Deploying community health workers (CHWs) is a vital strategy to improve health at a community level in low- and middle-income countries. Whilst there is substantial evidence on the effectiveness of CHWs interventions, there is a need for more research on the mechanisms through which these interventions work. Understanding the acceptability of these interventions is one way of assessing the mechanisms through which they work.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Hypertension and diabetes are among the most common noncommunicable diseases in Zimbabwe. These 2 conditions are largely prevented and controlled by lifestyle modifications, such as healthy eating habits, physical activity, and avoiding the use of tobacco and alcohol.
Objective: This study aims to evaluate the effects of a community health worker (CHW)-led health literacy intervention on lifestyle modification among patients with diabetes and hypertension in the City of Harare, Zimbabwe, in terms of (1) adherence to recommended lifestyle changes, (2) blood pressure and blood glucose levels, and (3) medication adherence.
Background: HIV-associated cryptococcal meningitis is a leading cause of AIDS-related mortality. The AMBITION-cm trial showed that a regimen based on a single high dose of liposomal amphotericin B deoxycholate (AmBisome group) was non-inferior to the WHO-recommended treatment of seven daily doses of amphotericin B deoxycholate (control group) and was associated with fewer adverse events. We present a five-country cost-effectiveness analysis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBMJ Open
April 2019
Introduction: Cryptococcal meningitis is responsible for around 15% of all HIV-related deaths globally. Conventional treatment courses with amphotericin B require prolonged hospitalisation and are associated with multiple toxicities and poor outcomes. A phase II study has shown that a single high dose of liposomal amphotericin may be comparable to standard treatment.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Malaria is a public health problem in Zimbabwe. Although many studies have indicated that climate change may influence the distribution of malaria, there is paucity of information on its trends and association with climatic variables in Zimbabwe. To address this shortfall, the trends of malaria incidence and its interaction with climatic variables in rural Gwanda, Zimbabwe for the period January 2005 to April 2015 was assessed.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAfr J Prim Health Care Fam Med
August 2017
Background: Malaria is a serious public health problem in sub-Saharan Africa and is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality.
Aim: To estimate the economic burden of malaria in rural households.
Setting: The study was conducted in Gwanda district of Matabeleland South in Zimbabwe.
Introduction: Restructuring is the corporate management term for the act of reorganizing the legal, operational, or other structures of a company for the purpose of making it more profitable or better organized for its present needs. However, preparing an organization to accept and welcome any change is crucial. There is concern though over poor service delivery, untimely payment of workers, top management structure which is thought to be top heavy and employee costs taking (58%) of total expenditure.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Health-care technologies (HCTs) play an important role in any country's health-care system. Zimbabwe's health-care system uses a lot of HCTs developed in other countries. However, a number of local factors have affected the absorption and use of these technologies.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFGlob Public Health
September 2017
Zimbabwe's public health financing model is mostly hospital-based. Financing generally follows the bigger and higher-level hospitals at the expense of smaller, lower-level ones. While this has tended to perpetuate inequalities, the pattern of healthcare services utilisation and benefits on different levels of care and across different socioeconomic groups remains unclear.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe Ministry of Health and Child Care, Zimbabwe does not have a method for prioritization and equitable allocation of its share of the national health budget and other resources in the sector. Regional allocations at the provincial level are made regardless of the provinces' disease burden, population size, or needs. Currently there is no method available to show how the provinces eventually allocate these resources to the lower levels of care.
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