Norman Lufesi
Biographic Data
| ID | 7044373 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Norman Lufesi |
| GIVEN NAMES | Norman |
| FAMILY NAME | Lufesi |
| SIGNATURE | LUFESI N |
| AFFILIATIONS | Ministry of Health |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-9667-4293 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 11 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 0 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 11 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2020 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 0 |
Rapid establishment of public sector Covid-19 test-and-treatment programmes across seven low- and middle-income countries
The COVID-19 Treatment QuickStart Consortium worked with governments in seven low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), Ghana, Laos, Malawi, Nigeria, Rwanda, Uganda and Zambia, to implement COVID-19 test-and-treat programmes at 776 health facilities, including training over 5000 staff and facilitating a donation of 11 300 courses of the oral antiviral nirmatrelvir/ritonavir for treatment. This paper describes the process of implementing COVID-19 …
Development and validation of a novel clinical risk score to predict hypoxaemia in children with pneumonia using the WHO PREPARE dataset
BACKGROUND: Hypoxaemia predicts mortality at all levels of care, and appropriate management can reduce preventable deaths. However, pulse oximetry and oxygen therapy remain inaccessible in many primary care health facilities. We aimed to develop and validate a simple risk score comprising commonly evaluated clinical features to predict hypoxaemia in 2-59-month-old children with pneumonia. METHODS: Data from seven studies conducted in five countri…
Improving care pathways for children with severe illness through implementation of the Aspire mHealth primary Etat package in Malawi
Providing emergency care in low resource settings relies on delivery by lower cadres of health workers (LCHW). We describe the development, implementation and mixed methods evaluation of a mobile health (mHealth) triage algorithm based on the WHO Emergency, Triage, Assessment, and Treatment (ETAT) for primary-level care. We conducted an observational study design of implementation research. Key stakeholders were engaged throughout implementation.…
World Health Organization Danger Signs to predict bacterial sepsis in young infants
Bacterial sepsis is generally a major concern in ill infants. To help triaging decisions by front-line health workers in these situations, the World Health Organization (WHO) has developed danger signs (DS). The objective of this study was to evaluate the extent to which nine DS predict bacterial sepsis in young infants presenting with suspected sepsis in a low-income country setting. The study pragmatically evaluated nine DS in infants younger t…
Derivation and validation of a novel risk assessment tool to identify children aged 2–59 months at risk of hospitalised pneumonia-related mortality in 20 countries
INTRODUCTION: Existing risk assessment tools to identify children at risk of hospitalised pneumonia-related mortality have shown suboptimal discriminatory value during external validation. Our objective was to derive and validate a novel risk assessment tool to identify children aged 2-59 months at risk of hospitalised pneumonia-related mortality across various settings. METHODS: We used primary, baseline, patient-level data from 11 studies, incl…
A neonatal ward-strengthening program improves survival for neonates treated with CPAP at district hospitals in Malawi
From 2013–2015, a CPAP quality improvement program (QIP) was implemented to introduce and monitor CPAP usage and outcomes in the neonatal wards at all government district and central hospitals in Malawi. In 2016 the CPAP QIP was extended into healthcare facilities operated by the Christian Health Association of Malawi. Although clinical outcomes improved, ward assessments indicated that many rural sites lacked other essential equipment and a suit…
Assembling a global database of child pneumonia studies to inform WHO pneumonia management algorithm
Background: The existing World Health Organization (WHO) pneumonia case management guidelines rely on clinical symptoms and signs for identifying, classifying, and treating pneumonia in children up to 5 years old. We aimed to collate an individual patient-level data set from large, high-quality pre-existing studies on pneumonia in children to identify a set of signs and symptoms with greater validity in the diagnosis, prognosis, and possible trea…
External validation of the Risc, Risc-Malawi, and PERCH clinical prediction rules to identify risk of death in children hospitalized with pneumonia
BACKGROUND: Existing scores to identify children at risk of hospitalized pneumonia-related mortality lack broad external validation. Our objective was to externally validate three such risk scores. METHODS: We applied the Respiratory Index of Severity in Children (RISC) for HIV-negative children, the RISC-Malawi, and the Pneumonia Etiology Research for Child Health (PERCH) scores to hospitalized children in the Pneumonia REsearch Partnerships to …
Paediatric Emergency Triage, Assessment and Treatment (Etat) – preparedness for implementation at primary care facilities in Malawi
BACKGROUND: The majority of deaths amongst children under 5 years are still due to preventable infectious causes. Emergency care has been identified as a key health system weakness, and referrals are often challenging. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to establish how prepared frontline facilities in Malawi are to implement WHO Emergency Triage Assessment and Treatment (ETAT) guidelines, to support policy and planning decisions. METHODS: We conducted a concur…
Protecting children in low-income and middle-income countries from Covid-19
A saving grace of the COVID-19 pandemic in high-income and upper middle-income countries has been the relative sparing of children. As the disease spreads across low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs), long-standing system vulnerabilities may tragically manifest, and we worry that children will be increasingly impacted, both directly and indirectly. Drawing on our shared child pneumonia experience globally, we highlight these potential im…
Accessibility of basic paediatric emergency care in Malawi
There are unacceptable deficiencies in accessibility of basic paediatric emergency care in Malawi. Reliable supply chains for essential drugs and commodities are needed, particularly nasogastric tubes, asthma drugs and blood, along with improved capacity for time-sensitive referral. Further child mortality reductions will require substantial investments to expand basic paediatric emergency care into all Malawi hospitals for better managing critic…
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Protecting children in low-income and middle-income countries from Covid-19
A saving grace of the COVID-19 pandemic in high-income and upper middle-income countries has been the relative sparing of children. As the disease spreads across low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs), long-standing system vulnerabilities may tragically manifest, and we worry that children will be increasingly impacted, both directly and indirectly. Drawing on our shared child pneumonia experience globally, we highlight these potential im…
Accessibility of basic paediatric emergency care in Malawi
There are unacceptable deficiencies in accessibility of basic paediatric emergency care in Malawi. Reliable supply chains for essential drugs and commodities are needed, particularly nasogastric tubes, asthma drugs and blood, along with improved capacity for time-sensitive referral. Further child mortality reductions will require substantial investments to expand basic paediatric emergency care into all Malawi hospitals for better managing critic…
External validation of the Risc, Risc-Malawi, and PERCH clinical prediction rules to identify risk of death in children hospitalized with pneumonia
BACKGROUND: Existing scores to identify children at risk of hospitalized pneumonia-related mortality lack broad external validation. Our objective was to externally validate three such risk scores. METHODS: We applied the Respiratory Index of Severity in Children (RISC) for HIV-negative children, the RISC-Malawi, and the Pneumonia Etiology Research for Child Health (PERCH) scores to hospitalized children in the Pneumonia REsearch Partnerships to …
Paediatric Emergency Triage, Assessment and Treatment (Etat) – preparedness for implementation at primary care facilities in Malawi
BACKGROUND: The majority of deaths amongst children under 5 years are still due to preventable infectious causes. Emergency care has been identified as a key health system weakness, and referrals are often challenging. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to establish how prepared frontline facilities in Malawi are to implement WHO Emergency Triage Assessment and Treatment (ETAT) guidelines, to support policy and planning decisions. METHODS: We conducted a concur…
Derivation and validation of a novel risk assessment tool to identify children aged 2–59 months at risk of hospitalised pneumonia-related mortality in 20 countries
INTRODUCTION: Existing risk assessment tools to identify children at risk of hospitalised pneumonia-related mortality have shown suboptimal discriminatory value during external validation. Our objective was to derive and validate a novel risk assessment tool to identify children aged 2-59 months at risk of hospitalised pneumonia-related mortality across various settings. METHODS: We used primary, baseline, patient-level data from 11 studies, incl…
A neonatal ward-strengthening program improves survival for neonates treated with CPAP at district hospitals in Malawi
From 2013–2015, a CPAP quality improvement program (QIP) was implemented to introduce and monitor CPAP usage and outcomes in the neonatal wards at all government district and central hospitals in Malawi. In 2016 the CPAP QIP was extended into healthcare facilities operated by the Christian Health Association of Malawi. Although clinical outcomes improved, ward assessments indicated that many rural sites lacked other essential equipment and a suit…
Assembling a global database of child pneumonia studies to inform WHO pneumonia management algorithm
Background: The existing World Health Organization (WHO) pneumonia case management guidelines rely on clinical symptoms and signs for identifying, classifying, and treating pneumonia in children up to 5 years old. We aimed to collate an individual patient-level data set from large, high-quality pre-existing studies on pneumonia in children to identify a set of signs and symptoms with greater validity in the diagnosis, prognosis, and possible trea…
World Health Organization Danger Signs to predict bacterial sepsis in young infants
Bacterial sepsis is generally a major concern in ill infants. To help triaging decisions by front-line health workers in these situations, the World Health Organization (WHO) has developed danger signs (DS). The objective of this study was to evaluate the extent to which nine DS predict bacterial sepsis in young infants presenting with suspected sepsis in a low-income country setting. The study pragmatically evaluated nine DS in infants younger t…
Improving care pathways for children with severe illness through implementation of the Aspire mHealth primary Etat package in Malawi
Providing emergency care in low resource settings relies on delivery by lower cadres of health workers (LCHW). We describe the development, implementation and mixed methods evaluation of a mobile health (mHealth) triage algorithm based on the WHO Emergency, Triage, Assessment, and Treatment (ETAT) for primary-level care. We conducted an observational study design of implementation research. Key stakeholders were engaged throughout implementation.…
Rapid establishment of public sector Covid-19 test-and-treatment programmes across seven low- and middle-income countries
The COVID-19 Treatment QuickStart Consortium worked with governments in seven low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), Ghana, Laos, Malawi, Nigeria, Rwanda, Uganda and Zambia, to implement COVID-19 test-and-treat programmes at 776 health facilities, including training over 5000 staff and facilitating a donation of 11 300 courses of the oral antiviral nirmatrelvir/ritonavir for treatment. This paper describes the process of implementing COVID-19 …
Development and validation of a novel clinical risk score to predict hypoxaemia in children with pneumonia using the WHO PREPARE dataset
BACKGROUND: Hypoxaemia predicts mortality at all levels of care, and appropriate management can reduce preventable deaths. However, pulse oximetry and oxygen therapy remain inaccessible in many primary care health facilities. We aimed to develop and validate a simple risk score comprising commonly evaluated clinical features to predict hypoxaemia in 2-59-month-old children with pneumonia. METHODS: Data from seven studies conducted in five countri…
Medicine (10 works) · Internal Medicine (6 works) · Pediatrics (5 works) · Pneumonia and Respiratory Infections (5 works) · Emergency Medicine (4 works) · Health care (4 works) · Intensive care medicine (4 works) · Pneumonia (4 works) · Emergency and Acute Care Studies (3 works) · Environmental health (3 works)