Exposed and unprotected: Sex worker vulnerabilities during the COVID-19 health emergency in Mozambique.

Measures to contain the spread of COVID-19 have been shown to disproportionately affect the marginalised groups in our societies. We studied the impacts of national restrictions on young adult sex workers in Mozambique, and actions at individual, governmental and civil society level to mitigate against these impacts. The country case study was part of a multi-country qualitative research, including fifty-four semi-structured interviews with female sex workers (N = 38), outreach workers (N = 10) in Maputo and Quelimane, and informants with key positions in national COVID coordination bodies, the Ministry of Health and civil society organisations (N = 7). While restrictions impacted all sex worker participants, the COVID crisis was found to deepen existing class differences and further incite violence against the most visible and economically vulnerable category of street-based sex workers. Parallel enforcement of morals against this group of 'urban undesirables' resulted in bodily harm and further degradation of the female sex worker under the guise of COVID emergency decrees, while restrictions weakened protection from peers and outreach workers against abuse by the police and other perpetrators. The State needs to act against unlawful police action and include impact mitigation strategies in its public health response to COVID in order to protect the most vulnerable.

An evaluation of self-management outcomes among chronic care patients in community home-based care programmes in rural Malawi: A 12-month follow-up study.

This paper investigates the impact of community home-based care (CHBC) on self-management outcomes for chronically ill patients in rural Malawi. A pre- and post-evaluation survey was administered among 140 chronically ill patients with HIV and non-communicable diseases, newly enrolled in four CHBC programmes. We translated, adapted and administered scales from the Stanford Chronic Disease Self-Management Programme to evaluate patient's self-management outcomes (health status and self-efficacy), at four time points over a 12-month period, between April 2016 and May 2017. The patient's drop-out rate was approximately 8%. Data analysis included descriptive statistics, tests of associations, correlations and pairwise comparison of outcome variables between time points, and multivariate regression analysis to explore factors associated with changes in self-efficacy following CHBC interventions. The results indicate a reduction in patient-reported pain, fatigue and illness intrusiveness, while improvements in general health status and quality of life were not statistically significant. At baseline, the self-efficacy mean was 5.91, which dropped to 5.1 after 12 months. Factors associated with this change included marital status, education, employment and were condition-related; whereby self-efficacy for non-HIV and multimorbid patients was much lower. The odds for self-efficacy improvement were lower for patients with diagnosed conditions of longer duration. CHBC programme support, regularity of contact and proximal location to other services influenced self-efficacy. Programmes maintaining regular home visits had higher patient satisfaction levels. Our findings suggest that there were differential changes in self-management outcomes following CHBC interventions. While self-management support through CHBC programmes was evident, CHBC providers require continuous training, supervision and sustainable funding to strengthen their contribution. Furthermore, sociodemographic and condition-related factors should inform the design of future interventions to optimise outcomes. This study provides a systematic evaluation of self-management outcomes for a heterogeneous chronically ill patient population and highlights the potential and relevant contribution of CHBC programmes in improving chronic care within sub-Saharan Africa.

Context matters: a qualitative study of the practicalities and dilemmas of delivering integrated chronic care within primary and secondary care settings in a rural Malawian district.

BACKGROUND: With the increasing double burden of communicable and non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in sub-Saharan Africa, health systems require new approaches to organise and deliver services for patients requiring long-term care. There is increasing recognition of the need to integrate health services, with evidence supporting integration of HIV and NCD services through the reorganisation of health system inputs, across system levels. This study investigates current practices of delivering and implementing integrated care for chronically-ill patients in rural Malawi, focusing on the primary level. METHODS: A qualitative study on chronic care in Phalombe district conducted between April 2016 and May 2017, with a sub-analysis performed on the data following a document analysis to understand the policy context and how integration is conceptualised in Malawi; structured observations in five of the 15 district health facilities, selected purposively to represent different levels of care (primary and secondary), and ownership (private and public). Fifteen interviews with healthcare providers and managers, purposively selected from the above facilities. Meetings with five non-governmental organisations to study their projects and support towards chronic care in Phalombe. Data were analysed using a thematic approach and managed in NVivo. RESULTS: Our study found that, while policies supported integration of various disease-specific programmes at point of care, integration efforts on the ground were severely hampered by human and health resource challenges e.g. inadequate consultation rooms, erratic supplies especially for NCDs, and an overstretched health workforce. There were notable achievements, though most prominent at the secondary level e.g. the establishment of a combined NCD clinic, initiating NCD screening within HIV services, and initiatives for integrated information systems. CONCLUSION: In rural Malawi, major impediments to integrated care provision for chronically-ill patients include the frail state of primary healthcare services and sub-optimal NCD care at the lowest healthcare level. In pursuit of integrative strategies, opportunities lie in utilising and expanding community-based outreach strategies offering multi-disease screening and care with strong referral linkages; careful task delegation and role realignment among care teams supported with proper training and incentive mechanisms; and collaborative partnership between public and private sector actors to expand the resource-base and promoting cross-programme initiatives.

Patient-provider perspectives on self-management support and patient empowerment in chronic care: A mixed-methods study in a rural sub-Saharan setting.

AIM: To explore how provision of self-management support to chronically-ill patients in resource-limited settings contributes to patient empowerment in chronic care. DESIGN: Concurrent descriptive mixed methods research. METHODS: A survey of 140 patients with chronic conditions administered at four time-points in 12 months. We conducted 14 interviews and four focus-group discussions with patients (N = 31); 13 healthcare provider interviews; and observations of four patient-support group meetings. Data were collected between April 2016 - May 2017 in rural Malawi. Qualitative data were analysed using a thematic approach and descriptive statistical analysis performed on survey data. RESULTS: Healthcare professionals facilitated patient empowerment through health education, although literacy levels and environmental factors affected self-management guidance. Information exchanged during patient-provider interactions varied and discussions centred around medical aspects and health promoting behaviour. Less than 40% of survey patients prepared questions prior to clinic consultations. Health education was often unstructured and delegated to non-physician providers, mostly untrained in chronic care. Patients accessed psychosocial support from volunteer-led community home-based care programmes. HIV support-groups regularly interacted with peers and practical skills exchanged in a supportive environment, reinforcing patient's self-mangement competence and proactiveness in health care. CONCLUSION: For optimal self-management, reforms at inter-personal and organizational level are needed including; mutual patient-provider collaboration, diversifying access to self-management support resources and restructuring patient support-groups to cater to diverse chronic conditions. IMPACT: Our study provides insights and framing of self-management support and empowerment for patients in long-term care in sub-Saharan Africa. Lessons drawn could feed into designing and delivering responsive chronic care interventions.

Moving to a strong(er) community health system: analysing the role of community health volunteers in the new national community health strategy in Malawi.

Since the Alma Ata Declaration in 1978, community health volunteers (CHVs) have been at the forefront, providing health services, especially to underserved communities, in low-income countries. However, consolidation of CHVs position within formal health systems has proved to be complex and continues to challenge countries, as they devise strategies to strengthen primary healthcare. Malawi's community health strategy, launched in 2017, is a novel attempt to harmonise the multiple health service structures at the community level and strengthen service delivery through a team-based approach. The core community health team (CHT) consists of health surveillance assistants (HSAs), clinicians, environmental health officers and CHVs. This paper reviews Malawi's strategy, with particular focus on the interface between HSAs, volunteers in community-based programmes and the community health team. Our analysis identified key challenges that may impede the strategy's implementation: (1) inadequate training, imbalance of skill sets within CHTs and unclear job descriptions for CHVs; (2) proposed community-level interventions require expansion of pre-existing roles for most CHT members; and (3) district authorities may face challenges meeting financial obligations and filling community-level positions. For effective implementation, attention and further deliberation is needed on the appropriate forms of CHV support, CHT composition with possibilities of co-opting trained CHVs from existing volunteer programmes into CHTs, review of CHT competencies and workload, strengthening coordination and communication across all community actors, and financing mechanisms. Policy support through the development of an addendum to the strategy, outlining opportunities for task-shifting between CHT members, CHVs' expected duties and interactions with paid CHT personnel is recommended.

Patients experiences of self-management and strategies for dealing with chronic conditions in rural Malawi.

BACKGROUND: The high burden of chronic communicable diseases such as HIV/AIDS, and an escalating rise of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in Malawi and other sub-Saharan African countries, calls for a shift in how health care services are designed and delivered. Patient-centred care and patient self-management are critical elements in chronic care, and are advocated as universal strategies. In sub-Saharan Africa, there is need for more evidence around the practice of patient self-management, and how to best support patients with chronic conditions in the African context. Our study explored self-management practices of patients with different chronic conditions, and their strategies to overcome care challenges in a resource-constrained setting in Malawi. METHODS: This is primarily a qualitative study, involving patients with different chronic conditions from one rural district in Malawi. Data are drawn from semi-structured questions of a survey with 129 patients (from the third of four-part data collection series), 14 in-depth interviews, and four focus-group discussions with patients (n = 31 respondents). A framework approach was used for qualitative analysis, and descriptive statistical analysis was performed on survey data. RESULTS: Patients demonstrated ability to self-manage their conditions, though this varied between conditions, and was influenced by individual and external factors. Factors included: 1) ability to acquire appropriate disease knowledge; 2) poverty level; 3) the presence of support from family caregivers and community-based support initiatives; 4) the nature of one's social relations; and 5) the ability to deal with stressors and stigma. NCD and HIV comorbid patients were more disadvantaged in their access to care, as they experienced frequent drug stock-outs and incurred additional costs when referred. These barriers contributed to delayed care, poorer treatment adherence, and likelihood of poorer treatment outcomes. Patients proved resourceful and made adjustments in the face of (multiple) care challenges. CONCLUSION: Our findings complement other research on self-management experiences in chronically ill patients with its analysis on factors and barriers that influence patient self-management capacity in a resource-constrained setting. We recommend expanding current peer-patient and support group initiatives to patients with NCDs, and further investments in the decentralisation of integrated health services to primary care level in Malawi.

The status of provision of post abortion care services for women and girls in Eastern and Southern Africa: a systematic review.

OBJECTIVE: To conduct a systematic review of the status of post-abortion care (PAC) provision in Eastern and Southern Africa with particular reference to reach, quality and costs of these services. STUDY DESIGN: We searched Pubmed, EMBASE, Science Direct, POPLINE and Web of Science for articles published between 2000 and October 2017 presenting primary or secondary data from one or more countries in the region. RESULTS: Seventy articles representing data from fourteen countries were abstracted and included in the review. Implementation of PAC services was found to be patchy across countries for which data was available. However, there is evidence of efforts to introduce PAC at lower level health facilities, to use mid-level providers and to employ less invasive medical techniques. Eleven countries from the region were not represented in this review, exposing a considerable knowledge gap over the state of PAC in the region. The disparate access for rural women and girls, the suboptimal service quality and the neglect of adolescent-specific needs were critical gaps in the current PAC provision. CONCLUSION: PAC provision and research in this domain cannot be detached from the broader legal and societal context, as social stigma constitutes a major blockage to the advancement of the service. Adolescent girls are a particularly vulnerable and underserved group in the region. IMPLICATIONS: The next generation research on PAC should favor multi-country and interdisciplinary study designs with a view to understanding inter-regional differences and supporting advancement towards universal access of PAC by 2030.

From end of life to chronic care: the provision of community home-based care for HIV and the adaptation to new health care demands in Zambia.

Aim We present the evolution of primary-level HIV and AIDS services, shifting from end of life to chronic care, and draw attention to the opportunities and threats for the future of Zambia's nascent chronic care system. BACKGROUND: Although African governments struggled to provide primary health care services in the context of a global economic crisis, civil society organisations (CSO) started mobilising settlement residents to respond to another crisis: the HIV and AIDS pandemic. These initiatives actively engaged patients, families and settlement residents to provide home-based care to HIV-infected patients. After 30 years, CHBC programmes continue to be appropriate in the context of changing health care needs in the population. METHODS: The study took place in 2011 and 2012 and was part of a multi-country study. It used a mixed method approach involving semi-structured interviews, focus group discussions, structured interviews, service observations and a questionnaire survey. Findings Our research revealed long-standing presence of extensive mutual support amongst residents in many settlements, the invocation of cultural values that emphasise social relationships and organisation of people by CSO in care and support programmes. This laid the foundation for a locally conceived model of chronic care capable of addressing the new care demands arising from the country's changing burden of disease. However, this capacity has come under threat as the reduction in donor funding to community home-based care programmes and donor and government interventions, which have changed the nature of these programmes in the country. Zambia's health system risks losing valuable capacity for fulfilling its vision 'to bring health care as close to the family as possible' if government strategies do not acknowledge the need for transformational approaches to community participation and continuation of the brokering role by CSO in primary health care.

Integration of community home based care programmes within national primary health care revitalisation strategies in Ethiopia, Malawi, South-Africa and Zambia: a comparative assessment.

BACKGROUND: In 2008, the WHO facilitated the primary health care (PHC) revitalisation agenda. The purpose was to strengthen African health systems in order to address communicable and non-communicable diseases. Our aim was to assess the position of civil society-led community home based care programmes (CHBC), which serve the needs of patients with HIV, within this agenda. We examined how their roles and place in health systems evolved, and the prospects for these programmes in national policies and strategies to revitalise PHC, as new health care demands arise. METHODS: The study was conducted in Ethiopia, Malawi, South Africa and Zambia and used an historical, comparative research design. We used purposive sampling in the selection of countries and case studies of CHBC programmes. Qualitative methods included semi-structured interviews, focus group discussions, service observation and community mapping exercises. Quantitative methods included questionnaire surveys. RESULTS: The capacity of PHC services increased rapidly in the mid-to-late 2000s via CHBC programme facilitation of community mobilisation and participation in primary care services and the exceptional investments for HIV/AIDS. CHBC programmes diversified their services in response to the changing health and social care needs of patients on lifelong anti-retroviral therapy and there is a general trend to extend service delivery beyond HIV-infected patients. We observed similarities in the way the governments of South Africa, Malawi and Zambia are integrating CHBC programmes into PHC by making PHC facilities the focal point for management and state-paid community health workers responsible for the supervision of community-based activities. Contextual differences were found between Ethiopia, South Africa, Malawi and Zambia, whereby the policy direction of the latter two countries is to have in place structures and mechanisms that actively connect health and social welfare interventions from governmental and non-governmental actors. CONCLUSIONS: Countries may differ in the means to integrate and co-ordinate government and civil society agencies but the net result is expanded PHC capacity. In a context of changing health care demands, CHBC programmes are a vital mechanism for the delivery of primary health and social welfare services.

Practicalities and challenges in re-orienting the health system in Zambia for treating chronic conditions.

BACKGROUND: The rapid evolution in disease burdens in low- and middle income countries is forcing policy makers to re-orient their health system towards a system which has the capability to simultaneously address infectious and non-communicable diseases. This paper draws on two different but overlapping studies which examined how actors in the Zambian health system are re-directing their policies, strategies and service structures to include the provision of health care for people with chronic conditions. METHODS: Study methods in both studies included semi-structured interviews with government health officials at national level, and governmental and non-governmental health practitioners operating from community-, primary health care to hospital facility level. Focus group discussions were conducted with staff, stakeholders and caregivers of programmes providing care and support at community- and household levels. Study settings included urban and rural sites. RESULTS: A series of adaptations transformed the HIV programme from an emergency response into the first large chronic care programme in the country. There are clear indications that the Zambian government is intending to expand this reach to patients with non-communicable diseases. Challenges to do this effectively include a lack of proper NCD prevalence data for planning, a concentration of technology and skills to detect and treat NCDs at secondary and tertiary levels in the health system and limited interest by donor agencies to support this transition. CONCLUSION: The reorientation of Zambia's health system is in full swing and uses the foundation of a decentralised health system and presence of local models for HIV chronic care which actively involve community partners, patients and their families. There are early warning signs which could cause this transition to stall, one of which is the financial capability to resource this process.

A systematic review of the literature on self-management interventions and discussion of their potential relevance for people living with HIV in sub-Saharan Africa.

OBJECTIVE: This study systematically reviews the literature on self-management interventions provided by health care teams, community partners, patients and families and discusses the potential relevance of these interventions for people living with HIV in sub-Saharan Africa. METHODS: We searched major databases for literature published between 1995 and 2012. 52 studies were included in this review. RESULTS: The review found very few studies covering people living with HIV and generally inconclusive evidence to inform the development of chronic care policy and practice in sub-Saharan Africa. CONCLUSION: Chronic care models and self-management interventions for sub-Saharan Africa has not been a research priority. Furthermore, the results question the applicability of these models and interventions in sub-Saharan Africa. There is a need for studies to fill this gap in view of the rapidly increasing number of people needing chronic care services in Africa. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: The established practices for long-term support for HIV patients are still the most valid basis for promoting self-management. This will be the case until there are more studies which assess those practices and their effect on self-management outcomes and other studies which assess the utility and feasibility of applying chronic care models that have been developed in high-income countries.