Prevalence and Predictor of Exclusive Breastfeeding among Mothers of 0 to 6 months Infants from Pastoralists and Hunters’ Community in Tanzania; A Community Based Cross-Sectional Study

Background: Initiating breastfeeding during the first hour after birth and continuing breastfeeding exclusively for 6 months prevents childhood infections such as diarrhoea. Exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) for the first 6 months of life of the baby is recognised globally as the best and the most effective intervention to ensure the survival of babies. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of EBF and its predictors among mothers of 0 to 6 months infants from pastoralists and hunters’ community in Manyara region-Tanzania. Methods: This was a community-based analytical cross-sectional study that involved 342 mothers of 0 to 6 months infants who were randomly selected through 4 stage multistage sampling technique. Data was collected using an intervieweradministered questionnaire. Collected data was analysed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20. Binary Logistic Regression analysis was used to establish factors associated with EBF practices. Results: The prevalence of EBF among postnatal women from hunters and pastoralists societies was 47.1% at 95% CI=41.7%-52.5%. After adjusted for confounders, the predictors of EBF practice were age of infants (0-1 months, AOR= 2.838 at 95% CI = 1.326-6.075, p=.007), age of mothers (26-35 years, AOR=1.851 at 95% CI= 1.059-3.234, p=.031), Level of education of infants’ mothers (primary education, AOR= 2.374 at 95% CI= 1.321-4.265, p=.004) and knowledge on exclusive breast feeding, AOR=2.51 at 95% CI= 1.435-4.393, p=.001. Conclusion: Majority of mothers from pastoralists’ and hunters’ societies were not practising EBF. Predictors of EBF practice were; the age of infants, maternal age, level of education of the mother and knowledge on exclusive breastfeeding. Poor EBF practice was mainly contributed to low level of knowledge about the EBF. The low level of knowledge could have been contributed by poor access to maternal services. Nature of living (lack of permanent settlement) of the study population could have contributed to low access to maternal  services. An innovative interventional study is highly recommended to come up with strategies that will improve knowledge on EBF and practice of EB

Prevalence and Factors Associated with Home Childbirth with Unskilled Birth Assistance in Dodoma -Tanzania: A Cross Sectional Study

Background: Improving maternal health is one of the goals to be achieved under the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) number 3. Worldwide, half a million of women die each year from pregnancy and childbirth related complications which can be prevented by skilled birth assistance. One of the determinants of maternal health is place of childbirth. Giving birth at home leads to a high risk of maternal and child mortality. The aim of the study was to determine the prevalence and factors associated with choice of home childbirth in Dodoma Municipality.Methods: A community based cross section study using multistage sampling was used to obtain the sample in which 2,523 women who gave birth within 3 years prior to the date of the study from different wards of Dodoma municipal were interviewed. The data obtained were entered and analysed using SPSS version 20. Binary logistic regression analysis was used to establish predictors of home childbirth with unskilled birth assistance.Results: A total of 1,174 (46.5%) women had home childbirth with unskilled birth assistance. After adjusted for the confounders, predictors of home childbirth with unskilled birth assistance among study respondents were level of education [primary education, AOR=0.69 at 95% CI=0.557-0.854,p<.001; secondary education, AOR=0.492 at 95% CI=0.358-0.676,p<.001 and above secondary education, AOR=0.35 at 95% CI=0.16-0.765;p<.01]; marital status [married women, AOR=0.686 at 95% CI=0.547-0.86, p<.001]; occupation of a mother [peasant, AOR=1.508 at 95% CI=1.214-1.874, p<.05]; parity [2 to 4 children, AOR=1.316 at 95% CI=1.028-1.684,p<.05; More than 4 children, AOR=2.006 at 95% CI=1.427-2.82,p<.001]; number of antenatal visits [4 or more antenatal visits, AOR=0.451 at 95% CI=0.204-0.997,p<.05] and walking distance [less than 5kilometres, AOR= 0.797 at 95% CI=0.674-0.943,p<.001]Conclusion: The findings of this study suggest a need for health education in the community on the importance of skilled birth delivery. There is also a need for the government to roll out the implementation of Primary Health Services Development Program (PHSDP-MMAM) which addresses the delivery of health services within 5 kilometres to ensure fair, equitable and quality health services to the community

Assessing motivators for utilizing family planning services among youth students in higher learning institutions in Dodoma, Tanzania: Protocol for analytical cross sectional study.

IntroductionContraceptive services utilization is an important intervention in averting the impact of unwanted and unplanned pregnancy among youth which is an obstacle to the higher learning institutions youth students in attaining their educational goals. Therefore, the current protocol aims to assess the motivators for family planning service utilization among youth student in higher learning institutions in Dodoma Tanzania.MethodsThis study will be a cross-sectional study with quantitative approach. A multistage sampling technique will be employed in studying 421 youth students aged between 18 to 24 years using structured self-administered questionnaire adopted from the previous studies. The study outcome will be family planning service utilization and independent variables will be family planning service utilization environment, knowledge factors, and perception factors. Other factors such as socio-demographic characteristics will be assessed if they are confounding factors. A factor will be considered as a confounder if it associates with both the dependent and the independent variables. Multivariable Binary logistic regression will be employed in determining the motivators for family planning utilization. The results will be presented using percentages, frequencies, and Odds Ratios and the association will be considered statistically significant at p-value <0.05

Level of Knowledge on Kangaroo Mother Care and Its Associated Factors Among Postnatal Mothers With Preterm Babies in Central Tanzania: Hospital-Based Cross-Sectional Study

Introduction Kangaroo mother care (KMC) has been proven to reduce preterm babies’ deaths by 40%. The study aimed at assessing the prevalence and predictors of knowledge about KMC among postnatal mothers of preterm babies in the Central zone, Tanzania. Objective To assess the level of knowledge about KMC and its associated factors. Methods It was an analytical cross-sectional study involving 363 mothers of preterm babies from the Central zone. All mothers admitted during data collection and who met the inclusion criteria were enrolled until the sample size was attained. A structured questionnaire was used for data collection. Data were analyzed using SPSS v23. Descriptive statistics were used to describe the study variable while inferential statistics (univariate and multivariate analyses) were used to determine the predictors of knowledge. Results Only 138(38%) postnatal mothers had adequate knowledge about KMC . Factors associated with knowledge on KMC were the age of the mother (those aged ≥30 years were almost four times more likely to have adequate knowledge compared to those aged <20 years [ P   =  .044]), level of education of the mother (women who had secondary education and above were six times more likely to have adequate knowledge on KMC compared with those with no formal education [ P  < .001) and the family type of a postnatal mother living in (those living in a nuclear families were 48% less likely to have adequate knowledge if compared with those living in extended families [ P   =  .012]). Conclusion Less than half of the interviewed postdelivery women had adequate knowledge of KMC. Postdelivery women who were more likely to have adequate knowledge about KMC were those aged more than 30 years, with a higher level of education, and living in extended families. We recommend a deliberate effort on improving postnatal mothers’ knowledge of KMC, one of the strategies being initiating care of preterm babies in the antenatal package to prepare these mothers

DETERMINATION OF OXYTETRACYCLINE RESIDUE LEVELS IN EDIBLE TISSUES OF SLAUGHTERED CATTLE

Worldwide, antimicrobials are widely used in food producing animals for treatment and/or prophylaxis of diseases. In Tanzania, irrational administration of antimicrobials, notably oxytetracycline (OTC) is common because of the under-developed animal health service delivery system. The administration of OTC and other drugs is often done by animal keepers, thereby leading to drug residues in meat and milk. The study established the level of OTC residues in edible tissues of cattle slaughtered within Dodoma City Tanzania. This was cross-sectional analytical study design which quantified drug residues in muscle, liver, kidney from licenced and unlicenced premises. Samples from licenced as well as unlicenced premises were collected and used in determining OTC levels using High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) method. The HPLC method was validated to establish the reliability of the method in quantifying OTC residues. The results indicated that OTC residues were 0.6 mg/kg, 0.25mg/Kg and 1.28 mg/kg for muscle, liver and kidney tissues, respectively against corresponding Maximum Residue Limit (MRL) 0.2mg/kg, 0.6mg/kg and 1.2mg/kg. Regardless of the licensure status and source of the sample, 53% of muscle, 65% of liver and 7.1% of kidney tissues were above MRL. The quantities of OTC residues in samples from licensed and unlicensed food vending settings were not significantly different (p = 0.3676) but above the MRL. The above results show unacceptably high levels of OTC residues in meat with most beef value chain actors being ignorant of the impending public health threat/risks of consuming beef with high drug residues

Twelve-month observational study of children with cancer in 41 countries during the COVID-19 pandemic

Childhood cancer is a leading cause of death. It is unclear whether the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted childhood cancer mortality. In this study, we aimed to establish all-cause mortality rates for childhood cancers during the COVID-19 pandemic and determine the factors associated with mortality