Dataset Information

Economic support to improve tuberculosis treatment outcomes in South Africa: a pragmatic cluster-randomized controlled trial.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Poverty undermines adherence to tuberculosis treatment. Economic support may both encourage and enable patients to complete treatment. In South Africa, which carries a high burden of tuberculosis, such support may improve the currently poor outcomes of patients on tuberculosis treatment. The aim of this study was to test the feasibility and effectiveness of delivering economic support to patients with pulmonary tuberculosis in a high-burden province of South Africa.

Methods

This was a pragmatic, unblinded, two-arm cluster-randomized controlled trial, where 20 public sector clinics acted as clusters. Patients with pulmonary tuberculosis in intervention clinics (n?=?2,107) were offered a monthly voucher of ZAR120.00 (approximately US$15) until the completion of their treatment. Vouchers were redeemed at local shops for foodstuffs. Patients in control clinics (n?=?1,984) received usual tuberculosis care.

Results

Intention to treat analysis showed a small but non-significant improvement in treatment success rates in intervention clinics (intervention 76.2%; control 70.7%; risk difference 5.6% (95% confidence interval: -1.2%, 12.3%), P?=?0.107). Low fidelity to the intervention meant that 36.2% of eligible patients did not receive a voucher at all, 32.3% received a voucher for between one and three months and 31.5% received a voucher for four to eight months of treatment. There was a strong dose-response relationship between frequency of receipt of the voucher and treatment success (P <0.001).

Conclusions

Our pragmatic trial has shown that, in the real world setting of public sector clinics in South Africa, economic support to patients with tuberculosis does not significantly improve outcomes on treatment. However, the low fidelity to the delivery of our voucher meant that a third of eligible patients did not receive it. Among patients in intervention clinics who received the voucher at least once, treatment success rates were significantly improved. Further operational research is needed to explore how best to ensure the consistent and appropriate delivery of such support to those eligible to receive it.

SUBMITTER: Lutge E

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3680200 | biostudies-literature | 2013 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Economic support to improve tuberculosis treatment outcomes in South Africa: a pragmatic cluster-randomized controlled trial.

Lutge Elizabeth E Lewin Simon S Volmink Jimmy J Friedman Irwin I Lombard Carl C

Trials 20130528

<h4>Background</h4>Poverty undermines adherence to tuberculosis treatment. Economic support may both encourage and enable patients to complete treatment. In South Africa, which carries a high burden of tuberculosis, such support may improve the currently poor outcomes of patients on tuberculosis treatment. The aim of this study was to test the feasibility and effectiveness of delivering economic support to patients with pulmonary tuberculosis in a high-burden province of South Africa.<h4>Methods ...[more]

PMID: 23714270

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Project description:BackgroundPoverty undermines the adherence of patients to tuberculosis treatment. A pragmatic cluster randomized controlled trial was conducted to investigate the extent to which economic support in the form of a voucher would improve patients' adherence to treatment, and their treatment outcomes. Although the trial showed a modest improvement in the treatment success rates of the intervention group, this was not statistically significant, due in part to the low fidelity to the trial intervention. A qualitative process evaluation, conducted in the final few months of the trial, explained some of the factors that contributed to this low fidelity.MethodsIn-depth interviews were conducted with patients who received vouchers, nurses in intervention clinics, personnel in shops who administered the vouchers, and managers of the TB Control Programme. These interviews were analyzed thematically.ResultsThe low fidelity to the trial intervention can be explained by two main factors. The first was nurses' tendency to 'ration' the vouchers, only giving them to the most needy of eligible patients and leaving out those eligible patients whom they felt were financially more comfortable. The second was logistical issues related to the administration of the voucher as vouchers were not always available for patients on their appointed clinic dates, necessitating further visits to the clinics which they were not always able to make.ConclusionsThis process evaluation identifies some of the most important factors that contributed to the results of this pragmatic trial. It highlights the value of process evaluations as tools to explain the results of randomized trials and emphasizes the importance of implementers as 'street level bureaucrats' who may profoundly affect the way an intervention is administered.Trial registrationCurrent Controlled Trials ISRCTN50689131, registered 21 April 2009. The trial protocol is available at the following web address: http://www.hst.org.za/publications/study-protocol-economic-incentives-improving-clinical-outcomes-patients-tb-south-africa.

Project description:BackgroundLay health workers (LHWs) play a pivotal role in addressing the high TB burden in Malawi. LHWs report lack of training to be a key barrier to their role as TB care providers. Given the cost of traditional off-site training, an alternative approach is needed. Our objective was to evaluate the effectiveness of a KT intervention tailored to LHWs needs.MethodsThe study design is a pragmatic cluster randomized trial. The study was embedded within a larger trial, PALMPLUS, and compared three arms which included 28 health centers in Zomba district, Malawi. The control arm included 14 health centers randomized as controls in the larger trial and maintained as control sites. Seven of 14 PALMPLUS intervention sites were randomized to the LHW intervention (PALM/LHW intervention arm), and the remaining 7 PALMPLUS sites maintained as a PALM only arm. PALMPLUS intervention sites received an educational outreach program targeting mid-level health workers. LHW intervention sites received both the PALMPLUS intervention and the LHW intervention employing on-site peer-led educational outreach and a point-of-care tool tailored to LHWs identified needs. Control sites received no intervention. The main outcome measure is the proportion of treatment successes.ResultsAmong the 28 sites, there were 178 incident TB cases with 46/80 (0.58) successes in the control group, 44/68 (0.65) successes in the PALMPLUS group, and 21/30 (0.70) successes in the PALM/LHW intervention group. There was no significant effect of the intervention on treatment success in the univariate analysis adjusted for cluster randomization (p = 0.578) or multivariate analysis controlling for covariates with significant model effects (p = 0.760). The overall test of the intervention-arm by TB-type interaction approached but did not achieve significance (p = 0.056), with the interaction significant only in the control arm [RR of treatment success for pulmonary TB relative to non-pulmonary TB, 1.18, 95% CI 1.05-1.31].ConclusionsWe found no significant treatment effect of our intervention. Given the identified trend for effectiveness and urgent need for low-cost approaches to LHW training, further evaluation of tailored KT strategies as a means of LHW training in Malawi and other LMICs is warranted.Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov NCT01356095 .

Project description:IntroductionTuberculosis (TB) remains the most common cause of death among people living with HIV. Integrating HIV and TB services reduces mortality but is sub-optimally implemented. Quality improvement (QI) methods offer a low-cost and easily implementable approach to strengthening healthcare delivery systems. This trial assessed a QI intervention on key process indicators for delivering integrated HIV-TB care in rural South African primary healthcare (PHC) clinics.MethodsSixteen nurse supervisors, (each with a cluster of clinics) overseeing 40 PHC clinics, were randomized 1:1 to the intervention or the standard of care (SOC) groups. The QI intervention comprised three key components: clinical and QI skills training, on-site mentorship of nurse supervisors and clinic staff, and data quality improvement activities to enhance accuracy and completeness of routine clinic data. The SOC comprised monthly supervision and data feedback meetings. From 01 December 2016 to 31 December 2018, data were collected monthly by a team of study-appointed data capturers from all study clinics. This study's outcomes were HIV testing services (HTS), TB screening, antiretroviral therapy (ART) initiation, isoniazid preventive therapy (IPT) initiation and viral load (VL) testing.ResultsThe QI group (eight clusters) comprised 244 clinic staff who attended to 13,347 patients during the trial compared to the SOC group (eight clusters) with 217 clinic staff who attended to 8141 patients. QI mentors completed 85% (510/600) of expected QI mentorship visits to QI clinics. HTS was 19% higher [94.5% vs. 79.6%; relative risk (RR)=1.19; 95% CI: 1.02-1.38; p=0.029] and IPT initiation was 66% higher (61.2 vs. 36.8; RR=1.66; 95% CI: 1.02-2.72; p=0·044), in the QI group compared to SOC group. The percentage of patients screened for TB (83.4% vs. 79.3%; RR=1.05; p=0.448), initiated on ART (91.7 vs. 95.5; RR=0.96; p=0.172) and VL testing (72.2% vs. 72.8%; RR=0.99; p=0.879) was similar in both groups.ConclusionsQI improved HIV testing and IPT initiation compared to SOC. TB screening, ART initiation and VL testing remained similar. Incorporating QI methods into routine supervision and support activities may strengthen integrated HIV-TB service delivery and increase the success of future QI scale-up activities.

Project description:Objective:To assess the impact of 'Parenting for Lifelong Health: Sinovuyo Teen', a parenting programme for adolescents in low-income and middle-income countries, on abuse and parenting practices. Design:Pragmatic cluster randomised controlled trial. Setting:40 villages/urban sites (clusters) in the Eastern Cape province, South Africa. Participants:552 families reporting conflict with their adolescents (aged 10-18). Intervention:Intervention clusters (n=20) received a 14-session parent and adolescent programme delivered by trained community members. Control clusters (n=20) received a hygiene and hand-washing promotion programme. Main outcome measures:Primary outcomes: abuse and parenting practices at 1 and 5-9 months postintervention. Secondary outcomes: caregiver and adolescent mental health and substance use, adolescent behavioural problems, social support, exposure to community violence and family financial well-being at 5-9 months postintervention. Blinding was not possible. Results:At 5-9 months postintervention, the intervention was associated with lower abuse (caregiver report incidence rate ratio (IRR) 0.55 (95% CI 0.40 to 0.75, P<0.001); corporal punishment (caregiver report IRR=0.55 (95% CI 0.37 to 0.83, P=0.004)); improved positive parenting (caregiver report d=0.25 (95% CI 0.03 to 0.47, P=0.024)), involved parenting (caregiver report d=0.86 (95% CI 0.64 to 1.08, P<0.001); adolescent report d=0.28 (95% CI 0.08 to 0.48, P=0.006)) and less poor supervision (caregiver report d=-0.50 (95% CI -0.70 to -0.29, P<0.001); adolescent report d=-0.34 (95% CI -0.55 to -0.12, P=0.002)), but not decreased neglect (caregiver report IRR 0.31 (95% CI 0.09 to 1.08, P=0.066); adolescent report IRR 1.46 (95% CI 0.75 to 2.85, P=0.264)), inconsistent discipline (caregiver report d=-0.14 (95% CI -0.36 to 0.09, P=0.229); adolescent report d=0.03 (95% CI -0.20 to 0.26, P=0.804)), or adolescent report of abuse IRR=0.90 (95% CI 0.66 to 1.24, P=0.508) and corporal punishment IRR=1.05 (95% CI 0.70 to 1.57, P=0.819). Secondary outcomes showed reductions in caregiver corporal punishment endorsement, mental health problems, parenting stress, substance use and increased social support (all caregiver report). Intervention adolescents reported no differences in mental health, behaviour or community violence, but had lower substance use (all adolescent report). Intervention families had improved economic welfare, financial management and more violence avoidance planning (in caregiver and adolescent report). No adverse effects were detected. Conclusions:This parenting programme shows promise for reducing violence, improving parenting and family functioning in low-resource settings. Trial registration number:Pan-African Clinical Trials Registry PACTR201507001119966.

Project description:ObjectivesThis study sought to assess the effectiveness and return on investment (ROI) of a multifaceted intervention aimed at improving antibiotic prescribing for acute respiratory infections in primary care.DesignLarge-sized, two-arm, open-label, pragmatic, cluster-randomised controlled trial.SettingAll primary care physicians working for the Spanish National Health Service (NHS) in Galicia (region in north-west Spain).ParticipantsThe seven spatial clusters were distributed by unequal randomisation (3:4) of the intervention and control groups. A total of 1217 physicians (1.30 million patients) were recruited from intervention clusters and 1393 physicians (1.46 million patients) from control clusters.InterventionsOne-hour educational outreach visits tailored to training needs identified in a previous study; an online course integrated in practice accreditation; and a clinical decision support system.Main outcome measuresChanges in the ESAC (European Surveillance of Antimicrobial Consumption) quality indicators for outpatient antibiotic use. We used generalised linear mixed and conducted a ROI analysis to ascertain the overall cost savings.ResultsMedian follow-up was 19 months. The adjusted effect on overall antibiotic prescribing attributable to the intervention was - 4.2% (95% CI: - 5.3% to - 3.2%), with this being more pronounced for penicillins - 6.5 (95% CI: - 7.9% to - 5.2%) and for the ratio of consumption of broad- to narrow-spectrum penicillins, cephalosporins, and macrolides - 9.0% (95% CI: - 14.0 to - 4.1%). The cost of the intervention was €87 per physician. Direct savings per physician attributable to the reduction in antibiotic prescriptions was €311 for the NHS and €573 for patient contributions, with an ROI of €2.57 and €5.59 respectively.ConclusionsInterventions designed on the basis of gaps in physicians' knowledge of and attitudes to misprescription can improve antibiotic prescribing and yield important direct cost savings.Trial registrationCurrent Controlled Trials ISRCTN24158380 . Registered 5 February 2009.

Project description:BackgroundDiabetes is an important contributor to the burden of disease in South Africa and prevalence rates as high as 33% have been recorded in Cape Town. Previous studies show that quality of care and health outcomes are poor. The development of an effective education programme should impact on self-care, lifestyle change and adherence to medication; and lead to better control of diabetes, fewer complications and better quality of life.MethodsTrial designPragmatic cluster randomized controlled trialParticipants: Type 2 diabetic patients attending 45 public sector community health centres in Cape TownInterventions: The intervention group will receive 4 sessions of group diabetes education delivered by a health promotion officer in a guiding style. The control group will receive usual care which consists of ad hoc advice during consultations and occasional educational talks in the waiting room.ObjectiveTo evaluate the effectiveness of the group diabetes education programmeOutcomes:Primary outcomesdiabetes self-care activities, 5% weight loss, 1% reduction in HbA1c.Secondary outcomesself-efficacy, locus of control, mean blood pressure, mean weight loss, mean waist circumference, mean HbA1c, mean total cholesterol, quality of lifeRandomisation: Computer generated random numbersBlinding: Patients, health promoters and research assistants could not be blinded to the health centre's allocationNumbers randomized: Seventeen health centres (34 in total) will be randomly assigned to either control or intervention groups. A sample size of 1360 patients in 34 clusters of 40 patients will give a power of 80% to detect the primary outcomes with 5% precision. Altogether 720 patients were recruited in the intervention arm and 850 in the control arm giving a total of 1570.DiscussionThe study will inform policy makers and managers of the district health system, particularly in low to middle income countries, if this programme can be implemented more widely.Trial registerPan African Clinical Trial Registry PACTR201205000380384.

Dataset Information

Economic support to improve tuberculosis treatment outcomes in South Africa: a pragmatic cluster-randomized controlled trial.

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Publications

Economic support to improve tuberculosis treatment outcomes in South Africa: a pragmatic cluster-randomized controlled trial.

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