Process Evaluation of "The Hygienic Family" Intervention: A Community-Based Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Project in Rural Malawi.

Process evaluations of environmental health interventions are often under-reported and under-utilized in the development of future programs. The "Hygienic Family" intervention targeted improvements in hygiene behaviors of caregivers with under five-year-old children in rural Malawi. Delivered through a combination of open days, cluster meetings, household visits, and prompts, data were collected from two intervention areas for ten months.

Exposure to Air Pollution in Rural Malawi: Impact of Cooking Methods on Blood Pressure and Peak Expiratory Flow.

We made static and personal PM measurements with a miniature monitor (RTI MicroPEM) to characterise the exposure of women cooking with wood and charcoal in indoor and outdoor locations in rural Malawi, together with measurements of blood pressure and peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR). Mean PM concentrations of 1338 and 31 µg/m were observed 1 m from cookstove locations during cooking with wood and charcoal, respectively. Similarly, mean personal PM exposures of 706 and 94 µg/m were observed during cooking with wood and charcoal, respectively.

Social capital insights from Healthy Settings needs assessment in Malawi.

Despite global health improvements, substantial challenges in social determinants of health and poverty remain in rural communities in low-income countries. Public health theorists suggest that communities with high social capital are less vulnerable to such challenges and more likely to participate in community development. This research examines levels of social capital amongst rural communities in southern Malawi through data gathered as part of a participatory needs assessment for a Healthy Settings project, and discusses the potential benefits of having access to such data before project implementation.

Using participatory methods to design an mHealth intervention for a low income country, a case study in Chikwawa, Malawi.

Background: mHealth holds the potential to educate rural communities in developing countries such as Malawi, on issues which over-burdened and under staffed health centres do not have the facilities to address. Previous research provides support that mHealth could be used as a vehicle for health education campaigns at a community level; however the limited involvement of potential service users in the research process endangers both user engagement and intervention effectiveness.

Methods: This two stage qualitative study used participatory action research to inform the design and development of an mHealth education intervention.

The use of minimum selectable concentrations (MSCs) for determining the selection of antimicrobial resistant bacteria.

The use of antimicrobial compounds is indispensable in many industries, especially drinking water production, to eradicate microorganisms. However, bacterial growth is not unusual in the presence of disinfectant concentrations that would be typically lethal, as bacterial populations can develop resistance. The common metric of population resistance has been based on the Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC), which is based on bacteria lethality.

Relationship between antibiotic- and disinfectant-resistance profiles in bacteria harvested from tap water.

Chlorination is commonly used to control levels of bacteria in drinking water; however, viable bacteria may remain due to chlorine resistance. What is concerning is that surviving bacteria, due to co-selection factors, may also have increased resistance to common antibiotics. This would pose a public health risk as it could link resistant bacteria in the natural environment to human population.

Compost and Legionella longbeachae: an emerging infection?

Human disease caused by Legionella species is dominated by Legionella pneumophila, the main causative agent in cases of Legionnaires' disease. However, other species are known to cause infection, for example, Legionella longbeachae causes an equivalent number of cases of disease as L. pneumophila in Australia and New Zealand.

Knowledge, awareness and practice of the importance of hand-washing amongst children attending state run primary schools in rural Malawi.

A study was undertaken to determine the efficacy of hygiene practices in 2 primary schools in Malawi. The study determined: (1) presence of Escherichia coli on the hands of 126 primary school pupils, (2) knowledge, awareness and hygiene practices amongst pupils and teachers and (3) the school environment through observation. Pupil appreciation of hygiene issues was reasonable; however, the high percentage presence of E.

Salicylate inhibition of acanthamoebal attachment to contact lenses.

Purpose: Sodium salicylate has shown potential as a component of contact lens care solutions designed to reduce Acanthamoebal attachment to contact lenses. This study determined the minimum effective concentration required to significantly reduce amoebal attachment.

Methods: Different concentrations of sodium salicylate (10, 15, and 20 mM) were applied during exposure of unworn or bacterial biofilm-coated hydrogel contact lenses to Acanthamoeba castellanii trophozoites.

Effects of organic nutrients and growth factors on biostimulation of tributyltin removal by sediment microorganisms and Enterobacter cloacae.

Natural attenuation can reduce contamination of tributyltin (TBT), but persistence of the xenobiotic can cause long-term issues in the environment. Biostimulation is used to accelerate biodegradation. This study investigated the ability of individual organic nutrients and growth factors to enhance TBT biodegradation by sediment microorganisms (SED) and Enterobacter cloacae strain TISTR1971 (B3).

The effect of surface treatment of silicone hydrogel contact lenses on the attachment of Acanthamoeba castellanii trophozoites.

Objective: To determine if plasma surface treatment of Focus Night & Day silicone hydrogel contact lenses affects the attachment of Acanthamoeba.

Methods: Unworn lotrafilcon A contact lenses with (Focus Night & Day) and without surface treatment and Acuvue, conventional hydrogel lenses, were quartered before 90-min incubation with Acanthamoeba castellanii trophozoites. After incubation and rinsing, the trophozoites attached to one surface of each quarter were counted by direct light microscopy.

Attachment of Acanthamoeba to first- and second-generation silicone hydrogel contact lenses.

Purpose: To investigate the attachment of Acanthamoeba to first- and second-generation silicone hydrogel contact lenses, and to determine if patient wear or the presence of a bacterial biofilm coating affects attachment characteristics.

Design: Experimental study.

Participants And Controls: Attachment to the silicone hydrogel lenses was compared with that to a conventional hydrogel control lens.

Molecular and physiological evaluation of subtropical environmental isolates of Acanthamoeba spp., causal agent of Acanthamoeba keratitis.

Previous molecular examination of Acanthamoeba spp. has resulted in the determination of distinct genotypes in this genus (designated T1-T12, T14). Genotype T4 has been responsible for the majority of cases of Acanthamoeba keratitis.

Determination of amoebicidal activities of multipurpose contact lens solutions by using a most probable number enumeration technique.

Six multipurpose contact lens solutions [All-in-One, All-in-One (Light), ReNu MultiPlus, Optifree Express, Complete, and Solo-care soft] were tested for their efficacies against Acanthamoeba castellanii trophozoites and cysts by using a most probable number (MPN) technique for amoebic enumeration. Against trophozoites, All-in-One, ReNu Multiplus, and Optifree Express achieved total kill (log reduction of >3) after the manufacturer's minimum recommended disinfection time (MMRDT), with the remaining solutions failing to reach a log reduction of 1. After 24 h of exposure, all solutions proved trophozoiticidal, achieving, with the exception of Complete (log reduction of 3.

Surface treatment or material characteristic: the reason for the high level of Acanthamoeba attachment to silicone hydrogel contact lenses.

Purpose: To determine the reason for the high level of attachment of Acanthamebic to silicone hydrogel (SH) contact lenses. The effect surface treatment has on attachment is determined using silicone elastomer (SE) lenses.

Methods: All test lenses were unworn.

Enhanced attachment of acanthamoeba to extended-wear silicone hydrogel contact lenses: a new risk factor for infection?

Purpose: To establish if silicone hydrogel (S-H) contact lenses could be a risk factor for Acanthamoeba infection by facilitating the attachment of trophozoites to their surface and transfer to the cornea and to determine the effect Acanthamoeba culture technique, patient wear, and Pseudomonas biofilm coating have on attachment to the S-H lens.

Design: Experimental material study.

Participants And Controls: Attachment to a S-H lens was compared with that of a conventional hydrogel control lens.