Health-Related Quality of Life of Adolescent and Young Adult-Aged Childhood Cancer Survivors in a South African Cohort: A Pilot Study Using the Minneapolis-Manchester Quality of Life Instrument.

We investigated the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of an adolescent and young adult (AYA)-aged South African childhood cancer survivor (CCS) cohort. Participants completed the Minneapolis-Manchester Quality of Life adolescent and adult forms. The overall Cronbach's alpha coefficients were 0.

A formative cross-sectional study to assess caregiver's health-seeking behaviour and knowledge surrounding malaria, and understand the burden of malaria among children under-five in conflict-affected communities of Cameroon.

Background: Malaria remains a major global health problem often worsened by political instability and armed conflict. The purpose of the study was to explore community knowledge, attitudes and practices on malaria prevention, and to understand the burden of malaria and health-seeking behaviours of caregivers of children under-five in conflict-affected communities of the South West and Littoral Regions of Cameroon.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey involving internally displaced persons (IDPS), host population, and their children under-five was conducted across 80 communities.

Interprofessional education in antimicrobial stewardship, a collaborative effort.

Introduction: Antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) education and interprofessional collaboration are integral to the success of a stewardship programme. An interactive interprofessional AMS workshop, designed to encourage workplace interprofessional collaboration was piloted in a tertiary hospital.

Objectives: To obtain feedback to determine the suitability and sustainability of the AMS workshop.

Variables included in cerebral palsy registries globally: A scoping review.

Aim: To identify cerebral palsy (CP) variables collected in CP registries from high-income countries (HICs) and low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) to assist with the development of a regional CP registry relevant to the African region.

Method: A systematic search of online databases to identify peer-reviewed publications and grey literature about CP risk-factor variables, using Ovid MEDLINE, Embase Ovid, CINAHL, and Google Scholar.

Results: A total of 197 studies published from global CP registries between 1990 and 2023 were identified.

The development of a nurse-led preoperative anaesthesia screening tool by Delphi consensus.

Background: Low- and middle-income countries have a critical shortage of specialist anaesthetists. Most patients arriving for surgery are of low perioperative risk. Without immediate access to preoperative specialist care, an appropriate interim strategy may be to ensure that only high-risk patients are seen preoperatively by a specialist.

Preventing maternal morbidity and mortality from preeclampsia and eclampsia particularly in low- and middle-income countries.

Preeclampsia (PE) is a complex heterogeneous disorder with overlapping clinical phenotypes that complicate diagnosis and management. Although several pathophysiological mechanisms have been proposed, placental dysfunction due to inadequate remodelling of uterine spiral arteries leading to mal-perfusion and syncytiotrophoblast stress is recognized as the unifying characteristic of early-onset PE. Placental overgrowth and or premature senescence are probably the causes of late-onset PE.

Clearance of persistent SARS-CoV-2 associates with increased neutralizing antibodies in advanced HIV disease post-ART initiation.

SARS-CoV-2 clearance requires adaptive immunity but the contribution of neutralizing antibodies and T cells in different immune states is unclear. Here we ask which adaptive immune responses associate with clearance of long-term SARS-CoV-2 infection in HIV-mediated immunosuppression after suppressive antiretroviral therapy (ART) initiation. We assembled a cohort of SARS-CoV-2 infected people in South Africa (n = 994) including participants with advanced HIV disease characterized by immunosuppression due to T cell depletion.

Making every baby count - An urgent reproductive health priority as sub-Saharan Africa continues to witness a high incidence of stillbirths.

The expected culmination of a positive pregnancy experience is a healthy mother and a bouncing live baby. Unfortunately, globally an estimated 2 million babies are still born every year, with the largest incidence of stillbirths of about 50% of the global burden occurring in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Significant gaps in access to quality antenatal care (ANC) and labour and delivery remain in SSA.

Experiences and perceptions of urine sampling for tuberculosis testing among HIV patients: a multisite qualitative descriptive study.

Objectives: Evidence on the acceptability of urine-based assays for tuberculosis (TB) diagnosis among patients remains limited. We sought to describe patients' experiences and perceptions of urine sampling for TB testing at point of care.

Setting: Study sites in Kenya, Uganda, Mozambique and South Africa.

The impact of early life stress and schizophrenia on motor and cognitive functioning: an experimental study.

Background: Early life stress (ELS) and parental psychopathology, such as schizophrenia (SZ), have been associated with altered neurobiological and behavioral outcomes later in life. Previous studies have investigated the effects of ELS and parental SZ on various aspects of behavior, however, we have studied the combined effects of these stressors and how they interact, as individuals in real-life situations may experience multiple stressors simultaneously.

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of ELS and schizophrenia on locomotor activity, anxiety-like behavior, exploratory tendencies, and spatial memory in Sprague Dawley (SD) rats.

Copeptin analysis in endocrine disorders.

Copeptin is cleaved from the same precursor as arginine vasopressin and is released in equimolar amounts with arginine vasopressin from the posterior pituitary in response to the same stimuli. Its level of stability in the blood, quick and simple analysis, and ease of automation make it much easier to analyze than arginine vasopressin, thereby offering a suitable alternative to measuring arginine vasopressin in endocrine disorders. Research has demonstrated the suitability of copeptin in adults for the differentiation of arginine vasopressin resistance and arginine vasopressin deficiency from primary polydipsia, in addition to the early identification of arginine vasopressin deficiency following pituitary surgery; however, further research is still required in the Syndrome of Inappropriate Antidiuretic Hormone (SIADH) and the pediatric population.

The HIV/AIDS responses pre and during the COVID-19 pandemic in sub-Saharan Africa: A basis for sustainable health system strengthening post-COVID-19.

In May 2023, the World Health Organization announced that COVID-19 was no longer a global emergency. The impact of COVID-19 on the provision of HIV/AIDS services was not that severe due to the reprogramming of key resources. For health systems in sub-Saharan Africa to become resilient to future pandemics, lessons should be learned from the successful HIV/AIDS response in the region, and how the HIV/AIDS services were successfully adapted to the COVID-19 pandemic.

FGFR2 genetic variants in women with breast cancer.

Black African populations are more genetically diverse than others, but genetic variants have been studied primarily in European populations. The present study examined the association of four single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of the fibroblast growth factor receptor 2, associated with breast cancer in non‑African populations, with breast cancer in Black, southern African women. Genomic DNA was extracted from whole blood samples of 1,001 patients with breast cancer and 1,006 controls (without breast cancer), and the rs2981582, rs35054928, rs2981578, and rs11200014 polymorphisms were analyzed using allele‑specific Kompetitive allele‑specific PCR™, and the χ or Fisher's exact tests were used to compare the genotype frequencies.

Prevention of surgical site infection and sepsis in pregnant obese women.

Obesity is a major determinant of health outcomes and is on the increase in women worldwide. It predisposes to surgical site infection (SSI). Risk factors for the SSI include extremes of age, smoking, comorbidities such as hypertension and diabetes, inappropriate vertical abdominal and or uterine wall incisions, increased operating time, subcutaneous layer of 3 cm or more, and unnecessary use of subcutaneous drain.

Impact of family networks on uptake of health interventions: evidence from a community-randomized control trial aimed at increasing HIV testing in South Africa.

Introduction: While it is widely acknowledged that family relationships can influence health outcomes, their impact on the uptake of individual health interventions is unclear. In this study, we quantified how the efficacy of a randomized health intervention is shaped by its pattern of distribution in the family network.

Methods: The "Home-Based Intervention to Test and Start" (HITS) was a 2×2 factorial community-randomized controlled trial in Umkhanyakude, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, embedded in the Africa Health Research Institute's population-based demographic and HIV surveillance platform (ClinicalTrials.

Inequality in health care services in urban and rural settings in South Africa.

In low- and middle-income countries, urban and rural settings are distinct communities with the latter being more likely to have limited resources, particularly in health care services. We assessed the inequality in health care services in urban and rural settings in South Africa, highlighting the disparities between public and private health services, given that the latter are located mainly in urban settings. Rural settings suffer the highest inequality in the availability of drugs and supplies, overcrowding of health care facilities, delays in transporting patients, inadequate emergency medical services, and lack of experienced health care professionals.

Access to novel anti-diabetic agents in resource limited settings: A brief commentary.

The prevalence of diabetes mellitus is increasing in resource limited settings. Simultaneously, there has been an increase in the number of novel therapies for the management of diabetes mellitus. However, use of novel antidiabetic therapies is limited because of major market access challenges in resource limited settings.

How should we do equity, diversity and inclusion work in health professions education?

This is an editorial for the special collection on equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) for MedEdPublish. In this article, the guest advisors of this collection first reflect on the paradoxes in EDI in health professions education (HPE), then on the importance of recognising the existence of multiple authenticities on the basis of different contexts and settings, and finally encourage authors and readers to reflect on their position on the continuum of EDI work. They conclude the editorial by outlining the direction they wish to set for articles in the collection.

morphea: an uncommon condition in Africa.

The term morphea refers to a lesion of linear morphea typically located in the frontoparietal scalp and/or the paramedian forehead, often resembling a strike with a sword. In literature, morphea, and scleroderma are terms used interchangeably and synonymously. Due to the rarity of this condition, treatment is largely based on case report series, leaving much room for speculation in terms of drugs of choice, duration of treatment, and dosages.