The availability of essential medicines in public health facilities in Afghanistan: navigating socio-political and geographical challenges.

During the past two decades, the Afghan government, along with international community, has developed a system aimed at improving access to essential health services under Afghanistan's challenging socio-political and geographical circumstances. In 31 provinces, non-state actors competed for fixed-term contracts to implement a predefined package of health services. In three provinces, the government organised the provision of health services.

Managing medicines in decentralisation: discrepancies between national policies and local practices in primary healthcare settings in Indonesia.

In Indonesia, primary health centres (PHCs) are mandated to provide essential medicines to ensure equal access to medication for all Indonesians, as stated in the national medicine policy. However, limited information is available regarding the actual practices of health workers within the context of decentralised governance. This paper investigates the discrepancies between national policies and local practices in two Indonesian districts, shedding light on coping mechanisms employed in each phase of medicine management within PHCs.

The availability of essential medicines in primary health centres in Indonesia: achievements and challenges across the archipelago.

Background: Indonesia is making significant strides toward achieving universal health coverage, which involves providing free access to essential medicines. This study examines the availability of essential medicine in primary health centres (PHCs) across Indonesia, the reasons why medicines are unavailable, and the extent to which communities have access to alternative dispensing points.

Methods: Enumerators visited each of the 9831 PHCs in all 514 districts to assess the availability of 60 essential medicines and identify reasons for any absent medicines.

Uptake of community health care provision by community health entrepreneurs for febrile illness and diarrhoea: a cross-sectional survey in rural communities in Bunyangabu district, Uganda.

Objective: To assess the uptake of services provided by community health workers who were trained as community health entrepreneurs (CHEs) for febrile illness and diarrhoea.

Design: A cross-sectional survey among households combined with mapping of all providers of basic medicine and primary health services in the study area.

Participants: 1265 randomly selected households in 15 rural villages with active CHEs.

What makes knowledge translation work in practice? Lessons from a demand-driven and locally led project in Cameroon, Jordan and Nigeria.

Background: Over the years, the knowledge translation (KT) field has moved from promoting linearized models to embracing the importance of interaction and learning. Likewise, there is now increased attention on the transfer of KT approaches to new environments. Some scholars, however, have warned that ideas about transferability still hinge on linear thinking and doing.

From promise to practice: a guide to developing pooled procurement mechanisms for medicines and vaccines.

Introduction: Buyers of medicines and vaccines are increasingly interested in pooling their procurement to improve access to affordable and quality-assured health commodities. However, the academic literature has provided no detailed description of how pooled procurement mechanisms are set up and develop over time. These insights are valuable as it increases our understanding of implementing and operating pooled procurement mechanisms successfully.

Using telehealth to support community health workers in Uganda during COVID-19: a mixed-method study.

Background: At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, a local consortium in Uganda set up a telehealth approach that aimed to educate 3,500 Community Health Workers (CHW) in rural areas about COVID-19, help them identify, refer and care for potential COVID-19 cases, and support them in continuing their regular community health work. The aim of this study was to assess the functioning of the telehealth approach that was set up to support CHWs during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods: For this mixed-method study, we combined analysis of routine consultation data from the call-center, 24 interviews with key-informants and two surveys of 150 CHWs.

Why falsified medicines reach patients: an analysis of political and economic factors in Romania.

Introduction: To protect patients against falsified medicines, countries around the world implement stringent regulations. Despite efforts to protect supply chains in the European Union (EU), authorities continue to find falsified medicine. We studied how in Romania, one of the poorest EU countries, political and economic factors influence the risk of patients being exposed to falsified medicines.

A systematic review of pooled procurement of medicines and vaccines: identifying elements of success.

Introduction: Pooled procurement of health commodities has increasingly been promoted as a solution to reduce prices, increase availability, and achieve more efficient procurement processes. However, little is known about what is required to implement pooled procurement mechanisms successfully and how they function under specific circumstances. Therefore, the aim of this systematic review is to synthesize empirically grounded insights by identifying the elements that are essential for setting up and operating pooled procurement mechanisms of medicines and vaccines.

From sustainability to sustaining work: What do actors do to sustain knowledge translation platforms?

Knowledge translation platforms (KTPs) are seen as an important collaborative arrangement between researchers, policymakers, and practitioners. Yet, their 'sustainability' is a recurring issue. Several studies describe what makes KTPs sustainable, and focus on the role of institutional and contextual factors therein, yet few studies show how sustaining of KTPs is done in practice.

The experiences and needs of re-entering nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic: A qualitative study.

During the COVID-19 outbreak in the Netherlands, thousands of former nurses have returned to nursing to support healthcare staff. After a period of absence and with little time to prepare, these former nurses re-entered  during a challenging, uncertain and rapidly evolving pandemic. Little is known about the experiences and needs of these re-entering nurses.

Is Indonesia achieving universal health coverage? Secondary analysis of national data on insurance coverage, health spending and service availability.

Objectives: To analyse the relationship between health need, insurance coverage, health service availability, service use, insurance claims and out-of-pocket spending on health across Indonesia.

Design: Secondary analysis of nationally representative quantitative data. We merged four national data sets: the National Socioeconomic Survey 2018, National Census of Villages 2018, Population Health Development Index 2018 and National Insurance Records to end 2017.

Substandard and Falsified Medicines: Proposed Methods for Case Finding and Sentinel Surveillance.

The World Health Organization and others warn that substandard and falsified medicines harm health and waste money, especially in low- and middle-income countries. However, no country has measured the market-wide extent of the problem, and no standardized methods exist to estimate the prevalence of either substandard or falsified medicines. This is, in part, because the task seems overwhelming; medicine markets are huge and diverse, and testing medicines is expensive.

Why did informal sector workers stop paying for health insurance in Indonesia? Exploring enrollees' ability and willingness to pay.

Indonesia faces a growing informal sector in the wake of implementing a national social health insurance system-Jaminan Kesehatan Nasional (JKN)-that supersedes the vertical programmes historically tied to informal employment. Sustainably financing coverage for informal workers requires incentivising enrolment for those never insured and recovering enrolment among those who once paid but no longer do so. This study aims to assess the ability- and willingness-to-pay of informal sector workers who have stopped paying the JKN premium for at least six months, across districts of different fiscal capacity, and explore which factors shaped their willingness and ability to pay using qualitative interviews.

Challenges in maintaining medicine quality while aiming for universal health coverage: a qualitative analysis from Indonesia.

Introduction: Indonesia, the world's fourth most populous nation, is close to achieving universal health coverage (UHC). A widely-publicised falsified vaccine case in 2016, coupled with a significant financial deficit in the national insurance system, has contributed to concern that the rapid scale-up of UHC might undermine medicine quality. We investigated the political and economic factors that drive production and trade of poor-quality medicines in Indonesia.

Setting the global research agenda for community-based HIV service delivery through the faith sector.

Background: While leading AIDS organizations expect faith and health collaborations to play a crucial role in organizing and scaling up community-based HIV services, it is unclear how this can be realized. Little primary research has been conducted into which strategies for collaboration and service provision are most effective, efficient, scalable and sustainable. Seeking to align research with urgent needs, enhance coordination and increase the likelihood that results are used, this study aimed to set an inclusive global research agenda that reflects priority research questions from key stakeholders at the intersection of HIV healthcare and faith.

What Makes a National Pharmaceutical Track and Trace System Succeed? Lessons From Turkey.

Background: Track and trace systems are increasingly being implemented as a technological solution to secure pharmaceutical supply chains. Turkey was the first country to implement a full pharmaceutical track and trace system throughout the entire regulated domestic supply chain. This article explores the emergence and functioning of this system and the consequences for substandard and falsified medicine with a focus on the underlying political and economic factors.

Reaching rural communities through 'Healthy Entrepreneurs': a cross-sectional exploration of community health entrepreneurship's role in sexual and reproductive health.

The purpose of the current study was to explore the association between community health entrepreneurship and the sexual and reproductive health status of rural households in West-Uganda. We collected data using digital surveys in a cluster-randomized cross-sectional cohort study. The sample entailed 1211 household members from 25 randomly selected villages within two subcounties, of a rural West-Ugandan district.

Disclosure of human immunodeficiency virus status to children in South Africa: A comprehensive analysis.

Background: The extent of disclosure of HIV status to children and adolescents and the context facilitating their disclosure process have received little attention.

Objectives: To assess disclosure and provide a comprehensive analysis of characteristics associated with disclosure to children (3-14 years) receiving antiretroviral treatment in a South African semi-urban clinic.

Methods: This cross-sectional study used structured interview administered questionnaires which were supplemented with medical record data.

Envisioning and shaping translation of knowledge into action: A comparative case-study of stakeholder engagement in the development of a European tobacco control tool.

Stakeholder engagement in health policy research is often said to increase 'research impact', but the active role of stakeholders in creating impact remains underexplored. We explored how stakeholders shaped the translation of health policy research into action. Our comparative case-study tracked a European research project that aimed to transfer an existing tobacco control return on investment tool.

Identifying market risk for substandard and falsified medicines: an analytic framework based on qualitative research in China, Indonesia, Turkey and Romania.

Substandard and falsified medicines undermine health systems. We sought to unravel the political and economic factors which drive the production of these products, and to explain how they reach patients. We conducted in-depth case studies in China, Indonesia, Turkey and Romania.

A treatment-support intervention evaluated in South African paediatric populations with HIV infection or tuberculous meningitis.

Objectives: To evaluate a paediatric treatment-support intervention for home-based treatment of HIV infection or tuberculous meningitis (TBM).

Methods: A randomised-controlled study comparing local standard care (controls) with standard care plus intervention (combining adherence education, reinforcement and monitoring) in children aged 0-14 years. We recorded adherence measures (self-report, pill-count, drug-assays for isoniazid and rifampicin in urine and pyrazinamide in saliva), difficulties administering medication and PedsQL™questionnaires for health-related quality-of-life (HRQoL) and family impact.

Paediatric ART Adherence in South Africa: A Comprehensive Analysis.

Adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART) remains a challenge for HIV-infected children. In this cross-sectional study, we used structured interview-administered questionnaires and medical records to measure adherence levels and factors associated with adherence and viral suppression. We included 195 South African children aged 2.

Correction to: Improving health promotion through central rating of interventions: the need for Responsive Guidance.

It has been highlighted that the original manuscript [1] contains a typesetting error in the surname of Caspar David Roelofs. This was incorrectly captured as Caspar David Roelefs in the original manuscript which has since been updated.

Improving health promotion through central rating of interventions: the need for Responsive Guidance.

Background: In several countries, attempts are made to improve health promotion by centrally rating the effectiveness of health promotion interventions. The Dutch Effectiveness Rating System (ERS) for health promotion interventions is an improvement-oriented approach in which multi-disciplinary expert committees rate available health promotion interventions as 'theoretically sound', 'probably effective' or 'proven effective'. The aim of this study is to explore the functioning of the ERS and the perspective of researchers, policy-makers and practitioners regarding its contribution to improvement.