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Ethiopian Journal of Health Sciences Jan 2024Anemia poses a significant challenge among Indian adolescent girls due to their heightened vulnerability, resulting from increased micronutrient requirements, rapid...
BACKGROUND
Anemia poses a significant challenge among Indian adolescent girls due to their heightened vulnerability, resulting from increased micronutrient requirements, rapid physical growth, menstrual blood loss, inadequate nutrition, and socioeconomic disparities. This study sought to evaluate the prevalence of anemia, along with socioeconomic and nutritional statuses among adolescent girls attending rural public schools in Pune, India.
METHODS
A sample of 400 girls was selected from 22 villages through Symbiosis International University. Hemoglobin levels were assessed using the HemoCue 201 system, while standardized protocols were employed for height, weight, and BMI-for-age measurements. Socioeconomic status was determined using the Kuppuswamy scale.
RESULTS
The findings revealed an overall anemia prevalence of (42.75%), comprising severe (2.5%), moderate (21%) and mild (20.25%) cases. Additionally, a substantial proportion (74.6%) of girls were classified as underweight. Socioeconomic analysis disclosed that 64.25% of families belonged to the lower middle class, and 27% in the upper lower class. Anemia was more prevalent in young adolescent girls (10-14 years) and in the families of adolescents who had low income, were illiterate, unemployed, and belonged to the lower-middle class and upper-lower-class socio-economic status (SES) and did not have a bank account.
CONCLUSION
Anemia was prevalent in adolescent girls and associated with low SES. This study underscores the limitations of relying solely on the distribution of iron and folic acid tablets to combat anemia. A holistic strategy is imperative, encompassing improvements in SES of families (literacy, employment and income), as well as initiatives aimed at enhancing the nutritional status of adolescent girls.
Topics: Humans; Female; Adolescent; India; Prevalence; Cross-Sectional Studies; Rural Population; Anemia; Nutritional Status; Social Class; Child; Hemoglobins; Socioeconomic Factors; Thinness
PubMed: 38957343
DOI: 10.4314/ejhs.v34i1.7 -
Ethiopian Journal of Health Sciences Jan 2024Children with disability have a risk of poor dental health because of their mental and physical limitations. They depend on caregivers in their daily life Parents have... (Observational Study)
Observational Study
BACKGROUND
Children with disability have a risk of poor dental health because of their mental and physical limitations. They depend on caregivers in their daily life Parents have an important role in maintaining children's dental health. Parents attitudes can be influenced by parents' perceptions of children's dental health. This study explored parental perceptions regarding the dental and oral health of children with special needs in Bandung City.
METHODS
This study utilized a descriptive observational research using a cross-sectional survey. The subjects in this study were 239 parents who had children aged 0-18 years who were taken from 9 special schools. The variables of this study were parents' perceptions and the dental and oral health status of children with disability. Primary data were obtained through a validated questionnaire.
RESULTS
Parents' perceptions of the dental and oral health of children with disability consists of 84.94% good enough perceptions, 12.13% good perceptions, and 2.93% bad perceptions.
CONCLUSION
Most parents have a fairly good perception of the dental and oral health of children with special needs.
Topics: Humans; Parents; Oral Health; Child; Female; Male; Child, Preschool; Cross-Sectional Studies; Disabled Children; Adolescent; Infant; Surveys and Questionnaires; Adult; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; Infant, Newborn; Perception
PubMed: 38957342
DOI: 10.4314/ejhs.v34i1.8 -
Ethiopian Journal of Health Sciences Jan 2024Children's growth is increasingly considered a key mediator of later life outcomes. When examining weight growth, the correlation between repeated observations on the...
BACKGROUND
Children's growth is increasingly considered a key mediator of later life outcomes. When examining weight growth, the correlation between repeated observations on the same subject must be regarded as well-modelled. This study aimed to analyze children's weight growth variations and associated factors in Ethiopia, India, Peru, and Vietnam using a fractional polynomial mixed-effects model.
METHODS
This study used longitudinal data from the Young Lives Cohort Study conducted from 2002 to 2016 in Ethiopia, India, Peru, and Vietnam. The study included 7,140 children of 1 to 15 years old A fractional polynomial mixed-effects model was used to analyze the data.
RESULTS
Ethiopian, Peruvian, and Vietnamese children had significantly higher average body weights than children in India (1.426, P<0.001; 1.992, P<0.001; 1.334, P<0.001, respectively). Girl children's average body weight was significantly 0.15 times less than that of boys (-0.148; P=0.027). The average weight of rural children was significantly 0.671 times less than that of urban children (0.671, P<0.001). Children from Peru and Vietnam had higher rates of weight change than those from India. However, the rate of weight change was lower in Ethiopian children than in Indian children. Children from urban areas had a significantly higher rate of weight gain than those from rural areas.
CONCLUSION
Country, sex, residence, parental education, household size, wealth, good drinking water, and reliable power affected children's longitudinal weight growth. Therefore, WHO and the nation's health ministry should monitor children's weight growth status and these associated factors to plan future action.
Topics: Humans; Ethiopia; Vietnam; Peru; Male; Female; Child; India; Child, Preschool; Adolescent; Infant; Rural Population; Body Weight; Longitudinal Studies; Urban Population; Child Development; Weight Gain; Cohort Studies
PubMed: 38957340
DOI: 10.4314/ejhs.v34i1.4 -
Ethiopian Journal of Health Sciences Jan 2024The Antenatal Care (ANC) Center is a conventional facility that caters for the prenatal healthcare needs of expectant mothers and ensures proper management by healthcare...
BACKGROUND
The Antenatal Care (ANC) Center is a conventional facility that caters for the prenatal healthcare needs of expectant mothers and ensures proper management by healthcare professionals; however, expectant mothers seek healthcare support from other sources. This study aimed to examine the utilization of social media for healthcare information among expectant mothers in the capital city of Ghana and explore the factors that influence its adoption.
METHOD
This study employed a non-experimental survey design. The study used a questionnaire to gather data from expectant mothers. Using 580 valid responses, SmartPLS structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to analyze the study model.
RESULTS
The study findings demonstrated the significant influence of performance expectancy of social media (PESM) and facilitating conditions of social media (FCSM) on social media healthcare information usage (SMHLU). The results also revealed that emotional support on social media and perceived vulnerability were influential factors that shaped expectant mothers' choices to use social media for healthcare information. However, the study showed that perceived severity and the relative advantage of social media had no significant effects on SMHIU. Interestingly, FCSM was found to be significantly associated with PESM, emphasizing that social media support enhances performance expectancy.
CONCLUSION
This study showed that information is important to expectant mothers, which compels them to seek digital healthcare. With these findings, healthcare providers can incorporate digital health services into their ANC service to support women during pregnancy.
Topics: Humans; Female; Social Media; Ghana; Pregnancy; Prenatal Care; Adult; Young Adult; Surveys and Questionnaires; Mothers; Information Seeking Behavior; Patient Acceptance of Health Care; Social Support; Adolescent
PubMed: 38957339
DOI: 10.4314/ejhs.v34i1.6 -
Ethiopian Journal of Health Sciences Jan 2024The National Immunization Program (NIP) was introduced in Ethiopia in 1980. The NIP has expanded the number of vaccines from six to more than 14 in 2023. However,...
The National Immunization Program (NIP) was introduced in Ethiopia in 1980. The NIP has expanded the number of vaccines from six to more than 14 in 2023. However, decisions on new vaccine introduction and other vaccine-related matters were not systematically deliberated nationally. Thus, the need to establish a national body to deliberate on vaccine and vaccination matters, in addition to the global immunization advisory groups, has been emphasized in the last decade. This article presents the establishment and achievements of the Ethiopian NITAG. The E-NITAG was established in 2016 and maintained its active role in providing recommendations for new vaccine introduction and improving the delivery of routine vaccines. The external assessment indicated the E-NITAG was highly functional and played a critical role in enhancing the vaccination practice in Ethiopia, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. The absence of a dedicated secretariat staff was the major bottleneck to expanding the role of the E-NITAG beyond responding to MOH requests. The E-NITAG must be strengthened by establishing a secretariat that can eventually grow as an independent institution to address complex vaccine-related issues the NIP needs to address.
Topics: Humans; Ethiopia; Immunization Programs; Advisory Committees; COVID-19; Vaccination; SARS-CoV-2; COVID-19 Vaccines; Vaccines
PubMed: 38957337
DOI: 10.4314/ejhs.v34i1.12 -
Ethiopian Journal of Health Sciences Jan 2024Globally, there were 241 million cases of malaria in 2020, with an estimated 627,000 deaths with Nigeria accounting for 27% of the global malaria cases. In sub-Saharan...
BACKGROUND
Globally, there were 241 million cases of malaria in 2020, with an estimated 627,000 deaths with Nigeria accounting for 27% of the global malaria cases. In sub-Saharan Africa, testing is low with only 28% of children with a fever receiving medical advice or a rapid diagnostic test in 2021. In Nigeria, there are documented reports of over-diagnosis and over-treatment of malaria in children. Therefore, this study examined the diagnosis of malaria at the Benue State University Teaching Hospital, Makurdi.
METHODS
A 5-year (2018-2022) retrospective study was carried out at the Emergency Pediatric Unit (EPU). Records of all children presenting to the EPU with an assessment of malaria were retrieved and reviewed. Data was analyzed using SPSS 23.
RESULTS
Out of 206 children reviewed, 128 (62.1%) were tested using either malaria RDT or microscopy while 78(37.9%) were not tested. Out of the number tested, 59(46.1%) were negative while 69(53.9%) tested positive, of which 14(20.3%) had uncomplicated malaria while 55(79.7%) had severe malaria. However, while 97.1% (n=67) of the positive cases were treated with IV artesunate, 69.5% (n=41) of those who tested negative and 88.5% (69) of those who were not tested also received IV artesunate. Moreover, while 85.5% (n=59) of those who tested positive received oral artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT), 72.9% (n=43) of those who tested negative and 67.9% (53) of those who were not tested also received oral ACT.
CONCLUSION
There was over-diagnosis of malaria, and subsequently, over-treatment. Hence continued emphasis on parasitological confirmation of malaria before treatment is recommended.
Topics: Humans; Nigeria; Retrospective Studies; Child, Preschool; Hospitals, Teaching; Female; Male; Child; Antimalarials; Emergency Service, Hospital; Malaria; Infant; Artemisinins; Adolescent
PubMed: 38957335
DOI: 10.4314/ejhs.v34i1.5 -
Biological Psychiatry Global Open... Jul 2024Exposure to environmental pollutants early in life has been associated with increased prevalence and severity of depression in adolescents; however, the neurobiological...
BACKGROUND
Exposure to environmental pollutants early in life has been associated with increased prevalence and severity of depression in adolescents; however, the neurobiological mechanisms underlying this association are not well understood. In the current longitudinal study, we investigated whether pollution burden in early adolescence (9-13 years) was associated with altered brain activation and connectivity during implicit emotion regulation and changes in depressive symptoms across adolescence.
METHODS
One hundred forty-five participants ( = 87 female; 9-13 years) provided residential addresses, from which we determined their relative pollution burden at the census tract level, and performed an implicit affective regulation task in the scanner. Participants also completed questionnaires assessing depressive symptoms at 3 time points, each approximately 2 years apart, from which we calculated within-person slopes of depressive symptoms. We conducted whole-brain activation and connectivity analyses to examine whether pollution burden was associated with alterations in brain function during implicit emotion regulation of positively and negatively valenced stimuli and how these effects were related to slopes of depressive symptoms across adolescence.
RESULTS
Greater pollution burden was associated with greater bilateral medial prefrontal cortex activation and stronger bilateral medial prefrontal cortex connectivity with regions within the default mode network (e.g., temporoparietal junction, posterior cingulate cortex, precuneus) during implicit regulation of negative emotions, which was associated with greater increases in depressive symptoms across adolescence in those exposed to higher pollution burden.
CONCLUSIONS
Adolescents living in communities characterized by greater pollution burden showed altered default mode network functioning during implicit regulation of negative emotions that was associated with increases in depressive symptoms across adolescence.
PubMed: 38957313
DOI: 10.1016/j.bpsgos.2024.100322 -
Ghana Medical Journal Mar 2024To assess and compare the level of Birth Preparedness and Complications Readiness (BPCR) and determine the predicting effect of socio-demographic factors on it among... (Comparative Study)
Comparative Study
OBJECTIVES
To assess and compare the level of Birth Preparedness and Complications Readiness (BPCR) and determine the predicting effect of socio-demographic factors on it among couples in rural and urban communities of Ekiti State.
DESIGN
A community-based comparative cross-sectional study.
SETTING
The study was conducted in twelve rural and twelve urban communities in Ekiti State.
PARTICIPANTS
Couples from rural and urban communities. Female partners were women of reproductive age group (15-49 years) who gave birth within twelve months before the survey.
MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES
Proportion of couples that were well prepared for birth and obstetric emergencies, and its socio-demographic determinants.
RESULTS
The proportion of couples that were well prepared for birth and its complications was significantly higher in urban (60.5%) than rural (48.4%) communities. The study also revealed that living above poverty line (95% CI=1.01-3.79), parity and spousal age difference less than five years (95% CI=1.09 - 2.40) were positive predictors of BPCR among respondents.
CONCLUSIONS
Urban residents were better prepared than their rural counterparts. Living above poverty line, parity, and spousal age difference less than five years were positive predictors of BPCR. There is a need to emphasize on educating couples on the importance of identifying blood donors as a vital component of BPCR.
FUNDING
None declared.
Topics: Humans; Adult; Female; Nigeria; Cross-Sectional Studies; Rural Population; Urban Population; Middle Aged; Pregnancy; Young Adult; Adolescent; Male; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; Obstetric Labor Complications; Parity; Parturition; Delivery, Obstetric; Surveys and Questionnaires
PubMed: 38957284
DOI: 10.4314/gmj.v58i1.6 -
Ghana Medical Journal Mar 2024To explore factors associated with adolescents' sexual and reproductive health (SRH) knowledge and their engagement with educational and clinical services.
OBJECTIVE
To explore factors associated with adolescents' sexual and reproductive health (SRH) knowledge and their engagement with educational and clinical services.
DESIGN
Regression analysis of secondary data collected during a community survey.
SETTING
Adaklu district, Volta Region, Ghana.
PARTICIPANTS
221 adolescent caregiver pairs.
MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES
The study employed three main outcome measures: (1) adolescents' level of SRH knowledge (assessed via questionnaire), (2) membership in district-sponsored adolescent health clubs (AHCs), and (3) ever-utilization of clinical SRH services.
RESULTS
Greater SRH knowledge was significantly associated with older age, AHC membership, and relying primarily on teachers or friends for SRH information. Increased odds of AHC membership were observed among females (AOR = 2.38, 95% CI 1.14-4.95); those who had communicated with one parent about sexual issues (OR 2.70, 95% CI 1.17-6.21); and those with a history of transactional sex (OR 5.53, 95% CI 1.04-29.37). Decreased odds were observed among adolescents whose caregivers were educated to the primary level (AOR = 0.24, 95% CI = 0.07-0.79). Overall, utilization of clinical SRH services was low, but higher odds were detected among individuals reporting a history of forced sex (AOR = 117.07, 95% CI 3.82-3588.52) and those who had discussed sexual issues with both of their parents (AOR = 13.11, 95% CI 1.85-92.93).
CONCLUSIONS
Awareness of the predictors of knowledge, AHC involvement, and clinical service utilization can empower adolescent SRH initiatives-both present and future-to enhance their teaching, develop targeted outreach to underserved groups, and promote engagement with key clinical resources.
FUNDING
This work has been supported by grants from the International Development Research Centre [108936] (IDRC), Canada.
Topics: Humans; Adolescent; Ghana; Female; Male; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; Sexual Health; Reproductive Health; Surveys and Questionnaires; Reproductive Health Services; Sexual Behavior; Patient Acceptance of Health Care; Young Adult; Cross-Sectional Studies
PubMed: 38957278
DOI: 10.4314/gmj.v58i1.9 -
Ghana Medical Journal Mar 2024The study aimed to detect the presence of infection in children using two investigative methods: the rapid urease test and histological methods. It also examined the...
OBJECTIVE
The study aimed to detect the presence of infection in children using two investigative methods: the rapid urease test and histological methods. It also examined the relationship between socioeconomic status and Helicobacter pylori infection.
DESIGN
This was a cross-sectional study conducted in the paediatric theatre at Korle Bu Teaching Hospital in Accra, Ghana.
PARTICIPANTS
Children who were scheduled for upper gastrointestinal endoscopy were recruited into the study.
MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES
The presence of Helicobacter pylori in gastric biopsies was measured using a rapid urease test and histology.
RESULTS
Seventy-three children aged 2 years to 16 years were seen during the period. Both tests were positive at the same time in 36 (49.3%) out of the 73 children (p<0.0001). The positivity rates for the rapid urease test and histology were 57.5% and 53.4 %, respectively. Significant predictors of the histology presence of H. pylori were a large household size of at least 6 members (AOR: 4.03; p<0.013) and the presence of pets at home (AOR: 3.23; p<0.044).
CONCLUSIONS
Substantial agreement was found between the rapid urease test and histology examination of gastric biopsies for the presence of . Children from large households and those with pets at home appear to have increased odds of having infection of the gastric mucosa.
FUNDING
None declared.
Topics: Humans; Helicobacter Infections; Helicobacter pylori; Child; Cross-Sectional Studies; Male; Urease; Female; Child, Preschool; Adolescent; Ghana; Biopsy; Socioeconomic Factors; Gastric Mucosa
PubMed: 38957277
DOI: 10.4314/gmj.v58i1.10