Body size preferences and food choice among mothers and children in Malawi.

Overweight in mothers and children in sub-Saharan Africa is rapidly increasing and may be related to body size perceptions and preferences. We enrolled 268 mother-child (6-59 months) pairs in central Malawi; 71% of mothers and 56% of children were overweight/obese, and the remainder were normal weight. Interviewers used seven body silhouette drawings and a questionnaire with open- and closed-ended questions to measure mothers' perceptions of current, preferred and healthy maternal and child body sizes and their relation to food choices.

Levels of knowledge regarding malaria causes, symptoms, and prevention measures among Malawian women of reproductive age.

Background: Malawi is a malaria-endemic country and approximately 6 million cases are reported annually. Improving knowledge of malaria causes and symptoms, and the overall perception towards malaria and its preventive measures is vital for malaria control. The current study investigated the levels of knowledge of the causes, symptoms and prevention of malaria among Malawian women.

Knowledge, Attitude and Practice Toward COVID-19 Among the Public in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Saudi Arabia has taken unprecedented and stringent preventive and precautionary measures against COVID-19 to control its spread, safeguard citizens and ensure their well-being. Public adherence to preventive measures is influenced by their knowledge and attitude toward COVID-19. This study investigated the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of the Saudi public, toward COVID-19, during the pandemic.

Adolescents living with HIV, complex needs and resilience in Blantyre, Malawi.

Background: Adolescents living with HIV (ALHIV) in Malawi experience multiple challenges associated with their illness and various social, environmental, economic and cultural factors. In exploring their various medical concerns and social vulnerabilities, we consider the role of multiple services in creating a pathway for resilience.

Methods: Multiple methods and case studies allowed for triangulation of evidence and provided a holistic understanding of resilience among adolescents with complex needs.

A strategic approach to social accountability: Bwalo forums within the reproductive maternal and child health accountability ecosystem in Malawi.

Background: The majority of documented social accountability initiatives to date have been 'tactical' in nature, employing single-tool, mostly community-based approaches. This article provides lessons from a 'strategic', multi-tool, multi-level social accountability project: UNICEF's 'Social Accountability for Every Woman Every Child' intervention in Malawi.

Methods: The project targeted the national, district and community levels.

Arts-based approaches to promoting health in sub-Saharan Africa: a scoping review.

Introduction: Arts-based approaches to health promotion have been used widely across sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), particularly in public health responses to HIV/AIDS. Such approaches draw on deep-rooted historical traditions of indigenous groups in combination with imported traditions which emerged from colonial engagement. To date, no review has sought to map the locations, health issues, art forms and methods documented by researchers using arts-based approaches in SSA.

Evolutionary Genomics at the Human-Environment Interface in Africa.

We report on the first meeting of SMBE in Africa. SMBE Malawi was initiated to bring together African and international researchers who use genetics or genomics to study natural systems impacted by human activities. The goals of this conference were 1) to reach a world-class standard of science with a large number of contributions from Africa, 2) to initiate exchange between African and international researchers, and 3) to identify challenges and opportunities for evolutionary genomics research in Africa.

Preparation of Multi-Motive Grid Questionnaire for Social Networking Sites Use.

This study draws on previous studies to develop the Social Networking Sites Use Multi-Motive Grid Questionnaire (SNSU-MMG) and test its reliability and validity. The results show that social networking sites use motivation includes four factors: cognitive motivation, emotional motivation, leisure motivation and herding motivation. Confirmatory factor analysis, reliability and validity tests show that the questionnaire has good structural validity, internal consistency and split-half reliability.

Decomposition of Gender Differences in Body Mass Index in Saudi Arabia using Unconditional Quantile Regression: Analysis of National-Level Survey Data.

Understanding gender differences in body mass index (BMI) between males and females has been much debated and received considerable attention. This study aims to decompose gender differentials in the BMI of people of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The study decomposed the BMI gender gap into its associated factors across the entire BMI distribution by using counterfactual regression methods.

A Transdisciplinary Methodology for Introducing Solar Water Disinfection to Rural Communities in Malawi-Formative Research Findings.

Despite the increasing volume of evidence demonstrating the efficacy of solar water disinfection (SODIS) as a household water treatment technology, there still appear to be significant barriers to uptake in developing countries. The potential of SODIS is often treated with skepticism in terms of effective treatment, volume, and safety, and is dismissed in preference for more accepted technologies such as ceramic filters and dose chlorination. As part of WATERSPOUTT (EU H2020 688928), our study used a transdisciplinary methodology to cocreate an innovative SODIS system in rural Malawi.

Evaluation of mainstreaming youth-friendly health in private clinics in Malawi.

Background: High fertility rates and low modern contraceptive use put African youth and adolescents at high risk for health complications, including maternal mortality. Mainstreaming youth-friendly health services (YFHS) into existing services is one approach to improve access to reproductive health services for youth and adolescents. The objective of the evaluation was to assess the effects of a Population Services International (PSI)-sponsored YFHS training package on voluntary uptake of family planning among youth and perceptions of service quality by youth and trained healthcare providers in Malawi.

Does prolonged television viewing affect Body Mass Index? A case of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Background: The rising prevalence of overweight and obesity and their health implications is a major public health concern worldwide. This study set out to understand the relationship between the number of hours spent watching television and Body Mass Index (BMI) in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia using data from the Saudi Health Interview Survey.

Methods: The study employed both ordinary least squares and quantile regressions to estimate the mean and distributional association of prolonged television watching and BMI.

Estimated prevalence of disability and developmental delay among preschool children in rural Malawi: Findings from "Tikule Limodzi," a cross-sectional survey.

Background: Early childhood development (ECD) is a critical stage in children's lives, influencing future development and social integration. ECD research among children with disability and developmental delay in low- and middle-income countries is limited but crucial to inform planning and delivery of inclusive services. This study is the first to measure and compare the prevalence of disability and developmental delay among children attending preschool centres in rural Malawi.

Predictors of Utilisation of Skilled Maternal Healthcare in Lilongwe District, Malawi.

Background: Despite numerous efforts to improve maternal and child health in Malawi, maternal and newborn mortality rates remain very high, with the country having one of the highest maternal mortality ratios globally. The aim of this study was to identify which individual factors best predict utilisation of skilled maternal healthcare in a sample of women residing in Lilongwe district of Malawi. Identifying which of these factors play a significant role in determining utilisation of skilled maternal healthcare is required to inform policies and programming in the interest of achieving increased utilisation of skilled maternal healthcare in Malawi.

An evolution of socioeconomic related inequality in teenage pregnancy and childbearing in Malawi.

Background: Teenage pregnancies and childbearing are important health concerns in low-and middle-income countries (LMICs) including Malawi. Addressing these challenges requires, among other things, an understanding of the socioeconomic determinants of and contributors to the inequalities relating to these outcomes. This study investigated the trends of the inequalities and decomposed the underlying key socioeconomic factors which accounted for the inequalities in teenage pregnancy and childbearing in Malawi.

Effect of Metofluthrin-Impregnated Spatial Repellent Devices Combined with New Long-Lasting Insecticidal Nets (Olyset Plus) on Pyrethroid-Resistant Malaria Vectors and Malaria Prevalence: Field Trial in South-Eastern Malawi.

Long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs) experience some operational problems that reduce their effectiveness, such as limited spaces for hanging, biting of mosquitoes outdoors, a shift of key biting time from midnight to dawn or dusk, and development of pyrethroid resistance in mosquitoes. The concept of spatial repellency may be a countermeasure to overcome the above issues. The effect of the combined use of metofluthrin-impregnated spatial repellent devices (MSRDs) and LLINs (Olyset Plus) on malaria prevalence and vector mosquitoes were examined in malaria endemic villages in south-eastern Malawi.

Exploiting the emergent nature of mixed methods designs: insights from a mixed methods impact evaluation in Malawi.

The application of mixed methods in Health Policy and Systems Research (HPSR) has expanded remarkably. Nevertheless, a recent review has highlighted how many mixed methods studies do not conceptualize the quantitative and the qualitative component as part of a single research effort, failing to make use of integrated approaches to data collection and analysis. More specifically, current mixed methods studies rarely rely on emergent designs as a specific feature of this methodological approach.

A Community-Based Early Childhood Development Center Platform Promoting Diversified Diets and Food Production Increases the Mean Probability of Adequacy of Intake of Preschoolers in Malawi: A Cluster Randomized Trial.

Background: Young children in Malawi consume low-quality diets lacking micronutrients critical for their development.

Objective: To evaluate the impact of an agriculture and nutrition behavior change communication (BCC) intervention implemented through community-based childcare centers on the nutrient adequacy of diets of children living in food-insecure settings in Malawi.

Methods: A cluster randomized trial was undertaken in 60 community-based childcare centers, including 1248 children aged 3-6 y.

The Impact of Ghana's National Health Insurance on Psychological Distress.

Background: Poor mental health is among the growing number of noncommunicable diseases in low- and middle-income countries. Despite poor mental health accounting for an already considerable and growing burden of disease in many low- and middle-income countries, policy action to confront the challenge has been limited, at both international and national levels. Recently, several low- and middle-income countries have embarked on the journey toward universal health coverage by expanding their public health insurance provision, with the ultimate objective of improving population health, in addition to other health system objectives.

Validation of a digitally displayed photographic food portion-size estimation aid among women in urban and rural Malawi.

Objective: To validate digitally displayed photographic portion-size estimation aids (PSEA) against a weighed meal record and compare findings with an atlas of printed photographic PSEA and actual prepared-food PSEA in a low-income country.

Design: Participants served themselves water and five prepared foods, which were weighed separately before the meal and again after the meal to measure any leftovers. Participants returned the following day and completed a meal recall.

Socio-economic inequalities in diabetes prevalence in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Background: Rising prevalence of non-communicable diseases, including diabetes in the Middle East, is a major public health concern of the 21st century. However, there is a paucity of literature to understand and measure socio-economic inequalities in diabetes prevalence in this region, including the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA).

Methods: This study investigated socio-economic inequalities in diabetes prevalence in the KSA using data from the Saudi Arabia Health Interview Survey.

Socio-economic Inequality in Comprehensive Knowledge about HIV in Malawi.

Background: Having comprehensive knowledge about HIV is crucial in the fight against HIV and AIDS, and in achieving the global aspiration of ending AIDS as a public health threat by 2030. Low comprehensive knowledge about HIV can undercut efforts to halt the spread of the epidemic. It is important, however, to also determine if socioeconomic inequality is a factor in having a comprehensive knowledge about HIV in order to ensure that socioeconomic considerations are embedded in interventions.

Optimizing portion-size estimation aids: a formative evaluation in Malawi.

Objective: To investigate preferences for and ease-of-use perceptions of different aspects of printed and digitally displayed photographic portion-size estimation aids (PSEA) in a low-resource setting and to document accuracy of portion-size selections using PSEA with different visual characteristics.

Design: A convergent mixed-methods design and stepwise approach were used to assess characteristics of interest in isolation. Participants served themselves food and water, which were weighed before and after consumption to measure leftovers and quantity consumed.

An application of mixed-effect models to analyse contraceptive use in Malawian women.

In Malawi, the current approach to family planning using contraceptive methods is individualised, yet studies have shown that variability in contraceptive-use still remains after accounting for it at individual and household levels. Therefore, this study assessed variability at higher levels such as enumeration areas, districts and regions. Biasness of the estimates was addressed by the use of Bayesian approach.

Post-test adverse psychological effects and coping mechanisms amongst HIV self-tested individuals living in couples in urban Blantyre, Malawi.

Introduction: Mandatory face-to-face counselling is necessary during HIV testing but difficult to implement within the context of HIV self-testing. We investigated adverse psychological effects and coping mechanisms following HIV-positive and HIV-discordant test results amongst self-tested individuals living in couples in urban Blantyre, Malawi.

Methods: Qualitative data from 35 in-depth interviews with self-tested individuals living in couples for more than 3 months were collected and analysed using thematic content analysis.