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Spatial multilevel analysis of individual, household, and community factors associated with COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in the Dominican Republic.
Get PDFVaccine hesitancy or refusal poses a significant public health challenge resulting in the resurgence of preventable diseases and undermining the effectiveness of national and global health initiatives. This study investigates multilevel determinants of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in the Dominican Republic (DR) shortly after the launch of the national COVID-19 vaccination campaign in February 2021. Participants aged 18 years and older were enrolled through a national multistage cluster survey conducted from June-October 2021. The Health Belief Model guided the selection of potential factors contributing to vaccine hesitancy. Hierarchical mixed-effect logistic regression models were used to examine individual, household, and community factors associated with vaccine hesitancy. COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy was observed in 12.6% (95% CI: 11.7-13.5%) of participants (n = 5,566), with spatial variations at the cluster level. Individual factors associated with lower odds of vaccine hesitancy included older age, higher education levels, mulatto ethnicity, and perceiving vaccination as crucial for health. In contrast, factors significantly associated with hesitancy included being born in the DR and concerns about COVID-19 vaccine side effects. For factors at the household level, differential trust in health information sources significantly influenced vaccine hesitancy, with certain sources correlating with increased hesitancy and others with reduced vaccine hesitancy. Better access to healthcare, as indicated by a higher number of hospitals per population, was paradoxically associated with increased vaccine hesitancy. Future strategies to reduce vaccine hesitancy in the DR might consider these multifaceted factors
Tuberculosis Prevalence in People Tested Is a Strong Predictor of Xpert Specificity in Community and Risk Group Screening.
No full textYouth-Friendly Sexual Health Services and Peer Support for Improved Sexual and Reproductive Health Outcomes Among Adolescents and Young Adults in South Africa: Results of a Factorial Randomized Controlled Trial.
Get PDFBACKGROUND: Adolescents and young adults in South Africa have high burdens of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and unintended pregnancy. We evaluated the impact of peer support and/or expanded sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services on STIs, contraception, and pregnancy in rural KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. METHODS: We analyzed secondary outcomes from a 2 × 2 factorial randomized controlled trial conducted from March 2020 to August 2022 among 16- to 29-year-olds, comparing (1) enhanced standard of care (SoC), access to mobile youth-friendly HIV prevention (AYFS); (2) SRH, self-collected STI testing and referral to AYFS with expanded SRH services; (3) peer support, peer navigator facilitation of AYFS attendance; (4) SRH + peer support. At 12 months, all participants were offered STI testing; female participants self-reported contraceptive use and pregnancy. RESULTS: Among 1743 trial participants (51% female), 927 (53%) had 12-month STI results; 209 (22.5%) tested positive: 163 (17.6%) chlamydia, 54 (5.8%) gonorrhea, and 44 (4.8%) trichomoniasis. The prevalence of STI was somewhat lower among those exposed to peer support (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] adjusted for sex, age, location, 0.77; 95% confidence interval, 0.56-1.06) or SRH (aOR, 0.74; 0.56-1.06) and, compared with SoC, was reduced in those exposed to both (aOR, 0.59; 0.38-0.94). In SRH arms, 64 of 469 (13.6%) had a new STI at 12 months, with no difference by peer support ( P = 0.97). Among females, 336 of 634 (53.0%) reported using contraception and 47 of 667 (7.1%) reported pregnancy, with little difference by study arm. CONCLUSIONS: Peer support and STI testing with expanded SRH each had no more than small effects on STIs, contraception, or pregnancy. Combined or more intensive interventions, for example, repeat screening, enhanced partner notification, and deeper understanding of structural drivers, are needed
Surgical indicators for obstetrics and family planning in routine health information systems: a landscape analysis.
Get PDFStrengthening use of high-quality data for surgical obstetrics and family planning is important for improving maternal and perinatal health outcomes. Routine health information systems (RHIS) represent an important data source for indicator tracking. This landscape analysis aims to describe and compare surgical obstetric and family planning indicators put forth by global multi-stakeholder groups and those that are currently captured in RHIS in nine low- and middle-income countries. The analysis focused on five indicator topics: (i) caesarean delivery, (ii) peripartum hysterectomy, (iii) female genital fistula care, (iv) insertion/removal of long-acting reversible contraception and male/female sterilization, and (v) the general surgical context. We examined 12 indicator lists developed by multi-stakeholder groups and RHIS documentation from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Guinea, India, Madagascar, Mali, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, and Senegal. 29 multi-stakeholder and 104 country indicators (119 unique indicators) met our inclusion criteria, typically capturing service provision or service readiness. Indicators on post-surgical outcomes or complications were rarer. The reviewed multi-stakeholder lists did not include indicators on peripartum hysterectomy. At the country level, not all RHIS included fistula care or peripartum hysterectomy indicators and there were marked differences with regard to what indicators were included and the relative distribution of indicators across the indicator topics. Only 14 (48%) of the multi-stakeholder indicators were included in countries' RHIS, with just two being tracked by all nine countries (caesarean deliveries and family planning users by modern method of contraception). There was a lack of standardized indicators for surgical obstetrics and family planning, and we noted typical RHIS challenges such as indicator profusion, duplication, vague indicator definitions, and measurement of composite or difficult-to-quantify concepts. Our findings suggest that there are opportunities to standardize and streamline prioritized measurement of surgical obstetric and family planning data for tracking with the ultimate aim of improving health services
Can we adapt fairly? Scoping review of health equity implications of flood risk in coastal communities.
Get PDFBACKGROUND: As climate change progresses, it is critical to assess the equity of health impacts, adaptation interventions and policies. Climate change can contribute to coastal hazards like flooding resulting in loss of life, property and land, leading to potential long-term physical or mental health impacts. Additionally, some UK coastal populations often face social deprivation and limited healthcare access, which can be worsened by environmental changes. METHODS: We conducted a scoping review of UK evidence on (a) inequalities in coastal flood risk and (b) the equity of measures to manage climate-related flood risks. Interventions included plans, flood insurance and infrastructure, including natural flood management. Following the screening of 19 329 references, we included 11 papers in the final review. RESULTS: Four studies examined the differentials in current and future coastal flood impacts, and seven assessed the equity of adaptation measures. Coastal flood risk is unevenly distributed across the UK. Policies and practices like household insurance and property resilience measures may increase inequalities, while community engagement, planning and structural solutions can reduce disparities, depending on local context and implementation. CONCLUSIONS: Adaptation to UK coastal flood risk requires both short-term and long-term strategies. Approaches relying on individual behaviour or household income may worsen health inequalities. Further evaluations and better evidence are needed to improve flood planning and incident management. Climate change presents a challenge for organisations to deliver national and local policy responses ensuring that adaptation is effective and equitable in the immediate and longer term
The 2023 fatal dengue outbreak in Bangladesh highlights a paradigm shift of geographical distribution of cases.
Get PDFIn 2023, Bangladesh experienced its largest and deadliest outbreak of the Dengue virus (DENV), reporting the highest-ever recorded annual cases and deaths. Historically, most of the cases were recorded in the capital city, Dhaka. We aimed to characterize the geographical transmission of DENV in Bangladesh. From 1 January-31 December 2023, we extracted and analyzed daily data on dengue cases and deaths from the Management Information System of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. We performed a generalized linear mixed model to identify the associations between division-wise daily dengue counts and various geographical and meteorological covariates. The number of dengue cases reported in 2023 was 1.3 times higher than the total number recorded in the past 23 years (321,179 vs. 244,246), with twice as many deaths than the total fatalities recorded over the past 23 years (1705 vs. 849). Of the 1,705 deaths in 2023, 67.4% (n = 1,015) died within one day after hospital admission. The divisions southern to Dhaka had a higher dengue incidence/1000 population (2.30 vs. 0.50, p <0.01) than the northern divisions. Festival-related travel along with meteorological factors and urbanization are likely to have contributed to the shift of dengue from Dhaka to different districts in Bangladesh
Policies, programmes and research on adolescent and youth sexual and reproductive health in South Sudan: a systematic scoping review.
Get PDFOBJECTIVES: To provide an overview of research, policies and programmes related to the sexual and reproductive health (SRH) needs of adolescents and youth (AY) in South Sudan in order to identify the gaps and potential areas of focus for researchers, policymakers and local and global SRH actors.
DESIGN: Systematic scoping review following the Joanna Briggs Institute criteria for evidence synthesis.
DATA SOURCES: Medline, Embase and Global Health were searched for articles dated between 9 July 2011 and 13 July 2023. A grey literature search was conducted using Google search engine and on the websites of key stakeholders.
ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA FOR SELECTING STUDIES: We included all types of studies, policies, reports and programmes that pertained to any aspect of the SRH AY (ages 10-35) in South Sudan.
DATA EXTRACTION AND SYNTHESIS: All articles were screened by the first author using the predetermined eligibility criteria. A secondary review was conducted on all selected articles to ensure alignment with criteria. Data were extracted from all eligible articles using an established data extraction tool. The authors identified overarching themes from the extracted data and results were synthesised based on those themes.
RESULTS: We screened 728 articles, resulting in 52 articles included in the review (19 peer-reviewed, 33 grey literature). Results were mapped across South Sudan and synthesised by key AYSRH thematic areas. The results were largely focused on the experiences of adolescent girls and young women and the sociocultural norms and economic challenges that contribute to their lack of access to SRH services and increased risk of experiencing various forms of gender-based violence. Vulnerable populations were excluded from research, policies and programmes, including very young adolescents, LGBTQ youth and youth with disabilities.
CONCLUSIONS: Quality research has been done on AYSRH in South Sudan; however, there are many key areas that have not been addressed such as maternal mortality and morbidities, safe abortion and tailored interventions for specific subgroups. While some policies and programmes were identified that address AYSRH, robust programme evaluation processes or evidence of follow-through or implementation of government strategies are lacking
Pandemic futures, future preparedness: diverse views in the wake of Covid-19.
Get PDFThe deliberations for the Pandemic Accord have opened an important moment of reflection on future approaches to pandemic preparedness. The concept had been increasingly prominent in global health discourse for several years before the pandemic and had concretised into a set of standardised mainstream approaches to the prediction of threats. Since 2019, the authors and the wider research team have led a research project on the meanings and practices of preparedness. At its close, the authors undertook 25 interviews to capture reflections of regional and global health actors' ideas about preparedness, and how and to what extent these were influenced by Covid-19. Here, an analysis of interview responses is presented, with attention to (dis)connections between the views of those occupying positions in regional and global institutions. The interviews revealed that preparedness means different things to different people and institutions. Analysis revealed several domains of preparedness with distinct conceptualisations of what preparedness is, its purposes, and scope. Overall, there appear to be some changes in thinking due to Covid-19, but also strong continuities, especially with respect to a technical focus and an underplaying of the inequities that became evident (in terms of biosocial vulnerabilities but also global-regional disparities) and, related to this, the importance of power and politics. Here, the analysis has revealed three elements, cutting across the domains but particularly strong within the dominant framing of preparedness, which act to sideline direct engagement with power and politics in the meanings and practices of preparedness. These are an emphasis on urgent action, a focus on universal or standardised approaches, and a resort to technical interventions as solutions. A rethinking of pandemic preparedness needs to enable better interconnections across scales and attention to financing that enables more equitable partnerships between states and regions. Such transformation in established hierarchies will require explicit attention to power dynamics and the political nature of preparedness
Prediction models for Mtb infection among adolescent and adult household contacts in high tuberculosis incidence settings.
Get PDFTuberculosis household contacts are at high risk of developing tuberculosis. Tuberculosis preventive therapy (TPT) is highly effective, but implementation is hindered by limited accessibility of diagnostic tests aimed at detecting Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) infection. Development of Mtb infection prediction models to guide clinical decision-making aims to overcome these challenges. We used data from 1905 tuberculosis household contacts (age ≥10 years) from Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Tanzania to develop two prediction models for Mtb infection determined by interferon-gamma release assay (IGRA) using logistic regression with backward elimination and cross-validation and converted these into a risk score. Model performance was assessed using area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC), sensitivity, and specificity. We developed a basic model with six predictors (age, caregiver role, index case symptom duration, index HIV status, household crowding, and index GeneXpert MTB/Rif results) and a comprehensive model with eleven predictors. The basic and comprehensive risk scores showed limited predictive capability (AUROC 0.592, sensitivity 76%, specificity 35% and AUROC 0.586, sensitivity 76%, specificity 36% respectively), with considerable overlap across IGRA-positive and -negative individuals. Neither model conferred net benefit over a treat-all strategy. Overall, our results suggest that the prediction models developed in this study do not add value for guiding TPT use in high-tuberculosis burden settings. This likely reflects complex Mtb transmission dynamics at the household- and community-level, variation in individual-level susceptibility and immune response, as well as limited accuracy of IGRA testing. Improved diagnostics to determine Mtb infection status in terms of ease-of-use, accuracy, and costs are needed
Household Molecular Epidemiology of Streptococcus pyogenes Carriage and Infection in The Gambia.
Get PDFBACKGROUND: Africa experiences a high burden of Streptococcus pyogenes disease but has limited epidemiological data. We characterized emm types and emm clusters associated with carriage and disease in The Gambia, a setting with a high rheumatic heart disease burden. METHODS: A 1-year household cohort study (2021-2022) recruited 442 participants from 44 households to assess S. pyogenes carriage and noninvasive infection. Pharyngeal and skin swab samples were collected to detect carriage, and pharyngitis and pyoderma swab samples were taken to assess infection. Cultured isolates underwent emm typing and were compared with previous collection from the same region. RESULTS: A total of 221 cultured isolates showed 52 different emm types and 16 emm clusters. Strain diversity was high (Simpson reciprocal index, 29.3 [95% confidence interval, 24.8-36.0]), with the highest diversity seen in pyoderma and the lowest in pharyngitis. Based on available cross-opsonization data, the 30-valent M-protein vaccine candidate would cover 50.8% of the isolates, but cross-opsonization data are unknown for 38.5% of them. The emm clusters showed lower diversity and were stable over time, with 4 clusters defining 65.2% of the isolates; 68% of isolates were collected from skin sites (carriage and pyoderma), with evidence of skin-to-throat transmission in the same host. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides a unique molecular analysis of skin and throat isolates prospectively collected from persons with carriage and noninvasive infection in Africa. Despite high strain diversity, 4 clusters included two-thirds of the isolates, representing antigen priorities for broad vaccine coverage. In this rheumatic fever-endemic setting, pyoderma and skin carriage represent an important S. pyogenes reservoir and should be included in further surveillance studies and public health interventions. CLINICAL TRIALS REGISTRATION: NCT05117528