BackgroundMalaria causes significant morbidity in Malawi, with an estimated 5 million cases in 2014. Artemether-lumefantrine (AL) and artesunate-amodiaquine (ASAQ) are the first- and second-line treatments for uncomplicated malaria, respectively, but emerging resistance threatens their efficacy. In order to understand whether AL and ASAQ remain efficacious for the treatment of uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria in Malawi, a therapeutic efficacy trial was conducted.MethodsDuring March–July 2014, febrile children aged 6–59 months with microscopy-confirmed uncomplicated P. falciparum malaria (1000–200,000 parasites/μL) were enrolled in a 28-day randomized in vivo efficacy trial at three sites: one each in northern (Karonga), central (Nkhotakota) and southern (Machinga) Malawi. The study was powered to estimate site-specific efficacy for AL and overall efficacy for ASAQ, with 3:1 randomization to AL or ASAQ. Blood was collected for malaria microscopy and molecular testing on days 0–3, 7, 14, 21, and 28. Recrudescence and reinfection were differentiated using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) genotyping of merozoite surface protein. The primary outcome was the PCR-corrected day 28 Kaplan–Meier cumulative success rate.ResultsA total of 452 children were enrolled; 303/338 (89 %) and 98/114 (86 %) reached a study endpoint in AL and ASAQ arms, respectively. All treatment failures occurred after day 3. The day 28 uncorrected cumulative success rate was 97.1 % (95 % confidence interval [CI]: 93.9–100 %) for ASAQ and 76.8 % (95 % CI 72.1–81.5 %) for AL, with 82.5 % (95 % CI 75.4–89.7 %), 69 % (95 % CI 59.9–78.1 %), and 78.2 % (95 % CI 70.2–86.3 %) success in the northern, central, and southern regions, respectively. The day 28 PCR-corrected cumulative success rate was 99 % (95 % CI 97.2–100 %) in the ASAQ arm and 99.3 % (95 % CI 98.3–100 %) in the AL arm, with 98–100 % efficacy in each site.ConclusionsAs evidenced by the day 28 PCR-corrected cumulative success rates, both AL and ASAQ remain efficacious treatments for uncomplicated malaria in Malawi. The lower uncorrected efficacy in the AL arm compared to ASAQ may be explained by the shorter half-life of lumefantrine (3–6 days) compared to amodiaquine (9–18 days). The high reinfection rate suggests that there is a continued need to scale-up effective malaria prevention interventions.

Objective Assess the impact of the Be Your Own Baby (BYOB) public awareness campaign including population‐level exposure, the effectiveness of ad platforms, and the effect of the campaign on family planning clinic attendance, the campaign's primary goal. Data Sources The study relied on administrative data on traffic and engagement from the campaign's website, population survey data measuring campaign exposure, and clinic attendance volumes from state‐by‐year restricted‐use versions of the Office of Population Affairs' Family Planning Annual Reports (2006–2018). Study Design Bivariate analyses were used to assess website traffic and engagement and population‐level exposure across key subgroups. We then used the synthetic control method to examine the impact of the BYOB campaign on per capita Title X clinic attendance among the target demographic, women 18–29 years of age. Data Collection/Extraction Methods Not applicable. We relied on secondary sources. Principal Findings Primary media platforms used by the campaign included social media, digital display, streaming audio, YouTube, and search. Website traffic was driven primarily by digital display ads, but engagement was highest for search. Our results suggest nearly 12% of Delaware women 18–29 years of age were exposed to the campaign. However, exposure was measured at the end of the campaign and was likely much larger during its peak. Our results indicated that the campaign was associated with between 13 and 23 additional Title X clinic visits per 1000 women compared with 110 users per 1000 at baseline in 2014. Conclusions Our findings suggest the BYOB campaign was successful at increasing clinic attendance among the target demographic. These results have important implications for other programs seeking to use public awareness messaging to increase participation in the health care system and are especially important for Title X administrators who have faced declining patient volumes for over 10 years.

Background.-Title X supports access to family planning and preventive care services. Given its focus on low-income clients, Title X clinics may have been particularly affected by the Affordable Care Act's Medicaid expansion. Objectives.-To examine the impact of the Affordable Care Act's Medicaid expansion on Title X client volumes, health insurance coverage, and contraceptive method mix. Research Design.-A difference-indifferences design compared changes in the outcomes of interest before and after expansion, for expansion versus non-expansion states. Subjects.-Administrative data from Family Planning Annual Reports that describe Title X clients who sought services. Measures.-Female client volume was measured using a participation ratio defined as the number of female clients per 100 women age 15-44 with incomes less than 250% of the federal poverty line. We also examined the share of clients by insurance type and contraceptive method type. Results.-We did not find evidence that expansion was related to changes in client volume. We did find a significant 9.9 percentage point increase in the share of clients with Medicaid and a significant 10.0 percentage point decrease in the share of clients without coverage. We found suggestive evidence that expansion was associated with increased use of long-acting reversible contraceptives, but those esults were somewhat sensitive to model specification.

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Objective To examine the relationship between social stability and access to healthcare services among a community-based sample of adult female drug users. Methods We developed a measure of social stability and examined its relationship to health care access. Data came from a cross-sectional sample of female drug users (N = 538) in Oakland, CA who were interviewed between September 2014 and August 2015. We categorized women as having low (1-5), medium (6-10), or high (11-16) social stability based on the tertile of the index sample distribution. We then used ordered logistic regression to examine the relationship between social stability and self-reported access to mental health services and medical care. Results Compared with women in the low stability group, those with high stability experienced a 58% decline in the odds of needed but unmet mental health services [AOR: 0.42; 95% C.I.: 0.26, 0.69] and a 68% decline in the odds of unmet medical care [AOR: 0.32; 95% C.I.: 0.19, 0.54] after adjusting for confounders. The coefficients we observed reduced in size at higher levels of the stability index suggesting a positive association between social experiences and access to healthcare services. Conclusion Women who use drugs are at increased risk of adverse health outcomes and often experience high levels of unmet healthcare needs. Our study highlights the importance of addressing social determinants of health and suggests that improving social factors such as housing stability and personal safety may support access to healthcare among female drug users.