Stock-outs! Improvisations and processes of infrastructuring in Uganda’s HIV/Aids and malaria programmes

ABSTRACT

This paper examines the stock-outs of medicines and diagnostic devices in Uganda. Our aim is to trace and compare interruptions in the supply of antiretrovirals and Rapid Diagnostic Tests in order to provide an ethnographic account of the complex role that improvisations play within global health infrastructures. We will argue that the fragmented and mobile infrastructures of these key global health technologies require and necessitate improvisations by the different actors involved as well as on almost all levels of the Ugandan health-care system. The extent and abundance of improvisations in itself works to acquire infrastructural capacities, a process that we will call the infrastructuring of care and treatment. We will also show how this process of infrastructuring of care and treatment – here rendered visible through improvisations – produces new dilemmas and uncertainties. Our approach to infrastructure challenges technocratic overtones prevalent in current debates around the much-needed strengthening of health systems. Our study of stock-outs aims to show how the infrastructure of under-resourced health systems is maintained by a complex nexus of socio-material practices and improvisations.     

从药品质量标准的视角探讨药品的监督与管理

目的：从药品质量标准的视角探讨如何进一步加强药品的监督与管理,促进医药产业发展、保障公众用药安全。方法：通过对监督抽检发现的药品质量标准存在的问题进行分析研究,提出相应的解决措施和意见建议。结果与结论：部分药品质量标准在标准制定、审批发布、标准管理、标准执行以及质量标准的可及性等方面存在不足,影响了质量标准的执行和药品生产及安全监管,应从建立药品审评审批与药品质量标准管理的联动机制、完善监督抽检机制、加强对药品质量标准执行的监管等方面加以解决。     

Why Does a Universal Anti-Bullying Program Not Help All Children? Explaining Persistent Victimization During an Intervention

Although anti-bullying interventions are often effective, some children continue to be victimized. To increase knowledge of potential factors that might impede children’s benefiting from an anti-bullying intervention, we examined potential reasons for individual differences in victimization trajectories during a group-based anti-bullying intervention. Data stem from a five-wave survey among 9122 children (7–12 years old; grades 2–5) who participated in the KiVa anti-bullying intervention (n?= 6142) or were in control schools (n?= 2980 children). Three trajectories were found in the intervention sample, representing children who experienced stable high, decreasing, or stable low/no victimization. A two-trajectory model of high and low trajectories represented the control sample best. Multinomial regressions on the intervention sample showed that children who experienced particularly high levels of peer rejection, internalizing problems, and lower quality parent-child relationships decreased less in victimization; thus these characteristics appeared to contribute to persistent victimization. The results call for tailored strategies in interventions aiming to reduce victimization for more children.     

Improving risk equalization using information on physiotherapy diagnoses

Background

Worldwide, risk-equalization (RE) models in competitive health insurance markets have evolved from simple demographic models to sophisticated models containing diagnosis and pharmacy-based indicators of health. However, these models still have important imperfections; adding information on (diagnoses of) physiotherapy treatment may further improve RE-models. Therefore, a new risk-adjuster based on physiotherapy costs in the prior year was introduced in the Dutch RE-model of 2016.

Methods

Physiotherapy claims-data (2012) and administrative data on costs and risk-characteristics (2013) for 94% of the Dutch population (N = 15.8 million) are used to evaluate the current risk-adjuster based on physiotherapy costs and to assess the effects of replacing it by different modalities of a risk-adjuster based on physiotherapy diagnoses. Of the 89 diagnoses in the claims-data, 62 are dropped because they relate to temporary health problems. The 27 retained diagnoses are added to the Dutch model in 4 modalities: 27 separate risk-classes, 9 diagnosis-clusters based on main pathology category, 4 diagnosis-clusters based on residual costs, and the 4 clusters of modality 3 interacted with age.

Results

Although the cost-based risk-adjuster improves the model’s predictive power and removes the average undercompensation (€919) for enrollees with physiotherapy costs in the prior year, it is outperformed by all 4 diagnosis-based modalities. Of these modalities, modality 3 is preferred based on its simplicity and comparable predictive power.

Conclusions

Adding information on physiotherapy can further improve the performance of sophisticated RE-models. Regarding the Dutch model, a risk-adjuster containing 4 risk-classes for clustered diagnoses based on residual costs is the preferred modality.

     

Qualitative analyses of lived experience for residents in the Elderly Care Departments at the community health service centres in Southwestern China

With its huge ageing population, China faces an enormous challenge for its elderly support and care. One of the proposed solutions was to diversify the elderly support systems. Towards this goal, setting up the Elderly Care Departments in the community health service centres is one of such new Chinese endeavour. This qualitative study was conducted among the residents enrolled in existing Elderly Care Departments established at the community health service centres in Chongqing, a Southwestern Chinese city, to evaluate the lived experience of the residents and to find strategies for improvement. Eighteen participants were recruited from the residents of the Elderly Care Departments of three community health service centres in the city. Data were collected through semi‐structured in‐depth individual interviews and were analysed utilising the Colaizzi's phenomenological method. Five main themes were identified: Safety and trust; Satisfaction and relief; Gratitude and mutual understanding; Complaints and helplessness; and Worries and apprehension. We found that set‐up of the Elderly Care Departments at the community health service centres appeared to be consistent with the idea of integrated care and in general, the current running mode was able to provide the elderly with effective medical, nursing and other cares. The psychological and cultural services at these departments, however, need to be further enhanced.     

经皮冠脉介入治疗应用培哚普利保护肾功能77例临床观察

目的 观察培哚普利在经皮冠状动脉介入治疗(PCI)前后对患者肾功能的影响.方法 将入选的147例行冠状动脉支架植入术的患者按随机数字表法分为培哚普利组(77例)和对照组(70例).培哚普利组术前服用培哚普利(4 mg· d-1)至少3d,术后继续服用培哚普利.对照组治疗期间不使用任何血管紧张素转换酶抑制剂(ACEI)类药物.两组患者术中均使用对比剂碘克沙醇造影.记录患者术前1d,术后1d、3d的肌酐、尿酸、血尿素氮(BUN)和肾小球滤过率,分析比较两组患者手术前后肾功能的变化和对比剂肾病(CIN)发生率的差异.结果 两组术前1d肌酐、肾小球滤过率、尿酸和BUN均差异无统计学意义(P＞0.05),但培哚普利组BUN术后3d较术前1d上升(P＜0.05).对照组肌酐术后3d较术前1d升高(P＜0.05),对照组尿酸术后3d较术前1d升高(P＜0.05),对照组肾小球滤过率术后3d较术前1d下降(P＜0.05).对照组各项肾功能主要指标术后1d较术前1d均差异无统计学意义(P＞0.05).两组患者CIN的发生率差异无统计学意义(P＞0.05).结论 培哚普利可预防患者冠脉PCI术后应用对比剂引起的肾功能损伤.     

Two new p-coumaroylated sesquiterpenoids from Pilea cavaleriei

A new p-coumaroylated santalane-type sesquiterpenoid, 8-p-coumaroyl-α-santalene (1), a new p-coumaroylated oplopanane-type sesquiterpenoid, 8-β-p-coumaroyl-oplopanone (2), and three known p-coumaroylated humulene-type sesquiterpenoids (3–5) were isolated from the ethanol extract of the whole herbs of Pilea cavaleriei. Their structures were elucidated based on the combination of 1D and 2D NMR and HRMS methods. Compound 2 was found to show anti-tuberculosis activity with MIC of 16 μg/ml.     

Common Deficiencies of <Emphasis Type="Italic">in vitro</Emphasis> Binding Bioequivalence (BE) Studies Submitted in Abbreviated New Drug Applications (ANDAs)

There are several drug products that bind phosphate or bile acid in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract to exert their therapeutic efficacy. In vitro binding studies are used to assess bioequivalence (BE) of these products. The objective of this study is to identify the common deficiencies in Abbreviated New Drug Applications (ANDAs) for these products. Deficiencies were compiled from ANDAs containing in vitro binding BE studies. The deficiencies were classified into eight categories: Pre-Study Method Validation, During-Study Sample Analysis, Study Design, Study Procedure, Dissolution/Disintegration, Analytical Site Inspection, Data Submission, and Formulations. Within each category, additional subcategories were defined to characterize the deficiencies. A total of 712 deficiencies from 95 ANDAs for 11 drug products were identified and included in the analysis. The four categories with the most deficiencies were During-Study Sample Analysis (27.8%), Pre-Study Method Validation (17.3%), Data Submission (16.7%), and Study Design (15.7%). For the During-Study Sample Analysis category, failure to submit complete raw data or analytical runs ranked as the top deficiency (32.8%). For the Study Design category, using an unacceptable alternate study design (26.8%) was the most common deficiency. Within this category, other commonly occurring deficiencies included incorrect/insufficient number of absorbent concentrations, failure to pre-treat drug product with acid, insufficient number of replicates in study, incorrect calculation of k1 and k2 values, incorrect dosage form or pooled samples used in the study, and incorrect pH of study medium. The review and approval of these products may be accelerated if these common deficiencies are addressed in the original ANDA submissions.     

Unravelling residents’ and supervisors’ workplace interactions: an intersubjectivity study

Context

Successful engagement between residents and supervisors lies at the core of workplace learning, a process that is not exempt from challenge. Clinical encounters have unique learning potential as they offer opportunities to achieve a shared understanding between the resident and supervisor of how to accomplish a common goal. How residents and supervisors develop such a mutual understanding is an issue that has received limited attention in the literature. We used the ‘intersubjectivity’ concept as a novel conceptual framework to analyse this issue.

Methods

We conducted a constructivist grounded theory study in an anaesthesiology department in Bogota, Colombia, using focus groups and field observations. Eleven residents of different training levels and 18 supervisors with varying years of teaching experience participated in the study. Through iterative data analysis, collection and constant comparison, we constructed the final results.

Results

We found that residents and supervisors achieved a shared understanding by adapting to one another in the process of providing patient care. Continuous changes in the composition of resident–supervisor dyads exposed them to many procedural variations, to which they responded by engaging in various adaptation patterns that included compliance by residents with supervisors’ directions, negotiation by residents of supervisors’ preferences, and the sharing of decision making. In the process, the resident played an increasingly key role as a member of the supervisory dyad. Additionally, experiencing these adaptation patterns repeatedly resulted in the creation of a working repertoire: an attuned working code used by the members of each supervisory dyad to work together as a team.

Conclusions

The development of shared understanding between residents and supervisors entailed experiencing diverse adaptation patterns which resulted in the creation of working repertoires. Seeing supervisory interactions as adaptation processes has essential theoretical and practical implications regarding workplace learning in postgraduate settings. Our findings call for further exploration to understand learning in postgraduate education as a social process.