FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO INCREASED CASES OF TYPHOID FEVER AMONG PATIENTS AGED 15-45 YEARS IN SOROTI REGIONAL REFERRAL HOSPITAL, SOROTI DISTRICT. A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY.

Background: This study aimed to determine the factors contributing to increased cases of typhoid fever among patients aged 15-45 years in Soroti Regional Referral Hospital, Soroti District. Methodology: A descriptive study design employed both qualitative and quantitative data collection, a simple random sampling technique was used. Results: The majority of respondents 85% had heard of typhoid fever, 52% did not complete treatment for typhoid when they fell sick, 64% of them did not have latrines, and out of the few with them 84% did not have latrines covers and 52% do not know what contaminates water in their community. 42% get their water from the tap, 58% dispose of their wastes in their backyards of homes, 40% eat food from their homes, they do not follow proper hygienic methods of food handling, and 70% do not treat or boil drinking water. half 50% of the respondents move long distances to seek medical services. Conclusion: Most people do not complete their treatment for typhoid fever, do not know how typhoid fever is transmitted from one person to another, that there is management of waste, and food, do not boil water for drinking, the majority do not have latrines, move long distances to seek health services, the health facility does not have required laboratory equipment’s to facilitate routine typhoid testing and diagnosis, and gaps in the general examination of patients were discovered. Recommendations : Uganda National Water and Sewerage Corporation should improve water supply and treatment, sensitize people on how to prevent communicable diseases through the Centre Disease Control and Prevention through the Ministry of Health and more health workers should be recruited to improve service delivery. People in the community should be encouraged to boil water before drinking and routine of the health facility for general body checkups

Towards an Artificial Intelligence Readiness Index for Africa

This research article was published by Springer Nature in 2023The applications and benefits of Artificial Intelligence (AI) for socio-economic development are immense. AI is projected to contribute approximately USD 15.7 trillion to the global Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by 2030. However, countries need to be prepared to harness such benefits. Hence, assessing the AI readiness of a country is paramount. Africa is currently the only continent without an AI readiness index tailored to its needs. It relies on the existing global indices, which may not accurately measure the progress attained by individual African countries because of the different levels of development and unique context. This paper proposes an AI readiness index for Africa. It starts by exploring what the AI readiness index needs of Africa are, examines the extent to which existing AI readiness indices meet the needs, and then looks at indicators that should constitute the AI readiness index for Africa. The study employed a systematic literature review that aimed to explore the AI readiness needs for Africa and the extent existing indices meet these. The review focused on papers published on the AI readiness index between January 2018 to August 2022. The search strategy retrieved 301 papers, of which seven papers were selected for a detailed analysis. The study revealed that the existing indices partially meet AI readiness needs for Africa. The study also found that AI readiness index dimensions pertinent to Africa’s requirements are: Vision, Governance and Ethics, Digital Capacity, Size of the Technology Sector, Research and Development, Education, Infrastructure, Data Availability, general level of employment, employment in Data Science and AI roles, and Gross Domestic Product-Per Capita Purchasing Power Parity. This study contributes to the knowledge of AI readiness for Africa and globally. The results of this study will benefit governments, researchers, and practitioners of AI and its applications

Healthcare delivery for paediatric and adolescent diabetes in low resource settings: Type 1 diabetes clinics in Uganda

The management of type 1 diabetes (T1DM) includes setting up organised follow-up clinics. A programme for establishing such clinics in Uganda commenced in 2009. The clinics were established along the chronic care model and were integrated into the health structure of other chronic diseases. Web-based electronic medical records were utilised to establish a centralised registry. All children with diabetes below 18 years of age were encouraged to enrol into the programme by attending the nearest established T1DM clinic. At the commencement of the programme, there were 178 patients with T1DM receiving care in various health facilities but without organised follow-up T1DM clinics. These patients were subsequently enrolled into the programme and as of June 30, 2018, the programme had a total of 32 clinics with 1187 children; 3 with neonatal diabetes. Challenges encountered included difficulties in timely diagnosis, failure to provide adequate care in the remote rural areas and failure to achieve pre-defined glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) goals. Despite these challenges, this observational study demonstrates that healthcare delivery for T1DM organised along the chronic care model and supported by web-based electronic medical records is achievable and provides care that is sustainable. Addressing the encountered challenges should result in improved outcomes for T1DM