Public health investments and mortality risk in Brazilian peritoneal dialysis patients

Background End-stage kidney disease (ESKD) treatment is very costly and accounts for a significant percentage of public healthcare expenditures. Beyond direct costs, dialysis patients use other healthcare levels, but the impact of public investment on each of these levels is unclear. This study aimed to investigate the association between direct financing at different healthcare levels and overall mortality in peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients. Methods We included all adult incident PD patients from a Brazilian prospective, nationwide PD cohort. Overall mortality was the primary outcome of interest. We used a three-level multilevel survival analysis to investigate whether mortality was associated with the investments destined to different levels of healthcare complexity: (i) primary, (ii) medium and high and (iii) professional healthcare training and community awareness. Results We evaluated 5707 incident PD patients from 78 Brazilian cities, which were divided into four quartiles for each healthcare level (Groups I–IV). After taking the highest quartile (Group IV) as a reference, investment in the primary health level was not associated with patient survival. Otherwise, medium and high complexity levels were associated with higher mortality risk. Also, investment in healthcare manager training and community awareness had an impact on patient survival. Conclusions Investments in different levels of the healthcare system have distinct impacts on PD patient survival. Investment in healthcare manager training and community awareness seems to be a promising strategy on which to focus, given the relatively low cost and positive impact on outcome.

Factors influencing adoption of eHealth technologies in Ghana

This study covers factors influencing the adoption of electronic health (eHealth) technologies in Ghana. The study was designed as a quantitative survey with questionnaire as the main method of data gathering. A total of 1640 questionnaires were administered to users and potential users of eHealth technologies in both public and private healthcare centres in Ghana. The study concludes that institutional characteristics and healthcare manager characteristics have a high influence on eHealth adoption. However, factors related to performance expectancy and effort expectancy only have low influence on the adoption of eHealth devices and systems. Accordingly, the study makes recommendations to policymakers for improving eHealth adoption in the health sector.