LSHTM Tanzania Network meeting
This informal lunchtime meeting will include a short quiz (with prize!) to test people’s knowledge of Tanzania, two short talks on current work in Tanzania, and an opportunity to find out more about the Tanzania Network. While the focus will be on Tanzania, the talks will be of general interest to all staff and students, and all are welcome to attend. Details of the two talks are below:
“Developing and implementing point-of-contact interactive record linkage (PIRL) to measure patterns of HIV service utilization in Tanzania” - Christopher Rentsch
Abstract
For his PhD research, Christopher has developed point-of-contact interactive record linkage (PIRL) and adapted computer software to prospectively link demographic and serological surveillance data with medical records from three clinics in a rural region of Tanzania located within a surveillance area offering HIV services. Using the linked dataset, he has (i) identified patient characteristics associated with successful linkage and compared PIRL with a traditional, automated probabilistic record linkage approach, (ii) quantified errors associated with linkage and estimated bias in analyses that rely on imperfectly matched datasets, and (iii) investigated delays from HIV diagnosis to care by testing modality.
Bio
Christopher is currently a PhD student in the Department of Population Health at LSHTM. In parallel to his PhD described above, he performs clinical pharmacoepidemiological research using data from the Veterans Health Administration in the US.
“Evaluating the PharmAccess SafeCare model for quality improvement in private health facilities” - Dr Catherine Goodman
Abstract
The private sector is a major and growing source of treatment in Tanzania, but there is considerable concern about the safety and quality of care. We are conducting a randomised controlled trial of the SafeCare quality improvement programme for private facilities, which involves quality assessments, mentoring, training and access to guaranteed loans. Quality is being measured through a combination of standardised patients, observation of infection prevention and control practices and patient exit interviews.
Bio
Catherine Goodman is a Professor in health economics and policy with 20 years experience in applied health systems research in low and middle income settings. Her work focuses on understanding and improving private sector healthcare provision - understanding the growth of this sector, the incentives private providers face, and consequences for healthcare quality and access, and in evaluating interventions to address this.
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