Person:

Binagwaho, Agnes

Background: Malnutrition remains a serious concern in Rwanda, particularly among children under-5 years. Performance-based financing (PBF), an innovative health systems financing strategy, has been implemented at the national level since 2008. This study aimed to assess the impact of PBF and other factors associated with the prevalence of three classifications of malnutrition (stunting, wasting and underweight) in children under-5 years in Rwanda. Methods: The study is a cross-sectional study comprising of 713 children under five years old from 557 households, whose anthropometric measurements (height, weight and age) had been obtained as part of the 2008 Rwanda General Health and HIV household survey. Z-scores for height-for-age, weight-for-age, weight-for-height, and body mass index-for-age were analyzed according to the World Health Organization 2006 Child Growth Standards. Random intercept logistic regression models were used to regress each anthropometric measure (WAZ, HAZ and WHZ) against child, maternal and household characteristics. Results: Child participants ranged in age from 0 to 60 months, 20.2% of children were under 12 months and 5.1% were HIV positive. The prevalence of wasting was 8.8%; of stunting was 58.4%; and of underweight status was 20.7%. Maternal emotional and social wellbeing was protective of wasting in children under-5 years of age. Living in districts implementing PBF was protective of wasting (Adjusted Odds Ratio: 0.43; 95% confidence interval: 0.19-0.97). Living in a district with PBF was not found to be associated with either stunting or underweight status among children under-5. Conclusions: PBF may have a protective association with particular forms of malnutrition among children under-5 years in Rwanda. These findings warrant further investigation in relation to the impact of implementing innovative financing schemes on health outcomes.

Background: Insecticide-treated bed nets (ITNs) are highly effective in reducing malaria burden when used properly. However, factors related to individuals, households and community may influence how ITNs are used for malaria control. The study examined influences exerted at these levels to determine if they are associated with ITN non-use among children under 5 years of age in Rwanda. Methods: Using data from the 2010 Rwanda Demographic Health Survey, the investigation was done on the factors associated with ITN non-use among children under 5 years. Descriptive statistics as well as univariate and multilevel logistic regression analyses were used to identify factors associated with ITN non-use. Results: Responses from a total of 6173 women aged 15–49 years living in 492 villages were included in the analysis. Risk factors for children not utilizing ITNs (25 %) included: (Odds ratio [95 % confidence interval]) households with more than five members (1.42 [1.23–1.63]), employed mother (1.33 [1.06–1.66]), and lower household altitude (1.36 [1.14–1.61]). Protective risk factors for ITN use included households with more than three nets (0.39 [0.33–0.47]), mothers who attended one to four visits at antenatal clinics during pregnancy (0.45 [0.29–0.69]), more than four antenatal clinic visits during pregnancy (0.39 [0.21–0.70]), mothers married or living with partner (0.43 [0.36–0.52]), mothers with any education level (0.77 [0.65–0.91]), and households with higher community wealth quintile (0.71 [0.59–0.84]). Conclusions: Rwanda has achieved high coverage of ITN use and proper use has contributed to a decline in malaria in Rwanda; however, maintaining universal ITN coverage is not enough to protect citizens from this disease. Risk factors related to ITN non-use at individual, household and community level include poverty, education, birth spacing, and antenatal clinic attendance. There is a need to address findings with strategies to mitigate the non-use of ITNs for effective malaria prevention in Rwanda.

Background: Nationally, health in Rwanda has been improving since 2000, with considerable improvement since 2005. Despite improvements, rural areas continue to lag behind urban sectors with regard to key health outcomes. Partners In Health (PIH) has been supporting the Rwanda Ministry of Health (MOH) in two rural districts in Rwanda since 2005. Since 2009, the MOH and PIH have spearheaded a health systems strengthening (HSS) intervention in these districts as part of the Rwanda Population Health Implementation and Training (PHIT) Partnership. The partnership is guided by the belief that HSS interventions should be comprehensive, integrated, responsive to local conditions, and address health care access, cost, and quality. The PHIT Partnership represents a collaboration between the MOH and PIH, with support from the National University of Rwanda School of Public Health, the National Institute of Statistics, Harvard Medical School, and Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Description of intervention The PHIT Partnership’s health systems support aligns with the World Health Organization’s six health systems building blocks. HSS activities focus across all levels of the health system — community, health center, hospital, and district leadership — to improve health care access, quality, delivery, and health outcomes. Interventions are concentrated on three main areas: targeted support for health facilities, quality improvement initiatives, and a strengthened network of community health workers. Evaluation design The impact of activities will be assessed using population-level outcomes data collected through oversampling of the demographic and health survey (DHS) in the intervention districts. The overall impact evaluation is complemented by an analysis of trends in facility health care utilization. A comprehensive costing project captures the total expenditures and financial inputs of the health care system to determine the cost of systems improvement. Targeted evaluations and operational research pieces focus on specific programmatic components, supported by partnership-supported work to build in-country research capacity. Discussion Building on early successes, the work of the Rwanda PHIT Partnership approach to HSS has already seen noticeable increases in facility capacity and quality of care. The rigorous planned evaluation of the Partnership’s HSS activities will contribute to global knowledge about intervention methodology, cost, and population health impact.

Background: Community health workers (CHWs) can play important roles in primary health care delivery, particularly in settings of health workforce shortages. However, little is known about CHWs’ perceptions of barriers and motivations, as well as those of the beneficiaries of CHWs. In Rwanda, which faces a significant gap in human resources for health, the Ministry of Health expanded its community health programme beginning in 2007, eventually placing 4 trained CHWs in every village in the country by 2009. The aim of this study was to assess the capacity of CHWs and the factors affecting the efficiency and effectiveness of the CHW programme, as perceived by the CHWs and their beneficiaries. Methods: As part of a larger report assessing CHWs in Rwanda, a cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted using focus group discussions (FGDs) to collect qualitative information regarding educational background, knowledge and practices of CHWs, and the benefits of community-based care as perceived by CHWs and household beneficiaries. A random sample of 108 CHWs and 36 beneficiaries was selected in 3 districts according to their food security level (low, middle and high). Qualitative and demographic data were analyzed. Results: CHWs were found to be closely involved in the community, and widely respected by the beneficiaries. Rwanda’s community performance-based financing (cPBF) was an important incentive, but CHWs were also strongly motivated by community respect. The key challenges identified were an overwhelming workload, irregular trainings, and lack of sufficient supervision. Conclusions: This study highlights the challenges and areas in need of improvement as perceived by CHWs and beneficiaries, in regards to a nationwide scale-up of CHW interventions in a resource-challenged country. Identifying and understanding these barriers, and addressing them accordingly, particularly within the context of performance-based financing, will serve to strengthen the current CHW system and provide key guidance for the continuing evolution of the CHW system in Rwanda.

Background: Depression is often co-morbid with chronic conditions, and when combined with HIV it can increase progression and reduce survival. A brief and accurate screening tool for depression among children living with HIV is necessary to increase access to mental health care and improve HIV-related outcomes in the long-term. Methods: A validation study was conducted, comparing the Children’s Depression Inventory (CDI) with a structured clinical assessment as the gold standard among children living with HIV ages 7-14 years in Rwanda. The response rate was 87 % and the analysis was performed among 100 study participants. Results: Twenty-five percent of children had a diagnosis of depression based on the clinical interview. Sensitivity of the CDI ranged from 44 to 76 % and specificity was 92 to 100 % for cut-off scores from 5 to 9. The area under the curve (AUC) for receiver operating characteristic analysis, an estimate of overall accuracy, was 0.87 (95 % confidence interval: 0.77 – 0.97). Conclusions: The significant prevalence of depression among children living with HIV in Rwanda reflects a critical need to advance mental health care in this population. Although overall accuracy of the CDI is reasonable in this context, further research needs to be done to develop a more sensitive measure of depression in this vulnerable population. Development of a highly sensitive screening measure will be a fundamental step towards improving access to mental health care among children living with HIV, potentially improving health outcomes and quality of life in the long-term as this vulnerable population transitions into adulthood.