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Rationale and design of the violence, injury and trauma observatory (VITO): the Cape Town VITO pilot studies protocol.

ABSTRACT: The establishment of violence and injury observatories elsewhere has been found to reduce the burden within a relatively short period. Currently no integrated system exists in South Africa to provide collated data on violence, to allow for targeted interventions and routine monitoring and evaluation.This research seeks to identify if bringing multiple data sources, including but not limited to data from the South African Police Service (SAPS), Forensic Pathology Services (FPS), Emergency Medical Services (EMS) and local hospital clinical databases, together are (1) feasible; (2) able to generate data for action, that is valid, reliable and robust and (3) able to lead to interventions.The violence, injury and trauma observatory (VITO) is a planned collaborative, multicentre study of clinical, police and forensic data for violence and injury in the City of Cape Town, where a local context exists of access to multiple source of health and non-health data. The VITO will initially be piloted in Khayelitsha, a periurban community characterised by increased rates of violence, where fatal and non-fatal injury data will be sourced from within the community for the period 2012-2015 and subjected to descriptive statistics and time-trend analyses. Analysed data will be visualised using story maps, data clocks, web maps and other geographical information systems-related products.This study has been approved by the University of Cape Town's Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC 861/2016). We intend to disseminate our findings among stakeholders within the local government safety cluster, non-governmental organisations working within the violence prevention sector and the afflicted communities through the SAPS and violence prevention through urban upgrading community forums. Findings from this work will serve to identify important issues and trends, influence public policy and develop evidence-based interventions.

SUBMITTER: Jabar A

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5770818 | biostudies-other | 2017 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-other

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Rationale and design of the violence, injury and trauma observatory (VITO): the Cape Town VITO pilot studies protocol.

Jabar Ardil A Oni Tolu T Engel Mark E ME Cvetkovic Nemanja N Matzopoulos Richard R

BMJ open 20171222 12

The establishment of violence and injury observatories elsewhere has been found to reduce the burden within a relatively short period. Currently no integrated system exists in South Africa to provide collated data on violence, to allow for targeted interventions and routine monitoring and evaluation.This research seeks to identify if bringing multiple data sources, including but not limited to data from the South African Police Service (SAPS), Forensic Pathology Services (FPS), Emergency Medical ...[more]

PMID: 29275338

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Project description:BACKGROUND:With an increasing number of countries implementing Option B+ guidelines of lifelong antiretroviral therapy (ART) for all pregnant and breastfeeding women, there is urgent need to identify effective approaches for retaining this growing and highly vulnerable population in ART care. METHODS:Newly postpartum, breastfeeding women who initiated ART in pregnancy and met eligibility criteria were enrolled, and offered the choice of two options for postpartum ART care: (i) referral to existing network of community-based adherence clubs or (ii) referral to local primary health care clinic (PHC). Women were followed at study measurement visits conducted separately from either service. Primary outcome was a composite endpoint of retention in ART services and viral suppression [VS <?50 copies/mL based on viral load (VL) testing at measurement visits] at 12?months postpartum. Outcomes were compared across postpartum services using chi-square, Fisher's exact tests and Poisson regression models. The primary outcome was compared across services where women were receiving care at 12?months postpartum in exploratory analyses. RESULTS:Between February and September 2015, 129 women (median age: 28.9?years; median time postpartum: 10?days) were enrolled with 65% opting to receive postpartum HIV care through an adherence club. Among 110 women retained at study measurement visits, 91 (83%) achieved the composite endpoint, with no difference between those who originally chose clubs versus those who chose PHC services. Movement from an adherence club to PHC services was common: 31% of women who originally chose clubs and were engaged in care at 12?months postpartum were attending a PHC service. Further, levels of VS differed significantly by where women were accessing ART care at 12?months postpartum, regardless of initial choice: 98% of women receiving care in an adherence club and 76% receiving care at PHC had VS <?50 copies/mL at 12?months postpartum (p?=?0.001). CONCLUSION:This study found comparable outcomes related to retention and VS at 12?months postpartum between women choosing adherence clubs and those choosing PHC. However, movement between postpartum services among those who originally chose adherence clubs was common, with poorer VS outcomes among women leaving clubs and returning to PHC services. TRIAL REGISTRATION:ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02417675 , April 16, 2015 (retrospectively registered).

Project description:BACKGROUND:Nurses' recognition of clinical deterioration is crucial for patient survival. Evidence for the effectiveness of modified early warning scores (MEWS) is derived from large observation studies in developed countries. METHODS:We tested the effectiveness of the paper-based Cape Town (CT) MEWS vital signs observation chart and situation-background-assessment-recommendation (SBAR) communication guide. Outcomes were: proportion of appropriate responses to deterioration, differences in recording of clinical parameters and serious adverse events (SAEs) in intervention and control trial arms. Public teaching hospitals for adult patients in Cape Town were randomised to implementation of the CT MEWS/SBAR guide or usual care (observation chart without track-and-trigger information) for 31 days on general medical and surgical wards. Nurses in intervention wards received training, as they had no prior knowledge of early warning systems. Identification and reporting of patient deterioration in intervention and control wards were compared. In the intervention arm, 24 day-shift and 23 night-shift nurses received training. Clinical records were reviewed retrospectively at trial end. Only records of patients who had given signed consent were reviewed. RESULTS:We recruited two of six CT general hospitals. We consented 363 patients and analysed 292 (80.4%) patient records (n = 150, 51.4% intervention, n = 142, 48.6% control arm). Assistance was summoned for fewer patients with abnormal vital signs in the intervention arm (2/45, 4.4% versus (vs) 11/81, 13.6%, OR 0.29 (0.06-1.39)), particularly low systolic blood pressure. There was a significant difference in recording between trial arms for parameters listed on the MEWS chart but omitted from the standard observations chart: oxygen saturation, level of consciousness, pallor/cyanosis, pain, sweating, wound oozing, pedal pulses, glucose concentration, haemoglobin concentration, and "looks unwell". SBAR was used twice. There was no statistically significant difference in SAEs (5/150, 3.3% vs 3/143, 2.1% P = 0.72, OR 1.61 (0.38-6.86)). CONCLUSIONS:The revised CT MEWS observations chart improved recording of certain parameters, but did not improve nurses' ability to identify early signs of clinical deterioration and to summon assistance. Recruitment of only two hospitals and exclusion of patients too ill to consent limits generalisation of results. Further work is needed on educational preparation for the CT MEWS/SBAR and its impact on nurses' reporting behaviour. TRIAL REGISTRATION:Pan African Clinical Trials Registry, PACTR201406000838118. Registered on 2 June 2014, www.pactr.org.

Project description:AimTo study the demographics and outcome of acute kidney injury (AKI) at Groote Schuur Hospital, Cape Town, South Africa.Methods and findingsA prospective observational study of AKI fulfilling the Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes definition, from 8 July 2012 to 8 July 2013. Ethics approval was granted by the University of Cape Town Human Research Ethics Committee. Consent was waived because patient data was de-identified and patient management was not adversely affected by the study. A clerking sheet was used for data collection. Patients were reassessed after 3 months. Main outcomes were renal recovery and 3 month mortality. Descriptive statistics and multivariate logistic regression were carried out for risk factors. Over this period there were 10,750 hospital admissions and 366 patients with AKI giving an incidence of 3.4%. Median age was 44 years (IQR 14-82) and 214 (58.5%) were male, with 152 (41.5%) female. Most, 265 (72.4%), had community acquired AKI. Common underlying comorbidities were hypertension (n = 152, 41.5%), diabetes mellitus (n = 65, 17.8%) Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) (n = 75, 20.6%), heart disease (n = 58, 16.1%), and chronic kidney disease (n = 37, 10.1%). Renal biopsies were performed in 36 (9.8%) patients. In total, 202 (55.2%) patients were in the intensive care unit, and of the whole study population 204 (55.7%) were dialysed. Those admitted to ICU who required dialysis amounted to 145 (39.6%). The overall 3 month mortality was 38.8%. Among the 145 patients dialysed in ICU, there were 71 deaths (49%) at 3 month follow up. Of the 119 patients with follow up serum creatinine, 95 (79.8%) had full renal recovery, and 4 (3.4%) had end-stage renal disease. On multivariate analysis, mechanical ventilation was associated with 3 month mortality (OR 2.46, p-value 0.019, 95% CI 1.41-4.03). Sepsis had a borderline significant association (OR 1.83, P-value 0.066, 95%CI 1.02-3.27), as did prolonged time to dialysis (OR 1.93, p-value 0.08, 095% CI 0.93-4.03). HIV status did not affect outcome. The main study limitations were the large numbers of patients with AKI stage 3, reflecting the fact that the institution is a tertiary referral centre and that patients with earlier stages of AKI tended not to be referred. Another study limitation was the low number of patients who were available for follow up for 3 month serum creatinine.ConclusionsThe incidence of AKI in the population studied is 3.4% of hospital admissions and carries a high mortality risk, most significant in mechanically ventilated patients. Sepsis and late dialysis initiation may carry a risk of mortality, but HIV infection did not affect outcome. Follow up of patients at least 3 months after an episode of AKI is essential to detect and appropriately manage those with incomplete renal recovery. In this study 36 patients underwent a kidney biopsy, and in many of these the results guided patient management. This study demonstrates finally that it remains imperative that clinicians actively pursue underlying causes of acute decline in renal function, including urine analysis, renal ultrasonography and if indicated and safe, a renal biopsy.

Dataset Information

Rationale and design of the violence, injury and trauma observatory (VITO): the Cape Town VITO pilot studies protocol.

Publications

Rationale and design of the violence, injury and trauma observatory (VITO): the Cape Town VITO pilot studies protocol.

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