Treatment compliance and retention in care among out-patient clients in a tertiary health institution in plateau state North Central Nigeria

Abstract

Background: Compliance with prescribed treatment and retention in care are key components in the management of chronic diseases which is vital in averting the long term complications that could arise from such conditions. Failure to comply with treatment recommendations is often associated with poor retention in care. In view of this, this study was conducted to determine the level of treatment compliance and retention in care among patients with hypertension and diabetes in Jos University Teaching Hospital.Methods: This was a cross sectional study conducted among 290 eligible respondents between September and November 2017 using quantitative method of data collection. SPSS version 20 was used for data analysis with adjusted odds ratio and 95% confidence interval used as point and interval estimates while p-value of ≤0.05 was considered statistically significant.Results: The mean age of the respondents was 54.5±13.1 years with 43.8% of the respondents found to have satisfactorily complied with prescribed treatment while 117 (40.3%) were uninterruptedly retained in care within the last 6 months' clinic appointments prior to the study.Conclusions: This study has demonstrated the levels of compliance with treatment and retention in care bringing to bear the need to provide structured interventions targeted at attaining improvement in compliance with treatment and retention in care among individuals on long term care.

Mitigating Factors Affecting Secure Interoperability of Medical Systems Using DLTs in Healthcare

“…In developing countries, the adoption of ICT in healthcare has proliferated over the years and continues to increase [3], however the health sector has not been fully automated to use eHealth or medical systems some health institutions are still using the manual processes [4]. According to [5] some of the major challenges that affect the full use and hinder full potential of eHealth or medical information systems in the healthcare industry include: the fragmented patients data that is distributed in different hospitals databases across various healthcare facilities, inconsistent patients health or medical records which makes it difficult to track, access and manage patients data, untimely access to patients records, lack of medical systems interoperability and lack of data security in transmission of patient data across different medical systems platforms and geographies which compromises its privacy and security .…”

Assessing Facilitators and Barriers to Referral of Children Under the Age of Five Years at Ndirande Health Centre in Blantyre, Malawi

“…5 An effective referral system is facilitated in the presence of a close relationship among the existing levels of care in the health system while ensuring that people receive the best care from facilities closer to their homes. 6,7 In addition, an effective health care referral system ensures that specialist care is accessed by those in need and also within the primary health care levels. 7…”

“…6,7 In addition, an effective health care referral system ensures that specialist care is accessed by those in need and also within the primary health care levels. 7…”

“…5 An effective referral system is facilitated in the presence of a close relationship among the existing levels of care in the health system while ensuring that people receive the best care from facilities closer to their homes. 6,7 In addition, an effective health care referral system ensures that specialist care is accessed by those in need and also within the primary health care levels. 7 Referrals are common among pediatric cases and evidence suggests that between 6% and 20% of the children seeking help at primary level facilities in sub-Saharan African countries will require referral to a higher level.…”

“…6,7 In addition, an effective health care referral system ensures that specialist care is accessed by those in need and also within the primary health care levels. 7 Referrals are common among pediatric cases and evidence suggests that between 6% and 20% of the children seeking help at primary level facilities in sub-Saharan African countries will require referral to a higher level. 8 Despite primary health care (PHC) facilities being the first platform for accessing health service, they remain under-resourced and under-equipped which necessitates referral to a higher level.…”