Prevalence and factors associated with utilisation of postnatal care in Sierra Leone: a 2019 national survey

Background Within Sub-Saharan Africa, some countries still report unacceptably high rates of maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality, despite improvements in the utilisation of maternity care services. Postnatal care (PNC) is one of the recommended packages in the continuum of maternity care aimed at reducing maternal and neonatal mortality. This study aimed to determine the prevalence and factors associated with PNC utilisation in Sierra Leone. Methods We used Sierra Leone Demographic and Health Survey (UDHS) 2019 data of 7326 women aged 15 to 49 years. We conducted multivariable logistic regression to determine the factors associated with PNC utilisation, using SPSS version 25. Results Out of 7326 women, 6625 (90.4, 95% CI: 89.9–91.2) had at least one PNC contact for their newborn, 6646 (90.7, 95% CI: 90.2–91.5) had a postnatal check after childbirth and 6274 (85.6, 95% CI: 85.0–86.6) had PNC for both their babies and themselves. Delivery by caesarean section (aOR 8.01, 95% CI: 3.37–19.07), having a visit by a health field worker (aOR 1.80, 95% CI: 1.46–2.20), having had eight or more ANC contacts (aOR 1.37, 95% CI: 1.08–1.73), having tertiary education (aOR 2.71, 95% CI: 1.32–5.56) and having no big problems seeking permission to access healthcare (aOR 1.51, 95% CI: 1.19–1.90) were associated with higher odds of PNC utilisation. On the other hand, being resident in the Northern (aOR 0.48, 95% CI: 0.29–0.78) and Northwestern regions (aOR 0.54, 95% CI: 0.36–0.80), belonging to a female headed household (aOR 0.69, 95% CI: 0.56–0.85) and being a working woman (aOR 0.66, 95% CI: 0.52–0.84) were associated with lower odds of utilizing PNC. Conclusion Factors associated with utilisation of PNC services operate at individual, household, community and health system/policy levels. Some of them can be ameliorated by targeted government interventions to improve utilisation of PNC services.

Accidental self-inoculation of a veterinary field worker with Calf Paratyphoid Vaccine

No abstract available.

Prevalence and factors associated with utilisation of postnatal care in Sierra Leone: a 2019 national survey

Background Globally, about 289,000 maternal deaths are registered annually. Timely access to quality maternal health services is an effective intervention to reduce maternal deaths. Postnatal care (PNC) is one of the recommended packages in the continuum of maternity care aimed at reducing maternal and neonatal mortality. This study aimed to determine the prevalence and factors associated with PNC utilisation in Sierra Leone. Methods We used Sierra Leone Demographic and Health Survey (UDHS) 2019 data of 7,326 women aged 15 to 49 years. We conducted multivariable logistic regression to determine the factors associated with PNC utilisation, using SPSS version 25. Results Out of 7,326 women, 3,329 (45.5%, 95% CI: 44.6–46.8) had their babies have at least a PNC contact, 6,646 (90.7%, 95% CI: 90.2–91.5) had a postnatal check after childbirth and 3,133 (42.8%, 95% CI: 41.9–44.1) had PNC for both their babies and themselves. Delivery by caesarean section (aOR 1.79, 95% CI: 1.20–2.67), having a visit by a health field worker (aOR 1.77, 95% CI: 1.47–2.13), having had eight or more ANC contacts (aOR 1.79, 95% CI: 1.45–2.22), initiating ANC after first trimester (aOR 1.18, 95% CI: 1.04–1.35), being a Muslim (aOR 1.34, 95% CI: 1.11–1.61), belonging to richer wealth quintile (aOR 1.69, 95% CI: 1.22–2.35), being of low parity (2–4) (aOR 1.20, 95% CI: 1.04–1.39), having no big problems seeking permission to access healthcare (aOR 1.52, 95% CI: 1.27–1.83) and having had delivery at home (aOR 1.75, 95% CI: 1.32–2.32) were associated with more PNC utilisation odds. On the other hand, being resident in the Eastern region (aOR 0.31, 95% CI: 0.21–0.46) and urban areas (aOR 0.71, 95% CI: 0.52–0.98) were associated with lower odds of utilising PNC. Conclusion Although maternal PNC utilisation is high, utilisation of PNC by neonates alone and by both the mother and neonatal is low. More focus is needed to mothers and their neonates from the Eastern region, urban areas, Christians, less empowered in terms of healthcare seeking decision making and those who are more parous, utilise less ANC contacts and utilise health facilities for delivery.

Head related transfer function measurements of common PPE

Due to COVID 19, personal protective equipment (PPE) is now used in everyday life. Such PPE affects communication and perception. This paper provides an overview of the impact of PPE on Head Related Transfer Functions (HRTF's). Spatial acoustic effects of common PPE on human hearing can be documented to improve and inform field worker safety and communication. After a general description of the measurement process and required tools, we focus on a few methods which contribute significantly to the accuracy and analysis of PPE-based HRTF data. The dedicated setup allows measuring a full 360 degree map in automated fashion. It includes a special ring setup with 25 speakers, and a precise turn table that is used to adjust the angle of the device under test with respect to the ring. Binaural measurements were performed on a set of common PPE items on a Head And Torso Simulator (HATS) system, including hard hats, safety glasses, hearing protection, and various face masks. An overview of the data is presented.

«ВСЕ НАЧАЛОСЬ С ТУРА ХЕЙЕРДАЛА…»: О ТВОРЧЕСКОМ ПУТИ ТАТЬЯНЫ АНДРЕЕВНЫ ВОРОНИНОЙ

Аннотация. В кратком сообщении, посвященном памяти Татьяны Андреевны Ворониной, говорится о научном пути, учителях, отечественных и зарубежных коллегах, а также о ее основных трудах по разработке историко этнографических аспектов изучения пищи и культуры питания русского народа и исследованию русского лубка в его различных аспектах. Abstract. The obituary dedicated to the memory of Tatyana Andreevna Voronina talks about the scientific path, teachers, domestic and foreign colleagues, as well as her main works on the development of historical and ethnographic aspects of the study of food and nutritional culture of the Russian people and the study of Russian popular print in its various aspects. Key words: T. A. Voronina, ethnographer, field worker, organizer of science, specialist in Russian food, Russian popular print.

Designing a Multi-Epitope Vaccine against Dracunculus medinensis by Employing Immuno-Informatics and In Silico Approaches

Dracunculiasis (also known as Guinea worm disease) is caused by Dracunculus medinensis parasite and it spreads by drinking water containing Larvae of Guinea worm. The lack of safe water facilities, preventions and treatments resulted in highly dangerous consequences in its endemic regions. The economy of the affected regions totally falls down due to less production which is the result of agricultural field worker’s bad health. In this study, a multi epitope vaccine was designed against Dracunculus medinensis by using immune-informatics. The vaccine was designed by using T-Cell and B-Cell epitopes derived from Dracunculus medinensis proteins (Lactamase-B domain-containing protein, G-Domain containing protein and Ferrochelatase) in addition to Adjuvants and Linkers. The tertiary structure, physiochemical properties and immunogenic elements of vaccine were achieved. The validation of tertiary structure was accessed, and quality was achieved. In addition, the world coverage of parasite’s CTL and HTL epitopes is 95.61%. The stability of the chimeric vaccine was achieved through disulfide engineering. The molecular docking with Toll Like Receptor 4 (TLR-4) of vaccine showed its binding efficiency followed by Molecular Dynamic Simulation. The immune simulation suggested the mediated cell immunity and repeated antigen clearance. At the end, the optimized codon was used in in silico cloning to ensure vaccine’s higher exposure in bacterium E. coli strain K12. With further assessments, it is believed that the proposed multi epitope vaccine has strong immunogen to control Dracunculus medinensis which may result in better social and economic conditions of endemic regions.

Risk factors for cutaneous leishmaniasis in a high-altitude forest region of Peru

Background American cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is a neglected tropical disease typically associated with men working in remote, sylvatic environments. We sought to identify CL risk factors in a highly deforested region where anecdotal reports suggested an atypical proportion of women and children were infected with CL raising concern among authorities that transmission was shifting towards domestic spaces and population centers. Methods We describe the characteristics of CL patients from four participating clinics after digitizing up to 10 years of patient data from each clinic’s CL registries. We assessed risk factors of CL associated with intradomestic, peridomestic, or non-domestic transmission through a matched case-control study with 63 patients who had visited these same clinics for CL (cases) or other medical reasons (controls) between January 2014 and August 2016. The study consisted of an in-home interview of participants by a trained field worker using a standard questionnaire. Risk factors were identified using bivariable and multivariable conditional logistic regression. Results Between 2007 and 2016, a total of 529 confirmed CL positives were recorded in the available CL registries. Children and working aged women made up 58.6% of the cases. Our final model suggests that the odds of sleeping in or very near an agricultural field were five times greater in cases than controls (p = 0.025). Survey data indicate that women, children, and men have similar propensities to both visit and sleep in or near agricultural fields. Conclusions Women and children may be underappreciated as CL risk groups in agriculturally dependent regions. Despite the age-sex breakdown of clinical CL patients and high rates of deforestation occurring in the study area, transmission is mostly occurring outside of the largest population centers. Curbing transmission in non-domestic spaces may be limited to decreasing exposure to sandflies during the evening, nighttime, and early morning hours. Our paper serves as a cautionary tale for those relying solely on the demographic information obtained from clinic-based data to understand basic epidemiological trends of vector-borne infections.

Knowledge on integrated management of childhood illness among health and family planning field workers

Integrated Management of Childhood illness (IMCI) is a strategy for reducing mortality among children under the age of 5 years. This study was aim to assess the level of knowledge on IMCI among health and family planning field worker. Convenience sampling and a semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect data among 237 respondents. Knowledge level was categorised as good, average and poor while association of categorical data were done by Chi squire test. The mean age of participants was 36.03±10.13 years where (82.3%) respondents were female. The mean duration of job was 11.27± 9.81 years where (71.7%) respondents did not have training on IMCI. Among the respondents, 42.6% didn’t know any of the objectives and 46.8% respondents knew that one of the components of IMCI, 51.5% respondents knew that IMCI to improve the health system and 35.3% respondents knew that IMCI is to improve family and community practice. Signs of diarrhoea in 0-2 month’s old baby was not known by 27.8% respondents. Majority of the respondents (72.2%) had knowledge about increased respiratory rate as a sign of pneumonia. Among the respondents, 42.6% respondents had poor knowledge regarding IMCI while 28.7% had well and (28.7%) had average knowledge. Level of knowledge was significantly associated with age (p<0.026), sex (p<0.001), place of job (p<0.001), designation (p<0.001), type of job (p<0.001), duration of Job (p<0.001), training status (p<0.002). There are many lacks in the knowledge of health and family planning field workers, they need training on IMCI to prevent the under-five mortality and morbidity. Asian J. Med. Biol. Res. March 2021, 7(1): 56-63

The monolingual approach in American linguistic fieldwork

SummaryIn the first decades of the 20th century, fieldwork — collection of language data through direct interaction with a native speaker — was foundational to American linguistics. After a mid-century period of neglect, fieldwork has recently been revived as a means to address the increasing rate of language endangerment worldwide. Twenty-first century American fieldwork inherits some, but not all, of the traits of earlier fieldwork. This article examines the history of one controversial issue, whether a field worker should adopt a monolingual approach, learning and using the target language as a medium of exchange with native speakers, as opposed to relying on interpreters or a lingua franca. Although the monolingual approach is not widely practiced, modern proponents argue strongly for its value. The method has been popularized though ‘monolingual demonstrations’ to audiences of linguists, which, curiously, are not wholly consistent with the character of 21st-century fieldwork.