Experiences of Mothers on the Utilization of Elimination of Mother to Child Transmission of HIV Services at Mtendere Clinic, Lusaka

Introduction: Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is one of the leading causes of mortality among women of reproductive age and Mother to Child Transmission of Human immunodeficiency virus is still a challenge affecting many countries. Globally, an estimation of 180,000 children under 15 years acquire the Human immunodeficiency virus every day, and more than 90% of those infections are due to Mother to Child Transmission. The study sought to explore the experiences of mothers on the Elimination of Mother to Child Transmission-HIV services at Mtendere Clinic, Lusaka. Materials and Methods: Qualitative interpretive phenomenology study design was employed using in-depth interviews to collect data from a sample that was selected using purposive sampling technique. Thirteen participants were recruited, and these were HIV-positive mothers at least between the ages of 15 and 49 years and enrolled in the Elimination of Mother To Child Transmission-HIV program. The in-depth interviews were audiotape recorded and transcribed verbatim. Data was analyzed using thematic method. Findings: Three main themes that emerged are;living with HIV, support system and barriers to utilization of Elimination of Mother To Child Transmission-HIV services. Most of the participants expressed having acquired knowledge from the program, and received counselling and support from spouses, family as well as health personnel at Mtendere health facility which culminated into a positive experience and enhanced their uptake of the Elimination of Mother to Child Transmission-HIV services. However, barriers to service utilization were identified and these included fear of stigma, negative attitudes from health workers, long waiting times, lack of support and lack of transport to the health facility. Conclusion: Interventions such as community awareness campaigns on Elimination of Mother To Child Transmission-HIV, male involvement and implementing mother-to-mother peer support strategies in Elimination of Mother To Child Transmission-HIV service utilization should be prioritized so as to alleviate stigma and enhancing a positive experience for these mothers thus reducing on the Mother to Child HIV Transmission burden and mortality rates.

Adherence to Treatment by Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus at Monze Mission Hospital, Monze, Zambia

Background: Diabetes mellitus (DM) is one of the most common non-communicable diseases and among the leading causes of disability, morbidity and mortality globally. The study assessed adherence to treatment by type 2 DM patients aged 20 years and above at Monze Mission Hospital in Monze district, Zambia. Research questions: 1) What is the level of adherence to treatment by type 2 DM patients receiving care from Monze Mission Hospital? 2) What factors influence adherence to treatment by type 2 DM patients? Methods: The study was conducted in 2017. It was a cross-sectional design. Simple random sampling method was used to select respondents and data was collected using a structured interview schedule. Data was entered and analyzed using the modified self-reported Morisky Medication Adherence Scale with six scores, modified self-care management questionnaire and IBM© Statistical Package for Social Sciences. Chi-Square was used to test associations between variables and binary logistic regression was used for multivariate analysis. The Morisky Medication Adherence scale was interpreted as follows: patients who scored between 4 - 6 points on knowledge had high knowledge while those who scored between 1 - 3 points had low knowledge about the disease. Results: The sample size of the study was 138 respondents. The study showed, only 44.2% of respondents had good adherence to treatment as they scored above 4 using the Morisky Medication Adherence Scale. Majority of the patients (55.6%) had knowledge about treatment despite 65.2% of respondents reported distance and financial challenges as hindrances to adherence. The study revealed a statistical association between adherence and knowledge of type 2 DM treatment. Conclusion: The study showed that poor adherence to treatment reduced as knowledge about DM increased. There is need to consider educational programs to strengthen adherence to dietary advice, regular exercise and follow up, to achieve normal glycemic levels.

Understanding Midwives’ Perspective on Care of Post Cesarean Section Women at the University Teaching Hospital—Women and Newborn, Lusaka

Background: A cesarean section is a major obstetric surgical procedure performed for the purpose of delivering a live baby when vaginal delivery would put the mother and the baby at risk due to complications of pregnancy, labour and delivery. Although caesarean section is a life saving procedure, it is associated with a number of risks or problems in the postoperative period. The aim of the study was to understand the Midwives’ perspective on the care of postpartum mothers who had cesarean section at the University Teaching Hospital—Women and Newborn in Lusaka District. Methods: A descriptive cross sectional survey was conducted at the University Teaching Hospital—Women and Newborn in Lusaka. 51 Midwives working in postnatal wards were consecutively selected to participate in the study. Data was collected using a self administered questionnaire with a 4 point Likert scale and also some closed and open ended questions. SPSS version 20 statistical package was used to analyse data, expressed as descriptive summary measures. Results: All the 51 Midwives were female and they scored themselves highly on a 4 point Likert scale as always performing all the immediate post-operative care on the postpartum mothers who had a caesarean section while the score was much lower during the subsequent post-operative period. Staffing levels and medical-surgical materials were found to be low and affect care of Postpartum mothers (P-0.050). The majority (94.2%) of the Midwives also indicated that C-section mothers were not given any form of written materials or standardized instructions to take home as reference material during the Information, Education Communication sessions on discharge (P-0.001) and home/domiciliary visits to postpartum mothers who had C-sections on postpartum were not being undertaken. Conclusion: There was need to improve the care rendered to the postpartum women who had complicated labour and delivery including caesarean sections in order to promote good health and to prevent postpartum complications.

Information Needs of Breast Cancer Patients at Cancer Diseases Hospital, Lusaka, Zambia

Background: Breast cancer is the second most common cancer worldwide and the second most common among Zambian women. Breast cancer diagnosis being a stressful experience, causes psychological and emotional disruption that can be abated by meeting information needs of the affected patients. In light of the escalating cases of Breast cancer among the Zambian women, the study examined a special aspect of cancer management which is usually neglected in most cases. Aim: The main objective of the study was to assess information needs of breast cancer patients at the Cancer Diseases Hospital in Lusaka, Zambia using a modified structured interview schedule adopted from the Toronto Information Needs Questionnaire-Breast Cancer (TINQ-BC). Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional design was used to elicit the information needs of breast cancer patients. One hundred and ten (97% response rate) participants were selected using simple random sampling method and data was collected using a modified structured interview schedule adopted from the Toronto Information Needs Questionnaire-Breast Cancer (TINQ-BC). Stata 10.0 (StataCorp, 2008) was employed for all quantitative data analysis and graphical presentation of data. Results: The overall score for information needs was obtained by adding the scores across all the five information needs categories which were further divided into three categories namely: low important scores, of less than 50%, moderately important scores of 50% - 70% and highly important scores ranged above 70% of the 200 total scores. Out of the 110 participants recruited, 88 (80%) indicated that the information across the five categories was moderately important. Logistic regression of information needs and posited determinants revealed that anxiety levels;education level;presence of co-morbidity;and being on treatment were significant determinants of patients’ informational needs (Effect’s p ≤ 0.05). Conclusion: The findings of this study support the idea that breast cancer patients are seeking more information on their illness, hence information provision is one of the most important factors for providing high quality cancer care across the whole cancer continuum. Therefore, appreciating the information needs of breast cancer patients is substantial in improving care.

Confinement Following Child Birth and Associated Postpartum Mental Distress

Objective: This study sought to explore confinement following childbirth and its association with mental distress. Methods: A descriptive-analytical cross sectional study design was used. The study was conducted in two districts of Zambia representing an urban and rural setting, targeting parenting mothers during the first two months after delivery. Systematic random sampling technique was used to select the participants. Every second case seen at the study sites between March to August 2017 was selected to participate in the study. The data were collected using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale and analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 22. Pearson correlation coefficient was used to determine the relationship between the dependent and independent variables while binary logistic regression was used to check the combined impact of independent variables on mental distress. Ethical approval was obtained from the local Research Ethics Committees. Participation in the study was voluntary. Results: A total of 200 women participated in the study. The results revealed a high prevalence of mental distress, with 42 percent of women reporting severe levels, and 36.0 percent showing moderate levels. A statistically significant relationship was found between mental distress and confinement (X&#178 = 29.289;P = 0.001), residential type (X&#178 = 16.863;P = 0.001), and age (X&#178 = 17.996;P = 0.006). Suicidal thoughts during confinement were also found to be prevalent in 16 percent of the participants. Binary logistic regression revealed that changes in confinement period from below 2 weeks to between 2 weeks and 1 month raised the odds of suffering mental distress 5.127 times while changes from a confinement period of between 2 weeks and 1 month to over 1 month raised the odds of suffering mental distress 7.737 times. Conclusion: The study results confirmed an association between confinement and mental distress, revealing that the longer the confinement, the more at risk the women were of mental distress.