Journal of Public Health in Africa最新文献

Globally, alcohol and tobacco use during pregnancy is a challenge and linked to negative effects on health and wellbeing on both mother and the fetus. To investigate the knowledge of pregnant women attending antenatal care at Mariental clinic regarding the use of tobacco and alcohol in pregnancy. A quantitative approach with descriptive, cross-sectional, analytical design was used. The population were all pregnant women attending antenatal care at Mariental clinic. Systematic sampling method was used to select the sample of 224 pregnant women. Data was collected using a self-administered questionnaire that collected information on sociodemographic data and knowledge on tobacco and alcohol use. Data was analysed using Statistical Package of the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 27. Descriptive statistics was utilized to generatee frequencies and percentages. Fisher's Exact test at 0.05 alpha level was used to determine the association between variables. The mean age was 28.8 with a standard deviation of 6.9 years. Most participants, 43.6% were aged between 18 and 24 years. Majority, 88.15% were in third trimester of pregnancy, 73% were single, and unemployed. Most participants 78.7% have a high level of knowledge regarding the use of alcohol during pregnancy and 70.1% have higher level of knowledge regarding tobacco use during pregnancy. No association was found on the level of knowledge on alcohol and tobacco use during pregnancy and socio demographic characteristics as all variables show a P-value of more than 0.05. Participants have higher knowledge on alcohol and tobacco use during pregnancy.

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the critical importance of infection prevention practices among healthcare workers. Prioritizing this crucial aspect of healthcare can mitigate the spread of infectious diseases and ensure the well-being of our healthcare heroes and their communities. The purpose of the research was to investigate the knowledge and practice of infection prevention and control. The study was a cross-sectional study that used self-administered paper-based questionnaires. The study sample of 316 eligible healthcare workers was selected using stratified sampling. Data was entered into EPI Info version 7.2 and exported to SPSS version 27 for analysis. The ethics committees of the university and the hospital approved the study. The majority of participants 116 (36.7%) were nurses. The mean age was 34.79 years ± 8.37, 118 (37.30%) were male while 198 (62.7%) were female. Only 169 (53.9%) knew the recommended duration for hand washing. 132 (41.8%) of healthcare workers believed needles should be recapped following use. Healthcare workers were twice as likely to wash their hands before contact and five times more likely to wash their hands after contact with a patient, their bedding, or after a procedure (AOR 1.82, 95% CI 1.04-3.20), (AOR 4.51, 95% CI 1.76-11.54) respectively. Personal protective equipment (PPEs) were twice as likely to be unavailable (AOR 2.39, 95% CI 1.31-4.37). The findings revealed suboptimal knowledge and practice of hand hygiene indicating the need for healthcare workers to be trained on Infection Prevention and Control. PPE(s) must be provided for healthcare workers to improve compliance with IPC practices.

Mauritius does not have community health workers trained in identifying risk factors for hearing loss or in referring patients for diagnostic testing. It is crucial to gather information about the knowledge of and attitudes toward hearing loss among community health workers before involving them in the identification and intervention of hearing loss in Mauritius. To describe the knowledge of and attitudes toward hearing loss among community health workers in Mauritius. A descriptive survey design with quantitative analysis was used. Using non-probability purposive sampling, 125 community health workers which included 94 community health officers and 31 community-based rehabilitation officers were recruited from the five catchment areas of the public healthcare sector. Participants filled in a 15-item paper-based questionnaire on the knowledge of and attitudes toward hearing loss. The questionnaire was internally consistent, with Cronbach alpha scores of 0.759 and 0.863. The overall knowledge of community health workers regarding risk factors and the identification of hearing loss was poor (38.3%). 92.6% of community health workers reported positive attitudes toward hearing loss. General knowledge of hearing loss (P=0.015) and knowledge of risk factors and identification of hearing loss (P=0.005) were significant predictors of attitudes toward hearing loss. Knowledge of and attitudes toward hearing loss were significantly associated with working experience and practice setting (P=0.004). There remains a need to educate community health workers about the risk factors and identification of hearing loss to ensure timely diagnosis and management of hearing loss at the community level.

Although knowing one's HIV status is a necessary step in initiating antiretroviral treatment, more than a quarter of Burkinabe who are HIV-positive do not know their status. To reach the target of screening at least 95% of people living with HIV (PLHIV), the country has opted for HIV index testing (screening of sexual partners, children and partners of intravenous drug users). This study assessed the knowledge, attitudes and practices of health workers on HIV index testing. A cross-sectional study was conducted among health workers on index testing pilot sites in Burkina Faso. We constructed scores of health workers' knowledge, attitudes and practices regarding HIV index testing. A total of 132 health workers were surveyed, 62.8% of whom were female. Regarding profiles, 44.7% of the participants were nurses and 5.3% were midwives; physicians and psychosocial counselors accounted for 16.7 and 33.3%, respectively. Most of the participants worked in public health centers (60.6%). Overall, the majority of the participants had poor or average knowledge (85.6%) of the index testing strategy and harmful or inadequate practices (87.1%). Less than half (40.9%) had favorable attitudes toward the strategy. Our study showed that the knowledge of health workers was generally average, their attitudes were not very favorable and their practices were mostly inadequate with regard to HIV index testing. In order to increase the chances of reaching the first 95% of UNAIDS, trainings on the topic must be designed for health workers.

Tobacco and alcohol use during pregnancy has negative consequences, to the fetus. The study purpose was to investigate the practices of pregnant women regarding the use of tobacco and alcohol during pregnancy. A quantitative research approach with a descriptive, cross-sectional, analytical design was used. The population were all pregnant women aged 18 years and above attending antenatal care at Mariental clinic. Written informed consent was obtained from all respondents prior to data collection. Data was collected from 211 respondents selected through a systematic sampling. Data was analysed using Statistical Package of the Social Sciences version 27. Descriptive statistics were used for frequencies and percentages. Fisher's Exact test at 0.05 alpha level was used to determine the association between variables. The mean age was 28.8 with a standard deviation of 6.9 years. Most participants, 92 (43.6%) were aged between 18 and 24 years. Majority, 186 (88.15%) were in third trimester of pregnancy and 154 (73%) were single. Most 148 (70.14%) respondents have good practices towards alcohol use during pregnancy. Moreover, 190 (90%) of the respondents were classified as having good practices towards tobacco use in pregnancy. Educational levels showed a significant association with practices towards tobacco smoking (P=0.042). The study concluded good practices among pregnant women on alcohol and tobacco smoking during pregnancy. It is recommended that health facilities should introduce awareness campaign on the dangers of alcohol and tobacco use during pregnancy. Moreover, educational materials should be developed in local languages and distributed to community.

Poor internet infrastructure limits the use of computer-based nursing process forms in rural areas. This study aimed to configure a computer-based nursing process form to support nursing diagnosis and care evaluation in rural healthcare clinics in Africa. This study utilized a methodological design. The design process utilized a three-stage procedure involving planning, configuration, and testing. Seven faculty members volunteered to participate in the laboratory verification process. Each simulation session lasted 45 min and span from patient admission to exit. The experts independently scored the software functionality dichotomously as Not Suitable (score 0) and Suitable (score 1) for nursing practice. The agreement between the faculty volunteers was 0.857. The configuration of a readily available Microsoft Access computer application to support nursing diagnosis without internet service is possible. Health facilities in rural areas without internet connectivity should resort to such local configurations to maximize the benefits of electronic-based documentation.

Acquired drug resistance (ADR) is common among adolescents living with perinatal HIV (APHI) in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Personalized management has the potential to improve pediatric antiretroviral therapy (ART), even in the presence of long-term treatment and HIV-1 subtype diversity. We sought to evaluate the effect of HIV-1 mutational profiling on immuno-virological response and ADR among APHI. A cohort-study was conducted from 2018-2020 among 311 APHI receiving ART in Cameroon. Clinical, immunological and virological responses were measured at enrolment (T1), 6-months (T2) and 12-months (T3). Immunological failure (IF: CD4 #x003C;250 cells/mm³), VF (viremia ≥1,000 copies/ml), and ADR were analyzed, with P#x003C;0.05 considered significant. Mean age was 15(±3) years; male-female ratio was 1:1; median [IQR] ART-duration was 36[21-81] months. At T1, T2, and T3 respectively, adherence-level was 66.4, 58.3 and 66.5%; 14 viral clades were found, driven by CRF02_AG (58.6%); ADR-mutations favored increased switch to second-line ART (16.1, 31.2, and 41.9%, P#x003C;0.0001). From T1-T3 respectively, there were declining rates of IF (25.5, 18.9, and 9.83%, P#x003C;0.0001), VF (39.7, 39.9, and 28.2%, P=0.007), and HIVDR (96.4, 91.7, and 85.0%, P=0.099). Predictors of ADR were being on first-line ART (P=0.045), high viremia at enrolment (AOR=12.56, P=0.059), and IF (AOR=5.86, P=0.010). Of note, optimized ART guided by mutational profile (AOR=0.05, P=0.002) was protective. Moreover, full Tenofovir+Lamivudine+Dolutegravir efficacy was predicted in 77 and 62% of APHI respectively after first- and second-line failure. Among APHI in this SSA setting, viral mutational profiling prompts the use of optimized Dolutegravir-based ART regimens, leading to improved immuno-virological response and declining ADR burdens. Thus, implementing personalized HIV medicine in this vulnerable population would substantially improve ART response and the achievement of the 95-95-95 goals in these underserved populations.