Abstract Background: Tanzania is among the sub-Saharan African countries facing a tremendous increase in the burden of type 2 diabetes mellitus. In order to provide diabetes health care services, the government has established diabetes care clinics in secondary and tertiary healthcare facilities. However, previous studies have demonstrated a disparity in availability of supplies and equipment for provision of diabetes health care services at these healthcare facilities. This study aims to as...
ABSTRACT Background: There is slower progress on decreasing preterm deaths despite of essential newborn care intervention in Tanzania. About 24% of neonatal deaths in Tanzania occur due to prematurity related complications. The competence regarding Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC) among postnatal mothers and associated health outcomes of preterm babies in central zone is unknown. Therefore the study was aimed to assess competence of postnatal mothers on Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC) and health outcom...
ABSTRACT Background: Tanzania is among the countries with a high maternal mortality rate worldwide. This burden is said to be contributed by the delay in accessing health care services largely due to failure in recognizing the obstetric danger signs. Objective: To assess the knowledge as a predictor of timely response to pregnancy danger signs and the associated obstetric outcome among high risk post-delivery women in Dodoma region. Methods: A cross sectional study of 289 high risk post-del...
ABSTRACT Introduction; Diabetic foot ulcer and amputation remains very common in Diabetics worldwide and extremely affect patient’s quality of life. It has been proven that DFU can be prevented through education on DM and foot care practice, screening of diabetics and early intervention. Objective; to stratify risk factors for DFU and assess knowledge on foot care practice among Diabetics attending Tumbi and Dodoma Regional Referral Hospitals. Method; Hospital based cross sectional descrip...
ABSTRACT Background: Urinary Tract Infection is among the most common febrile illness affecting 150 million people worldwide. The etiology of urinary tract infection can vary from one place to another due to significant geographical variations. Paucity of information exists with regard to UTI, in terms of the prevalence, etiologies, clinical manifestation and antibiotic susceptibility in Dodoma region. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence, aetiology, antibiotic sensitivity a...
ABSTRACT Background: There is a close link between an individual’s knowledge about a given disease and uptake of screening and ultimately treatment. This study aimed to determine the link between knowledge levels and awareness and uptake of cervical cancer screening among women of reproductive age (15 to 49 years) in Dodoma, Tanzania. Methods: A cross-sectional study of 1,587 women aged between 15 and 49 years was conducted in Dodoma City, Tanzania. A structured questionnaire, adapted fro...
ABSTRACT Background: It is estimated that almost 6% of female and 9% of males have experienced abuse in Zanzibar before 18th year of their birthday. Child sexual abuse and health risk issues among adolescents are alarming and have been reported in a wider extents. This study aims to determine the effect of life skills based training on (LSBT) improving knowledge, attitude and assertive behavior for the prevention of sexual abuse among secondary school adolescents of Pemba Island in ZanzibarT...
ABSTRACT Background: There is no other better way proven to safeguard an infant's health in the first six months of life than exclusive breastfeeding. Mother's breast milk is valuable in all aspects of an infant's physical and mental growth as well as immune development. This study assessed factors influencing exclusive breastfeeding among lactating mothers infected with HIV and its associated health outcomes of infants. Method: A hospital-based analytical cross-sectional study was conducte...
ABSTRACT Background: Although modern obstetrics have made child birth remarkably safe from life threatening event in the western world, there are still some challenges in the middle income countries including Tanzania. This study intended to determine the association between Female Genital Mutilation and the perineal injury among Laboring women in Dodoma. Methods: A matched case-control study of 364 random selected laboring women was conducted in three districts and one Regional hospital. C...
ABSRTACT Background: Hospitalized children are vulnerable to developing malnutrition due to the interaction of disease process, food and nutrition. Albeit this risk and evidence of its existence, little attention has been made to understand its determinants and status of hospital malnutrition among hospitalized children. Consequently, there is a gap in knowledge that this study has managed to address successfully Objective: The study intended to assess the prevalence and predictors of hospi...
Abstract Background: Unacceptably high maternal and perinatal mortality remain a major challenge in many low income countries. Early detection and management of danger signs through improved access to maternal services is highly needed for better maternal and infant outcomes. The aim of this study was to test the effectiveness of an interactive mobile messaging alert system on improving knowledge on danger signs, birth preparedness and complication readiness practices among pregnant women in...
ABSTRACT Background: Diarrhea is still a major cause of disease burden worldwide. Very limited information is available about the burden, etiology and factors associated with bacterial diarrhea in individual aged 5 years and above in Tanzania. Therefore this study was conducted to fill this gap. Methods: Across sectional analytical study was conducted among individuals 5 years and above presenting with diarrhea at Dodoma Regional Referral Hospital and St Gemma’s Hospital from February 201...
ABSTRACT Background: Maternal and Perinatal Deaths Review and Surveillance (MPDSR) is a technical system which was issued by the World Health Organization in 2013 to help developing countries improve maternal health. The major purpose of the system was to reduce the ongoing high numbers of maternal deaths and perinatal deaths from avertable causes. Tanzania adopted MPDSR system in 2015. The system was intended to generate useful information by ensuring that all pregnancy related deaths of wo...
ABSTRACT Bushmeat is an important source of household (HH) food and income in western Serengeti although information on the frequency of consumption and income earned is unknown due to the illegal nature of the activity. This study was intended to determine the contribution of bushmeat to HHs and factors influencing bushmeat dependence. The study was conducted in three villages (Robanda, Rwamkoma and Kowak) selected purposely based on distances from the western boundary of Serengeti National...
Introduction: Chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) affects people of all ages worldwide and has significant socio-economic impact. Data on chronic rhinosinusitis are scarce. Objective: To determine the prevalence of CRS among patients attending the Otorhinolaryngology Department at Muhimbili National Hospital (MNH). Method: This was a hospital based descriptive cross-sectional study where 56 patients with CRS were recruited from July to December 2015 after meeting the criteria set by American Acade...