Chronic respiratory disease observatory for Africa (CHEST-Africa): study protocol for the prevalence, determinants and economic impacts of asthma and COPD in Africa.

Introduction: Contemporary data on the burden of chronic respiratory diseases in sub-Saharan Africa is limited. More so, their economic burden is not well described. This study aims to establish a chronic respiratory disease observatory for Africa.

Chronic respiratory disease in Indigenous peoples: a framework to address inequity and strengthen respiratory health and health care globally.

Indigenous peoples around the world bear a disproportionate burden of chronic respiratory diseases, which are associated with increased risks of morbidity and mortality. Despite the imperative to address global inequity, research focused on strengthening respiratory health in Indigenous peoples is lacking, particularly in low-income and middle-income countries. Drivers of the increased rates and severity of chronic respiratory diseases in Indigenous peoples include a high prevalence of risk factors (eg, prematurity, low birthweight, poor nutrition, air pollution, high burden of infections, and poverty) and poor access to appropriate diagnosis and care, which might be linked to colonisation and historical and current systemic racism.

Predicting the potential impact of scaling up four pneumonia interventions on under-five pneumonia mortality: A prospective Lives Saved Tool (LiST) analysis for Bangladesh, Chad, and Ethiopia.

Background: Pneumonia remains the leading cause of mortality in under-five children outside the neonatal period. Progress has slowed down in the last decade, necessitating increased efforts to scale up effective pneumonia interventions.

Methods: We used the Lives Saved Tool (LiST), a modelling software for child mortality in low- and middle-income settings, to prospectively analyse the potential impact of upscaling pneumonia interventions in Bangladesh, Chad, and Ethiopia from 2023 to 2030.

MICROS: Asthma Control App for School Adolescents in a Low Resource Setting - A Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial Protocol.

Introduction: Poor asthma control in adolescents is partly attributed to inadequate asthma education for self-management. This study is set to determine the effectiveness of the "KmAsthma" self-management app in improving the control of asthma among adolescents in a low-resource setting.

Methods: The two-arm 6-month cluster randomized controlled trial, will aim at enrolling 120 day scholars aged 12-19 years in secondary schools with a clinician's diagnosis and self-reported uncontrolled asthma in Kampala City Uganda.

Characterising sources of PM exposure for school children with asthma: a personal exposure study across six cities in sub-Saharan Africa.

Background: Air pollution is the second largest risk to health in Africa, and children with asthma are particularly susceptible to its effects. Yet, there is a scarcity of air pollution exposure data from cities in sub-Saharan Africa. We aimed to identify potential exposure reduction strategies for school children with asthma living in urban areas in sub-Saharan Africa.

Delay in healthcare seeking for young children with severe pneumonia at Mulago National Referral Hospital, Uganda: A mixed methods cross-sectional study.

Background: Globally, pneumonia is the leading infectious cause of under-five mortality, and this can be reduced by prompt healthcare seeking. Data on factors associated with delays in seeking care for children with pneumonia in Uganda is scarce.

Objectives: The study aimed to determine the prevalence, factors associated with delay, barriers, and facilitators of prompt healthcare seeking for children under five years of age with severe pneumonia attending Mulago National Referral Hospital (MNRH) Uganda.

A cross-country qualitative analysis of teachers' perceptions of asthma care in sub-Saharan Africa.

Asthma is the most common chronic respiratory disease among school-going adolescents worldwide. However, the burden of severe asthma is highest in Sub-Saharan Africa. This study aimed to explore teachers' perceptions of asthma care across six African countries.

Barriers to childhood asthma care in sub-Saharan Africa: a multicountry qualitative study with children and their caregivers.

Objectives: This study identifies barriers and provides recommendations to improve asthma care in children across sub-Saharan Africa, where qualitative data is lacking despite high rates.

Design: One of the aims of our National Institute for Health Research global health research group 'Achieving Control of Asthma in Children in Africa' was to use qualitative thematic analysis of transcribed audio recordings from focus group discussions (FGDs) to describe barriers to achieving good asthma control.

Setting: Schools in Blantyre (Malawi), Lagos (Nigeria), Durban (South Africa), Kampala (Uganda) and Harare (Zimbabwe).

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.

Factors associated with birth asphyxia among term singleton births at two referral hospitals in Northern Uganda: a cross sectional study.

Background: Birth asphyxia is one of the leading causes of neonatal mortality worldwide. In Uganda, it accounts for 28.9% of all neonatal deaths.

The availability, cost, and affordability of essential medicines for asthma and COPD in low-income and middle-income countries: a systematic review.

Background: Asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) cause a considerable burden of morbidity and mortality in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). Access to safe, effective, quality-assured, and affordable essential medicines is variable. We aimed to review the existing literature relating to the availability, cost, and affordability of WHO's essential medicines for asthma and COPD in LMICs.

Performance and usability of a new mobile application for measuring respiratory rate in young children with acute lower respiratory infections.

Objectives: Respiratory rate (RR) measurement is critical to diagnosing pneumonia in resource-constrained settings, but accurate RR measurement is challenging. The acute lower respiratory illness treatment and evaluation (ALRITE) mobile phone application (app), designed to help healthcare workers (HCWs) manage pediatric respiratory illnesses, includes a semiautomated RR counter. This study aimed to evaluate the accuracy and usability of the ALRITE RR counter and a commercially available RR counter app, RRate, with a reference standard.

The WHO Global Tuberculosis 2021 Report - not so good news and turning the tide back to End TB.

Objective: To review the data presented in the 2021 WHO global TB report and discuss the current constraints in the global response.

Introduction And Methods: The WHO global TB reports, consolidate TB data from countries and provide up to date assessment of the global TB epidemic. We reviewed the data presented in the 2021 report.

Perceptions of long-term impact and change following a midwife-led biomass smoke education program for mothers in rural Uganda: a qualitative study.

Introduction: Women and children in Uganda and other low- and middle-income countries are exposed to disproportionately high levels of household air pollution from biomass smoke generated by smoke-producing cookstoves, especially in rural areas. This population is therefore particularly vulnerable to the negative health effects caused by household air pollution, including negative pregnancy outcomes and other health issues throughout life. The Midwife Project, a collaboration between research and health teams in the UK and Uganda, began in 2016 to implement an education program on lung health for mothers in Uganda, to reduce the health risks to women and children.

Prevalence, risk factors and outcome of Mycoplasma pneumoniae infection among children in Uganda: a prospective study.

Background: : Atypical bacteria cause 10-40% of all childhood pneumonia.. Data on the burden of atypical pneumonia in sub-Saharan Africa are limited.

Efficacy of convalescent plasma for treatment of COVID-19 in Uganda.

Rationale: Convalescent plasma (CCP) has been studied as a potential therapy for COVID-19, but data on its efficacy in Africa are limited.

Objective: In this trial we set out to determine the efficacy of CCP for treatment of COVID-19 in Uganda.

Measurements: Patients with a positive SARS-CoV-2 reverse transcriptase (RT)-PCR test irrespective of disease severity were hospitalised and randomised to receive either COVID-19 CCP plus standard of care (SOC) or SOC alone.

An assessment of the knowledge, practices and resources during the delivery of malaria health care services among private health care practitioners: a cross section study in the Mid-Western Region of Uganda.

Background: Approximately 50 % of the population in Uganda seeks health care from private facilities but there is limited data on the quality of care for malaria in these facilities. This study aimed to document the knowledge, practices and resources during the delivery of malaria care services, among private health practitioners in the Mid-Western region of Uganda, an area of moderate malaria transmission.

Methods: This was a cross sectional study in which purposive sampling was used to select fifteen private-for-profit facilities from each district.

Health workers' perspectives of a mobile health tool to improve diagnosis and management of paediatric acute respiratory illnesses in Uganda: a qualitative study.

Objectives: Mobile health tools have potential to improve the diagnosis and management of acute lower respiratory illnesses (ALRI), a leading cause of paediatric mortality worldwide. The objectives were to evaluate health workers' perceptions of acceptability, usability and feasibility of Acute Lower Respiratory Illness Treatment and Evaluation (ALRITE), a novel mobile health tool to help frontline health workers diagnose, treat and provide education about ALRI in children <5 years.

Design: A qualitative study including semistructured interviews with health facility administrators and focus groups with primary care health workers.

Health Workers' Practices in Assessment and Management of Children with Respiratory Symptoms in Primary Care Facilities in Uganda: A FRESH AIR Descriptive Study.

Introduction: Globally, acute lower respiratory infections are the leading cause of mortality among children under 5 years. Following World Health Organization primary care guidelines, pneumonia is diagnosed based on cough/difficult breathing and fast breathing. We aimed to describe the practices of healthcare workers in primary care health facilities in Uganda in the management of young children with respiratory symptoms especially regarding asthma as opposed to pneumonia.