Browsing by Author "Bobrow, Kirsten"

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    Assessing type 2 diabetes associated NeuroCognitive impairment using an e-screening tool in a South African population
    (2018) Bobrow, Kirsten; Levitt, Naomi; Gouse, Hetta; Zweginthal, Virgina
    Background: Type 2 diabetes has been found to be associated with cognitive impairments in planning, problem solving, organization, and working memory and also with an increased risk of dementia. Neurocognitive impairment may impact self-care and other health behaviours increasing the risk of poor health outcomes in this patient population. Detection of neurocognitive impairment in low and middle-income settings is challenging; there is a lack of validated screening tools suitable for local use in primary care and outpatient settings and access to formal neuropsychological testing services is limited. The inability to easily identify people with type 2 diabetes with neurocognitive impairments is constraining the development of context appropriate interventions to improve the care and outcomes in this sub-group of patients. Aim: The aim of the current analysis is to explore associations between neurocognitive function and measures of diabetes control (HbA1c, disease duration, type of blood glucose lowering treatment) at baseline in a population of people with type 2 diabetes participating in a clinical trial of treatment adherence support using SMS-text messages. Materials and Methods: Sms text Adherence suppoRt for type 2 Diabetes (StAR2D) is a randomised clinical trial testing if a system of SMS-text messages to support treatment adherence is more effective than usual care for controlling blood sugar among people with type 2 diabetes in sub-Sahara Africa (ISRCTN70768808). We have embedded neurocognitive assessment sub-studies into the Cape Town trial site. At baseline participants in the StAR2D trial complete a novel mobile-device based cognitive assessment, NeuroScreen, assisted by a field research assistant. The assessment contains 9 variants of tests found in the gold-standard neuropsychological test battery that have been adapted and normed for use in South Africa. It is available in English or isiXhosa. The assessment takes between 20 to 40 minutes depending on participant error rate. This cross-sectional analysis of baseline data uses linear and logistic regression models to explore associations between neurocognitive function and measures of diabetes control. Results: Six hundred participants eligible for enrolment in the StAR2D trial were recruited from the Cape Town trial site; 499 participants completed the baseline neurocognitive screening assessment (20 to 40 minutes to complete); 101 participants did not complete the assessment (commonly due to eyesight, hearing or motor difficulties e.g. hemiplegia due to previous stroke or technical difficulties.) We found differences in the scores in some but not all the neuropsychological tests. Using cut points suggested by an earlier validation study of NeuroScreen tool more than half of study participants would be scored as having at least mild neurocognitive impairment. HbA1c, duration of disease, type of blood glucose lowering treatment were not significantly associated with individual or overall neuropsychological test scores or odds of neurocognitive impairment. Conclusions: The prevalence of neurocognitive impairment may be substantial in this patient population. A novel tablet based neurocognitive screening tool was broadly feasible and acceptable to lay researchers and trial participants. There was no evidence that HbA1c, duration of disease, or type of blood glucose lowering treatment (oral agents alone or insulin containing regimens) was significantly associated with individual or overall neuropsychological test scores or odds of neurocognitive impairment. Validating this tool for this patient population and optimising its role in routine clinical care need further study.
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    Blood pressure variation and its association with outdoor temperature among adults with hypertension in a primary care setting in South Africa
    (2018) Havyarimana, Enock; Bobrow, Kirsten; Levitt, Naomi
    Rationale – There is limited evidence about the effect of climate on blood pressure management of people living with and cared for hypertension in Sub-Sahara Africa. We investigate the relationship between outdoor temperature and blood pressure in a primary care setting with limited control of indoor climate in Cape Town, South Africa. Method – The study uses blood pressure data from 2494 participants screened and enrolled for entry in the SMS-text Adherence (StAR) trial study. Participants’ data were matched with outdoor temperature and air quality data using the nearest hour of enrolment. Individuals were included in this study if they were recruited during the study’s screening period (June 2012 to November 2014) and the clinic’s operating hours (7h00 and 17h00). Result - 72% of participants enrolled for the trial were female and had a BMI of 31 kg/m2 . There was an inter-subject variation of blood pressure between participants enrolled in winter and spring. Those enrolled in winter (June – July) and in the morning (07h00-10h00) when temperatures were generally low, had a higher mean blood pressure compared to those enrolled during spring (September - November) and in the afternoons (≥13h00). Mean outdoor temperature during the trial period was 16.7°C (min: 3.7°C –max: 30.7°C) with lowest temperatures recorded in June. Both outdoor temperature and blood pressure were found to be associated with nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and sulphur dioxide and (SO2) and therefore may be confounded by them. In a multivariate analysis controlling for air pollution, humidity and several leading cardiovascular risk factors, it was observed that a 10°C increase in outdoor temperature was associated with 7.5mmHg (95% CI: 3, 82 - 11, 18) change in systolic blood pressure. This association is modified by age, BMI and the time of the day. Those 65 years and older, with a low BMI and those enrolled in the morning (7h00 – 10h00) had the greatest change in blood pressure due to outdoor temperature Conclusion –The study shows an inverse association between outdoor temperature and clinic-based blood pressure in a primary care setting in South Africa. Given the fact that clinic-based blood pressure measures are used to direct the management of hypertension, greater attention needs to be given to environmental factors which may affect it. This may become of greater clinical relevance with changes in the climate and extreme weather patterns, including extensive smog
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    The effectiveness of peer and community health worker-led self-management support programs for improving diabetes health-related outcomes in adults in low- and-middle-income countries: a systematic review
    (2020-06-06) Werfalli, Mahmoud; Raubenheimer, Peter J; Engel, Mark; Musekiwa, Alfred; Bobrow, Kirsten; Peer, Nasheeta; Hoegfeldt, Cecilia; Kalula, Sebastiana; Kengne, Andre P; Levitt, Naomi S
    Objective Community-based peer and community health worker-led diabetes self-management programs (COMP-DSMP) can benefit diabetes care, but the supporting evidence has been inadequately assessed. This systematic review explores the nature of COMP-DSMP in low- and middle-income countries’ (LMIC) primary care settings and evaluates implementation strategies and diabetes-related health outcomes. Methods We searched the Cochrane Library, PubMed-MEDLINE, SCOPUS, CINAHL PsycINFO Database, International Clinical Trials Registry Platform, Clinicaltrials.gov, Pan African Clinical Trials Registry (PACTR), and HINARI (Health InterNetwork Access to Research Initiative) for studies that evaluated a COMP-DSMP in adults with either type 1 or type 2 diabetes in World Bank-defined LMIC from January 2000 to December 2019. Randomised and non-randomised controlled trials with at least 3 months follow-up and reporting on a behavioural, a primary psychological, and/or a clinical outcome were included. Implementation strategies were analysed using the standardised implementation framework by Proctor et al. Heterogeneity in study designs, outcomes, the scale of measurements, and measurement times precluded meta-analysis; thus, a narrative description of studies is provided. Results Of the 702 records identified, eleven studies with 6090 participants were included. COMP-DSMPs were inconsistently associated with improvements in clinical, behavioural, and psychological outcomes. Many of the included studies were evaluated as being of low quality, most had a substantial risk of bias, and there was a significant heterogeneity of the intervention characteristics (for example, peer definition, selection, recruitment, training and type, dose, and duration of delivered intervention), such that generalisation was not possible. Conclusions The level of evidence of this systematic review was considered low according to the GRADE criteria. The existing evidence however does show some improvements in outcomes. We recommend ongoing, but well-designed studies using a framework such as the MRC framework for the development and evaluation of complex interventions to inform the evidence base on the contribution of COMP-DSMP in LMIC.
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    Using the Medical Research Council framework for development and evaluation of complex interventions in a low resource setting to develop a theory-based treatment support intervention delivered via SMS text message to improve blood pressure control
    (BioMed Central, 2018-01-23) Bobrow, Kirsten; Farmer, Andrew; Cishe, Nomazizi; Nwagi, Ntobeko; Namane, Mosedi; Brennan, Thomas P; Springer, David; Tarassenko, Lionel; Levitt, Naomi
    Background: Several frameworks now exist to guide intervention development but there remains only limited evidence of their application to health interventions based around use of mobile phones or devices, particularly in a low-resource setting. We aimed to describe our experience of using the Medical Research Council (MRC) Framework on complex interventions to develop and evaluate an adherence support intervention for high blood pressure delivered by SMS text message. We further aimed to describe the developed intervention in line with reporting guidelines for a structured and systematic description. Methods: We used a non-sequential and flexible approach guided by the 2008 MRC Framework for the development and evaluation of complex interventions. Results: We reviewed published literature and established a multi-disciplinary expert group to guide the development process. We selected health psychology theory and behaviour change techniques that have been shown to be important in adherence and persistence with chronic medications. Semi-structured interviews and focus groups with various stakeholders identified ways in which treatment adherence could be supported and also identified key features of well-regarded messages: polite tone, credible information, contextualised, and endorsed by identifiable member of primary care facility staff. Direct and indirect user testing enabled us to refine the intervention including refining use of language and testing of interactive components. Conclusions: Our experience shows that using a formal intervention development process is feasible in a low-resource multi-lingual setting. The process enabled us to pre-test assumptions about the intervention and the evaluation process, allowing the improvement of both. Describing how a multi-component intervention was developed including standardised descriptions of content aimed to support behaviour change will enable comparison with other similar interventions and support development of new interventions. Even in low-resource settings, funders and policy-makers should provide researchers with time and resources for intervention development work and encourage evaluation of the entire design and testing process. Trial registration: The trial of the intervention is registered with South African National Clinical Trials Register number (SANCTR DOH-27-1212-386; 28/12/2012); Pan Africa Trial Register (PACTR201411000724141; 14/12/2013); ClinicalTrials. gov (NCT02019823; 24/12/2013).