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Problem Many national child health guidelines In Malawi, Nigeria and South Africa are outdated and score poorly on rigorous methods and stakeholder participation. Approach In line with the World Health Organization's (WHO) emphasis on local guideline contextualization, the Global Evidence-Local Adaptation (GELA) project supported multistakeholder processes to adapt evidence-informed recommendations for child health in Malawi, Nigeria and South Africa. The GELA project team convened national steering groups, which conducted structured, iterative priority-setting exercises to identify priority topics. We identified appropriate source guidelines by systematically searching and screening available guidelines. We then matched recommendations in potential source guidelines to the relevant questions, and assessed the guidelines for timeliness and quality. Drawing on WHO's guideline process, we applied the GRADE-ADOLOPMENT process to develop contextualized recommendations from existing guidelines. If no source guideline or reviews were identified, we conducted new evidence syntheses. Local setting Malawi, Nigeria and South Africa are countries with varying health priorities and systems, all transitioning to universal health coverage. Guideline structures differ between countries, with processes largely led from national health ministries. Relevant changes National guideline groups, supported by GELA researchers and government-academic partners, developed five contextually-tailored child health recommendations. For most of these recommendations, additional evidence was required to inform contextually appropriate national decision-making. Formal capacity-building and on-the-job learning enhanced the competencies of national contributors and researchers in evidence-informed decision-making. Lessons learnt Developing context-relevant recommendations requires considerable resources and time. Further investment in strengthening local capacity is needed for sustainable national guideline development. [phrase omitted] Probleme En Afrique du Sud, au Malawi et au Nigeria, de nombreuses lignes directrices nationales relatives a la sante infantile sont obsoletes et affichent de pietres resultats en termes de rigueur des methodes et d'implication des parties prenantes. Approche S'alignant sur l'importance accordee par l'Organisation mondiale de la Sante (OMS) a la contextualisation des lignes directrices locales, le projet Global Evidence - Local Adaptation (GELA) a apporte son soutien a divers processus de collaboration multilaterale afin d'adapter des recommandations sur la sante infantile etayees par des faits en Afrique du Sud, au Malawi et au Nigeria. L'equipe du projet GELA a constitue des groupes de pilotage nationaux, charges d'effectuer des exercices iteratifs et structures de definition des priorites afin de repertorier les principaux themes. Nous avons identifie des lignes directrices de reference en procedant a une recherche et une selection parmi celles disponibles. Ensuite, nous avons compare les recommandations de ces potentielles lignes directrices de reference avec les questions pertinentes, puis nous avons evalue leur qualite et leur actualite. En nous fondant sur le processus d'elaboration de lignes directrices de l'OMS, nous avons applique la methodologie GRADEADOLOPMENT pour formuler des recommandations contextualisees a partir de lignes directrices existantes. Si aucune analyse ni ligne directrice de reference n'avait pu etre degagee, nous etablissions de nouvelles syntheses de preuves. Environnement local L'Afrique du Sud, le Malawi et le Nigeria sont des pays aux priorites et systemes de sante variables, qui operent tous trois une transition vers une couverture sanitaire universelle. Les structures des lignes directrices different d'un pays a l'autre, les processus etant generalement menes par les Ministeres nationaux de la Sante. Changements significatifs Les groupes charges d'elaborer des lignes directrices nationales, avec l'aide des chercheurs GELA et des partenaires gouvernementaux et universitaires, ont emis cinq recommandations adaptees au contexte en matiere de sante infantile. Dans la plupart des cas, la prise de decisions nationales contextualisees necessitait des preuves supplementaires. Le programme de renforcement des capacites et l'apprentissage sur le terrain ont permis d'ameliorer les competences des chercheurs et contributeurs nationaux dans les processus decisionnels etayes par des faits. Lecons tirees Mettre au point des recommandations propres a chaque contexte demande du temps et des ressources considerables. D'autres investissements dans le renforcement des capacites locales sont indispensables pour perenniser le developpement national de lignes directrices. [phrase omitted] Situacion Muchas directrices nacionales de salud infantil en Malawi, Nigeria y Sudafrica estan obsoletas y obtienen una puntuacion baja respecto a los metodos rigurosos y la participacion de las partes interesadas. Enfoque En consonancia con el enfasis de la Organizacion Mundial de la Salud (OMS) en la contextualizacion local de las directrices, el proyecto Global Evidence-Local Adaptation (GELA) apoyo procesos multisectoriales para adaptar las recomendaciones basadas en la evidencia a la salud infantil en Malawi, Nigeria y Sudafrica. El equipo del proyecto GELA convoco a grupos directivos nacionales, que realizaron ejercicios estructurados e iterativos de fijacion de prioridades para identificar los temas prioritarios. Se identificaron las directrices fuente apropiadas mediante la busqueda sistematica y el analisis de las directrices disponibles. A continuacion, se compararon las recomendaciones de las posibles directrices fuente con las preguntas pertinentes y se evaluo la oportunidad y la calidad de las directrices. A partir del proceso de elaboracion de directrices de la OMS, se aplico el proceso GRADE-ADOLOPMENT para desarrollar recomendaciones contextualizadas partiendo de las directrices existentes. Si no se identificaba ninguna directriz o revision fuente, se realizaban nuevas sintesis de la evidencia. Marco regional Malawi, Nigeria y Sudafrica son paises con prioridades y sistemas sanitarios diversos, todos ellos en transicion hacia la cobertura sanitaria universal. Las estructuras de las directrices difieren de un pais a otro, y los procesos se dirigen en gran medida desde los ministerios de sanidad nacionales. Cambios importantes Los grupos nacionales de directrices, apoyados por investigadores del GELA y socios gubernamentales y academicos, elaboraron cinco recomendaciones de salud infantil adaptadas a cada contexto. Para la mayoria de estas recomendaciones, se necesitaron pruebas adicionales para fundamentar una toma de decisiones nacional adecuada al contexto. La capacitacion formal y el aprendizaje en el lugar de trabajo mejoraron las competencias de los colaboradores e investigadores nacionales en la toma de decisiones basada en evidencias. Lecciones aprendidas La elaboracion de recomendaciones adaptadas al contexto requiere recursos y tiempo considerables. Se necesita una mayor inversion en el fortalecimiento de la capacidad local para el desarrollo sostenible de directrices nacionales., Introduction Implementation of evidence-informed health guidelines tailored to the health system contexts of low- and middle-income countries is needed to improve health outcomes. Evidence-informed health guidelines are documents containing clinical, [...]

Abstract Introduction Mental health facilities in Uganda remain underutilized, despite efforts to decentralize the services. One of the possible explanations for this is the help-seeking behaviours of people with mental health problems. Unfortunately little is known about the factors that influence the help-seeking behaviours. Delays in seeking proper treatment are known to compromise the outcome of the care. Aim To examine the help-seeking behaviours of individuals with mental health problems, and the factors that may influence such behaviours in Uganda. Method Sixty-two interviews and six focus groups were conducted with stakeholders drawn from national and district levels. Thematic analysis of the data was conducted using a framework analysis approach. Results The findings revealed that in some Ugandan communities, help is mostly sought from traditional healers initially, whereas western form of care is usually considered as a last resort. The factors found to influence help-seeking behaviour within the community include: beliefs about the causes of mental illness, the nature of service delivery, accessibility and cost, stigma. Conclusion Increasing the uptake of mental health services requires dedicating more human and financial resources to conventional mental health services. Better understanding of socio-cultural factors that may influence accessibility, engagement and collaboration with traditional healers and conventional practitioners is also urgently required.

Abstract Background Despite the 1991 reforms of the health system in Zambia, mental health is still given low priority. This is evident from the fragmented manner in which mental health services are provided in the country and the limited budget allocations, with mental health services receiving 0.4% of the total health budget. Most of the mental health services provided are curative in nature and based in tertiary health institutions. At primary health care level, there is either absence of, or fragmented health services. Aims The aim of this paper was to explore health providers' views about mental health integration into primary health care. Methods A mixed methods, structured survey was conducted of 111 health service providers in primary health care centres, drawn from one urban setting (Lusaka) and one rural setting (Mumbwa). Results There is strong support for integrating mental health into primary health care from care providers, as a way of facilitating early detection and intervention for mental health problems. Participants believed that this would contribute to the reduction of stigma and the promotion of human rights for people with mental health problems. However, health providers felt they require basic training in order to enhance their knowledge and skills in providing health care to people with mental health problems. Recommendations It is recommended that health care providers should be provided with basic training in mental health in order to enhance their knowledge and skills to enable them provide mental health care to patients seeking help at primary health care level. Conclusion Integrating mental health services into primary health care is critical to improving and promoting the mental health of the population in Zambia.

Abstract Background The Ugandan government recognizes mental health as a serious public health and development concern, and has of recent implemented a number of reforms aimed at strengthening the country's mental health system. The aim of this study was to provide a profile of the current mental health policy, legislation and services in Uganda. Methods A survey was conducted of public sector mental health policy and legislation, and service resources and utilisation in Uganda, in the year 2005, using the World Health Organization's Assessment Instrument for Mental Health Systems (WHO-AIMS) Version 2.2. Results Uganda's draft mental health policy encompasses many positive reforms, including decentralization and integration of mental health services into Primary Health Care (PHC). The mental health legislation is however outdated and offensive. Services are still significantly underfunded (with only 1% of the health expenditure going to mental health), and skewed towards urban areas. Per 100,000 population, there were 1.83 beds in mental hospitals, 1.4 beds in community based psychiatric inpatient units, and 0.42 beds in forensic facilities. The total personnel working in mental health facilities were 310 (1.13 per 100,000 population). Only 0.8% of the medical doctors and 4% of the nurses had specialized in psychiatry. Conclusion Although there have been important developments in Uganda's mental health policy and services, there remains a number of shortcomings, especially in terms of resources and service delivery. There is an urgent need for more research on the current burden of mental disorders and the functioning of mental health programs and services in Uganda.

Instructor Talk-noncontent language used by instructors in classrooms-is a recently defined and promising variable for better understanding classroom dynamics. Having previously characterized the Instructor Talk framework within the context of a single course, we present here our results surrounding the applicability of the Instructor Talk framework to noncontent language used by instructors in novel course contexts. We analyzed Instructor Talk in eight additional biology courses in their entirety and in 61 biology courses using an emergent sampling strategy. We observed widespread use of Instructor Talk with variation in the amount and category type used. The vast majority of Instructor Talk could be characterized using the originally published Instructor Talk framework, suggesting the robustness of this framework. Additionally, a new form of Instructor Talk-Negatively Phrased Instructor Talk, language that may discourage students or distract from the learning process-was detected in these novel course contexts. Finally, the emergent sampling strategy described here may allow investigation of Instructor Talk in even larger numbers of courses across institutions and disciplines. Given its widespread use, potential influence on students in learning environments, and ability to be sampled, Instructor Talk may be a key variable to consider in future research on teaching and learning in higher education.

Science identity, or one's sense of recognition and competence as a scientist, is an invaluable tool for predicting student persistence and success, but is understudied among undergraduates completing preparatory work for later studies in medicine, nursing, and allied health ("pre‐health career students"). In the United States, pre‐health career students make up approximately half of all biology students and, as professionals, play important roles in caring for an aging, increasingly diverse population, managing the ongoing effects of a pandemic, and navigating socio‐political shifts in public attitudes toward science and evidence‐based medicine. Pre‐health career students are also often members of groups marginalized and minoritized in STEM education, and generally complete their degrees in community college settings, which are chronically under‐resourced and understudied. Understanding these students' science identities is thus a matter of social justice and increasingly important to public health in the United States. We examined science identity and engagement among community college biology students using two scales established and validated for use with STEM students attending four‐year institutions. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis were used on two sub‐samples drawn from the pool of 846 participants to confirm that the factor structures functioned as planned among the new population. Science identity values were then compared between pre‐health career students (pre‐nursing and pre‐allied health) and other groups. Pre‐health career students generally reported interest and performance/competence on par with their traditional STEM, pre‐med, and pre‐dentistry peers, challenging popular assumptions about these students' interests and abilities. However, they also reported significantly lower recognition than traditional STEM and pre‐med/dentistry students. The implications for public health, researchers, and faculty are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Active-learning pedagogies have been repeatedly demonstrated to produce superior learning gains with large effect sizes compared with lecture-based pedagogies. Shifting large numbers of college science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) faculty to include any active learning in their teaching may retain and more effectively educate far more students than having a few faculty completely transform their teaching, but the extent to which STEM faculty are changing their teaching methods is unclear. Here, we describe the development and application of the machine-learning-derived algorithm Decibel Analysis for Research in Teaching (DART), which can analyze thousands of hours of STEM course audio recordings quickly, with minimal costs, and without need for human observers. DART analyzes the volume and variance of classroom recordings to predict the quantity of time spent on single voice (e.g., lecture), multiple voice (e.g., pair discussion), and no voice (e.g., clicker question thinking) activities. Applying DART to 1,486 recordings of class sessions from 67 courses, a total of 1,720 h of audio, revealed varied patterns of lecture (single voice) and nonlecture activity (multiple and no voice) use. We also found that there was significantly more use of multiple and no voice strategies in courses for STEM majors compared with courses for non-STEM majors, indicating that DART can be used to compare teaching strategies in different types of courses. Therefore, DART has the potential to systematically inventory the presence of active learning with ∼90% accuracy across thousands of courses in diverse settings with minimal effort.

Instructor Talk--noncontent language used by instructors in classrooms--is a recently defined and promising variable for better understanding classroom dynamics. Having previously characterized the Instructor Talk framework within the context of a single course, we present here our results surrounding the applicability of the Instructor Talk framework to noncontent language used by instructors in novel course contexts. We analyzed Instructor Talk in eight additional biology courses in their entirety and in 61 biology courses using an emergent sampling strategy. We observed widespread use of Instructor Talk with variation in the amount and category type used. The vast majority of Instructor Talk could be characterized using the originally published Instructor Talk framework, suggesting the robustness of this framework. Additionally, a new form of Instructor Talk--Negatively Phrased Instructor Talk, language that may discourage students or distract from the learning process--was detected in these novel course contexts. Finally, the emergent sampling strategy described here may allow investigation of Instructor Talk in even larger numbers of courses across institutions and disciplines. Given its widespread use, potential influence on students in learning environments, and ability to be sampled, Instructor Talk may be a key variable to consider in future research on teaching and learning in higher education.

GRADE-CERQual (Confidence in the Evidence from Reviews of Qualitative research) was developed to support the use of evidence from qualitative reviews within policy- and decision-making. To date, the approach has been applied predominantly to aggregative synthesis methodologies and descriptive review findings. GRADE-CERQual guidance recommends the approach be tested on more diverse review methodologies and outputs to support its evolution. This paper contributes to this evolution by reflecting on our experiences of applying GRADE-CERQual to findings that emerged from a recent Cochrane meta-ethnography on childhood vaccination. Specifically, we describe the similarities and differences, challenges and dilemmas we experienced applying the approach to more interpretive versus more descriptive review findings. We found that we were able to apply the core criteria and principles of GRADE-CERQual in ways that were congruent with the methodologies and epistemologies of a meta-ethnography and its findings. We also found that the practical application processes were similar across review finding types. The main differences related to the level of demand placed on the evidence and the level of complexity involved with the decisions. Compared to more descriptive findings, more interpretive findings required evidence that was richer, thicker, more contextually situated and methodologically stronger for us to have the same level of confidence in them. Making the assessments for these findings also involved more complicated forms of judgement. We provide practical examples to illustrate these complexities and how we approached them, which others applying GRADE-CERQual to more interpretive review findings could draw upon. We also highlight areas requiring further discussion, in the hope that this will offer a platform for engagement and the potential future refinement of the approach. Ultimately, this could enhance the usability of GRADE-CERQual for a larger range of qualitative review findings and in turn expand the kinds of knowledges that count within decision-making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BackgroundVaccination is one of the greatest public health interventions of all time. Vaccination coverage in South Africa has shown a steady improvement in reaching the national target. However, while there is progress nationally, there are districts within the country that are below the set target for vaccination coverage. One of the main drivers of suboptimal vaccination coverage is thought to be missed opportunities for vaccination. ObjectiveThis study aims to understand the magnitude and determinants of missed opportunities for vaccination in South Africa. MethodsThe 2016 South African Demographic and Health Survey will be used to conduct multilevel regression analyses to determine individual and contextual factors associated with missed opportunities for vaccination in South Africa. The perspectives of parents attending health care facilities in South Africa will be explored through exit interviews and focus group discussions. Similarly, perspectives of the health care providers will be sought to understand enablers and barriers to vaccination coverage at the facility level. Insights to such factors will aid in designing tailor-made interventions to improve vaccination coverage in South Africa. ResultsEthical review submission is planned for October 2020. Data collection is expected to be underway in January 2021. ConclusionsThe extent of missed opportunities in South Africa coupled with the associated factors presents an opportunity for efforts to increase uptake in districts where vaccination coverage is below the national target. Population-level data such as those from the 2016 South African Demographic Health Survey will provide an idea of the magnitude of missed opportunities for vaccination in South Africa at the national and subnational levels. The findings of the study will inform national and subnational policy implementation on vaccinations and help to find context-specific interventions to improve vaccination coverage. International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID)PRR1-10.2196/16672