Publications by authors named "Palka Patel"

Physician burnout is a major problem that has long been facing our healthcare system. The COVID-19 pandemic has unfortunately deepened this problem and shed the light on the multiple structural shortcomings of our healthcare system that need immediate attention. Demoralization is one of the core features of "physician burnout," which results from a breakdown of genuine physician-patient interaction.

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Objectives: Some pediatric institutions have developed adult inpatient services to enable quality care of hospitalized adults. Our objectives were to understand the characteristics of these adult inpatient services in pediatric hospitals, barriers and facilitators to their creation and sustainability, and patient and system needs they addressed.

Methods: An explanatory mixed methods study was conducted using a distribution of an electronic survey followed by targeted semi-structured interviews of directors (or designates) of adult inpatient services in US pediatric hospitals.

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Background: In integrated community case management (iCCM) care, community health workers (CHWs) provide home-based management of fever, diarrhea and fast breathing for children aged <5 y. The iCCM protocol recommends that children with danger signs for severe illness are referred by CHWs to health facilities within their catchment area. This study examines the management of danger signs by CHWs implementing iCCM in a rural context.

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Background: The control of malaria, pneumonia, and diarrhoea is important for the reduction in morbidity and mortality among children under 5 years. Uganda has adopted the Integrated Community Case Management strategy using Community Health Workers (CHWs) to address this challenge. The extent and trend of these three conditions managed by the CHWs are not well documented.

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Objective: Integrated community case management (iCCM) of childhood illness in Uganda involves protocol-based care of malaria, pneumonia and diarrhoea for children under 5 years old. This study assessed volunteer village health workers' (VHW) ability to provide correct iCCM care according to the national protocol and change in their performance over time since initial training.

Setting: VHWs affiliated with the Ugandan national programme provide community-based care in eight villages in Bugoye Subcounty, a rural area in Kasese District.

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Background: In some areas of Uganda, village health workers (VHW) deliver Integrated Community Case Management (iCCM) care, providing initial assessment of children under 5 years of age as well as protocol-based treatment of malaria, pneumonia, and diarrhoea for eligible patients. Little is known about community perspectives on or satisfaction with iCCM care. This study examines usage of and satisfaction with iCCM care as well as potential associations between these outcomes and time required to travel to the household's preferred health facility.

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Village health workers (VHWs) in Bugoye subcounty, Uganda, provide integrated community case management (iCCM) care to children younger than 5 years for malaria, pneumonia, and diarrhea. We assessed the longevity of VHWs' skills in performing and reading malaria rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) 4 years after initial training, comparing VHWs who had completed initial iCCM training 1 year before the study with VHWs who had completed training 4 years before the study. Both groups received quarterly refresher trainings.

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Background: In Integrated Community Case Management (iCCM), village health workers (VHW) assess and treat malaria, pneumonia and diarrhea using a clinical algorithm. Study objectives included: 1) Compare VHWs' performance on case scenario exercises to record review data; 2) assess impact of formal education on performance in the case scenario exercises.

Methods: 36 VHWs in Bugoye Subcounty, Uganda completed the case scenarios exercise, which included video case scenarios and brief oral case vignettes, between July 2017 and February 2018.

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Background: Uganda has sought to address leading causes of childhood mortality: malaria, pneumonia and diarrhoea, through integrated community case management (iCCM). The success of this approach relies on community health worker (CHW) assessment and referral of sick children to a nearby health centre. This study aimed to determine rates of referral completion in an iCCM programme in rural Uganda.

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Objectives: To evaluate medical trainees' attitudes toward refugee patients in a refugee host country, and to identify educational needs.

Methods: A 54-question cross-sectional questionnaire was administered to a convenience sample of 81 post-graduate medical trainees at Mbarara Regional Referral Hospital, Uganda, in 2016. Descriptive statistics on medical trainees' attitudes and educational needs regarding care for refugees were calculated.

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The high cost, complexity and reliance on electricity, specialized equipment and supplies associated with conventional diagnostic methods limit the scope and sustainability of newborn screening for sickle cell disease (SCD) in sub-Saharan Africa and other resource-limited areas worldwide. Here we describe the development of a simple, low-cost, rapid, equipment- and electricity-free paper-based test capable of detecting sickle hemoglobin (HbS) in newborn blood samples with a limit of detection of 2% HbS. We validated this newborn paper-based test in a cohort of 159 newborns at an obstetric hospital in Cabinda, Angola.

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Background: In Uganda, over half of under-five child mortality is attributed to three infectious diseases: malaria, pneumonia and diarrhoea. Integrated community case management (iCCM) trains village health workers (VHWs) to provide in-home diagnosis and treatment of these common childhood illnesses. For severely ill children, iCCM relies on a functioning referral system to ensure timely treatment at a health facility.

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p27, an important cell cycle regulator, blocks the G(1)/S transition in cells by binding and inhibiting Cdk2/cyclin A and Cdk2/cyclin E complexes (Cdk2/E). Ubiquitination and subsequent degradation play a critical role in regulating the levels of p27 during cell cycle progression. Here we provide evidence suggesting that both Cdk2/E and phosphorylation of Thr(187) on p27 are essential for the recognition of p27 by the SCF(Skp2/Cks1) complex, the ubiquitin-protein isopeptide ligase (E3).

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An increasing body of evidence indicates that constitutive activation of NF-kappaB contributes to tumorigenesis and inflammation. Ubiquitination and degradation of IkappaB plays an essential role in NF-kappaB activation. Here we describe an in vitro IkappaBalpha ubiquitination assay system in which purified E1, E2, SCF(beta-Trcp1) E3, IkappaBalpha, IKK2, and Ub were used to generate ubiquitinated IkappaBalpha.

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