Health system challenges to integration of mental health delivery in primary care in Kenya--perspectives of primary care health workers

Supportive supervision for medicines management in government health facilities in Kiambu County, Kenya: a health workers' perspective

Introduction

Effective supportive supervision is widely recognized as essential for optimal management of medicines in government health facilities and also in contributing towards improved access and utilization of health services. This study sought to examine the extent supportive supervision for medicines management in government health facilities from a health worker perspective.

Methods

A cross-sectional study was done targeting health workers managing medicines in government health facilities in Kiambu County. One hundred and thirty eight respondents took part in the study which explored the quality of supportive supervision from a health worker's perspective, and also examined the factors influencing their contentment with the level of supervision received. A statistical analysis was done using SPSS 21 and Excel 2013.

Results

Supervisory visits from all levels of health management were not regularly done, standard checklists were not routinely used, and action plans irregularly developed and followed up. Only 54 (38.6%) respondents were satisfied with the levels of supportive supervision that they received, with satisfaction significantly differing across the professional cadres, χ² (12, n = 138) = 29.762, p = .003; across the different tiers of health facilities, r_s (138) = 0.341, p < .001; and with the education levels of the respondents, r_s (138) = 0.381, p < .001.

Conclusion

The study concluded that supportive supervision for medicines management that government health facilities received was still inadequate, and health workers were dissatisfied with the level of supervision that they received. The study recommends a review of the support supervision policy at the county level to address the unearthed inefficiencies and improve supervision for medicines management in government health facilities.

HIV and noncommunicable disease comorbidities in the era of antiretroviral therapy: a vital agenda for research in low- and middle-income country settings

In this special 2014 issue of JAIDS, international investigator teams review a host of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) that are often reported among people living and aging with HIV in sub-Saharan Africa. With the longer lifespans that antiretroviral therapy programs have made possible, NCDs are occurring due to a mix of chronic immune activation, medication side effects, coinfections, and the aging process itself. Cancer; cardiovascular and pulmonary diseases; metabolic, body, and bone disorders; gastrointestinal, hepatic, and nutritional aspects; mental, neurological, and substance use disorders; and renal and genitourinary diseases are discussed. Cost-effectiveness, key research methods, and issues of special importance in Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean are also addressed. In this introduction, we present some of the challenges and opportunities for addressing HIV and NCD comorbidities in low- and middle-income countries, and preview the research agenda that emerges from the articles that follow.

Supervising community health workers in low-income countries--a review of impact and implementation issues

Background

Community health workers (CHWs) are an increasingly important component of health systems and programs. Despite the recognized role of supervision in ensuring CHWs are effective, supervision is often weak and under-supported. Little is known about what constitutes adequate supervision and how different supervision strategies influence performance, motivation, and retention.

Objective

To determine the impact of supervision strategies used in low- and middle-income countries and discuss implementation and feasibility issues with a focus on CHWs.

Design

A search of peer-reviewed, English language articles evaluating health provider supervision strategies was conducted through November 2013. Included articles evaluated the impact of supervision in low- or middle-income countries using a controlled, pre-/post- or observational design. Implementation and feasibility literature included both peer-reviewed and gray literature.

Results

A total of 22 impact papers were identified. Papers were from a range of low- and middle-income countries addressing the supervision of a variety of health care providers. We classified interventions as testing supervision frequency, the supportive/facilitative supervision package, supervision mode (peer, group, and community), tools (self-assessment and checklists), focus (quality assurance/problem solving), and training. Outcomes included coverage, performance, and perception of quality but were not uniform across studies. Evidence suggests that improving supervision quality has a greater impact than increasing frequency of supervision alone. Supportive supervision packages, community monitoring, and quality improvement/problem-solving approaches show the most promise; however, evaluation of all strategies was weak.

Conclusion

Few supervision strategies have been rigorously tested and data on CHW supervision is particularly sparse. This review highlights the diversity of supervision approaches that policy makers have to choose from and, while choices should be context specific, our findings suggest that high-quality supervision that focuses on supportive approaches, community monitoring, and/or quality assurance/problem solving may be most effective.

Short structured general mental health in service training programme in Kenya improves patient health and social outcomes but not detection of mental health problems - a pragmatic cluster randomised controlled trial

TRIAL DESIGN

A pragmatic cluster randomised controlled trial.

METHODS

PARTICIPANTS

Clusters were primary health care clinics on the Ministry of Health list. Clients were eligible if they were aged 18 and over.

INTERVENTIONS

Two members of staff from each intervention clinic received the training programme. Clients in both intervention and control clinics subsequently received normal routine care from their health workers.

OBJECTIVE

To examine the impact of a mental health inservice training on routine detection of mental disorder in the clinics and on client outcomes.

OUTCOMES

The primary outcome was the rate of accurate routine clinic detection of mental disorder and the secondary outcome was client recovery over a twelve week follow up period. Randomisation: clinics were randomised to intervention and control groups using a table of random numbers. Blinding: researchers and clients were blind to group assignment.

RESULTS

Numbers randomised: 49 and 50 clinics were assigned to intervention and control groups respectively. 12 GHQ positive clients per clinic were identified for follow up. Numbers analysed: 468 and 478 clients were followed up for three months in intervention and control groups respectively.

OUTCOME

At twelve weeks after training of the intervention group, the rate of accurate routine clinic detection of mental disorder was greater than 0 in 5% versus 0% of the intervention and control groups respectively, in both the intention to treat analysis (p = 0.50) and the per protocol analysis (p =0.50). Standardised effect sizes for client improvement were 0.34 (95% CI = (0.01,0.68)) for the General Health Questionnaire, 0.39 ((95% CI = (0.22, 0.61)) for the EQ and 0.49 (95% CI = (0.11,0.87)) for WHODAS (using ITT analysis); and 0.43 (95% CI = (0.09,0.76)) for the GHQ, 0.44 (95% CI = (0.22,0.65)) for the EQ and 0.58 (95% CI = (0.18,0.97)) for WHODAS (using per protocol analysis).

HARMS

None identified.

CONCLUSION

The training programme did not result in significantly improved recorded diagnostic rates of mental disorders in the routine clinic consultation register, but did have significant effects on patient outcomes in routine clinical practice.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

International Standard Randomised Controlled Trial Number Register ISRCTN53515024.