Task-shifting for point-of-care cervical cancer prevention in low- and middle-income countries: a case study from Uganda.

Cervical cancer remains the leading cause of female cancer deaths in sub-Saharan Africa. This is despite cervical cancer being both preventable and curable if detected early and treated adequately. This paper reports on a series of action-research 'cycles' designed to progressively integrate a comprehensive, task-shifted, point-of-care, prevention program in a community-based public health facility in Uganda. The work has been undertaken through a UK-Ugandan Health Partnership coordinated by Knowledge for Change, a UK-registered Charity. The intervention demonstrates the effectiveness of task-shifting responsibility to Community Health Workers combined with the use of Geographic Information Systems to strategically guide health awareness-raising and the deployment of medical devices supporting respectful and sustainable point-of-care screen-and-treat services. The integration of this with public human immunodeficiency virus services demonstrates the ability to engage hard-to-reach 'key populations' at greatest risk of cervical cancer. The findings also demonstrate the impact of external influences including the Results Based Financing approach, adopted by many foreign Non-Governmental Organizations. The model presents opportunities for policy transfer to other areas of health promotion and prevention with important lessons for international Health partnership engagement. The paper concludes by outlining plans for a subsequent action-research cycle embracing and evaluating the potential of Artificial Intelligence to enhance service efficacy.

Postoperative pulmonary complications following major elective abdominal surgery: a cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Postoperative pulmonary complications (PPC) are an under-reported but major cause of perioperative morbidity and mortality. The aim of this prospective, contemporary, multicentre cohort study of unselected patients undergoing major elective abdominal surgery was to determine the incidence and effects of PPC. METHODS: Data on all major elective abdominal operations performed over a 2-week period in December 2014 were collected in six hospitals. The primary outcome measure of PPC at 7 days was used. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to investigate how different factors were associated with PPC and the effects of such complications. RESULTS: Two hundred sixty-eight major elective abdominal operations were performed, and the internal validation showed that the data set was 99 % accurate. Thirty-two (11.9 %) PPC were reported at 7 days. PPC was more common in patients with a history of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease compared to those with no history (26.7 vs. 10.2 %, p < 0.001). PPC was not associated with other patient factors (e.g. age, gender, body mass index or other comorbidities), type/method of operation or postoperative analgesia. The risk of PPC appeared to increase with every additional minute of operating time independent of other factors (odds ratio 1.01 (95 % confidence intervals 1.00-1.02), p = 0.007). PPC significantly increase the length of hospital stay (10 vs. 3 days). Attendance to the emergency department within 30 days (27.3 vs. 10.6 %), 30-day readmission (21.7 vs. 9.9 %) and 30-day mortality (12.5 vs. 0.0 %) was higher in those with PPC. CONCLUSIONS: PPC are common and have profound effects on outcomes. Strategies need to be considered to reduce PPC.