Journal of Public Health in Africa最新文献

The Psychosocial and Economic Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic in Mathare slums were adverse which necessitated mitigation strategies to be employed to cushion the most vulnerable and help them cope with the new 'state of affairs'. The pandemic was characterized by a surge in the respiratory infections, unemployment, households going hungry, gender-based violence in families, child abuse cases and increased rates of teenage pregnancy. Retrospective case study design was employed; secondary data from hospital departments were extracted for analysis from March 2020 to December 2021. Interventions in focus were health service provision, Gender based and child abuse services, food distribution, wet-feeding program, business grants and house rent grants. The most common burden faced by Mathare residents was food insecurity which was mitigated by giving 9,423 Patients' food baskets while 1,423 patients enrolled to the wet feeding program. Gender Based Violence services provided doubled in the year 2021 with physical and emotional violence being more common than sexual violence which was at 6.2%. Child abuse services were provided more in the year 2020 and 96 teenage mothers were assisted to go back to school. About 158 families received rent grants; which was a 30.4% increase from the year 2020. There was a 75.5% increase in the year 2021 of residents who received business grants. In a pandemic the effects are beyond health hence it is necessary to manage patients comprehensively using a multi-sectorial approach. However it is important to put regulations to avoid overdependence.

The management of postoperative wound infections is a major problem in hospitals due to the frequent ineffectiveness of antibiotic treatment. The objectives of this study are to identify the bacteria responsible for postoperative wound infections and to describe these antibiotic resistances in order to improve the management of these infections. It is a prospective study of 52 bacteriological results of postoperative wounds for a period of six months from January 2021 to June 2021 in the laboratory of the University Hospital of Befelatanana. This study showed 26 (50%) isolates of staphylococci, 17 (32.7%) isolates of enterobacteria, 6 (11.5%) isolates of streptococci and 3 (5.8%) isolates of nonfermenting gram-negatif bacilli. Antibiotic resistance, varies from 0% (vancomycin) to 92.3% (penicillin G) for staphylococci isolates, 0% (imipenem, amikacin) to 94.1% (amoxicillin) for enterobacteria isolates, 0% (vancomycin) to 50% (penicillin G) for streptococci isolates and 33% (imipenem, amikacin) to 100% (cotrimoxazole) for the isolates of nonfermenting gram-negatif bacilli. The knowledge of antibiotic resistance of bacteria responsible for postoperative wound infections allows better patient management.

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.

There has been significant progress with regards to winning the fight against HIV globally, particularly due to the introduction of antiretroviral therapy (ART). COVID-19 threatened to derail gains in the fight against HIV. As we have started to see with studies on COVID-19 and HIV, there is a need to 'provide an in-depth view' in understanding the dynamics between the two epidemics, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. We, therefore, undertook a systemic review of existing literature to synthesize the effects of COVID-19 on the utilization of HIV services in sub-Saharan Africa, the literature on the risks associated with HIV during the COVID-19 pandemic, and lastly, the innovations and strategies adopted to continue receiving treatment in sub-Saharan Africa. We conducted a systematic review of studies published between 2020 and April 2022. We searched for relevant sub-Saharan studies in the following databases: PubMed, Google Scholar, J-STOR, and Science Direct. The review followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. The search identified 647 papers, and after screening, 41 were in line with the inclusion criteria and were included in the review. There was evidence of the negative effects of COVID-19 on reducing HIV testing, ART treatment, and HIV prevention services. There is evidence pointing to the need for people living with HIV to be prioritized for COVID-19 vaccinations. Innovations and strategies implemented to mitigate the effects of COVID-19 on HIV services include community-based ART distribution, multi-month ART dispensing, the use of digital technologies, and the use of the already existing HIV infrastructure to fight COVID-19. It is still imperative that future studies explore the predictors of utilization of HIV services in the advent of COVID-19.