Occupational risk factors for HIV infection among traditional birth attendants in Copperbelt province, Zambia

Today we are featuring African Journal of Health Sciences vol.17 no. 3-4, which includes "Occupational risk factors for HIV infection among traditional birth attendants in Copperbelt province, Zambia" by Siziya, Seter & Hazemba, Alice. 

In this issue, a cross sectional survey was conducted among traditional birth attendants (TBA) in order to determine overall occupational health risks associated with HIV infection. A sum of 370 individual TBAs were recruited for the study. 67 (18.1%) of the individuals were trained and the median age of all individuals was 50 years old. One of the key issues was the use of mouth-to-mouth resuscitation for initial birth of the babies, which was reported by 22 (6.0%) of the 365 TBAs. Additionally, a total of 220 (59.6%) TBAs reported washing their hands with soap and water after contact with mothers and babies after the deliveries. Only 42 (11.5%) birth attendants used gloves all of the time when in contact with mothers and their babies. 

In summary, a total of 44 out of the 370 (11.9%) traditional birthing attendants tested positive for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). After adjusting for age, attendants who used mouth-to-mouth resuscitation were 6.02 (95%CI 1.97, 18.42) times likely to contract HIV than attendants who did not use this method of resuscitating the newborn babies. To conclude, the study suggests that the precautions for universal protection against the contraction of HIV was poor and that the use of mouth-to-mouth resuscitation of newborns should be highly discouraged. 

For this article and others from this issue, click here.

Clinical practices could affect immunisation delay of infants - Tanzania Journal of Health Research Vol.15 No.3

Source: Pete Lewis/Department of International Development

Today we are featuring Tanzania Journal of Health Research Vol.15 No.3 on the blog.

This issue includes "High prevalence of tuberculosis diagnosed during autopsy examination at Muhimbili National hospital in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania" by Kilale et, which examines the failures of diagnosing TB, leading to premature death and unrecognized transmission of TB. The aim of the study was to obtain quantitative data on TB cases identified during the autopsy and retrieve missed TB cases that were not previously reported in Tanzania. The study was conducted at the Muhimbili National Hospital in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Records were obtained for each patient included demographic information, past medical history, chest-xray reports, clinical diagnoses and causes of death, among others. Lung tissues, lymphnodes and blood clots for HIV testing were also collected. Tissues were examined by microscopy and processed through Ziehl Nielsen staining. Among the 74 patients, 56 were males. The results also indicated that 34 patients received a TB diagnosis before death.

Immunisation of infants is extremely important to prevent infant mortality and spread of preventable diseases. "Factors contributing to delay in commencement of immunisation in Nigerian infants" by Sadoh et al. discusses this topic in-depth. The study examines the factors that prevent or delay immunisation in Benin City, Nigeria. 153 mothers bringing their infants for their first immunisation to the Institute of Child Health Child Welfare clinic at the University of Benin in Benin City were asked questions for the study. Times for bringing in their infants varied between mothers. Only two mothers had their infants immunised within 24 hours of birth, with 66 mothers had their infants immunised at a week old or younger. Among the reasons for not having their infants immunised within 24 hours was that Bacillus Calmette–Guérin (BCG) vaccine for tuberculosis was only administered on a specific day. There were also mothers who were not knowledgeable of when infants should be immunised. The results indicated that mothers from a low socio-economic class and mothers with less than 12 years of schooling were less likely to have their infants immunized at a week old or younger. The study suggests that clinics change their practices to allow for daily immunisation, as well as training of health care practitioners on the importance of immunisation as soon as possible.

These articles and other articles from this issue can be found here.

49% of patients with HIV were diagnosed with heart failure in this study -- Tanzania Journal of Health Research Vol.15 No.2

This is our third post on the latest updated issues of the Tanzania Journal of Health Research on Bioline. Today we are featuring vol.15 no.2.

This issue includes "Factors associated with, and echocardiographic findings of heart failure among HIV infected patients at a tertiary health care facility in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania" by Bakari et al. This study aims to unpack the factors associated with heart failure among patients with HIV, as well as examine the echocardiographic findings. The study was conducted at Muhimbili National Hospital, a tertiary care facility in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Patients with HIV who also had cardiac complaints between September 2009 and April 2010. 49% of patients were diagnosed with heart failure, which was confirmed by echocardiography. The most common causes of heart failure were hypertensive heart disease, pulmonary hypertension and dilated cardiomyopathy. The results indicated that heart failure was common among patients with HIV who also had cardiac complaints. The factors for heart failure were associated with both modifiable and non-modfiable factors.

This issue also includes "Comprehensive health workforce planning: re-consideration of the primary health care approach as a tool for addressing the human resource for health crisis in low and middle income countries" by Munga & Mwangu. This article includes a literature review of case studies of low- and middle-income countries and their use of the Primary Health Care and existing planning approaches toward the Human Resources for Health crisis. Data from Tanzania was also used in this study, as well as consultations with experts. This article also details a conceptual framework using Primary Health Care as its foundation. The article concludes that health workforce planning is not common in Human Resources for Health planning due to lack of knowledge, and that Human Resources for Health planning is important but cannot be used alone to ensure that the Human Resource Health crisis is eliminated.

You can find these articles and others from this issue here.

Faith healers could serve as HIV educators at the community level - African Journal of Traditional, Complementary and Alternative Medicines Vol.8 No.5

Today we are featuring the African Journal of Traditional vol.8 no.5. This issue includes "Trends and challenges of Traditional Medicine in Africa", an article by Abdullahi that details the changes in traditional medicine over the past few decades, as well as the new shift toward traditional medicine. 

This issue also includes "A Controlled Study of an HIV/AIDS/STI/TB Intervention with Faith Healers in Vhembe District, South Africa" by Mashamba et al. This article details a study conducted in Vhembe District, Limpopo Province, South Africa. The study entailed the HIV/AIDS training of 58 faith healers from the United African Apostolic Church in two municipalities of Vhembe District, Limpopo Province, South Africa. The training was done over a period of two days. A group of 45 faith healers was used as a control group. Both groups were evaluated after two months. The results indicated that faith healers who received training had a greater knowledge of HIV/AIDS and some knowledge of TB. However, the management practices of HIV/AIDS such as risk behaviour counselling, testing referrals and community education of HIV/AIDS among other things were not significantly improved. The study concluded that faith healers could be useful in HIV prevention programmes and could serve as educators at the community level.

This issue also includes articles on the interactions and use of herbs and drugs. The first article, "Patient Counseling about Herbal-Drug Interactions" by Hussain comments on the complicated relationship between herbal medicines and medications when being taken at the same time. The second article, "Evaluation of Herbs as Potential Drugs/Medicines" by Odhiambo et al. looks at how 34 different types of plants could be used to treat human ailments, and which parts of the plant were most commonly used. The results indicated that Asteraceae and Leguminosae were among the plants most commonly used. The results also indicated that leaves and roots were the most common parts of the plant used.

You can find these articles and other articles from this issue here.

Call For Papers: African Journal of Reproductive Health

The African Journal of Reproductive Health is calling on scholars and authors to submit papers for the AJRH's special issue on HIV/AIDS, to be published in December 2013. Comprehensive reviews, meta-analysis, original research articles, program reports, commentaries as well as opinion pieces related to policies and programs on HIV/AIDS in all parts of Africa are welcomed. Deadline for submission is April 30^th, 2013. For further details, click and zoom on the image below: