A 14-day follow-up of adult non-malarial fever patients seen by mobile clinics in rural Malawi.

Background: While health providers consistently use malaria rapid diagnostic tests to rule out malaria, they often lack tools to guide treatment for those febrile patients who test negative. Without the tools to provide an alternative diagnosis, providers may prescribe unnecessary antibiotics or miss a more serious condition, potentially contributing to antibiotic resistance and/or poor patient outcomes.

Methods: This study ascertained which diagnoses and treatments might be associated with poor outcomes in adults who test negative for malaria.

'Not all fevers are malaria': a mixed methods study of non-malarial fever management in rural southern Malawi.

Introduction: With the ability to diagnose malaria with rapid diagnostic tests (mRDT), interest in improving diagnostics for non-malarial fevers has increased. Understanding how health providers diagnose and treat fevers is important for identifying additional tools to improve outcomes and reduce unnecessary antibiotic prescribing, particularly in areas where access to laboratory diagnostics is limited. This study aimed to understand rural health providers' practice patterns, both quantitatively and qualitatively, and influences on diagnostic and treatment decision-making.

"Our girls need to see a path to the future" --perspectives on sexual and reproductive health information among adolescent girls, guardians, and initiation counselors in Mulanje district, Malawi.

Background: Malawi has one of the highest adolescent pregnancy rates worldwide; at 141 births/1000 girls it is 3-fold higher than the global average. Adolescent pregnancy contributes to poor maternal and neonatal outcomes, school dropout, and poverty. In preparation for an information, education, and communication (IEC) intervention to reduce unintended pregnancy among adolescent girls, formative research was conducted to understand how and what sexual and reproductive health (SRH) information is shared with girls in southern, rural Malawi, and perceptions of such information among key informants.

Characterizing Pediatric Non-Malarial Fever and Identifying the At-Risk Child in Rural Malawi.

. To characterize children with non-malarial fever at risk of nonrecovery or worsening in rural Malawi. .

How can male rates of HIV testing be increased? Recommendations from a mixed methods study in southern Malawi.

Background: In southern Malawi, 12.8% of adults are HIV positive. Men are less likely to have been tested than women.

Predictors of workforce retention among Malawian nurse graduates of a scholarship program: a mixed-methods study.

Background: Malawi faces critical health care worker shortages of both physicians and nurses. The Global AIDS Interfaith Alliance (GAIA) began a nursing scholarship program in Malawi that requires graduates to work in the public sector for 4-5 years following graduation. The main objective of this study was to identify job satisfaction and retention factors of scholarship recipients after graduation.

How community trust was gained by an NGO in Malawi, Central Africa, to mitigate the impact of HIV/AIDS.

Trust is valuable social capital that is essential for effective partnerships to improve a community's health. Yet, how to establish trust in culturally diverse communities is elusive for many researchers, practitioners, and agencies. The purpose of this qualitative study was to obtain perspectives of individuals working for a nongovernmental organization (NGO) about gaining community trust in Malawi in order to mitigate the impact of HIV/AIDS.

Socially disempowered women as the key to addressing change in Malawi: how do they do it?

Malawi women are in the ironic juxtaposition of being socially disempowered while, at the same time, thought to hold the key to shaping an effective community response to the HIV crisis. Based on this juxtaposition, a descriptive, qualitative study was conducted in Malawi and the United States where 26 participants from nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and community-based organizations (CBOs) discussed the roles of Malawi women. Interviews were audiotaped, transcribed, and analyzed.

A response to Edzi (AIDS): Malawi faith-based organizations' impact on HIV prevention and care.

African faith-based organization (FBO) leaders influence their members' HIV knowledge, beliefs, and practices, but their roles in HIV prevention and care are poorly understood. This article expands the work of Garner (2000) to test the impact of FBO influence on member risk and care behaviors, embedding it in the Theory of Planned Behavior. Qualitative interviews and quantitative surveys were collected from five FBOs (Christian and Muslim) in Malawi and analyzed using mixed methods.

The condom divide: disenfranchisement of Malawi women by church and state.

Objective: To examine the impact of 2 mitigating social institutions, religious organizations, and the state, on Malawi women's vulnerability to HIV.

Design: In-depth interviews with a purposive sample of 40 central leaders from 5 faith-based organizations in Malawi were recorded and transcribed as part of an on-going larger study. Qualitative description was used to identify themes and categories.

"Getting into the skin": empathy and role taking in certified nursing assistants' care of dying residents.

Twenty-four percent of Americans die in nursing homes, and 80% to 95% of nursing home care is delivered by certified nursing assistants (CNAs). Interview data were collected from 27 CNAs at three facilities. Data were coded and analyzed for recurrent themes using the concepts of empathy and role taking.

The stigma of being HIV-positive in Africa.

Rankin and colleagues argue that HIV-related stigma is fueling the epidemic, and disempowering women even further.

Factors that influence end-of-life care in nursing homes: the physical environment, inadequate staffing, and lack of supervision.

Purpose: This study investigated the physical environment and organizational factors that influenced the process of providing care to terminally ill nursing home residents.

Design And Methods: Participant observation, interviews, and event analysis were used to obtain data in two proprietary facilities.

Results: The physical environment was not conducive to end-of-life care.