Couple decision making and use of cultural scripts in Malawi.

Purpose: To examine the decision-making processes of husband and wife dyads in matrilineal and patrilineal marriage traditions of Malawi in the areas of money, food, pregnancy, contraception, and sexual relations.

Methods: Qualitative grounded theory using simultaneous interviews of 60 husbands and wives (30 couples). Data were analyzed according to the guidelines of simultaneous data collection and analysis.

Short-term effects of a peer group intervention for HIV prevention among trainee teachers in Malawi.

This report describes the implementation and short-term results of a peer group intervention for HIV prevention on the HIV-related attitudes, knowledge and behaviours of primary school teachers in Malawi. The intervention, based on the social-cognitive learning model, took place in 2000 at two teacher training colleges with a distance-learning programme. Primary school teachers attending a final six-week training session before certification volunteered to participate.

Barriers to and facilitators for newborn resuscitation in Malawi, Africa.

Newborn resuscitation is a key component of efforts to reduce neonatal morbidity and mortality. This article reports the findings of focus groups conducted to explore the barriers and facilitators present for obstetric nurse providers in a central urban hospital in Malawi regarding the training and provision of neonatal resuscitation. All obstetric nurse providers in this setting participated in focus groups; these groups identified 4 themes: 1) confidence in their skills in assessing newborns and recognizing the need for resuscitation, 2) a lack of resources, 3) facilitators who would enable them to introduce resuscitation, and 4) solutions to the current problems.