Herbal medicine use during pregnancy and childbirth: perceptions of women living in Lilongwe rural, Malawi - a qualitative study.

Background: Globally, use of herbal medicine during pregnancy and labour is often associated with adverse obstetric outcomes such as uterine rupture and fetal distress. However, in rural Malawi, information on the perceptions of women about the use of herbal medicine during pregnancy and labour is underreported despite the practice. Understanding women's views and perceptions on use of herbal medicine during pregnancy and labour is therefore critical for understanding the basis of their practice and for setting up maternal and neonatal health care interventions to alleviate any possible pregnancy and labour complications.

Experiences of emotional abuse among women living with HIV and AIDS in Malawi.

Our aim for this study was to describe emotional abuse as it is experienced by women living with HIV and AIDS in Malawi. The study was conducted in the Lilongwe district in Malawi and used a descriptive phenomenological approach. Twelve women from two public health care clinics under the Lilongwe District Health Office were interviewed.

Using an innovative mixed method methodology to investigate the appropriateness of a quantitative instrument in an African context: Antiretroviral treatment and quality of life.

The relationship between quality of life (QoL) and antiretroviral treatment (ART) has mainly been studied using quantitative scales often not appropriate for use in other contexts and without taking peoples' lived experiences into consideration. Sub-Saharan Africa has the highest incidence of HIV and AIDS yet there is paucity in research done on QoL. This research report is intended to give an account of the use of a mixed method convergent parallel design as a novice approach to evaluate an instrument's context specificity, appropriateness and usefulness in another context for which it was designed.