Strengthening evidence-based planning of integrated health service delivery through local measures of health intervention delivery times.

BACKGROUND: Immunization services in developing countries are increasingly used as platforms for delivery of other health interventions. A challenge for scaling up interventions on existing platforms is insufficient resources allocated to the integrated platform with the risk of overburdening a health worker. Determining the length of time to deliver priority interventions can be useful information in planning integrated services and mitigating this risk. We designed and tested a methodology for collecting the time needed to deliver selected interventions. METHODOLOGY: At 18 health facilities in Mali, Ethiopia, and Cameroon, we observed delivery of 11 maternal and child health interventions to determine delivery times. We interviewed health workers to estimate self-reported delivery times. RESULTS: Based on observations, vitamin A supplementation (median, 2:00 minutes per child) and vaccinations (median, 2:22 minutes) took the least amount of time to deliver, whereas human immunodeficiency virus counseling and testing and sick infant treatment interventions were among the longest to deliver. Health worker-reported times to deliver interventions were consistently higher than observed times. CONCLUSIONS: Using locally-obtained data can be useful to step for planners to determine how best to use existing platforms for delivering new interventions, particularly since these interventions may require substantially more time to deliver compared to immunizations.

Community and health worker perceptions and preferences regarding integration of other health services with routine vaccinations: four case studies.

BACKGROUND: Integration of routine vaccination and other maternal and child health services is becoming more common and the services being integrated more diverse. Yet knowledge gaps remain regarding community members and health workers acceptance, priorities, and concerns related to integration. METHODS: Qualitative health worker interviews and community focus groups were conducted in 4 African countries (Kenya, Mali, Ethiopia, and Cameroon). RESULTS: Integration was generally well accepted by both community members and health workers. Most integrated services were perceived positively by the communities, although perceptions around socially sensitive services (eg, family planning and human immunodeficiency virus) differed by country. Integration benefits reported by both community members and health workers across countries included opportunity to receive multiple services at one visit, time and transportation cost savings, increased service utilization, maximized health worker efficiency, and reduced reporting requirements. Concerns related to integration included being labor intensive, inadequate staff to implement, inadequately trained staff, in addition to a number of more broad health system issues (eg, stockouts, wait times). CONCLUSIONS: Communities generally supported integration, and integrated services may have the potential to increase service utilization and possibly even reduce the stigma of certain services. Some concerns expressed related to health system issues rather than integration, per se, and should be addressed as part of a wider approach to improve health services. Improved planning and patient flow and increasing the number and training of health staff may help to mitigate logistical challenges of integrating services.

[Meningococcal meningitis epidemics in Benin]. / Epidémies de méningite à méningocoque au Bénin.

Epidemics of meningococcal meningitis are common in several African countries, including Benin. In northern Benin, part of the "meningitis belt", incidence has been increasing over the past decade, and lethality is high. The A and C serogroups are the primary causal agents. Recently, the appearance of the W135 strain in bordering countries induced considerable fear and necessitated more rigorous epidemiological surveillance in the north. Little epidemiologic information on the course and trends of these epidemics is available. The goal of this article is to describe the pattern of these outbreaks in two northern districts -- Atacora and Donga -- based on a retrospective collection and analysis of data from 16 health centres over the four-year period of 1998 through 2001. Crude incidence rates increased from 85 to 567 per 100,000 in Atacora and 71 to 619 per 100,000 in Donga. The fatality rate is higher in Donga (3.1%) than Atacora (2.7%). The epidemic pattern is bimodal in Atacora and unimodal in Donga, although they appear to have a common source. Comparison of the trends in the two districts indicated no significant differences (p>0.05). The authors suggest that epidemiological data be collected and updated routinely, that vaccination against the A and C serogroups be reinforced while awaiting a vaccine against W135, and that epidemiological surveillance be intensified, in Donga and especially along the border area between Atacora and Togo.