改善被忽视的热带皮肤病患者的就医体验:在加纳阿特维马·姆波努阿区开展混合方法形成性研究以开发一项复杂干预措施
Improving experiences of neglected tropical diseases of the skin: Mixed methods formative research for development of a complex intervention in Atwima Mponua District, Ghana.
作者信息
Okyere Daniel, Ocloo Edmond Kwaku, Owusu Lucy, Amoako Yaw Ampem, Tuwor Ruth Dede, Koka Eric, Novignon Jacob, Asante-Poku Adwoa, Siam Ishaque Mintah, Afreh Emmanuel Kyei, Agbanyo Abigail, Akuffo Richard Adjei, Gyabaah Solomon, Oppong Michael Ntiamoah, Halliday Katherine E, Simpson Hope, Timothy Joseph, Marks Michael, Zuurmond Maria, Walker Stephen L, Pullan Rachel L, Ahorlu Collins Stephen, Phillips Richard Odame, Yeboah-Manu Dorothy, Pitt Catherine, Palmer Jennifer
机构信息
Noguchi Memorial Institute of Medical Research, University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana.
Department of Sociology and Anthropology, University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, Ghana.
出版信息
PLOS Glob Public Health. 2024 Jun 13;4(6):e0002833. doi: 10.1371/journal.pgph.0002833. eCollection 2024.
Integrated approaches to managing co-endemic neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) of the skin within primary healthcare services are complex and require tailoring to local contexts. We describe formative research in Atwima Mponua District in Ghana's Ashanti Region designed to inform the development of a sustainable intervention to improve access to skin NTD care. We employed a convergent, parallel, mixed-methods design, collecting data from February 2021 to February 2022. We quantitatively assessed service readiness using a standardised checklist and reviewed outpatient department registers and condition-specific case records in all government health facilities in the district. Alongside a review of policy documents, we conducted 49 interviews and 7 focus group discussions with purposively selected affected persons, caregivers, community members, health workers, and policy-makers to understand skin NTD care-seeking practices and the policy landscape. Outside the district hospital, skin NTD reporting rates in the surveyed facilities were low; supply chains for skin NTD diagnostics, consumables, and medicines had gaps; and health worker knowledge of skin NTDs was limited. Affected people described fragmented care, provided mostly by hospitals (often outside the district) or traditional healers, resulting in challenges obtaining timely diagnosis and treatment and high care-seeking costs. Affected people experienced stigma, although the extent to which stigma influenced care-seeking behaviour was unclear. National actors were more optimistic than district-level actors about local resource availability for skin NTD care and were sceptical of including traditional healers in interventions. Our findings indicate that improvement of the care cascade for affected individuals to reduce the clinical, economic, and psychosocial impact of skin NTDs is likely to require a complementary set of interventions. These findings have informed the design of a strategy to support high-quality, integrated, decentralised care for skin NTDs in Atwima Mponua, which will be assessed through a multidisciplinary evaluation.
在初级卫生保健服务中,采用综合方法管理皮肤共患被忽视热带病(NTDs)是复杂的,需要因地制宜。我们描述了在加纳阿散蒂地区阿特维马·姆波努阿区开展的形成性研究,旨在为制定一项可持续干预措施提供信息,以改善皮肤NTD护理的可及性。我们采用了收敛性、平行性混合方法设计,于2021年2月至2022年2月收集数据。我们使用标准化清单对服务准备情况进行了定量评估,并查阅了该地区所有政府卫生设施的门诊部登记册和特定疾病病例记录。除了审查政策文件外,我们还与有目的地挑选出的受影响者、护理人员、社区成员、卫生工作者和政策制定者进行了49次访谈和7次焦点小组讨论,以了解皮肤NTD的就医行为和政策环境。在地区医院之外,被调查设施中皮肤NTD的报告率很低;皮肤NTD诊断、耗材和药品的供应链存在缺口;卫生工作者对皮肤NTD的了解有限。受影响者描述了护理的碎片化,主要由医院(通常在地区外)或传统治疗师提供,这导致了及时诊断和治疗面临挑战,以及就医成本高昂。受影响者经历了耻辱感,尽管耻辱感对就医行为的影响程度尚不清楚。国家层面的行为者比地区层面的行为者对当地皮肤NTD护理资源的可用性更为乐观,并对在干预措施中纳入传统治疗师持怀疑态度。我们的研究结果表明,改善受影响个体的护理流程,以减少皮肤NTD的临床、经济和社会心理影响,可能需要一套互补的干预措施。这些研究结果为在阿特维马·姆波努阿设计一项支持皮肤NTD高质量、综合、分散护理的战略提供了信息,该战略将通过多学科评估进行评估。