Publications by authors named "Billy Chabalenge"
Background: There is growing concern in sub-Saharan Africa that poor-quality antimicrobial medicines may negate management of infectious diseases of public health importance should they fail to meet the set criteria of quality, safety and efficacy.
Objectives: The objective was to ascertain the quality of antiretroviral, antimalarial and antituberculosis medicines supplied and available in the public health sector in Zambia.
Design: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted involving the analysis of data from the continuous routine in-country post-marketing surveillance programme in Zambia that assessed the quality of antiretroviral, antimalarial and antituberculosis medicines supplied to public healthcare facilities between January 2018 and June 2023.
Background: The irrational use of antibiotics in humans and livestock has contributed to the emergence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). This study investigated the commonly sold and dispensed antibiotics for prophylaxis in broiler chickens in pharmacy and agro-veterinary shop personnel in the Lusaka District of Zambia.
Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted from August 2023 to October 2023 among 200 veterinary medicine dispensers in the Lusaka District of Zambia using a simulated farmer or mystery shopper approach.
Background: Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) poses a threat to public health globally. Despite its consequences, there is little information about the knowledge, awareness, and practices towards AMR among healthcare workers (HCWs). Therefore, this study assessed the knowledge, awareness and practices regarding antimicrobial use (AMU), AMR and antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) among HCWs who are involved in the implementation of AMS activities across eight hospitals in Zambia.
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- Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a significant public health issue, particularly in developing countries like Zambia, due to inappropriate antibiotic prescribing practices.
- A study at St. Francis' Mission Hospital in Zambia reviewed 800 medical records to evaluate antibiotic prescribing patterns using WHO indicators and the AWaRe classification system.
- Findings showed high rates of antibiotic prescriptions (72.3% of encounters), with a majority from the 'access' list, highlighting the need for targeted interventions like antimicrobial stewardship programs to combat AMR.
Article Synopsis
- The study aimed to gather information on university students' perspectives on online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic, focusing on human health students at the University of Zambia.
- Conducted between October 2022 and April 2023, the research surveyed 737 students, revealing that while over half supported the continuation of blended learning, a significant majority preferred traditional classroom settings for group discussions and overall satisfaction.
- The findings highlight the necessity for educational stakeholders to consider blended learning strategies in the future while ensuring students have access to appropriate resources and tools.
Article Synopsis
- Antifungal resistance (AFR) is a significant global health issue, and a study was conducted in Zambia to evaluate the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of pharmacy students regarding AFR and antifungal stewardship (AFS).
- The study, involving 412 pharmacy students, found that while most had good knowledge (85.9%) and positive attitudes (86.7%), their practices were lacking, with only 65.8% demonstrating good practices—30.2% accessed antifungals without a prescription.
- The results indicate a need for improved educational interventions and strategies to promote better practices and reduce inappropriate antifungal use, especially among certain demographics like urban students and advanced-year pharmacy students.
Article Synopsis
- Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a growing global threat, and a study at the University of Zambia evaluated non-healthcare students' knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) regarding antimicrobial use (AMU) and AMR.
- The study, conducted with 443 students using a structured questionnaire, found that participants had moderate KAP scores and a high rate of self-medication with antibiotics (76.7%).
- Male students generally had poorer knowledge and attitudes towards AMR compared to females, while engineering and mining students showed better understanding than those in social sciences; fourth and fifth-year students had more positive attitudes compared to younger students.
Article Synopsis
- This study evaluates the knowledge, attitude, and practices of undergraduate pharmacy students at the University of Zambia regarding infection prevention and control (IPC) measures in healthcare settings.
- Conducted with 290 students using structured questionnaires, the study revealed that most students had good knowledge (86.9%), positive attitudes (57.6%), and good practices (85.5%) towards IPC, although attitude scores were notably lower.
- The findings highlight the need for improved IPC training in pharmacy curricula to address gaps and enhance students' engagement with these critical health measures.
Adolescents and youths are a key part of the population that needs to be protected against the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). This is because they are more likely to spread the virus to vulnerable individuals. In view of these concerns, this study investigated the uptake of COVID-19 vaccines and associated factors among adolescents and youths attending secondary schools in Zambia.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe uptake of COVID-19 vaccines is critical to address the severe consequences of the disease. Previous studies have suggested that many healthcare workers (HCWs) are hesitant to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, further enhancing hesitancy rates within countries. COVID-19 vaccine acceptance and hesitancy levels are currently unknown among HCWs in Zambia, which is a concern given the burden of infectious diseases in the country.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Substandard and falsified (SF) medical products are removed from circulation through a process called 'product recall' by medicines regulatory agencies. In Zambia, the Zambia Medicines Regulatory Authority (ZAMRA) is responsible for recalling SF medical products from the Zambian market through passive and active surveillance methods. This study aimed to describe the prevalence of recalls of SF medical products and to analyse the frequently recalled therapeutic categories, dosage forms, categories of defects that led to the recalls and their sources with respect to the country of the marketing authorisation holder (MAH) or manufacturer.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic resulted in the closure of schools to slow the spread of the virus across populations, and the administration of vaccines to protect people from severe disease, including school children and adolescents. In Zambia, there is currently little information on the acceptance of COVID-19 vaccines among school-going children and adolescents despite their inclusion in the vaccination programme. This study assessed the knowledge, attitudes, and acceptance of COVID-19 vaccines among secondary school pupils in Lusaka, Zambia.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNanoencapsulation is an approach to circumvent shortcomings such as reduced bioavailability, undesirable side effects, frequent dosing and unpleasant organoleptic properties of conventional drug delivery systems. The process of nanoencapsulation involves the use of biomaterials such as surfactants and/or polymers, often in combination with charge inducers and/or ligands for targeting. The biomaterials selected for nanoencapsulation processes must be as biocompatible as possible.
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