Due to the chronic shortage of health personnel, nurses and midwives now play a fundamental role in the care and treatment of people living with HIV/ AIDS (PLHIV) in Cameroon. This study was therefore designed to asse...Due to the chronic shortage of health personnel, nurses and midwives now play a fundamental role in the care and treatment of people living with HIV/ AIDS (PLHIV) in Cameroon. This study was therefore designed to assess the level of knowledge, attitude and practice with regard to care of PLHIV among nursing and midwifery students in Fako division of Cameroon. A survey was performed between May and July 2015, among 227 nursing and midwifery students (in their second to final year of study), selected from 8 government accredited training institutions in Fako division of Cameroon. An anonymous self-administered semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect data. The Pearson’s chi-square test, univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses adjusting for possible confounders were all performed as part of the statistical analyses. The cutoff of statistical significance was set at p ≤ 0.05. Nursing and midwifery students had a moderate level of HIV/AIDS knowledge (average score of 7.02 on a scale of 11). Attitude towards PLHIV was generally positive (68.7%) but there were some misconceptions and prejudice about PLHIV, with considerable stigmatization (31.3%), unwillingness to share a room with someone infected with HIV (27.7%), and unwillingness to work on PLHIV (23.8%). Good HIV/AIDS knowledge was observed to be the sole independent predictor (p = 0.004) of positive attitude towards PLHIV. Fur-thermore the confidence of the respondents regarding care of PLHIV was generally moderate. Our results suggest the need for the development of a more appropriate education program in nursing and midwifery institutions in Fako division to reduce the discrepancies between the general knowledge, attitude and practice regarding care of PLHIV.展开更多
Background: Plastic pollution is the accumulation of waste composed of plastic and its derivatives all over the environment. Whether in the form of visible garbage or microparticles, as it slowly degrades, plastic pol...Background: Plastic pollution is the accumulation of waste composed of plastic and its derivatives all over the environment. Whether in the form of visible garbage or microparticles, as it slowly degrades, plastic pollution poses significant threats to terrestrial and aquatic habitats and the wildlife that call them home, whether through ingestion, entanglement or exposure to the chemicals contained in the material. Unfortunately, there is a lack of documentation on the impact of plastic waste on human health in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Methods: We searched five electronic databases (PubMed, Embase, Global Health, CINAHL and Web of Science) and gray literature, following the preferred reporting elements for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA), for the impact of plastic waste on human health in developing countries. We included quantitative and qualitative studies written in English and French. We assessed the quality of the included articles using the Mixed Methods Appraisal tool (MMAT). Results: A total of 3779 articles were initially identified by searching electronic databases. After eliminating duplicates, 3167 articles were reviewed based on title and abstract, and 26 were selected for full-text review. Only three articles were retained. The three articles dealt with practices likely to lead to oral exposure to plastic chemicals in human health, as well as the level of awareness of participants concerning the possible impact of plastic on human health, namely, the use of plastic baby bottles, the use of microwaves to cook food and reheat precooked food, the use of plastic bottles to store water in the refrigerator, water purifier containers with plastic bodies and plastic lunch boxes, the reuse of plastic bags and the inadequacy of treatment facilities. Conclusion: Plastic waste poses different risks to human health at every stage of its life cycle. Hence, strategies must be adopted to raise public awareness of the dangers of plastic waste to their health. Trial registration: The review protocol is registered in the PROSPERO international prospective register of systematic reviews (ID = CRD42023409087).展开更多
HIV/AIDS is a serious health problem among prisoners and constitutes a big challenge for prison administration services, public health services and governments. <b><span style="font-family:Verdana;"...HIV/AIDS is a serious health problem among prisoners and constitutes a big challenge for prison administration services, public health services and governments. <b><span style="font-family:Verdana;">Aims</span></b><span style="font-family:Verdana;"><strong>:</strong> Determine the prevalence of HIV infection among prisoners and describe associated factors. </span><b><span style="font-family:Verdana;">Population and Methods: </span></b><span style="font-family:Verdana;">This was a descriptive and analytical cross-sectional study conducted from December 2015 to October 2016. A sample of 600 prisoners was randomly interviewed nationwide. They were selected directly from the sample frame from across the country and proportionally from all sites. Pre-established questionnaires providing information on the sociodemographic and biological characteristics of prisoners were used for the collection of data. Data entry and analysis were </span><span style="font-family:Verdana;">performed using EXCEL and SPSS 18 software. </span><b><span style="font-family:Verdana;">Results: </span></b><span style="font-family:Verdana;">The survey was</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;"> based on a randomised sample of 600 prisoners, 593 of whom accepted blood extraction for the HIV testing. The series was mainly composed of males (89%). The median age was 33 years (18 -</span><span style="font-family:'';line-height:1.5;"> </span><span style="font-family:'';line-height:1.5;"><span style="font-family:Verdana;">69). The level of education among respondents was 60%. Regarding marital status, the proportion of married prisoners was 51.8%. Almost three-quarters (71.5%) were at their first imprisonment and 51.8% were on preventive detention. The reasons for imprisonment varied and were dominated by drug use (35.3%), while only 4.6% confessed that they continued using drugs while in prison. 97.8% of prisoners have had a sexual experience. Their median age was 19 years at their first sexual intercourse. 20.5% reported using a condom during their first intercourse. Multi </span><span style="font-family:Verdana;">partnership was estimated at 17.8%. The prevalence of HIV infection was high among prisoners (2%), the quadruple of the national rate. This prevalence was associated with female sex (4.5%) (p =</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;"> 0.012) and housewives (12.5%) (p =</span></span><span style="line-height:1.5;font-family:Verdana;"> 0.002). </span><b style="line-height:1.5;"><span style="font-family:Verdana;">Conclusion: </span></b><span style="line-height:1.5;font-family:Verdana;">Prisoners are very vulnerable to HIV infection with a high prevalence compared to the national rate, hence the need for the enforcement of effective HIV prevention and care measures in prisons.</span>展开更多
The priority of The Gambia government is to eliminate maternal to child transmission of HIV and in line with this priority, the country implemented an antiretroviral therapy (ART) program. With this, all HIV infected ...The priority of The Gambia government is to eliminate maternal to child transmission of HIV and in line with this priority, the country implemented an antiretroviral therapy (ART) program. With this, all HIV infected pregnant and breastfeeding mothers and infants have access to ARV drugs. This study aims to determine the prevalence of vertical transmission of HIV among women receiving the ARV drugs. Dried blood spot samples were collected from 109 HIV-exposed infants enrolled in 13 PMTCT sites across the country. A qualitative detection of proviral-DNA of HIV-1 was performed using the RealTime Abbott PCR assay. Data from 105 mothers were analyzed using SPSS version 16.0 and association of risk factors to PCR results were analyzed using (Crosstabs) Pearson Chi-Square. The p-value of significant was set at p < 0.05. This study has found that the prevalence of vertical transmission of HIV is 0.0% (0/64) among women that received the ARV prophylaxis then started ART, 7.1% (2/28) among mothers that received HIV prophylaxis only, and 38.4% (5/13) among women who neither receive HIV-prophylaxis nor ART during pregnancy or breastfeeding. Other risk factors of vertical transmission such as late initiation of treatment, default during treatment and first born of twins were found to be significantly associated with vertical transmission p = 0.001, p = 0.022 and p = 0.000 respectively. This study has found that the early intervention of ART at the onset of pregnancy through breastfeeding can eliminates Maternal to Child transmission of HIV-1and a high risk of vertical transmission was found among women who neither receive prophylaxis nor ART. If the effectiveness of the antiretroviral therapy is maintain, The Gambia, in the near future will attain the WHO’s goal to eliminate maternal to child transmission of HIV.展开更多
文摘Due to the chronic shortage of health personnel, nurses and midwives now play a fundamental role in the care and treatment of people living with HIV/ AIDS (PLHIV) in Cameroon. This study was therefore designed to assess the level of knowledge, attitude and practice with regard to care of PLHIV among nursing and midwifery students in Fako division of Cameroon. A survey was performed between May and July 2015, among 227 nursing and midwifery students (in their second to final year of study), selected from 8 government accredited training institutions in Fako division of Cameroon. An anonymous self-administered semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect data. The Pearson’s chi-square test, univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses adjusting for possible confounders were all performed as part of the statistical analyses. The cutoff of statistical significance was set at p ≤ 0.05. Nursing and midwifery students had a moderate level of HIV/AIDS knowledge (average score of 7.02 on a scale of 11). Attitude towards PLHIV was generally positive (68.7%) but there were some misconceptions and prejudice about PLHIV, with considerable stigmatization (31.3%), unwillingness to share a room with someone infected with HIV (27.7%), and unwillingness to work on PLHIV (23.8%). Good HIV/AIDS knowledge was observed to be the sole independent predictor (p = 0.004) of positive attitude towards PLHIV. Fur-thermore the confidence of the respondents regarding care of PLHIV was generally moderate. Our results suggest the need for the development of a more appropriate education program in nursing and midwifery institutions in Fako division to reduce the discrepancies between the general knowledge, attitude and practice regarding care of PLHIV.
文摘Background: Plastic pollution is the accumulation of waste composed of plastic and its derivatives all over the environment. Whether in the form of visible garbage or microparticles, as it slowly degrades, plastic pollution poses significant threats to terrestrial and aquatic habitats and the wildlife that call them home, whether through ingestion, entanglement or exposure to the chemicals contained in the material. Unfortunately, there is a lack of documentation on the impact of plastic waste on human health in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Methods: We searched five electronic databases (PubMed, Embase, Global Health, CINAHL and Web of Science) and gray literature, following the preferred reporting elements for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA), for the impact of plastic waste on human health in developing countries. We included quantitative and qualitative studies written in English and French. We assessed the quality of the included articles using the Mixed Methods Appraisal tool (MMAT). Results: A total of 3779 articles were initially identified by searching electronic databases. After eliminating duplicates, 3167 articles were reviewed based on title and abstract, and 26 were selected for full-text review. Only three articles were retained. The three articles dealt with practices likely to lead to oral exposure to plastic chemicals in human health, as well as the level of awareness of participants concerning the possible impact of plastic on human health, namely, the use of plastic baby bottles, the use of microwaves to cook food and reheat precooked food, the use of plastic bottles to store water in the refrigerator, water purifier containers with plastic bodies and plastic lunch boxes, the reuse of plastic bags and the inadequacy of treatment facilities. Conclusion: Plastic waste poses different risks to human health at every stage of its life cycle. Hence, strategies must be adopted to raise public awareness of the dangers of plastic waste to their health. Trial registration: The review protocol is registered in the PROSPERO international prospective register of systematic reviews (ID = CRD42023409087).
文摘HIV/AIDS is a serious health problem among prisoners and constitutes a big challenge for prison administration services, public health services and governments. <b><span style="font-family:Verdana;">Aims</span></b><span style="font-family:Verdana;"><strong>:</strong> Determine the prevalence of HIV infection among prisoners and describe associated factors. </span><b><span style="font-family:Verdana;">Population and Methods: </span></b><span style="font-family:Verdana;">This was a descriptive and analytical cross-sectional study conducted from December 2015 to October 2016. A sample of 600 prisoners was randomly interviewed nationwide. They were selected directly from the sample frame from across the country and proportionally from all sites. Pre-established questionnaires providing information on the sociodemographic and biological characteristics of prisoners were used for the collection of data. Data entry and analysis were </span><span style="font-family:Verdana;">performed using EXCEL and SPSS 18 software. </span><b><span style="font-family:Verdana;">Results: </span></b><span style="font-family:Verdana;">The survey was</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;"> based on a randomised sample of 600 prisoners, 593 of whom accepted blood extraction for the HIV testing. The series was mainly composed of males (89%). The median age was 33 years (18 -</span><span style="font-family:'';line-height:1.5;"> </span><span style="font-family:'';line-height:1.5;"><span style="font-family:Verdana;">69). The level of education among respondents was 60%. Regarding marital status, the proportion of married prisoners was 51.8%. Almost three-quarters (71.5%) were at their first imprisonment and 51.8% were on preventive detention. The reasons for imprisonment varied and were dominated by drug use (35.3%), while only 4.6% confessed that they continued using drugs while in prison. 97.8% of prisoners have had a sexual experience. Their median age was 19 years at their first sexual intercourse. 20.5% reported using a condom during their first intercourse. Multi </span><span style="font-family:Verdana;">partnership was estimated at 17.8%. The prevalence of HIV infection was high among prisoners (2%), the quadruple of the national rate. This prevalence was associated with female sex (4.5%) (p =</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;"> 0.012) and housewives (12.5%) (p =</span></span><span style="line-height:1.5;font-family:Verdana;"> 0.002). </span><b style="line-height:1.5;"><span style="font-family:Verdana;">Conclusion: </span></b><span style="line-height:1.5;font-family:Verdana;">Prisoners are very vulnerable to HIV infection with a high prevalence compared to the national rate, hence the need for the enforcement of effective HIV prevention and care measures in prisons.</span>
文摘The priority of The Gambia government is to eliminate maternal to child transmission of HIV and in line with this priority, the country implemented an antiretroviral therapy (ART) program. With this, all HIV infected pregnant and breastfeeding mothers and infants have access to ARV drugs. This study aims to determine the prevalence of vertical transmission of HIV among women receiving the ARV drugs. Dried blood spot samples were collected from 109 HIV-exposed infants enrolled in 13 PMTCT sites across the country. A qualitative detection of proviral-DNA of HIV-1 was performed using the RealTime Abbott PCR assay. Data from 105 mothers were analyzed using SPSS version 16.0 and association of risk factors to PCR results were analyzed using (Crosstabs) Pearson Chi-Square. The p-value of significant was set at p < 0.05. This study has found that the prevalence of vertical transmission of HIV is 0.0% (0/64) among women that received the ARV prophylaxis then started ART, 7.1% (2/28) among mothers that received HIV prophylaxis only, and 38.4% (5/13) among women who neither receive HIV-prophylaxis nor ART during pregnancy or breastfeeding. Other risk factors of vertical transmission such as late initiation of treatment, default during treatment and first born of twins were found to be significantly associated with vertical transmission p = 0.001, p = 0.022 and p = 0.000 respectively. This study has found that the early intervention of ART at the onset of pregnancy through breastfeeding can eliminates Maternal to Child transmission of HIV-1and a high risk of vertical transmission was found among women who neither receive prophylaxis nor ART. If the effectiveness of the antiretroviral therapy is maintain, The Gambia, in the near future will attain the WHO’s goal to eliminate maternal to child transmission of HIV.
