Uninformed Origins: Should We Be Advising Parents on the Source of Medicines and Therapies?

Respecting patient autonomy through the process of soliciting informed consent is a cornerstone of clinical ethics. In pediatrics, until a child becomes an adult or legally emancipated, that ethical tenet takes the form of respect for parental decision-making authority. In instances of respecting religious beliefs, doing so is not always apparent and sometimes the challenge lies not only in the healthcare provider's familiarity of religious restrictions but also their knowledge of medical interventions themselves which might conflict with those restrictions.

Building resilience: a mental health intervention for Tanzanian youth living with HIV.

Despite a growing population of youth living with HIV, few interventions have been developed to address their unique mental health needs and to promote resilience. Based on our prior needs assessment, a mental health intervention, Sauti ya Vijana ( The Voice of Youth), was developed to address identified mental health needs and promote resilience. The intervention emphasized resilience strategies for identifying and coping with stressful events, supporting strong familial and social relationships, and planning for a safe and healthy living environment through stigma reduction, planning for disclosure, and instilling hope for the future.

Antiretroviral drug concentrations in hair are associated with virologic outcomes among young people living with HIV in Tanzania.

Objective: We assessed the relationship of self-reported adherence versus antiretroviral therapy (ART) concentrations in hair with virologic outcomes among young people living with HIV.

Design: This was a cross-sectional study that enrolled young people living with HIV age 11-24 years, who attended a youth HIV clinic in Moshi, Tanzania.

Methods: ART adherence was assessed by self-report, drug concentration in hair samples, and plasma HIV-1 RNA measurements.

Supporting and retaining Village Health Teams: an assessment of a community health worker program in two Ugandan districts.

Background: Uganda's national community health worker program involves volunteer Village Health Teams (VHTs) delivering basic health services and education. Evidence demonstrates their positive impact on health outcomes, particularly for Ugandans who would otherwise lack access to health services. Despite their impact, VHTs are not optimally supported and attrition is a growing problem.