Cultural and religious structures influencing the use of maternal health services in Nigeria: a focused ethnographic research.

Background: Cultural and religious structures encompass a set pattern of values, beliefs, systems and practices that define a community's behaviour and identity. These structures influence women's health-seeking behaviour and access to maternal health services, predisposing women to preventable maternal health complications. However, most maternal health policies have focused on biomedical strategies, with limited attention to women's cultural challenges around childbirth.

Prevalence and Risk Factors for Hepatitis B Virus Infection Among Pregnant Women Attending Antenatal Clinics in Northern Ethiopia.

Background: Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is one of the most common health problems worldwide and is associated with high mortality and heavy economic burdens. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and associated risk factors among pregnant women attending antenatal clinics at Adigrat General Hospital in Northern Ethiopia.

Methods: An institutional-based cross-sectional study was conducted from January to March 2024 among 385 pregnant women.

Understanding patients' decision to leave hospital care in Ghana: clinical cases and underlying determinants.

Background: The quality of patient discharge teaching and information influences most patients' readiness for discharge and perceptions of care. Planned patient discharge positively impacts patient health outcomes and post-discharge care management. However, some patients withdraw from care before being formally discharged, often termed discharge against medical advice (DAMA), among other labels.

Perspectives on prior preparation for menstrual experience from women and female health workers in Malawi.

Background: While studies have explored various aspects of menstruation, an evident gap remains in the literature concerning the perspectives of young women and female health workers. By shedding light on this unexplored terrain, the study provides novel insights that can inform targeted interventions and foster a more inclusive understanding of menstrual health. As such, this investigation stands at the forefront of academic endeavour in menstrual health research, making an original and valuable impact in the field.

Challenges and opportunities in the uptake of simulation in healthcare education in the developing world: a scoping review.

Background: Simulation is increasingly being adopted by healthcare educators throughout the developed world as it offers a safe environment to practice skills. While there is literature on learning via simulation in healthcare in the developed world, more studies are required to investigate the factors influencing this approach in the developing world.

Objective: This scoping review highlights the key factors that act as deterrents as well as encouragement to the uptake of simulation as a teaching methodology in healthcare education in developing countries.

Epidemiology and perceptions of non-fatal burns among select youth (15-24 years old) from Peshawar Pakistan; a sequential explanatory mixed methods study.

Purpose: Burns are among the top five cause of unintentional injuries among youth. We aimed to determine the incidence and risk factors of burns in select youth from Pakistan and also explored their perceptions about burns.

Methods: A sequential explanatory mixed methods study was conducted which comprised of two phases.

Facilitating and limiting factors of cultural norms influencing use of maternal health services in primary health care facilities in Kogi State, Nigeria; a focused ethnographic research on Igala women.

Background: Facilitating factors are potential factors that encourage the uptake of maternal health services, while limiting factors are those potential factors that limit women's access to maternal health services. Though cultural norms or values are significant factors that influence health-seeking behaviour, there is a limited exploration of the facilitating and limiting factors of these cultural norms and values on the use of maternal health services in primary health care facilities.

Aim: To understand the facilitating and limiting factors of cultural values and norms that influence the use of maternal health services in primary healthcare facilities.

Scanning resources to build an international nursing knowledge network.

This paper reports the gathered information from an international environmental scan of university-baseline information for the creation of a Nursing Knowledge Network. An online environment scan of organizational context (February to October 2021) explored the identification of research areas, existing resources, expected benefits, innovations in teaching research, barriers to knowledge dissemination, and prospective contributions of the Network. Target informants were 200 nursing faculty affiliated with 63 universities located in 13 countries, as well as nursing networks in the Ibero-American context.

Assessment of preschool preparedness intervention package on adoption of nutrition friendly school initiative in rural Sindh, Pakistan: a pre-and post-intervention design.

Background: In 1995, the World Health Organization launched its Global School Health Initiative intending to expand this health promotion approach throughout schools globally. In this study, we aim to assess the preparedness of preschools in the adoption of intervention packages under the Nutrition Friendly School Initiative (NFSI) checklist.

Methods: From three campuses of the Aga Khan School located in the Thatta and Sujawal districts of the Sindh province, Pakistan, all eligible preschool children were selected for this study.

Diagnostic accuracy of the Xpert MTB/XDR assay for detection of Isoniazid and second-line antituberculosis drugs resistance at central TB reference laboratory in Tanzania.

Introduction: Early diagnosis of tuberculosis (TB) and universal access to drug-susceptibility testing (DST) are critical elements of the WHO End TB Strategy. Current rapid tests (e.g.

Burden of Childhood Diarrhea and Its Associated Factors in Ethiopia: A Review of Observational Studies.

This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to: i) determine the pooled prevalence of acute diarrhea; and ii) synthesize and summarize current evidence on factors of acute diarrheal illnesses among under-five children in Ethiopia. A comprehensive systematic search was conducted in PubMed, SCOPUS, HINARI, Science Direct, Google Scholar, Global Index Medicus, Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ), and the Cochrane Library. This systematic review and meta-analysis followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guideline.

Childhood undernutrition mediates the relationship between open defecation with anemia among Ethiopian children: a nationally representative cross-sectional study.

Background: Poor sanitation and/or open defecation are a significant public health problem in Ethiopia, where access to improved sanitation facilities is still limited. There is a growing body of literature about the effect of open defecation on children's linear growth failure. However, very few studies about the effects of open defecation on child anemia exist.

Degendering Menstruation: A Scoping Review Exploring the Experiences of Transgender and Non-Binary People.

Menstruation is a biological process experienced by up to 800 million people on any given day. Historically, menstruation has been studied from the female perspective. However, it should be considered that not all who menstruate are women.

A Critical Comparison of Focused Ethnography and Interpretive Phenomenology in Nursing Research.

Choosing an appropriate qualitative methodology in nursing research is a researcher's first step before beginning a study. Such a step is critical as the selected qualitative methodology should be congruent with the research questions, study assumptions, data gathering and analysis to promote the utility of such research in enhancing nursing knowledge. In this paper, we compare focused ethnography by Roper and Shapira and interpretive phenomenology by Benner.

Co-existence of maternal overweight/obesity, child undernutrition, and anaemia among mother-child pairs in Ethiopia.

Ethiopia is currently known to be the most food-insecure country in sub-Saharan Africa, where childhood undernutrition remains endemic. While attention is increasingly being paid to childhood undernutrition in Ethiopia, a current surge of "triple burden of malnutrition" (TBM) has received less attention. The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of TBM and identify the associated factors in Ethiopia.

Dataset evaluating the effectiveness of the Konga model to address factors contributing to a low viral load suppression among children with HIV in Tanzania.

Data were collected for a cluster-randomized clinical trial of the Konga community-based intervention using a validated questionnaire for children and caregivers. The raw and analyzed data include 82 participants with the following information: sociodemographic characteristics (caregiver's age, sex, and level of education, income, and caregiver's marital status) and clinical characteristics of the children (weight, CD4 cell count, and viral load at baseline and after 6 months of follow-up. The other data included in this dataset were weight, medication adherence, and opportunistic infections.

Interventions impacting the accessibility of sexual reproductive health services for head porters in sub-Saharan Africa- A scoping review protocol.

Head porters working in markets in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) are one of the world's most vulnerable and socioeconomically disadvantaged groups. They consist predominantly of uneducated women and girls seeking to escape poverty, early marriage, and other issues of domestic violence. Most female head porters are in their reproductive years and often lack access to sexual reproductive health services (SRHS) despite being at high risk for sexually transmitted infections (STIs), unplanned pregnancies, and gender-based violence.

Coexistence of Anaemia and Stunting among Children Aged 6-59 Months in Ethiopia: Findings from the Nationally Representative Cross-Sectional Study.

Introduction: Stunting and anaemia, two severe public health problems, affect a significant number of children under the age of five. To date, the burden of and predictive factors for coexisting forms of stunting and anaemia in childhood have not been well documented in Ethiopia, where both the conditions are endemic. The primary aims of the present study were to: (i) determine the prevalence of co-morbid anaemia and stunting (CAS); (ii) and identify factors associated with these co-morbid conditions among children aged 6-59 months in Ethiopia.

Effectiveness of a community-based intervention (Konga model) to address factors contributing to low viral load suppression among children living with HIV in Tanzania: a preliminary, cluster, randomized clinical trial report.

Background: Despite effective antiretroviral therapy (ART) coverage in other groups living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in Tanzania, virologic suppression among HIV-positive children receiving ART remains unacceptably low. This study evaluated the effectiveness of a community-based intervention (Konga model) in addressing the factor contributing to low viral load suppression among children living with HIV in the Simiyu region, Tanzania.

Methods: This study used a parallel cluster randomized trial.

Outcomes and Associated Factors of Induction of Labor in East Gojjam Zone, Northwest Ethiopia: A Multicenter Cross-Sectional Study.

Background: Induction of labor is the initiation of uterine contractions by artificial methods once the fetus has reached viability and prior to spontaneous onset of labor with the aim of achieving vaginal delivery. Although induction of labor is a critical life-saving intervention that potentially reduces adverse pregnancy outcomes, sometimes it has undesirable consequences for the health of the mother and/or the fetus. Hence, this study aimed to evaluate the outcomes and associated factors of labor induction.

Evaluation of the FAST-M maternal sepsis intervention in Pakistan: A qualitative exploratory study.

Introduction: The World Health Organization and partners developed and evaluated a maternity-specific sepsis care bundle called 'FAST-M' for low-resource settings. However, this bundle has not yet been studied in Asia. Our study sought to evaluate the perceptions of healthcare providers about the implementation of the FAST-M intervention in Pakistan.

Determinants of nonsuppression of HIV viral load among children receiving antiretroviral therapy in the Simiyu region: a cross-sectional study.

Background: Despite substantial antiretroviral therapy (ART) coverage among individuals with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection in Tanzania, viral load suppression (VLS) among HIV-positive children receiving ART remains intolerably low. This study was conducted to determine factors affecting the nonsuppression of VL in children with HIV receiving ART in the Simiyu region; thus, an effective, sustainable intervention to address VL nonsuppression can be developed in the future.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study including children with HIV aged 2-14 years who were currently presenting to care and treatment clinics in the Simiyu region.

Factors associated with low antiretroviral therapy enrollment of children in the Simiyu region: A cross-sectional Creswell mixed-methods sequential explanatory design.

Despite substantial antiretroviral therapy (ART) coverage in other groups with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in Tanzania, there is a progressive decline in ART enrollment among HIV-infected children. This study aimed to determine the factors affecting the enrollment of children with HIV in ART and to identify an effective, sustainable intervention to address children's ART care enrollment. To achieve this, we conducted a cross-sectional study using a mixed-method sequential explanatory design, including children with HIV aged 2 to 14 years in the Simiyu region.

Epidemiology of unintentional injuries among 15-24-year-old vocational school youth from Peshawar Pakistan: A cross-sectional survey.

Background: The burden of unintentional injuries among youth (15-24 years) is high. There is paucity of data on unintentional injuries in youth working in Vocational Training Institutes.

Objective: To determine the incidence, characteristics, and risk factors of unintentional injuries among youth.