43 research outputs found
Biopsychosocial risk factors and knowledge of cervical cancer among young women: A case study from Kenya to inform HPV prevention in Sub-Saharan Africa
Background:
Cervical cancer is the second most common female reproductive cancer after breast cancer with 84% of the cases in developing countries. A high uptake of human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccination and screening, and early diagnosis leads to a reduction of incidence and mortality rates. Yet uptake of screening is low in Sub-Saharan Africa and there is an increasing number of women presenting for treatment with advanced disease. Nine women in their twenties die from cervical cancer in Kenya every day. This paper presents the biopsychosocial risk factors that impact on cervical cancer knowledge among Kenyan women aged 15 to 24 years. The findings will highlight opportunities for early interventions to prevent the worrying prediction of an exponential increase by 50% of cervical cancer incidences in the younger age group by 2034.
Methods:
Data from the 2014 Kenya Demographic and Health Survey (KDHS) was analysed using complex sample logistic regression to assess biopsychosocial risk factors of knowledge of cervical cancer among young women aged 15 to 24 years (n = 5398).
Findings:
Close to one third of the participants were unaware of cervical cancer with no difference between participants aged 15â19 years (n = 2716) and those aged 20â24 years (n = 2691) (OR = 1; CI = 0.69â1.45). Social predisposing factors, such as lack of education; poverty; living further from a health facility; or never having taken a human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) test, were significantly associated with lack of awareness of cervical cancer (p<0.001). Young women who did not know where to obtain condoms had an OR of 2.12 (CI 1.72â2.61) for being unaware of cervical cancer. Psychological risk factors, such as low self-efficacy about seeking medical help, and an inability to refuse unsafe sex with husband or partner, perpetuated the low level of awareness about cervical cancer (p<0.001).
Conclusions:
A considerable proportion of young women in Kenya are unaware of cervical cancer which is associated with a variety of social and psychological factors. We argue that the high prevalence of cervical cancer and poor screening rates will continue to prevail among older women if issues that affect young womenâs awareness of cervical cancer are not addressed. Given that the Kenyan youth are exposed to HPV due to early sexual encounters and a high prevalence of HIV, targeted interventions are urgently needed to increase the uptake of HPV vaccination and screening
Universal coverage with insecticide-treated nets â applying the revised indicators for ownership and use to the Nigeria 2010 malaria indicator survey data
Soluble transferrin receptor level, inflammation markers, malaria, alphaâthalassemia and selenium status are the major predictors of hemoglobin in children 6â23Â months in Malawi
In sub-Saharan Africa, nearly three-fourths of children 6â23 months are anemic. Yet, the underlying causes had not been sufficiently explored. This study, based on data (n = 348) extracted from the Malawi Micronutrient Surveyâ2015/2016 dataset, evaluated the contribution of multiple factors to the hemoglobin status of children 6â23 months. The association between hemoglobin and 19 predictors was assessed using multiple linear regression analysis, and the relative contribution of the covariates was determined based on delta-R2 value. The study found that 43.9% of children were anemic and 76.9% had elevated soluble transferrin receptor (sTfR) levels. Unit changes in serum ferritin (Âľg/L) and sTfR (mg/L) were associated with 0.01 g/dl rise (p = .041) and 0.05 g/dl decline (p < .001) in hemoglobin, respectively. Each 1 ng/ml increase in plasma selenium was met with 0.007 g/dl (p = .02) rise in hemoglobin. Hemoglobin showed negative relationships with Îą-1-acid glycoprotein (AGP) (β = â.339, p = .007) and C-reactive protein (CRP) (β = â.014, p = .004) and positive association with child's age in months (β = .038, p = .003) and altitude in meters (β = .001, p = .015). Children affected by Îą-thalassemia (β = â.75, p < .001), malaria (β = â.43, p = .029), and fever (β = â.39, p = .008) had significantly lower hemoglobin levels. On the contrary, nine variables including serum zinc and retinol binding protein were not significant predictors of hemoglobin. sTfR had the highest delta-R2 contribution (9.1%) to hemoglobin variations, followed by inflammation (5.2%), Îą-thalassemia (2.5%), age (2.1%), fever (1.9%), and malaria (1.5%). The analysis suggested iron status, inflammation, and malaria were the major predictors of hemoglobin among Malawian infants and young children