ABSTRACT Introduction: Postnatal period is the most crucial period for the survival of mothers and neonates. This study, used the Health Belief Model in explaining the association between postnatal services utilization and the associated prevalence of neonatal illnesses in Zanzibar. Methods: Community based analytical cross-sectional study design was employed. A total of 395 of post-delivery women and their neonates were randomly selected. The study used the Health Belief components to de...
ABSTRACT Background: Diabetes mellitus is an independent risk factor for significant bacteriuria and hence severe and non-severe forms of urinary tract infections. There is a considerable regional variation in sensitivity profile of uropathogens in diabetics. Objectives: To determine prevalence, aetiologies, sensitivity profiles and factors associated with significant bacteriuria among patients with diabetes mellitus attending Dodoma Regional Referral Hospital. Methods: A case – control stu...
Abstract Background Undernutrition and anaemia remains to be a major public health problem in many developing countries, where they mostly affect children. Intestinal parasitic infections are known to affect both growth and haemoglobin levels. Much has been reported on the impact of geohelminths on anaemia and undernutrition, leaving that of Schistosoma mansoni not well studied. Therefore this study intended to determine the association between S.mansoni infections, anaemia and undernutrition...
ABSTRACT Background: Tanzania, like many countries globally, has continuously been implementing health sector reforms with the intent of ensuring affordable health services to the population, in alignment with the shift towards Universal Health Coverage as well as improving the quality of health services, among these reforms has been the introduction of Direct Health Facility Financing (DHFF), which has limited evidence on its implementation and outcomes with respect to its intended goals. T...
ABSTRACT Background: Globally, alcohol use disorders (AUDs) cause 3.3 million deaths each year globally. They also add to the burden of diseases, violence, accidents and family dysfunction. This study aims to look at prevalence and predictors of AUDs and their association with family functioning among adults residing in Dodoma municipality. Methods: Cross-section study design was used with a sample size of 690 participants. Data collected using three assessment tools: social-demographic chara...
ABSTRACT Introduction: Lack of nurses‟ job satisfaction and burnout in hospitals accelerate to low retention of workers. Unavailability of education opportunities is considered to be one of contributors of dissatisfaction and burnout among these nurses. Aim: This study intended to explore more on educational opportunities associated with job satisfaction and burnout among practicing nurses in Lake Zone. Methodology: Analytical quantitative cross-sectional study design was used. 416 Nurses w...
ABSTRACT Background: Excessive nausea and vomiting in pregnancy, (Hyperemesis Gravidarum) HG, is a condition that can occur in early pregnancy. The aetiology is unclear and may be associated with H. Pylori's presence, leading to the extension of symptoms beyond early pregnancy or until delivery. The prevalence of H. Pylori in association with HG is increasingly recognized among developing countries compared to developed countries, while the threatening effect of pregnancy remains questionable...
ABSTRACT Curbing water scarcity problems in semi-arid regions is a top priority for economic and social development. Alternative strategies for sustainable domestic water supply are therefore required to augment water supply with affordable cost and technology. Scant research findings in sub-Saharan Africa have, however, reported inefficiency in adapting to water scarcity problems in the region. Therefore, an investigation of domestic rainwater harvesting (RWH) reliability is important to ide...
ABSTRACTS Background: Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is rapidly increasing worldwide. Globally, 17.8 million pregnancies are complicated by GDM. Recently, Tanzania has experienced a dramatic increase in the prevalence of GDM ranging from 0% in 1993 to 19.5% in 2017 in different parts. GDM screening is not part of the routine antenatal services in Tanzania. This contributes to scarcity of data addressing the magnitude and predictors of GDM in Tanzania. Objectives: To determine the preva...
ABSTRACT Background: Tanzania is experiencing post-caesarean surgical site infections, which increases maternal morbidity and mortality. Poor wound care is reported to contribute to these infections and yet there is scanty research to inform about the community knowledge on wound care practice among post cesarean section women. This study attempts to address this gap by assessing the knowledge and practice of wound care and their influence on the presence of surgical site infections among pos...
ABSTRACT Background:Hypertension is a serious public health problem in Tanzania. Adherence of the recommended self-care practices is beneficial against poor health outcomes and health care expenditures among hypertensive patients. This study assessed theself-care practices, lifestyle behaviors and cost Evaluation among adults attending hypertension clinics in selected hospitals in Tanzania. Methods: A mixed approachescross-sectional study involved 329 participants carried from June to Septemb...
ABSTRACT Background: The word “placenta” is a Latin word and the Greek equivalent word is “Plakons” meaning “flat cake on a plate”. The placenta is a fascinating organ of foetal origin; It plays a pivotal mediatory role during pregnancy by being intimately connected to the mother and foetus. Objectives: To explore the effects of the morphology of the placenta and associated maternal factors on foetal birth outcome in Dodoma region, Tanzania. Design: A cross-sectional study. Method...
ABSTRACT Background: In 2007 the World Bank launched Results-based financing (RBF) in order to improve the quality of health services. Since its introduction, RBF has gained much attention among countries with limited resources for health. Tanzania introduced RBF in 2015 to incentivize improved quality of services at participating health facilities. Through RBF, health facilities are expected to be having improved availability of essential health commodities for maternal health care and clie...
ABSTRACT Background: World Health Organization recommends HIV status disclosure to be done to children of age 6-12 years. HIV status disclosure among children is important for improving their self-care behaviours, psychological well-being, and quality of life. However some previous studies revealed that children who received HIV disclosure ended up with depressive symptoms. The aim of this study was to assess the influence of HIV status disclosure on depressive symptoms and quality of life am...
ABSTRACT Background: It is estimated that, 25% of neonatal deaths is due to birth asphyxia, as may lead to permanent injury of the brain. In Sub-Saharan Africa, the major three cause of neonatal death are infection 39%, birth asphyxia 24% and preterm birth 25%. The aim of this study was to determine the predictors of birth asphyxia among neonate delivered in hospitals, in Zanzibar. Method: A matched case control study was used, 107 neonates were cases and 321 controls. Purposive sampling was ...