Development and implementation of the Caribbean Laboratory Quality Management Systems Stepwise Improvement Process (LQMS-SIP) Towards Accreditation

Alemnji, George; Edghill, Lisa; Guevara, Giselle; Wallace-Sankarsingh, Sacha; Albalak, Rachel; Cognat, Sebastien; Nkengasong, John N.; Gabastou, Jean-Marc

doi:10.4102/ajlm.v6i1.496

Cited by 4 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 10 publications

(17 reference statements)

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“…For example, the development of a regional laboratory can bring efficiency gains to countries with little or no national research infrastructure. 20 Regional organisations could therefore, in theory, support a coordinated approach to strengthening HSciR that reduces disparities in HSciR between African states whether through regional financing schemes, building regional centres of excellence, 21 or promoting knowledge and technology transfer between African countries. Currently, little is known about what is already being done by regional organisations in Africa in this area.…”

Section: Key Messagesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Roles of Regional Organisations in Strengthening Health Research Systems in Africa: Activities, Gaps, and Future Perspectives

Jones

Sobngwi-Tambekou²,

Mijumbi-Deve

et al. 2022

Int J Health Policy Manag

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Background: Regional cooperation on health in Africa is not new. The institutional landscape of regional cooperation for health and health research, however, has seen important changes. Recent health emergencies have focussed regional bodies’ attention on supporting aspects of national health preparedness and response. The state of national health research systems is a key element of capacity to plan and respond to health needs – raising questions about the roles African regional bodies can or should play in strengthening health research systems. Methods: We mapped regional organisations involved in health research across Africa and conducted 18 interviews with informants from 15 regional organisations. We investigated the roles, challenges, and opportunities of these bodies in strengthening health research. We deductively coded interview data using themes from established pillars of health research systems – governance, creating resources, research production and use, and financing. We analysed organisations’ relevant activities in these areas, how they do this work, and where they perceive impact. Results: Regional organisations with technical foci on health or higher education (versus economic or political remits) were involved in all four areas. Most organisations reported activities in governance and research use. Involvement in governance centred mainly around agenda-setting and policy harmonisation. For organisations involved in creating resources, activities focused on strengthening human resources, but few reported developing research institutions, networks, or infrastructure. Organisations reported more involvement in disseminating than producing research. Generally, few have directly contributed to financing health research. They report gaps in research coordination, infrastructure, and advocacy at regional level. Finally, we found regional bodies’ mandates, authority, and collaborations influence their activities in supporting national health research systems. Conclusion: Continued strengthening of health research on the African continent requires strategic thinking about the roles, comparative advantages, and capability of regional organisations to facilitate capacity and growth of health research systems.

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Section: Key Messagesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For example, the development of a regional laboratory can bring efficiency gains to countries with little or no national research infrastructure. 20 …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Roles of Regional Organisations in Strengthening Health Research Systems in Africa: Activities, Gaps, and Future Perspectives

Jones

Sobngwi-Tambekou²,

Mijumbi-Deve

et al. 2022

Int J Health Policy Manag

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“…This would allow the impact of funding decisions to be monitored objectively and is especially true for HIV viral load monitoring, as the essential metric for tracking 90-90-90 targets. 67 Several of the smaller islands in the Caribbean, that are not equipped to conduct molecular diagnostics, have complained that HIV viral load monitoring through established laboratory referral networks is no longer being supported through international funding partners. 69 …”

Section: Monitoringmentioning

confidence: 99%

Shifting the HIV Paradigm from Care to Cure: Proceedings from the Caribbean Expert Summit in Barbados, August 2017

Landis

Abayomi

Bain

et al. 2018

AIDS Research and Human Retroviruses

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The CCAS EXPERT SUMMIT convened an array of international experts in Barbados on August 27–31, 2017 under the theme “From Care to Cure–Shifting the HIV Paradigm.” The Caribbean Cytometry & Analytical Society (CCAS) partnered with the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) to deliver a program that reviewed the advances in antiretroviral therapy and the public health benefits accruing from treatment as prevention. Particular emphasis was placed on reexamining stigma and discrimination through a critical appraisal of whether public health messaging and advocacy had kept pace with the advances in medicine. Persistent fear of HIV driving discriminatory behavior was widely reported in different regions and sectors, including the healthcare profession itself; continued fear of the disease was starkly misaligned with the successes of new medical treatments and progress toward the UNAIDS 90-90-90 targets. The summit therefore adopted the mantra “Test-Treat-Defeat” to help engage with the public in a spirit of optimism aimed at creating a more conducive environment for persons to be tested and treated and, thereby, help reduce HIV disease and stigma at the individual and community levels.

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“…The DTS EQA program was also expanded and implemented in selected countries adequately; this success points to the long-awaited need for cheaper, more robust methods of conducting EQA for HIV rapid test kits in developing countries [6, 12]. National laboratory strategic plans were developed for participating countries and basic laboratory equipment was supplied to participating laboratories.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluation of a laboratory capacity strengthening project: a case of the summative assessment of the African Field Epidemiology Network (AFENET) laboratory project 2010 - 2016

Kabugo¹,

Ashaba²,

Mosha³

et al. 2018

Pan Afr Med J

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IntroductionBetween September 2010 and September 2016, the African Field Epidemiology Network (AFENET) implemented laboratory strengthening initiatives through a cooperative agreement with the International Laboratory Branch of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). This project aimed at improving laboratory Quality Management Systems (QMS) towards accreditation in Africa and the Caribbean region and was implemented in 11 countries in the Caribbean and seven African countries. This paper describes the results of a summative evaluation that was commissioned at the end of the project.MethodsThe evaluation team comprised an external consultant who led the evaluation design and implementation and AFENET project staff. The evaluation was done in all 11 Caribbean and seven African countries where the project was implemented. We formulated three evaluation questions to focus and guide the exercise: 1) Were project activities implemented as originally intended? 2) Did the project achieve the objectives it was intended to accomplish over its life? 3) Are the impacts of project interventions likely to survive in the long run? We developed 14 sub-questions from the three evaluation questions and obtained data using a set of online questionnaires. We conducted validation visits to six participating countries; four in Africa and two in the Caribbean.ResultsOut of 14 sub-questions that were used to evaluate the project, six (43%) were fully achieved, six (43%) were partially achieved, and two (14%) were not achieved. In effect, > 80% of the sub-questions were either fully achieved or partially achieved. The most frequently mentioned success was the introduction of QMS in participating laboratories, which led to quality improvement in laboratory processes, participation in SLMTA (Strengthening Laboratory Management Towards Accreditation)/SLIPTA (Stepwise Laboratory Quality Improvement Process Towards Accreditation) and attainment of accreditation by some of the project laboratories. However, there were neither clear plans nor budget lines to mainstream activities that were supported under the project into regular activities of the ministries of health of participating countries.ConclusionThe evaluation team concluded that there were adequate numbers of laboratorians trained in the FELTP laboratory track but only in Kenya. The DTS testing and biosafety programs were implemented and expanded in participating countries. HIV laboratory networks were strengthened in all participating countries and laboratory information systems were implemented in the Caribbean countries, but the basic laboratory information systems in the African countries were not implemented beyond pilot stages. There were no clear plans and budget lines provided by respective ministries of health to mainstream the activities that were supported under the project. The evaluation team recommended that AFENET develops a new laboratory strategic plan that could leverage the activities that were funded and implemented in the project.

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Development and implementation of the Caribbean Laboratory Quality Management Systems Stepwise Improvement Process (LQMS-SIP) Towards Accreditation

Cited by 4 publications

References 10 publications

The Roles of Regional Organisations in Strengthening Health Research Systems in Africa: Activities, Gaps, and Future Perspectives

The Roles of Regional Organisations in Strengthening Health Research Systems in Africa: Activities, Gaps, and Future Perspectives

Shifting the HIV Paradigm from Care to Cure: Proceedings from the Caribbean Expert Summit in Barbados, August 2017

Evaluation of a laboratory capacity strengthening project: a case of the summative assessment of the African Field Epidemiology Network (AFENET) laboratory project 2010 - 2016

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