Preferences and Consumption of Pigeon Peas among Rural Households as Determinants for Developing Diversified Products for Sustainable Health

Pigeon peas are legumes with a high nutritional value. Existing studies of pigeon peas in Tanzania mainly examine production and marketing, but little has been documented with respect to consumer preferences and the consumption of pigeon peas. This study assesses the preferences surrounding pigeon peas and their consumption as bases for the development of diversified and shelf-stable products for nutrition and income improvement. This study comprised 303 randomly selected farming households. Furthermore, 60 farmers participated in six focus group discussions in the Lindi region. A structured questionnaire and a checklist with guided questions were provided for data collection. The analysis uses SPSS (V.21), with differences between groups established using Kruskal–Wallis and Mann–Whitney tests. The associations were tested using Spearman’s ρ at p < 0.05. The mean pigeon peas consumption during the harvesting and lean seasons was 80 g/person/day and 18 g/person/day, respectively. The frequency of consumption was higher during the harvesting season (92%) than the lean (29%) season. The majority of farmers (91%) preferred to consume the local variety, with 84% of them consuming pigeon peas as stew. Five pigeon pea recipes exist in the area. The farmers identified availability, taste, source of income, and familiarity as the factors determining pigeon pea consumption and preferences. With limited recipes and other barriers limiting consumption, the creation of innovative ideas for the development of diversified and shelf-stable products fitting their consumption preferences is needed.

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Conservation Agriculture Promotion and Uptake in Mufulira, Zambia-A Political Agronomy Approach

Journal of Sustainable Development ◽

10.5539/jsd.v10n1p156 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 10 (1) ◽

pp. 156 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Bridget Bwalya Umar

Keyword(s):

Conservation Agriculture ◽

Structured Interviews ◽

Public Officials ◽

Focus Group Discussions ◽

Smallholder Farming ◽

Group Discussions ◽

Tillage Systems ◽

The Public ◽

Key Informant ◽

Farming Households

This study utilized 120 semi-structured interviews with smallholder farming households and two focus group discussions; as well as several key informant interviews with experts to explore the promotion and uptake of conservation agriculture (CA) in Mufulira, Zambia. Results reveal that ridges and flat culture continued to be the preferred tillage systems (97 per cent and 55 per cent respectively) despite the farmers having been trained in the use of a minimum tillage technique. None of the interviewed farmers perceived CA as a solution to any of their agricultural related problems. The NGO promoting CA in the district had framed it as suited for and claimed to target labour constrained HIV/AIDS affected households. Conversely, farmers complained that CA was challenging for them due to its high labour demands (23 per cent); poor harvests (18 per cent) and was unsuited to the rainfall patterns of the area (10 per cent). Local agricultural experts contested the promotion of basins in Mufulira. The framing of CA as a solution to labour constraints did not seem to hold in the study area. This effectively limited the contestation spaces available to the public officials with dissenting views on the suitability of basin CA in the district.

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Australian Clinician’s Views on Interprofessional Education for Students in the Rural Clinical Setting

Journal of Research in Interprofessional Practice and Education ◽

10.22230/jripe.2012v2n2a68 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 2 (2) ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Elisabeth Jacob ◽

Tony Barnett ◽

Karen Missen ◽

Merylin Cross ◽

Lorraine Walker

Keyword(s):

Clinical Education ◽

Interprofessional Education ◽

Ad Hoc ◽

Focus Group Discussions ◽

Group Discussions ◽

Careful Planning ◽

Team Members ◽

Common Goals ◽

Untapped Resource ◽

Structured Questionnaire

AbstractBackground: Collaboration between education providers and clinical agencies to develop models that facilitate cross-disciplinary clinical education for students is essential to produce work-ready graduates.Methods and Findings: This exploratory study investigated the perceptions of and opportunities for interprofessional education (IPE) from the perspectives of 57 clinical staff from three regional/rural health services across Victoria, Australia. Data were collected through a semi-structured questionnaire, interviews, and focus group discussions with staff from 15 disciplinary groups who were responsible for clinical education. Although different views emerged on what IPE entailed, it was perceived by most clinicians to be valuable for students in enhancing teamwork, improving the understanding of roles and functions of team members, and facilitating common goals for patient care. While benefits of IPE could be articulated by clinicians, student engagement with IPE in clinical areas appeared to be limited, largely ad hoc, and opportunistic. Barriers to IPE included: timing of students’ placements, planning and coordination of activities, resource availability, and current regulatory and education provider requirements.Conclusions: Without the necessary resources and careful planning and coordination, the integration of IPE as a part of students’ clinical placement experience will remain a largely untapped resource.

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Commonly Consumed Foods

Food and Nutrition Bulletin ◽

10.1177/0379572116689627 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 38 (1) ◽

pp. 65-77 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Rufina Ayogu ◽

Raphael Edeh ◽

Edith Madukwe ◽

Henrietta Ene-Obong

Keyword(s):

Vitamin A ◽

Nutrition Education ◽

Calculated Data ◽

Pigeon Pea ◽

Focus Group Discussions ◽

Group Discussions ◽

Iron Protein ◽

Nutrient Adequacy ◽

Portion Sizes ◽

Polyethylene Bags

Background: Commonly consumed foods may be nutritionally inadequate. Schoolchildren may be at risk of undernutrition as a result of this. Objective: To assess the nutrient and energy values of commonly consumed foods and determine their contributions to the recommended nutrient intakes (RNIs) of schoolchildren (6-15 years). Methods: List of commonly consumed foods was obtained through focus group discussions with parents of schoolchildren. Ninety randomly selected schoolchildren were visited at home on 3 consecutive days (2 weekdays and 1 weekend day) during which their portion sizes of these foods were obtained. Aliquots of these foods were collected, wrapped in polyethylene bags, and kept frozen until analysis. The samples were analyzed using standard methods. Percentage contributions of the nutrients to RNI were calculated. Data were analyzed by descriptive statistics. Results: Results per 100 g showed that Pentaclethra macrophylla ( akpaka) sauce had the highest moisture (76.91%), ash (6.9%), iron (13.51%), and vitamin A (44.0 retinol equivalent [RE]). Steamed bambara groundnut pudding ( okpa) had the highest protein (15.08%). Maize + pigeon pea ( ayaraya oka) had the highest fat (15.76%). Tomato stew proved superior in carbohydrate (28.15%) and energy (194.6 kcal). Pterocarpus soyauxii ( oha) soup contained the highest fiber (4.13%). Yam + pigeon pea ( ayaraya ji) had the highest zinc (4.97 mg). Contributions to RNI were protein (5.0%-134.0%), carbohydrate (0.6%-9.9%), energy (4.9%-38.8%), iron (1.5%-168.8%), vitamin A (0.0%-18.7%), and zinc (1.2%-166.0%). Conclusion: Most foods did not meet one-third of the schoolchildren’s RNI for vitamin A, zinc, iron, protein, carbohydrate, and energy. Nutrition education on nutrient adequacy is recommended.

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Activities Reducing the Stress among Undergraduate Medical Students: The Students' Perception

Bangladesh Journal of Medical Education ◽

10.3329/bjme.v10i1.44590 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 10 (1) ◽

pp. 20-24

Author(s):

Zakir Hassan ◽

Ashraf Uddin Ahmed ◽

Humayun Kabir Talukder ◽

Aliva Salmeen ◽

Kazi Khairul Alam ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Medical Students ◽

Stress Reduction ◽

Quantitative Research ◽

Descriptive Study ◽

Counselling Service ◽

Undergraduate Medical Students ◽

Focus Group Discussions ◽

Group Discussions ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Structured Questionnaire

Most attention has been focused in recent years with respect to the issues of the medical students suffering from excess of stress during their studies, which may constrain their extent of learning, acquisition of knowledge, and consequently their academic performance. A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted between July 2016 and June 2017 to explore the activities which helped to reduce the burden of stress among the undergraduate medical students of four government and two private medical colleges in Bangladesh. A self-administered semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect the data on the students' perception. A total of 1145 students included in this study of which 63 % were female. The study revealed that the students' perceptions of stress were highest with respect to the existing policy concerning vacation/holiday (87%), common room facilities (78%), counselling service (64%) and accommodation facilities (60%). The most common coping strategies adopted by the students were discussing problems with family members and friends, gossiping with friends and using social media. Neither alcohol nor drug consumption was mentioned by the students as an effective stress reduction strategy. To generalize the findings, a further longitudinal study including prospective and multi-center focus group discussions along with quantitative research is recommended. Bangladesh Journal of Medical Education Vol.10(1) 2019: 20-24

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What determines the operational sustainability of rural drinking water points in Ethiopia? The case of Woliso woreda

Journal of Water Sanitation and Hygiene for Development ◽

10.2166/washdev.2019.067 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 9 (4) ◽

pp. 743-753 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Birki Gurmessa ◽

Abate Mekuriaw

Keyword(s):

Drinking Water ◽

Qualitative Data ◽

Binary Logistic Regression ◽

Sampling Technique ◽

Focus Group Discussions ◽

Group Discussions ◽

Water Point ◽

And Training ◽

Structured Questionnaire ◽

Significant Factors

Abstract Water is a fundamental element essential for life and health. However, more than 33.3% of rural water services in Ethiopia are not functioning and hence sustainability of rural drinking water points in the country is under question. With this in mind, this study was undertaken to investigate the factors that affect the operational sustainability of rural drinking water points in Woliso woreda, Ethiopia. A semi-structured questionnaire was administered to a randomly selected 211 households from six rural Kebeles, which were selected using stratified sampling technique. Focus group discussions and key interviews were also held along with observation. The quantitative data were analysed through descriptive statistics and binary logistic regression. The qualitative data were used to augment the results from the regression analysis. The results revealed that water service fee, willingness to pay, occurrence of conflict in the water points, monitoring by water user committees, willingness to sustain service, users' participation in the water point construction, satisfaction with the water point service, perception on the possibility of contamination, and training on maintenance are found to be significant factors that affect the operational sustainability of rural drinking water points. Therefore, these significant factors should be sufficiently addressed when planning water supply projects.

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Perception of Small-Scale Miners on Interventions to Eradicate Illegal Small-Scale Mining in Ghana

SAGE Open ◽

10.1177/2158244020963668 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (4) ◽

pp. 215824402096366

Author(s):

Rejoice Selorm Wireko-Gyebi ◽

Michael Osei Asibey ◽

Owusu Amponsah ◽

Rudith Sylvana King ◽

Imoro Braimah ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Environmental Sustainability ◽

Current Approach ◽

Small Scale ◽

Focus Group Discussions ◽

Group Discussions ◽

Illegal Mining ◽

Environmental Friendly ◽

Key Informant ◽

The Government ◽

Sustainable Health

The proliferation of illegal mining in Ghana, coupled with its environmental impacts, especially on water bodies has compelled the government to ban all artisanal small-scale mining (ASM) activities in the country. The ban is intended to promote environmental sustainability while the government takes steps to provide sustainable health, and environmental-friendly ASM in Ghana. This paper assesses the perception of registered miners on the current approach by the Ghanaian government to stop illegal mining. Analyses of data from focus group discussions and key informant interviews revealed that the miners felt “left out” of the entire process. They maintained that they were not directly involved in the process to ban illegal mining in Ghana. To them, the proliferation of illegal mining in Ghana is the result of non-performing government institutions, corruption, and cumbersome licensing procedures. The article calls for improvement in the collaboration between the government and miners through a simplified participatory framework for the management of ASM in Ghana.

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Determining the Dynamics of HIV Voluntary Counselling and Testing Uptake among the Rural and Urban Communities of Nakuru District, Kenya

10.26686/wgtn.16985305 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

◽

Joseph Muchiri

Keyword(s):

Focus Group ◽

Qualitative Data ◽

Significant Proportion ◽

High Rate ◽

Focus Group Discussions ◽

Group Discussions ◽

Voluntary Counselling ◽

Key Informant ◽

Voluntary Counselling And Testing ◽

Structured Questionnaire

<p>Globally, it is estimated that over 40 million people are living with HIV/AIDS with 67% of these coming from Sub Sahara Africa. While the epidemic has been receiving increasing attention towards and more emphasis placed on access to care and treatment, these efforts are bound to become unsustainable due to a high rate of new infections. In 2007, for every HIV patient who was put on drugs six others became infected with the virus. Voluntary testing and counselling (VCT) has been suggested as the most effective intervention that could reverse this rate of infection. Its utilization in Africa and many parts of the world has however, been at an all time low. In Kenya where populations of over 1.4 million people are living with the HIV/AID virus, less than 20% of the total population knows their status. The aim of this study is, therefore, to establish and document the dynamics of VCT uptake in Nakuru district of Kenya with a view to suggesting measures to increase this uptake. The main objectives of the study were to identify factors that influence VCT uptake and determine the levels of knowledge and prevailing attitudes on HIV testing. The role that gender plays in VCT utilization was also explored. This was a cross sectional study in which a mixed research method methodology employing quantitative and qualitative data collection methods was used. Quantitative data was collected using a structured questionnaire while qualitative data was collected using focus group discussions and key informant interviews. The target population was residents of Nakuru aged 16-60. 480 distributed completed the structured questionnaire out which 422 were completed and returned. Six focus group discussions and five key informant interviews were carried out. The research found that the awareness regarding HIV and VCT among the community members is relatively high. However, there are still a significant proportion of people who hold misconceptions about the disease and the testing service. This may partially explain why people opted not to take the test for the virus. Further, a majority of the people wanted to take up the test but both social and health system barriers such as gender inequality, the cost of taking the service, service operational hours, accessibility; misconceptions about the disease are barriers to the utilization of the service. The study recommends the adoption of more pro-active model of testing which could include mobile and home-based testing to help remove most of these barriers and therefore lead to an increased uptake. Moreover promotional activities targeting couples, providing the service beyond the current normal working hours weekdays and weekends, strengthening the general public health facility to help win back the trust of the service consumer and provision of youth-friendly voluntary counselling and testing for HIV (VCT) service are recommended.</p>

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Nutritional Status and Obstacles to Healthy Eating Among Refugees in Geneva

Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health ◽

10.1007/s10903-020-01085-4 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 22 (6) ◽

pp. 1126-1134

Author(s):

Delphine Amstutz ◽

Daniela Gonçalves ◽

Patricia Hudelson ◽

Silvia Stringhini ◽

Sophie Durieux-Paillard ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Weight Gain ◽

Healthy Eating ◽

Mixed Methods Study ◽

Focus Group Discussions ◽

Group Discussions ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Prevent Weight Gain ◽

The Mean ◽

Multi Level ◽

Behavioral Barriers

AbstractRefugees face various nutritional challenges during and after migration. This cross-sectional, mixed-methods study seeks to investigate the prevalence of undernutrition and obesity among refugees in Geneva, and to identify barriers to healthy eating. Anthropometric measurements of 354 adult refugees were collected between 2017 and 2019 by trained nurses and dietitians. Seven focus group discussions totaling 51 participants, refugees and social workers, investigated conceptions and needs regarding diet. The mean Body Mass Index is 24.6 ± 4.8 kg/m2. Women are disproportionately affected by obesity compared to men (p < 0.001). Weight gain post-migration is correlated positively with length of stay in Geneva (p < 0.001). Major obstacles to healthy eating are economic and linguistic. For participants, cooking workshops and free physical activities are highly needed interventions. Post-migration lifestyle interventions should be implemented to prevent weight gain in this population. Such interventions must be multi-level, to overcome structural, social and behavioral barriers to healthy eating.

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On-farm reproductive performance and breeding objective of sheep in six selected Districts of Tigray, Northern Ethiopia..

JOURNAL OF ADVANCES IN AGRICULTURE ◽

10.24297/jaa.v2i2.4248 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 2 (2) ◽

pp. 80-87

Author(s):

Mulata Hayelom ◽

Solomon Abegaz ◽

Yoseph Mekasha

Keyword(s):

Reproductive Performance ◽

Northern Ethiopia ◽

Focus Group Discussions ◽

Group Discussions ◽

Breeding Objective ◽

Weaning Age ◽

Index Value ◽

Age Range ◽

On Farm ◽

Structured Questionnaire

The study was carried out in Atsibi Wonberta, Wukro Kilteawlaeo, Ofla, Alamata, Enderta and Degua Temben districts of Tigray Regional State of Ethiopia to assess the reproductive Performance and to describe the breeding objective of Sheep in the study area. A total of 12 peasant associations 2 from each district were selected randomly. A total of 180 households 30 from each district were selected randomly for the interview. Data were gathered through semi-structured questionnaire, focus group discussions and field observations. Data collected through questionnaire were described by descriptive statistics using JMP 5, 2002. In this study reproduction performance of sheep is assessed by their age at sexual maturity, age at first lambing, lambing interval, weaning age and lambing pattern. The overall estimated mean age at first lambing of ewes in the districts of Astibi-wonberta, Wukro-kilteawlaelo, Ofla, Alamata, Enderta and Degua-Tembien sheep was 18.15, 16.77, 16.7, 16.83, 17.77 and 16.77 months, respectively. The estimated mean lambing interval of highland sheep in Atsibi-Wonberta (9.6±0.7), Wukro-Kilteawlaelo (8.3±0.8), Ofla (6.3±0.7), Enderta (10.4±0.6), Deguatembien (8.4±0.5) and Afar (Elle) sheep in Alamata is 7.6±0.5 months respectively. The average weaning age of sheep in the study districts was three to six months. But, in Atsibi-wonberta (30%), Ofla (43.33%) and Enderta (36.67%) districts the average weaning age was greater than six months. Lambing of sheep was the highest during the months of December and November with an index value of 0.34 and 0.26, respectively. Generally the reproductive performance of sheep in this study area implies that the sheep breeds have acceptable age range for breeding though it is late compared to temperate breeds. In the study area for ram selection, farmers target was for breeding purpose and market value and fattening ability of the ram.

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Rapid Assessment Procedures for the Health and Nutritional Profile of Adolescent Girls: An Exploratory Study

Food and Nutrition Bulletin ◽

10.1177/156482659601700305 ◽

1996 ◽

Vol 17 (3) ◽

pp. 1-7 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Pulkit Mathur ◽

Sushma Sharma ◽

Arvind Wadhwa

Keyword(s):

Adolescent Girls ◽

Rapid Assessment ◽

Focus Group Discussions ◽

Group Discussions ◽

Health And Nutrition ◽

Rapid Appraisal ◽

Significant Difference ◽

The Mean ◽

24 Hour Recall ◽

Assessment Procedures

We developed and tested tools for the rapid appraisal of the health and nutrition profile of adolescent girls (11 14 years). The sample consisted of 80 girls, their mothers (n=61) or married older sisters (n=3), 6 village-level workers, their helpers, and four doctors in Ladosarai village in Delhi, India. Girls carried out rapid assessment exercises for mapping food intake and occurrence of diseases according to season, and actively participated in focus group discussions. They also ranked their families accurately according to relative wealth. There was no significant difference between the mean nutrient intakes obtained by the conventional and modified rapid assessment 24-hour recall (p>.05). The rapid assessment methodology not only helped save survey time but also added depth and gave new insights into the girls’ hearth and nutrition problems and perceptions.

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