Validation of verbal autopsy methods for assessment of child mortality in sub-Saharan Africa and the policy implication: a rapid review

Reliable data on the cause of child death is the cornerstone for evidence-informed health policy making towards improving child health outcomes. Unfortunately, accurate data on cause of death is essentially lacking in most countries of sub-Saharan Africa due to the widespread absence of functional Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (CRVS) systems. To address this problem, verbal autopsy (VA) has gained prominence as a strategy for obtaining Cause of Death (COD) information in populations where CRVS are absent. This study reviewed publications that investigated the validation of VA methods for assessment of COD. A MEDLINE PubMed search was undertaken in June 2018 for studies published in English that investigated the validation of VA methods in sub-Saharan Africa from 1990-2018. Of the 17 studies identified, 9 fulfilled the study inclusion criteria from which additional five relevant studies were found by reviewing their references. The result showed that Physician-Certified Verbal Autopsy (PCVA) was the most widely used VA method. Validation studies comparing PCVA to hospital records, expert algorithm and Inter VA demonstrated mixed and highly varied outcomes. The accuracy and reliability of the VA methods depended on level of healthcare the respondents have access to and the knowledge of the physicians on the local disease aetiology and epidemiology. As the countries in sub-Saharan Africa continue to battle with dysfunctional CRVS system, VA will remain the only viable option for the supply of child mortality data necessary for policy making

Stethoscope Disinfection Campaign in a Nigerian Teaching Hospital:Results of a Before-and-After Study

Introduction: This study aimed to assess the impact of a stethoscope disinfection sensitization campaign among doctors and nurses in a Nigerian teaching hospital. Methodology: The design was a before-and-after study. Pre-program measurements were used to provide a baseline against which the post-program results were compared. Interventions that promoted compliance with stethoscope disinfection practice that were implemented included training and education on stethoscope disinfection and introduction of 70 isopropyl alcohol disinfectant at points-of-care places. Microbiological assessment of stethoscopes used by health workers was conducted after the intervention and the outcome was compared with the pilot study results. Results: After the intervention; of the 89 stethoscopes screened; 18 (20.2) were contaminated with bacterial agents. A higher prevalence of stethoscope contamination was observed among stethoscopes from the intensive care unit (66.7); the VIP unit (50); and the antenatal unit (37.5). The main isolates were Staphylococcus aureus (44.4) and Escherichia coli (50). The antibiotic sensitivity assessment indicated that the bacterial isolates were resistant to nearly all the antibiotics tested. All the 89 health workers whose stethoscopes were screened after the intervention admitted to cleaning their stethoscopes after seeing each patient; representing a compliance rate of 100; unlike the 15 compliance at the pilot phase. The baseline stethoscope contamination rate was 78.5 versus 20.2 post-intervention.Conclusions: Training and education and introduction of alcohol-based disinfectants inexpensive but very effective methods to improve stethoscope disinfection compliance among health workers in low-income settings