Publications by authors named "Ezra Too"
Article Synopsis
- Existing measures of adolescent optimism are not well-suited for the African context, leading to the development of a new scale tailored for this setting.
- The researchers created the Mabrouk's Measure of Adolescent Optimism (MMAO) through a five-step process, including literature reviews and testing with a sample of 1616 adolescents in Kenya.
- The MMAO showed strong internal consistency and reliability, with supportive factor analysis indicating it's valid for assessing optimism across various demographics in Kenya and potentially similar regions.
A Scoping Review of Preterm Births in Sub-Saharan Africa: Burden, Risk Factors and Outcomes.
Int J Environ Res Public Health
August 2022
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.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: 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.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: 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.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPsychometric Properties of the Berger HIV Stigma Scale: A Systematic Review.
Int J Environ Res Public Health
December 2021
Addressing HIV-related stigma requires the use of psychometrically sound measures. However, despite the Berger HIV stigma scale (HSS) being among the most widely used measures for assessing HIV-related stigma, no study has systematically summarised its psychometric properties. This review investigated the psychometric properties of the HSS.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe 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.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArticle Synopsis
- The study focuses on the prevalence and factors associated with common mental disorders (CMDs), specifically depression and anxiety, among young people living with HIV (YLWH) in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA).
- Out of nearly 4,000 articles reviewed, 31 studies were selected, revealing CMD prevalence rates among YLWH that vary significantly, with major depression at 16.0% to 40.8% and anxiety symptoms from 2.2% to 25.0%.
- Key findings highlight that YLWH have a higher occurrence of depressive disorders compared to HIV-negative peers, with factors like female gender, older age, and social support being important correlates of mental health issues.