMIMR.

Is malaria immunity a possible protection against severe symptoms and outcomes of COVID-19?

Malaria-endemic areas of the world are noted for high morbidity and mortality from malaria. Also noted in these areas is the majority of persons in the population having acquired malaria immunity. Though this acquired malaria immunity does not prevent infection, it resists the multiplication of Plasmodium parasites, restricting disease to merely uncomplicated cases or asymptomatic infections. Does this acquired malaria immunity in endemic areas protect against other diseases, especially outbreak diseases like COVID-19? Does malaria activation of innate immunity resulting in trained or tolerance immunity contribute to protection against COVID-19? In an attempt to answer these questions, this review highlights the components of malaria and viral immunity and explores possible links with immunity against COVID-19. With malaria-endemic areas of the world having a fair share of cases of COVID-19, it is important to direct research in this area to evaluate and harness any benefits of acquired malaria immunity to help mitigate the effects of COVID-19 and any possible future outbreaks. FUNDING: None declared.

Is malaria immunity a possible protection against severe symptoms and outcomes of COVID-19?

Malaria-endemic areas of the world are noted for high morbidity and mortality from malaria. Also noted in these areas is the majority of persons in the population having acquired malaria immunity. Though this acquired malaria immunity does not prevent infection, it resists the multiplication of Plasmodium parasites, restricting disease to merely uncomplicated cases or asymptomatic infections. Does this acquired malaria immunity in endemic areas protect against other diseases, especially outbreak diseases like COVID-19? Does malaria activation of innate immunity resulting in trained or tolerance immunity contribute to protection against COVID-19? In an attempt to answer these questions, this review highlights the components of malaria and viral immunity and explores possible links with immunity against COVID-19. With malaria-endemic areas of the world having a fair share of cases of COVID-19, it is important to direct research in this area to evaluate and harness any benefits of acquired malaria immunity to help mitigate the effects of COVID-19 and any possible future outbreaks

Can an mhealth clinical decision-making support system improve adherence to neonatal healthcare protocols in a low-resource setting?

BACKGROUND: This study assessed health workers' adherence to neonatal health protocols before and during the implementation of a mobile health (mHealth) clinical decision-making support system (mCDMSS) that sought to bridge access to neonatal health protocol gap in a low-resource setting. METHODS: We performed a cross-sectional document review within two purposively selected clusters (one poorly-resourced and one well-resourced), from each arm of a cluster-randomized trial at two different time points: before and during the trial. The total trial consisted of 16 clusters randomized into 8 intervention and 8 control clusters to assess the impact of an mCDMSS on neonatal mortality in Ghana. We evaluated health workers' adherence (expressed as percentages) to birth asphyxia, neonatal jaundice and cord sepsis protocols by reviewing medical records of neonatal in-patients using a checklist. Differences in adherence to neonatal health protocols within and between the study arms were assessed using Wilcoxon rank-sum and permutation tests for each morbidity type. In addition, we tracked concurrent neonatal health improvement activities in the clusters during the 18-month intervention period. RESULTS: In the intervention arm, mean adherence was 35.2% (SD = 5.8%) and 43.6% (SD = 27.5%) for asphyxia; 25.0% (SD = 14.8%) and 39.3% (SD = 27.7%) for jaundice; 52.0% (SD = 11.0%) and 75.0% (SD = 21.2%) for cord sepsis protocols in the pre-intervention and intervention periods respectively. In the control arm, mean adherence was 52.9% (SD = 16.4%) and 74.5% (SD = 14.7%) for asphyxia; 45.1% (SD = 12.8%) and 64.6% (SD = 8.2%) for jaundice; 53.8% (SD = 16.0%) and 60.8% (SD = 11.7%) for cord sepsis protocols in the pre-intervention and intervention periods respectively. We observed nonsignificant improvement in protocol adherence in the intervention clusters but significant improvement in protocol adherence in the control clusters. There were 2 concurrent neonatal health improvement activities in the intervention clusters and over 12 in the control clusters during the intervention period. CONCLUSION: Whether mHealth interventions can improve adherence to neonatal health protocols in low-resource settings cannot be ascertained by this study. Neonatal health improvement activities are however likely to improve protocol adherence. Future mHealth evaluations of protocol adherence must account for other concurrent interventions in study contexts.

Coverage of intermittent preventive treatment of malaria in pregnancy (IPTp) influences delivery outcomes among women with obstetric referrals at the district level in Ghana.

BACKGROUND: The aim of the study was to determine the coverage of intermittent preventive treatment of malaria in pregnancy (IPTp) and its relationship with delivery outcomes among obstetric referral cases at the district level of healthcare. METHODS: An implementation research within three districts of the Greater Accra region was conducted from May 2017 to February 2018, to assess the role of an enhanced inter-facility communication system on processes and outcomes of obstetric referrals. A cross-sectional analysis of the data on IPTp coverage as well as delivery outcomes for the period of study was conducted, for all the referrals ending up in deliveries. Primary outcomes were maternal and neonatal complications at delivery. IPTp coverage was determined as percentages and classified as adequate or inadequate. Associated factors were determined using Chi square. Odds ratios (OR, 95% CI) were estimated for predictors of adequate IPTp dose coverage for associations with delivery outcomes, with statistical significance set at p = 0.05. RESULTS: From a total of 460 obstetric referrals from 16 lower level facilities who delivered at the three district hospitals, only 223 (48.5%) received adequate (at least 3) doses of IPTp. The district, type of facility where ANC is attended, insurance status, marital status and number of antenatal clinic visits significantly affected IPTp doses received. Adjusted ORs show that adequate IPTp coverage was significantly associated with new-born complication [0.80 (0.65-0.98); p = 0.03], low birth weight [0.51 (0.38-0.68); p < 0.01], preterm delivery [0.71 (0.55-0.90); p = 0.01] and malaria as indication for referral [0.70 (0.56-0.87); p < 0.01]. Positive association with maternal complication at delivery was seen but was not significant. CONCLUSION: IPTp coverage remains low in the study setting and is affected by type of health facility that ANC is received at, access to health insurance and number of times a woman attends ANC during pregnancy. This study also confirmed earlier findings that, as an intervention IPTp prevents bad outcomes of pregnancy, even among women with obstetric referrals. It is important to facilitate IPTp service delivery to pregnant women across the country, improve coverage of required doses and maximize the benefits to both mothers and newborns.

Patients with positive malaria tests not given artemisinin-based combination therapies: a research synthesis describing under-prescription of antimalarial medicines in Africa.

BACKGROUND: There has been a successful push towards parasitological diagnosis of malaria in Africa, mainly with rapid diagnostic tests (mRDTs), which has reduced over-prescribing of artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACT) to malaria test-negative patients. The effect on prescribing for test-positive patients has received much less attention. Malaria infection in endemic Africa is often most dangerous for young children and those in low-transmission settings. This study examined non-prescription of antimalarials for patients with malaria infection demonstrated by positive mRDT results, and in particular these groups who are most vulnerable to poor outcomes if antimalarials are not given. METHODS: Analysis of data from 562,762 patients in 8 studies co-designed as part of the ACT Consortium, conducted 2007-2013 in children and adults, in Cameroon, Ghana, Nigeria, Tanzania, and Uganda, in a variety of public and private health care sector settings, and across a range of malaria endemic zones. RESULTS: Of 106,039 patients with positive mRDT results (median age 6 years), 7426 (7.0%) were not prescribed an ACT antimalarial. The proportion of mRDT-positive patients not prescribed ACT ranged across sites from 1.3 to 37.1%. For patients under age 5 years, 3473/44,539 (7.8%) were not prescribed an ACT, compared with 3833/60,043 (6.4%) of those aged ≥ 5 years. The proportion of < 5-year-olds not prescribed ACT ranged up to 41.8% across sites. The odds of not being prescribed an ACT were 2-32 times higher for patients in settings with lower-transmission intensity (using test positivity as a proxy) compared to areas of higher transmission. mRDT-positive children in low-transmission settings were especially likely not to be prescribed ACT, with proportions untreated up to 70%. Of the 7426 mRDT-positive patients not prescribed an ACT, 4121 (55.5%) were prescribed other, non-recommended non-ACT antimalarial medications, and the remainder (44.5%) were prescribed no antimalarial. CONCLUSIONS: In eight studies of mRDT implementation in five African countries, substantial proportions of patients testing mRDT-positive were not prescribed an ACT antimalarial, and many were not prescribed an antimalarial at all. Patients most vulnerable to serious outcomes, children < 5 years and those in low-transmission settings, were most likely to not be prescribed antimalarials, and young children in low-transmission settings were least likely to be treated for malaria. This major public health risk must be addressed in training and practice. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Reported in individual primary studies.

The effect of an mHealth clinical decision-making support system on neonatal mortality in a low resource setting: A cluster-randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: MHealth interventions promise to bridge gaps in clinical care but documentation of their effectiveness is limited. We evaluated the utilization and effect of an mhealth clinical decision-making support intervention that aimed to improve neonatal mortality in Ghana by providing access to emergency neonatal protocols for frontline health workers. METHODS: In the Eastern Region of Ghana, sixteen districts were randomized into two study arms (8 intervention and 8 control clusters) in a cluster-randomized controlled trial. Institutional neonatal mortality data were extracted from the District Health Information System-2 during an 18-month intervention period. We performed an intention-to-treat analysis and estimated the effect of the intervention on institutional neonatal mortality (primary outcome measure) using grouped binomial logistic regression with a random intercept per cluster. This trial is registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT02468310 ) and Pan African Clinical Trials Registry (PACTR20151200109073). FINDINGS: There were 65,831 institutional deliveries and 348 institutional neonatal deaths during the study period. Overall, 47 âˆ™ 3% of deliveries and 56 âˆ™ 9% of neonatal deaths occurred in the intervention arm. During the intervention period, neonatal deaths increased from 4 âˆ™ 5 to 6 âˆ™ 4 deaths and, from 3 âˆ™ 9 to 4 âˆ™ 3 deaths per 1000 deliveries in the intervention arm and control arm respectively. The odds of neonatal death was 2⋅09 (95% CI (1 âˆ™ 00;4 âˆ™ 38); p = 0 âˆ™ 051) times higher in the intervention arm compared to the control arm (adjusted odds ratio). The correlation between the number of protocol requests and the number of deliveries per intervention cluster was 0 âˆ™ 71 (p = 0 âˆ™ 05). INTERPRETATION: The higher risk of institutional neonatal death observed in intervention clusters may be due to problems with birth and death registration, unmeasured and unadjusted confounding, and unintended use of the intervention. The findings underpin the need for careful and rigorous evaluation of mHealth intervention implementation and effects. FUNDING: Netherlands Foundation for Scientific Research - WOTRO, Science for Global Development; Utrecht University.

Using Mobile Health to Support Clinical Decision-Making to Improve Maternal and Neonatal Health Outcomes in Ghana: Insights of Frontline Health Worker Information Needs.

BACKGROUND: Developing and maintaining resilient health systems in low-resource settings like Ghana requires innovative approaches that adapt technology to context to improve health outcomes. One such innovation was a mobile health (mHealth) clinical decision-making support system (mCDMSS) that utilized text messaging (short message service, SMS) of standard emergency maternal and neonatal protocols via an unstructured supplementary service data (USSD) on request of the health care providers. This mCDMSS was implemented in a cluster randomized controlled trial (CRCT) in the Eastern Region of Ghana. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to analyze the pattern of requests made to the USSD by health workers (HWs). We assessed the relationship between requests made to the USSD and types of maternal and neonatal morbidities reported in health facilities (HFs). METHODS: For clusters in the intervention arm of the CRCT, all requests to the USSD during the 18-month intervention period were extracted from a remote server, and maternal and neonatal health outcomes of interest were obtained from the District Health Information System of Ghana. Chi-square and Fisher exact tests were used to compare the proportion and type of requests made to the USSD by cluster, facility type, and location; whether phones accessing the intervention were shared facility phones or individual-use phones (type-of-phone); or whether protocols were accessed during the day or at night (time-of-day). Trends in requests made were analyzed over 3 6-month periods. The relationship between requests made and the number of cases reported in HFs was assessed using Spearman correlation. RESULTS: In total, 5329 requests from 72 (97%) participating HFs were made to the intervention. The average number of requests made per cluster was 667. Requests declined from the first to the third 6-month period (44.96% [2396/5329], 39.82% [2122/5329], and 15.22% [811/5329], respectively). Maternal conditions accounted for the majority of requests made (66.35% [3536/5329]). The most frequently accessed maternal conditions were postpartum hemorrhage (25.23% [892/3536]), other conditions (17.82% [630/3536]), and hypertension (16.49% [583/3536]), whereas the most frequently accessed neonatal conditions were prematurity (20.08% [360/1793]), sepsis (15.45% [277/1793]), and resuscitation (13.78% [247/1793]). Requests made to the mCDMSS varied significantly by cluster, type of request (maternal or neonatal), facility type and its location, type-of-phone, and time-of-day at 6-month interval (P<.001 for each variable). Trends in maternal and neonatal requests showed varying significance over each 6-month interval. Only asphyxia and sepsis cases showed significant correlations with the number of requests made (r=0.44 and r=0.79; P<.001 and P=.03, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: There were variations in the pattern of requests made to the mCDMSS over time. Detailed information regarding the use of the mCDMSS provides insight into the information needs of HWs for decision-making and an opportunity to focus support for HW training and ultimately improved maternal and neonatal health.

The Impact of Introducing Malaria Rapid Diagnostic Tests on Fever Case Management: A Synthesis of Ten Studies from the ACT Consortium.

Since 2010, the World Health Organization has been recommending that all suspected cases of malaria be confirmed with parasite-based diagnosis before treatment. These guidelines represent a paradigm shift away from presumptive antimalarial treatment of fever. Malaria rapid diagnostic tests (mRDTs) are central to implementing this policy, intended to target artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACT) to patients with confirmed malaria and to improve management of patients with nonmalarial fevers. The ACT Consortium conducted ten linked studies, eight in sub-Saharan Africa and two in Afghanistan, to evaluate the impact of mRDT introduction on case management across settings that vary in malaria endemicity and healthcare provider type. This synthesis includes 562,368 outpatient encounters (study size range 2,400-432,513). mRDTs were associated with significantly lower ACT prescription (range 8-69% versus 20-100%). Prescribing did not always adhere to malaria test results; in several settings, ACTs were prescribed to more than 30% of test-negative patients or to fewer than 80% of test-positive patients. Either an antimalarial or an antibiotic was prescribed for more than 75% of patients across most settings; lower antimalarial prescription for malaria test-negative patients was partly offset by higher antibiotic prescription. Symptomatic management with antipyretics alone was prescribed for fewer than 25% of patients across all scenarios. In community health worker and private retailer settings, mRDTs increased referral of patients to other providers. This synthesis provides an overview of shifts in case management that may be expected with mRDT introduction and highlights areas of focus to improve design and implementation of future case management programs.

The effect of a clinical decision-making mHealth support system on maternal and neonatal mortality and morbidity in Ghana: study protocol for a cluster randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Mobile health (mHealth) presents one of the potential solutions to maximize health worker impact and efficiency in an effort to reach the Sustainable Development Goals 3.1 and 3.2, particularly in sub-Saharan African countries. Poor-quality clinical decision-making is known to be associated with poor pregnancy and birth outcomes. This study aims to assess the effect of a clinical decision-making support system (CDMSS) directed at frontline health care providers on neonatal and maternal health outcomes. METHODS/DESIGN: A cluster randomized controlled trial will be conducted in 16 eligible districts (clusters) in the Eastern Region of Ghana to assess the effect of an mHealth CDMSS for maternal and neonatal health care services on maternal and neonatal outcomes. The CDMSS intervention consists of an Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD)-based text messaging of standard emergency obstetric and neonatal protocols to providers on their request. The primary outcome of the intervention is the incidence of institutional neonatal mortality. Outcomes will be assessed through an analysis of data on maternal and neonatal morbidity and mortality extracted from the District Health Information Management System-2 (DHIMS-2) and health facility-based records. The quality of maternal and neonatal health care will be assessed in two purposively selected clusters from each study arm. DISCUSSION: In this trial the effect of a mobile CDMSS on institutional maternal and neonatal health outcomes will be evaluated to generate evidence-based recommendations for the use of mobile CDMSS in Ghana and other West African countries. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov, identifier: NCT02468310 . Registered on 7 September 2015; Pan African Clinical Trials Registry, identifier: PACTR20151200109073 . Registered on 9 December 2015 retrospectively from trial start date.

Introducing malaria rapid diagnostic tests in private medicine retail outlets: A systematic literature review.

BACKGROUND: Many patients with malaria-like symptoms seek treatment in private medicine retail outlets (PMR) that distribute malaria medicines but do not traditionally provide diagnostic services, potentially leading to overtreatment with antimalarial drugs. To achieve universal access to prompt parasite-based diagnosis, many malaria-endemic countries are considering scaling up malaria rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) in these outlets, an intervention that may require legislative changes and major investments in supporting programs and infrastructures. This review identifies studies that introduced malaria RDTs in PMRs and examines study outcomes and success factors to inform scale up decisions. METHODS: Published and unpublished studies that introduced malaria RDTs in PMRs were systematically identified and reviewed. Literature published before November 2016 was searched in six electronic databases, and unpublished studies were identified through personal contacts and stakeholder meetings. Outcomes were extracted from publications or provided by principal investigators. RESULTS: Six published and six unpublished studies were found. Most studies took place in sub-Saharan Africa and were small-scale pilots of RDT introduction in drug shops or pharmacies. None of the studies assessed large-scale implementation in PMRs. RDT uptake varied widely from 8%-100%. Provision of artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) for patients testing positive ranged from 30%-99%, and was more than 85% in five studies. Of those testing negative, provision of antimalarials varied from 2%-83% and was less than 20% in eight studies. Longer provider training, lower RDT retail prices and frequent supervision appeared to have a positive effect on RDT uptake and provider adherence to test results. Performance of RDTs by PMR vendors was generally good, but disposal of medical waste and referral of patients to public facilities were common challenges. CONCLUSIONS: Expanding services of PMRs to include malaria diagnostic services may hold great promise to improve malaria case management and curb overtreatment with antimalarials. However, doing so will require careful planning, investment and additional research to develop and sustain effective training, supervision, waste-management, referral and surveillance programs beyond the public sector.

Impact of introduction of rapid diagnostic tests for malaria on antibiotic prescribing: analysis of observational and randomised studies in public and private healthcare settings.

Objectives To examine the impact of use of rapid diagnostic tests for malaria on prescribing of antimicrobials, specifically antibiotics, for acute febrile illness in Africa and Asia.Design Analysisof nine preselected linked and codesigned observational and randomised studies (eight cluster or individually randomised trials and one observational study).Setting Public and private healthcare settings, 2007-13, in Afghanistan, Cameroon, Ghana, Nigeria, Tanzania, and Uganda.Participants 522 480 children and adults with acute febrile illness.Interventions Rapid diagnostic tests for malaria.Main outcome measures Proportions of patients for whom an antibiotic was prescribed in trial groups who had undergone rapid diagnostic testing compared with controls and in patients with negative test results compared with patients with positive results. A secondary aim compared classes of antibiotics prescribed in different settings.Results Antibiotics were prescribed to 127 052/238 797 (53%) patients in control groups and 167 714/283 683 (59%) patients in intervention groups. Antibiotics were prescribed to 40% (35 505/89 719) of patients with a positive test result for malaria and to 69% (39 400/57 080) of those with a negative result. All but one study showed a trend toward more antibiotic prescribing in groups who underwent rapid diagnostic tests. Random effects meta-analysis of the trials showed that the overall risk of antibiotic prescription was 21% higher (95% confidence interval 7% to 36%) in intervention settings. In most intervention settings, patients with negative test results received more antibiotic prescriptions than patients with positive results for all the most commonly used classes: penicillins, trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (one exception), tetracyclines, and metronidazole.Conclusions Introduction of rapid diagnostic tests for malaria to reduce unnecessary use of antimalarials-a beneficial public health outcome-could drive up untargeted use of antibiotics. That 69% of patients were prescribed antibiotics when test results were negative probably represents overprescription.This included antibiotics from several classes, including those like metronidazole that are seldom appropriate for febrile illness, across varied clinical, health system, and epidemiological settings. It is often assumed that better disease specific diagnostics will reduce antimicrobial overuse, but they might simply shift it from one antimicrobial class to another. Current global implementation of malaria testing might increase untargeted antibiotic use and must be examined.

Characteristics of Inpatient Hypertension Cases and Factors Associated with Admission Outcomes in Ashanti Region, Ghana: An Analytic Cross-Sectional Study.

BACKGROUND: Hypertension remains a cause of morbidity and mortality in the Ashanti Region of Ghana. It has been featured in the top ten causes of OPD attendance, admissions, and deaths since 2012. We investigated the sociodemographic characteristics and spatial distribution of inpatient hypertensives and factors associated with their admission outcomes. METHODS: A 2014 line list of 1715 inpatient HPT cases aged ≥25 years was used for the cross-sectional analytic study. Accounting for clustering, all analyses were performed using the "svy" command in Stata. Frequencies, Chi-square test, and logistic regression analysis were used in the analysis. Arc view Geographic Information System (ArcGIS) was used to map the density of cases by place of residence and reporting hospital. RESULTS: Mean age of cases was 58 (S.D 0.0068). Females constituted 67.6% of the cases. Age, gender, and NHIS status were significantly associated with admission outcomes. Cases were clustered in the regional capital and bordering districts. However, low case densities were recorded in the latter. CONCLUSION: Increasing NHIS access can potentially impact positively on hypertension admission outcomes. Health educational campaigns targeting men are recommended to address hypertension-related issues.

Provider adherence to first antenatal care guidelines and risk of pregnancy complications in public sector facilities: a Ghanaian cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Guideline utilization aims at improvement in quality of care and better health outcomes. The objective of the current study was to determine the effect of provider complete adherence to the first antenatal care guidelines on the risk of maternal and neonatal complications in a low resource setting. METHODS: Women delivering in 11 health facilities in the Greater Accra region of Ghana were recruited into a cohort study. Their first antenatal visit records were reviewed to assess providers' adherence to the guidelines, using a thirteen-point checklist. Information on their socio-demographic characteristics and previous pregnancy history was collected. Participants were followed up for 6 weeks post-partum to complete data collection on outcomes. The incidence of maternal and neonatal complications was estimated. The effects of complete adherence on risk of maternal and neonatal complications were estimated and expressed as relative risks (RRs) with their 95% confidence intervals (CI) adjusted for a potential clustering effect of health facilities. RESULTS: Overall, 926 women were followed up to 6 weeks post-partum. Mean age (SD) of participants was 28.2 (5.4) years. Complete adherence to guidelines pertained to the care of 48.5% of women. Incidence of preterm deliveries, low birth weight, stillbirths and neonatal mortality were 5.3, 6.1, 0.4 and 1.4% respectively. Complete adherence to the guidelines decreased risk of any neonatal complication [0.72 (0.65-0.93); p = 0.01] and delivery complication [0.66 (0.44-0.99), p = 0.04]. CONCLUSION: Complete provider adherence to antenatal care guidelines at first antenatal visit influences delivery and neonatal outcomes. While there is the need to explore and understand explanatory mechanisms for these observations, programs that promote complete adherence to guidelines will improve the pregnancy outcomes.

Changes in the availability and affordability of subsidised artemisinin combination therapy in the private drug retail sector in rural Ghana: before and after the introduction of the AMFm subsidy.

BACKGROUND: Most people with febrile illness are treated in the private drug retail sector. Ghana was among nine countries piloting the Global Fund Affordable Medicines Facility - malaria (AMFm). AMFm aimed to: increase artemisinin combination therapy (ACT) affordability; increase ACT availability; increase ACT use; and 'crowd out' artemisinin monotherapies. METHODS: Three censuses were carried out 2 months before (2010), 2 months after and 2.5 years after (2013) the first co-paid ACTs to assess changes in antimalarial (AM) availability and price in private retail shops in a Ghanaian rural district to assess the sustainability of the initial gains. Supply, stock-out and cost were explored. RESULTS: Of 62 shops in the district, 56 participated with 398, 388 and 442 brands of AMs in the shops during the 3 censuses. The proportion of ACTs increased over the period while monotherapies reduced. Herbal-based AM preparations comprised 40-45% of AMs in stock with minimal variation over the period. ACTs were the most sold AM type for all ages but overall buying and selling prices of Quality Assured-ACTs increased by 40-100%. CONCLUSIONS: Initial gains in ACT availability were sustained, but not improved on 2.5 years after AMFm. Widespread availability of unproven herbal medicines is a concern; AMFm had little impact on this.

Public health facility resource availability and provider adherence to first antenatal guidelines in a low resource setting in Accra, Ghana.

BACKGROUND: Lack of resources has been identified as a reason for non-adherence to clinical guidelines. Our aim was to describe public health facility resource availability in relation to provider adherence to first antenatal visit guidelines. METHODS: A cross-sectional analysis of the baseline data of a prospective cohort study on adherence to first antenatal care visit guidelines was carried out in 11 facilities in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana. Provider adherence was studied in relation to health facility resource availability such as antenatal workload for clinical staffs, routine antenatal drugs, laboratory testing, protocols, ambulance and equipment. RESULTS: Eleven facilities comprising 6 hospitals (54.5 %), 4 polyclinics (36.4 %) and 1 health center were randomly sampled. Complete provider adherence to first antenatal guidelines for all the 946 participants was 48.1 % (95 % CI: 41.8-54.2 %), varying significantly amongst the types of facilities, with highest rate in the polyclinics. Average antenatal workload per month per clinical staff member was higher in polyclinics compared to the hospitals. All facility laboratories were able to conduct routine antenatal tests. Most routine antenatal drugs were available in all facilities except magnesium sulphate and sulphadoxine-pyrimethamine which were lacking in some. Antenatal service protocols and equipment were also available in all facilities. CONCLUSION: Although antenatal workload varies across different facility types in the Greater Accra region, other health facility resources that support implementation of first antenatal care guidelines are equally available in all the facilities. These factors therefore do not adequately account for the low and varying proportions of complete adherence to guidelines across facility types. Providers should be continually engaged for a better understanding of the barriers to their adherence to these guidelines.