Public Health Science

Background: In Ethiopia, intestinal parasitoses are among the ten top causes of morbidity, particularly in children. Different studies in the country reported a high prevalence rate of intestinal parasite in school children, but the epidemiological information in Azezo area is not yet available. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine the prevalence, intensity and associated risk factors of intestinal parasites among school children of Azezo. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted from March 10 to June 30, 2008, on 354 students selected from Atse Fasil General Elementary School in Azezo-Gondar town, northwest Ethiopia using stratified proportionate random sampling method. A stool sample was collected from each student for intestinal parasite examination using direct saline preparation, formol-ether concentration, and Kato-thick smear techniques. Data regarding socio-demographic, environmental and behavioral factors were collected using a pre-tested structured questionnaire; they were cleaned, entered and analyzed using SPSS version 16.0 soft ware. Results: Out of the 354 students examined, 258 (72.9%) were positive for one or more species of parasites. The prevalence rate was 78.9% for males and 68.6% for females. The most common parasites recovered were Schistosoma mansoni 154 (43.5%) followed by Ascaris lumbricoides 102(28.8%) and Trichuris trichiura 64(18.1%). Eleven students (3.1%) showed heavy parasitic infection. Sex, poor personal hygiene, lack of protective shoe, and frequent swimming habits showed statistically significant association with high rates of parasitic infections (P<0.05). Conclusion and recommendation: The high prevalence of intestinal parasitic infections among school children in the study area indicates the need for therapeutic intervention and health education.

Following fast increase in the incidence of type 2 diabetes among Iranians, diabetes self-care activities are important. This cross-sectional study was carried out to evaluate the knowledge, attitude and practices regarding diabetes among 100 Iranian type 2 diabetics (61 female, 39 male) aged between 37 to 66 years, attending the out-patient Diabetes Clinic at Golestan Hospital, Ahvaz, Iran. A face-to-face interview was done and a validated knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) questionnaire was used to determine knowledge, attitude and practices of diabetes patients. The mean duration of diabetes among patients was 4.05 ± 1.4 years. Fifty three percent of patients had good glycemic control (HbA1c level (=<7%)). The results showed that attitude related to diabetes was acceptable in the majority; while knowledge and self-care practices were insufficient. The overall mean (± SD) score of the knowledge, attitude and practice of patients based on KAP questionnaire was in medium level (17.37± 2.23) in which total maximum possible score was 29. KAP score was low for 9 % of patients. There was significant association between low level of education (primary) or not having formal education with poor KAP score about diabetes compare to higher level of education [illiterate: OR=2.6, 95% CI= (0.23-30.80), primary: OR=0.23, 95% CI= (0.43-1.27), P<0.05]. While there was no significant association between the KAP scores and HbA1c level. As the consequence of low awareness of diabetes among patients affects their ability of self-care management and lead to negative impact on outcome of diabetes. Patients need to be educated on how to prevent diabetes complications. Health care providers should promote self-care activities in the process of diabetes education.

Maleinvolvement in reproductive health has recently been promoted as a promising new strategy for improving maternal and child health. This is becausetheinvolvement of men in antenatal care can play a vital role in ensuring safe pregnancy, delivery and moral support to the women.However, little attention has been placed on male parnersinvolvement in maternity care in developing countries, including Ethiopia. Thus, the aim of this study was to assess male partners' involvement in maternal ANC care and identify its associated factors among pregnant women attending their ANC in Harari Regional State of Ethiopia. Institutional based cross-sectional study was conducted among 385 randomly selected ANC attendees in Harari public health institutions from February to May 2011.Data were collected using interview based questions; which was then entered into Epidata and analyzed using SPSS. Odds ratio with 95% confidence interval was calculated to assess factors associated with male accompany at p<0.05. The result showed that only 19.7% of the women were found to be accompanied by their spouse during their recent visit to ANC. Being a housewife (AOR=2.6, 95% CI; (1.2, 5.8)), rural residents (AOR=2.7, 95% CI; (1.2, 6.0)) and women unsupportive of male involvement in maternal care (AOR= 3.5, 95% CI; (1.2, 10)) were more likely associated with unaccompanying male partners. The major reasons reported by women for not being accompanied by their male partnerswere: a pretext that males being preoccupied with work, lack of awareness on the possible complication during pregnancy, misconception that the ANC is the concern of women's only, males' feeling shame to accompany them on visit and lack of responsibility. In general, the involvement of male partners in maternal ANC service was found to be low in the study area. Empowering women to have open discussion with their partners about maternal health issues and creating awareness in utilizing ANC could improve male involvement in ANC in the region.

Introduction: Gender based violence (GBV) is a common reproductive health problem especially in developing countries. It commonly occurs among women and young girls than men, and it has several sexual and reproductive health complications like STIs including HIV/AIDS, unwanted pregnancy, abortion and other complications. So, this research is done to assess the prevalence of GBV and associated factors among Menkorer high school female students in Debre Markos town, Ethiopia. Methodology: Institutional based cross sectional study was conducted among 140 female high school students of Debre Markos town. All randomly selected regular female students were included in the study. Self-administered questionnaire was used to collect the data. For data entry EpiData version 3.1 and for analysis SPSS version 22 software were used. Descriptive analysis was done to describe the frequency and percentage of dependent and independent variables. To identify possible factors associated with the dependent variable, bivariate and multivariate analysis were done. 95% confidence interval (CI) and p-value less than 5% were used to determine the association. Result: The prevalence of Gender based violence (physical or/and sexual violence) during the current academic year was 72 (57.3%), while life time prevalence of GBV was 67.7%. The prevalence of life time physical violence and physical violence during the current academic year was 82 (66.1%) and 68 (54.8%) respectively. Thirty (24.2%) have experience life time sexual violence. Factors associated with gender based violence were educational performance of good and above (AOR=0.09, 95%CI 0.009-0.88), and never drinking alcohol (AOR=0.38, 95%CI 0.15-0.93). Conclusion and Recommendation: This study found that gender based violence is still a common problem among high school female students. The prevalence of current and life time physical and sexual violence among female students was high. So, school and community based services like awareness creation for both male and female students on GBV and laws related with GBV should be strengthened.

Background: Though gender inequality is often cite as a barrier to improving maternal overall condition in developing countries, little attention has been given in understanding how a woman's position within their household may affect the living situation of them. Objective: The aim of this study was to assess household decision making status of women in Dabat destrict. Methods: A community based cross sectional study was conducted in April 2009 in Dabat, North West Ethiopia .The study was conducted in Dabat Rural Health Project (DRHP). A total of 948 currently married women were include in the study. Semi-structured questionnaire & focused group discussions (FGDs) were used to collect the data. It was entered in EPINFO version 2000 and analyzed using SPSS for Windows version 15.0. Result: With 100% response rate, 15.5% women involved in all areas of decision, and 5.9% were in any of it. Women education, annual household income and residence were also main determinants for women's position in household decision. Conclusion and Recommendation: Women's positions in the household were low in Dabat compared to EDHS 2005. Hence, empowering women through education and designing income generating activities may be helpful for improving women's household position.

Research evidence indicates that the household environment has significant implications for the health of the members of the household. The objective of this study was to assess selected sanitation and hygiene practices in relation to the prevalence of childhood diarrhoea in households with children under-five years from the Ghanaian setting. A systematic random sampling approach was used to select 378 households from two communities each in the urban and peri-urban areas of the Atwima Nwabiagya District of Ghana respectively. Structured questionnaires and observation schedules were used to collect quantitative data from mothers and analyzed using chi-square and odds ratios (OR). The study showed that private latrine possession was low (10%) and sanitation facilities used by households were largely unimproved (90%). Children who lived in households which had water closets (WCs) in their dwellings recorded the lowest diarrhoea prevalence rate (11.1%) whereas the highest rate was recorded in households where the WCs were located outside the dwelling. Childhood diarrhoea was most prevalent (36%) for children whose mothers reported that they did not wash their hands with water and soap after defecation. It is proposed that adequate sanitation and hygiene education be given to mothers of children under-five years in the district and further research carried into socio-demographic and behavioral determinants of childhood diarrhoea.

Introduction: Nurses routinely perform activities which are repetitive, labour intensive and involve direct contact with patients. Such activities have been shown to be risk factors for the development of work-related musculoskeletal disorders. The prevalence of these conditions amongst nurses in Zambia is not well established. The objectives of this study were to determine the prevalence of work-related musculoskeletal disorders within the last year among nurses at the University Teaching Hospital, in Lusaka, Zambia, and to establish the demographic characteristics and perceived job tasks associated with this outcome. Methods: Data were collected using a structured questionnaire in a cross sectional survey. Stata version 12.0 was used to analyze the data. Associations between factors and the presence of work-related musculoskeletal disorders were tested using a multivariate logistic regression model and reported using odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals. Results: The 12months period prevalence for work-related musculoskeletal disorders was 68.9% in 267 nurses who took part in the study (95% confidence interval 63.1-74.2). The ankles and feet were the most commonly affected body part 54.8% (n=101) followed by the low back 53.3% (n=98). Most respondents (44.7% n=93) had their first experience within five years of graduation. Decreased height, increased weight and years of professional experience, full time position, working in the same position for a long period and adjusting for bed height were among factors identified as associated with work-related musculoskeletal disorders. Conclusion: Work-related musculoskeletal disorders are common among nurses at the University Teaching Hospital. We recommend that education on prevention and coping strategies for work-related musculoskeletal disorders be introduced and encouraged to promote work efficiency and well-being.

This study was conducted in January 2013 to identify risk factors associated with diarrhea morbidity among children younger than 5 years in the Atwima Nwabiagya District, Ghana. A total of 378 households were drawn from four Atwima Nwabiagya District communities in the dry season using a systematic random sampling strategy. Quantitative data was collected from eligible households using interviewer-administered questionnaires and spot-checks. The relationships of socio-demographic, environmental, and behavioral factors with childhood diarrhea were assessed via logistic regression. The mother's age [adjusted odds ratio (aOR) = 3.52, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.11-11.16] and educational level (aOR = 4.77, 95% CI = 1.85-12.28) and frequent playing on the bare ground with soil by the index child (aOR = 3.14, 95% CI = 1.40-7.05) were significant risk factors of childhood diarrhea. Water storage outside of the dwelling was significantly associated with a lower risk of diarrhea (aOR = 0.42, 95% CI = 0.19-0.89). In the study communities, we recommend providing more education to mothers regarding environmentally-related disease transmission mechanisms, encouraging safe disposal of children's stools, discouraging children from playing with soil on bare floors, and promoting safe drinking water storage.

Background: Exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) is recommended the first six months after birth as one of cost effective interventions in saving children's lives. Objective: To determine the prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding and describe the common foods introduced to infants before 6months. Design: A prospective cohort study. Setting: Poor community of Moshi urban, Kilimanjaro region, Tanzania. Subjects: Women in their third trimester and were followed to 18 months after delivery. A questionnaire was used to collect information on maternal socio-demographics, delivery status and infant feeding practices at each visit. Maternal HIV status was checked at enrolment. Results: Out of 2231 women, with a live birth, 70% (1535) came back at least once after delivery and information on infant feeding were collected. 94% of the women were living below the poverty line. The prevalence of EBF at 1, 3 and up to 6 months was 48.8%, 22.0% and 0.2% respectively. Two percent of the infants were given semi-solids at 1 month, 35% at 3 months and 95% at 5 months. Water and cow's milk were the most common liquids introduced to infants by one month, while porridge, cow's milk and mtori were commonly introduced at 3 months. Conclusions: EBF up to 6 month is very rare in Kilimanjaro. There is an urgent need to strengthen community and health facility based EBF interventions so as to reach the 90% recommended coverage by the WHO. This will help in improving child survival and in attaining the Millennium Development Goal 4.

Pulmonary tuberculosis remains a major cause of morbidity and mortality in the world, including Indonesia. In South Kalimantan, an increasing incidence of tuberculosis up to the year 2010 which were taken using a smear-positive reached 3,237 cases, the largest was in Banjarmasin city which reached 642 cases and the detection rate still low, which is 52, 1%. To investigate the relationship among environmental risk factors of the house (residential density, the air temperature, humidity, ventilation, and natural lighting), smoking behavior and alcohol consumption among tuberculosis patients with the incidence of pulmonary tuberculosis in Banjarmasin city. This study was an analytic observational with case control study. The subjects were tuberculosis patients with smear-positive as a case group and smear-negative as a control group. Residential density, the air temperature, ventilation, natural lighting, smoking behavior and alcohol consumption significantly associated with the incidence of pulmonary tuberculosis in Banjarmasin city. While the humidity was not significantly associated. The most dominant risk factors in the incidence of pulmonary tuberculosis in Banjarmasin city were inappropriate of the air temperature in subjects with a history of household contact with tuberculosis patient, natural lighting, and house ventilation.

The method of storage is essential in maintaining water purity and safety for drinking purposes. This study assessed the effect of various storage containers on household drinking water quality in a resource-limited setting. A quasi-experimental design was adopted. Four communities using protected springs as household drinking water sources were purposively selected. Forty-four households were selected and randomly assigned to four treatment groups; namely Covered Buckets with Taps (CBT), Covered Buckets without Tap (CB), Covered Kegs with Taps (CKT) and Covered Kegs without Tap (CK). Physicochemical analysis and bacteriological analysis were carried out on the water samples before and after they were put in the containers. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 12. At baseline, mean pH values of water samples from the springs and RSC were 6.4±0.6 and 7.1±0.7 respectively which were above the recommended. Mean chloride concentration of springs (14.3±7.4mg/l) and RSC (19.3±10.0 mg/l) samples were below recommended. Mean Total Coliform Count (TCC) of the springs in the four communities was 18.0±4.0 and mean TCC of RSC was 12.7±4.9. Five percent of water samples from RSC had mean E.coli count of 100/100ml. The mean TCC after introducing CB, CBT, CK and CKT in all the communities were 10.0±4.0, 8.5±4.2, 6.9±2.8 and 7.3±3.7 respectively (p<0.05). The use of covered kegs without tap was best in reducing contaminants in drinking water. Education on appropriate household drinking water storage and handling practices is recommended.

ATM is used by millions of people in a day. It is meant to be a public utility device.Hence the microorganism’s plays a major role in accommodating the safer place, ATM.Hence to this account an elaborate survey was taken for complete assessment of microbiology in and around Madurai city. Swabs were collected from each ATM screen, buttons, floor, user’s hand, exposure of plates and also extended the work in relation with microorganisms prevalent in ladies toilet the samples collected from ATM were plated in nutrient agar plates. The results showed the presence of increased bacterial count subsequently, most pathogens on characterization extended revealed the genus of the particular organism E-coli, Pseudomonas, Staphylococcus aures, Klebsiella, Micrococcus, Salmonella, Serratia and fungal species included Aspergillus sp, Mucor sp and Fusarium. Antibiogram study of bacteria also provides us information about the antibiotic resistance pattern of the bacterial isolates. 

Malaria is widely spread and distributed in the tropical and subtropical regions of the world. Sudan is a sub-Saharan African country that is highly affected by malaria with 7.5 million cases and 35,000 deaths every year. The auto-regressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) model was used to predict the spread of malaria in the Sudan. The ARIMA model used malaria cases from 2006 to 2011 as a training set, and data from 2012 as a testing set, and created the best model fitted to forecast the malaria cases in Sudan for years 2013 and 2014. The ARIMAX model was carried out to examine the relationship between malaria cases and climate factors with diagnostics of previous malaria cases using the least Bayesian Information Criteria (BIC) values. The results indicated that there were four different models, the ARIMA model of the average for the overall states is (1,0,1)(0,1,1). The ARIMAX model showed that there is a significant variation between the states in Sudan.

Background: Unsafe abortion is a significant cause of maternal mortality and morbidity globally. In 2005, the Ethiopian penal code was amended to permit abortion under specific circumstances to minimize the problem. However, its practice is hampered by lack of awareness of the revised criminal code and access to the service. Methods: Institution based cross-sectional qualitative and quantitative study has been conducted to assess awareness and attitude of university and college female students&#39; to the law. A sample of 845 students from one university and three colleges of Arba Minch town were selected by multistage sampling method. Data entry, cleaning and coding were performed using SPSS version 16 and analyzed with the same soft ware. Associations between dependent and independent variables were tested using logistic regression. P-values &gt; 0.05 were considered to be statistically significant in all cases. Result: Twenty three (43%) among 54 pregnancies were reported as ende...

Correct and consistent condom use during sexual intercourse remains the most effective protection against sexual transmission of the human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immune deficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) for sexually active young adults, who are hardest hit by the HIV/AIDS pandemic. This study uses data from secondary school male students in Mbonge subdivision of rural Cameroon, to determine the most significant predictors of consistent condom use, using the main components of the Health Belief Model (HBM). A disproportional, stratified simple random sampling technique was used to obtain a representative sample of 210 male respondents. A cross-sectional correlational design was adopted, collecting data using a self-administered questionnaire. Data were analyzed using the statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) version 20 software program. Majority of the respondents, 65.8% reported having ever had sex, of whom only 30.5% reported using condoms consistently. Multinomial logistic regression analysis based on the HBM components showed that perceived susceptibility to HIV/AIDS (p=0.007; Pseudo R-square=0.223); perceived severity of HIV/AIDS (p=0.000; Pseudo R-square=0.382); perceived benefit of condom use (p=0.005; Pseudo R-square=0.144); perceived condom use self-efficacy (p=0.006; Pseudo R-square=0.223) and socio-demographic variables (p=0.012; Pseudo R-square=0.534), were the most significant predictors of consistent condom use at the level p<0.05. The findings suggest that AIDS education programs to increase condom use for males in rural Cameroon should emphasize these five components of the HBM concurrently. HIV/AIDS education messages that focus on barriers to condom use as a means of inducing and maintaining consistent condom use may be counterproductive.

Background: There is a serious dearth of literature, particularly on Zambia, on the influential role of food supplements on people&#39;s decision to take up an HIV test, start and adhere to AIDS treatment. Methods: Using data from a large ethnographic qualitative study in a resource poor rural setting in Zambia, this paper examines and documents the critical role of food supplements in influencing people to go for HIV testing, initiate treatment and stick to it. Results: Findings show that people who felt food insecure were reluctant to go for a test, thereby not accessing treatment and care services. The narratives revealed numerous aspects of food supplements, HIV testing, ART uptake and adherence, including desire to have access to food due to food insecurity, hoping and wishing to be found positive to access food, envying the HIV positive accessing food, desiring to have physical transformation and healthy-looking bodies enabled by increased access to food, reluctance and avoida...

It is possible to achieve the above development goals, if disposable income, especially of the poor, is increased. A joint research project in Bangladesh was initiated by BRAC and ICDDR,B to evaluate the extent to which socioeconomic development engineered through microcredit might enhance maternal and child health programs and to determine the impact of rural community development programs on community well-being. We conducted a systematic review on BRAC-ICDDR,B Joint Research Project Working Paper Series. The series contained 32 working papers out of which we only selected papers that examined or had references to maternal and child health (n=13). We developed a checklist based on the Transparent Report of Evaluations with Nonrandomized Designs (TREND) criteria. The BRAC papers show promising positive linkages between implementation of microcredit programs in rural areas and (1) increase in income, (2) increase in health status and (3) improvement in women's health. The assumption that increasing women's empowerment through income and education leads to improvements health and survival is referred a number of times in the BRAC studies, however, this assumption has not been tested in well controlled intervention studies and further independent research needs to be conducted in order to test the hypotheses set out by the BRAC papers. The data from BRAC is a unique opportunity to examine pre and post intervention of the impact of microcredit and such data sets can provides researchers with the prospect of conducting continuous rigorous research in the country.

Stigmatization of persons living with HIV (PLWH) did by health professionals including nurses. Stigma was a barrier of nurses to implement nursing care to PLWH patients. The purpose of this study was to make model of reducing stigma among nurses particularly in the hospital, district of Banyuwangi, Indonesia. Design used in this study was analytical observational. The population was all nurses who worked in 4 hospitals in Banyuwangi of Indonesia. Total sample recruited were 77 respondents. Data were collected by questionnaire and analyzed by using Smart PLS (Partial Least Squares). The result showed that stigma existed among nurses particularly on labelling and stereotyping to PLWH patient. Transcultural components had influence to nurses’ stigma on HIV and AIDS patients; there were jobs factor, facilities factor, values factor, and knowledge factor. Stigmatizing attitudes were found among nurses with quite satisfied. It can be concluded to reduce the stigma of nurses by intervening...

The sex ratio at birth (SR) is defined as the number of males per 100 females and is almost always around 106. John Graunt (1620Graunt ( -1674 was the first to compile data showing an excess of male births to female births and to note spatial and temporal variation in the SR. John Arbuthnot (1667-1735) demonstrated that the excess of males was statistically significant and asserted that the SR is uniform over time and space. Arbuthnot suggested that the regularity in the SR and the dominance of males over females must be an indication of divine providence. Nicholas Bernoulli's (1695-1726) counter-argument was that chance could give uniform dominance of males over females. Later, Daniel Bernoulli (1700-1782), Pierre Simon de Laplace (1749-1827) and Siméon-Denis Poisson (1781-1840) also contributed to this discussion. Attempts have been made to identify factors influencing the SR, but comparisons demand large data sets. Attempts to identify associations between SRs and stillbirth rates have failed to yield consistent results. A common pattern observed in different countries is that during the first half of the twentieth century the SR showed increasing trends, but during the second half the trend decreased. A common opinion is that secular increases are caused by improved socio-economic conditions. The recent downward trends have been attributed to new reproductive hazards. Factors that affect the SR within families remain poorly understood. Although they have an effect on family data, they have not been identified in large national birth registers.

Postpartum depression is a condition that may be experienced by women. If it is not addressed properly, it will have a negative impact. The research aimend to determine the correlation between parity and the early stage of the marriage with the incidence of postpartum depression. This research employedanalytic observational method with cross sectional approach. The population in this research was postpartum mothers in Maternal Hospital Leonisa. The result showed that there was a correlation between parity and the early stage of the marriage with the incidence of postpartum depression.

A cross sectional study was carried out to investigate the effects of mothers’ nutritional knowledge, health and nutritional factors and socio-economic parameters on school performance among class five students of University Laboratory School, Dhaka. All of the eighty students were selected for this study. This study found there is a strong relationship between mother’s knowledge score and school performance. It was found that mothers’ knowledge score was responsible for 91.1 percent change in school performance. The mean BMI of the mothers was 20.44. We found that the school performance measured by class roll number of the students is significantly related with mothers BMI. There was an imperfect negative association between socio-economic parameters and school performance. But the relationship between the school performances with socio-economic parameters was strongly significant. This study also observed the relationship between Individual Dietary Diversity Score (IDDS) of respon...

Low back pain (LBP) is a leading cause of disability with high economic and public health consequences. The study objective is to determine the association between sleeping habits and occurrence of lowback pain among craftsmen in Owerri. From April to May, 2012, a cross-sectional survey of randomly selected 500 craft workers was done. Data on sociodemographic characteristics and selected lifestyle were collected using an interviewer semi-structured questionnaire. Data analysis was done using descriptive, inferential statistics of chi square and multiple regressions. The findings of multiple regression analyses showed respondents who sleep on soft/saggy surface were almost 5 times more likely to develop LBP independently compared to those with relatively firm/hard surface (OR = 4.56; CI = 2.62 -7.94; p = 0.001). Craftsmen with unsteady sleeping posture were twice likely to develop LBP (OR=2.10, CI = 1.04 -4.25, p<0.001). Longitudinal study is warranted to further explore the relationship between sleep habits and lowback pain.

The infant feeding decision is complex and involves the influence of psychological, social, and economic factors, and health care system. This study aimed to determine the contribution of knowledge on breastfeeding among nonworking mothers. This was a cross-sectional study conducted in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. A total of 173 nonworking mothers with babies between 0-6 months who joined the mother support group (MSG) program participated in this study. The results showed that knowledge has significant influence on breastfeeding practice among the non working mothers (beta= .21, p= .01). MSG may be a suitable method to promote breastfeeding among Indonesian mothers.

Self-care, capability in performing certain activity in maintaining well-being in daily life, was regarded important especially among people with long-term condition such as diabetes. Locus of control and self-efficacy are among the self-agency factors that might influence how people engage with daily self-care activity in diabetes management. While, Javanese and Islamic values and norms are other parts of structure that support the effort. This study aimed to seek further into the experiences and perceptions among the Javanese Muslim on how they managed to do self-care in diabetes management. The study was done utilizing a mixed method approach with the usage of the Summary of Diabetes Self-care Activity (SDSCA) questionnaire to measure the level of self-care and followed by further interview to dig deeper into the perception and experiences and what are the opportunity or obstacle in performing daily self-care. A convenient sample of 100 participants has filled the questionnaires,...

Risk factors for the prediction of osteoporosis are an important and cost effective method since osteoporosis is a silent disease. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the associations between weight, body mass index (BMI), the Osteoporosis Self-Assessment Tool (OST), and bone mineral density (BMD) in postmenopausal women in India. In this cross sectional study, 90 postmenopausal women aged 45–85 years who had given consent participated and the study was conducted between April, 2012 and May, 2013. BMD was measured by ultrasound bone densitometry at calcaneal site. Linear regression multivariate models were used to examine the associations with weight, BMI, OST, and BMD. Body weight, BMI, and OST had almost similar overall performance in their ability to classify women with BMD T-score ≤−2.5. Regression results showed that the linear combination of three independent variables BMI, OST and body weight. BMI predicted 65.7% of the variance in BMD, R2 = .657, R2 adjusted = .609, (F=...

Research on biosecurity of poultry workers of Live Bird Market (LBM) in urban and rural areas related to highly pathogenic avian influenza (AI) was undertaken during March-June, 2014 at Keshabpur upazila (22°48´-22°57´N latitude and 89°06´-89°22´E longitude), Jessore, Bangladesh. A nonrandomized (purposive) sampling method was applied and a descriptive type of cross sectional study was performed among 72 workers, dividing them into two groups as 36 urban and 36 rural poultry workers of LBM through split-halves variation technique. They were interviewed confidentially in their work place using a structured pretested questionnaire. Among respondents 53%, 75%, 45%, 81%, and 56% of urban and 50%, 42%, 50%, 89%, and 36% of rural residence had attended up to primary school, knowledge about AI through media like TV and radio, used proper personal protective equipment as mask and gloves, washed their hands and equipment after finishing work and cleaned stalls/cages daily and mostly they used water as a cleaning material, respectively. In urban (14%) and rural (36%) workers used the same vehicle to transport poultry and humans. A combined effort is required to enhance knowledge and change behavior among those most at risk in low-income countries and precautions necessary to avoid spreading the virus among poultry and humans.

The native plants of East Borneo the Costus specious (Koening) J.E. Smith stem, Lagerstroema spesiosa Pers leaf, Cerbera mangans L leaf, Vitis trifolia L fruit., Scurrula atropurpurea (Blume) Danser root, Brucea javanica (L.) Merr. leaf, Lygodium microphyllum, Bidens Chinensis Willd., Sonneratia caseolaris L. peel, Sonneratia caseolaris L. stem is almost under-explored for their potensial benefits. They were extracted by the solvents of increasing polarity (n-hexane, ethyl acetate, and n-butanol) were tested for their free radical activity against DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl). The ethyl acetate extract of Costus spesiosus (Koening) J. E. Smith antioxidant were screnned concentration of 68 ppm, similarly athyl acetate extract of Vitis trivolia L., showed antioxidant activity at 64,30 ppm. As the ethyl acetate extract of Scurrulla atropurpurea (Blume), Brucea javanica (L.) Merr, Lygodium microphyllum and Sonneratia caseolaris L. stem, showed antioxidant activity at 273,52 ppm,...

Environment plays role as transmission media for various kinds of environmental based diseases such as Acute Respiratory Infection (ARI), Pulmonary Tuberculosis, Diarrhoea, Poliomyelitis, Measles, Hepatitis, Thypus and Herpes. This kind of disease stills a health problem for Indonesia. The mortality survey conducted in ten provinces by Sub-Directorate of ARI of the MoH of Indonesia in 2005 found that Pneumoniae as a type of ARI diseases was the greatest cause of death among infants (22.3 %) and under-five children (23.6 %), and based on Surkesnas report in 2010, the number of Thypus cases in Indonesia increased by 20.73 %. Meanwhile, among those diseases, Thypus, Hepatitis and Herpes can be transmitted by human urine, as well. On the other hand, urine can be processed becoming organic fertilizer because it consists of essential substances for plants growth, i.e. 80 % Nitrogen and Phospate and Potassium in the rest 20 %. 75-90 % of the Nitrogen is in form of Urea and only the small percentage of Ammonium and Creatinine. Meanwhile, 90-100 % of Phosphate and Sulphur are in dissolved inorganic form and can be directly absorbed by plants. The use of liquid organic fertilizer is able for improving soil fertility which is depraved due to the continuing use of chemical fertilizer. The aim of the research was to understand the influence of the use of urinoir model in various urine detention times, on the concentration of the yielded Nitrogen, Phospate and Potassium (K) by conducting an experiment which employed post-test design. The results showed that the various urinoir models (I, II dan III) had effect on the concentration of those three substances of the liquid fertilizer (p < 0,001), and Model I (i.e. 5 day detention time) is found as the most appropriate urinoir model in producing the N, P an K subtances in the fertilizer.

Difficulty falling asleep or insomnia is one of health problems in elderly. Age is one of the risk factor of insomnia. Tryptophan in brown rice can stimulate the formation of serotonin. Serotonin is a neurotransmitter that causes someone sleeps easily. This research used quasi-experimental design with pretest posttest without control group. Population in this research is 20 elderly persons in Budi Luhur Nursing House unit of Kasihan, Bantul. Result experiment shows that 7 elderly persons have improvement in difficulty falling asleep or insomnia. Improvement of insomnia degree in elderly may be caused by the tryptophan in brown rice. Elderly persons can consume brown rice as alternative food for improving insomnia.

This multicultural study aimed at examining moodchange of English, French and Chinese speaking immigrants in Ottawa and Gatineau, Canada, and identifying demographic factors that impact the change. 810 immigrants of English, French and Chinese speaking sub-groupswere recruited by purposive-sampling. Using self-reports, respondents answered questions regarding moodchange (moodstatus change and mood belief change) and demography in Multicultural Lifestyle Change Questionnaire of English, French or Chinese version. Data were analyzed statistically for the different immigrant subgroups. Immigrants of different gender, language and category subgroups exhibited different Mood Change Rates, Mood Improving Rates, Mood Declining Rates and MoodBelief Change Rates. There was no statistical difference between the ratesof immigrant subgroups.Mood Change (MoodStatus Change + MoodBelief Change) was correlated positively with Mother Tongue and negatively with Speaking Languages. MoodStatusChange was negatively correlated with Marital Status and Highest Level of Education. Mother Tongue, Speaking Languages and Highest Level of Education significantly impacted MoodChange (MoodStatus Change + MoodBelief Change).Marital Status and Highest Level of Education significantly influenced MoodStatus Change. Immigrants of different subgroups in Canada experienceddifferentmoodchanges.Marital Status and Highest Level of Educationweremain factors impactingMoodStatus Change. Mother Tongue and Speaking Languages wereprincipal factors influencingMoodBelief Change. Culture was an important factor contributingMoodChange. Acculturation could impact MoodStatus Change andMood Belief Change. Data of immigrant mood change can provide evidence for health policy-making and policy-revising in Canada.

Introduction: The use of monitoring and evaluation (M&E) data is recognized as a major factor in the improvement and strengthening of malaria control programmes. This study assesses the quality of M&E in malaria control, with special emphasis on use of M&E to detect and control stock-outs of drugs and other supplies. Methods:The study was undertaken in Anambra state, southeat Nigeria. Training on M&E was used to improve health workers practice on the use of M&E tools for malaria control. Data was collected from 210 health workers in the surveyed public health facilities using questionnaire to monitor and evaluate health workers knowledge and practice on the use of M&E tools as well as on control for tracking stock-outs. Data on Observations were also collected on the completeness of the facilities' store records, commodity tracking systems and completed M&E forms. Results: A total of 54(25.6%) of the respondents had attended a training on the use of M&E tools. Stock-out of malaria commodities was high, especially Artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT). It took a long time for stock-outs to be reported to a higher level and replenished. The main reason for stock-outs was ineffective communication. In most cases, there were no feedbacks of data transmitted from lower to higher levels of the M&E stratum. Conclusions: The quality of malaria M&E is still sub-optimal leading to stock-out of malaria control commodities. Adequate strategies should be designed by programme managers so as to enhance more effective M&E for improved malaria control.

The burden of HIV/AIDS high in sub-Saharan countries which constitutes two third of globe and is worst in Ethiopia. Therefore identifying determinants of consistent condom use in HIV patients who are on ART had paramount importance in the prevention and control of the diseases. A little is known about the practice of condom use among HIV positive patients. The aimed of this study was to assess knowledge, attitude and practice towards condom utilization among people living with HIV/AIDS enrolled on ART in Mokoni town. An institutional based cross sectional study was conducted among ART users in Mokoni health center from June-august 2013. Data on the study variables was gathered using semistructured questionnaire. After the subject was asked for their volunteer participation, then we collected data using interview. Descriptive statistics was used to determine the frequency and percentage of different variables. Data was presented in the form of tables and graphs. From the total study participants 177(56.73%) were females. Among 312 participants 35(11.22%) of them had knowledge about people on ARV can't transmit the HIV virus to un infected partners ,277(88.73%) knew even people taking ARV can transmit HIV to un infected partner .From the total 312 respondents 136(43.59%) had attitudes about people on ARV tend to engage in risky sexual practice ,176(56.41%) didn't believe people on ARV tend to engage in risky sexual practice. among the total respondents 121(38.78%) agreed that because of availability of ARV people could again engage in un protected sex, 64(20.51) agreed that it was safe to engage in unprotected sex with a person taking ARV. From 165 who were currently use Patterns of condom use among 165 who are using condom currently and 116(70.30%) were consistently used a condom. The majority of patients ART enrolled always use a condom during sexual intercourse. Significant numbers of the respondents were well confident about using condoms and attended session demonstrating about using condoms. Free and explicit discussion on safe sex and enhanced positive attitudes toward condom use should be encouraged.

National guidelines for coronary artery disease (CAD) risk reduction have focused on high-risk families, yet little is known about prevalence of risk factors in general population. To determine the magnitude of the problem relative to the general population, a community-based pilot study of the widely accepted CAD risk factors was carried out over the period of 12 months on a random sample of apparently healthy adults (n =880), aged 18 -60 years, living in Jeddah Governorate. Three hundred eighty eight (388) subjects (156 males and 232 females) residing in Jeddah town (urban group) and four hundred ninety two (492) subjects (264 males and 228 females) adjoining different rural centers in Jeddah Governorate (rural group) participated. The study was based on complete history taking, prevalence of family history of CAD, obesity, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and history of current cigarettes smoking. Body Mass Index (BMI) was significantly high in urban than rural men and in urban than rural women. Systolic hypertension was recorded in 30.8 % of urban men, 25.8 % of rural men, 24.6 % of rural women and 13.8 % of urban women. Total caloric intake per day was much increased in urban than rural women and in urban than rural men. Serum total cholesterol was significantly higher in urban men and women than in rural men and women respectively. Total cholesterol / HDL ratio showed insignificant difference in the studied groups. Serum Cu +2 and Mg +2 were significantly higher in urban than rural women. Serum Zn +2 and Zn +2 / Cu +2 ratios showed insignificant difference between the studied groups. Meanwhile, rural smokers showed significant increase in serum level of total cholesterol and Cu +2 with low Zn +2 levels. BMI correlated significantly with serum Mg +2 in urban women and serum Cu +2 in urban men. The prevalence risk factors for CAD were markedly raised in rural women and urban men, while rural men showed high prevalence of absence of risk factors. Prevalence of major risk factors increases in rural areas and may be due to dietary and life style changes. Serum trace elements like Cu +2 , Zn +2 and Mg +2 may predict coronary ischemia as they correlated significantly with BMI and total caloric daily intake which might be affected by current smoking. Further studies of CAD risk factors, their predictive capacity, heritability estimates, and the degree of which they are amenable to treatment are actually needed.

The United States (U.S.) currently ranks number one in the world in both the quantity of privately owned guns and the rate of private gun ownership. These privately owned firearms, which include rifles, shotguns and handguns, are predominantly owned by middle-aged, 35-54, white men, but the gaps have been steadily closing over the years, especially depending on the type of firearm, in all areas including gender, age, race, education level, political affiliation and geographic location. Gun violence is a leading cause of injury death in the U.S. In examining gun violence and potentially reducing its incidence, this article reviews gun ownership, access and utilization in the U.S., outcomes of gun violence, and the impact of community involvement in reducing gun violence. Specific areas of focus include the current state of background checks, with a focus on mental illness, and the role of medical professionals in guiding gun policy development. Gun violence continues to negatively impact the safety of individuals, families and communities. This article will emphasize the importance of social mobilization in enacting meaningful changes in gun policy and the development of relationships among healthcare professionals, social workers, and community members so as to further reduce and/or prevent gun violence.

Background: Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection affects nutrition through increases in resting energy expenditure, reduction in food intake, nutrient malabsorption and loss, and complex metabolic alterations that culminates in weight loss and wasting common in acquired immune deficiency syndrome. This study sought to assess body composition of adults living with HIV. Methods: This cross-sectional study involved 63 adults living with HIV in two cities in Ghana. Socio-demographic information was obtained with a questionnaire. Body composition was measured with the deuterium dilution method and with anthropometry. Data analysis was done by SPSS version 16.0. Descriptive statistics and frequencies and percentages were calculated. The independent sample t-test was used for comparisons between groups. Differences were considered significant at p < 0.05. Results: Median (interquartile range) body mass index was within normal for both males (20.6, [18.9, 21.6 kg/m 2 ]) and females (21.6; [19.8, 24.9 kg/m 2 ]). Underweight (7.9%) and overweight (19.0%) were however prevalent. Males have significantly higher median fat free mass than females (52.7 kg versus 40.1 kg; p<0.0001) kg whereas females have a significantly higher fat mass (27.5% versus 12.2%; p<0.0001), and high abdominal obesity (49.0%). Almost 21% and 8% of participants have depleted fat free mass and fat mass respectively. Conclusion: The study demonstrates some level of malnutrition among the study participants. This underscores the importance of monitoring body composition in people living with HIV. Measurements of waist and hip circumferences should form part of the assessment tools. This will help in identifying those on antiretroviral treatment that are at risk of developing abdominal obesity and thereby supporting the need for modifying treatment regimens when necessary. In addition, regular screening for hypertension, diabetes and other indicators of metabolic abnormalities is recommended.

Wellbeing is the ultimate goal for everyone, not only for adolescence. Present study explored the relationships between gratitude and forgiveness with happiness among college student. A total of 81 undergarduate psychology students were recruited in this study from a private university in Jogjakarta. 29.6% (24) of the sample were males and 70.4% (57) were females. Regression analysis was used to predict the relationship between all variables. Regression analysis predict relationship between gratitude and forgiveness with happiness, explaining 28.9% of the variance (Adjusted R 2 = 0.289).Gratitude give the biggest contribution to happiness (= .536 p= .000), but forgiveness has no significance relationship to happiness (= .078, p= .414). This result means that gratitude is an important factor contributes to happiness among undergraduate student in this sample.