Effectiveness of HIV/AIDS educational intervention in increasing knowledge, attitude and practices for primary school teachers in some part of Africa

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is virus that weakens the immune system of the body through destruction of the white blood cells. Whereas, AIDS term as; acquired immune deficiency syndrome is a disease due to the infection of HIV. Knowledge of health, and practices among teachers of primary school are scanty. Studies indicated that few teachers have heard or even became aware that HIV/AIDS is a viral infectious, and some of them lacked the knowledge about its mode of transmission with low attitudinal behaviours. Thus, this review paper discusses some health promotion measures and relevant information regarding, how the use of educational intervention in primary school teachers, could help in reducing the incidence cases of HIV/AIDS in Africa. We therefore recommend effective educational intervention programmes should be set for primary school teachers, in order that the teachers and the students could have a sound knowledge of health practices that will change their attitude which in turn reduce the risk of HIV/AIDS transmission

Tuning Superconductivity and Charge Density Wave Order in 2H-TaSe2 by Modulating the Van Hove Singularity

Tantalum diselenide (TaSe2) is an exciting material that hosts charge density wave order (CDW) and superconductivity. Thus, providing a playing field for examining the interactions of fundamental electronic quantum states in materials. Recent research has proposed that the intrinsic quantum electronic state in the TaSe2 lattice could be improved by aligning the Van Hove singularity (VHs) with the Fermi level. In this study, we attempt to tune the VHs in TaSe2 to align them within the vicinity of the Fermi level via electron doping by chemically substituting Pt for Ta atoms. On investigating the band structure of Pt0.2Ta0.8Se2, the electron doping brought the VHs closer to the Fermi level vicinity around the K high symmetry point. As a result, the CDW state in pristine TaSe2 is suppressed in the TaSe2 doped system while also hosting an enhanced superconducting temperature (Tc) of ~2.7 K. These observations provide insight into ways to leverage the VHs in materials to tune their electronic properties.Comment: 14 pages, 4 figure

Study protocol of a randomized controlled trial to assess HIV/AIDS education intervention on knowledge, attitude and practices among primary school teachers

Aim: To develop, implement the HIV/AIDS educational intervention on knowledge, attitude and practices for primary school teachers in Bichi local government of Kano State, Nigeria and evaluate its effectiveness based on Information-Motivation-Behavior Skills (IMB) Model. Methods: Randomized controlled trial design will be applied in Bichi local government of Kano State, Nigeria with 600 primary school teachers randomly selected. Teachers will be randomized into either intervention group and control group. Module on HIV/AIDS education based on IMB model, will be developed and delivered to the intervention group, while talks on carrier guidance will be offered to control group. Data on HIV/AIDS knowledge, attitude and practices will be collected using validated self administered questionnaire. Data Analysis: Data will be analysed using statistical package of social sciences (SPSS version 22.0). The level of statistical significance will be set at p < 0.05 for all statistical analysis. The assessment will consist of a baseline measurement, post-intervention 1 and post-intervention 2 respectively. Descriptive characteristics of the respondents will be obtained as means, standard deviation, frequency and percentage. For analytical statistics: Pearson Chi-Square will be used for categorical data and T-test for continuous data. General Linear Model (GLM) Repeated Measure to evaluate mean differences for the intervention group and control group. Also, multivariate analysis (MANCOVA) will be used to assess statistical differences on continuous dependent variables (KAPs) by an independent grouping variables while controlling for covariates. Discussion: This theory based intervention will contribute in increasing HIV/AIDS knowledge, attitude and preventive practices among the primary school teachers in Bichi local government of Kano State, Nigeria

Knowledge of primary school teachers regarding HIV/AIDS in Bichi local government Kano State, Nigeria

Introduction: The aim of this study was to assess the knowledge of primary school teachers as regard accurate understanding of the modes of HIV/AIDS transmission and its prevention strategies. This is necessary because, teachers are expected to play a major role in the provision of information leading to awareness and behavior change among the learners. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted using simple random sampling design among primary school teachers in Bichi local government, Kano State, Nigeria. The study was conducted among 600 participants, and informed consent was provided with validated structured self-administered questionnaire. Data analysis was done using IBM SPSS version 22.0. Results: The level of HIV/AIDS knowledge among primary school teachers in Bichi local government, Kano State, Nigeria was low; 24.7% for good knowledge and 75.3% for poor knowledge. The teachers answered correctly about difference between HIV and AIDS at 59%, HIV/AIDS can be transmitted from mother to her baby at 41.2%, transmission through saliva, sweat and tears at 50%, sharing sharp objects at 66.8%. Also, only 34% accept antiretroviral therapy (ART) for preventive strategies, 34.8% said ‘Yes’ to statement that HIV can be prevented by not sharing sharp objects and about 50% accept condom as a preventive device. Conclusion: These findings highlight the need for HIV/AIDS education intervention for increasing HIV/AIDS-related knowledge of primary school teachers in Bichi local government, Kano State, Nigeria

Factors associated with knowledge, attitude and practices regarding HIV/AIDS infection among primary school teachers in Bichi local government of Kano State, Nigeria

Background: Even though, there is high awareness about HIV/AIDS infection among the teachers in Nigeria, studies have shown that HIV/AIDS knowledge, attitude and practices among teachers in Nigeria are very low. The main aim of this study is to determine factors associated with knowledge, attitude and practices regarding HIV/AIDS infection among primary school teachers in Bichi local government of Kano State, Nigeria. Materials and Methods: A total of 600 respondents were selected through a multi-stage random sample procedure from 13 primary schools within Bichi local government area of Kano State, Nigeria. Data was collected using validated structured questionnaire. Data was analysed using SPSS version 22.0. Chi-square test was used to test for association; level of significance was set at P < 0.05. Result: The study revealed that majority of the respondents are Male 350 (58.3%), Hausa 540 (90%), Islam 548 (91.3%), Age group 36 – 50: 333 (55.5%), Married 486 (81.0%) and National Certificate in Education (NCE) 491 (81.8%) as the minimal teaching qualification in Nigerian primary schools. There were no significant association shown between the Sociodemographic factors and knowledge, attitude and practices regarding HIV/AIDS. Conclusion: In this study, HIV/AIDS knowledge of the respondents was low, the attitude towards HIV/AIDS issues was found to be negative and the practices was poor. However, there is no association between Sociodemographic factors and HIV/AIDS knowledge, attitude and practices among the respondents

Antimicrobial resistance among migrants in Europe: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: Rates of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) are rising globally and there is concern that increased migration is contributing to the burden of antibiotic resistance in Europe. However, the effect of migration on the burden of AMR in Europe has not yet been comprehensively examined. Therefore, we did a systematic review and meta-analysis to identify and synthesise data for AMR carriage or infection in migrants to Europe to examine differences in patterns of AMR across migrant groups and in different settings. METHODS: For this systematic review and meta-analysis, we searched MEDLINE, Embase, PubMed, and Scopus with no language restrictions from Jan 1, 2000, to Jan 18, 2017, for primary data from observational studies reporting antibacterial resistance in common bacterial pathogens among migrants to 21 European Union-15 and European Economic Area countries. To be eligible for inclusion, studies had to report data on carriage or infection with laboratory-confirmed antibiotic-resistant organisms in migrant populations. We extracted data from eligible studies and assessed quality using piloted, standardised forms. We did not examine drug resistance in tuberculosis and excluded articles solely reporting on this parameter. We also excluded articles in which migrant status was determined by ethnicity, country of birth of participants' parents, or was not defined, and articles in which data were not disaggregated by migrant status. Outcomes were carriage of or infection with antibiotic-resistant organisms. We used random-effects models to calculate the pooled prevalence of each outcome. The study protocol is registered with PROSPERO, number CRD42016043681. FINDINGS: We identified 2274 articles, of which 23 observational studies reporting on antibiotic resistance in 2319 migrants were included. The pooled prevalence of any AMR carriage or AMR infection in migrants was 25·4% (95% CI 19·1-31·8; I2 =98%), including meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (7·8%, 4·8-10·7; I2 =92%) and antibiotic-resistant Gram-negative bacteria (27·2%, 17·6-36·8; I2 =94%). The pooled prevalence of any AMR carriage or infection was higher in refugees and asylum seekers (33·0%, 18·3-47·6; I2 =98%) than in other migrant groups (6·6%, 1·8-11·3; I2 =92%). The pooled prevalence of antibiotic-resistant organisms was slightly higher in high-migrant community settings (33·1%, 11·1-55·1; I2 =96%) than in migrants in hospitals (24·3%, 16·1-32·6; I2 =98%). We did not find evidence of high rates of transmission of AMR from migrant to host populations. INTERPRETATION: Migrants are exposed to conditions favouring the emergence of drug resistance during transit and in host countries in Europe. Increased antibiotic resistance among refugees and asylum seekers and in high-migrant community settings (such as refugee camps and detention facilities) highlights the need for improved living conditions, access to health care, and initiatives to facilitate detection of and appropriate high-quality treatment for antibiotic-resistant infections during transit and in host countries. Protocols for the prevention and control of infection and for antibiotic surveillance need to be integrated in all aspects of health care, which should be accessible for all migrant groups, and should target determinants of AMR before, during, and after migration. FUNDING: UK National Institute for Health Research Imperial Biomedical Research Centre, Imperial College Healthcare Charity, the Wellcome Trust, and UK National Institute for Health Research Health Protection Research Unit in Healthcare-associated Infections and Antimictobial Resistance at Imperial College London

Impacts of biomedical hashtag-based Twitter campaign: #DHPSP utilization for promotion of open innovation in digital health, patient safety, and personalized medicine

The open innovation hub Digital Health and Patient Safety Platform (DHPSP) was recently established with the purpose to invigorate collaborative scientific research and the development of new digital products and personalized solutions aiming to improve human health and patient safety. In this study, we evaluated the effectiveness of a Twitter-based campaign centered on using the hashtag #DHPSP to promote the visibility of the DHPSP initiative. Thus, tweets containing #DHPSP were monitored for five weeks for the period 20.10.2020–24.11.2020 and were analyzed with Symplur Signals (social media analytics tool). In the study period, a total of 11,005 tweets containing #DHPSP were posted by 3020 Twitter users, generating 151,984,378 impressions. Analysis of the healthcare stakeholder-identity of the Twitter users who used #DHPSP revealed that the most of participating user accounts belonged to individuals or doctors, with the top three user locations being the United States (501 users), the United Kingdom (155 users), and India (121 users). Analysis of co-occurring hashtags and the full text of the posted tweets further revealed that the major themes of attention in the #DHPSP Twitter-community were related to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), medicine and health, digital health technologies, and science communication in general. Overall, these results indicate that the #DHPSP initiative achieved high visibility and engaged a large body of Twitter users interested in the DHPSP focus area. Moreover, the conducted campaign resulted in an increase of DHPSP member enrollments and website visitors, and new scientific collaborations were formed. Thus, Twitter campaigns centered on a dedicated hashtag prove to be a highly efficient tool for visibility-promotion, which could be successfully utilized by healthcare-related open innovation platforms or initiatives

Surgical site infection after gastrointestinal surgery in high-income, middle-income, and low-income countries: a prospective, international, multicentre cohort study

Background: Surgical site infection (SSI) is one of the most common infections associated with health care, but its importance as a global health priority is not fully understood. We quantified the burden of SSI after gastrointestinal surgery in countries in all parts of the world. Methods: This international, prospective, multicentre cohort study included consecutive patients undergoing elective or emergency gastrointestinal resection within 2-week time periods at any health-care facility in any country. Countries with participating centres were stratified into high-income, middle-income, and low-income groups according to the UN's Human Development Index (HDI). Data variables from the GlobalSurg 1 study and other studies that have been found to affect the likelihood of SSI were entered into risk adjustment models. The primary outcome measure was the 30-day SSI incidence (defined by US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention criteria for superficial and deep incisional SSI). Relationships with explanatory variables were examined using Bayesian multilevel logistic regression models. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT02662231. Findings: Between Jan 4, 2016, and July 31, 2016, 13 265 records were submitted for analysis. 12 539 patients from 343 hospitals in 66 countries were included. 7339 (58·5%) patient were from high-HDI countries (193 hospitals in 30 countries), 3918 (31·2%) patients were from middle-HDI countries (82 hospitals in 18 countries), and 1282 (10·2%) patients were from low-HDI countries (68 hospitals in 18 countries). In total, 1538 (12·3%) patients had SSI within 30 days of surgery. The incidence of SSI varied between countries with high (691 [9·4%] of 7339 patients), middle (549 [14·0%] of 3918 patients), and low (298 [23·2%] of 1282) HDI (p < 0·001). The highest SSI incidence in each HDI group was after dirty surgery (102 [17·8%] of 574 patients in high-HDI countries; 74 [31·4%] of 236 patients in middle-HDI countries; 72 [39·8%] of 181 patients in low-HDI countries). Following risk factor adjustment, patients in low-HDI countries were at greatest risk of SSI (adjusted odds ratio 1·60, 95% credible interval 1·05–2·37; p=0·030). 132 (21·6%) of 610 patients with an SSI and a microbiology culture result had an infection that was resistant to the prophylactic antibiotic used. Resistant infections were detected in 49 (16·6%) of 295 patients in high-HDI countries, in 37 (19·8%) of 187 patients in middle-HDI countries, and in 46 (35·9%) of 128 patients in low-HDI countries (p < 0·001). Interpretation: Countries with a low HDI carry a disproportionately greater burden of SSI than countries with a middle or high HDI and might have higher rates of antibiotic resistance. In view of WHO recommendations on SSI prevention that highlight the absence of high-quality interventional research, urgent, pragmatic, randomised trials based in LMICs are needed to assess measures aiming to reduce this preventable complication