Search

Urban slums are human habitats with poor habitation qualities that are vulnerable to infectious diseases and public health crises. Low coverage from formal healthcare services providers created opportunity for informal providers to thrive in urban slums. This study examined the nature of relationship between informal and formal healthcare services providers in urban slums and explored opportunities for strengthening collaborations between them. Reconnaissance research method, a qualitative research approach for exploring under-researched terrains, guided the interview of 104 slum healthcare stakeholders across eight purposively selected slums in Enugu and Onitsha cities, in southeastern-Nigeria. Findings show that informal healthcare service providers are dominant in urban slums, and many of them cooperate and compete with formal providers. Supervision of informal providers in slums is inadequate, and the formal providers report that the informal providers find acceptance, despite their lack of adequate training and professionalism. Authorities governing health systems in slums are encouraged to establish a mechanism to profile informal providers, delineate the scope of services, and bridge the gap through the creation of referral channels. Subsequent studies may explore what character any mechanism created to institutionalize the collaboration toward improving healthcare services delivery should take and what challenges could undermine it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explored macro, meso and micro-level influences on the role of evidence in the development of six health policies in India and Nigeria. Macro-level influences included adoption of international agreements, movement towards evidence-informed policymaking, committed country leadership and resource environment. At meso level, national actors drove policy processes with support from the international actors. Micro-level influences included individual values, interests and evidence preferences. Factors at three levels are interrelated. Greater understanding of contextual influences can provide a platform for adapting to, or managing, these influences to improve the evidence-informed nature of health policymaking.

Perinatal depression has become a public health concern because of the burden of the disease for mother and children as well as the community in large. The management of perinatal depression is needed, yet there is a low-resource of mental health specialist in Indonesia. Psychotherapy interventions by non-health specialist workers in some developing countries have shown benefits for perinatal depression. The study aims to analyze the interventions for perinatal depression by non-health specialist workers based on studies from other developing countries. The type of the study was an in-depth study using secondary data. Data were obtained from online databases, including PubMed, Global Health Cochrane Library, PsycINFO and additional search. The total number of studies found was 743,705 studies were available for assessment after removing the duplicate, 55 abstracts were reviewed, and 42 studies included. A conceptual framework developed by the author was used to guide data collection and analysis. Psychotherapy interventions implemented in Pakistan, Turkey, China, and India were analyzed using Assessment of Applicability and Transferability criteria. The most applicable and transferable interventions for the management of perinatal depression in Indonesia were Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and participatory women group. This study indicated that interventions by non-health specialist workers could reduce the interventions gap for perinatal depression. The stakeholders are recommended to adapt the interventions into a cultural context and integrate it into existing maternal and child health program. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social marketing has gained popularity in health used to achieve the “social good.” However, there is lack of research beyond the aggregated sales data exploring the debate on socioeconomic and cultural relevance of such programs in public health in a low middle income context. The purpose of this article is therefore (a) to understand the importance of socioeconomic context that moderate acceptability, affordability, accessibility, and availability (4As) of social marketing for HIV/AIDS prevention in India and (b) analyze the barriers they may pose during the operationalization of the programs. This article performed theory-driven evaluation using qualitative research tools like documentary analysis and in-depth interviews of relevant stakeholders. Thematic analysis was followed to classify the emergent data. The 4As comprising “acceptability,” “affordability,” “availability,” and “accessibility” proposed in this article encapsulate the important role played by socioeconomic and cultural dimensions in shaping the social marketing programs for HIV/AIDS prevention in India. Social marketing for “whom,” “at what cost,” and “under what circumstances” emerge as an interesting debate in this article. An enhanced understanding of how social marketing harnesses the prevalent sociocultural and economic dynamics in a heterogeneous context like India not only refines social marketing as a theory but also provides opportunities for effective health policy making resulting in better health outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]