Neurocognitive outcomes of children exposed to and living with HIV aged 3-5 years in Kilifi, Kenya.

Introduction: Globally, 1.7 million children are living with HIV, with the majority of them residing in sub-Saharan Africa. Due to reduced rates of vertical transmission of HIV, there is an increasing population of children born to HIV-infected mothers who remain uninfected.

A Scoping Review of Preterm Births in Sub-Saharan Africa: Burden, Risk Factors and Outcomes.

Preterm births (PTB) are the leading cause of neonatal deaths, the majority of which occur in low- and middle-income countries, particularly those in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Understanding the epidemiology of prematurity is an essential step towards tackling the challenge of PTB in the sub-continent. We performed a scoping review of the burden, predictors and outcomes of PTB in SSA.

Mental health interventions for adolescents in sub-Saharan Africa: A scoping review.

Background: Globally, adolescents are vulnerable to mental health problems, particularly those from sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) due to impoverished living conditions and a higher prevalence of chronic conditions such as HIV/AIDS in the region. The COVID-19 pandemic has further exacerbated this risk. This calls for an urgent need for evidence-based adolescent mental health interventions to reduce the risk and burden of mental health problems in SSA.

Adolescent Connectedness: A Scoping Review of Available Measures and Their Psychometric Properties.

Introduction: Adolescent connectedness, a key component of positive youth development, is associated with various positive health outcomes. Several measures have been developed to assess this construct. However, no study has summarized data on the existing measures of adolescent connectedness.

Correlates of health-related quality of life in primary caregivers of perinatally HIV infected and HIV exposed uninfected adolescents at the Kenyan Coast.

Background: Mothers and other primary caregivers play a crucial role in looking after perinatally HIV infected, and HIV exposed uninfected adolescents in sub-Saharan Africa. Day- to-day caregiving in the context of limited instrumental support and added biomedical risk (HIV seropositivity) may expose these caregivers to adverse states of health. Unfortunately, very few studies have examined their health-related quality of life (HRQoL).

Validity, reliability, and measurement invariance of an adapted short version of the HIV stigma scale among perinatally HIV infected adolescents at the Kenyan coast.

Background: There is a dearth of instruments that have been developed and validated for use with children living with HIV under the age of 17 years in the Kenyan context. We examined the psychometric properties and measurement invariance of a short version of the Berger HIV stigma scale administered to perinatally HIV-infected adolescents in a rural setting on the Kenyan coast.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 201 perinatally HIV-infected adolescents aged 12-17 years between November 2017 and October 2018.

Mental Health during COVID-19 Pandemic among Caregivers of Young Children in Kenya's Urban Informal Settlements. A Cross-Sectional Telephone Survey.

The emergence of COVID-19 has profoundly affected mental health, especially among highly vulnerable populations. This study describes mental health issues among caregivers of young children and pregnant women in three urban informal settlements in Kenya during the first pandemic year, and factors associated with poor mental health. A cross-sectional telephone survey was administered to 845 participants.

Long-term neurocognitive and educational outcomes of neonatal insults in Kilifi, Kenya.

Background: There is little data on the long-term neurocognitive and educational outcomes among school-aged survivors of neonatal jaundice (NNJ) and hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) in Africa. This study investigates the long-term neurocognitive and educational outcomes and the correlates of these outcomes in school-aged survivors of NNJ or HIE in Kilifi, Kenya.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study on neurocognitive and educational outcomes among school-aged survivors (6-12 years) of NNJ (n = 134) and HIE (n = 107) and compared them to a community comparison group (n = 134).

Long-term outcomes of survivors of neonatal insults: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: The Millennium Developmental Goals ensured a significant reduction in childhood mortality. However, this reduction simultaneously raised concerns about the long-term outcomes of survivors of early childhood insults. This systematic review focuses on the long-term neurocognitive and mental health outcomes of neonatal insults (NNI) survivors who are six years or older.

Assessing Executive Function in Adolescence: A Scoping Review of Existing Measures and Their Psychometric Robustness.

There is much research examining adolescents' executive function (EF) but there is little information about tools that measure EF, in particular preference of use, their reliability and validity. This information is important as to help both researchers and practitioners select the most relevant and reliable measure of EF to use with adolescents in their context. We conducted a scoping review to: (a) identify the measures of EF that have been used in studies conducted among adolescents in the past 15 years; (b) identify the most frequently used measures of EF; and (c) establish the psychometric robustness of existing EF measures used with adolescents.

Validation of a Swahili version of the World Health Organization 5-item well-being index among adults living with HIV and epilepsy in rural coastal Kenya.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the psychometric properties of the World Health Organization's five item well-being index (WHO-5) when administered to adults living with HIV or epilepsy in a rural setting at the coast of Kenya.

Methods: A case control study design was conducted among 230 adults aged 18-50 years, who comprised 147 cases (63 living with epilepsy and 84 living with HIV) and 83 healthy controls. The participants were administered to a face-to-face interview during which they completed the Swahili version of WHO-5 well-being index, the Major Depression Inventory (MDI) and responded to some items on their socio-demographic characteristics.

Cognition, mood and quality-of-life outcomes among low literacy adults living with epilepsy in rural Kenya: A preliminary study.

Epilepsy is frequently associated with neurocognitive impairments, mental health, and psychosocial problems but these are rarely documented in low- and middle-income countries. The aim of this study was to examine the neurocognitive outcomes, depressive symptoms, and psychosocial adjustments of people with epilepsy (PWE) in Kilifi, Kenya. We evaluated the impact of these outcomes on health-related quality of life.