Welcome to the Malawi Medical Journal!

Bioline would like to welcome the Malawi Medical Journal, the newest journal to be added to the Bioline repository! 

The Malawi Medical Journal (MMJ) was added to Bioline in October 2013. The journal is published by the College of Medicine, University of Malawi and Medical Association of Malawi. MMJ features research studies, policy analysis, case reports and literature reviews addressing the health care issues in Malawi and Africa and functions to provide a forum for academic debates among health researchers and professionals. The Bioline Team is working hard to add the MMJ's back issues to the website. Here are some highlights from the issues that have been added so far:

A review article in vol. 19 no. 1 by authors Kalua and Nyasulu highlights the role of modifying factors in health education programs. Health education in health programs is vital in empowering individuals with the knowledge and skills to promote good health. Modifying factors such as individual characteristics, time, skills and financial resources play a pivotal role in influencing desirable health behaviors. It is therefore necessary to understand the modifying factors of a target population in order to ensure a successful health education program. This article and others from this issue can be viewed here.

Professor E. Molyneux from the Department of Pediatrics, College of Medicine contributes an Editorial in vol. 19 no. 2. The Editorial highlights how Malawian medical school students receive a lack of political support. Molyneux raises important questions regarding the reasons why the medical students feel so unsupported and their overwhelming workloads. Molyneux questions whether it is possible to reduce the workload of interns. The articles in this issue can be found here.

In vol. 19 no. 3, Dr. G Malenga highlights the role of varying medical occupations. Malenga talks about the social, psychological and financial gains that the health sector can benefit from if grandmothers become consistent partners in Maternal and Child Health and/or Reproductive Health services in Malawi. This editorial recognizes the instrumental role grandmothers play in influencing decisions - such as those relating to health seeking behaviour within their extended families. This article and others from this issue can be accessed here.

A New Journal for Bioline Researchers: Bangladesh Journal of Medical Science

Bangladesh Journal of Medical Science is the newest member of the Bioline family! The Bangladesh Journal of Medical Science (BJMS) is a professional medical journal published quarterly every year (January, March, June and October). The journal provides a forum for discourse among medical professionals and other academic disciplines in Bangladesh. BJMS is a non-profit journal sponsored by Ibn Sina Trust, Bangladesh. It features editorials, research articles, review articles, special articles, case reports and short communications highlighting information of scientific importance. Bioline is currently adding older issues of the journal online and has vol. 1 no. 1 from 1994 online. This issue provides important historical documentation on issues of health in Bangladesh.

Within the vol. 1 no. 1 Editorial, Muazzam highlights the importance of diagnostic autopsy and the hope for clinicians to encourage this practice in order for medical science to develop in Bangladesh. He also brings attention to Laparoscopic cholecystectomy, a less invasive surgical procedure widely practiced in Japan and the USA that had begun to be implemented in Bangladesh at the time of publication.

The Special Article within vol. 1 no. 1 by Nayeem et al discusses Laparoscopic cholecystectomy as a revolutionary event in the field of surgery for management of gallbladder disease. Nayeem highlights how this surgery was likely to become the treatment of choice in the future to reduce patient death, hospital costs and pressure faced by surgical departments in Bangladesh. 

These articles and others in this issue can be viewed here.

New Journal: Rwanda Medical Journal

We are pleased to introduce our latest journal to the Bioline family--the Rwanda Medical Journal! RMJ was added to Bioline in May and is being published by the Rwanda Biomedical Centre. It features articles on health care in Rwanda, and aims to cultivate discussion on health issues between health care professionals and academics alike. Abstracts are available in both English and French.

Issues 1, 2, 3 & 4 of vol.69 of the journal went up on Bioline last week. Here are some of the highlights from the Editorials of each of the issues:

Issue 1's editorial by Léon Mutesa discusses the Rwanda Medical Centre's (RMC) inception in 2011 and its current progress. Mutesa also discusses the RMC mission statement to become a leader in clinical research studies, particularly in HIV/AIDS and infectious diseases, and make an significant impact on Rwandan health policies. Details of the structure and functions of the RMC's department are also outlined by Mutesa.
Check out some of the other articles from this issue pertaining to topics such as periodontal pathogens and oral health care habits here: http://www.bioline.org.br/titles?id=rw&year=2012&vol=69&num=01&keys=V69N1

Agnes Binagwaho, in the editorial for issue 2, talks about the progress that the Rwandan health sector has made in producing strategies and policies for patients and health care practitioners alike--resulting in a positive impact on the overall health of the population, especially in the area of infectious diseases. Statistics have shown that there has been a decrease by 78% over ten years (between 2001-2010) of HIV mortality rates, and the life expectancy in Rwanda jumped from 30 in 1995 to 55 in 2010. Binagwaho details the results of examining the health sector after the Rwanda president's push of the Ministry of Health for more health care professionals in the country.
You can find all of the articles of vol.69 no.2 here: http://www.bioline.org.br/titles?id=rw&year=2012&vol=69&num=02&keys=V69N2

A number of articles on studies done at the King Faisal hospital in Kigali, the largest city in Rwanda. The first, "Cervical Squamous Intraepitherial lesions at King Faisal Hospital: A Systematic Review: April 2009 - April 2011" by Shiramba et al. is a reflection on the 1673 studies done of cervical pap smears from April 2009 to April 2011 and the findings of pre-cancerous cells.
The second, "Effusion Cytology at King Faisal Hospital, Kigali: A Review of 151 Cases" by Shiramba et al. details 151 effusions using cytologic examination. Effusions are a large amount of fluid in a cavity or space in the body. The results showed that 17% of effusions were malignant, or severe.
The complete findings of these articles and more articles from this issue can be found here: http://www.bioline.org.br/titles?id=rw&year=2012&vol=69&num=03&keys=V69N3

Lastly, issue 4 includes an editorial by Frank Verbeke on the role that ICT (Information and Communications Technology) has played in the improvement of health care in Rwanda. Although education in ICT in the area has proved to be difficult with a limited number of health care professionals trained in the area, programs such as Belgian's Migration and Development for Africa Great Lakes provide support and training, as seen during their March 13th 2013 conference at Kigali Health Institute. Here they presented huge strides in the role of ICT, mentioning that 300 health professionals were educated on using health software applications at the Kigali University Teaching Hospital.
For articles from issue 4 and more on ICT and health care, go to: http://www.bioline.org.br/titles?id=rw&year=2012&vol=69&num=04&keys=V69N4