Patients who received analgesics intravenously were reported to have better post-operative pain management - Tanzania Journal of Health Research Vol.16 No.1

Vol.16 no.1 of the Tanzania Journal of Health Research is being featured on the blog today. 

This issue includes "Postoperative pain management outcomes among adults treated at a tertiary hospital in Moshi, Tanzania" by Masigati et al. This study examines the challenges and effects of post-operative pain when left untreated in patients at the Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre in Moshi, Tanzania from August 2011 to March 2012. Pain and satisfaction numerical rating scales were used to assess the satisfaction and post-operative pain of patients. These assessments occurred 24 hours and 48 hours after operation on 124 patients. Over 45% of patients reported to have experienced pain when resting, and 44% experienced pain during movement. Patients who received analgesics intravenously were reported to have better post-operative pain management than patients who received intramuscular analgesics.

This issue also includes "Knowledge and perception on tuberculosis transmission in Tanzania: Multinomial logistic regression analysis of secondary data" by Ismail & Josephat. Tuberculosis is an ongoing health concern in Tanzania and was declared a national public health emergency in 2006. Multinominal Logistic Regression analysis was used to measure the effect of knowledge of TB. Data from the 2007-2008 Tanzania HIV/AIDS national survey and the Malaria Indicator Survey. The results indicated that the higher the age and education, the higher knowledge of TB. The results also indicated that people in urban areas had higher TB knowledge than people in rural areas. People who owned a radio or telephone had greater knowledge than those who did not. The study concluded that socio-economic factors such as age, education and place of residence, as well as owning a telephone or radio, systematically affected knowledge of tuberculosis transmission.

For these articles and others from this issue, click here.

43% of 2136 adolescents reported to have seriously injured themselves -- Tanzania Journal of Health Research Vol.15 No.1

This is our second consecutive post on the Tanzania Journal of Health Research. Today we are featuring vol.15 no.1, which was updated on Bioline at the end of March 2014.

This issue includes "Knowledge, attitude and practices on family planning services among adolescents in secondary schools in Hai District, northern Tanzania" by Dangat & Njau. This study examines attitudes, knowledge and practices of family planning services among adolescents in 10 secondary schools in the Hai district in northern Tanzania. The study was conducted between April and June 2011 through a cross-sectional survey administered to 316 randomly selected students, of which the median age was 17 years old. The results indicated that about 71% of survey respondents said that family planning services should not be used by adolescents, and less than 6% of survey respondents had received family planning services in their lifetime.

This issue also includes "Self-inflicted serious injuries among adolescents in Zambia" by Muula et al. This study aims to uncover some of the factors and and prevalence of self-inflicted injuries among students in Zambia. The study was conducted using data from the 2004 Zambia Global School-Based Health Survey to assess the prevalence within the last 12 months. Out of 2136 adolescents who did the survey, more than 43% were reported to have seriously injured themselves. Of these adolescents, almost 12% reported to have serious injured themselves on purpose. Emotions associated with a history of self-inflicted injury included sadness, suicidal behaviour, alcohol use and marijuana use.

For these articles and others from this issue, click here.