Articles

Hypertension Education Intervention with Ugandan Nurses Working in Hospital Outpatient Clinic: A Pilot Study

This pilot study demonstrated that nurses’ knowledge, skills, and attitudes could be significantly improved with a multimodal education program implemented in a low resource environment.

Associations between parents’ subjective time pressure and mental health problems among children in the Nordic countries: a population based study

The purpose of this study was to examine the association between parents’ subjective time pressure and mental health problems among children in the Nordic countries as well as potential disparities between boys and girls in different age groups. In this study an association between parents’ subjective time pressure and increased mental health problems among children was found.      

Current Issues and Priorities in Childhood

Despite the close interrelation between these infections and nutrition conditions, key nutrition interventions for prevention of childhood diarrhea and pneumonia have not received deserved attention, especially in low- and middle-income countries. Several interventions and strategies can effectively address these issues but are not available to those in need. This article discusses in detail the burden and trends of global under-5 mortality, infections, and nutrition conditions; etiology and associated risk factors; biological plausibility and the interrelation between infections, nutrition, and growth; and existing interventions and strategies to reduce major childhood infections and improve nutrition and growth and implications.

Recognizing acute delirium as part of your routine [RADAR]: a validation study

Although detection of delirium using the current tools is excellent in research settings, in routine clinical practice, this is not the case. Together with nursing staff, we developed a screening tool (RADAR) to address certain limitations of existing tools, notably administration time, ease-of-use and generalizability.  

Special Issue: Newborn Health in Uganda

The nine-article special issue, titled Newborn Health in Uganda, details results of a community randomized trial, the Uganda Newborn Study (UNEST), which evaluated an integrated care package linking homes, clinics and hospitals and involving visits during pregnancy and the postnatal period at home by a designated member of the village health team. The UNEST results demonstrate that these home visits in pregnancy and soon after delivery were possible to achieve, and that life-saving behaviors could be improved by this interaction. UNEST was influenced by the previously published neonatal survival series in the Lancet which identified cost-effective interventions that could prevent the majority of deaths in the newborn period.      

Levels, trends and reasons for unmet need for family planning among married women in Botswana: a cross-sectional study

The objectives of this study were to estimate the prevalence of unmet need for family planning among married women using Botswana Family Health Survey 2007 data and to identify risk factors for unmet need for family planning among married women.Findings suggest that the prevalence of unmet need for family planning was low in Botswana compared to other sub-Saharan African countries. The findings from this study reemphasise the importance of women's empowerment and men's involvement in women's sexual and reproductive healthcare needs and services. Different approaches are needed to satisfy the demand for family planning for spacing and limiting.      

Risk factors for postneonatal, infant, child and under-5 mortality in Nigeria: a pooled cross-sectional analysis

The study aims to identify common factors associated with post-neonatal, infant, child and under-5 mortality in Nigeria. This study found that no formal education, poor households and living in rural areas increased the risk of postneonatal, infant, child and under-5 mortality among Nigerian children. Community-based interventions for reducing under-5 deaths are needed and should target children born to mothers of low socioeconomic status.      

Research Administration and Grant Management

Links to resources provided by iRIM (the Initiative on Research and Innovation Management) - free online presentations and tutorials relating to how to manage grants and perform administration of clinical research projects effectively.

Supporting adolescent girls to stay in school, reduce child marriage and reduce entry into sex work as HIV risk prevention in north Karnataka, India: protocol for a cluster randomised controlled trial

Low caste adolescent girls living in rural northern Karnataka are at increased risk of school drop-out, child marriage, and entry into sex-work, which enhances their vulnerability to HIV, early pregnancy and adverse maternal and child health outcomes. This protocol describes the evaluation of Samata, a comprehensive, multi-level intervention designed to address these structural drivers of HIV risk and vulnerability.      

Associations between parental BMI, socioeconomic factors, family structure and overweight in Finnish children: a path model approach

The aim of this study was to assess the less studied interrelationships and pathways between parental BMI, socioeconomic factors, family structure and childhood overweight. The observed pathways between parental BMI and education and childhood overweight emphasize a need for evidence-based health promotion interventions tailored for families identified with parental overweight and low level of education.      

Managing clinical trials

Managing clinical trials, of whatever size and complexity, requires efficient trial management. Trials fail because tried and tested systems handed down through apprenticeships have not been documented, evaluated or published to guide new trialists starting out in this important field.

Association between gender inequality index and child mortality rates: a cross-national study of 138 countries

Gender inequality weakens maternal health and harms children through many direct and indirect pathways. The global impact of Gender Inequality Index (GII) on the child mortality rates remains uncertain. The study authors have documented statistically significant positive associations between GII and child mortality rates. The authors suggest that initiatives to curtail child mortality rates should extend beyond medical interventions and should prioritize women’s rights and autonomy.      

Maternal smoking and the risk of still birth: systematic review and meta-analysis

Smoking in pregnancy is known to be associated with a range of adverse pregnancy outcomes, yet there is a high prevalence of smoking among pregnant women in many countries, and it remains a major public health concern. The authors have conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to provide contemporary estimates of the association between maternal smoking in pregnancy and the risk of stillbirth. The review findings confirm a dose-response effect of maternal smoking in pregnancy on risk of stillbirth. To minimise the risk of stillbirth, reducing current smoking prevalence in pregnancy should continue to be a key public health high priority.      

A framework to evaluate research capacity building in health care

This paper is published in BioMedCentral, with link provided in this article. Building research capacity in health services has been recognised internationally as important in order to produce a sound evidence base for decision-making in policy and practice.

Challenges in tuberculosis care in Western Uganda: Health care worker and patient perspectives

Demonstrating the Efficacy of the FoneAstra Pasteurization Monitor for Human Milk Pasteurization in Resource-Limited Settings

Rubella

Rubella remains an important pathogen worldwide, with roughly 100 000 cases of congenital rubella syndrome estimated to occur every year. This seminar present results regarding rubella control, elimination, and eradication policies, and a brief review of new laboratory diagnostics.      

Barriers and Suggested Facilitators to the Implementation of Best Practice: An Integrative Review.

26 studies were reviewed to identify barriers and facilitators for Research Utilisation in nursing practice.

Motor development following in utero exposure to organochlorines: a follow-up study of children aged 5–9 years in Greenland, Ukraine and Poland

Study findings suggest that In utero exposure to CB-153 and p,p′-DDE was not associated with parentally retrospectively assessed developmental milestones in infancy or parentally assessed motor skills at young school age. The use of a more sensitive outcome measure may be warranted if subtle effects should be identified.      

Incidence and severity of childhood pneumonia in the first year of life in a South African birth cohort: the Drakenstein Child Health Study