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  • Spivey Devine posted an update 5 days, 7 hours ago

    al factors that influence community members to participate in CHW programmes. The lessons drawn could help to improve the impact and sustainability of similar programmes in other parts of the Philippines and that are currently being developed or strengthened in other LMICs.

    National Clinical Audits (NCAs) are a well-established quality improvement strategy used in healthcare settings. Significant resources, including clinicians’ time, are invested in participating in NCAs, yet there is variation in the extent to which the resulting feedback stimulates quality improvement. The aim of this study was to explore the reasons behind this variation.

    We used realist evaluation to interrogate how context shapes the mechanisms through which NCAs work (or not) to stimulate quality improvement. Fifty-four interviews were conducted with doctors, nurses, audit clerks and other staff working with NCAs across five healthcare providers in England. In line with realist principles we scrutinised the data to identify how and why providers responded to NCA feedback (mechanisms), the circumstances that supported or constrained provider responses (context), and what happened as a result of the interactions between mechanisms and context (outcomes). We summarised our findings as Context+Mechanism = mechanisms that underpin healthcare providers’ interactions with NCA feedback. However, there is variation in the mode, frequency and impact of these interactions. Feedback was used most routinely, providing opportunities to stimulate quality improvement, within clinical services resourced to collect accurate data and to maintain local databases from which feedback could be customised for the needs of the service.

    The findings suggest that there are a number of mechanisms that underpin healthcare providers’ interactions with NCA feedback. However, there is variation in the mode, frequency and impact of these interactions. Feedback was used most routinely, providing opportunities to stimulate quality improvement, within clinical services resourced to collect accurate data and to maintain local databases from which feedback could be customised for the needs of the service.

    Access to health care is a fundamental human right, and the provision of affordable, high-quality, and appropriate medicines for maternal and child health is a vital component of a well-functioning health system. The study assessed the availability, price, and affordability of WHO priority maternal and child medicines in public health facilities, Dessie, North-East Ethiopia.

    A retrospective cross-sectional study design was conducted in Dessie town from November 2018 to February 2019. A standard checklist adapted from the Logistics Indicator Assessment Tool and WHO/HAI was used to collecting data on the availability, affordability, and price of 45 priority life-saving medicines from eight public health centers and two public hospitals. Descriptive statistics (percent and median) were computed for availability and prices. Affordability was reported in terms of the daily wage of the lowest-paid unskilled government worker.

    Twenty-two medicines were not found at all in public health facilities. The overall mean availability was very low. The available products were encountered with a high number of stock-outs and unaffordable. The strict control of inventory is recommended to have a steady supply of these essential medicines and improve the quality of health services.

    Myrianthus arboreus P. Beauv. (Cecropiaceae) is a medicinal plant used to treat female infertility. The aqueous extract of M. arboreus leaves was found to improve the fertility of healthy female Wistar rats. In the present study, we proposed evaluating the effects of such an extract on an animal model of infertility caused by polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), in order to bring scientific evidence to the curative action of this plant against female infertility.

    Following a 21-day administration (gavage) of letrozole (1 mg/kg), animals with PCOS, indicated by overweight and an estrous cycle blocked in the diestrus phase, were co-treated with letrozole (1 mg/kg) and the aqueous extract of M. arboreus leaves at doses of 20, 110 and 200 mg/kg. The positive control received clomiphene citrate (1 mg/kg) and metformin (200 mg/kg). The negative control received distilled water. Each group of animals was made up of 10 female rats. Vaginal smear was examined 7 days before and during co-treatments. Co-treatments wereat least in part, the traditional use of M. Linsitinib supplier arboreus against female infertility and suggest that this plant could be a promising alternative treatment to improve symptoms associated with different PCOS phenotypes.

    These results justify at least in part, the traditional use of M. arboreus against female infertility and suggest that this plant could be a promising alternative treatment to improve symptoms associated with different PCOS phenotypes.

    Emergency department (ED) use is often viewed as an indicator of health system quality. ED use for mental health (MH) reasons is increasing and costly for health systems, patients, and their families. Patients with mental disorders (MD) including substance use disorders (SUD) and suicidal behaviors are high ED users. Improving ED services for these patients and their families, and developing alternatives to ED use are thus key issues. This study aimed to (1) describe the implementation of three innovative interventions provided by a brief intervention team, crisis center team, and family-peer support team in a Quebec psychiatric ED, including the identification of implementation barriers, and (2) evaluate the impacts of these ED innovations on MH service use and response to needs.

    Using mixed methods with data triangulation, the implementation and impact of the three above-named ED interventions were studied. Quantitative data were collected from 101 participants (81 patients, 20 family members) using a ucultural clash between staff and organizations, and continuous quality assessment. Future research needs to confirm the pertinence of these interventions, especially use of family-peer support teams in ED, as a highly innovative intervention. Broader ED strategies could also be deployed to improve MH services and decrease ED use for MH reasons.

    Before implementing innovations, managers need to recognize the basic issues common to all new healthcare interventions the need for staff training and strong involvement, particularly among physicians, development of collaborative tools especially in cases of potential cultural clash between staff and organizations, and continuous quality assessment. Future research needs to confirm the pertinence of these interventions, especially use of family-peer support teams in ED, as a highly innovative intervention. Broader ED strategies could also be deployed to improve MH services and decrease ED use for MH reasons.