BACKGROUND: Diabetes is a growing concern worldwide, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Type 2 diabetes mellitus constitutes a significant proportion of cases and is associated with debilitating microvascular complications. Type 2 diabetes mellitus is steadily increasing among the LMICs where many barriers to health care exist. Thus, task shifting to community health workers (CHWs) has been proposed as a solution to improve diabetes management in these settings. However, CHWs often lack the necessary training to manage diabetes effectively. Thus, a systematic review is required to present evidence of the highest degree for this intervention.
OBJECTIVE: This study aims to establish the protocols for a systemic review.
METHODS: Using the Participants Intervention Comparator Outcome Time Study Design (PICOTS) framework, this study outlines a systematic review aiming to evaluate the impact of training programs for CHWs in diabetes management in LMICs. Quantitative studies focusing on CHWs, diabetes training, focusing on diabetes management outcomes like hemoglobin A1c levels and fasting blood glucose levels, between January 2000 and December 2023 and found on databases such as PubMed, Ovid MEDLINE, Evidence Based Medicine Reviews, BASE, Google Scholar, and Web of Science will be included. We will include randomized controlled trials but will also include observational studies if we find less than 5 randomized controlled trials. An author committee consisting of 3 reviewers will be formed, where 2 reviewers will conduct the review independently while the third will resolve all disputes. The Cochrane Methods Risk of Bias Tool 2 will be used for assessing the risk of bias and the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation approach for the meta-analysis and narrative synthesis analysis will be used. The results will be presented in a PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) diagram.
RESULTS: The review will begin in May 2024 and conclude in 3 months.
CONCLUSIONS: The review will synthesize existing evidence and provide insights into the effectiveness of such programs, informing future research and practice in diabetes care in LMICs.
BACKGROUND: PROSPERO CRD42022341717; https://tinyurl.com/jva2hpdr.
UNASSIGNED: PRR1-10.2196/57313.

Pedestrian fatalities comprise a quarter of all traffic deaths in Low-and-Middle-Income Countries (LMICs). The use of safer modes of transport such as buses can reduce road trauma as well as air pollution and traffic congestion. Although travelling by bus is safer than most other modes, accessing bus stops can be risky for pedestrians. This paper systematically reviews factors contributing to the safety of pedestrians near bus stops in countries of differing income levels. The review included forty-one studies from high (20), upper-middle (13) and lower-middle income countries (8) during the last two decades. The earliest research was conducted in high-income countries (HICs), but research has spread in the last decade. The factors influencing pedestrian safety fell into three groups: (a) characteristics of road users, (b) characteristics of bus stops and (c) characteristics of the road traffic environment. Pedestrians near bus stops are frequently exposed to a high risk of collisions and fatalities due to factors such as unsafe pedestrian behaviours (e.g., hurrying to cross the road), lack of bus stop amenities such as safe footpaths, high traffic speeds and traffic volumes, multiple lanes, and roadside hazards (e.g., parked cars obscuring pedestrians). Road crash statistics are commonly used to identify unsafe bus stops in HICs but the unavailability and unreliability of data have prevented more widespread use in LMICs. Future research is recommended to focus on surrogate safety measures to identify hazardous bus stops for pedestrians.

BACKGROUND: Extensive guidelines and recommendations are available for preconception counselling service in high-income-countries. However limited comprehensive recommendations are available for preconception care and counselling in low-and-middle-income countries (LMICs), where most of maternal mortality occurs in the settings.
OBJECTIVE: This review aims to identify any design, model or set of recommendations for their potential adoption to develop preconception care and counselling service for LMICs context.
METHODS: A systematic literature search was conducted in five major databases to identify articles covering any designs, models or recommendations on preconception care, for or from LMICs settings published between 2013-2023. Articles on any single screening for preconception counselling, those evaluating the service without specific model or sets of recommendations were excluded. Articles satisfied the inclusion criteria were then appraised and were extracted and analysed using inductive approach of thematic analysis.
RESULTS: A total of nine articles were eligible for complete review, mostly were review papers, editorials and commission articles with moderate manuscript quality. Three themes of recommendations emerged from the analysis: Platforms, Core Principles, and Women Empowerment. The Platform contains recommendations on the settings, while Core principles provide essential recommendation of screening and management, while the theme Women Empowerment highlights the importance of empowering women to prepare and decide on their pregnancy.
CONCLUSIONS: Actual model of preconception care in LMICs is deficient, results of this review will inform research on the development of appropriate preconception care in LMICs . We also propose for access equity and strategies to promote women empowerment as the key to succeed the preconception care in LMICs.

Adaptation seeks to transfer and implement healthcare interventions developed and evaluated in one context to another. The aim of this scoping review was to understand current approaches to the adaptation of complex interventions for people with long-term conditions (LTCs) and to identify issues for studies performed in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Bibliographic databases were searched from 2000 to October 2022. This review involved five stages: (i) definition of the research question(s); (ii) identifying relevant studies; (iii) study selection; (iv) data charting; and (v) data synthesis. Extraction included an assessment of the: rationale for adaptation; stages and levels of adaptation; use of theoretical frameworks, and quality of reporting using a checklist based on the 2021 ADAPT guidance. Twenty-five studies were included from across 21 LTCs and a range of complex interventions. The majority (16 studies) focused on macro (national or international) level interventions. The rationale for adaptation included intervention transfer across geographical settings [high-income country (HIC) to LMIC: six studies, one HIC to another: eight studies, one LMIC to another: two studies], or transfer across socio-economic/racial groups (five studies), or transfer between different health settings within a single country (one study). Overall, studies were judged to be of moderate reporting quality (median score 23, maximum 46), and typically focused on early stages of adaptation (identification and development) with limited outcome evaluation or implementation assessment of the adapted version of the intervention. Improved reporting of the adaptation for complex interventions targeted at LTCs is needed. Development of future adaptation methods guidance needs to consider the needs and priorities of the LMIC context.
Limited finance and human capacity may reduce access to new treatments for people with long-term conditions. This is especially true in low- and middle-income countries. One solution is to transfer treatments developed in one place for use in other areas. This paper provides a current summary of international research on adapting treatments. We used a checklist to assess study reporting quality, based on published advice. Our findings showed the need for better conduct and reporting of adaptation. Future guidance should consider the specific needs of low- and middle-income countries.

Severe mental health conditions (SMHCs) significantly contribute to the global disease burden. In low-and-middle-income countries (LMICs) like South Africa, the long-term impact of SMHCs on individuals and their families is serious. However, mental health services focus on clinical recovery, with little attention given to the personal recovery needs of mental health service users (MHSUs) and their caregivers. The CHIME framework outlines five domains characterising personal recovery: connectedness, hope and optimism about the future, identity, meaning in life, and empowerment. This qualitative, descriptive study sought insights from male MHSUs and their caregivers on their perspectives of personal recovery from SMHCs. Four male MHSUs and three of their caregivers were purposively selected from Cape Flats communities in the Western Cape. Data were collected using visual participatory methods, including photovoice, life graphs, community maps, and photo-elicitation interviews with MHSUs. In addition, semi-structured interviews were held with caregivers. Data were thematically analysed, and two main themes emerged: Finding meaningful participation and affirming agency. These themes describe how diverse contextual, socioeconomic, political, demographic, cultural, and spiritual factors help and hinder personal recovery. MHSUs and their caregivers sought support from mental health non-profit organisations (MH-NPOs) because of stigmatising attitudes from their communities. MH-NPOs provided MHSUs with long-term relational support and opportunities to build their capacities which helped them access living, learning, working and socialising opportunities. Understanding the diverse needs of MHSUs and including MH-NPOs in scaling up community-based mental health services in LMICs will enable more accessible services that support personal recovery.

BACKGROUND: Pneumonia is a leading cause of childhood morbidity and mortality. Hospital re-admission may signify missed opportunities for care or undiagnosed comorbidities.
METHODS: We conducted a retrospective cohort study including children aged ≥ 2 months-14 years hospitalised with severe pneumonia between 2013 and 2021 in a network of 20 primary referral hospitals in Kenya. Severe pneumonia was defined using the 2013 World Health Organization criteria, and re-admission was based on clinical documentation from individual patient case notes. We estimated the prevalence of re-admission, described clinical management practices, and modelled risk factors for re-admission and inpatient mortality.
RESULTS: Among 20,603 children diagnosed with severe pneumonia, 2,274 (11.0%, 95% CI 10.6-11.5) were readmitted. Re-admission was independently associated with age (12-59 months vs. 2-11 months: adjusted odds ratio (aOR) 1.70, 1.54-1.87; >5 years vs. 2-11 months: aOR 1.85, 1.55-2.22), malnutrition (weight-for-age-z-score (WAZ) <-3SD vs. WAZ> -2SD: aOR 2.05, 1.84-2.29); WAZ - 2 to -3 SD vs. WAZ> -2SD: aOR 1.37, 1.20-1.57), wheeze (aOR 1.17, 1.03-1.33) and presence of a concurrent neurological disorder (aOR 4.42, 1.70-11.48). Chest radiography was ordered more frequently among those readmitted (540/2,274 [23.7%] vs. 3,102/18,329 [16.9%], p < 0.001). Readmitted patients more frequently received second-line antibiotics (808/2,256 [35.8%] vs. 5,538/18,173 [30.5%], p < 0.001), TB medication (69/2,256 [3.1%] vs. 298/18,173 [1.6%], p < 0.001), salbutamol (530/2,256 [23.5%] vs. 3,707/18,173 [20.4%], p = 0.003), and prednisolone (157/2,256 [7.0%] vs. 764/18,173 [4.2%], p < 0.001). Inpatient mortality was 2,354/18,329 (12.8%) among children admitted with a first episode of severe pneumonia and 269/2,274 (11.8%) among those who were readmitted (adjusted hazard ratio (aHR) 0.93, 95% CI 0.82-1.07). Age (12-59 months vs. 2-11 months: aHR 0.62, 0.57-0.67), male sex (aHR 0.81, 0.75-0.88), malnutrition (WAZ <-3SD vs. WAZ >-2SD: aHR 1.87, 1.71-2.05); WAZ - 2 to -3 SD vs. WAZ >-2SD: aHR 1.46, 1.31-1.63), complete vaccination (aHR 0.74, 0.60-0.91), wheeze (aHR 0.87, 0.78-0.98) and anaemia (aHR 2.14, 1.89-2.43) were independently associated with mortality.
CONCLUSIONS: Children readmitted with severe pneumonia account for a substantial proportion of pneumonia hospitalisations and deaths. Further research is required to develop evidence-based approaches to screening, case management, and follow-up of children with severe pneumonia, prioritising those with underlying risk factors for readmission and mortality.

OBJECTIVE: Expanding on existing research suggesting that strategies to reduce prenatal anxiety can decrease functional disability (e.g., difficulties in performing everyday activities and social participation), we examined if this effect varied by type of anxiety-producing problem (i.e., having family concerns and relationship problems versus other problems) reported during pregnancy. Further, we explored if perceived social support mediated this relationship.
METHODS: We used longitudinal data on 310 anxious Pakistani women who received any psychosocial intervention sessions as part of a program that was based on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. The Psychological Outcome Profiles (PSYCHLOPS) was used to assess whether women had \'family concerns and relationship problems\' or \'other problems.\' The WHO Disability Assessment Schedule 2.0 assessed functional disability at six-weeks after delivery. Lack of support was measured using a 12-item Multi-dimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support. We employed linear regression to examine associations between types of problems reported during pregnancy and postnatal functional disability. Causal mediation analysis was used to assess whether postnatal social support mediated this relationship.
RESULTS: Of anxious pregnant women, 34% reported family concerns or relationship problems as primary problems in pregnancy. They were more likely to report higher functional disability at six-weeks after delivery than women who reported other problems (adjusted B = 2.40, 95% CI: 0.83-3.97). Lack of overall social support (Estimateindirect = 0.69, 95% CI: 0.04-1.38) and lack of support from friends (Estimateindirect = 0.62, 95% CI: 0.01-1.29) significantly mediated the relationship.
CONCLUSIONS: Findings suggest that complementing pre- and post-natal care with support programs and services that address family concerns and relationship problems, as well as enhancing social support is important to functional disability.

BACKGROUND: Effective surface cleaning in hospitals is crucial to prevent the transmission of pathogens. However, hospitals in low- and middle-income countries face cleaning challenges due to limited resources and inadequate training.
METHODS: We assessed the effectiveness of a modified TEACH CLEAN programme for trainers in reducing surface microbiological contamination in the newborn unit of a tertiary referral hospital in The Gambia. We utilised a quasi-experimental design and compared data against those from the labour ward. Direct observations of cleaning practices and key informant interviews were also conducted to clarify the programme\'s impact.
RESULTS: Between July and September 2021 (pre-intervention) and October and December 2021 (post-intervention), weekly surface sampling was performed in the newborn unit and labour ward. The training package was delivered in October 2021, after which their surface microbiological contamination deteriorated in both clinical settings. While some cleaning standards improved, critical aspects such as using fresh cleaning cloths and the one-swipe method did not. Interviews with senior departmental and hospital management staff revealed ongoing challenges in the health system that hindered the ability to improve cleaning practices, including COVID-19, understaffing, disruptions to water supply and shortages of cleaning materials.
CONCLUSIONS: Keeping a hospital clean is fundamental to good care, but training hospital cleaning staff in this low-income country neonatal unit failed to reduce surface contamination levels. Further qualitative investigation revealed multiple external factors that challenged any possible impact of the cleaning programme. Further work is needed to address barriers to hospital cleaning in low-income hospitals.

UNASSIGNED: Patients with type 2 diabetes are at an increased risk of chronic kidney disease (CKD) hence it is recommended that they receive annual CKD screening. The huge burden of diabetes in Mexico and limited screening resource mean that CKD screening is underperformed. Consequently, patients often have a late diagnosis of CKD. A regional minimal-resource model to support risk-tailored CKD screening in patients with type 2 diabetes has been developed and globally validated. However, population heath and care services between countries within a region are expected to differ. The aim of this study was to evaluate the performance of the model within Mexico and compare this with the performance demonstrated within the Americas in the global validation.
UNASSIGNED: We performed a retrospective observational study with data from primary care (Clinic Specialized in Diabetes Management in Mexico City), tertiary care (Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Médicas y Nutrición Salvador Zubirán) and the Mexican national survey of health and nutrition (ENSANUT-MC 2016). We applied the minimal-resource model across the datasets and evaluated model performance metrics, with the primary interest in the sensitivity and increase in the positive predictive value (PPV) compared to a screen-everyone approach.
UNASSIGNED: The model was evaluated on 2510 patients from Mexico (primary care: 1358, tertiary care: 735, ENSANUT-MC: 417). Across the Mexico data, the sensitivity was 0.730 (95% CI: 0.689 - 0.779) and the relative increase in PPV was 61.0% (95% CI: 52.1% - 70.8%). These were not statistically different to the regional performance metrics for the Americas (sensitivity: p=0.964; relative improvement: p=0.132), however considerable variability was observed across the data sources.
UNASSIGNED: The minimal-resource model performs consistently in a representative Mexican population sample compared with the Americas regional performance. In primary care settings where screening is underperformed and access to laboratory testing is limited, the model can act as a risk-tailored CKD screening solution, directing screening resources to patients who are at highest risk.

Objectives: Primary graft failure (pGF) after hematopoietic stem-cell transplant is associated with considerable morbidity and mortality. The incidence in haplo-HSCT has been reported to be between 0% and 30%. In 2018, we identified a pGF incidence of 35% in our pediatric haplo-HSCT recipients with hematologic malignancies, which motivated us to enact changes to the conditioning regimen.Methods: We performed a single-center prospective, pre-post study of consecutive patients under 16 years with hematologic malignancies, from January 2015 to December 2022 who received a haplo-HSCT. Twenty-six pediatric patients received a haplo-HSCT before September 2018 (G1) and 36 patients after (G2). The main conditioning regimen for G1 was myeloablative with Flu/Cy/Bu, and for G2 the main regimen was reduced intensity Flu/Cy/Mel/TBI2.Results: Nine patients (35%) in G1 had primary graft failure, while in G2 there were no patients with pGF. The median follow-up for G1 was 15.9 months, and for G2 was 24.8 months, with an estimated overall survival at 12 months of 63% (95% CI 47-76) versus 85% (95% CI 73-93), and at 24 months of 47% (95% CI 31-64) versus 70% (95% CI 54-82) respectively (p = .007).Conclusion: After September 2018 conditioning regimen modifications were implemented with the objective of reducing primary failure, consisting mainly of switching from busulfan to melphalan as the alkylating agent of choice, and adding, when clinically possible TBI. Primary failure has been significantly reduced in our institution since then.