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The relevance of client-centered communication to family planning settings in developing countries: lessons from the Egyptian experience.

Concern for client's rights in the provision of reproductive health services in the developing world has prompted intense efforts by international experts to promote client-centered models of communication as a replacement for more provider-centered approaches. Nonetheless, the usefulness or feasibility of cross-cultural transplantation of client-centered models of communication has not been examined. The present study examines the feasibility, acceptability, and effectiveness of client-centered models of communication in 31 family planning clinics in Egypt. Consultations between 34 physicians and 112 clients requesting family planning methods were audio-taped and analyzed for physician communication style. Client satisfaction was measured through exit interviews. Method continuation was determined through home interviews at 3 and 7 months from the index visit. Based on audio-tape analysis, two-thirds of physician consultations were characterized as physician-centered and one-third as client-centered. Client-centered consultations were only one minute longer than physician-centered consultations. A client-centered consultation was associated with a three-fold increase in the likelihood of client satisfaction and method continuation at 7 months. A high proportion of solidarity statements (positive talk) by the physician was predictive of client satisfaction whereas a high proportion of disagreement statements and directive instructions by the physician were predictive of method discontinuation. The study findings suggest that in Egypt, as in more developed countries, client-centered models of communication are likely to produce better client outcomes than provider-centered models, with no substantial changes in the structure of services.

Adult↗

Newspaper reports as a source for injury data in developing countries.

Injuries are an important public health problem and a leading cause of death among adults and children. In most of the developing world, with rapid changes in lifestyle, rural development, urbanization, an increase in number of vehicles, introduction of mechanized farming and pesticides in agriculture, the effect of injuries on mortality and morbidity is expected to increase. Injuries have been infrequently studied in developing countries; their importance is incompletely understood and they are seriously neglected in health research and policy. The reasons for this situation may be many, but one important reason is the unavailability of data in countries to assess the magnitude of the problem. Hospital and police records are the primary data source for injuries in the majority of the developing world. Newspaper reports may be an alternative source for injury data. This hypothesis was tested in the Rawalpindi Division of Pakistan by collecting data from newspaper reports for both intentional and unintentional injuries for 6 months (January-June 1999). This was compared with police data for the same time period. The results revealed that newspapers report more injury-related events and for some categories, such as suicides, the reporting was far greater by newspapers than the police. We conclude that the current system of police data collection needs to be strengthened. Newspapers may serve as a comparative source of information to evaluate the coverage of police data.

Bibliometrics↗

What has bioethics to offer the developing countries.

My paper consists of three parts. In the first part I try to explain the intellectual basis of bioethics in developing countries. In the second part I describe the bioethical dilemmas facing these countries. In the third part I shall discuss the changes that have to be made in bioethics if it is to take root in these countries, and thereby help them to improve the human existence.

Bioethical Issues↗

Pharmacoepidemiology as a focus for clinical epidemiology in developing countries.

We present a concept of pharmacoepidemiology as a branch of clinical epidemiology having particular relevance to public health in developing countries. Planning to incorporate pharmacoepidemiology into the clinical epidemiology curriculum of the International Clinical Epidemiology Network (INCLEN) is discussed and an outline of training programs in pharmacoepidemiology at INCLEN universities is given.

Curriculum↗

Childhood diarrhoea and acute respiratory infections in developing countries.

In 1990 childhood diarrhoea and acute respiratory infections together accounted for 7.5 million deaths of children younger than five years of age in developing countries. To decrease mortality and treatment costs associated with these illnesses, the World Health Organization has developed standard diagnostic and treatment procedures for health staff, and is working on strategies for disease prevention. Immunisation against measles, adequate nutrition, including exclusive breastfeeding for the first four to six months, and improved water supplies and sanitation are the most important preventive measures. The 1990 World Summit for Children has set goals of a 50% reduction in childhood mortality from diarrhoea and a 33% reduction in mortality from acute respiratory diseases by the year 2000. These goals can be achieved by political commitment and a major investment of resources, but sustained support for these efforts from the medical professions is crucial.

Acute Disease↗

Strategies for community participation in developing countries.

Community participation has been hailed as the panacea for most community programmes. Community participation at high levels empowers communities, increases self-reliance, self-awareness and confidence in self-examination of problems and seeking solutions for them. Behavioural changes are promoted and utilisation and support of services is facilitated, which are of great importance to all community health efforts, especially in areas where the incidence of HIV/AIDS is high or increasing. The purpose of this article is to explore community participation strategies adopted in different countries for providing community health care services. Recommendations are provided for enhancing community participation in developing countries.

Africa↗

Cannabis use and mood disorders: patterns of clinical presentations among adolescents in a developing country.

Notwithstanding the increase use of cannabis among adolescents in both developing and developed countries, few studies have looked at cannabis use and mood disorders. In a series of case studies, this research project seeks to investigate patterns of clinical presentations seen among cannabis users in psychiatric outpatients in Trinidad. Five clinical patterns of presentations are identified among cannabis users and abusers based on variables of dosing, age of initial use, duration of use, tolerance and reverse tolerance and poly-drug abuse. All patients in these case studies were standardized for method of use and potency of cannabis used. Patients were screened by urine tests to determine co-morbid use of other substances. Other variables such as environmental factors and genetic vulnerability were reviewed as far as possible from historical accounts of family members. The five patterns described are low, controlled use with mild euphoria and heightened awareness, moderate use with mixed depressive symptoms and suicidal behaviour, heavy, short term use with manic symptoms, long term incremental use with psychotic symptoms due to the trumping of depressive symptoms and cannabis mixed with other substances resulting in florid psychosis. Mood disorders appear to be a common finding among adolescents using cannabis. Sensitization to symptomatic presentation and early detection of cannabis use in young adolescents are necessary. Further research is needed on the effect of cannabinoids on emotions, behaviour and thinking and its relationship to mental disorders. This study is useful as a guideline for the implementation of public health strategies and legislation concerning the use of cannabis in youths.

Adolescent↗

Impact of age, gender and race on patient and graft survival following renal transplantation--developing country experience.

BACKGROUND: Optimising renal allograft survival is crucially important in developing countries because of limited resources to treat irreversible renal failure. However, although many factors can be manipulated to improve outcome, certain demographic factors are immutable in individual patients. The present study evaluated the impact of age, gender and race on the outcome of renal transplantation. METHODS: Relevant data were reviewed for 542 patients receiving primary renal allografts over a 23-year period. The survival of patients and grafts were calculated using the Kaplan-Meier method. Both univariate and multivariate analyses were used to determine the association between the demographic factors and patient and graft survival. RESULTS: Actuarial survival of both patients and grafts decreased with increasing age. The most striking differences were demonstrated when patients older than 40 years were compared with younger patients. However, when patient survival was censored for death with functioning grafts--a very important cause of graft loss--then actuarial graft survival improved with increasing age. There was no gender difference in graft survival, but female recipients of renal allografts had a higher mortality than their male counterparts. There were no racial differences in either patient or graft survival. CONCLUSIONS: Age is an important determinant of outcome after renal transplantation, but race is not. Gender does not influence graft survival, but females do have a higher overall mortality rate following renal transplantation at our centre.

Adult↗

Routes to better health for children in four developing countries.

Despite the availability of effective, affordable interventions for the most common causes of death, more than ten million children in developing countries die each year. This article describes the circumstances of four countries whose reductions in child mortality exceeded what might be expected from their poor economic circumstances, and it asks whether they followed common routes to improved health for children. The findings suggest that contextual factors, such as the degree of economic development, good governance, and strong health care systems, matter less than do targeted health intervention, foreign aid, and technical assistance. In general, these findings contradict prevailing U.S. foreign policy regarding the circumstances in which progress toward health goals can be made.

Child↗

Thalassemia in Bombay: the role of medical genetics in developing countries.

This study of 200 families with thalassaemic children in Bombay showed that these children's treatment and needs place a significant, unavoidable and increasing demand on the public health services. At the same time, owing to the potentially large number of patients and the difficulties of long-term management, the situation is characterized by evasion of the problem, failure of planning, no provisions for prevention, and inadequate treatment leading to premature death among the affected children. The burden on such families is greater in developing than in developed countries because, besides caring for the chronically sick child, their lives are dominated by the high costs of treatment, often amounting to 20-30% of the income for many families. Seven mothers with no healthy children and 27 with only one healthy child had been sterilized; 90% of reproductive-age couples felt that prenatal diagnosis was a necessity. Also, ignorance and prejudice in the community led to social isolation for forty families. The experience in Europe shows that improved treatment is the key step in controlling thalassaemia. A well-organized day-transfusion service is cost-effective, soon restoring the children to health and leading to increased optimism. The formation of associations by parents could mobilize community support for improved treatment and prevention, and increase public awareness of the problem. Thus cost-effective management and prevention through screening, genetic counselling, and prenatal diagnosis are at least as important in the developing as in developed countries.

Adolescent↗

Factors affecting the immunogenicity of oral poliovirus vaccine in developing countries: review.

Although rates of seroconversion following administration of trivalent oral poliovirus vaccine (TOPV) approach 100% in industrialized countries, only 73% (range, 36%-99%) and 70% (range, 40%-99%) of children in developing countries have detectable antibody to poliovirus types 1 and 3, respectively, after three doses. While factors accounting for these differences have not been fully elucidated, available data suggest that type 2 vaccine virus and enteric pathogens often interfere with responses to types 1 and 3 vaccine viruses but that this interference may be overcome by modifying the absolute and relative dosage of the three Sabin types. Increasing the interval between doses beyond 30 days may also be important, in view of the prolonged excretion of vaccine virus and the potential for interference with responses to subsequent doses. Although advances in molecular biology may ultimately lead to the development of more-immunogenic vaccine candidates, approaches such as increasing the number of doses of TOPV, mass vaccination campaigns, and combined use of oral and inactivated vaccines should also be considered.

Antibodies, Viral↗

Good clinical laboratory practice (GCLP): the need for a hybrid of good laboratory practice and good clinical practice guidelines/standards for medical testing laboratories conducting clinical trials in developing countries.

There has been a significant increase in the number of clinical drug trials (particularly phase III) being conducted in developing countries for infectious diseases such as HIV, malaria, and tuberculosis. Laboratory results provided by medical testing laboratories in the region are critical to ensuring the safety of patients and the generation of good quality data. A number of well accepted Good Clinical Practice (GCP) and Good Laboratory Practice (GLP) guidelines govern the conduct of clinical trials internationally. Good Clinical Practice guidelines remain too vague with respect to sample analysis to ensure practical implementation in these laboratories. In their strictest sense, Good Laboratory Practice guidelines refer to the analysis of samples from non-clinical studies. A specific set of minimum standards or requirements for practical implementation of clinical trial requirements in medical testing laboratories in the developing world is urgently required.

Benchmarking↗

Residential mobility differences among developed countries.

"Micro-level theories of why households change residence contrast with macro-level approaches that relate the level of spatial mobility to development. This article compares the rate of residential mobility in 16 [developed] countries or other areas and examines both regional variations within countries and changes in rates of local and nonlocal moving. Hypotheses that explain why countries differ in rates of residential mobility are examined."

Demography↗

National nutrition planning in developing countries via gaming-simulation.

A nutrition game designed for the Food Policy and Nutrition Division of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations to aid in planning national nutrition education programs in Third World countries is described. The Simulated Nutrition System Game allows high-level ministerial staff in developing countries to discuss, via a common language created by SNUS I, the issues, problems, and complexities of national nutrition programs.

Developing Countries↗