Effective coverage of nutrition interventions across the continuum of care in Bangladesh: insights from nationwide cross-sectional household and health facility surveys

Association between antenatal care facility readiness and provision of care at the client level and facility level in five low- and middle-income countries

BACKGROUND

Despite growing interest in monitoring improvements in quality of care, data on service quality in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) is limited. While health systems researchers have hypothesized the relationship between facility readiness and provision of care, there have been few attempts to quantify this relationship in LMICs. This study assesses the association between facility readiness and provision of care for antenatal care at the client level and facility level.

METHODS

To assess the association between provision of care and various facility readiness indices for antenatal care, we used multilevel, multivariable random-effects linear regression models. We tested an inflection point on readiness scores by fitting linear spline models. To compare the coefficients between models, we used a bootstrapping approach and calculated the mean difference between all pairwise comparisons. Analyses were conducted at client and facility levels.

RESULTS

Our results showed a small, but significant association between facility readiness and provision of care across countries and most index constructions. The association was most evident in the client-level analyses that had a larger sample size and were adjusted for factors at the facility, health worker, and individual levels. In addition, spline models at a facility readiness score of 50 better fit the data, indicating a plausible threshold effect.

CONCLUSIONS

The results of this study suggest that facility readiness is not a proxy for provision of care, but that there is an important association between facility readiness and provision of care. Data on facility readiness is necessary for understanding the foundations of health systems particularly in countries with the lowest levels of service quality. However, a comprehensive view of quality of care should include both facility readiness and provision of care measures.

Existing gaps and missed opportunities in delivering quality nutrition services in primary healthcare: a descriptive analysis of patient experience and provider competence in 11 low-income and middle-income countries

OBJECTIVES

To assess the competence of primary healthcare (PHC) providers in delivering maternal and child nutrition services at the PHC level and patients' experience in receiving the recommended components of care.

DESIGN

Observational cross-sectional analysis.

SETTING

Healthcare facilities in low/middle-income countries (LMICs) with available service provision assessment surveys (Afghanistan (2018), Democratic Republic of Congo (2018), Haiti (2017), Kenya (2010), Malawi (2013-2014), Namibia (2009), Nepal (2015), Rwanda (2007), Senegal (2018), Tanzania (2015) and Uganda (2007).

PARTICIPANTS

18 644 antenatal visits and 23 262 sick child visits in 8458 facilities across 130 subnational areas in 11 LMICs from 2007 to 2019.

OUTCOMES

(1) Provider competence assessed as the direct observations of actions performed during antenatal care (ANC) and sick child visits; and (2) patients' experience defined as the self-reported awareness of the nutrition services received during ANC and sick child visits and provider effectiveness in delivering these services.

RESULTS

Except for DRC, all countries scored below 50% on patients' experience and provider competence. More than 70% of clients were advised on taking iron supplements during pregnancy; however, less than 32% of patients were advised on iron side effects in all the studied countries. Across all countries, providers commonly took anthropometric measurements of expectant mothers and children; however, such assessments were rarely followed up with advice or counselling about growth patterns. In addition, less than 20% of observed providers advised on early/immediate breast feeding in all countries with available data.

CONCLUSION

The 11 assessed countries demonstrated the delivery of limited nutrition services; nonetheless, the apparent deficiency in the extent and depth of questions asked for the majority of tracer activities revealed significant opportunities for improving the quality of nutrition service delivery at the PHC level.

Quality of nutrition services in primary health care facilities of Dhaka city: State of nutrition mainstreaming in urban Bangladesh

INTRODUCTION

Despite high prevalence of malnutrition little is known about the quality of nutrition services provided through urban health systems. This study aimed to fill in knowledge gaps on quality of nutrition service provision at public primary health care facilities in urban Dhaka.

METHOD

This cross-sectional study was conducted from April-July 2019 in Dhaka City. Fifty-three health facilities were sampled following NetCode protocol. Quality of nutrition services was assessed in terms of structural readiness, process, and client satisfaction. Structural readiness included equipment, guidelines, and registers, and knowledge of health professionals (n = 130). For process, client provider interaction was observed (ANC: n = 159, Pediatric: n = 150). For outcome assessment, client's satisfaction with nutrition service provision was measured through interviews with pregnant women (n = 165) and caregivers of 0-24 month-old children (n = 162). Bivariate and multivariate analyses were conducted using SPSS.

RESULTS

There were gaps in availability of equipment and guidelines in health facilities. Only 30% of healthcare providers received basic nutrition training. The mean knowledge score was 5.8 (range 0-10) among ANC providers and 7.8 for pediatric service providers. Process: Only 17.6% health facilities had dedicated space for counselling, 48.4% of pregnant women received four key nutrition services; 22.6% of children had adequate growth monitoring; and 38.7% of caregivers received counselling on exclusive breastfeeding. Outcome: The mean satisfaction with services was 4.3 for ANC and 4.0 for paediatric visits (range 1-5). Participants attending public facilities had significantly lower satisfaction compared to those attending private and NGO health facilities.

CONCLUSION

There were gaps in facility readiness, and implementation of nutrition services. The clients were more satisfied with services at private facilities compared to public. The gaps in nutrition service delivery need to be adequately addressed to ensure promotion of good nutrition and early detection and management of malnutrition among pregnant women and children in urban Bangladesh.

Measuring effective coverage of maternal and child health services in Cambodia: a retrospective analysis of Demographic and Health Surveys from 2005 to 2014

OBJECTIVE

To investigate effective, quality-adjusted, coverage and inequality of maternal and child health (MCH) services to assess progress in improving quality of care in Cambodia.

DESIGN

A retrospective secondary analysis using the three most recent (2005, 2010 and 2014) Demographic and Health Surveys.

SETTING

Cambodia.

PARTICIPANTS

53 155 women aged 15-49 years old and 23 242 children under 5 years old across the three surveys.

OUTCOME MEASURES

We estimated crude coverage, effective coverage and inequality in effective coverage for five MCH services over time: antenatal care (ANC), facility delivery and sick childcare for diarrhoea, pneumonia and fever. Quality was defined by the proportion of care seekers who received a set of interventions during healthcare visits. Effective coverage was estimated by combining crude coverage and quality. We used equiplots and risk ratios, to assess patterns in inequality in MCH effective coverage across wealth quintile, urban-rural and women's education levels and over time.

RESULTS

In 2014, crude and effective coverage was 80.1% and 56.4%, respectively, for maternal health services (ANC and facility delivery) and 59.1% and 26.9%, respectively, for sick childcare (diarrhoea, pneumonia and fever). Between 2005 and 2014, effective coverage improved for all services, but improvements were larger for maternal healthcare than for sick child care. In 2014, poorer children were more likely to receive oral rehydration solution for diarrhoea than children from richer households. Meanwhile, women from urban areas were more likely to receive a postnatal check before getting discharged.

CONCLUSIONS

Effective coverage has generally improved in Cambodia but efforts remain to improve quality for all MCH services. Our results point to substantial gaps in curative sick child care, a large share of which is provided by unregulated private providers in Cambodia. Policymakers should focus on improving effective coverage, and not only crude coverage, to achieve the health-related Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.

Evaluations of effective coverage of maternal and child health services: A systematic review

Conventionally used coverage measures do not reflect the quality of care. Effective coverage (EC) assesses the extent to which health care services deliver potential health gains to the population by integrating concepts of utilization, need and quality. We aimed to conduct a systematic review of studies evaluating EC of maternal and child health services, quality measurement strategies and disparities across wealth quantiles. A systematic search was performed in six electronic databases [MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health (CINAHL), Scopus, Web of Science and Maternity and Infant Care] and grey literature. We also undertook a hand search of references. We developed search terms having no restrictions based on publication period, country or language. We included studies which reported EC estimates based on the World Health Organization framework of measuring EC. Twenty-seven studies, all from low- and middle-income settings (49 countries), met the criteria and were included in the narrative synthesis of the results. Maternal and child health intervention(s) and programme(s) were assessed either at an individual level or as an aggregated measure of health system performance or both. The EC ranged from 0% for post-partum care to 95% for breastfeeding. When crude coverage measures were adjusted to account for the quality of care, the EC values turned lower. The gap between crude coverage and EC was as high as 86%, and it signified a low quality of care. The assessment of the quality of care addressed structural, process and outcome domains individually or combined. The wealthiest 20% had higher EC of services than the poorest 20%, an inequitable distribution of coverage. More efforts are needed to improve the quality of maternal and child health services and to eliminate the disparities. Moreover, considering multiple dimensions of quality and the use of standard measurements are recommended to monitor coverage effectively.

High coverage but low quality of maternal and newborn health services in the coverage cascade: who is benefitted and left behind in accessing better quality health services in Nepal?

BACKGROUND

Antenatal care (ANC) visits, institutional delivery, and postnatal care (PNC) visits are vital to improve the health of mothers and newborns. Despite improved access to these routine maternal and newborn health (MNH) services in Nepal, little is known about the cascade of health service coverage, particularly contact coverage, intervention-specific coverage, and quality-adjusted coverage of MNH services. This study examined the cascade of MNH services coverage, as well as social determinants associated with uptake of quality MNH services in Nepal.

METHODS

We conducted a secondary analysis of data derived from the Nepal Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS) 2016, taking 1978 women aged 15-49 years who had a live birth in the 2 years preceding the survey. Three outcome variables were (i) four or more (4⁺) ANC visits, (ii) institutional delivery, and (iii) first PNC visit for mothers and newborns within 48 h of childbirth. We applied a cascade of health services coverage, including contact coverage, intervention-specific and quality-adjusted coverage, using a list of specific intervention components for each outcome variable. Several social determinants of health were included as independent variables to identify determinants of uptake of quality MNH services. We generated a quality score for each outcome variable and dichotomised the scores into two categories of "poor" and "optimal" quality, considering > 0.8 as a cut-off point. Binomial logistic regression was conducted and odds ratios (OR) were reported with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) at the significance level of p < 0.05 (two-tailed).

RESULTS

Contact coverage was higher than intervention-specific coverage and quality-adjusted coverage across all MNH services. Women with advantaged ethnicities or who had access to bank accounts had higher odds of receiving optimal quality MNH services, while women who speak the Maithili language and who had high birth order (≥ 4) had lower odds of receiving optimal quality ANC services. Women who received better quality ANC services had higher odds of receiving optimal quality institutional delivery. Women received poor quality PNC services if they were from remote provinces, had higher birth order and perceived problems when not having access to female providers.

CONCLUSIONS

Women experiencing ethnic and social disadvantages, and from remote provinces received poor quality MNH services. The quality-adjusted coverage can be estimated using household survey data, such as demographic and health surveys, especially in countries with limited routine data. Policies and programs should focus on increasing quality of MNH services and targeting disadvantaged populations and those living in remote areas. Ensuring access to female health providers and improving the quality of earlier maternity visits could improve the quality of health care during the pregnancy-delivery-postnatal period.

Students’ Learning on Sustainable Development Goals through Interactive Lectures and Fieldwork in Rural Communities: Grounded Theory Approach

Sustainable social-resource-based community management and sustainable development goals (SDGs) are crucial for community sustainability and sustainable development, respectively, and SDG education is vital to motivate people to continue SDG-appropriate activities. This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of the SDG education of Rural Japanese University students using the grounded theory approach and investigate how their ideas about future work subsequently change. This study analyzes the learning and attitude changes in students enrolled in an elective SDG course and establishes the learning theory behind SDG education in rural universities. In this approach, student SDG education consists of three themes and eleven concepts. Through SDG education based on interactive lectures and rural fieldwork, participants reconsider community and society concepts in an SDG-minded framework. Based on this new perspective, participants begin considering community sustainability by gaining new insight from a first-person standpoint. Participants acquire SDG-minded working competencies, such as collaborative advancement, respect for inclusive societies, community revitalization from different perspectives, and mindset reconstruction. SDG educational processes were conducted in rural communities through university student SDG education, which deepened their understanding of community sustainability. Thus, SDG education should employ real practitioners to university curricula and deal with cultural and traditional diversity via effective collaboration.

Influence of conditional cash transfer program on prenatal care and nutrition during pregnancy: NISAMI cohort study

BACKGROUND

There are few studies on the influence of a cash transfer program on nutritional outcomes from pregnancy.

OBJECTIVES

To analyze how a Brazilian conditional cash transfer program (Bolsa Familia Program, BFP) was associated with changes in body mass index (BMI) and food consumption among pregnant women.

DESIGN AND SETTING

Cohort study on 250 pregnant women (≥ 18 years of age) in Brazilian prenatal services.

METHODS

A food frequency questionnaire was used to evaluate dietary intake. Weight was measured in each gestational trimester. Generalized estimation equations and structural equation modeling were used for statistical analyses. Correlations were analyzed using standardized coefficients (SCs).

RESULTS

Women benefitting from the BFP were of greater age and had lower education. The BFP exerted a direct negative effect on the pregnant women's consumption choices regarding refined grains, regional foods, vegetable oil, sausages, salted meats and snacks (SC = -0.10) and on maternal BMI (SC = -0.12). Among the intermediate variables, we observed that the time elapsed since pregnancy and the month of prenatal onset had direct negative effects; and that the number of visits to doctors, family income and number of years of education had direct positive effects.

CONCLUSIONS

Beneficiaries were less likely to increase their BMI outside of the recommended standards and had a greater tendency to receive prenatal care. Participation in the BFP had a direct negative effect on adherence to unhealthy diets.

Using scenario‐based assessments to examine the feasibility of integrating preventive nutrition services through the primary health care system in Bangladesh

The National Nutrition Services of Bangladesh aims to deliver nutrition services through the primary health care system. Little is known about the feasibility of reshaping service delivery to close gaps in nutrition intervention coverage and utilization. We used a scenario‐based feasibility testing approach to assess potential implementation improvements to strengthen service delivery. We conducted in‐depth interviews with 31 service providers and 12 policymakers, and 5 focus group discussions with potential beneficiaries. We asked about the feasibility of four hypothetical scenarios for preventive and promotive nutrition service delivery: community‐based events (CBE) for pregnant women, well‐child services integrated into immunization contacts; CBE for well‐children, and well‐child visits at facilities. Opinions on service delivery platforms were mixed; some recommended new platforms, but others suggested strengthening existing delivery points. CBE for pregnant women was perceived as feasible, but workforce shortages emerged as a key barrier. Challenges such as equipment portability, upset children and a fast‐moving service environment suggested low feasibility of integrating nutrition into outreach immunization contacts. In contrast, CBE and facility‐based well‐child visits emerged as feasible options, conditional on having the necessary workforce, structural readiness and budget support. On the demand side, enabling factors include using interpersonal communication and involving community leaders to increase awareness, organizing events at a convenient time and place for both providers and beneficiaries, and incentives for beneficiaries to encourage participation. In conclusion, integrating preventive and promotive nutrition services require addressing current challenges in the health system, including human resource and logistic gaps, and investing in creating demand for preventive services.

This study uses a scenario‐based feasibility testing approach to explore potential interventions to strengthen preventive and promotive nutrition service delivery through the primary health care system.

Our findings highlight three highly feasible potential platforms (community‐based events [CBE] for pregnant women, CBE for well‐children and well‐child visits at facilities) to expand preventive services. Scaling these community‐based services requires addressing current challenges in the health system (including human resource and logistic gaps) and investment in demand creation for these services.

Factors influencing quality nutrition service provision at antenatal care contacts: Findings from a public health facility-based observational study in 21 districts of Bangladesh

Malnutrition during pregnancy is associated with increased maternal morbidity and mortality and has a long-term negative impact on child growth and development. Antenatal care (ANC) is the formal point of contact for pregnant women to receive preventive health and nutrition services. We assessed the quality of nutrition service delivery during ANC and examined its influencing factors related to the health facility, health care provider (HCP) and client characteristics. We conducted a cross-sectional assessment in 179 facilities, including 1,242 ANC observations and exit interviews of pregnant women from 21 districts in Bangladesh. We considered four essential nutrition services at each ANC contact including maternal weight measurement, anaemia assessment, nutrition counselling and iron-folic acid (IFA) supplement provision. We defined a composite ‘quality nutrition service’ outcome by counting the number of services (out of four) provided at each ANC from observation data. We explored both the supply-side and the client-level factors of quality nutrition service using multilevel Poisson regression. Overall, only 15% of clients received all four nutrition services. Performance of weight measurement (79%) was higher than IFA provision (56%), anaemia assessment (52%) and nutrition counselling (52%). The multivariable analysis showed that quality nutrition service delivery is positively associated with good logistical readiness of the facilities (aIRR: 1.23, 95% CI: 1.08–1.39), consultation by paramedics (aIRR 1.23, 95% CI: 1.06–1.42) and community health care providers (aIRR 1.32, 95% CI: 1.12–1.57), HCPs’ knowledge on maternal nutrition (aIRR 1.04; 95% CI: 1.01–1.08), better HCP-client communication (aIRR 1.14; 95% CI: 1.04–1.26) and use visual aids or ANC card (aIRR 1.18; 95% CI: 1.11–1.27). We found limited associations between HCP training and external supervision with the quality of nutrition services. In conclusion, the quality of nutrition service provision during ANC is suboptimal. Public health nutrition programmers should ensure the facilities’ logistical readiness, and revisit and reinforce the content and modality of training and supportive supervision of the HCPs. They should also emphasize positive HCP-client communication and the use of job aids to improve the quality of nutrition service provision during ANC.

A rapid systematic review and evidence synthesis of effective coverage measures and cascades for childbirth, newborn and child health in low- and middle-income countries

BACKGROUND

Effective coverage measures aim to estimate the proportion of a population in need of a service that received a positive health outcome. In 2020, the Effective Coverage Think Tank Group recommended using a 'coverage cascade' for maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health and nutrition (MNCAHN), which organises components of effective coverage in a stepwise fashion, with each step accounting for different aspects of quality of care (QoC), applied at the population level. The cascade outlines six steps that increase the likelihood that the population in need experience the intended health benefit: 1) the population in need (target population) who contact a health service; 2) that has the inputs available to deliver the service; 3) who receive the health service; 4) according to quality standards; 5) and adhere to prescribed medication(s) or health workers instructions; and 6) experience the expected health outcome. We examined how effective coverage of life-saving interventions from childbirth to children aged nine has been defined and assessed which steps of the cascade are captured by existing measures.

METHODS

We undertook a rapid systematic review. Seven scientific literature databases were searched covering the period from May 1, 2017 to July, 8 2021. Reference lists from reviews published in 2018 and 2019 were examined to identify studies published prior to May 2017. Eligible studies reported population-level contact coverage measures adjusted for at least one dimension of QoC.

RESULTS

Based on these two search approaches this review includes literature published from 2010 to 2021. From 16 662 records reviewed, 33 studies were included, reporting 64 effective coverage measures. The most frequently examined measures were for childbirth and immediate newborn care (n = 24). No studies examined measures among children aged five to nine years. Definitions of effective coverage varied across studies. Key sources of variability included (i) whether a single effective coverage measure was reported for a package of interventions or separate measures were calculated for each intervention; (ii) the number and type of coverage cascade steps applied to adjust for QoC; and (iii) the individual items included in the effective coverage definition and the methods used to generate a composite quality measure.

CONCLUSION

In the MNCAHN literature there is substantial heterogeneity in both definitions and construction of effective coverage, limiting the comparability of measures over time and place. Current measurement approaches are not closely aligned with the proposed cascade. For widespread adoption, there is a need for greater standardisation of indicator definitions and transparency in reporting, so governments can use these measures to improve investments in MNACHN and implement life-saving health policies and programs.

Operationalising effective coverage measurement of facility based childbirth in Gombe State; a comparison of data sources

Estimating effective coverage of childbirth care requires linking population based data sources to health facility data. For effective coverage to gain widespread adoption there is a need to focus on the feasibility of constructing these measures using data typically available to decision makers in low resource settings. We estimated effective coverage of childbirth care in Gombe State, northeast Nigeria, using two different combinations of facility data sources and examined their strengths and limitations for decision makers. Effective coverage captures information on four steps: access, facility inputs, receipt of interventions and process quality. We linked data from the 2018 Nigerian Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS) to two sources of health facility data: (1) comprehensive health facility survey data generated by a research project; and (2) District Health Information Software 2 (DHIS2). For each combination of data sources, we examined which steps were feasible to calculate, the size of the drop in coverage between steps and the resulting estimate of effective coverage. Analysis included 822 women with a recent live birth, 30% of whom attended a facility for childbirth. Effective coverage was low: 2% based on the project data and less than 1% using the DHIS2. Linking project data with NDHS, it was feasible to measure all four steps; using DHIS2 it was possible to estimate three steps: no data was available to measure process quality. The provision of high quality care is suboptimal in this high mortality setting where access and facility readiness to provide care, crucial foundations to the provision of high quality of care, have not yet been met. This study demonstrates that partial effective coverage measures can be constructed from routine data combined with nationally representative surveys. Advocacy to include process of care indicators in facility summary reports could optimise this data source for decision making.