Non-communicable disease care in Sierra Leone: a mixed-methods study of the drivers and barriers to retention in care for hypertension.

Objective: To retrospectively analyse routinely collected data on the drivers and barriers to retention in chronic care for patients with hypertension in the Kono District of Sierra Leone.

Design: Convergent mixed-methods study.

Setting: Koidu Government Hospital, a secondary-level hospital in Kono District.

Implementation of a non-communicable disease clinic in rural Sierra Leone: early experiences and lessons learned.

This study is an evaluation of the first cohort of patients enrolled in an outpatient non-communicable disease clinic in Kono, Sierra Leone. In the first year, the clinic enrolled 916 patients. Eight months after the enrollment of the last patient, 53% were still active in care, 43% had been lost to follow-up (LTFU) and 4% had defaulted.

Seroprevalence of hepatitis B and hepatitis C among blood donors in Sierra Leone: A multi-year retrospective study.

Objectives: In Sierra Leone, very little data are available on hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) prevalence. Blood donor screening permits estimation of the prevalence of transfusion transmissible infections in a general open population. We analyzed blood donor data in Sierra Leone to estimate national viral hepatitis prevalence and identify risk factors for hepatitis infection among the donor population.

Reducing mortality from severe malaria in Sierra Leonean children by applying the World Health Organization's standard malarial protocol with additional sublingual glucose: A continuous quality improvement report.

Objectives: To reduce childhood mortality from severe malaria by implementing the World Health Organization's standardized malarial treatment protocol.

Design: Observational study comparing the mortality rate from malaria before and after the intervention.

Setting: Inpatient pediatric ward in a district referral hospital of Sierra Leone.

A comprehensive district-level laboratory intervention after the Ebola epidemic in Sierra Leone.

Background: The 2014-2016 Ebola outbreak exposed the poor laboratory systems in Sierra Leone. Immense needs were recognised across all areas, from facilities, diagnostic capacity, supplies, trained personnel to quality assurance mechanisms.

Objective: We aimed to describe the first year of a comprehensive intervention, which started in 2015, in a public hospital's general laboratory serving a population of over 500 000 in a rural district.