Ebola and slum dwellers: Community engagement and epidemic response strategies in urban Sierra Leone

The Ebola epidemic in West Africa (2013-2016) was a learning process for all - the population, health experts and practitioners, as well as government structures. Learning occurred in all stages of the response, from the initial lack of clarity and denial of Ebola's existence that contributed to public confusion; to the eventual acceptance of the existence of the Ebola threat whereupon fear and stigmatization reigned; to the later stages in which community engagement and ownership of the response arose. In this paper we describe how two urban poor communities in informal settlements in the Western Area of Sierra Leone responded to Ebola Virus Disease and how they deployed efficient strategies like the development and implementation of by-laws for monitoring and surveillance, thus helping to curb the epidemic. For future public health emergencies, we recommend that community engagement be pursued earlier and that efforts are made to ensure two-way knowledge exchange between responders and community stakeholders.

Ebola, informal settlements, and the role of place in infectious disease vulnerability: evidence from the 2014-16 outbreak in urban Sierra Leone

Studies of vulnerability often focus on the differential susceptibility of marginalised groups to the effects of disaster. This paper considers how vulnerability is also associated with the characteristics of place, especially the social setting of the informal settlement. In this light, it assesses specifically how cultural, historical, and political economic forces resulted in increased vulnerability to Ebola virus disease (EVD) within informal settlements in Sierra Leone during the epidemic of 2014-16. Key informant and community member interviews and focus-group discussions in two communities revealed that increased vulnerability to EVD could, at least in part, be attributed to a set of place-based social factors pertaining to 'community beliefs and practices' (importance of family ties, funeral rites, traditional healing) and 'structural poverty and low socioeconomic status' (poor healthcare provision, mobility patterns, overcrowding). Together, these different factors demonstrate how multiple and intersecting vulnerabilities contribute to the spatial production of disease risk.

How to prevent and address safeguarding concerns in global health research programmes: practice, process and positionality in marginalised spaces

Safeguarding is rapidly rising up the international development agenda, yet literature on safeguarding in related research is limited. This paper shares processes and practice relating to safeguarding within an international research consortium (the ARISE hub, known as ARISE). ARISE aims to enhance accountability and improve the health and well-being of marginalised people living and working in informal urban spaces in low-income and middle-income countries (Bangladesh, India, Kenya and Sierra Leone). Our manuscript is divided into three key sections. We start by discussing the importance of safeguarding in global health research and consider how thinking about vulnerability as a relational concept (shaped by unequal power relations and structural violence) can help locate fluid and context specific safeguarding risks within broader social systems. We then discuss the different steps undertaken in ARISE to develop a shared approach to safeguarding: sharing institutional guidelines and practice; facilitating a participatory process to agree a working definition of safeguarding and joint understandings of vulnerabilities, risks and mitigation strategies and share experiences; developing action plans for safeguarding. This is followed by reflection on our key learnings including how safeguarding, ethics and health and safety concerns overlap; the challenges of referral and support for safeguarding concerns within frequently underserved informal urban spaces; and the importance of reflective practice and critical thinking about power, judgement and positionality and the ownership of the global narrative surrounding safeguarding. We finish by situating our learning within debates on decolonising science and argue for the importance of an iterative, ongoing learning journey that is critical, reflective and inclusive of vulnerable people.

Piloting a participatory, community-based health information system for strengthening community-based health services: findings of a cluster-randomized controlled trial in the slums of Freetown, Sierra Leone

BACKGROUND

Although community engagement has been promoted as a strategy for health systems strengthening, there is need for more evidence for effectiveness of this approach. We describe an operations research (OR) Study and assessment of one form of community engagement, the development and implementation of a participatory community-based health information system (PCBHIS), in slum communities in Freetown, Sierra Leone.

METHODS

A child survival project was implemented in 10 slum communities, which were then randomly allocated to intervention (PCBHIS) and comparison areas. In the 5 PCBHIS communities, the findings from monthly reports submitted by community health workers (CHWs) and verbal autopsy findings for deaths of children who died before reaching 5 years of age, were processed and shared at bimonthly meetings in each community. These meetings, called Community Health Data Review (CHDR) meetings, were attended by community leaders, including members of the Ward Development Committee (WDC) and Health Management Committee (HMC), by the CHW Peer Supervisors, and by representatives of the Peripheral Health Unit. Following a review of the information, attendees proposed actions to strengthen community-based health services in their community. These meetings were held over a period of 20 months from July 2015 to March 2017. At baseline and endline, knowledge, practice and coverage (KPC) surveys measured household health-related behaviors and care-seeking behaviors. The capacity of HMCs and WDCs to engage with the local health system was also measured at baseline and endline. Reports of CHW household contact and assessments of CHW quality were obtained in the endline KPC household survey, and household contacts measured in monthly submitted reports were also tabulated.

RESULTS

The self-assessment scores of WDCs' capacity to fulfil their roles improved more in the intervention than in the comparison area for all six components, but for only 1 of the 6 was the improvement statistically significant (monthly and quarterly meetings in which Peer Supervisor and/or CHW supervision was an agenda item). The scores for the HMCs improved less in the intervention area than in the comparison area for all six components, but none of these differences were statistically significant. Topics of discussion in CHDRs focused primarily on CHW functionality. All three indicators of CHW functioning (as measured by reports submitted from CHWs) improved more in the intervention area relative to the comparison area, with 2 out of 3 measures of improvement reaching statistical significance. Five of 7 household behaviors judged to be amenable to promotion by CHWs improved more in the intervention area than in the comparison area, and 2 out of the 5 were statistically significant (feeding colostrum and appropriate infant and young child feeding). Four of the 6 care-seeking behaviors judged to be amenable to promotion by CHWs improved more in the intervention area than in the comparison area, and 1 was statistically significant (treatment of diarrhea with ORS and zinc). None of the findings that favored the comparison area were statistically significant.

CONCLUSIONS

This study was implemented in challenging circumstances. The OR Study intervention was delayed because of interruptions in finalizing the national CHW policy, two separate cholera epidemics, and the Ebola epidemic lasting more than 2 years. Weaknesses in the CHW intervention severely limited the extent to which the PCBHIS could be used to observe trends in mortality and morbidity. Nonetheless, the positive results achieved in the area of functionality of the CHW intervention and community structure capacity are encouraging. Results suggest there is value in further methodologically rigorous investigations into improving community-based health system functioning through a similar approach to community engagement.

Understanding the drivers of sensitive behavior using Poisson regression from quantitative randomized response technique data

Understanding sensitive behaviors-those that are socially unacceptable or non-compliant with rules or regulations-is essential for creating effective interventions. Sensitive behaviors are challenging to study, because participants are unlikely to disclose sensitive behaviors for fear of retribution or due to social undesirability. Methods for studying sensitive behavior include randomized response techniques, which provide anonymity to interviewees who answer sensitive questions. A variation on this approach, the quantitative randomized response technique (QRRT), allows researchers to estimate the frequency or quantity of sensitive behaviors. However, to date no studies have used QRRT to identify potential drivers of non-compliant behavior because regression methodology has not been developed for the nonnegative count data produced by QRRT. We develop a Poisson regression methodology for QRRT data, based on maximum likelihood estimation computed via the expectation-maximization (EM) algorithm. The methodology can be implemented with relatively minor modification of existing software for generalized linear models. We derive the Fisher information matrix in this setting and use it to obtain the asymptotic variance-covariance matrix of the regression parameter estimates. Simulation results demonstrate the quality of the asymptotic approximations. The method is illustrated with a case study examining potential drivers of non-compliance with hunting regulations in Sierra Leone. The new methodology allows assessment of the importance of potential drivers of different quantities of non-compliant behavior, using a likelihood-based, information-theoretic approach. Free, open-source software is provided to support QRRT regression.

The impact of residual infections on Anopheles-transmitted Wuchereria bancrofti after multiple rounds of mass drug administration

BACKGROUND

Many countries have made significant progress in the implementation of World Health Organization recommended preventive chemotherapy strategy, to eliminate lymphatic filariasis (LF). However, pertinent challenges such as the existence of areas of residual infections in disease endemic districts pose potential threats to the achievements made. Thus, this study was undertaken to assess the importance of these areas in implementation units (districts) where microfilaria (MF) positive individuals could not be found during the mid-term assessment after three rounds of mass drug administration.

METHODS

This study was undertaken in Bo and Pujehun, two LF endemic districts of Sierra Leone, with baseline MF prevalence of 2 % and 0 % respectively in sentinel sites for monitoring impact of the national programme. Study communities in the districts were purposefully selected and an assessment of LF infection prevalence was conducted together with entomological investigations undertaken to determine the existence of areas with residual MF that could enable transmission by local vectors. The transmission Assessment Survey (TAS) protocol described by WHO was applied in the two districts to determine infection of LF in 6-7 year old children who were born before MDA against LF started.

RESULTS

The results indicated the presence of MF infected children in Pujehun district. An. gambiae collected in the district were also positive for W. bancrofti, even though the prevalence of infection was below the threshold associated with active transmission.

CONCLUSIONS

Residual infection was detected after three rounds of MDA in Pujehun--a district of 0 % Mf prevalence at the sentinel site. Nevertheless, our results showed that the transmission was contained in a small area. With the scale up of vector control in Anopheles transmission zones, some areas of residual infection may not pose a serious threat for the resurgence of LF if the prevalence of infections observed during TAS are below the threshold required for active transmission of the parasite. However, robust surveillance strategies capable of detecting residual infections must be implemented, together with entomological assessments to determine if ongoing vector control activities, biting rates and infection rates of the vectors can support the transmission of the disease. Furthermore, in areas where mid-term assessments reveal MF prevalence below 1 % or 2 % antigen level, in Anopheles transmission areas with active and effective malaria vector control efforts, the minimum 5 rounds of MDA may not be required before implementing TAS. Thus, we propose a modification of the WHO recommendation for the timing of sentinel and spot-check site assessments in national programs.

Soil organic carbon changes in cracking clay soils under cotton production as studied by carbon fractionation

This study examined soil carbon levels across a wide range of cracking clay soils used for growing cotton in Australia by using a simple carbon fractionation procedure. The soils studied included reference and cropped sites. The procedure employed determines soil carbon fractions based on their ease of oxidation to obtain the labile (CL) and non-labile (CNL) carbon components. Based on the total carbon (CT), labile carbon (CL), and non-labile carbon (CNL) of a cropped soil relative to a reference soil, various monitoring indices were developed. It was found that cultivation has generally led to a decrease in the organic carbon status of the soils. The effect of cultivation was found to be more pronounced in the CL and the carbon management index (CMI) than in the CT and CNL. The changes in the ratio of CL to CNL as a result of cultivation have been variable. The CMI has generally declined during cultivation, and since the CMI has incorporated the changes taking place in CT, CL, and CNL, the use of this index can provide very useful results in monitoring of organic matter status of soils.