Nurses' knowledge and skills in providing mental health care to people living with HIV/AIDS in Malawi.

Nurses are the majority of health-care professionals who frequently come in contact with people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA). However, most health workers such as nurses lack competence and confidence in dealing with the mental health problems (MHPs) of their clients in Malawi. The study aimed at exploring nurses' levels of knowledge and skills in providing mental health care to PLWHA.

Malawian fathers' views and experiences of attending the birth of their children: a qualitative study.

Background: Exploring the experiences and views of men who had attended the birth of their children is very vital, especially in a setting where traditionally only women accord women support during labour and childbirth. The insights drawn from the male partners' views and experiences could enhance the current woman-centred midwifery model that encompasses the needs of the baby, the woman's family and other people important to the woman, as defined and negotiated by the woman herself. This paper explored the views and experiences of men who attended the birth of their children from two private hospitals in an urban setting in southern Malawi.

Changes in clients' care ratings after HIV prevention training of hospital workers in Malawi.

Objective: To examine the changes in clients' health-care ratings before and after hospital workers received an HIV prevention intervention in Malawi, which increased the workers' personal and work-related HIV prevention knowledge, attitudes and preventive behaviors.

Design: Pre- and post-intervention client surveys.

Setting: A large urban referral hospital in Malawi.

Service providers' perception of the quality of emergency obsteric care provided and factors indentified which affect the provision of quality care.

Aim: The aim of the study was to investigate health workers' perception of the quality of, and factors which impact provision of quality emergency obstetric care.

Methods: This exploratory, descriptive qualitative study was conducted at Mwanza district hospital in Malawi. Qualitative data was obtained through 14 individual in-depth interviews with the health workers involved in the management of women who experienced major obstetric complications.

Question box: a tool for gathering information about HIV and AIDS.

Previous studies on knowledge of HIV transmission and prevention have used surveys. This study used the question box method to create a safe environment for collecting information on knowledge of HIV transmission and prevention. The aim was to encourage young people to ask questions about HIV, which they would otherwise not ask because of fear of being judged negatively, ridiculed, punished or stigmatized.

Childbirth information needs for first time Malawian mothers who attended antenatal clinics.

Unlabelled: Childbirth information received by mothers during antenatal period influences their satisfaction with the care during perinatal period. It is important for the midwives to know the type of information that satisfies their clients. This study found that the childbirth information that mothers received during antenatal period did not satisfy them.

HIV prevention awareness and practices among married couples in Malawi.

Unlabelled: In this study we explored the level of awareness and practice on HIV prevention among married couples from selected communities in Malawi.

Methods: We carried out the study from October to December, 2008 in four communities, two each from Chiradzulu and Chikhwawa districts of Malawi. We conducted face-to-face in-depth interviews with 30 couples in each district using a semi-structured interview guide.

Peer group intervention reduces personal HIV risk for Malawian health workers.

Purpose: To test a peer group intervention to address personal HIV prevention needs of rural health workers in Malawi.

Design: Using a quasi-experimental design, we compared district health workers in two districts of Malawi that were randomly assigned to either the intervention or delayed control condition. We used independent sample surveys at baseline, 15 months, and 30 months postintervention.

Improving universal precautions and client teaching for rural health workers: a peer-group intervention.

Health workers can contribute to HIV prevention by minimizing HIV transmission in health facilities and increasing client teaching. We offered a peer-group intervention for Malawian rural health workers to build their universal precautions and teaching skills. A quasi-experimental design using independent sample surveys and observations compared health workers in an intervention and delayed intervention control district at baseline and at 15 and 30 months post-intervention.

Impact of a peer-group intervention on occupation-related behaviors for urban hospital workers in Malawi.

Using a pre- and posttest design with no control group, the authors evaluated the impact of a peer-group intervention on work related knowledge and behavior for health workers at an urban hospital in Malawi. The authors surveyed unmatched random samples of health workers, observed workers on the job, and interviewed clients about hospital services at baseline and at 6 months after the intervention. Universal precautions knowledge, reported hand washing, and reported client teaching were significantly higher at the final evaluation.

Impacts of a peer-group intervention on HIV-related knowledge, attitudes, and personal behaviors for urban hospital workers in Malawi.

This report describes the effects of a peer-group intervention on Malawian urban hospital workers' HIV-related personal knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors. More than 850 clinical and nonclinical hospital workers received the intervention. Evaluation used independent surveys of a sample of workers at baseline (N = 366) and postintervention (N = 561).

HIV stigma and nurse job satisfaction in five African countries.

This study explored the demographic and social factors, including perceived HIV stigma, that influence job satisfaction in nurses from 5 African countries. A cross-sectional survey was conducted of nurses (n = 1,384) caring for patients living with HIV infection in Lesotho, Malawi, South Africa, Swaziland, and Tanzania. Total job satisfaction in this sample was lower than 2 comparable studies in South Africa and the United Kingdom.

Couple decision making and use of cultural scripts in Malawi.

Purpose: To examine the decision-making processes of husband and wife dyads in matrilineal and patrilineal marriage traditions of Malawi in the areas of money, food, pregnancy, contraception, and sexual relations.

Methods: Qualitative grounded theory using simultaneous interviews of 60 husbands and wives (30 couples). Data were analyzed according to the guidelines of simultaneous data collection and analysis.

Development and evaluation of a childbirth education programme for Malawian women.

Aim: This paper is a report of a study to develop and evaluate a childbirth educational programme for Malawian women.

Background: Providing parent education is integral to the midwife's role. Malawian midwives face a challenge in fulfilling this role, with no existing childbirth education programme to facilitate this process.

Research brief: community consultation to develop an acceptable and effective adolescent HIV prevention intervention.

HIV prevention for adolescents is urgently needed in Africa, but interventions have been slow to develop because of controversies about sex education. In this report the authors describe a four-step process used to develop a culturally and developmentally appropriate adolescent HIV prevention program for communities in rural Malawi. This is the final component of a 2-year ongoing adult HIV prevention program in Malawi.

Primigravidae's knowledge about obstetric complications in an urban health centre in Malawi.

Unlabelled: Pregnant women in Malawi receive information about pregnancy, labour and delivery during routine antenatal visits. This study aimed to explore knowledge of obstetric complications amongst primigravidae attending an urban health centre in Blantyre, Malawi. A descriptive study design was used.

Acceptability of male circumcision for prevention of HIV infection in Malawi.

Numerous epidemiological and biological studies report male circumcision (MC) to have a significant protective effect against HIV-1 acquisition. This study assesses the acceptability of MC in four districts in Malawi, a country with high HIV-1 prevalence and low prevalence of MC. Thirty-two focus group discussions were conducted with 159 men and 159 women ages 16-80 years.

The challenges facing nurse-midwives in working towards Safe Motherhood in Malawi.

A midwife is the only health worker most of the women of the childbearing group in Malawi will ever meet in their lifetime. A midwife plays an essential role in the promotion of health and provision of care to these women. It is therefore, very important that midwives be available for the well being of these women.

Shortfalls identified in the management of tuberculosis for Mozambican patients obtaining health care services in Malawi.

We report findings of a pilot qualitative study in which we aimed to determine management gaps among TB patients from Mozambique obtaining health care services in Malawi. The study was conducted between April and May 2002 involved twelve health workers and 4 Mozambican patients. Semi-structured questionnaires were used and responses were followed up with in-depth interviews.

The knowledge of obstetric complications among primigravidae in a rural health centre in the district of Blantyre, Malawi.

Unlabelled: An informed individual is better placed to make reasonable decisions. It is therefore of vital importance that women be knowledgeable about obstetric complications to enable them to respond appropriately to complications that may arise. This study aimed to explore primigravidae's knowledge of obstetric complications.

Risk factors for perinatal asphyxia at Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital, Malawi.

The aim of the study was to identify maternal risk factors for perinatal asphyxia in Malawi. Records of 100 mothers who delivered neonates with Apgar scores less than 6 at 5 minutes of birth during March to September 1998 were analyzed. The majority of the mothers were primigravidas (79%) and were within the normal childbearing ages of 20 to 34 years (61.

First-time mothers' satisfaction with labor and childbirth information received: a Malawian perspective.

Giving labor and childbirth information to first-time mothers is one of the challenges facing the nurse/midwifery profession in Malawi. There are many underlying health and socioeconomic problems facing the people of Malawi, particularly mothers in the child-bearing age. This study was carried out in Malawi to explore labor and childbirth information given to first-time mothers at hospitals and in their communities.