Browsing by Author "Abdullahi, Leila H"

Now showing 1 - 9 of 9
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    Factors associated with patient and health system delay in diagnosis and commencement of treatment for pulmonary tuberculosis in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA): systematic review
    (2016) Eltayeb, Dalya; Abdullahi, Leila H; Engel, Mark E
    This MPH dissertation undertakes a systematic review on factors associated with patient and health system delay in diagnosing and commencing treatment for pulmonary tuberculosis in Middle East and North Africa (MENA). The dissertation is composed of three main parts: namely parts A, B and C. Part A is the research protocol, which give brief background to research topic and the process of this review. This systematic review aims to assess factors associated with patient and health system delay for diagnosis and initiation of treatment of pulmonary tuberculosis in Middle East and North Africa (MENA). Part B elaborates on the background and highlights the importance of this research by examining the existing theoretical and empirical literature relevant to the topic. Part C presents the entire research project in a format suitable for PLOS journal submission. The background of this research project is summarized and the results are presented and discussed.
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    The impact of mHealth interventions on health systems: a systematic review protocol
    (BioMed Central, 2016-11-25) Fortuin, Jill; Salie, Faatiema; Abdullahi, Leila H; Douglas, Tania S
    Background: Mobile health (mHealth) has been described as a health enabling tool that impacts positively on the health system in terms of improved access, quality and cost of health care. The proposed systematic review will examine the impact of mHealth on health systems by assessing access, quality and cost of health care as indicators. Methods: The systematic review will include literature from various sources including published and unpublished/grey literature. The databases to be searched include: PubMed, Cochrane Library, Google Scholar, NHS Health Technology Assessment Database and Web of Science. The reference lists of studies will be screened and conference proceedings searched for additional eligible reports. Literature to be included will have mHealth as the primary intervention. Two authors will independently screen the search output, select studies and extract data; discrepancies will be resolved by consensus and discussion with the assistance of the third author. Discussion: The systematic review will inform policy makers, investors, health professionals, technologists and engineers about the impact of mHealth in strengthening the health system. In particular, it will focus on three metrics to determine whether mHealth strengthens the health system, namely quality of, access to and cost of health care services. Systematic review registration: PROSPERO CRD42015026070.
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    Knowledge, attitudes and practices on adolescent vaccination among parents, teachers and adolescents in Africa: a systematic review protocol
    (BioMed Central, 2014-09-09) Abdullahi, Leila H; Kagina, Benjamin M; Cassidy, Tali; Adebayo, Esther F; Wiysonge, Charles S; Hussey, Gregory D
    Background: Vaccines are the most successful and cost-effective public health interventions available to avert vaccine-preventable diseases and deaths. Despite progress in the field of adolescent health, many young people in Africa still get sick and die from vaccine-preventable diseases due to lack of vaccination. Parents, adolescents and teachers are key players with regard to implementation of adolescent vaccination policies. Therefore, understanding their knowledge, attitudes and practices towards adolescent vaccination may provide clues on what can be done to improve vaccine uptake among adolescents. The aim of this study is to conduct a qualitative and quantitative systematic review on knowledge, attitudes and practices on adolescent vaccination among parents, teachers and adolescents in Africa. Methods: We will include both quantitative and qualitative primary studies. Eligible quantitative studies include both intervention and observational studies. Qualitative studies to be included are focus group discussions, direct observations, in-depth interviews and case ethnographic studies. We will search PubMed, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Scopus, Web of Science, WHOLIS, Africa Wide and CINAHL for eligible studies with no time and language limits. We will also check reference lists of included studies for other eligible reports. Two authors will independently screen the search output, select studies and extract data, resolving discrepancies by consensus and discussion. We will analyse qualitative data using thematic analysis where applicable, and quantitative studies findings will be presented in a narrative synthesis form based on the outcomes. Discussion: The findings from this systematic review will guide the identification of gaps on knowledge, attitudes and practices among the key role players on adolescent vaccination. We anticipate that our findings will guide the development of adolescent-focused vaccination policy in Africa, which is virtually non-existent at present. Systematic review registration: This review is registered with PROSPERO, registration number CRD42014010395. .
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    The prevalence of Group A Beta-Hemolytic Streptococci carriage in children in Africa: a systematic review
    (2015) Moloi, Annesinah; Engel, Mark E; Abdullahi, Leila H
    Asymptomatic children can be a major reservoir of pharyngeal Group A Streptococcus (GAS) with reported figures ranging from <10% to >20% in developing countries. There is a need to document GAS carriage in school children, which, together with the molecular characterisation (M-typing) of strains harboured in the pharynx of carriers, will help to ascertain the extent to which disease strains are prevalent amongst carriers. This background information would serve to assist healthcare providers in diagnosing symptomatic GAS pharyngitis, as well as could potentially contribute to the development of a GAS vaccine. Currently, data on GAS carriage prevalence and M-type distribution in African countries are largely scant. We therefore undertook to perform a systematic review to determine the prevalence and type distribution of asymptomatic streptococcus carriage in children aged 5 -15years, residing in African countries. Methods: We conducted a comprehensive literature search among a number of databases, using an African search filter to identify GAS prevalence studies that report on children between the ages of 5 - 15 years who reside in African countries. Electronic searches were complemented by a hand search performed on reference lists of potentially included studies. The search was not limited by year of publication and language. Two evaluators independently reviewed, rated, and abstracted data from each article. Prevalence estimates were pooled in a meta-analysis and stratified according to region and study design using Stata®. Specifically, we applied the random effects metaprop routine to aggregate prevalence estimates and account for between study variability in calculating the overall pooled estimates and 95% CI for GAS carriage prevalence.
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    Prevalence of Human papillomavirus among women following HPV vaccine introduction; a systematic review
    (2018) Muusha, Prudence; Engel, Mark E; Abdullahi, Leila H
    Background: Worldwide efforts have been made by some countries to offer HPV vaccination since its introduction in 2006. Population effectiveness of HPV vaccines is presently an active area of research. We review available evidence on the effectiveness of HPV vaccine uptake among female adolescents to prevent HPV infection. Methods: A comprehensive search of published and grey literature was conducted in several electronic databases using a pre-defined search strategy related to HPV prevalence following vaccination. The database searches were complemented by hand-searches of reference lists of eligible studies. Data were extracted onto a purpose-designed data extraction form, pooled in a meta-analysis and stratified by continent considering vaccine type, cross protective and (high/low) risk HPV types as subgroups. Results: Our search yielded 1680 studies, of which thirteen met with our inclusion criteria (8332 vaccinated women aged 12 to 34 years from across the world). The pooled HPV (comprising types 6, 11, 16 and 18) prevalence among vaccinated female adolescents was 7% (95% Confidence Interval (CI): 5% to 9%, 13 studies, n=8,332). The 13 studies were conducted across 3 continents: HPV prevalence for North America was 5% (95% CI: 3% to 7%, 9 studies, n=5781, age range =13 to 34); Europe, 14% (95% CI: 9% to 18%, 3 studies, n=2213, age range =13 to 29) and Australia 5% (95% CI: 3% to 8%, 1 study, n=5781, age range=13 to 34). Of the studies which reported the effect of vaccination on other non-vaccine HPV type prevalence (known as cross protective types) HPV (31, 33, 45, 51 & 58), the overall pooled cross protective HPV prevalence was 9% (95% CI: 6% to 12%, 4 studies, n=3081 age range=13 to 29), by continent North America had 14% (95% CI: 12 to 17%, 1 study, n=753 age range=14 to 24), Europe 7% (95% CI: 6 to 8%, 2 studies, n=1990, age range=13 to 29) and Australia with 8% (95% CI: 5% to 11%, 1 study, n=338 age range=18 to 26). Conclusion: This study showed an HPV prevalence of 7% in women vaccinated against HPV types 6,11,16 and 18, which represents a substantial difference to the 22% HPV prevalence in non-vaccinated women. There was no statistically significant difference between HPV prevalence across the continents. There is however, still a dearth of information on vaccinated women and HPV prevalence, highlighting the need for further studies in this area. Strengths and limitation of this review • The review comprehensively searched multiple databases and bibliographies. We had no language restrictions. • We were stringent in the selection of studies as far as vaccination status was concerned. Studies considering HPV prevalence in unvaccinated women were excluded. • A variety of methods was utilised in collecting data across the studies. However, some of the study participants were not representative of the general population. Caution therefore, needs to be considered when using these results to make inferences or conclusions about prevalence of certain populations.
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    Protocol for a systematic review of the effects of interventions for vaccine stock management
    (2019-01-08) Iwu, Chinwe J; Jaca, Anelisa; Abdullahi, Leila H; Ngcobo, Ntombenhle J; Wiysonge, Charles S
    Abstract Background Inadequate vaccine stock management in health facilities leads to vaccine stock-outs. The latter threatens the success of immunisation programmes. Countries have used various approaches to reduce stock-outs and improve vaccine availability, but we are not aware of a systematic review of these interventions. This protocol describes the methods we will use to assess the effects of existing approaches for improving vaccine stock management. Methods We include randomised and non-randomised studies identified through a compehensive search of peer-reviewed and grey literature databases. We will search PubMed, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Embase, Web of Science, PDQ-Evidence and Scopus. We will also search websites of the World Health Organisation (WHO), Global Alliance for Vaccine and Immunisation, PATH Vaccine Resources Library and United Nations Children’s Fund. In addition, we will search the WHO International Clinical Trials Registry Platform and reference lists of included studies and relevant reviews. Finally, we plan to do a citation search for included studies. We will use Cochrane recommended methods to screen search outputs, assess study eligibility and risk of bias, extract and analyse study results. We will use the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) tool to assess the certainty of the evidence on the effects of the interventions. Discussion We believe that the findings of this review will serve as valuable information for policy makers on ways to improve vaccine stock management and vaccine availability. When vaccine availability is improved, those who need them, especially children, will be adequately protected from vaccine-preventable diseases. Systematic review registration PROSPERO CRD42018092215
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    Risk Factors for Acquired Rifamycin and Isoniazid resistance: A systematic review and meta-analysis
    (Public Library of Science, 2015) Rockwood, Neesha; Abdullahi, Leila H; Wilkinson, Robert J; Meintjes, Graeme
    BACKGROUND: Studies looking at acquired drug resistance (ADR) are diverse with respect to geographical distribution, HIV co-infection rates, retreatment status and programmatic factors such as regimens administered and directly observed therapy. Our objective was to examine and consolidate evidence from clinical studies of the multifactorial aetiology of acquired rifamycin and/or isoniazid resistance within the scope of a single systematic review. This is important to inform policy and identify key areas for further studies. METHODS: Case-control and cohort studies and randomised controlled trials that reported ADR as an outcome during antitubercular treatment regimens including a rifamycin and examined the association of at least 1 risk factor were included. Post hoc, we carried out random effects Mantel-Haenszel weighted meta-analyses of the impact of 2 key risk factors 1) HIV and 2) baseline drug resistance on the binary outcome of ADR. Heterogeneity was assessed used I 2 statistic. As a secondary outcome, we calculated median cumulative incidence of ADR, weighted by the sample size of the studies. RESULTS: Meta-analysis of 15 studies showed increased risk of ADR with baseline mono- or polyresistance (RR 4.85 95% CI 3.26 to 7.23, heterogeneity I 2 58%, 95% CI 26 to 76%). Meta-analysis of 8 studies showed that HIV co-infection was associated with increased risk of ADR (RR 3.02, 95% CI 1.28 to 7.11); there was considerable heterogeneity amongst these studies (I 2 81%, 95% CI 64 to 90%). Non-adherence, extrapulmonary/disseminated disease and advanced immunosuppression in HIV co-infection were other risk factors noted. The weighted median cumulative incidence of acquired multi drug resistance calculated in 24 studies (assuming whole cohort as denominator, regardless of follow up DST) was 0.1% (5 th to 95 th percentile 0.07 to 3.2%). CONCLUSION: Baseline drug resistance and HIV co-infection were significant risk factors for ADR. There was a trend of positive association with non-adherence which is likely to contribute to the outcome of ADR. The multifactorial aetiology of ADR in a programmatic setting should be further evaluated via appropriately designed studies.
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    School based versus supplemental vaccination strategies in the delivery of vaccines to 5-19 year olds in Africa - a systematic review
    (2017) Haddison, Christiana Eposi; Kagina, Benjamin M; Abdullahi, Leila H; Muloiwa, Rudzani; Hussey, Gregory D
    Background: Some vaccine preventable diseases still remain a public health burden in many African countries. The occurrence of vaccine preventable diseases in all age groups has led to the realization of the need to extend routine immunisation services to school age children and adolescents. Supplemental immunisation activities (SIAs) and school based vaccination (SBV) are two common strategies used to complement the EPI in vaccine delivery. Therefore, this review aimed to assess the effectiveness of SIAs compared to SBV in the administration of vaccines to 5-19 year olds in Africa. Methods and findings: Systematic review methods (protocol number CRD42017057475) were used to address our study aim. Electronic databases were searched up to March 30, 2017 for primary studies investigating the delivery of vaccines via SIAs or SBV to 5-19 year olds. To be included in the review, studies must have reported any of the following outcomes: vaccination coverage, cost of the vaccination strategy or effect of the strategy on routine immunisation. During the search, no restriction was placed on language or the study period. The search was complemented by browsing reference lists of potential studies. Out of the 4938 studies identified, 31 studies met our inclusion criteria. Both SIAs and SBV showed high vaccination coverage. This result should be interpreted with caution due to the high heterogeneity observed across the included studies. The SIAs reported a higher coverage of 91% (95% CI: 84%, 98%) than SBV which had a coverage of 75% (95% CI: 67%, 83%). In most settings, SBV was reported to be more expensive than SIAs. The SIAs were found to negatively affect routine immunisation services. Conclusions: Both SIAs and SBV are routinely used to complement the EPI in the delivery of vaccines in Africa. In settings where school enrolment is suboptimal as is the case in many African countries, our results show SIAs may be more effective in reaching school age children and adolescents than SBV. The SBV has only been tested in the delivery of two or three dose HPV vaccine to adolescent girls, whereas SIAs have been tested in the delivery of different types of vaccines. Our results re-iterate the importance of systematic evidence to best inform African authorities on the optimal delivery strategies of vaccines targeting school age children and adolescents into their immunisation programme.
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    A Systematic Review of Interventions to Improve HPV Vaccination Coverage
    (2021-06-23) Mavundza, Edison J; Iwu-Jaja, Chinwe J; Wiyeh, Alison B; Gausi, Blessings; Abdullahi, Leila H; Halle-Ekane, Gregory; Wiysonge, Charles S
    Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is the most common sexually transmitted infection worldwide. Although most HPV infections are transient and asymptomatic, persistent infection with high-risk HPV types may results in diseases. Although there are currently three effective and safe prophylactic HPV vaccines that are used across the world, HPV vaccination coverage remains low. This review evaluates the effects of the interventions to improve HPV vaccination coverage. We searched the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, and the World Health Organization International Clinical Trials Registry Platform and checked the reference lists of relevant articles for eligible studies. Thirty-five studies met inclusion criteria. Our review found that various evaluated interventions have improved HPV vaccination coverage, including narrative education, outreach plus reminders, reminders, financial incentives plus reminders, brief motivational behavioral interventions, provider prompts, training, training plus assessment and feedback, consultation, funding, and multicomponent interventions. However, the evaluation of these intervention was conducted in high-income countries, mainly the United States of America. There is, therefore, a need for studies to evaluate the effect of these interventions in low-and middle-income countries, where there is a high burden of HPV and limited HPV vaccination programs.