More articles from ORIGINAL ARTICLE
- Strengthening Delivery of Health Services Using Digital Devices
Delivery of high-quality efficient health services is a cornerstone of the global agenda to achieve universal health coverage. Digital health interventions for service delivery, such as digital health-enhanced referral coordination and mobile clinical decision support systems, demonstrate considerable potential to improve the quality and comprehensiveness of care received by patients but require greater standardization and engagement of health workers at different levels of the health system for effective scale up.
- The State of Digital Interventions for Demand Generation in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: Considerations, Emerging Approaches, and Research Gaps
Despite advances in digital technology to generate demand for health services, considerable gaps remain in our understanding of which interventions are effective, which characteristics mediate their benefit for different target populations and health domains, and what is necessary to ensure effective deployment. Future research should examine the long-term effects of, equity in access to, and cost-effectiveness and efficiency of digital demand generation interventions.
- Client Perceptions of Quality and Choice at Static, Mobile Outreach, and Special Family Planning Day Services in 3 African Countries
In all 3 countries, nearly all women obtained their method of choice, with more mobile outreach and special family planning day clients having a preexisting preference for implants than static service clients. Clients of all service modalities in all countries reported experiencing most elements of full, free, and informed choice, but there is room for improvement with some aspects, such as counseling about potential side effects and giving clients the opportunity to ask questions.
- Global Health Competency Self-Confidence Scale: Tool Development and Validation
The scale, designed to measure students' self-assessment of their confidence in 11 competency domains before and after participating in global placements, was found to be reliable and correlated well with an earlier validated scale.
- Safety of Tubal Occlusion by Minilaparotomy Provided by Trained Clinical Officers Versus Assistant Medical Officers in Tanzania: A Randomized, Controlled, Noninferiority Trial
Trained clinical officers—nonphysicians with 3 years of specialized training—conducted the procedure safely and effectively compared with procedures performed by more advanced assistant medical officers. This evidence supports policy change allowing properly trained and supported clinical officers to perform minilaparotomy.
- Role of Religious Leaders in Promoting Contraceptive Use in Nigeria: Evidence From the Nigerian Urban Reproductive Health Initiative
Exposure to family planning messages from religious leaders was significantly associated with higher modern contraceptive use, after accounting for background characteristics and other variables such as myths and misconceptions. Engaging religious leaders to support positive social norms is an important strategy to improving voluntary contraceptive use in Nigeria.
- Helping Babies Breathe, Second Edition: A Model for Strengthening Educational Programs to Increase Global Newborn Survival
The revised neonatal resuscitation curriculum updates not only the science of resuscitation but also the educational and implementation approaches needed to further enhance neonatal survival, including promoting ongoing practice to retain skills and linkages with quality improvement initiatives.
- Assessment of Family Planning Service Availability and Readiness in 10 African Countries
In the 10 countries surveyed, the availability of oral contraceptives, injectables, and condoms varied greatly, and the availability of basic items indicating service readiness, such as guidelines, trained staff, equipment, and certain commodities, was low.
- The Net Promoter Score (NPS) for Insight Into Client Experiences in Sexual and Reproductive Health Clinics
The NPS measures a customer's likeliness to recommend a company to a friend or colleague on a 0-to-10 scale. Pilot testing in 4 countries suggests the NPS can also be successfully used in nonprofit clinics and among low-literacy populations. Combining the NPS with client demographic and service-use data can provide a powerful tool for identifying populations for whom the client experience can be improved.
- Human Papillomavirus Vaccine Introduction in South Africa: Implementation Lessons From an Evaluation of the National School-Based Vaccination Campaign
Evaluation of the campaign confirmed its feasibility in this setting: it achieved high coverage, few adverse events, and mostly positive media coverage. However, challenges occurred in data and cold chain management. Future implementation requires improved partnerships between government ministries, simplified informed consent, and closer monitoring of social media messaging.