Correction: "We are pleading for the government to do more": Road user perspectives on the magnitude, contributing factors, and potential solutions to road traffic injuries and deaths in Ghana.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.

Geospatial analysis of injury severity on major roads in Ghana (2017-2020): implications for targeted injury prevention and control initiatives.

Background: Road safety authorities in high-income countries use geospatial motor vehicle collision data for planning hazard reduction and intervention targeting. However, low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) rarely conduct such geospatial analyses due to a lack of data. Since 1991, Ghana has maintained a database of all collisions and is uniquely positioned to lead data-informed road injury prevention and control initiatives.

Assessing the effect of automated speed enforcement and comprehensive measures on road safety in Rwanda.

Objectives: Daily, approximately 3,400 traffic-related deaths occur globally, with over 90% concentrated in low and middle-income countries (LMICs). Notably, Rwanda has one of the highest road traffic death rates in the world (29.7 per 100,000 people) and is the first low-income country to implement a national Automated Speed Enforcement (ASE) policy.

"We are pleading for the government to do more": Road user perspectives on the magnitude, contributing factors, and potential solutions to road traffic injuries and deaths in Ghana.

Road traffic collisions disproportionately impact Ghana and other low- and middle-income countries. This study explored road user perspectives regarding the magnitude, contributing factors, and potential solutions to road traffic collisions, injuries, and deaths. We designed a qualitative study of 24 in-depth interviews with 14 vulnerable road users (pedestrians, occupants of powered 2- and 3-wheelers, cyclists) and ten non-vulnerable road users in four high-risk areas in November 2022.

Generating consensus on road safety issues and priorities in Ghana: A modified Delphi approach.

Background: Implementation of evidence-based approaches to reduce the substantial health, social, and financial burdens of road traffic injuries and deaths in Ghana and other low-and-middle-income countries (LMICs) is vitally important. Consensus from national stakeholders can provide insight into what evidence to generate and which interventions to prioritize for road safety. The main objective of this study was to elicit expert views on the barriers to reaching international and national road safety targets, the gaps in national-level research, implementation, and evaluation, and the future action priorities.

Interferon-based agents for current and future viral respiratory infections: A scoping literature review of human studies.

The interferon (IFN) system is a potent line of defense against viral infections. IFN-based agents already tested may be of use in COVID-19 or future viral respiratory outbreaks. Here we review the comparative efficacy, safety/tolerability, and future potential of IFN-based therapeutics.

Costs and Cost-Effectiveness of mCME Version 2.0: An SMS-Based Continuing Medical Education Program for HIV Clinicians in Vietnam.

Background: The Mobile Continuing Medical Education (mCME) 2.0 project was a randomized controlled trial that found that a 6-month text message-based CME intervention improved both the use of online medical training resources and medical knowledge among a cadre of HIV clinicians in Vietnam. This companion study analyzed intervention costs and cost-effectiveness.

Factors Contributing to and Reducing Delays in the Provision of Adequate Care in Ghana: A Qualitative Study of Trauma Care Providers.

Background: Ghana has a large and growing burden of injury morbidity and mortality. There is a substantial unmet need for trauma surgery, highlighting a need to understand gaps in care.

Methods: We conducted 8 in-depth interviews with trauma care providers (surgeons, nurses, and specialists) at a large teaching hospital to understand factors that contribute to and reduce delays in the provision of adequate trauma care for severely injured patients.

Sexual and reproductive health services during outbreaks, epidemics, and pandemics in sub-Saharan Africa: a literature scoping review.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic could worsen adolescent sexual and reproductive health (ASRH). We sought evidence on the indirect impacts of previous infectious disease epidemics and the current COVID-19 pandemic on the uptake of ASRH in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) to design relevant digital solutions.

Methods: We undertook a literature scoping review to synthesize evidence on the indirect impacts of COVID-19 on ASRH in SSA per the Arksey and O'Malley framework and PRISMA reporting guidelines.

Preferences for oral rehydration drinks among healthy individuals in Ghana: A single-blind, cross-sectional survey to inform implementation of an enterally based resuscitation protocol for burn injury.

Background: Enterally based resuscitation for major burn injuries has been suggested as a simple, operationally superior, and effective resuscitation strategy for use in austere contexts. However, key information to support its implementation is lacking, including palatability and acceptability of widely available rehydration drinks.

Methods: We performed a single-blinded, cross-sectional survey of 60 healthy children (5-14 years), adults (15-54 years) and older adults (≥55 years) to determine palatability and overall acceptability of five oral rehydration solutions (ORS) and a positive control drink (Sprite Zero®) in Ghana.

Food insecurity and substance use in people with HIV infection and substance use disorder.

Background: Food insecurity and substance use are common among people living with HIV (PLWH). Substance use may help people cope with hunger and thus be associated with food insecurity, but the association is uncertain. This study assessed whether, in PLWH and substance dependence, if there was an association between food insecurity and substance use.

Household Costs Associated with Hospitalization of Children with Severe Pneumonia in Quito, Ecuador.

Pneumonia remains a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in young children. The total cost of pneumonia-related hospitalization, including household-level cost, is poorly understood. To better understand this burden in an urban setting in South America, we incorporated a cost study into a trial assessing zinc supplements in treatment of severe pneumonia among children aged 2-59 months at a public hospital in Quito, Ecuador, which provides such treatment at no charge.

Effectiveness of community outreach HIV prevention programs in Vietnam: a mixed methods evaluation.

Background: In 2014, Vietnam was the first Southeast Asian country to commit to achieving the World Health Organization's 90-90-90 global HIV targets (90% know their HIV status, 90% on sustained treatment, and 90% virally suppressed) by 2020. This pledge represented further confirmation of Vietnam's efforts to respond to the HIV epidemic, one feature of which has been close collaboration with the U.S.

Facilitators and Barriers to Adherence to Antiretroviral Therapy and Retention in Care Among Adolescents Living with HIV/AIDS in Zambia: A Mixed Methods Study.

Little is known about the factors that contribute to the losses during stages of the HIV continuum of care (CoC) and specifically during the latter stages of antiretroviral (ART) adherence and retention in HIV care among adolescents living with HIV/AIDS (ALHA) in sub-Saharan Africa. We conducted a mixed-methods study: six focus group discussions with 43 ALHA (age 17-19); in-depth interviews with four (age 18-19): and survey-based interviews with 330 ALHA (age 18-19) to identify, understand, and describe factors contributing to the losses in the latter stages of the CoC among ALHA in Zambia. Through focus group discussions and in-depth interviews, ALHA identified barriers at the intrapersonal level (e.

The Role of Racial Residential Segregation in Black-White Disparities in Firearm Homicide at the State Level in the United States, 1991-2015.

Objective: To investigate the relationship between racial residential segregation and differences in Black-White disparities in overall firearm homicides across U.S states.

Methods: Using a linear regression, we evaluated the relationship between racial residential segregation, as measured by the index of dissimilarity, and the Black-White firearm homicide disparity ratio in 32 states over the period 1991-2015.

Alcohol Consumption and Bone Mineral Density in People with HIV and Substance Use Disorder: A Prospective Cohort Study.

Background: People living with HIV (PLWH) commonly have low bone mineral density (BMD) (low bone mass and osteoporosis) and are at high risk for fractures. Fractures and low BMD are significant causes of morbidity and mortality, increasingly relevant as PLWH age. Alcohol use is common among PLWH and known to affect bone health.

The Relationship Between Structural Racism and Black-White Disparities in Fatal Police Shootings at the State Level.

Objective: The objective of this study was to discern the relationship between state-level structural racism and Black-White disparities in police shootings of victims not known to be armed.

Methods: Using a Poisson regression, we evaluated the effect of structural racism on differences between states in Black-White disparities in fatal police shootings involving victims not known to be armed during the period from January 1, 2013 through June 30, 2017. We created a state racism index, which was comprised of five dimensions: (1) residential segregation; and gaps in (2) incarceration rates; (3) educational attainment; (4) economic indicators; and (5) employment status.

Intimate partner violence during pregnancy and perinatal mental disorders in low and lower middle income countries: A systematic review of literature, 1990-2017.

Mental health consequences of intimate partner violence (IPV) against pregnant and postpartum women are poorly understood in low and lower-middle-income countries (LLMIC). We systematically reviewed the evidence from 24 studies (1990-2017) selected via a comprehensive search strategy with 14 inclusion, exclusion, and quality-control criteria to assess the extent to which intimate partner violence during pregnancy adversely affects perinatal mental disorders among participants in 10 LLMIC across 4 economic regions. Mostly cross-sectional, studies included 61-1369 participants selected randomly (88%) or non-randomly (12%) from purposively selected 1-6 clinics or 1-50 communities.