Adherence to medication, dietary and physical activity recommendations: Findings from a multicenter cross-sectional study among adults with diabetes in rural South Africa.

Background: Diabetes is a complex health condition requiring medical therapy and lifestyle modifications to attain treatment targets. Previous studies have not fully explored factors associated with adherence to medication, diets and physical activity recommendations among individuals living with diabetes in rural South Africa. We examined the association between knowledge, health belief and adherence to medication, dietary, and physical activity recommendations and explored self-reported reasons for non-adherence.

Knowledge of diabetes and associated factors in rural Eastern Cape, South Africa: A cross sectional study.

Background: Diabetes management is complex and requires several lifestyle modifications and engagement in self-management behaviours to prevent complications and to improve health outcomes. Adequate disease knowledge is required in order to engage in appropriate self-management behaviours. Yet, patients' knowledge of diabetes and associated factors are scarcely investigated.

DREAMS impact on HIV status knowledge and sexual risk among cohorts of young women in Kenya and South Africa.

Objectives: We sought evidence of DREAMS' impact on uptake of services and sexual risk among adolescent-girls-and-young-women (AGYW).

Design: Cohorts of AGYW aged 13-22 years were randomly selected in 2017-2018 and followed-up to 2019; 1081 in Nairobi, Kenya;1171 in Gem, western Kenya;and 2184 in uMkhanyakude, South Africa.

Methods: Outcomes were knowledge of HIV status, condomless sex (past 12 months), lifetime partners, transactional sex (past 12 months), and awareness and use of condoms and pre-exposure-prophylaxis (PrEP).

Lower limb amputations among individuals living with diabetes mellitus in low- and middle-income countries: A systematic review protocol.

Background: The burden of diabetes mellitus (DM) and its associated complications continue to burgeon, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Lower limb amputation (LLA) is one of the most life-altering complications of DM, associated with significant morbidity, mortality and socio-economic impacts. High-income countries have reported a decreasing incidence of DM-associated LLA, but the situation in many LMICs is unknown.

Association between sexual violence and unintended pregnancy among adolescent girls and young women in South Africa.

Background: Unintended pregnancy has dire consequences on the health and socioeconomic wellbeing of adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) (aged 15-24 years). While most studies tend to focus on lack of access to contraceptive information and services, and poverty as the main contributing factor to early-unintended pregnancies, the influence of sexual violence has received limited attention. Understanding the link between sexual violence and unintended pregnancy is critical towards developing a multifaceted intervention to reduce unintended pregnancies among AGYW in South Africa, a country with high teenage pregnancy rate.

Awareness and uptake of layered HIV prevention programming for young women: analysis of population-based surveys in three DREAMS settings in Kenya and South Africa.

Background: The DREAMS Partnership is an ambitious effort to deliver combinations of biomedical, behavioural and structural interventions to reduce HIV incidence among adolescent girls and young women (AGYW). To inform multi-sectoral programming at scale, across diverse settings in Kenya and South Africa, we identified who the programme is reaching, with which interventions and in what combinations.

Methods: Randomly-selected cohorts of 606 AGYW aged 10-14 years and 1081 aged 15-22 years in Nairobi and 2184 AGYW aged 13-22 years in uMkhanyakude, KwaZulu-Natal, were enrolled in 2017, after ~ 1 year of DREAMS implementation.

Ethical, legal and societal considerations on Zika virus epidemics complications in scaling-up prevention and control strategies.

Much of the fear and uncertainty around Zika epidemics stem from potential association between Zika virus (ZIKV) complications on infected pregnant women and risk of their babies being born with microcephaly and other neurological abnormalities. However, much remains unknown about its mode of transmission, diagnosis and long-term pathogenesis. Worries of these unknowns necessitate the need for effective and efficient psychosocial programs and medical-legal strategies to alleviate and mitigate ZIKV related burdens.

National mortality burden due to communicable, non-communicable, and other diseases in Ethiopia, 1990-2015: findings from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2015.

Background: Ethiopia lacks a complete vital registration system that would assist in measuring disease burden and risk factors. We used the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study 2015 (GBD 2015) estimates to describe the mortality burden from communicable, non-communicable, and other diseases in Ethiopia over the last 25 years.

Methods: GBD 2015 mainly used cause of death ensemble modeling to measure causes of death by age, sex, and year for 195 countries.

National disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) for 257 diseases and injuries in Ethiopia, 1990-2015: findings from the global burden of disease study 2015.

Background: Disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) provide a summary measure of health and can be a critical input to guide health systems, investments, and priority-setting in Ethiopia. We aimed to determine the leading causes of premature mortality and disability using DALYs and describe the relative burden of disease and injuries in Ethiopia.

Methods: We used results from the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study 2015 (GBD 2015) for non-fatal disease burden, cause-specific mortality, and all-cause mortality to derive age-standardized DALYs by sex for Ethiopia for each year.

Can free open access resources strengthen knowledge-based emerging public health priorities, policies and programs in Africa?

Tackling emerging epidemics and infectious diseases burden in Africa requires increasing unrestricted open access and free use or reuse of regional and global policies reforms as well as timely communication capabilities and strategies. Promoting, scaling up data and information sharing between African researchers and international partners are of vital importance in accelerating open access at no cost. Free Open Access (FOA) health data and information acceptability, uptake tactics and sustainable mechanisms are urgently needed.