Private Care Facilities Research Articles

Ethnic disparities in breast cancer survival in New Zealand: which factors contribute?

BackgroundNew Zealand has major ethnic disparities in breast cancer survival with Māori (indigenous people) and Pacific women (immigrants or descended from immigrants from Pacific Islands) faring much worse than other ethnic groups. This paper identified underlying factors and assessed their relative contribution to this risk differential.MethodsThis study involved all women who were diagnosed with primary invasive breast cancer in two health regions, covering about 40% of the national population, between January 2000 and June 2014. Māori and Pacific patients were compared with other ethnic groups in terms of demographics, mode of diagnosis, disease factors and treatment factors. Cox regression modelling was performed with stepwise adjustments, and hazards of excess mortality from breast cancer for Māori and Pacific patients were assessed.ResultsOf the 13,657 patients who were included in this analysis, 1281 (9.4%) were Māori, and 897 (6.6%) were Pacific women. Compared to other ethnic groups, they were younger, more likely to reside in deprived neighbourhoods and to have co-morbidities, and less likely to be diagnosed through screening and with early stage cancer, to be treated in a private care facility, to receive timely cancer treatment, and to receive breast conserving surgery. They had a higher risk of excess mortality from breast cancer (age and year of diagnosis adjusted hazard ratio: 1.76; 95% CI: 1.51–2.04 for Māori and 1.97; 95% CI: 1.67–2.32 for Pacific women), of which 75% and 99% respectively were explained by baseline differences. The most important contributor was late stage at diagnosis. Other contributors included neighbourhood deprivation, mode of diagnosis, type of health care facility where primary cancer treatment was undertaken and type of loco-regional therapy.ConclusionsLate diagnosis, deprivation and differential access to and quality of cancer care services were the key contributors to ethnic disparities in breast cancer survival in New Zealand. Our findings underscore the need for a greater equity focus along the breast cancer care pathway, with an emphasis on improving access to early diagnosis for Māori and Pacific women.

Finding the Missing Patients With Tuberculosis: Lessons Learned From Patient-Pathway Analyses in 5 Countries.

BackgroundDespite significant progress in diagnosis and treatment of tuberculosis over the past 2 decades, millions of patients with tuberculosis go unreported every year. The patient-pathway analysis (PPA) is designed to assess the alignment between tuberculosis care-seeking patterns and the availability of tuberculosis services. The PPA can help programs understand where they might find the missing patients with tuberculosis.MethodsThis analysis aggregates and compares the PPAs from case studies in Kenya, Ethiopia, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Pakistan.ResultsAcross the 5 countries, 24% of patients with tuberculosis initiated care seeking in a facility with tuberculosis diagnostic capacity. Forty-two percent of patients sought care at level 0 facilities, where there was generally no tuberculosis diagnostic capacity; another 42% of patients sought care at level 1 facilities, of which 39% had diagnostic capacity. Sixty-six percent of patients initially sought care in private facilities, which had considerably less tuberculosis diagnostic capacity than public facilities; only 7% of notified cases were from the private sector. The GeneXpert system was available in 14%–41% of level 2 facilities in the 3 countries for which there were data. Tuberculosis treatment capacity tracked closely with the availability of diagnostic capacity. There were substantial subnational differences in care-seeking patterns and service availability.DiscussionThe PPA can be a valuable planning and programming tool to ensure that diagnostic and treatment services are available to patients where they seek care. Patient-centered care will require closing the diagnostic gap and engaging the private sector. Extensive subnational differences in patient pathways to care call for differentiated approaches to patient-centered care.

Quality of routine essential care during childbirth: clinical observations of uncomplicated births in Uttar Pradesh, India.

ObjectiveTo evaluate the quality of essential care during normal labour and childbirth in maternity facilities in Uttar Pradesh, India.MethodsBetween 26 May and 8 July 2015, we used clinical observations to assess care provision for 275 mother–neonate pairs at 26 hospitals. Data on 42 items of care were collected, summarized into 17 clinical practices and three aggregate scores and then weighted to obtain population-based estimates. We examined unadjusted differences in quality between the public and private facilities. Multilevel linear mixed-effects models were used to adjust for birth attendant, facility and maternal characteristics.FindingsThe quality of care we observed was generally poor in both private and public facilities; the mean percentage of essential clinical care practices completed for each woman was 35.7%. Weighted estimates indicate that unqualified personnel provided care for 73.0% and 27.0% of the mother–neonate pairs in public and private facilities, respectively. Obstetric, neonatal and overall care at birth appeared better in the private facilities than in the public ones. In the adjusted analysis, the score for overall quality of care in private facilities was found to be six percentage points higher than the corresponding score for public facilities.ConclusionIn 2015, the personnel providing labour and childbirth care in maternity facilities were often unqualified and adherence to care protocols was generally poor. Initiatives to measure and improve the quality of care during labour and childbirth need to be developed in the private and public facilities in Uttar Pradesh.

Caregiver satisfaction with paediatric HIV treatment and care in Nigeria and equity implications for children living with HIV

ABSTRACTCaregiver satisfaction has the potential to promote equity for children living with HIV, by influencing health-seeking behaviour. We measured dimensions of caregiver satisfaction with paediatric HIV treatment in Nigeria, and discuss its implications for equity by conducting facility-based exit interviews for caregivers of children receiving antiretroviral therapy in 20 purposively selected facilities within 5 geopolitical zones. Descriptive analysis and factor analysis were performed. Due to the hierarchical nature of the data, multilevel regression modelling was performed to investigate relationships between satisfaction factors and socio-demographic variables. Of 1550 caregivers interviewed, 63% (95% CI: 60.6–65.4) reported being very satisfied overall; however, satisfaction varied in some dimensions: only 55.6% (53.1–58.1) of caregivers could talk privately with health workers, 56.9% (54.4–59.3) reported that queues to see health workers were too long, and 89.9% (88.4–91.4) said that some health workers did not treat patients living with HIV with sufficient respect. Based on factor analysis, two underlying factors, labelled Availability and Attitude, were identified. In multilevel regression, the satisfaction with availability of services correlated with formal employment status (p < .01), whereas caregivers receiving care in private facilities were less likely satisfied with both availability (p < .01) and attitude of health workers (p < .05). State and facility levels influenced attitudes of the health workers (p < .01), but not availability of services. We conclude that high levels of overall satisfaction among caregivers masked dissatisfaction with some aspects of services. The two underlying satisfaction factors are part of access typology critical for closing equity gaps in access to HIV treatment between adults and children, and across socio-economic groups.

Out-of-pocket expenditure and its determinants in the context of private healthcare sector expansion in sub-Saharan Africa urban cities: evidence from household survey in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.

BackgroundConventional wisdom suggests that out-of-pocket (OOP) expenditure reduces healthcare utilization. However, little is known about the expenditure borne in urban settings with the current development of the private health sector in sub-Saharan Africa. In an effort to update knowledge on medical expenditure, this study investigated the level and determinants of OOP among individuals reporting illness or injury in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso and who either self-treated or received healthcare in either a private or public facility.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted with a representative sample of 1017 households (5638 individuals) between August and November 2011. Descriptive statistics and multivariate techniques including generalized estimating equations were used to analyze the data.ResultsAmong the surveyed sample, 29.6 % (n = 1666) persons reported a sickness or injury. Public providers were the single most important providers of care (36.3 %), whereas private and informal providers (i.e.: self-treatment, traditional healers) accounted for 29.8 and 34.0 %, respectively. Almost universally (96 %), households paid directly for care OOP. The average expenditure per episode of illness was 8404XOF (17.4USD) (median 3750XOF (7.8USD). The total expenditure was higher for those receiving care in private facilities compared to public ones [14,613.3XOF (30.3USD) vs. 8544.1XOF (17.7USD); p < 0.001], and the insured patients’ bill almost tripled uninsured (p < 0.001). Finally, medication was the most expensive component of expenditure in both public and private facilities with a mean of 8022.1XOF (16.7USD) and 12,270.5 (25.5USD), respectively.ConclusionOOP was the principal payment mechanism of households. A significant difference in OOP was found between public and private provider users. Considering the importance of private healthcare in Burkina Faso, regulatory oversight is necessary. Furthermore, an extensive protection policy to shield households from catastrophic health expenditure is required.

The Burden of Maternal Health Care Expenditure in India: Multilevel Analysis of National Data

To quantify the economic burden of maternal health care services on Indian households and examine the levels of expenditure incurred in public and private health care institutions at the national, state and community levels. Cross-sectional population data from the 2004 National Sample Survey Organisation were used, which considered 9,643 households for the analysis where at least one woman received maternal health care services during the year preceding the survey. Multilevel linear regression techniques were used to estimate the effect of household, cluster and state characteristics on the proportion of maternal health care expenditures over total household expenditures. Over 80% of households reported paying for maternal health care services, with those using private care facilities paying almost 4times more than those using public facilities. Multilevel analyses show evidence of high burden of maternal health care expenditures, which varied significantly across states according to the level of health care utilisation, and with considerable heterogeneity at the household and community levels. Maternal health care services in India are offered free at the point of delivery, yet many families face significant out-of-pocket expenditures. The recent governmental policy interventions to encourage institutional births by providing nominal financial assistance is a welcome step but this might not help to compensate mothers for other indirect expenditures, especially those living in rural areas and poorer communities who are increasingly seeking care in private facilities.

Incidence and correlates of 'catastrophic' maternal health care expenditure in India

Using data from the 60(th) round of the National Sample Survey of India (2004), the study investigates the incidence and correlates of 'catastrophic' maternal expenditure (ME) in India. Data on ME come from 6879 births that took place during 365 days prior to the survey. The study adapts earlier definitions and methods for catastrophic total health care expenditure to measure 'catastrophic' ME as: (i) maternal health care expenditure more than 10% of the annual normative household consumption expenditure (ME-1), and (ii) maternal health care expenditure more than 40% of the annual 'capacity to pay' (ME-2). The 'capacity to pay' was derived by subtracting state-wise poverty-line household expenditure from household consumption expenditure. The average maternal expenditure varied by place of delivery: US dollar 9.5, US dollar 24.7 and US dollar 104.3 for birth at home, in a public facility and in a private facility, respectively. Sixteen per cent of households incurred ME of more than 10% of total household consumption expenditure (ME-1), while 51% households incurred ME of more than 40% of household 'capacity to pay' (ME-2). While incidence of ME-1 increased with income decile, the reverse was observed for ME-2, reflecting higher non-utilization of institutional maternal care and its non-affordability among poorer households. All the households from the poorest decile and 99% from the second poorest decile paid more than 40% of their capacity to pay. Multivariate regression results indicate that antenatal care and delivery care in private facilities increased the chances of ME-1 and ME-2 (P < 0.001). Measuring maternal expenditure against 'capacity to pay' (ME-2) may be better than measuring it as a proportion of overall household expenditure when assessing financial constraints in the use of maternal services. Improving the performance of the public sector, appropriate regulation of and partnership with the private sector, and effective direct cash transfers to pregnant women in the poorest households may increase utilization of maternal services and reduce the financial distress associated with ME.

Continuous Interscalene Analgesia for Rotator Cuff Repair: A Retrospective Comparison of Effectiveness and Cost in 205 Patients from a Multi-Provider Private Practice Setting

Several barriers exist to the routine use of continuous interscalene block (CISB) for postoperative analgesia following rotator cuff repair There is a perception that the technique is feasible only for single operators exposed to a high volume case load. The aim of this retrospective review was to compare the three commonly employed analgesic techniques following rotator cuff repair in a multi-provider setting. The techniques studied were CISB, combined single injection interscalene block with postoperative intermittent intra-articular local anaesthetic infiltration (SSISB/IA) and intermittent intra-articular only local anaesthetic infiltration (IA). The clinical records of 205 consecutive patients having open rotator cuff repair over an 18-month period in two private care facilities were reviewed. The primary outcome endpoint was total opioid/tramadol consumption during the period of an overnight hospital stay. The median total opioid and tramadol consumption (in intravenous mg equivalents of morphine) from admission to the post anaesthesia care unit until discharge from hospital was 5 mg in the CISB group and 10 mg for the SSISB/IA and IA groups (P < 0.0001). The proportion of subjects requiring more than one antiemetic for the same period was 1.9% in the CISB group, 16.4% for the SSISB/IA group and 36.1% for the IA group (P < 0.0001). Costs related to the analgesic technique were similar in each group. CISB following rotator cuff repair in a multi-provider setting was associated with reduced total opioid/tramadol and antiemetic consumption, and occurred without a significant increase in the monetary cost.

Psychiatric Liaison With Private Facilities Caring for Discharged Patients

Motivated by concern about the fate of psychiatric hospital patients after discharge to the community, a community mental health center decided to send a psychiatrist into the community to establish liaison with private-care facilities and to determine the needs of such discharged patients. As a result of the psychiatrist's efforts, owners of the area's private-care facilities acquired a better understanding of the needs of their residents and learned where they could turn for help in caring for discharge psychiatric patients. A study of one board-and-care facility revealed a marked decrease in the use of the center's emergency service and in the number of hospital admissions after one year of this extended service.