Teenage pregnancy is a common public health problem worldwide because teenagers in general are ill-prepared to deal with the burden of pregnancy. Sub-Saharan Africa has the highest burden of teenage pregnancy precisel...Teenage pregnancy is a common public health problem worldwide because teenagers in general are ill-prepared to deal with the burden of pregnancy. Sub-Saharan Africa has the highest burden of teenage pregnancy precisely in the west and central Africa;in Cameroon, about 12% of all births are to teenage mothers. Complications from pregnancy and childbirth are the leading cause of death among girls aged 15 to 19. Though the trend of teenage pregnancy tends to decrease in most parts of the world, this is not the case in our setting. The main aim of this study was to determine the prevalence, outcomes and the associated factors of teenage pregnancy in the Bamenda Health District (BHD). Materials and Method: This was a hospital-based cross-sectional descriptive and analytic study carried out at the maternity and postnatal units of the Bamenda Regional Hospital and the Nkwen Medicalised Health Center. A consecutive non-probabilistic sampling technique was used to recruit participants. A pretested questionnaire was used to collect information from the participant. Data was analysed using the software SPSS version 23. Bivariate logistic regression was used to test for associations. Statistical significance was set at p-value less than 0.05. Result: A total of 325 participants were recruited of which 44 were teenagers. The mean age of the participants was 25.02 ± 0.257 years. The mean age of teenagers was 17.49 ± 0.63 years, and mean adult age was 28.43 ± 5.64 years. The youngest participant was 15 years. Teenagers were significantly more likely to prematurity (OR = 0.14;95% CI = 0.06 - 0.31;PV = 0.001), Low birth weight among teenagers (OR = 0.077;95% CI = 0.03 - 0.21;PV = 0.001), Still birth;OR = 0.07;95% CI = 0.01 - 0.86;PV = 0.03) Neonatal admission also high among teenagers (OR = 0.172, 95% CI = 0.08 - 0.39, PV = 0.001) compared to the babies of their adult counterpart. The rate of caesarean section and episiotomy was high among adult deliveries (21.7%). Conclusion: There is a high prevalence of teenage pregnancy (13.54%) in the Bamenda Health District. prematurity was independently associated with teenage pregnancy. perineal tears were the most common maternal outcome of teenage pregnancy. Adolescents/teenagers in rural areas, having a low level of income, and low level of education were associated with high level of teenage pregnancy.展开更多
Decentralisation of infrastructure delivery to sub-national governments has become commonplace in governments worldwide especially in developing countries such as Ghana. This is due to the benefits of decentralisation...Decentralisation of infrastructure delivery to sub-national governments has become commonplace in governments worldwide especially in developing countries such as Ghana. This is due to the benefits of decentralisation in improving public service delivery. However, decentralised infrastructure delivery is marred with numerous challenges that render most local governments incapable of providing infrastructure within their localities. This paper explored the bureaucratic factors that impede infrastructure delivery at the MMDAs in Ghana. A questionnaire survey with 121 construction professionals in the Departments of Works (DoWs) of the MMDAs within the Ashanti and Greater Accra Regions of Ghana was conducted. The results indicated six (6) major components of the bureaucratic factors that impede the delivery of infrastructure at the MMDAs: Central government bureaucracy;Minimal control of MMDAs;Political influence;MMDA project funding;Lack of capacity of MMDAs;and Political interference. This paper calls for a more committed central government to the establishment of adequate decentralised structures and implementation of major reforms that would remove the bureaucratic obstacles in the delivery of infrastructure at the MMDAs, to ensure effective infrastructure delivery at the MMDAs.展开更多
<strong>Introduction:</strong> Timely availability of safe blood or blood products is essential for all health care facilities where transfusion occurs, but in many developing and transitional countries, t...<strong>Introduction:</strong> Timely availability of safe blood or blood products is essential for all health care facilities where transfusion occurs, but in many developing and transitional countries, there is still a considerable gap between the need for blood and the supply available. The overall objective was to study knowledge attitudes, practices, and factors influencing blood donation in the general population in Senegal. <strong>Methods:</strong> This was a cross-sectional descriptive and analytical study conducted among the Fatick health district population from April 1 to 15, 2019. Thus, the sample is based on a two-stage survey. Data collection was conducted through a questionnaire designed, pretested, and administered to 466 people by selected and trained enumerators. The data collected on the smartphone was analyzed using Epi Info 7.2.1.0 software. A descriptive and bivariate analysis was performed with a 5% risk of alpha error. <strong>Results:</strong> The average age of respondents was 35 years (±13), with 34 years (±12) for women and 38 years (±15) for men, and more than half of them between 20 and 40 years of age. A proportion of 87% of respondents lived in rural areas and had agriculture as their primary income source. More than half of the individuals (70%) were married, and 68% were educated. The level of knowledge of individuals about blood donation was low at 91.8%. On the other hand, more than half of them had good habits (53.65%). A proportion of 68.0% of individuals had an intention to donate in the future. However, only 24.68% of the population surveyed had already donated blood. Eighty percent of the donations were voluntary. However, 26.09% had repeated this practice. Factors that could influence the practice of blood donation were age, male sex (ORb = 2.18 [1.40 - 3. 37]), high level of education, good knowledge of blood donation (ORb = 2.14 [1.07 - 4.26]), the existence of a relatives donor (ORb = 3.4 [2.19 - 5.26]) and individuals who did not necessarily require permission from a parent or spouse (ORb = 3.37 [2.13 - 5.31]). <strong>Conclusion:</strong> It is necessary to develop mass communication and proximity strategies, also strengthen the blood bank in terms of human resources and logistics to increase voluntary blood donations in the district. An increase and better planning of mobile clinic outings can facilitate and improve voluntary blood donation by improving accessibility to this service.展开更多
文摘Teenage pregnancy is a common public health problem worldwide because teenagers in general are ill-prepared to deal with the burden of pregnancy. Sub-Saharan Africa has the highest burden of teenage pregnancy precisely in the west and central Africa;in Cameroon, about 12% of all births are to teenage mothers. Complications from pregnancy and childbirth are the leading cause of death among girls aged 15 to 19. Though the trend of teenage pregnancy tends to decrease in most parts of the world, this is not the case in our setting. The main aim of this study was to determine the prevalence, outcomes and the associated factors of teenage pregnancy in the Bamenda Health District (BHD). Materials and Method: This was a hospital-based cross-sectional descriptive and analytic study carried out at the maternity and postnatal units of the Bamenda Regional Hospital and the Nkwen Medicalised Health Center. A consecutive non-probabilistic sampling technique was used to recruit participants. A pretested questionnaire was used to collect information from the participant. Data was analysed using the software SPSS version 23. Bivariate logistic regression was used to test for associations. Statistical significance was set at p-value less than 0.05. Result: A total of 325 participants were recruited of which 44 were teenagers. The mean age of the participants was 25.02 ± 0.257 years. The mean age of teenagers was 17.49 ± 0.63 years, and mean adult age was 28.43 ± 5.64 years. The youngest participant was 15 years. Teenagers were significantly more likely to prematurity (OR = 0.14;95% CI = 0.06 - 0.31;PV = 0.001), Low birth weight among teenagers (OR = 0.077;95% CI = 0.03 - 0.21;PV = 0.001), Still birth;OR = 0.07;95% CI = 0.01 - 0.86;PV = 0.03) Neonatal admission also high among teenagers (OR = 0.172, 95% CI = 0.08 - 0.39, PV = 0.001) compared to the babies of their adult counterpart. The rate of caesarean section and episiotomy was high among adult deliveries (21.7%). Conclusion: There is a high prevalence of teenage pregnancy (13.54%) in the Bamenda Health District. prematurity was independently associated with teenage pregnancy. perineal tears were the most common maternal outcome of teenage pregnancy. Adolescents/teenagers in rural areas, having a low level of income, and low level of education were associated with high level of teenage pregnancy.
文摘Decentralisation of infrastructure delivery to sub-national governments has become commonplace in governments worldwide especially in developing countries such as Ghana. This is due to the benefits of decentralisation in improving public service delivery. However, decentralised infrastructure delivery is marred with numerous challenges that render most local governments incapable of providing infrastructure within their localities. This paper explored the bureaucratic factors that impede infrastructure delivery at the MMDAs in Ghana. A questionnaire survey with 121 construction professionals in the Departments of Works (DoWs) of the MMDAs within the Ashanti and Greater Accra Regions of Ghana was conducted. The results indicated six (6) major components of the bureaucratic factors that impede the delivery of infrastructure at the MMDAs: Central government bureaucracy;Minimal control of MMDAs;Political influence;MMDA project funding;Lack of capacity of MMDAs;and Political interference. This paper calls for a more committed central government to the establishment of adequate decentralised structures and implementation of major reforms that would remove the bureaucratic obstacles in the delivery of infrastructure at the MMDAs, to ensure effective infrastructure delivery at the MMDAs.
文摘<strong>Introduction:</strong> Timely availability of safe blood or blood products is essential for all health care facilities where transfusion occurs, but in many developing and transitional countries, there is still a considerable gap between the need for blood and the supply available. The overall objective was to study knowledge attitudes, practices, and factors influencing blood donation in the general population in Senegal. <strong>Methods:</strong> This was a cross-sectional descriptive and analytical study conducted among the Fatick health district population from April 1 to 15, 2019. Thus, the sample is based on a two-stage survey. Data collection was conducted through a questionnaire designed, pretested, and administered to 466 people by selected and trained enumerators. The data collected on the smartphone was analyzed using Epi Info 7.2.1.0 software. A descriptive and bivariate analysis was performed with a 5% risk of alpha error. <strong>Results:</strong> The average age of respondents was 35 years (±13), with 34 years (±12) for women and 38 years (±15) for men, and more than half of them between 20 and 40 years of age. A proportion of 87% of respondents lived in rural areas and had agriculture as their primary income source. More than half of the individuals (70%) were married, and 68% were educated. The level of knowledge of individuals about blood donation was low at 91.8%. On the other hand, more than half of them had good habits (53.65%). A proportion of 68.0% of individuals had an intention to donate in the future. However, only 24.68% of the population surveyed had already donated blood. Eighty percent of the donations were voluntary. However, 26.09% had repeated this practice. Factors that could influence the practice of blood donation were age, male sex (ORb = 2.18 [1.40 - 3. 37]), high level of education, good knowledge of blood donation (ORb = 2.14 [1.07 - 4.26]), the existence of a relatives donor (ORb = 3.4 [2.19 - 5.26]) and individuals who did not necessarily require permission from a parent or spouse (ORb = 3.37 [2.13 - 5.31]). <strong>Conclusion:</strong> It is necessary to develop mass communication and proximity strategies, also strengthen the blood bank in terms of human resources and logistics to increase voluntary blood donations in the district. An increase and better planning of mobile clinic outings can facilitate and improve voluntary blood donation by improving accessibility to this service.
