Journal of Public Health in Africa最新文献

We investigated the perspectives of parents, health workers (HWs) and traditional medical practitioners (TMPs) on immunisation advocacy, knowledge, attitudes and immunisation practice and ways of improving immunisation uptake in Borno State, North-eastern Nigeria. A cross-sectional study analysing quantitative data from the three stakeholders' categories. It was conducted across 18 local government areas of Borno State. A representative sample of 4288 stakeholders (n=1763 parents, n=1707 TMPs, and n=818 HWs aged 20 to 59years, had complete data. The sample has more males: 57.8% (Parents); 71.8% (TMPs) and 57.3% (HWs). The awareness of immunisation schedule among the stakeholders ranged from 87.2 to 93.4%. The study showed that 67.9% of the parent and 57.1% of the health workers had participated in immunisation except the TMPs (27.8%). Across the stakeholders' categories, between 61.9 and 72.6% have children who had Adverse Event Following Immunisation (AEFI). The most common AEFI was fever. Safety concerns, preference for herbs and charm, culture and religions, and vaccination perception as a western culture were the major barriers to immunisation uptake. While 63.6 to 95.7% of respondents indicated that community leaders, religious and spiritual leaders and TMPs should be involved in immunisation advocacy, 56.9-70.4% of them reported that community leaders should be involved in immunisation policy. Upscaling the critical stakeholders' involvement in advocacy, policy development and implementation of immunization activities may improve acceptance, create demand and engender ownership in vulnerable communities of Borno State, Nigeria. AEFI could be detrimental to immunisation access and utilization. Consequently, health education by health workers needs strengthening to minimise vaccine hesitancy.

The optimization efforts of promotion, prevention, provision of preventive treatment, and infection control are strategies to overcome tuberculosis in Indonesia for the period 2020-2024. This research aims to analyze the effects of a collaborative model between health workers and family support to improve the success of treating patients with pulmonary tuberculosis. This is an experimental research using a one-group pre and post-test design. The study samples were TB patients treated at Bainamu and Bontosunggu Public Health Centers, Jeneponto Regency, from June 2021 to January 2022. Using McNemar's statistical test, the data analysis was conducted to determine the differences in patient behavior on factors that support and inhibit the recovery. The results showed that the collaborative model has an impact on eating, healthy living, and spiritual behaviors that support the recovery and cure rate of TB patients.

Health risk behaviour, as it pertains to adolescent behaviour, poses a massive challenge for many fields of medicine, not only due to developmental and psychological concerns but also its inevitable contribution to the burden of disease through trauma and non-communicable diseases resulting from risky behavioural choices. The objective study is to explore the prevalence of health risk behavior engagement among grade 4-7 learners at four primary schools in the Western Cape, South Africa, as well as establish a need for a prevention program starting at primary school level. An observational, descriptive, quantitative design was used to conduct this study. Non-probability, heterogenous, purposive sampling was used to select the study population. A needs analysis assessment using a modified self-administered Child Health Risk Behaviour survey was conducted using 7-inch electronic tablets. Four primary schools agreed to participate yielding a total sample size of n=1147 learners in grades 4 to 7. Learners' age ranged from nine years old to fourteen years old with a mean age of 11.45 (SD 1.271). Riding a bicycle without a helmet, physical fight (86.1 and 64.1% among boys and girls respectively), ever smoked a cigarette (boys 36.3%; girls 28.3%) and consuming alcohol without permission (boys 28.7%; girls 23.8%) had the most engagement. Sexual curiosity questions had by far the most positive engagement and consistency of engagement among both boys and girls. This evidence reaffirms the need that early, bespoke and scientific intervention/prevention programs are needed to combat health risk behaviour and subsequently reduce the burden of disease.

One of the strategies to prevent adolescent girls anemia through efforts to identify the factors that cause anemia. Adolescent girls are are prospective mothers who must prepare physically, mentally, with good knowledge so that they do not experience anemia during pregnancy. The aim of the study was to analyze the risk factors for the incidence of anemia in adolescent girls in Banyumas Regency, Indonesia. Quantitative approach used to identify factors that influence anemia in adolescent girls. Research variables are menstrual period, knowledge, diet attitudes and behavior, perception of body image, role of friends in prevention of anemia, role, exposure to information, consumption of iron, consumption of inhibitors and iron enhancers. The population of this research is young women aged 12-19 years. The taking technique by simple random sampling was amount 100, Data analysis was univariate, bivariate (chi square) and multivariate (linear regression). The results showed that the prevalence of anemia was 20%. Based on the results of statistical tests, it was obtained a P-value of 0.005 (<0.05) meaning that there was an influence on adolescent dietary behavior, the role of adolescents in preventing anemia and the consumption of iron inhibitors on the incidence of anemia. Anemia in young girls. There is an influence of eating behavior in female adolescents, the role of female adolescents in preventing anemia and consumption of iron inhibitors on the occurrence of anemia in female adolescents.

Diarrhea remains a public health challenge and persistently affect children under 5 years of age, primarily in developing countries. The aim of the study was to investigate the effects of individual, household and community level factors on child diarrhea. Using combined data 2010 and 2014 Eswatini Multiple Indicator Cluster surveys, data for 4,363 under five children was analysed. Univariable, bivariable and multivariable multilevel logistic regression models were used for data analysis. We found that the prevalence of diarrhea was 16.2%, (95% confidence interval (CI): 15.3-18.1). Higher odds of diarrhea were observed among children aged 6-11 months (AOR: 2.67, 95% CI: 1.93, 3.71) and 12-23 months (AOR=2.12, 95% CI: 1.56, 2.87) compared to those aged less than 6 months. However, lower odds of diarrhea were observed among children aged 36-47 months (AOR=0.68, 95% CI: 0.48, 0.97) and 48-59 months (AOR=0.39, 95% CI: 0.26, 0.58), compared to children aged less than 6 months. Children born to mothers aged 35-39 years had lower odds of having diarrhea, (AOR=0.48, 95%CI: 0.30, 0.79) compared to those born to mothers aged 15-19 years. Higher odds of having diarrhea were observed among children from communities with a low proportion of households with improved toilet facility (AOR=1.29, 95% CI: 1.01, 1.66) compared to those from communities with a high proportion of households with improved toilet facility. We found that individual- and community-level factors were associated with child diarrhea in Eswatini. Programmes and policies that aim to mitigate child morbidity due to diarrhea should pay attention to the individual and community factors.

Mental illness is fast becoming a leading cause of global disease burden, yet this aspect of public health remains highly neglected in Nigeria. The public relies on newspapers for diverse information needs and the way newspapers portray mental illness-related issues tends to sway public perception of such ailments. This study examined the level of media attention and prime discursive resources utilized by newspapers to depict mental illness-related issues from 2015 to 2019. Using a qualitative approach and ethnographic design, the study analyzed the manifest contents of three major Nigerian national newspapers selected through a multistage sampling technique. Data collection was done using a coding spreadsheet that reflected relevant content categories and units of analysis. Of the 920 health articles analyzed, only 79 (8.6%) articles discussed mental illness. Also, 84.8% of all mental illness-related articles were tucked in the inside pages of the newspapers and 58.2% of the stories were reported using the conventional straight news. The negative themes of suicide (36.7%) and substance abuse (32.9%) were the prime discursive resources that echoed in many of the analyzed articles. Overall, mental illness-related issues were grossly under-reported by Nigerian newspapers when compared to other health issues, and wrong media depiction of the problem remains a risk factor. Hence, Nigerian newspapers must strive toward setting better agenda that will actuate necessary policy actions from health stakeholders by providing adequate coverage and positive representation of mental illness-related issues.

Reproductive health information and services are fundamental to health, well-being and opportunities for women and young people, yet throughout the world, women and youths do not have access to quality reproductive health care thereby exposing them to unplanned pregnancy, teen birth, induced abortion as well as increased exposure to sexually transmitted diseases, HIV inclusive. This study is meant to explore the expectation of adolescents of an adolescent reproductive health services as well as to assess the experiences of those who had visited an ARHS at the centers. It was a descriptive cross-sectional prospective study, analytic in design using a multistage sampling technique where 452 secondary school pupils in both rural and urban communities were interviewed using a pretested validated questionnaire. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 21. Chi square was used to test for association between both rural and urban adolescents in issues relating to their expectation and experiences, with P-value of <0.05. More of the respondents in the urban communities (73,32.4%) have the expectation that Adolescent Reproductive Health Services (ARHS) should be provided in an existing health service with special attention to adolescents while a larger percentage of those who preferred a special adolescent health institution were from the rural communities (122, 54.2%) which was statistically significant with a P-value of 0.001. More of respondents from the rural communities also expect that contraception services should be provided in an ARHS center while life skill services are expected by more of the respondents from the urban communities (122, 55.6%). More of the rural community respondents (57,25.3%) expect that fee at the ARHS centers should be provided at a subsidized rate while more of the urban dwellers have the expectation that services provided should be free of charge. For respondents who had been to an ARHS center, more of the urban respondents were attended to by a Medical doctor and a large percentage (34, 94.4%) of those who had visited ARHS center before professed to be satisfied with the services rendered there. Expectations from adolescents from ARHS are very high. However, most of them prefer a free of charge service as well as a service area nearer to residential area. Confidentiality and having a young health professional at the service centers cannot be overemphasized in the provision of quality ARHS.

The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends same-day initiation (SDI) of antiretroviral therapy (ART) for all individuals diagnosed with HIV irrespective of CD4+ count or clinical stage. Implementation of program is still far from reaching its goals. This study assessed the level of implementation of same day ART initiation. A longitudinal study was conducted at four primary healthcare clinics in eThekwini municipality KwaZulu-Natal. Data was collected between June 2020 to October 2020 using a data extraction form. Data on individuals tested HIV positive, number of SDI of ART; and clinicians working on UTT program were compiled from clinic registers, and Three Interlinked Electronic Registers.Net (TIER.Net). Non-governmental organisations (NGO) supporting the facility and services information was collected. Among the 403 individuals who tested HIV positive, 279 (69.2%) were initiated on ART on the same day of HIV diagnosis from the four facilities. There was a significant association between health facility and number of HIV positive individuals initiated on SDI (chi-square=10.59; P-value=0.008). There was a significant association between facilities with support from all NGOs and ART SDI (chi-square=10.18; P-value=0.015. There was a significant association between staff provision in a facility and SDI (chi-square=7.51; P-value=0.006). Urban areas clinics were more likely to have high uptake of SDI compared to rural clinics (chi-square=11,29; P-value=0.003). Implementation of the Universal Test and Treat program varies by facility indicating the need for the government to monitor and standardize implementation of the policy if the program is to yield success.