The present DHR-ICMR guidelines comprehensively address the various concerns regarding the clinical assessment, treatment, and laboratory diagnosis of rickettsial diseases in India and the world. It is hoped that physicians, health care workers, the scientific community, the regulatory agencies, pub...lic health care professionals and the public at large will be benefited by these guidelines.
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J Epidemiol Community Health 2011;65:1166e1170. doi:10.1136/jech.2009.097469
Anema et al. AIDS Research and Therapy 2011, 8:13 http://www.aidsrestherapy.com/content/8/1/13
Issues in Educational Research, 26(1), 2016
Policy Brief
November 2014
Ade et al. BMC Health Services Research (2016) 16:5
Background: In the “Centre National Hospitalier de Pneumo-Phtisiologie” of Cotonou, Benin, little is known about
the characteristics of patients who have not attended their scheduled appo...intment, the results of tracing and the
possible benefits on improving treatment outcomes. This study aimed to determine the contribution of tracing
activities for those who missed scheduled appointments towards a successful treatment outcome.
Methods: A retrospective cohort study was carried out among all smear-positive pulmonary tuberculosis patients
treated between January and September 2013. Data on demographic and diagnostic characteristics and treatment
outcomes were accessed from tuberculosis registers and treatment cards. Information on those who missed their
scheduled appointments was collected from the tracing tuberculosis register. A univariate analysis was performed
to explore factors associated with missing a scheduled appointment
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High quality of care in family planning (FP) services has been found to be associated with increased and continued use of contraceptive methods. The interpersonal skills and technical competence of the provider is one of the main components of quality of care. To study the process component of quali...ty of care, the distribution of the FP counseling topics was examined by client, provider and facility characteristics. To assess the outcomes of quality of care, client satisfaction and their knowledge of their method’s protection from STIs were used. This study examined the factors associated with these outcomes with a focus on provider counseling and training.
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The systematic surveillance of antibiotic use and antibiotic re-sistance prevalence in humans and animals is imperative for managingbacterial infectious disease (JPIAMR, 2019;WHO, 2015). Many low-income countries currently face substantial challenges in building national surveillance systems due to ...a lack of infrastructure and resources,resulting in a shortage of systematic data (FAO/OIE/WHO, 2018)
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The management of information and logistics is an essential component of health product systems. In a context of limited financial resources and morbidity and mortality sustained by persistent diseases, it is necessary to strengthen health systems through competent resources, especially human resour...ces (HR), to ensure performance, sustainability and independence from external funding. In Burkina Faso, a strong and lasting partnership between the Ministry of Health and the Bioforce Institute has existed since 2005 to address this issue. This partnership has created a favorable environment for the professionalization of health logistics and for the recognition of its significant role in health system performance.
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In Kenya, the bacterial infections that contribute most to human disease are often those in which re-‐sistance is most evident. Examples are multidrug-‐resistant enteric bacterial pathogens such as typhoid, ... diarrhoeagenic Escherichia coli and invasive non-‐typhi salmonella, penicillin-‐resistant Streptococcus pneu-‐moniae, vancomycin-‐resistant enterococci, methicillin-‐resistant Staphylococcus aureus and multidrug-‐re-‐sistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Resistance to medicines commonly used to treat malaria is of particu-‐lar concern, as is the emerging resistance to anti-‐HIV drugs. Often, more expensive medicines are required to treat these infections, and this becomes a major challenge in resource-‐poor settings.
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Jin et al. Military Medical Research (2020) 7:4 https://doi.org/10.1186/s40779-020-0233-6
Position Article und Guideline
Physical distancing measures are important to reduce COVID-19 transmission. However, when stringently applied, they can result in negative health and socio-economic impacts. This report draws on a rapid review of available literature, case studies from across Africa and expert knowledge to make reco...mmendations on adapting classic physical distancing measures to the contextual realities in Africa and on mitigating potential negative impacts.
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Physical distancing measures are important to reduce COVID-19 transmission. However, when stringently applied, they can result in negative health and socio-economic impacts. This report draws on a rapid review of available literature, case studies from across Africa and expert knowledge to make reco...mmendations on adapting classic physical distancing measures to the contextual realities in Africa and on mitigating potential negative impacts.
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The COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately impacted the informal women workers due to lockdowns, curfews, school closures, and all other containment measures- most of which missed the feminist lens in their formulation, enforcement, and reporting. All recovery efforts, therefore, ought to delibera...tely consider the informal sector.
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The article "Asthma in South African adolescents: a time trend and risk factor analysis over two decades" investigates the prevalence and risk factors for asthma in Cape Town adolescents from 2002 to 2017. The study finds that while the overall prevalence of asthma remained similar, the severity of ...the condition increased significantly. Risk factors for asthma and severe cases include smoking, pet exposure, outdoor pollution, and living in informal housing. Despite these trends, underdiagnosis remains a concern, as only one-third of adolescents with current or severe asthma had been formally diagnosed. The article emphasizes the need for better public health strategies to address environmental exposures and improve asthma diagnosis and treatment.
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Background
Asthma remains highly prevalent, with more severe symptoms in low-income to middle-income countries (LMICs) compared with high-income countries. Identifying risk factors for severe asthma symptoms can assist with improving outcomes. We aimed to determine the prevalence, severity and ris...k factors for asthma in adolescents in an LMIC.
Methods
A cross-sectional survey using the Global Asthma Network written and video questionnaires was conducted in adolescents aged 13 and 14 from randomly selected schools in Durban, South Africa, between May 2019 and June 2021.
Results
A total of 3957 adolescents (51.9% female) were included. The prevalence of lifetime, current and severe asthma was 24.6%, 13.7% and 9.1%, respectively. Of those with current and severe asthma symptoms; 38.9% (n=211/543) and 40.7% (n=147/361) had doctor-diagnosed asthma; of these, 72.0% (n=152/211) and 70.7% (n=104/147), respectively, reported using inhaled medication in the last 12 months. Short-acting beta agonists (80.4%) were more commonly used than inhaled corticosteroids (13.7%). Severe asthma was associated with: fee-paying school quintile (adjusted OR (CI)): 1.78 (1.27 to 2.48), overweight (1.60 (1.15 to 2.22)), exposure to traffic pollution (1.42 (1.11 to 1.82)), tobacco smoking (2.06 (1.15 to 3.68)), rhinoconjunctivitis (3.62 (2.80 to 4.67)) and eczema (2.24 (1.59 to 3.14)), all p<0.01.
Conclusion
Asthma prevalence in this population (13.7%) is higher than the global average (10.4%). Although common, severe asthma symptoms are underdiagnosed and associated with atopy, environmental and lifestyle factors. Equitable access to affordable essential controller inhaled medicines addressing the disproportionate burden of asthma is needed in this setting.
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Division of Noncommunicable Diseases | draft guidelines on diagnosis and management of a chronic immune-mediated enteropathy called celiac disease. This disease is caused is mainly caused in genetically susceptible individuals by ingestion of gluten proteins that are present in wheat, barley and oat...s.
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