FACTORS AFFECTING QUALITY OF LABORATORY SERVICES AT INFECTIOUS DISEASES HOSPITAL, KANO – NIGERIA.

FACTORS AFFECTING QUALITY OF LABORATORY SERVICES AT INFECTIOUS DISEASES HOSPITAL, KANO – NIGERIA.

CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background Information
Medical laboratory services are essential in the diagnosis and assessment of the health of patients. Their services encompass arrangements for requisition, patient preparation and patient identification, collection of samples, transportation, storage, processing and examination of clinical samples, together with subsequent result validation, interpretation, reporting and advice. For people suffering from HIV/AIDS, these services are critical for initial placement of patients on antiretrovirals (ART) and continuous monitoring of disease progression over a period. In the West African region, laboratory services are the most neglected components within the health systems especially regarding HIV/AIDS treatment and monitoring. Lack of access to necessary quality diagnostic tests in support of HIV/AIDs treatment and monitoring such as CD4 cell counts, viral load, complete blood count (CBC), chemistry tests, has significantly affected the provision of drug therapy for more than two decades from the emergence of HIV/AIDs in the
region. This factor alone, served as a catalyst to increased morbidity with increased burden on global public health. In Nigeria, prior to considerable efforts devoted to strengthening laboratory systems under Global HIV/AIDS Initiative, provision of clinical laboratory services was a major issue. All laboratories in hospitals offering ART services faced major challenges including poor infrastructure, inadequately trained personnel and lack of standardized operating procedures that could potentially compromise quality of services to patients.In 2004, United State Government under President‘s Emergency Plan for AIDs Relief (PEPFAR) launched a Global HIV/AIDs Initiative in Nigeria (GHAIN) that yielded significant improvements in laboratory service delivery by strengthening the existing network of public sector laboratories at primary,secondary, and tertiary health facilities throughout the country. The improved capacity of the upgraded laboratories enabled the provision of HIV services to meet the accelerated rollout of HIV prevention, care and treatment services including TB and other opportunistic infections (OIs). Infrastructure upgrades included structural renovation and repairs to the laboratory buildings; provision of basic amenities to ensure reliable water and power supply, stand-by generators and power inverters; and the provision of equipment necessary for efficient laboratory service delivery to people living with HIV/AIDs (PLWHA), including state-of-art automated equipment and provision of training to selected staff. In all the upgraded laboratories, improvements in work and patient flow and safety were accomplished by creating separate sample collection and patient waiting areas. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines quality of health care as health care consisting of the proper performance (according to standards) of interventions that are known to be safe, affordable to the society in question, and that have the ability to produce an impact on mortality, morbidity, disability, and malnutrition.

FACTORS AFFECTING QUALITY OF LABORATORY SERVICES AT INFECTIOUS DISEASES HOSPITAL, KANO – NIGERIA.

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