Generating Political Priority for the Health Needs of the 21st Century: A Qualitative Policy Analysis on the Prioritization of Rehabilitation Services in Uganda.

Background: Few low- or middle-income countries (LMICs) have prioritized the expansion of rehabilitation services. Existing scholarship has identified that problem definition, governance, and structural factors are influential in the prioritization of rehabilitation. The objective of this study was to identify the factors influencing the prioritization and implementation of rehabilitation services in Uganda.

Non-communicable airway disease and air pollution in three African Countries: Benin, Cameroon and The Gambia.

Background: Air pollution exposure can increase the risk of development and exacerbation of chronic airway disease (CAD). We set out to assess CAD patients in Benin, Cameroon and The Gambia and to compare their measured exposures to air pollution.

Methodology: We recruited patients with a diagnosis of CAD from four clinics in the three countries.

Disability and labour market participation among smallholder farmers in Western Kenya.

Background: Despite the importance of labour market participation and the high number of people with disabilities in rural Africa who rely on subsistence agriculture to survive, very few studies have documented labour market outcomes among farmers with and without disabilities in Africa.

Objective: We examined how labour market participation differed by disability and other factors among smallholder farmers in Western Kenya.

Methods: We use cross-sectional data collected between January and April 2022 from sorghum farmers enrolled in a trial evaluating the impact of a programme designed to improve labour market participation among sorghum farmers in rural Western Kenya.

Smoke exposure, hemoglobin levels and the prevalence of anemia: a cross-sectional study in urban informal settlement in Southern Ghana.

Background: In sub-Saharan African cities, more than half of the population lives in informal settlements. These settlements are close to smoky dumpsites, industrial plants, and polluted roads. Furthermore, polluting fuels remain their primary sources of energy for cooking and heating.

Integration of the RTS,S/AS01 malaria vaccine into the Essential Programme on Immunisation in western Kenya: a qualitative longitudinal study from the health system perspective.

Background: Malaria accounts for over half a million child deaths annually. WHO recommends RTS,S/AS01 to prevent malaria in children living in moderate-to-high malaria transmission regions. We conducted a qualitative longitudinal study to investigate the contextual and dynamic factors shaping vaccine delivery and uptake during a pilot introduction in western Kenya.

Acceptance of and Adherence to a Four-Dose RTS,S/AS01 Schedule: Findings from a Longitudinal Qualitative Evaluation Study for the Malaria Vaccine Implementation Programme.

Background: The WHO recommended the use of the RTS,S/AS01 malaria vaccine (RTS,S) based on a pilot evaluation in routine use in Ghana, Kenya, and Malawi. A longitudinal qualitative study was conducted to examine facilitators and barriers to uptake of a 4-dose RTS,S schedule.

Methods: A cohort of 198 caregivers of RTS,S-eligible children from communities where RTS,S was provided through the pilot were interviewed three times over a ≈22-month, 4-dose schedule.

RTS,S/AS01 malaria vaccine pilot implementation in western Kenya: a qualitative longitudinal study to understand immunisation barriers and optimise uptake.

Background: Malaria is a significant public health threat in sub-Saharan Africa, particularly among children. The RTS,S/AS01 malaria vaccine reduces the risk and severity of malaria in children. RTS,S/AS01 was piloted in three African countries, Ghana, Kenya and Malawi, to assess safety, feasibility and cost-effectiveness in real-world settings.

Bagasse dust exposure and chronic respiratory symptoms among workers in the Metehara and Wonji sugar factories in Ethiopia: a longitudinal study design.

Background: Ethiopia's sugar factories are growing by creating job opportunities for thousands of workers with varying educational, professional and socioeconomic backgrounds. These sugar factories are a source of several hazards that severely harm the workers' health. In this context, there is inconclusive evidence on the level of bagasse dust exposure and chronic respiratory health symptoms.

Comparing travel behaviour characteristics and correlates between large and small Kenyan cities (Nairobi versus Kisumu).

Understanding urban travel behaviour is crucial for planning healthy and sustainable cities. Africa is urbanising at one of the fastest rates in the world and urgently needs this knowledge. However, the data and literature on urban travel behaviour, their correlates, and their variation across African cities are limited.

Low treatment success rate among previously treated persons with drug-susceptible pulmonary tuberculosis in Kampala, Uganda.

Rationale: In 2017, the treatment regimen for previously treated persons with tuberculosis (TB) changed to a shorter regimen that lasts six months and consists of Isoniazid, Rifampicin, Pyrazinamide, and Ethambutol. Few studies have examined treatment success rate (TSR) among previously treated persons with TB including the associated factors.

Objective: To determine TSR and the associated factors among previously treated persons with bacteriologically confirmed pulmonary TB on a six-month treatment regimen in Kampala, Uganda.

Active travel and paratransit use in African cities: Mixed-method systematic review and meta-ethnography.

Active travel, as a key form of physical activity, can help offset noncommunicable diseases as rapidly urbanising countries undergo epidemiological transition. In Africa a human mobility transition is underway as cities sprawl and motorization rises and preserving active travel modes (walking, cycling and public transport) is important for public health. Across the continent, public transport is dominated by paratransit, privately owned informal modes serving the general public.

Air quality management strategies in Africa: A scoping review of the content, context, co-benefits and unintended consequences.

One of the major consequences of Africa's rapid urbanisation is the worsening air pollution, especially in urban centres. However, existing societal challenges such as recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, poverty, intensifying effects of climate change are making prioritisation of addressing air pollution harder. We undertook a scoping review of strategies developed and/or implemented in Africa to provide a repository to stakeholders as a reference that could be applied for various local contexts.

Low condom use at the last sexual intercourse among university students in sub-Saharan Africa: Evidence from a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: There is inconsistent data about condom use at the last sexual intercourse (LSI) among university students in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and its association with sex, age, and condom negotiation efficacy. The primary objective of this study was to summarize the proportion of condom use at the LSI among university students in SSA. The secondary objective was to determine the association between condom use at the LSI with sex, age, and condom negotiation efficacy among university students in SSA.

Evaluation of the protective efficacy of a spatial repellent to reduce malaria incidence in children in western Kenya compared to placebo: study protocol for a cluster-randomized double-blinded control trial (the AEGIS program).

Background: Spatial repellents are widely used for prevention of mosquito bites and evidence is building on their public health value, but their efficacy against malaria incidence has never been evaluated in Africa. To address this knowledge gap, a trial to evaluate the efficacy of Mosquito Shield™, a spatial repellent incorporating transfluthrin, was developed for implementation in Busia County, western Kenya where long-lasting insecticidal net coverage is high and baseline malaria transmission is moderate to high year-round.

Methods: This trial is designed as a cluster-randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blinded clinical trial.

Smoke-free spaces: a decade of progress, a need for more?

Adoption of smoke-free measures has been one of the central elements of tobacco control activity over the past 30 years. The past decade has seen an increasing number of countries and proportion of the global population covered by smoke-free policies to some extent. Despite reductions in global smoking prevalence, population growth means that the number of non-smokers exposed to the harms caused by secondhand smoke remains high.

Two decades of regional trends in vaccination completion and coverage among children aged 12-23 months: an analysis of the Uganda Demographic Health Survey data from 1995 to 2016.

Background: Childhood vaccination is an important public health intervention but there is limited information on coverage, trends, and determinants of vaccination completion in Uganda at the regional level. We examined trends in regional vaccination coverage and established the determinants of vaccination completion among children aged 12-23 months in Uganda.

Methods: We analyzed data from the women's questionnaire for the 1995-2016 Uganda Demographic Health Survey (UDHS).

Findings of a Cross-Sectional Survey on Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices about COVID-19 in Uganda: Implications for Public Health Prevention and Control Measures.

Background: The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) morbidity is rising in Uganda. However, data are limited about people's knowledge, attitudes, and practices.

Objective: To determine knowledge about COVID-19, attitudes towards presidential directives and Ministry of Health (MoH) guidelines, and adherence to practicing public health preventive measures (KAP) in Uganda.

Adherence to smoke-free policies in Ghana: Findings from a cross-sectional survey of hospitality venue owners and staff.

Introduction: Implementation of and compliance with smoke-free policies (SFPs) can be problematic in many low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) due to limited resources. This study evaluated knowledge, opinions and compliance related to Ghana's SFPs among owners and staff of hospitality venues by city, staff designation, and venue type.

Methods: A cross-sectional study design was used in venue types including hotels, bars, pubs and restaurants in the three cities of Kumasi, Accra, and Tamale, in Ghana.

Preventive malaria treatment among school-aged children in sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic review and meta-analyses.

Background: The burden of malaria infection in sub-Saharan Africa among school-aged children aged 5-15 years is underappreciated and represents an important source of human-to-mosquito transmission of Plasmodium falciparum. Additional interventions are needed to control and eliminate malaria. We aimed to assess whether preventive treatment of malaria might be an effective means of reducing P falciparum infection and anaemia in school-aged children and lowering parasite transmission.

Measuring Air Quality for Advocacy in Africa (MA3): Feasibility and Practicality of Longitudinal Ambient PM Measurement Using Low-Cost Sensors.

Ambient air pollution in urban cities in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is an important public health problem with models and limited monitoring data indicating high concentrations of pollutants such as fine particulate matter (PM). On most global air quality index maps, however, information about ambient pollution from SSA is scarce. We evaluated the feasibility and practicality of longitudinal measurements of ambient PM using low-cost air quality sensors (Purple Air-II-SD) across thirteen locations in seven countries in SSA.

How useful are malaria risk maps at the country level? Perceptions of decision-makers in Kenya, Malawi and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Background: Declining malaria prevalence and pressure on external funding have increased the need for efficiency in malaria control in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Modelled Plasmodium falciparum parasite rate (PfPR) maps are increasingly becoming available and provide information on the epidemiological situation of countries. However, how these maps are understood or used for national malaria planning is rarely explored.

Exposure to secondhand smoke in hospitality settings in Ghana: Evidence of changes since implementation of smoke-free legislation.

Introduction: Ghana has a partial smoking ban with smoking allowed in designated smoking areas. Studies evaluating smoke-free laws are scarce in Sub-Saharan Africa. Evaluation of smoke-free laws is an effective means of measuring progress towards a smoke-free society.

Producing routine malaria data: an exploration of the micro-practices and processes shaping routine malaria data quality in frontline health facilities in Kenya.

Background: Routine health information systems can provide near real-time data for malaria programme management, monitoring and evaluation, and surveillance. There are widespread concerns about the quality of the malaria data generated through routine information systems in many low-income countries. However, there has been little careful examination of micro-level practices of data collection which are central to the production of routine malaria data.