Michelle Kermode's research while affiliated with University of Melbourne and other places

Background: Non-adherence to treatment is a frequently observed phenomenon amongst those on long-term treatment for chronic illnesses. This qualitative study draws upon the tenets of 'practice theory' to reveal what shapes patients' ability to adhere to the demanding treatment for drug-resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB) at three treatment sites in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province of Pakistan. Methods: This qualitative study involved observation of service provision over a period of nine months of stay at, and embedment within the three treatment sites and in-depth interviews with 13 service providers and 22 patients who became non-adherent to their treatment. Results: Consistent with the extensive research based on the barriers and facilitator approach, both patients, and providers in our study also talked of patients' doubts about diagnosis and treatment efficacy, side-effects of drugs, economic constraints, unreliable disbursements of monetary incentive, attitude of providers and co-morbidities as reasons for non-adherence to treatment. Applying a practice theory perspective yielded more contextualised insights; inadequate help with patients' physical complaints, unempathetic responses to their queries, and failure to provide essential information, created conditions which hindered the establishment and maintenance of the 'practice' of adhering to treatment. These supply-side gaps created confusion, bred resentment, and exacerbated pre-existing distrust of public health services among patients, and ultimately drove them to disengage with the TB services and stop their treatment. Conclusion: We argue that the lack of supply-side 'responsiveness' to patient needs beyond the provision of a few material inputs is what is lacking in the existing DR-TB program in Pakistan. We conclude that unless Pakistan's TB program explicitly engages with these supply side, system level gaps, patients will continue to struggle to adhere to their treatments and the TB program will continue to lose patients. Conceptually, we make a case for reimagining the act of adherence (or not) to long-term treatment as a 'Practice.'

Objective: To describe and quantify patients' self-reported experiences of receiving healthcare from Pakistan's Programmatic Management of Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis (PMDT) model of care, and to understand these experiences within the broader context of Pakistan's health system. Method: This was a cross-sectional survey of patients attending three PMDT clinics in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Province in Pakistan. Results: The median consultation time at the PMDT clinics was 10 minutes. In their most recent visit to the PMDT clinic, 34.9% of patients spent >40% of their monthly income to access treatment. To specify, 71% of patients reported spending out-of-pocket for ancillary medicines and 44.7% for laboratory tests. In 10.5% of cases, medicines for drug-resistant TB (DR-TB) were dispensed without the patient attending the clinic. Only 43.7% of treatment supporters regularly accompanied patients to the clinic, and 6% supervised the patient's intake of medicines. Disbursement of financial support was irregular in 98.6% of cases. Only 6.2% of patients received their daily injections from a public facility, the rest went elsewhere. Conclusion: Several shortcomings in PMDT services, including hurried consultations, irregularities in financial support, and gaps in Pakistan's broader health system undermined healthcare experience of patients with DR-TB. To improve health outcomes and patients' care experience these service gaps need to be addressed.

Background: Few studies have explicitly examined the implementation of change interventions in low- and middle-income country (LMIC) public health services. We contribute to implementation science by analyzing the implementation of an organizational change intervention in a large, hierarchical and bureaucratic public service in a LMIC health system. Methods: Using qualitative methods, we critically interrogate the implementation of an intervention to improve quality of obstetric and newborn services across 692 facilities in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar states of India to reveal how to go about making change happen in LMIC public health services. Results: We found that focusing the interventions on a discreet part of the health service (labour rooms) ensured minimal disruption of the status quo and created room for initiating change. Establishing and maintaining respectful, trusting relationships is critical, and it takes time and much effort to cultivate such relationships. Investing in doing so allows one to create a safe space for change; it helps thaw entrenched practices, behaviours and attitudes, thereby creating opportunities for change. Those at the frontline of change processes need to be enabled and supported to: lead by example, model and embody desirable behaviours, be empathetic and humble, and make the change process a positive and meaningful experience for all involved. They need discretionary space to tailor activities to local contexts and need support from higher levels of the organisation to exercise discretion. Conclusions: We conclude that making change happen in LMIC public health services, is possible, and is best approached as a flexible, incremental, localised, learning process. Smaller change interventions targeting discreet parts of the public health services, if appropriately contextualised, can set the stage for incremental system wide changes and improvements to be initiated. To succeed, change initiatives need to cultivate and foster support across all levels of the organisation.

Young people experiencing mental ill-health are often excluded from peer networks, family events, education, marriage and employment. We evaluated a community-based, peer-led intervention guided by the Nae Disha (new pathways) program, targeting young people affected by mental ill-health in Uttarakhand, India. A total of 11 groups involving 142 young people (30 male, 112 female) and 8 peer facilitators participated, most of whom were enrolled in a community mental health program. The impact of the intervention on participation, mental health, and social strengths and difficulties was measured at baseline and endline using validated instruments. The proportion experiencing significant social isolation reduced from 20.6 to 5.9% (p < 0.001), and those classified in the ‘abnormal’ range of the social difficulties measure halved from 42.6 to 21.3% (p < 0.001). These findings clearly demonstrate that perceptions of social inclusion and mental health of young people affected by mental illness can be significantly strengthened through participation in this low-resource intervention.

Background: While Pakistan's Programmatic Management of Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis (PMDT) programme, launched in 2010, initially yielded significant gains in treatment outcomes, performance has since plateaued, and in some cases, regressed. Objective: To critically investigate why the PMDT programme, well-structured and generously resourced as it is, could not improve upon or sustain this early success and to illustrate the use of practice theory as a framework to analyse functioning of health systems. Method: A practice theory-informed ethnographic study was conducted at three PMDT clinics. The analysis drew on 9 months of participant observation and in-depth interviews with 13 healthcare providers and four managers. Results: The PMDT model primarily focused on materialities such as infrastructure, drugs and numbers of people tested, and little on developing competencies of the PMDT staff to provide responsive care. This emphasis on materialities, and the linked focus of accountability processes, led the PMDT staff to create meanings that translated into prioritisation of certain easy-to-measure health-care practices at the expense of more difficult-to-measure practices related to responsiveness that are arguably also important for successful patient outcomes. Conclusion: A narrow focus on measurable inputs, originating from priorities set at global and national levels, influence frontline care practices with negative consequences for quality of care and patient outcomes. Greater emphasis on improving routine process of care can enhance the effectiveness of the PMDT model of care. Practice theory provides a robust analytical framework to critically interrogate health systems and healthcare provision.

Background: Few studies have explicitly examined the implementation of change interventions in low- and middle-income country (LMIC) public health services. We contribute to implementation science by analyzing the implementation of an organizational change intervention in a large, hierarchical and bureaucratic public service in a LMIC health system. Methods: Using qualitative methods, we critically interrogate the implementation of an intervention to improve quality of obstetric and newborn services across 692 facilities in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar states of India to reveal how to go about making change happen in LMIC public health services. Results: We found that focusing the interventions on a discreet part of the health service (labour rooms) ensured minimal disruption of the status quo and created room for initiating change. Establishing and maintaining respectful, trusting relationships is critical, and it takes time and much effort to cultivate such relationships. Investing in doing so allows one to create a safe space for change; it helps thaw entrenched practices, behaviours and attitudes, thereby creating opportunities for change. Those at the frontline of change processes need to be enabled and supported to: lead by example, model and embody desirable behaviours, be empathetic and humble, and make the change process a positive and meaningful experience for all involved. They need discretionary space to tailor activities to local contexts and need support from higher levels of the organisation to exercise discretion. Conclusions: We conclude that making change happen in LMIC public health services, is possible, and is best approached as a flexible, incremental, localised, learning process. Smaller change interventions targeting discreet parts of the public health services, if appropriately contextualised, can set the stage for incremental system wide changes and improvements to be initiated. To succeed, change initiatives need to cultivate and foster support across all levels of the organisation.

Background: Opioid substitution therapy (OST) with buprenorphine has been widely available in India since 2007, but the introduction of methadone occurred much later in 2012, and availability remains limited. Illicit injecting drug use is a long-standing public health problem in Manipur, a state in Northeast India characterised by major resource constraints and political unrest. We investigated retention and outcomes for clients attending a methadone-based OST program in Manipur with the aim of strengthening the evidence base for development of relevant policies and programs. Methods: All clients enrolling in the methadone clinic over a 1 year period were invited to be part of a prospective cohort study, which followed up and surveyed both retained and defaulting clients for 12 months post-enrollment to assess retention as well as social, behavioural and mental health outcomes. Additionally, we conducted semi-structured qualitative interviews to supplement quantitative information and identify factors contributing to retention and drop-out. Results: Of the 74 clients enrolled, 21 had dropped out and three had died (all defaulters) by 12 months post-enrollment, leaving 67.6% still in the program. Using an intention-to-treat analysis, meaningful and statistically significant gains were observed for all social, behavioural and mental health variables. Between baseline and 12 months there were reductions in needle sharing, drug use, property crime, anxiety, depression and suicidal thoughts; and improvements in physical health, mental health, quality of family relationships, employment and hopefulness. Factors contributing to retention and drop-out were identified, including the centrality of family, and general lack of awareness of and misunderstanding about methadone. Conclusion: Even in parts of India where resources are constrained, methadone is an effective treatment for opioid dependence. Scaling up the availability of methadone elsewhere in Manipur and in other areas of India experiencing problematic opioid dependence is indicated.

Objectives: Despite the national effort to integrate the Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission (PMTCT) programme into antenatal care clinics in Indonesia, the rate of mother-to-child HIV transmission remains high. This national study was conducted to describe PMTCT programme performance and to identify health facility characteristics associated with this performance in order to inform programme planning and policy development. Design: A retrospective cross-sectional study in December 2017. Setting: All health facilities providing PMTCT programmes in Indonesia. Participants: All health facilities registering at least one woman in antenatal care in 2017. Intervention: PMTCT data extraction from the national reporting system on HIV/AIDS and government reports. Outcomes: Women retention in the PMTCT programme for at least 3 months and associated health facility characteristics. Results: A total of 373 health facilities registering 6502 HIV-positive women in antenatal care were included in the analysis. One-third of women (2099) never started antiretroviral treatment. Of the 4403 women who started, 2610 (57%) were retained; 462 (10%) were not retained; and the retention status of 1252 (28%) women referred out of the health facilities was unknown. Compared with primary health centres, hospitals were more likely to retain women (OR=2.88, 95% CI 2.19 to 3.79). The odds of retention were higher in hospital types A and B (OR=3.89, 95% CI 3.19 to 4.76), located within concentrated HIV epidemic areas (OR=2.09, 95% CI 1.83 to 2.38) and a high-priority area for the HIV programme (OR=1.83, 95% CI 1.60 to 2.09). We observed no differential retention between women who initiated PMTCT under different options (B+/non-B+). Conclusions: We observed low retention of HIV-positive pregnant women in the PMTCT programme in Indonesia in 2017. Additional efforts are needed to improve women's retention in the PMTCT programme. Retention could be increased through the delivery of PMTCT programmes by replicating strategies implemented at hospital types A and B located in concentrated HIV epidemic areas where an HIV programme is a high priority.

Objectives: There is a lack of evidence on approaches to mitigating mistreatment during facility-based childbirth. This study compares the experiences of mistreatment reported by childbearing women before and after implementation of a respectful maternity care intervention. Design: A pre-post study design was undertaken to quantify changes in women's experiences of mistreatment during facility-based childbirth before and after the respectful maternity care intervention. Intervention: A respectful maternity care intervention was implemented in three hospitals in southern Ethiopia between December 2017 and September 2018 and it included training of service providers, placement of wall posters in labour rooms and post-training supportive visits for quality improvement. Outcome measures: A 25-item questionnaire asking women about mistreatment experiences was administered to 388 women (198 in the pre-intervention, 190 in the post-intervention). The outcome variable was the number of mistreatment components experienced by women, expressed as a score out of 25. Multilevel mixed-effects Poisson modelling was used to assess the change in mistreatment score from pre-intervention to post-intervention periods. Results: The number of mistreatment components experienced by women was reduced by 18% when the post-intervention group was compared with the pre-intervention group (adjusted regression coefficient (Aβ)=0.82, 95% CI 0.74 to 0.91). Women who had a complication during pregnancy (Aβ=1.17, 95% CI 1.01 to 1.34) and childbirth (Aβ=1.16, 95% CI 1.03 to 1.32) experienced a greater number of mistreatment components. On the other hand, women who gave birth by caesarean birth after trial of vaginal birth (Aβ=0.76, 95% CI 0.63 to 0.92) and caesarean birth without trial of vaginal birth (Aβ=0.68, 95% CI 0.47 to 0.98) experienced a lesser number of mistreatment components compared with those who had vaginal birth. Conclusions: Women reported significantly fewer mistreatment experiences during childbirth following implementation of the intervention. Given the variety of factors that lead to mistreatment in health facilities, interventions designed to mitigate mistreatment need to involve structural changes.