This study aimed at investigating the maternal characteristics that in turn influence the immunological status of infants in asymptomatic enteric pathogen carriers in mother baby pairs (MBPs) in a high HIV burdened population in Harare, Zimbabwe. BIOPLEX immunoassay was used to analyse serum samples from 39 MBPs for 27 cytokines and 6 immunoglobulins. The MBP were purposively selected based on HIV infection and Entamoeba histolytica carriage. Logistic regression was used to identify any link between maternal demographic and clinical data with infant cytokine and immunoglobulin levels. Maternal E. histolytica carriers were more likely to have infants with low levels of IL-12p70, FGF-basic, GM-CSF and TNF-α cytokines (OR: 0.14; 95% CI: 0.03-0.79) and high levels of IgA immunoglobulin (OR: 8.1; 95% CI: 1.45-45.06). HIV infected mothers were more likely to have infants with low levels of IgG2 (OR: 0.24; 95% CI: 0.06-1.00) and IgA (OR: 0.22; 95% CI: 0.05-0.90) immunoglobulins. Notably, it was highly likely to deliver infants with low IgG4 levels (OR: 0.24; 95% CI: 0.06-1.02) for maternal mean age above 30.38 years (Standard deviation 6.09) though not significant (p=0.05). Maternal E. histolytica asymptomatic carriage, and HIV-infection status result in low levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-12p70, FGF-basic, GM-CSF and TNF-α and immunoglobulins IgG2, IgG4 and IgA on their infants.
This study aimed at determining the factors that influence family planning practice among rural women of Pankshin district in Plateau state, Nigeria. A cross-sectional study using a simple random sampling method was conducted from October to December 2019. A self-administered questionnaire was used for data collection among 302 respondents. Among respondents, 48.3% had practised family planning and the most popular family planning method ever practised was injectables (57.5%). The determinants of family planning practice were age group 29-39 and 40-49 years old (AOR=4.373, p <0.001; AOR=5.862, p <0.001), discussion with partner (AOR=9.192, p <0.001) and partner's approval (AOR=2.791, p=0.007). Findings showed an encouraging family planning prevalence with the main determinants involving male partners. Further efforts need to be made to promote family planning practice among male partners and to empower women of all reproductive age groups by providing them with relevant information that is needed for them to make informed decisions.
Menopausal hormone therapy (MHT) is known to increase the risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE), which includes deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary embolism, and less frequently cerebral vein thrombosis, but the absolute risk for a given patient is very low. After starting MHT, the risk of VTE seems to be at its highest, declining to the non-HRT user baseline level of risk after stopping. Whether estrogen-only or estrogen-progestin HRT combination is linked to a similar risk of VTE is unclear from the available evidence. The aim of this study is to evaluate the risks of developing VTE in relation to different types as well as different modes of administration of MHT through a database search including PubMed, MEDLINE, Google Scholar, Cochrane Library, and others in order to provide the women carers with the up-to-date and evidence-based guidelines and recommendations while counseling the post-menopausal women enquiring on use of hormonal therapies either to alleviate the menopausal symptoms or to prevent the long-term sequelae of estrogen deficiency.
This study examines the relationship between out-of-pocket medical expenditures, remittances and health outcomes in China using Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) and Propensity Score Matching (PSM) methods. The analysis is based on data from the Global Financial Inclusion database by the World Bank (2021), encompassing a sample of 3,446 individuals. The results indicate that out of-pocket expenditure has a negative impact on health outcomes, while remittance shows a positive association across all age groups, including reproductive and non-reproductive populations. These findings suggest that high out-of-pocket medical costs may hinder access to healthcare services and lead to poorer health outcomes. Conversely, remittance plays a beneficial role in improving health outcomes, highlighting the potential of financial support to positively impact the well-being of individuals.
In East Asia, where several countries are among the top emitters of carbon dioxide globally, the need to address the dual challenges of reducing carbon footprints and ensuring health security is paramount. Against this backdrop, this study used a descriptive analysis to provide a comparative assessment of the carbon footprints and the level of health security in East Asia using secondary data, sourced from the World Development Indicators. The findings from the study show that it is only North Korea that its average carbon footprint of every person is less than 2.3 tons. However, China, Japan, Mongolia and South Korea are currently lagging behind in meeting the SDG 13 target. Meanwhile, North Korea recorded the highest incidence of tuberculosis in the region. Despite the fact that South Korea and Japan were the highest emitter of CO2, the duo had the lowest under five mortality, infant mortality, incidence of TB alongside the highest life expectancies which surpassed the regional performance. In view of the above, the policymakers in Asia and the rest of the countries with health insecurity should emulate the policymakers in Japan and South Korea by making adequate investment in health, education, and standard of living of their citizens.
HIV/AIDS has taken a pandemic form affecting 40 million people around the world. The present study aimed to determine the knowledge, attitude, and concerns of dental students towards HIV/AIDS infected individuals. A cross sectional study was conducted among 224 subjects, among them 112 final year (FY) students and 112 interns. Subjects were selected from 10 dental colleges in Bangalore city, India. Data was collected through a self-administered questionnaire. The mean knowledge score of FY students and interns was 73.66+5.9 and 80.4+7.2 respectively; the mean attitude score was 71.25+1.707 and 87.75+1.8 and the mean concern score was 92+2.645 and 97.75+3.171 respectively. Differences in the mean score were significant. Dental interns had slightly higher knowledge, attitude, and concern than the FY students. There is a need to add HIV/AIDS patient's infection control measures in the dental curriculum.
This review aims to provide the mother carers with the most recent evidence-based guidelines in the context of managing of pregnancy-associated VTE, where an extensive search through the medical journals addressing the topic including the medical database such as Pubmed, Medline, Sience direct,Embase and others using the title and key-words in order to gather the most concerned as well as the up-to-date publications concerned with the problem under research, the search resulted in recognising pregnancy as a significant risk factor for the development of VTE, both during the prenatal and postnatal periods, with an estimated increased likelihood risk of five and sixty times, respectively and concluded that venous thromboembolism (VTE) is one of the leading causes of maternal mortality hence, all pregnant women should be assessed for the risk of developing the condition as early as possible (when scheduling a booking antenatal appointment) or even in the pre-pregnancy clinic.
This study examined the effect of various dimensions of women's empowerment on childcare use in Nigeria, utilizing information from five rounds of the National Demographic and Health Surveys. The analysis made use of both binary and multinomial logistic regression. The findings show that women who share household choices with their spouses were more likely to undertake postnatal care for their babies in either private or public hospitals compared to self-medication/others/traditional. Also, women who owned houses and those who participate in economic activities are significantly more inclined to use postnatal services for babies in health facilities. By implication, women empowerment is a significant factor to consider in improving childcare services in Nigeria. This suggests that in order to improve the health of children, women's inputs in household decision-making should be accommodated, while efforts should be made to enhance household socioeconomic position, and support mothers to have formal education. The findings also suggest that promoting women's empowerment can play a crucial role in increasing the demand for formal childcare services.
This paper empirically analyses the impact of gender disparity in access to education and under 5 mortality on economic growth in selected sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries from the period 2005 - 2020. The study engaged a panel data of 17 selected SSA countries sourced from the World Development Indicators (WDI) and the United Nations Institute for Statistics (UNIS) and applied the instrumental variable generalised method of moments analytical approach. The result shows that the interaction between gender parity in access to education and primary school enrolment has a significant impact on economic growth. The study concludes that policies to promote gender parity in access to education would be of paramount importance to increase economic growth towards the actualisation of sustainable development goal related to inclusive and equitable quality education and the promotion of lifelong learning opportunities (SDG4) in SSA countries.
Childhood stunting remains a global health issue with significant consequences for the growth, long-term health, and development of childre, Poor nutrition is a well-established contributor to childhood stunting. This study aims to investigate the potential of utilizing biscuits as a nutritional intervention to improve the child's stunting condition. This systematic review was consisted of a literature search in several databases: Scopus, Web of Science, mScience Direct, PubMed, and Springer, following the PRISMA methodology. Our search yielded a total of 836 records, while 11 studies were finally included after the screening. The studies revealed critical findings regarding the utilization of biscuits as a carrier in providing essential nutrients. Nevertheless, more well-designed and standardized studies are required to establish clear guidelines for the formulation and implementation of biscuitbased interventions. Policymakers and health practitioners should consider incorporating fortified biscuits into strategies aimed at reducing stunting, especially in regions with a high prevalence of stunting.
The current child feeding practice is still suboptimal. There are several factors that affect child feeding practices. This review aimed to synthesize the available evidence on factors related to child feeding practices based on social-cognitive theory construct. The study was conducted based on the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) checklist and used five databases, including Scopus, ScienceDirect, Web of Science, PubMed and ProQuest. There were no restrictions in the year of publication. Based on the search strategy, 1179 articles were extracted resulting in 23 articles that were suitable for inclusion in the study. Factors related to child feeding practices included knowledge, self-efficacy and social support. Social support from health workers plays an important role in increasing maternal self-efficacy in feeding practices. Education interventions for mothers and husbands or other family members need to be carried out to increase knowledge, self-efficacy and social support in feeding practices.
This exploratory qualitative study examines the awareness, perceptions, and roles of Jordanian community pharmacists in providing emergency contraception. Twenty semi-structured interviews were conducted with pharmacists from two major governorates, exploring their counseling practices, knowledge of emergency contraceptives, product differences, concerns, and views on patient requests. Findings show that pharmacists' decisions are influenced by societal stigma, legal constraints, and personal beliefs, with market trends also affecting dispensing practices. The gap was evident in how pharmacists were short on knowing the variety of different types and approaches to emergency contraception. Patient initiative in seeking information significantly mattered and influenced how pharmacists responded to such situations. Also, they reported ethical dilemmas when they handled these medications. Pharmacies in Jordan are so intertwined with community, where people sought to seek pharmacists' help in almost every occasion, proving ever strongly how it makes a difference whether the space is safe and supportive or not, especially for reproductive health issues. Our study highlighted where do we fall short and the need to design programs that fill the gaps in knowledge, perception, and practice. Cette étude qualitative exploratoire examine la sensibilisation, les perceptions et les rôles des pharmaciens communautaires jordaniens dans la fourniture de contraception d'urgence. Vingt entretiens semi-structurés ont été menés avec des pharmaciens de deux gouvernorats majeurs, explorant leurs pratiques de conseil, leurs connaissances des contraceptifs d'urgence, les différences entre les produits, leurs préoccupations et leurs points de vue sur les demandes des patients. Les résultats montrent que les décisions des pharmaciens sont influencées par la stigmatisation sociétale, les contraintes juridiques et les convictions personnelles, les tendances du marché affectant également les pratiques de délivrance. L’écart était évident dans la mesure où les pharmaciens ne connaissaient pas la variété des différents types et approches de contraception d’urgence. L’initiative des patients dans la recherche d’informations était importante et influençait la manière dont les pharmaciens réagissaient à de telles situations. En outre, ils ont signalé des dilemmes éthiques lorsqu’ils manipulaient ces médicaments. Les pharmacies en Jordanie sont tellement liées à la communauté que les gens ont cherché à demander l'aide d'un pharmacien presque à chaque occasion, prouvant ainsi à quel point il est important que l'espace soit sûr et favorable ou non, en particulier pour les problèmes de santé reproductive. Notre étude a mis en évidence nos lacunes et la nécessité de concevoir des programmes qui comblent les lacunes en matière de connaissances, de perception et de pratique.