Outcome of a grocery voucher incentive scheme for low-income tuberculosis patients on directly observed therapy in Singapore

<p><b>INTRODUCTION</b>The 'DOT & Shop' scheme is sponsored by SATA CommHealth, a local non-governmental organisation. It was launched in July 2009, in collaboration with Singapore's Tuberculosis Control Unit (TBCU). Under this scheme, grocery vouchers are disbursed to low-income patients with tuberculosis (TB) at each clinic visit if they have been adherent to directly observed therapy (DOT). This study aimed to determine the effect of this incentive scheme on treatment completion rates and to report the characteristics of patients who were non-adherent to the scheme.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>This descriptive study used data from the TBCU medical social worker database and the National TB Registry.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>From July 2009 to December 2012, a total of 883 TB patients were enrolled in the scheme. The overall treatment completion rates of the patients before (July 2006-June 2009) and after (July 2009-December 2012) the implementation of the scheme improved from 85.3% to 87.2% (p = 0.02). Patients under this scheme had a higher treatment completion rate (90.0%) than those not under this scheme (86.4%) (p < 0.01). It was found that the non-adherent patients were more likely to be of Malay ethnicity, younger and unemployed.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>We demonstrate the salutary effect of a non-governmental organisation-funded grocery voucher incentive scheme for low-income TB patients on DOT in Singapore.</p>

Completion rates of anterior and posterior continuous curvilinear capsulorrhexis in pediatric cataract surgery for surgery performed by trainee surgeons with the use of a low-cost viscoelastic.

Context: Pediatric cataract surgery is traditionally done with the aid of high-molecular-weight viscoelastics which are expensive. It needs to be determined if low-cost substitutes are just as successful. Aims: The study aims to determine the success rates for anterior and posterior capsulorrhexis and intraocular lens (IOL) implantation in the bag for pediatric cataract surgery performed with the aid of a low-molecular-weight viscoelastic. Settings and Design: Nonrandomized observational study. Materials and Methods: Children less than 6 years of age who underwent cataract surgery with IOL implantation in the period May 2008–May 2009 were included. The surgeries were done by pediatric ophthalmology fellows. A standard procedure of anterior capsulorrhexis, lens aspiration with primary posterior capsulorrhexis, anterior vitrectomy, and IOL implantation was followed. Three parameters were studied: successful completion of anterior and posterior capsulorrhexis and IOL implantation in the bag. Results: 33 eyes of 28 children were studied. The success rate for completion was 66.7% and 88.2 % for anterior and posterior capsulorrhexis, respectively. IOL implantation in the bag was successful in 87.9%. Conclusions: 2% hydroxypropylmethylcellulose is a viable low-cost alternative to more expensive options similar to high-molecular-weight viscoelastics. This is of great relevance to hospitals in developing countries.