Browsing by Author "Harries AD"

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    Effects of real-time electronic data entry on HIV programme data quality in Lusaka, Zambia.
    (2020-Mar-21) Moomba K; Williams A; Savory T; Lumpa M; Chilembo P; Tweya H; Harries AD; Herce M; Centre for Infectious Diseases Research in Zambia (CIDRZ), Lusaka, Zambia.; London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UK.; Institute for Global Health & Infectious Diseases, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.; Operational Centre Brussels, Medical Department, Médecins Sans Frontières - Operational Research Unit (LuxOR), MSF Luxembourg.; The Lighthouse Clinic, Lilongwe, Malawi.; International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease, Paris, France.
    SETTING: Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) clinics in five hospitals and five health centres in Lusaka, Zambia, which transitioned from daily entry of paper-based data records to an electronic medical record (EMR) system by dedicated data staff (Electronic-Last) to direct real-time data entry into the EMR by frontline health workers (Electronic-First). OBJECTIVE: To compare completeness and accuracy of key HIV-related variables before and after transition of data entry from Electronic-Last to Electronic-First. DESIGN: Comparative cross-sectional study using existing secondary data. RESULTS: Registration data (e.g., date of birth) was 100% complete and pharmacy data (e.g., antiretroviral therapy regimen) was <90% complete under both approaches. Completeness of anthropometric and vital sign data was <75% across all facilities under Electronic-Last, and this worsened after Electronic-First. Completeness of TB screening and World Health Organization clinical staging data was also <75%, but improved with Electronic-First. Data entry errors for registration and clinical consultations decreased under Electronic-First, but errors increased for all anthropometric and vital sign variables. Patterns were similar in hospitals and health centres. CONCLUSION: With the notable exception of clinical consultation data, data completeness and accuracy did not improve after transitioning from Electronic-Last to Electronic-First. For anthropometric and vital sign variables, completeness and accuracy decreased. Quality improvement interventions are needed to improve Electronic-First implementation.
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    HIV and tuberculosis in prisons in sub-Saharan Africa.
    (2016-Sep-17) Telisinghe L; Charalambous S; Topp SM; Herce ME; Hoffmann CJ; Barron P; Schouten EJ; Jahn A; Zachariah R; Harries AD; Beyrer C; Amon JJ; College of Public Health, Medical and Veterinary Sciences, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD, Australia; Centre for Infectious Disease Research in Zambia (CIDRZ), Lusaka, Zambia.; International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease, Paris, France; London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UK.; Department of HIV and AIDS, Ministry of Health, Lilongwe, Malawi; International Training and Education Center for Health, Department of Global Health, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.; School of Public Health, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.; The Aurum Institute, Johannesburg, South Africa; School of Public Health, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.; Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA; Health and Human Rights Division, Human Rights Watch, New York, NY, USA.; Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA.; Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.; Médecins Sans Frontières, Brussels Operational Centre, Operational Research Unit, Luxembourg City, Luxembourg.; Field Epidemiology Services, Public Health England, Bristol, UK; University of Bristol, Bristol, UK. Electronic address: lily.telisinghe@phe.gov.uk.; Management Sciences for Health, Lilongwe, Malawi.; Centre for Infectious Disease Research in Zambia (CIDRZ), Lusaka, Zambia; University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
    Given the dual epidemics of HIV and tuberculosis in sub-Saharan Africa and evidence suggesting a disproportionate burden of these diseases among detainees in the region, we aimed to investigate the epidemiology of HIV and tuberculosis in prison populations, describe services available and challenges to service delivery, and identify priority areas for programmatically relevant research in sub-Saharan African prisons. To this end, we reviewed literature on HIV and tuberculosis in sub-Saharan African prisons published between 2011 and 2015, and identified data from only 24 of the 49 countries in the region. Where data were available, they were frequently of poor quality and rarely nationally representative. Prevalence of HIV infection ranged from 2·3% to 34·9%, and of tuberculosis from 0·4 to 16·3%; detainees nearly always had a higher prevalence of both diseases than did the non-incarcerated population in the same country. We identified barriers to prevention, treatment, and care services in published work and through five case studies of prison health policies and services in Zambia, South Africa, Malawi, Nigeria, and Benin. These barriers included severe financial and human-resource limitations and fragmented referral systems that prevent continuity of care when detainees cycle into and out of prison, or move between prisons. These challenges are set against the backdrop of weak health and criminal-justice systems, high rates of pre-trial detention, and overcrowding. A few examples of promising practices exist, including routine voluntary testing for HIV and screening for tuberculosis upon entry to South African and the largest Zambian prisons, reforms to pre-trial detention in South Africa, integration of mental health services into a health package in selected Malawian prisons, and task sharing to include detainees in care provision through peer-educator programmes in Rwanda, Zimbabwe, Zambia, and South Africa. However, substantial additional investments are required throughout sub-Saharan Africa to develop country-level policy guidance, build human-resource capacity, and strengthen prison health systems to ensure universal access to HIV and tuberculsosis prevention, treatment, and care of a standard that meets international goals and human rights obligations.