Knowledge and Awareness of the Link between Female Same Sex and Health Problems among Women Who Have Sex with Women in Tanzania

Background: Women who have sex with other women (WSW) have high chances of health-related problems stemming from their unsafe sexual behaviors and practices. Their awareness of risky sexual behaviors and the health-related consequences is limited by the covert nature of WSW relationships. However, we cannot generalize the level of awareness since WSW around the world has been subjected to different policies that either proscribe or accept their practices as their right. In view of the divergence, this study evaluated the level of awareness of the link between female same sex and other health-related problems among WSW in Tanzania. Methods: This is a cross-sectional descriptive and retrospective study, which was conducted in Dar es Salaam between January and February 2021. The participants of the study were WSW, proxy WSW, and women who at one time had female same-sex relationships. The study also used community members aged 18 years and above but only those who met the inclusion criteria. Data were collected through qualitative in-depth interviews (IDIs), focus group discussions (FGDs), interviews (KIIs), and life stories. All the data generated through the study were analyzed thematically. Results: The findings of the study suggest that women have limited knowledge of the health-related risk that come with practicing same-sex. Most study participants did not believe they could contact STIs and other health-related problems through unsafe sexual practices with fellow women partners. Conclusion: Most WSW has limited knowledge of the health consequences of unsafe same sex practices. The research sets precedent for wide scope studies to address transmission risks of STIs among these communities in Tanzania.

Predictors of In-hospital Mortality In Patients With RT-PCR Confirmed Lassa Fever Infection Treated At A National Treatment Center, South West Nigeria

Background: Lassa fever (LF) infection is one of the viral hemorrhagic fever diseases found mainly in Sub-Saharan West Africa, including Nigeria. The case fatality rate is 60% among patients with Lassa fever complicated by AKI in one center study in Nigeria. Clinical and laboratory parameter has been documented as predictors of mortality among confirmed Lassa fever infected patients. Therefore, we decided to conduct similar study in our hospital to determine predictors of inhospital mortality among Lassa fever infected patients. Aim: This study was designed to determine the in-hospital clinical and laboratory predictors of outcome among RT-PCR (Real Time- Polymerase Chain Reaction) diagnosed Lassa fever patients. Methodology: This was a descriptive retrospective study involving the assessment of records of confirmed LF infected patients that were managed at the center from December 2019 to December 2020. 147 medical case record files of patients were retrieved for this study. Results: We found in our hospital setting, altered sensorium (p=0.001), seizures (p=0.001), bleeding diathesis (p=0.001), oliguria (p=0.001), elevated urea (p=0.001), elevated creatinine (p=0.001), hypoalbuminaemia (P=0.001), elevated SGOT (P=0.008) as significant predictors on in-hospital mortality. Conclusion: This study has helped us to identify the clinical parameters such as bleeding, central nervous system affectation, oliguria, tachycardia, tachypnea, hypoxaemia and laboratory parameters such as, elevated urea, elevated creatinine, hypoalbuminaemia as predictors of in-hospital mortality in RT-PCR confirmed Lassa fever patients. We believe early recognition of derangements of these parameters and with prompt intervention shall help to improve standards of care and outcome.

COVID-19 and Repurposed Drugs How Much is A Human Life?.

The current pandemic due to COVID 19 (SARS COV2) has revealed a disturbing reality most of the world's health systems, and the organizations that govern health policies at a global level, have not been able to meet the expectations that were set on them. On the one hand, W.H.O has shown hesitations, orders, counter-orders, delays and errors that have made it lose credibility. The terrible images of corpses piled up in the corridors of healthcare centers (from underdeveloped countries to the most powerful ones in the planet); will remain forever in our memory. The enormous financial effort made was not always well targeted, and rarely benefited the patients. The cost / benefit ratio was inverted, contributing fortunes in the final monitoring of severe cases, when logic indicates that emphasis should be placed on not reaching severe stages, and must be solved earlier. In this article, we establish a comparison between what is done and what - in our opinion - should be done.

Women Who Have Sex with Women’s Attitudes and Willingness to Participate in Future Female Same Sex Public Health Research: Opportunity for Disease Prevention and Control in Tanzania

Recruitment of acceptable number of participants in a (public) health research with ‘hard to reach’/‘hidden’ populations is an old global problem, mostly challenging public health researchers in resource limited countries like Tanzania. Violence, stigma, criminalization of behaviors practiced by these groups, and potential participants’ suspicion toward the research and the researchers, further limit willingness to voluntarily participate. We conducted a cross-sectional descriptive and retrospective qualitative formative study with women who have sex with women in Dar-es-Salaam City region, Tanzania. The aim, among other objectives, was to understand women who have sex with women’s attitudes and willingness to participate in future female same sex public health research targeting this group. Findings indicate that all women we studied expressed willingness to participate in future health research targeting issues around female same sex relationships in the Tanzania context; an opportunity for (public) health professionals to prevent and control diseases in the country. To attain this goal, we recommend tailoring research protocols’ content, communication messages, and recruitment tactics to recognize, appreciate, and embrace the specific characteristics, backgrounds, and concerns of women who have sex with women in Tanzania.