Nutritional Challenges among African Refugee and Internally Displaced Children: A Comprehensive Scoping Review.

Background: Children's nutrition in Africa, especially among those displaced by conflicts, is a critical global health concern. Adequate nutrition is pivotal for children's well-being and development, yet those affected by displacement confront distinctive challenges. This scoping review seeks to enhance our current knowledge, filling gaps in understanding nutritional and associated health risks within this vulnerable population.

Thai novice nurses' lived experiences and perspectives of breastfeeding and human milk in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU).

Background: Breastfeeding and human milk have well-documented health benefits for newborn infants, particularly those who are sick. However, breastfeeding rates and human milk feeding among infants in neonatal intensive units (NICU) in Thailand are still low; thus, breastfeeding promotion and support are required for Thai mothers of premature infants. Newly graduated nurses can play a critical role within the healthcare support system and can have a significant impact on improving breastfeeding practices in the NICU.

Effects of Food-Based Approaches on Vitamin A Status of Women and Children: A Systematic Review.

Vitamin A deficiency (VAD) increases risk for morbidity and mortality. Food-based approaches offer one strategy to improve vitamin A status. This systematic review assessed evidence of the effects of food-based approaches on the vitamin A status of women and children under 5 y.

Predictors of vitamin A rich food consumption among women living in households growing orange-fleshed sweetpotatoes in selected regions in Uganda.

Objective: Vitamin A deficiency (VAD) has serious public health consequences including morbidity and mortality for populations in low and middle-income countries (LMICs), especially for children under 5 years and pregnant women. LMICs are at greater risk of VAD, in part due to low levels of consumption of vitamin A-rich foods most of which are plant-based, such as orange-fleshed sweet potatoes (OFSP), with lower bioavailability than animal sources of the vitamin A. Food-based approaches such as biofortification of OFSP, including promoting the consumption of vitamin A-rich biofortified staple crops, has been shown to be potentially effective in improving the status of vitamin A and other micronutrients.

Building on Community Research Partnerships and Training Students in a Multi-Phase Community-Based Participatory Research Study With Young Women of Cambodian Heritage in Massachusetts.

Refugees bring significant economic and cultural benefits to communities and yet face elevated risk of chronic disease and barriers to good health in the U.S. Community-based participatory research (CBPR) can benefit refugee communities and provide training/mentoring opportunities for students.

Breastfeeding Duration Is Inversely Associated with Postpartum Allostatic Load: A Possible Mechanism for Improved Maternal Health.

Allostatic load, a multisystem composite measure of chronic stress reflecting the cumulative wear and tear on the body, has utility in explaining maternal and child health disparities and predicting future health when measured during the peripartum period. Research using cross-sectional data has demonstrated an inverse association between concurrent breastfeeding status and maternal postpartum allostatic load. However, the relationship between breastfeeding duration and postpartum allostatic load has not been determined.

New Moms Wellness Study: the randomized controlled trial study protocol for an intervention study to increase fruit and vegetable intake and lower breast cancer risk through weekly counseling and supplemental fruit and vegetable box delivery in breastfeeding women.

Background: Laboratory studies indicate that chemicals in fruits and vegetables have anti-carcinogenic and anti-inflammatory activities that can lower breast cancer risk. However, epidemiologic studies of the association between fruit and vegetable intake and breast cancer risk have produced mixed results. Measurement error, confounding, and an emphasis on diet in later adulthood may contribute to weak associations.

The prevalence of overweight/obesity and its association with household food insecurity among women living with HIV in rural Eswatini.

Background: Eswatini is currently afflicted by an extremely high prevalence of HIV (27%) and malnutrition (both under-and over-nutrition). While rates of overweight/obesity in the general adult population have been documented, data on overweight/obesity and associated risk factors among women living with HIV (WLHIV) in Eswatini is limited. This study examines the prevalence of overweight/obesity and associated risk factors, with an emphasis on clarifying the association between household food insecurity and overweight/obesity for WLHIV in rural Eswatini.

Rural-urban disparities in the nutritional status of younger adolescents in Tanzania.

Research on geographic differences in health focuses largely on children less than five years; little is known about adolescents-and even less regarding younger adolescents-a vulnerable group at a critical stage of the life course. Africa's rapid population growth and urbanization rates, coupled with stagnant rates of undernutrition, further indicate the need for country-specific data on rural-urban health disparities to inform development policies. This study examined rural-urban disparities in body mass index-for-age-and-sex (BAZ) and height-for-age-and-sex z-scores (HAZ) among younger adolescents in Tanzania.

Breastfeeding Is Inversely Associated with Allostatic Load in Postpartum Women: Cross-Sectional Data from Nationally Representative US Women.

Background: The postpartum period is a critical transition period when exposures to protective factors such as breastfeeding can have long-lasting health impact. Studies have suggested downregulating effects of breastfeeding on stress biomarkers such as cortisol but have not explored the way breastfeeding interacts with allostatic load, a multisystem indicator of chronic stress.

Objective: We aimed to examine the association between breastfeeding and maternal allostatic load among women within 2 y postpartum using nationally representative data.

A quantitative analysis of food insecurity and other barriers associated with ART nonadherence among women in rural communities of Eswatini.

Background: Eswatini has the highest global prevalence of HIV despite decades of universal access to free antiretroviral therapy (ART). We conducted a mixed methods study to investigate barriers to ART adherence among women living with HIV (WLHIV) in rural communities of Eswatini. Qualitative findings were reported in our previous publication.

Traditional plant use during lactation and postpartum recovery: Infant development and maternal health roles.

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: Evidence of phytochemical roles in infant development and maternal recovery offers insights into beneficial functions of traditional plant use during lactation and the postpartum period. Ethnopharmacological research has relevance to global priorities on maternal and child health, to understanding origins and determinants of human self-medication, and for reconciling traditional postpartum practices and mainstream healthcare.

Aim Of The Study: Present emerging evidence, within evolutionary and socio-cultural contexts, on the role of maternal consumption on transfer of phytochemicals into breast milk with impacts on maternal and child health, and on infant development.

A Scoping Review of the Health of African Immigrant and Refugee Children.

Migration is a growing phenomenon around the world, including within the African continent. Many migrants, especially African children, face challenges related to health and social inclusion and can face increased health risks. A systematic scoping review of available literature on the health of African migrant children across the globe was conducted to offer insight into these health risks.

Global survey of medicinal plants during lactation and postpartum recovery: Evolutionary perspectives and contemporary health implications.

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: Cross-cultural comparison of plants used during lactation and the postpartum period offers insight into a largely overlooked area of ethnopharmacological research. Potential roles of phytochemicals in emerging models of interaction among immunity, inflammation, microbiome and nervous system effects on perinatal development have relevance for the life-long health of individuals and of populations in both traditional and contemporary contexts.

Aim Of The Study: Delineate and interpret patterns of traditional and contemporary global use of medicinal plants ingested by mothers during the postpartum period relative to phytochemical activity on immune development and gastrointestinal microbiome of breastfed infants, and on maternal health.

Individual, household, and community level barriers to ART adherence among women in rural Eswatini.

Background: Despite access to free antiretroviral therapy (ART) for all people living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), noncompliance to treatment continues to be a significant challenge in Eswatini. Yet studies investigating barriers to ART adherence in Eswatini are scarce. Most notably, there is a lack of research regarding rural women in Eswatini, who are currently the country's most vulnerable to HIV infection.

Dietary Intervention to Increase Fruit and Vegetable Consumption in Breastfeeding Women: A Pilot Randomized Trial Measuring Inflammatory Markers in Breast Milk.

Background: Diets rich in fruits and vegetables (F/V) can reduce the inflammatory profile of circulating cytokines and potentially decrease the risk of breast cancer. However, the extent to which a diet rich in F/V alters cytokine levels in breast tissue remains largely unknown. Breast milk provides a means of assessing concentrations of secreted cytokines in the breast microenvironment and is a potential tool for studying the effects of diet on inflammation in breast tissue and breast cancer risk.

A Systematic Review of Mobile Produce Markets: Facilitators and Barriers to Use, and Associations with Reported Fruit and Vegetable Intake.

Background: Diet-related chronic diseases are a major public health burden. There is growing awareness that disparities in healthful food access contribute to disparities in health. Mobile produce markets (MPMs) have emerged as a strategy to improve fruit and vegetable access and consumption, particularly among low-income, minority, and other vulnerable populations (eg, older adults and children) in food desert neighborhoods.

Barriers to Exclusive Breastfeeding Among Women With Gestational Diabetes Mellitus in the United States.

Objective: To identify differences in breastfeeding-related knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, and experiences between women with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and women without GDM.

Design: Cross-sectional and prospective cohort study.

Setting: Secondary analysis of data from the U.

Mobile produce market influences access to fruits and vegetables in an urban environment.

Objective: To assess the influence of a mobile produce market (MPM) on fruit and vegetable access.

Design: Novel application of a structured assessment (five dimensions of access framework) to examine fruit and vegetable access through self-administered surveys on shopping behaviours, and perceptions and experiences of shopping at the MPM.

Setting: Low-income neighbourhoods with limited access to fruits and vegetables.

Healthful, Cultural Foods and Safety Net Use Among Cambodian and Brazilian Immigrant Communities in Massachusetts.

Declining health and food security status among low-income immigrants in the U.S. may result from limited access to healthful, cultural foods and safety net programs.

Influence of a School-Based Cooking Course on Students' Food Preferences, Cooking Skills, and Confidence.

A quasi-experimental study was conducted to evaluate the influence of Project CHEF, a hands-on cooking and tasting program offered in Vancouver public schools, on students' food preferences, cooking skills, and confidence. Grade 4 and 5 students in an intervention group (n = 68) and a comparison group (n = 32) completed a survey at baseline and 2 to 3 weeks later. Students who participated in Project CHEF reported an increased familiarity and preference for the foods introduced through the program.

Effect of flash-heat treatment on immunoglobulins in breast milk.

Background: Heat-treated expressed breast milk is recommended by the World Health Organization as an option to reduce vertical HIV transmission in resource-poor regions. Flash-heat (FH) is a low technology pasteurization method developed for home use, but its effect on quantity and quality of breast milk immunoglobulins is unknown.

Objective: To evaluate FH's effect on breast milk immunoglobulin levels and antigen-binding capacity.

Mothers' infant feeding experiences: constraints and supports for optimal feeding in an HIV-impacted urban community in South Africa.

Objective: To better understand the enabling and challenging factors impacting on infant feeding practices in communities with a high HIV prevalence.

Design: Qualitative study, with data collected through in-depth interviews and observations of mothers, in addition to discussions with health-service providers.

Setting: Urban settlement in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.

Vitamin content of breast milk from HIV-1-infected mothers before and after flash-heat treatment.

Background: World Health Organization advocates heat treatment of expressed breastmilk (EBM) as one method to reduce postnatal transmission of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in developing countries. Flash-heat is a simple heat treatment method shown to inactivate cell-free HIV.

Objective: To determine the effect of flash-heat on vitamin content of milk.