Current proposals to solve the dental access problem probably will be insufficient until barriers identified by caregivers are addressed.

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BackgroundInappropriate antibiotic prescribing causes widespread serious health problems. To reduce prescribing of antibiotics in Chinese primary care to children with upper respiratory tract infections (URTIs), we developed an intervention comprising clinical guidelines, monthly prescribing review meetings, doctor–patient communication skills training, and education materials for caregivers. We previously evaluated our intervention using an unblinded cluster-randomised controlled trial (cRCT) in 25 primary care facilities across two rural counties. When our trial ended at the 6-month follow-up period, we found that the intervention had reduced antibiotic prescribing for childhood URTIs by 29 percentage points (pp) (95% CI −42 to −16).Methods and findingsIn this long-term follow-up study, we collected our trial outcomes from the one county (14 facilities and 1:1 cluster randomisation ratio) that had electronic records available 12 months after the trial ended, at the 18-month follow-up period. Our primary outcome was the antibiotic prescription rate (APR)—the percentage of outpatient prescriptions containing any antibiotic(s) for children aged 2 to 14 years who had a primary diagnosis of a URTI and had no other illness requiring antibiotics. We also conducted 15 in-depth interviews to understand how interventions were sustained.In intervention facilities, the APR was 84% (1,171 out of 1,400) at baseline, 37% (515 out of 1,380) at 6 months, and 54% (2,748 out of 5,084) at 18 months, and in control facilities, it was 76% (1,063 out of 1,400), 77% (1,084 out of 1,400), and 75% (2,772 out of 3,685), respectively. After adjusting for patient and prescribing doctor covariates, compared to the baseline intervention-control difference, the difference at 6 months represented a 6-month intervention-arm reduction in the APR of −49 pp (95% CI −63 to −35; P < 0.0001), and compared to the baseline difference, the difference at 18 months represented an 18-month intervention-arm reduction in the APR of −36 pp (95% CI −55 to −17; P < 0.0001). Compared to the 6-month intervention-control difference, the difference at 18 months represented no change in the APR: 13 pp (95% CI −7 to 33; P = 0.21). Factors reported to sustain reductions in antibiotic prescribing included doctors’ improved knowledge and communication skills and focused prescription review meetings, whereas lack of supervision and monitoring may be associated with relapse. Key limitations were not including all clusters from the trial and not collecting returned visits or sepsis cases.ConclusionsOur intervention was associated with sustained and substantial reductions in antibiotic prescribing at the end of the intervention period and 12 months later. Our intervention may be adapted to similar resource-poor settings.Trial registrationISRCTN registry ISRCTN14340536.

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BackgroundPeople with multi-drug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) in low-income countries face many problems during treatment, and cure rates are low. The purpose of the study was (a) to identify and document the problems experienced by people receiving care for MDR-TB, and how they cope when support is not provided, to inform development of strategies; (b) to estimate the effectiveness of two resultant strategies, counselling alone, and joint counselling and financial support, of increasing DOTS-plus treatment success under routine programme conditions.MethodsA mixed-method study comprising a formative qualitative study, pilot intervention study and explanatory qualitative study to better understand barriers to completion of treatment for MDR-TB. Participants were all people starting MDR-TB treatment in seven DOTS-plus centres in the Kathmandu Valley, Nepal during January to December 2008. The primary outcome measure was cure, as internationally defined.ResultsMDR-TB treatment caused extreme social, financial and employment hardship. Most patients had to move house and leave their job, and reported major stigmatisation. They were concerned about the long-term effects of their disease, and feared infecting others. In the resultant pilot intervention study, the two strategies appeared to improve treatment outcomes: cure rates for those receiving counselling, combined support and no support were 85%, 76% and 67% respectively. Compared with no support, the (adjusted) risk ratios of cure for those receiving counselling and receiving combined support were 1.2 (95% CI 1.0 to 1.6) and 1.2 (95% CI 0.9 to 1.6) respectively. The explanatory study demonstrated that patients valued both forms of support.ConclusionsMDR-TB patients are extremely vulnerable to stigma and extreme financial hardship. Provision of counselling and financial support may not only reduce their vulnerability, but also increase cure rates. National Tuberculosis Programmes should consider incorporating financial support and counselling into MDR-TB care: costs are low, and benefits high, especially since costs to society of incomplete treatment and potential for incurable TB are extremely high.

Objectives: To evaluate the effect of ICU diaries on posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms in ICU survivors and their relatives. Secondary objectives were to determine the effect on anxiety, depression, and health-related quality of life in patients and their relatives. Data Sources: We searched online databases, trial registries, and references of relevant articles. Study Selection: Studies were included if there was an ICU diary intervention group which was compared with a group without a diary. Data Extraction: Titles, abstracts, and full-text articles were reviewed independently by two authors. Data was abstracted using a structured template. Data Synthesis: Our search identified 1,790 articles and retained eight studies for inclusion in the analysis. Pooled results found no significant reduction in patients’ posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms with ICU diaries (risk ratio, 0.75 [0.3–1.73]; p = 0.5; n = 3 studies); however, there was a significant improvement in patients’ anxiety (risk ratio, 0.32 [0.12, 0.86]; p = 0.02; n = 2 studies) and depression (risk ratio, 0.39 [0.17–0.87]; p = 0.02; n = 2 studies) symptoms. Two studies reported significant improvement in posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms of relatives of ICU survivors; however, these results could not be pooled due to reporting differences. One study reported no significant improvement in either anxiety (risk ratio, 0.94; 95% [0.66–1.33]; p = 0.72) or depression (risk ratio, 0.98; 95% [0.5–1.9]; p = 0.95) in relatives. There was a significant improvement in health-related quality of life of patients with a mean increase in the Short Form-36 general health score by 11.46 (95% CI, 5.87–17.05; p ≤ 0.0001; n = 2 studies). No studies addressed health-related quality of life of relatives. Conclusions: ICU diaries decrease anxiety and depression and improve health-related quality of life, but not posttraumatic stress disorder among ICU survivors and may result in less posttraumatic stress disorder among relatives of ICU patients. Multicenter trials with larger sample sizes are necessary to confirm these findings.

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Early childhood caries is a significant public health problem in low-income children, with important negative consequences for the child and the family. The purpose of this paper is to describe the development, implementation, and preliminary outcomes of preventive dentistry programs in North Carolina that target low-income children from birth to thirty-five months of age. The focus is on Into the Mouths of Babes, a statewide program in which pediatricians, family physicians, and providers in community health clinics are reimbursed by Medicaid to provide preventive dental services for children (risk assessment, screening, referral, fluoride varnish application) and caregivers (counseling). The provider intervention includes continuing medical education lectures and interactive sessions, practice guidelines for the patient interventions, case-based problems, practical strategies for implementation, a toolkit with resource materials, and follow-up training. In the first two years of the statewide program, 1,595 medical providers have been trained. The number of providers billing for these services has steadily increased, and by the last quarter of 2002, the number of visits in which preventive dental services were provided in medical offices reached 10,875. A total of 38,056 preventive dental visits occurred in medical offices in 2002. By the end of 2002, only sixteen of the state's one hundred counties had no pediatrician, family physician, or local health department participating. The preliminary results from this program demonstrate that nondental professionals can integrate preventive dental services into their practices. The program has increased access to preventive dental services for young Medicaid children whose access to dentists is restricted. Assessments of effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of both the provider and patient interventions are under way.