Evidence map›Paper›PMID 30709089›Full record

ArticleInternational journal of health policy and management2018

Impact of "Sambhav" Program (Financial Assistance and Counselor Services) on Hepatitis C Pegylated Interferon Alpha Treatment Initiation in India.

Ajit Sood, Vandana Midha, Shivalingappa S Halli, Vikram Narang, Ramit Mahajan, Varun Mehta, Kirandeep Kaur, Vijay Surlikar, Subodh Kanchi, Dharmatma Singh

Open access · diamondAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in International journal of health policy and management, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact, top 83% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

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Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed, 1 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
4 · The record

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PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.

Ajit SoodDepartment of Gastroentrology, Dayanand Medical College and Hospital (DMCH), Ludhiana, India.
Vandana MidhaDepartment of Internal Medicine, Dayanand Medical College and Hospital (DMCH), Ludhiana, India.
Shivalingappa S HalliUniversity of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MN, Canada.
Vikram NarangDepartment of Pathology, Dayanand Medical College & Hospital (DMCH), Ludhiana, India.
Ramit MahajanDepartment of Gastroentrology, Dayanand Medical College and Hospital (DMCH), Ludhiana, India.
Varun MehtaDepartment of Gastroentrology, Dayanand Medical College and Hospital (DMCH), Ludhiana, India.
Kirandeep KaurDepartment of Pharmacology, Dayanand Medical College and Hospital, Ludhiana, India.
Vijay SurlikarMSD Pharmaceutical Pvt Ltd, Bandra, India.
Subodh KanchiMSD Pharmaceutical Pvt Ltd, Bandra, India.
Dharmatma SinghDepartment of Gastroentrology, Dayanand Medical College and Hospital (DMCH), Ludhiana, India.
Dayanand Medical College & Hospital · INUniversity of Manitoba · CA

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundFinancial constraints, social taboos and beliefs in alternative medicine are common reasons for delaying or not considering treatment for hepatitis C in India. The present study was planned to analyze the impact of non-banking interest free loan facility in patients affected with hepatitis C virus (HCV) in North India.

methodsThis one year observational, retrospective study was conducted in Department of Gastroenterology (January 2012-December 2013), Dayanand Medical College and Hospital Ludhiana, to evaluate the impact of program titled "Sambhav" (which provided non-banking financial assistance and counselor services) on treatment initiation and therapeutic compliance in HCV patients. Data of fully evaluated patients with chronic hepatitis, and/or cirrhosis due to HCV infection who were treated with Peginterferon alfa and ribavirin (RBV) combination during this duration (2012-2013) was collected from patient medical records and analyzed. In the year 2012, eligible patients who were offered antiviral treatment paid for treatment themselves, while in 2013, 'Sambhav' program was launched and this provided interest free financing by non-banking financial company (NBFC) for the treatment of HCV in addition to free counselor services for disease management. The treatment initiation and compliance rates were compared between the patients (n = 585) enrolled in 2013 who were offered 'Sambhav' assistance and those enrolled in 2012 (n = 628) when 'Sambhav' was not available.

resultsIntroduction of Sambhav program improved the rates of treatment initiation (59% in 2013 vs. 51% in 2012, P=.004). Of the 585 eligible patients offered 'Sambhav' assistance in 2013, 233 patients (39.8%) applied but 106/233 (45.4%) received assistance. Antiviral therapy was started in 93/106 (87.7%) of these patients, while only 52 (42.5%) of 127 patients whose applications were rejected underwent treatment. Compliance to antiviral therapy also improved with the introduction of 'Sambhav' program (87.7% vs. 74.1%, P=.001).

conclusion'Sambhav' program had significant impact on the initiation of antiviral therapy by overcoming the financial hurdles. The free counselor services helped to mitigate social taboos and imparted adequate awareness about the disease to the patients. Initiatives like 'Sambhav' can be utilized for improving healthcare services in developing countries, especially for chronic diseases.

Indexed as

Antiviral AgentsCounselingCounselorsDrug Therapy, CombinationFemaleHepatitis C, ChronicHumansIndiaInterferon-alphaMalePatient Acceptance of Health CarePolyethylene GlycolsQuality-Adjusted Life YearsRecombinant ProteinsState MedicineTreatment OutcomeAntiviral AgentsInterferon-alphapeginterferon alfa-2aPolyethylene GlycolsRecombinant ProteinsHepatitis CIndiaPegylated Interferon GammaSambhav ProgramTreatment Access

Identifiers

PMID30709089
PMCPMC6358661
OpenAlexW2892270663

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.