The IDEAL PROCESS for developing Assistive Technology policy.

Policy development and implementation are key to improving access to Assistive Technology (AT). In this paper, we describe a strength-based framework for doing this at national level. We used an action research approach, with the United Nations Conventions on the Rights of Persons with Disability (UNCRPD) as the primary frame of reference.

Development of the national priority assistive product list in Malawi.

Purpose: In 2016 WHO launched the assistive products list (APL) consisting of 50 products and recommended that using this as a reference, countries should develop their own contextually relevant national APLs. This paper describes the development of Malawi's APL.

Methods: Two hundred and ninety-six persons with disabilities participated in a rapid Assistive Technology Assessment (rATA) survey.

Age related increase in impairment across the life course: the use of Zomba curves to estimate assistive technology needs in Malawi.

Purpose: Global population growth and increasing longevity means that the need for Assistive Technology (AT) will continue to increase. The level of unmet need for AT is greatest in low-income settings. The aim of this study is to identify age-related increase in impairment and to estimate the AT needs.

Implementation of the Assistive Product List (APL) in Malawi through development of appropriate policy and systems: an action research protocol.

Introduction: Assistive technology (AT) is important for the achievement of the sustainable development goals (SDGs) for persons with disabilities (PWD). Increasingly, studies suggest a significant gap between the need for and demand for and provisions of AT for PWD in low-income and middle-income settings. Evidence from high income countries highlights the importance of robust AT policies to the achievement of the recommendations of the World Health Assembly on AT.

Culture and domestic violence amongst ever-married women in Malawi: an analysis of emotional, sexual, less-severe physical and severe physical violence.

Nearly 42% of ever-married women in Malawi have experienced some form of physical, sexual or emotional violence perpetrated by their current or most recent spouse - higher than the global estimate of 35%. This study used national-level data for ever-married women aged 15-49 years from the 2015 Malawi Demographic and Health Survey to explore the association between cultural factors and the likelihood of women experiencing sexual, physical and emotional violence after controlling for socioeconomic factors using multilevel logistic regression modelling. Key cultural factors found to be associated with violence against ever-married women in Malawi were type of marriage (polygynous or monogamous), age at marriage, religion and ethnicity.

Male circumcision and HIV infection among sexually active men in Malawi.

Background: The HIV epidemic remains a major health challenge all over the world. In 2013, an estimated 35million people were living with HIV globally. Male circumcision is increasingly being adopted as a method of HIV prevention.

Acute malnutrition is common in Malawian patients with a Wilms tumour: A role for peanut butter.

Background: Children with cancer in resource limited countries are often malnourished at diagnosis. Acute malnutrition is associated with more infectious complications and an increased risk of morbidity and mortality in major surgery.

Methods: All new patients with the clinical diagnosis of a Wilms tumour admitted in the Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital, Blantyre, Malawi from January 2007 until June 2008 were included.

Preoperative chemotherapy for patients with Wilms tumor in Malawi is feasible and efficacious.

Background: Wilms tumor has a survival rate of 85-90% in well resourced countries but in low income countries survival is lower. Malawi is a country with very limited resources. We studied the feasibility, toxicity and efficacy of preoperative chemotherapy for Wilms tumor in Malawian children.