Community Perceptions and Experiences of the South African Government's Response to the First Wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Johannesburg, South Africa.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, governments in low- and middle-income countries largely followed the strategy of national lockdowns adopted by high-income countries. The South African government imposed some the most restrictive policies in the world. In this article, we examine the perceptions and lived experiences of South Africans in Johannesburg in relation to this initial response to the pandemic.

Understanding HIV service preferences of South African women 30-49 years old missing from or linked to care: An exploratory study of Gauteng and Limpopo provinces.

Background: The HIV epidemic in sub-Saharan Africa has a disproportionate gender impact, with women bearing the brunt of the epidemic. South Africa carries the largest share of the global HIV burden, with similar trends seen for women due to unequal socio-cultural and economic status.

Objectives: This study aims to understand 30-49 year-old women's barriers and facilitators to accessing HIV services in order to maximize health in resource limited settings and reach women missing from HIV care.

Differences in Mental Illness Stigma by Disorder and Gender: Population-Based Vignette Randomized Experiment in Rural Uganda.

Understanding and eliminating mental illness stigma is crucial for improving population mental health. In many settings, this stigma is gendered, from the perspectives of both the stigmatized and the stigmatizers. We aimed to find the differences in the level of stigma across different mental disorders while considering the gender of the study participants as well as the gender of the people depicted in the vignettes.

Determinants of mental illness and care seeking behaviours in Northern Haiti: an assessment of demographic, social, and religio-cultural factors among patients at the first mental health clinic in the region.

Populations in countries such as Haiti demonstrate a high level of need for mental health care despite a lack of services and trained professionals. In addition to the dearth of biomedical services, local belief systems and explanatory models contribute to a majority of the population relying on traditional medicine as their first option for care. Using a mixed-methods approach, we aim to characterise mental illness at the first mental health clinic in the region - Sant Sante Mantal Mòn Pele (SSMMP) - by interviewing 96 patients with a demographic questionnaire as well as Anxiety, Depression, and Functionality Scales.

: A qualitative study of cultural concepts of distress in northern Haiti.

Cultural Concepts of Distress (CCDs) are culturally constructed diagnostic categories that exist within a specific society or culture. While several studies have assessed CCDs around the world, few studies have examined them in Haiti. This qualitative study examines manifestations of anxiety and depression via "sent spirits" in the form of ("Soul disorder") and ("Zombie disorder"), and bipolar disorder in the form of ("Moon disorder").

Adverse childhood experiences, traumatic events, and mental health among adults at two outpatient psychiatric facilities in Johannesburg, South Africa: a cross-sectional analysis.

Background: Adverse childhood experiences and adult trauma, including sexual abuse, physical abuse, neglect, and interpersonal violence, are highly prevalent in low-resource settings and associated with adverse psychological outcomes. However, there is limited focus on the impact of ACEs and trauma on mental health in sub-Saharan Africa. Therefore, this study examines the impact of traumatic events and ACEs on depression, anxiety, and stress scores among outpatients receiving psychiatric care at two public mental health treatment facilities in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Pathways to care among patients with mental illness at two psychiatric facilities in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Background: A patient's pathway to care is often characterized by a sequence of actions taken to remedy ill-health. Research exploring the help-seeking behavior of individuals with mental health problems in sub-Saharan Africa is relatively limited. This study assessed the perceptions and experiences of mental illness and treatment among patients with mental illness at two psychiatric facilities in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Perceptions of HIV and Mental Illness as "Western" or "Traditional" Illnesses: A Cross-Sectional Study from Limpopo Province, South Africa.

Although Western biomedical treatment has dramatically increased across sub-Saharan African health systems, traditional medicine as a form of healing and beliefs in supernatural powers as explanations for disease remain prevalent. Research in this region has identified HIV in particular as a disease located within both the traditional African and Western medical paradigms, whilst mental illness is ascribed to primarily supernatural causes. Within this context, this study sought to understand and explore the perceptions of HIV and mental illness among a population of rural women in Limpopo, South Africa.

Religious and Medical Pluralism Among Traditional Healers in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Religion and spirituality are powerful social forces in contemporary South Africa. Traditional Health Practitioners (THPs) are commonly consulted for both spiritual and medical ailments as a first line of care. Many studies have assessed African traditional health seeking behaviors but few have examined beliefs, practices, and behaviors of THPs themselves.

Examining the Etiology and Treatment of Mental Illness Among Vodou Priests in Northern Haiti.

This study assesses the perspectives and experiences of Vodou priests (ougan) in the treatment of mental illness in northern Haiti. Our goal is to explore the etiology and popular nosologies of mental illness in the context of Haitian Vodou, through understandings of illness and misfortune which are often viewed as a result of sent spirits-or spirits sent supernaturally by others with the intent to cause harm. Using a qualitative approach, this study conducted semi-structured in-depth interviews with 20 ougan living near the city of Cap-Haïtien.

Shaping the future of healthcare: building back better.

The Covid-19 pandemic has not only highlighted societal inequalities but also shown how a resilient health service is essential for protecting citizens. The NHS was founded in 1948 to provide universal healthcare but has been under sustained attack for the past thirty years. As a seven-year-old patient with osteomyelitis, the NHS almost certainly saved my life.

Seizure activity and anion gap metabolic acidosis secondary to adverse effect of nalidixic acid-a case report.

Nalidixic acid is a commonly prescribed treatment for suspected dysentery in Middle Eastern populations. We describe a case of convulsions resulting from a single dose of nalidixic acid in a previously healthy two-month-old child in Northern Iraq who was being treated for a diarrhoeal illness. The child presented to us with new onset seizures, irritability, and acidaemia.

High-contrast integral field spectrograph (HCIFS): multi-spectral wavefront control and reduced-dimensional system identification.

Any high-contrast imaging instrument in a future large space-based telescope will include an integral field spectrograph (IFS) for measuring broadband starlight residuals and characterizing the exoplanet's atmospheric spectrum. In this paper, we report the development of a high-contrast integral field spectrograph (HCIFS) at Princeton University and demonstrate its application in multi-spectral wavefront control. Moreover, we propose and experimentally validate a new reduced-dimensional system identification algorithm for an IFS imaging system, which improves the system's wavefront control speed, contrast and computational and data storage efficiency.

Localizing syndemics: A comparative study of hunger, stigma, suffering, and crime exposure in three Haitian communities.

Theoretically, disease syndemics are hyper-localized in the forms they take, but little empirical data show how localization manifests. We present a comparison across three sites in Haiti, from data collected in June-august 2017 testing for localizations of risks across three communities: rural farming, border town, and in a high gang-activity urban zone. First, we modeled survey responses collected from heads of 4055 geographically-sampled households via linear regression, considering additive and interaction effects of food insecurity, crime exposure, and discrimination on depression and anxiety levels.

Droplet Combinations: A Scalable Microfluidic Platform for Biochemical Assays.

Droplet-based microfluidics holds enormous potential for transforming high-throughput drug screening. Miniaturization through droplets in combination with automation contributes to reduce reagent use and analysis time as well as minimizing or eliminating labor-intensive steps leading to associated reductions in cost. In this paper, we demonstrate the potential of automated and cost-effective microfluidic droplet-generating technology in the context of an enzymatic activity assay for screening collagenase inhibitors.

Outcome after total ankle arthroplasty with a minimum of five years follow-up: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Total ankle arthroplasty (TAA) is increasingly gaining recognition as an alternative to ankle arthrodesis in the treatment of end-stage ankle arthritis. Despite high rates of adverse events during early inception, newer generations of uncemented prosthesis and design modifications have improved outcomes. Questions remain regarding the long-term outcomes and implant survivorship of TAA.

Using Integrated Environmental Modeling to Assess Sources of Microbial Contamination in Mixed-Use Watersheds.

Microbial fate and transport in watersheds should include a microbial source apportionment analysis that estimates the importance of each source, relative to each other and in combination, by capturing their impacts spatially and temporally under various scenarios. A loosely configured software infrastructure was used in microbial source-to-receptor modeling by focusing on animal- and human-impacted mixed-use watersheds. Components include data collection software, a microbial source module that determines loading rates from different sources, a watershed model, an inverse model for calibrating flows and microbial densities, tabular and graphical viewers, software to convert output to different formats, and a model for calculating risk from pathogen exposure.

Capturing Microbial Sources Distributed in a Mixed-use Watershed within an Integrated Environmental Modeling Workflow.

Many watershed models simulate overland and instream microbial fate and transport, but few provide loading rates on land surfaces and point sources to the waterbody network. This paper describes the underlying equations for microbial loading rates associated with 1) land-applied manure on undeveloped areas from domestic animals; 2) direct shedding (excretion) on undeveloped lands by domestic animals and wildlife; 3) urban or engineered areas; and 4) point sources that directly discharge to streams from septic systems and shedding by domestic animals. A microbial source module, which houses these formulations, is part of a workflow containing multiple models and databases that form a loosely configured modeling infrastructure which supports watershed-scale microbial source-to-receptor modeling by focusing on animal- and human-impacted catchments.

Mobile device application for monitoring cyanobacteria harmful algal blooms using Sentinel-3 satellite Ocean and Land Colour Instruments.

Cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms (cyanoHAB) cause human and ecological health problems in lakes worldwide. The timely distribution of satellite-derived cyanoHAB data is necessary for adaptive water quality management and for targeted deployment of water quality monitoring resources. Software platforms that permit timely, useful, and cost-effective delivery of information from satellites are required to help managers respond to cyanoHABs.