scholarly journals Reasons Women Request for Termination of Pregnancy at a Rural Hospital in Zambia; A Cross Sectional Study at Mansa General Hospital, Mansa District, Zambia

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 92-100
Author(s):  
Aubrey Shanzi ◽  
◽  
Brian Chiluba ◽  
Mabvuto Zulu ◽  
◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
General Hospital ◽  
Tertiary Education ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Termination Of Pregnancy ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Sectional Study ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Substantial Risk ◽  
Sub Saharan

Background: Globally, it is estimated that unsafe abortions contribute to 8% of maternal deaths. Sub-Saharan Africa has the highest regional estimate of abortion related mortality at 90 per 100, 000 live births. In Zambia the reasons for the termination of pregnancy is enshrined in the Termination of Pregnancy Act of 1972 which states that an abortion may legally take place if the continuation of the pregnancy involves a risk to the pregnant woman's life, physical or mental health; a risk to the physical or mental health of any existing children; or if there is a substantial risk that the child will be born with birth abnormalities. The Termination of Pregnancy Act further specifies that the pregnant woman's actual or reasonably foreseeable environment may be considered. In this study, we set out to assess the reasons women give when requesting for a termination of pregnancy at Mansa General Hospital of Luapula province of Zambia.Methods: We carried out a descriptive cross-sectional study of 66 women’s medical records who requested termination of pregnancy in 2018 January and 2019 December. The records were retrieved from Mansa General Hospital in Luapula province, Zambia. The case notes and consent forms were used to determine the characteristics and the reasons women requested a termination of pregnancy.Results: Out of the 66 retrieved records of women who requested a termination of pregnancy from the registry of the hospital, 58 had their request of a termination of pregnancy successfully done and 8 never went further to terminate their pregnancy while 1 of the 66 records had the information missing on whether their request was met or not for a termination of pregnancy.Mean age was 25 (SD 7.3) with a minimum of 13 and maximum of 44. Average gestation age was 7.5 weeks (SD 2.8). Fifty percent (50%) of women had one living child and 32.7% were married. Forty one percent (41%) were in their first pregnancy. Sixty eight percent (68.2%) of patients had secondary education whereas 27.3% had a tertiary education. Median parity was 2. The commonest reason for termination was the need to advance in education (27.5%). The second was poor economic home situation (20.3%). The third was medical reasons(13.0%).Conclusion: Based on the results of the study, the authors suggest strategies to increase knowledge of abortion rights and services and to improve the quality and accessibility of abortion services in Zambia

scholarly journals Knowledge about Neonatal Danger Signs and Associated Factors among Mothers Attending Immunization Clinic at Arba Minch General Hospital, Southern Ethiopia: A Cross-Sectional Study

2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nega Degefa ◽  
Ketema Diriba ◽  
Tekeste Girma ◽  
Amelework Kebede ◽  
Ayano Senbeto ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
General Hospital ◽  
Neonatal Mortality ◽  
Associated Factors ◽  
Multivariable Analysis ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Sectional Study ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Danger Signs ◽  
Sub Saharan

Background. The first 28 days of life (the neonatal period) constitute the most vulnerable time for a child’s survival. Overall 2.7 million neonatal deaths were stated by the 2015 global report of neonatal mortality and they account for 45% of under-five deaths. Sub-Saharan Africa remains the region with the highest risk of death in the first month of life and is among the regions showing the least progress in reducing neonatal mortality in the world. Ethiopia, as part of sub-Saharan Africa, also shares the greatest risk of neonatal death. A recent report in Ethiopia showed that neonatal mortality was 29 deaths per 1,000 live births. Therefore, the signs that suggest the onset of severe illness which leads to death and their contributing factors should be identified. The aim of the study was to assess knowledge about neonatal danger signs and associated factors among mothers attending immunization clinic at Arba Minch General Hospital. Method. Institution-based cross-sectional study design was employed from Feb to April 2018. Systematic sampling technique was used to select a total of 345 mother-child pairs. A pretested, structured, and interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to collect data. Data were entered using Epidata version 3.1 and analyzed using SPSS version 20. Bivariate and multivariable analysis were carried out using binary logistic regression to check and test the association between dependent and explanatory variables. Model fitness was checked by Hosmer-Lemeshow goodness of fit test. Result. Nearly two-fifths (40.9%) of all mothers had good knowledge about neonatal danger signs (95% CI; 35.7, 46.4). Close to thirty-three percent of mothers identified child’s body hotness (fever) as a neonatal danger sign. Maternal educational status (AOR: 5.64; 95% CI: 1.68, 18.95) and attendance of postnatal care (AOR: 2.64; 95% CI: 1.36, 5.15) were significantly associated with maternal knowledge about neonatal danger signs in multivariable analysis. Conclusion. Even though considerable improvement has been achieved over the past decades as a result of expanded coverage of maternal and childcare services, still there are a significant number of mothers who have limited knowledge about neonatal danger signs. Therefore, interventional strategies that stress strengthening maternal education and ANC follow-up should be extended.

scholarly journals Maternal healthcare utilsation and complete childhood vaccination in sub-Saharan Africa: a cross-sectional study of 29 nationally representative surveys

BMJ Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. e045992
Author(s):  
Eugene Budu ◽  
Bright Opoku Ahinkorah ◽  
Richard Gyan Aboagye ◽  
Ebenezer Kwesi Armah-Ansah ◽  
Abdul-Aziz Seidu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Healthcare Utilisation ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Childhood Vaccination ◽  
Outcome Variable ◽  
Service Utilisation ◽  
Sectional Study ◽  
Maternal Healthcare ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Sub Saharan

ObjectiveThe objective of the study was to examine the association between maternal healthcare utilisation and complete childhood vaccination in sub-Saharan Africa.DesignOur study was a cross-sectional study that used pooled data from 29 countries in sub-Saharan Africa.ParticipantsA total of 60 964 mothers of children aged 11–23 months were included in the study.Outcome variablesThe main outcome variable was complete childhood vaccination. The explanatory variables were number of antenatal care (ANC) visits, assistance during delivery and postnatal care (PNC).ResultsThe average prevalence of complete childhood vaccination was 85.6%, ranging from 67.0% in Ethiopia to 98.5% in Namibia. Our adjusted model, children whose mothers had a maximum of three ANC visits were 56% less likely to have complete vaccination, compared with those who had at least four ANC visits (adjusted OR (aOR)=0.44, 95% CI 0.42 to 0.46). Children whose mothers were assisted by traditional birth attendant/other (aOR=0.43, 95% CI 0.41 to 0.56) had lower odds of complete vaccination. The odds of complete vaccination were lower among children whose mothers did not attend PNC clinics (aOR=0.26, 95% CI 0.24 to 0.29) as against those whose mothers attended.ConclusionThe study found significant variations in complete childhood vaccination across countries in sub-Saharan Africa. Maternal healthcare utilisation (ANC visits, skilled birth delivery, PNC attendance) had significant association with complete childhood vaccination. These findings suggest that programmes, interventions and strategies aimed at improving vaccination should incorporate interventions that can enhance maternal healthcare utilisation. Such interventions can include education and sensitisation, reducing cost of maternal healthcare and encouraging male involvement in maternal healthcare service utilisation.

scholarly journals Predictors of HIV Testing among Youth in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Cross-Sectional Study

PLoS ONE ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 11 (10) ◽  
pp. e0164052 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ibitola O. Asaolu ◽  
Jayleen K. Gunn ◽  
Katherine E. Center ◽  
Mary P. Koss ◽  
Juliet I. Iwelunmor ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hiv Testing ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Sectional Study ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Sub Saharan

scholarly journals Validity of four clinical prediction scores for pulmonary embolism in a sub-Saharan African setting: a protocol for a Cameroonian multicentre cross-sectional study

BMJ Open ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (10) ◽  
pp. e031322
Author(s):  
Agnès Esiéné ◽  
Paul Owono Etoundi ◽  
Joel Noutakdie Tochie ◽  
Junette Arlette Mbengono Metogo ◽  
Jacqueline Ze Minkande
Keyword(s):  
Pulmonary Embolism ◽  
Emergency Departments ◽  
Diagnostic Performance ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Receiver Operating Curve ◽  
Clinical Prediction ◽  
Sectional Study ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Sub Saharan

IntroductionPulmonary embolism poses one of the most challenging diagnoses in medicine. Resolving these diagnostic difficulties is more crucial in emergency departments where fast and accurate decisions are needed for a life-saving purpose. Here, clinical pretest evaluation is an important step in the diagnostic algorithm of pulmonary embolism. Although clinical probability scores are widely used in emergency departments of sub-Saharan Africa, no study has cited their diagnostic performance in this resource-constrained environment. This study will seek to assess the performance of four routinely used clinical prediction models in Cameroonians presenting with suspicion of pulmonary embolism at the emergency department.Methods and analysisIt will be a cross-sectional study comparing the sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values and accuracy of the Wells, Simplified Wells, Revised Geneva and the Simplified Revised Geneva Scores to CT pulmonary angiography as gold standard in all consecutive consenting patients aged above 15 years admitted for clinical suspicion of pulmonary embolism to the emergency departments of seven major referral hospitals of Cameroon between 1 July 2019 and 31 December 2020. The area under the receiver operating curve, calibration plots, Hosmer and Lemeshow statistics, observed/expected event rates, net benefit and decision curve will be measured of each the clinical prediction test to ascertain the clinical score with the best diagnostic performance.Ethics and disseminationClearance has been obtained from the Institutional Review Board of the Faculty of medicine and biomedical sciences of the University of Yaounde I, Cameroon and the directorates of all participating hospitals to conduct this study. Also, informed consent will be sought from each patient or their legal next of kin and parents for minors, before enrolment into this study. The final study will be published in a peer-review journal and the findings presented to health authorities and healthcare providers.

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