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Background: Surgical site infection (SSI) surveillance programs are recommended to be included in national infection prevention and control (IPC) programs, yet few exist in low- or middle-income countries (LMICs). Our goal was to identify components of surveillance in existing programs that could be replicated elsewhere and note opportunities for improvement to build awareness for other countries in the process of developing their own national surgical site infection surveillance (nSSIS) programs. Methods: We administered a survey built upon the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's framework for surveillance system evaluation to systematically deconstruct logistical infrastructure of existing nSSIS programs in LMICs. Qualitative analyses of survey responses by thematic elements were used to identify successful surveillance system components and recognize opportunities for improvement. Results: Three respondents representing countries in Europe and Central Asia, sub-Saharan Africa, and South Asia designated as upper middle-income, lower middle-income, and low-income responded. Notable strengths described by respondents included use of local paper documentation, staggered data entry, and limited data entry fields. Opportunities for improvement included outpatient data capture, broader coverage of healthcare centers within a nation, improved audit processes, defining the denominator of number of surgical procedures, and presence of an easily accessible, free SSI surveillance training program for healthcare workers. Conclusions: Outpatient post-surgery surveillance, national coverage of healthcare facilities, and training on how to take local SSI surveillance data and integrate it within a broader nSSIS program at the national level remain areas of opportunities for countries looking to implement a nSSIS program. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This article describes a bibliometric review of the scientific production, geographical distribution, collaboration, impact, and subject area focus of pneumonia research indexed on the Web of Science over a 15-year period.Methods: We searched the Web of Science database using the Medical Subject Heading (MeSH) of "Pneumonia" from January 1, 2001 to December 31, 2015. The only document types we studied were original articles and reviews, analyzing descriptive indicators by five-year periods and the scientific production by country, adjusting for population, economic, and research-related parameters.Results: A total of 22,694 references were retrieved. The number of publications increased steadily over time, from 981 publications in 2001 to 1977 in 2015 (R2 = 0.956). The most productive country was the USA (38.49%), followed by the UK (7.18%) and Japan (5.46%). Research production from China increased by more than 1000%. By geographical area, North America (42.08%) and Europe (40.79%) were most dominant. Scientific production in low- and middle-income countries more than tripled, although their overall contribution to the field remained limited (< 15%). Overall, 18.8% of papers were the result of an international collaboration, although this proportion was much higher in sub-Saharan Africa (46.08%) and South Asia (23.43%). According to the specific MeSH terms used, articles focused mainly on "Pneumonia, Bacterial" (19.99%), followed by "Pneumonia, Pneumococcal" (7.02%) and "Pneumonia, Ventilator-Associated" (6.79%).Conclusions: Pneumonia research increased steadily over the 15-year study period, with Europe and North America leading scientific production. About a fifth of all papers reflected international collaborations, and these were most evident in papers from sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Hyperglycemia during pregnancy leads to adverse maternal and fetal outcomes. Thus, strict monitoring of blood glucose levels is warranted. This study aims to determine the association of early to mid-pregnancy HbA1c levels with the development of pregnancy complications in women from three countries in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. Methods: We performed a secondary analysis of the AMANHI (Alliance for Maternal and Newborn Health Improvement) cohort, which enrolled 10,001 pregnant women between May 2014 and June 2018 across Sylhet-Bangladesh, Karachi-Pakistan, and Pemba Island-Tanzania. HbA1c assays were performed at enrollment (8 to < 20 gestational weeks), and epidemiological data were collected during 2–3 monthly household visits. The women were followed-up till the postpartum period to determine the pregnancy outcomes. Multivariable logistic regression models assessed the association between elevated HbA1c levels and adverse events while controlling for potential confounders. Results: A total of 9,510 pregnant women were included in the analysis. The mean HbA1c level at enrollment was found to be the highest in Bangladesh (5.31 ± 0.37), followed by Tanzania (5.22 ± 0.49) and then Pakistan (5.07 ± 0.58). We report 339 stillbirths and 9,039 live births. Among the live births were 892 preterm births, 892 deliveries via cesarean section, and 532 LGA babies. In the multivariate pooled analysis, maternal HbA1c levels of ≥ 6.5 were associated with increased risks of stillbirths (aRR = 6.3, 95% CI = 3.4,11.6); preterm births (aRR = 3.5, 95% CI = 1.8–6.7); and Large for Gestational Age (aRR = 5.5, 95% CI = 2.9–10.6). Conclusion: Maternal HbA1c level is an independent risk factor for predicting adverse pregnancy outcomes such as stillbirth, preterm birth, and LGA among women in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. These groups may benefit from early interventional strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper attempts to empirically analyze the compatibility of national trade liberalization policies with regards to promoting widespread use of renewable energy resources across 71 low, lower-middle and upper-middle income countries from South Asia, East Asia, Pacific, Central Asia, Latin America, Caribbean islands and Sub-Saharan Africa. Annual time series data from 2000 to 2017 is employed to perform panel data cointegration and regression analyses. The results from the cointegration analyses show long-run associations between trade liberalization policies and the renewable energy consumption indicators. The Instrumental Variable Two-Stage Least Squares panel data estimator is employed to control for the endogeneity in the dataset. The overall results broadly point towards the effectiveness of greater trade openness in facilitating renewable energy transition only in the low-income economies while prolonging the transition periods in the lower and upper-middle income countries. The marginal impact of a rise in the trade openness index is estimated to enhance the renewable energy share in total energy consumption within low-income countries by 0.24% as opposed to lowering this share by 0.19% within lower-middle income economies. However, trade liberalization is found to attribute to greater efficiency of renewable energy use across all the three income groups. Thus, these findings have critically important policy implications for the respective governments. • Trade liberalization exerts heterogeneous impacts on renewable energy transition. • Trade openness increases renewable energy consumption only across the LIC. • Liberal trade policies enhance renewable energy shares only within LIC and UMIC. • Efficiency of renewable energy-use is amplified via trade liberalization. • Higher trade openness accounts for greater access to clean cooking fuels in LMIC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A large literature has demonstrated the link between poverty and mental ill-health. Yet, the potential causal effects of poverty alleviation measures on mental disorders are not well-understood. In this systematic review, we summarize the evidence of the effects of a particular kind of poverty alleviation mechanism on mental health: the provision of cash transfers in low- and middle-income countries. We searched eleven databases and websites and assessed over 4,000 studies for eligibility. Randomized controlled trials evaluating the effects of cash transfers on depression, anxiety, and stress were included. All programs targeted adults or adolescents living in poverty. Overall, 17 studies, comprising 26,794 participants in Sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America, and South Asia, met the inclusion criteria of this review. Studies were critically appraised using Cochrane's Risk of Bias tool and publication bias was tested using funnel plots, egger's regression, and sensitivity analyses. The review was registered in PROSPERO (CRD42020186955). Meta-analysis showed that cash transfers significantly reduced depression and anxiety of recipients (dpooled = -0.10; 95%-CI: -0.15, -0.05; p<0.01). However, improvements may not be sustained 2–9 years after program cessation (dpooled = -0.05; 95%-CI: -0.14, 0.04; ns). Meta-regression indicates that impacts were larger for unconditional transfers (dpooled = -0.14; 95%-CI: -0.17, -0.10; p<0.01) than for conditional programs (dpooled = 0.10; 95%-CI: 0.07, 0.13; p<0.01). Effects on stress were insignificant and confidence intervals include both the possibility of meaningful reductions and small increases in stress (dpooled = -0.10; 95%-CI: -0.32, 0.12; ns). Overall, our findings suggest that cash transfers can play a role in alleviating depression and anxiety disorders. Yet, continued financial support may be necessary to enable longer-term improvements. Impacts are comparable in size to the effects of cash transfers on, e.g., children's test scores and child labor. Our findings further raise caution about potential adverse effects of conditionality on mental health, although more evidence is needed to draw robust conclusions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To present an empirical description of the association between height and lifetime fertility in women from low‐ and middle‐income countries, allowing for flexible functional relationships. Methods: A pooled sample (N = 846 257) of women ages 35–49 in Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) from 64 countries, with regional samples for Latin America, South Asia, and sub‐Saharan Africa. Flexibly‐estimated structured additive regression models estimate variations in the height‐fertility relationship over the height distribution. Results: Across samples, height is shown to have nonlinear relationships with number of children ever born and age at first birth. Number of children increases with height until a maximum below average height, after which the number of children decreases. Age at first marriage decreases with height until a minimum below average height, and then increases. Except at the shortest heights, much of the variation in fertility is suggested to reflect socioeconomic differences across heights. At the shortest heights, variation is suggested to reflect later ages at first birth, except for women in sub‐Saharan Africa. Conclusion: A nonlinear relationship is indicated between height and fertility. Much of the relationship is suggested to reflect height‐variations in socioeconomic status and age at first birth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The influence of urbanicity on hypertension prevalence remains poorly understood. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to assess the difference in hypertension prevalence between urban and rural areas in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs), where the most pronounced urbanisation is underway. Methods and findings: We searched PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, and Embase, from 01/01/1990 to 10/03/2022. We included population-based studies with ≥400 participants 15 years and older, selected by using a valid sampling technique, from LMICs that reported the urban-rural difference in hypertension prevalence using similar blood pressure measurements. We excluded abstracts, reviews, non-English studies, and those with exclusively self-reported hypertension prevalence. Study selection, quality assessment, and data extraction were performed by 2 independent reviewers following a standardised protocol. Our primary outcome was the urban minus rural prevalence of hypertension. Hypertension was defined as systolic blood pressure ≥140 mm Hg and/or diastolic blood pressure as ≥90 mm Hg and could include use of antihypertensive medication, self-reported diagnosis, or both. We investigated heterogeneity using study-level and socioeconomic country-level indicators. We conducted meta-analysis and meta-regression using random-effects models. This systematic review and meta-analysis has been registered with PROSPERO (CRD42018091671). We included 299 surveys from 66 LMICs, including 19,770,946 participants (mean age 45.4 ± SD = 9 years, 53.0% females and 63.1% from rural areas). The pooled prevalence of hypertension was 30.5% (95% CI, 28.9, 32.0) in urban areas and 27.9% (95% CI, 26.3, 29.6) in rural areas, resulting in a pooled urban-rural difference of 2.45% (95% CI, 1.57, 3.33, I-square: 99.71%, tau-square: 0.00524, Pheterogeneity < 0.001). Hypertension prevalence increased over time and the rate of change was greater in rural compared to urban areas, resulting in a pooled urban-rural difference of 5.75% (95% CI, 4.02, 7.48) in the period 1990 to 2004 and 1.38% (95% CI, 0.40, 2.37) in the period 2005 to 2020, p < 0.001 for time period. We observed substantial heterogeneity in the urban-rural difference of hypertension, which was partially explained by urban-rural definition, probably high risk of bias in sampling, country income status, region, and socioeconomic indicators. The urban-rural difference was 5.67% (95% CI, 4.22, 7.13) in low, 2.74% (95% CI, 1.41, 4.07) in lower-middle and −1.22% (95% CI, −2.73, 0.28) in upper-middle-income countries in the period 1990 to 2020, p < 0.001 for country income. The urban-rural difference was highest for South Asia (7.50%, 95% CI, 5.73, 9.26), followed by sub-Saharan Africa (4.24%, 95% CI, 2.62, 5.86) and reversed for Europe and Central Asia (−6.04%, 95% CI, −9.06, −3.01), in the period 1990 to 2020, p < 0.001 for region. Finally, the urban-rural difference in hypertension prevalence decreased nonlinearly with improvements in Human Development Index and infant mortality rate. Limitations included lack of data available from all LMICs and variability in urban and rural definitions in the literature. Conclusions: The prevalence of hypertension in LMICs increased between 1990 and 2020 in both urban and rural areas, but with a stronger trend in rural areas. The urban minus rural hypertension difference decreased with time, and with country-level socioeconomic development. Focused action, particularly in rural areas, is needed to tackle the burden of hypertension in LMICs. Otavio T. Ranzani and colleagues explore urban-rural differences in hypertension prevalence in low- and middle-income countries from 1990-2020. Author summary: Why was this study done?: Hypertension is one of the main risk factors for morbidity and mortality worldwide. Urbanisation is a dynamic process that is occurring mainly in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) nowadays. Whether urban-rural differences in hypertension prevalence vary by region, country-level income status, calendar time, or socioeconomic indicators is largely unknown yet important for understanding the public health implications of urbanisation. What did the researchers do and find?: We performed a systematic database search, and after standardised study selection, data extraction, and risk of bias assessment, we analysed 299 surveys including information from over 19.7 million individuals in 66 LMICs. We observed a slightly higher prevalence of hypertension in urban compared with rural areas in a meta-analysis. The urban-rural difference varied with urbanisation stage and socioeconomic development, and decreased over time as prevalence in rural areas converged with, and eventually overtook, that of urban areas. What do these findings mean?: The prevalence of hypertension in LMICs has increased over the past 2 decades; the rate of change appears greater in rural compared to urban areas. Overall patterns in the urban-rural difference indicate that as country-level socioeconomic indicators improved, hypertension in rural began to surpass that of urban areas. These results have important implications for public health planning: Tackling the global burden of hypertension will require targeted action, particularly in rural areas of LMICs, where there are important opportunities for prevention in the face of socioeconomic development and urbanisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) are predominantly managed by syndromic management. However, most STIs are asymptomatic. These untreated STIs cause individual morbidity, and lead to high STI prevalences. There is increasing interest in the use of point-of-care tests (POCTs) for STIs in LMICs, which could facilitate same day testing and treatment. To best utilise these tests, we must understand the facilitators and barriers to their implementation. The aim of this review is to explore how point-of-care testing for STIs has been implemented into healthcare systems in LMIC and the facilitators and barriers to doing so.Methods: A scoping review was conducted by searching MEDLINE, Embase, Emcare, CINAHL, Scopus, LILACS, the Cochrane Library, and ProQuest Dissertations and Theses for studies published between 1st January 1998 and 5th June 2020. Abstracts and full articles were screened independently by two reviewers. Studies were considered for inclusion if they assessed the acceptability, feasibility, facilitators, or barriers to implementation of point-of-care testing for chlamydia, gonorrhoea, trichomoniasis or syphilis in LMICs. Thematic analysis was used to analyse and present the facilitators and barriers to point-of-care STI testing.Results: The literature search revealed 82 articles suitable for inclusion; 44 (53.7%) from sub-Saharan Africa; 21 (25.6%) from Latin American and the Caribbean; 10 (12.2%) from East Asia and the Pacific; 6 (7.3%) from South Asia; and one (1.2%) multi-regional study. Thematic analysis revealed seven overarching themes related to the implementation of POCTs in LMICs, namely (i) Ideal test characteristics, (ii) Client factors, (iii) Healthcare provision factors, (iv) Policy, infrastructure and health system factors, (v) Training, audit, and feedback, (vi) Reaching new testing environments, and (vii) Dual testing.Conclusion: Implementation of POCTs in LMICs is complex, with many of the barriers due to wider health system weakness. In addition to pressing for broader structural change to facilitate basic healthcare delivery, these themes may also be used as a basis on which to develop future interventions. The literature was heavily skewed towards syphilis testing, and so more research needs to be conducted assessing chlamydia, gonorrhoea, and trichomoniasis testing, as well as home or self-testing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]