4,401 results match your criteria: "Sierra Leone; Cleveland Clinic[Affiliation]"
BMC Infect Dis
November 2024
REMS Consultancy Services, Takoradi, Sekondi-Takoradi, Ghana.
Background: Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are a significant public health concern worldwide. These infections can have severe consequences for women's health, including pelvic inflammatory disease, infertility, and increased risk of HIV acquisition. Understanding the prevalence and factors associated with STIs among women in Sierra Leone is crucial to developing effective prevention and treatment strategies.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSex Transm Dis
November 2024
Department of Defense HIV/AIDS Prevention Program, San Diego, California, USA.
BMJ Open
November 2024
Infectious Disease Epidemiology, Bernhard Nocht Institute of Tropical Medicine, Hamburg, Germany
Objectives: This study aims to identify the factors influencing vaccine hesitancy, willingness and its variation over time in order to inform more responsive strategies for increasing vaccination uptake. The specific objectives are: (1) to describe and compare levels of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among the general population in rural and urban settings in West Africa over time and (2) to identify factors associated with COVID-19 vaccination willingness and hesitancy among the general population across five West African countries over time.
Design: Following a baseline survey (Wave I), three serial cross-sectional surveys (Waves II-IV) were implemented.
Front Psychiatry
October 2024
Department of Gender Studies, University of Zambia, Lusaka, Zambia.
Background: This study explores the impact of community-based health literacy interventions on the health and mental well-being of disadvantaged young Africans in Zambia, Sierra Leone, Rwanda, and South Africa. The pandemic has exacerbated mental health problems amongst children and young people, underscoring the urgent need for equitable access to mental healthcare resources. Emphasizing the importance of equitable access to mental healthcare resources, the research addresses educational and income disparities in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), particularly amongst young Africans with disabilities or vulnerabilities.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPLoS One
November 2024
Department of Veterinary Public Health and Preventive Medicine, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria.
The West Africa One Health project is a multi-country project designed to utilise the One Health approach and deploy the Community Action Networks (CAN), a concept rooted in the principles of community-based participatory research, to improve knowledge of high-risk communities on zoonoses. The majority of emerging zoonoses occur at the human-wildlife interface, of which wildlife hunters and traders are critical stakeholders. We assessed the effectiveness of a CAN-based intervention involving the use of a video documentary and case studies as model tools in improving the knowledge of zoonoses among wildlife hunters and traders in Epe, an established hunting community in Lagos State, Nigeria.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPLOS Glob Public Health
November 2024
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America.
The 2013-2016 Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) epidemic in West Africa was the deadliest in history, with over 28,000 cases. Numerous physical and mental health symptoms have been reported in EVD survivors, although there is limited prior research on how the health of survivors compares to the general population. We conducted a survey of EVD survivors in Kenema District, Sierra Leone and a population-based sample of community members who lived in EVD-affected areas but were not diagnosed with EVD, and compared resulting data about self-reported symptoms, duration, and severity between EVD survivors and community members through multivariate regression models.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDigit Health
October 2024
Wits Cricket Research Hub for Science, Medicine and Rehabilitation, Department of Physiotherapy, School of Therapeutic Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.
Objective: To examine the way African health researchers share data. It summarized the types of data collected, the data sharing platforms, and how the geographical distribution of the African-based health researchers influenced data sharing practices. Ethical, legal, and social aspects were considered.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTrop Med Health
November 2024
REMS Consultancy Services, Takoradi, Sekondi-Takoradi, Ghana.
Epilepsy Res
December 2024
Cornwall Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, UK; Peninsula School of Medicine, University of Plymouth, UK. Electronic address:
Background: Adherence to anti-seizure medication (ASM) by people diagnosed with epilepsy in sub-Saharan Africa remains low. The factors for low adherence are not well understood. To improve adherence, it is important to understand the perceptions and views of healthcare professionals delivering epilepsy care to this population.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTrop Med Int Health
November 2024
Translational Research on HIV and Endemic and Emerging Infectious Diseases (TransVIHMI), University of Montpellier, National Institute for Health and Medical Research (INSERM), French National Research Institute for Sustainable Development (IRD), Montpellier, France.
Objectives: Chest x-ray (CXR) plays an important role in childhood tuberculosis (TB) diagnosis, but access to quality CXR remains a major challenge in resource-limited settings. Digital CXR (d-CXR) can solve some image quality issues and facilitate their transfer for quality control. We assess the implementation of introducing d-CXR in 12 district hospitals (DHs) in 2021-2022 across Cambodia, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Mozambique, Sierra Leone and Uganda as part of the TB-speed decentralisation study on childhood TB diagnosis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInt J Gynaecol Obstet
November 2024
CapaCare, Masanga Hospital, Tonkolili, Sierra Leone.
Cesarean section (CS) is a life-saving procedure when performed for the right indication but carries substantial risks, specifically during subsequent pregnancies. The aim of this study was to evaluate obstetric outcomes for women 5 years after a CS performed by medical doctors and associate clinicians. This was a prospective multi-center observational study of women who had a CS at any of nine hospitals in Sierra Leone.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBMC Health Serv Res
November 2024
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Seattle, USA.
Math Biosci
December 2024
School of Computer Science and Applied Mathematics, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa. Electronic address:
We construct a new metapopulation model for the transmission dynamics and control of the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) in an environment characterized by considerable migrations and travels of people. It is an extended SEIR model modified by the addition of Quarantine and Isolated compartments to account for travelers who undergo the exit screening. The model is well-fitted by using the reported cases from the neighboring countries Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone where the 2014-2016 Ebola outbreak simultaneously arose.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInt Ophthalmol Clin
October 2024
Department of Ophthalmology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC.
During the last decade, global health security has been threatened by major Ebola virus disease outbreaks in Western Africa (2014 to 2016) and in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (2018 to 2020). Particularly in Western Africa, the outbreak initially overwhelmed health care capacity in already fragile health systems. Thousands of survivors were at risk of newly recognized postacute ocular complications, and their need for urgent ophthalmic care challenged national vision health systems with scarce eye care services.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInt Ophthalmol Clin
October 2024
National Eye Programme, Ministry of Health and Sanitation, Freetown, Sierra Leone.
A range of challenges exists regarding vitreoretinal (VR) surgical services in resource-limited settings, including Sierra Leone. As a result, retinal pathologies may contribute to vision loss and blindness. In the wake of the 2013 to 2016 outbreak of Ebola virus disease in West Africa, gaps in ophthalmic care were underscored as survivors were experiencing a constellation of sequelae, including uveitis and VR disease.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBMJ Open
October 2024
Department of Public Health, College of Health Science, Woldia University, Woldia, Ethiopia.
Objective: To assess the socioeconomic inequality in postnatal care (PNC) utilisation and its contributors among women in 14 sub-Saharan African countries with high maternal mortality.
Design: Community-based cross-sectional study using Demographic Health Survey SETTING: Africa countries with the highest maternal mortality ratio (14 countries) PARTICIPANTS: All women who had given birth within 2 years prior to the survey (n=64 912) PRIMARY OUTCOMES: Postnatal care utilisation RESULTS: The percentage of women who had PNC utilisation was lowest in Ethiopia (23.4%: 95% CI: 22.
Pediatrics
November 2024
Harvard Center for Population and Development Studies, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Background: Diarrhea is a leading cause of death among children <5 years of age and can have long-term adverse consequences for human development. The World Health Organization has recommended the therapeutic use of zinc for the treatment of diarrhea, along with oral rehydration solutions, since 2004. We studied recent trends in the use of zinc to treat diarrhea in 23 low- and middle-income countries.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArch Public Health
October 2024
REMS Consultancy Services Limited, Sekondi-Takoradi, Western Region, Ghana.
Background: Antenatal care is vital for maternal health and wellbeing, with the World Health Organization recommending a minimum of eight visits during pregnancy. In this study, we examined the regional disparities and factors associated with eight or more antenatal care visits in Ghana.
Methods: We performed a cross-sectional analysis of data from the 2022 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey.
Reprod Health
October 2024
School of Population Health, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia.
Background: Early marriage, the formal or informal union before age 18, remains a critical challenge in several low-and middle-income countries. It has adverse health and education-related implications on child brides. This study examined the regional distribution of early marriage and its associated factors in Ghana.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFGlob Public Health
January 2024
Department of Global Health and Development, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK.
There is increased awareness of the gendered impacts of outbreaks, including an exacerbation of violence against women and disruptions to essential health service delivery for women. However, there is limited understanding of women's own experiences of deciding to use the health system after experiencing violence in settings affected by major emergent outbreaks like Ebola and COVID-19. Drawing on data from 37 in-depth interviews and 4 focus group discussions conducted in Sierra Leone we described survivors' help-seeking pathways and interactions with the health system.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBull World Health Organ
November 2024
Medical Devices and Diagnostics, World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland.
Problem: During the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, medical oxygen therapy was urgently needed for patients with hypoxaemia. Many low- and middle-income countries lacked the medical devices for oxygen therapy and experience in their use.
Approach: In addition to providing medical devices for oxygen therapy for countries in need, the World Health Organization (WHO) and partners developed training videos to help local health workers select, use and maintain this equipment.
Sci Total Environ
December 2024
Department of Water Resources Management and Agrometeorology, Federal University, PMB 373, Oye, Ekiti 371104, Nigeria.
Soil erosion is a critical environmental challenge with significant implications for agriculture, water quality, and ecosystem stability. Understanding its dynamics is essential for sustainable environmental management and societal welfare. Here, we analyze rainfall erosivity and erosion patterns across West Africa (WAF) during the historical (1982-2014), near future (2028-2060), and far future (2068-2100) periods under Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSPs 370 and 585).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAnimals (Basel)
October 2024
Universidad Tecnológica de la Tarahumara, Chihuahua 33180, Mexico.
Leg torsion and distal asymmetry (LTDA) among cows reared on intensive farms in the Comarca Lagunera region of northern Mexico may be indicative of underlying health concerns. To ascertain whether the incidence of LTDA is associated with trough measurements and with productive, reproductive, and disease variables, the prevalence of LTDA was determined in lactating dairy cows. The data were derived from two intensive dairy farms in northern Mexico (G60: 2043 cows in 13 pens with 142.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFContracept Reprod Med
October 2024
The George Institute for Global Health, Imperial College London, London, UK.
Background: Unmet need for birth spacing can significantly impact maternal and child health outcomes, leading to unintended or mistimed births, neonatal mortality, pregnancy loss, induced abortions, small-sized births, and malnutrition. Considering the role of women empowerment in women's sexual and reproductive health, we examined the association between the survey-based women's empowerment index (SWPER) and unmet need for spacing in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA).
Methods: We used data from the Demographic and Health Surveys of 21 in SSA conducted between 2015 and 2021.
Wellcome Open Res
September 2024
Faculty of Sciences and Health Technics, Gamal Abdel Nasser University of Conakry, Conakry, Guinea.
The Ebola Data Platform (EDP) was developed to strengthen knowledge and capacity across health, research, and humanitarian communities to reduce the impact of Ebola through responsible data use. This collaborative initiative was established by West African governments, NGOs, academic organisations, and intra-governmental health organisations directly involved in the 2013-2016 West African Ebola outbreak. The platform was established to provide a centralised, standardised dataset of individual patient data collected during the outbreak for the purpose of research to improve Ebola treatment and control, and includes over 13,600 patient records of individuals infected and treated from 22 different Ebola treatment centres across Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Nigeria.
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