Screening for Uterine Fibroids in Black Women

Background: Uterine fibroids are benign growths in the uterine muscle that affect around 70% of women. Black women have a higher risk, with three times the likelihood of developing fibroids compared to other races. Problem: The issue of uterine fibroids continues to be poorly addressed in healthcare settings. Black women continue to be particularly adversely impacted by this problem. There is a lack of better screening methods, leading to late detection and limited treatment options for those hoping to maintain fertility. Methods: A quality improvement project was implemented at a primary care clinic in Loma Linda, California, using the Uterine Fibroid Symptom and Health-Related Quality of Life (UFS-QOL) questionnaire to screen for fibroid symptoms in Black women. Interventions: A four-step intervention was implemented to educate and screen black women for fibroids. The interventions were well-received and provided essential information and support to those screened. Results: Twenty black women were screened for fibroid symptoms using the UFS-QOL questionnaire. Eleven had severe symptoms, four had already been diagnosed, and seven were undiagnosed. Conclusion: Early detection of fibroids is crucial for effective treatment, especially for women who wish to conceive in the future. The UFS-QOL questionnaire has been instrumental in identifying fibroids in women who were previously unaware of their condition. Keywords: Uterine fibroids, symptoms, Black women, screening questionnaire, fibroid

EXTENT OF STUDENTS PARTICIPATION IN DECISION MAKING IN SECONDARY SCHOOL MANAGEMENT IN THARAKA-NITHI AND NAIROBI COUNTIES, KENYA

The recurrent student indiscipline in form of unrests in secondary schools and their incessant desire to destroy school property probably reflects the feeling of alienation rather than of ownership of the schools, they attend. By striking and destroying property, the students may be expressing their demands for involvement in the running of the schools. The objective of the study was to determine the extent to which students participate in decision making in secondary school management the study employed mixed method design, specifically triangulation method. Stratified random sampling, simple random sampling, purposive and convenience sampling were used in drawing the samples. The Krejcie and Morgan’s table for determining large sample size was used to determine the sample size of students. The sample consisted of 38 secondary schools, 38 head teachers, 293 teachers, 753 students, 72 student leaders, 24 parents and 3 SCDE. Data collection instruments included questionnaires, interview guides and Focus Group Discussion (FGD) guide. Content validity was determined by seeking expert judgement from educational management. Cronbach's alpha was used to establish the reliability of the instruments. Quantitative data were analysed using descriptive statistics and organized into themes and presented using descriptions and quotations. The findings showed that majority of the schools had established Student Council form of student leadership, although the councils were not represented in BOM, PA and staff meetings. The study found that there were low levels of student participation in decision making low levels of students’ representation in Boards of Management (BOM) and Parents’ Association, respectively. The findings further revealed low levels of involvement of student representatives in staff meetings. The study therefore recommends that secondary school managements should actively involve students in all areas of decision-making in school with particular emphasis on decisions relating to the foregoing decision-making areas.  Article visualizations

Global stability of equilibrium points of typhoid fever model with protection

Paper presented at the 4th Strathmore International Mathematics Conference (SIMC 2017), 19 - 23 June 2017, Strathmore University, Nairobi, Kenya.A non-linear Mathematical model of typhoid fever disease incorporating protection is hereby considered to study the global stability of equilibrium points. To study the global stability of the disease free equilibrium point and endemic equilibrium point, the method by Castillo- Chavez and a suitable Lyapunov function are used respectively. The disease free equilibrium point was found not to be globally asymptotically stable while the endemic equilibrium point is globally asymptotically stable. This implies that the disease transmission can be kept quiet low or manageable with minimal deaths in the presence of protection

Influence of Work-Life Balance on Employee Work Performance Among Middle Level Management Public Servants in Public Service in Kenya

The aim of this study was to establish the influence of work-life balance on employee work performance among middle level management public servants in public service in Kenya. The study adopted a survey and multiple linear regression research design. Descriptive statistics provided meaningful comparisons between groups or datasets (Sudha, 2017). While multiple linear regression demonstrated the importance of the independent variables' influence on the dependent variables. It was also efficient to investigate and visualize data using descriptive statistics, as well as to develop a prediction model. Pie charts are the graphic representations that provided visual insights into variable distribution, shape, and linkages. The study's population was the Kenya School of Government SMC 409/2012 class with 112 trainees. A purposive sampling was preferred as the SMC 409/2023 class was already in place following nomination by their respective institutions, a representation of various agencies of the Kenyan government. The class was already a controlled group in the sense that they met the minimum criteria being in mid-level management in public service and being a representation of different government agencies as well as a representation in terms of length of service in public service, age and gender. Data collection was done using a shared google link questionnaire that was sent to all participants with the intention of obtaining data from at least 74 respondents. From the results above it was clear that the respondents stated that work-life balance had a positive influence on their productivity at work. The results from the Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) showed a significant statistical relationship between the overall performance at work, and work-life balance considered in the model. This is indicated by an F-value of 5.573 and a p-value of 0.002, at a 95% confidence level. The findings underscored the importance of work-life balance in enhancing employee performance in the public service. The researchers recommended that public service should adopt policies aimed at aiding employees with the attainment of work-life balance. This could mean extended working hours for reporting to work and leaving work, working from home, flex-times as well as discouraging employees from carrying work home and ensuring all employees go on leave.&nbsp

Associations Between Depression, Social Support, and Sexual Risk-Taking Behaviors Among HIV-Infected Adult Black Women in the Southeastern United States

African Americans continue to carry the burden of new HIV cases and sexually transmitted infections and other comorbidity health problems more than any other social group in the United States. Except for New York; Washington, DC; and Maryland, 65% of all new HIV cases are in the Southern states. The U.S. Southern states make up 38% of the U.S. population, yet approximately 51% of annual HIV diagnoses are from the Southern U.S. states. In the Southern states, AIDS is among the leading cause of death for African American women. A gap exists in the associations of depression, social support, and sexual risk-taking behaviors of adult Black women in the South. The purpose of this study was to examine associations between depression, social support, and sexual risk behaviors among adult HIV-infected African American women in the Southeastern United States. The social ecological model was the framework. Secondary data were retrieved from Women Interagency HIV Study (WIHS) public data sets. A total of 123 cases from HIV-seropositive African American women enrolled in WIHS Florida, Georgia, and North Carolina sites were used in the study. Binary logistic regression results showed statical significance between depression and lack of condom use during anal sex (p = 0.05, Fisher\u27s exact test) and poor social support and no barrier method during oral sex (p = 0.043). There was no statistical significance between depression and vaginal sex without a condom or number of sexual partners. Findings could support positive social change for public health research and intervention strategies in HIV reduction among Black women on an individual, community, and societal level

Growth performance and carcass characteristics of broiler chicken fed on black soldier fly larvae meal: a product of fecal sludge waste management

Rearing black soldier fly is an efficient way to dispose of organic waste by converting them into protein-rich feed to substitute animal- and plant-based sources in animal feeds. The objective of this study was to determine the optimal inclusion level of black soldier fly larvae meal (BSFLM) as a substitute for soybean meal (SBM) in broiler diets and evaluate the impact on growth and carcass characteristics. Five isonitrogenous diets (D) (20% crude protein, CP) and isocaloric (3,200 Kcal/kg) were formulated such that BSFLM substituted SBM at 0% (control, D1), 25% (D2), 50% (D3), 75% (D4), and 100% (D5) on a protein basis. A total of 270 broilers (Cobb 500) were randomly assigned to the five treatments in triplicates per diet. BSFLM displayed higher fat content (44.84 ± 0.08). Average daily feed intake (ADFI) decreased with an increase in BSFLM in the diets (p = 0.004). However, overall weight (OW) was high (1,296.97 ± 46.19) on 100% substitution of SBM with BSFLM (D5). Breast fat content averaged 6.06 ± 0.97 for D1 and 15.30 ± 0.5 for D5. This study has demonstrated that BSFLM can partially or wholly replace conventional SBM in the diet of broiler chicken

Echinococcus granulosus : epidemiology and state-of-the-art of diagnostics in animals

Diagnosis and detection of Echinococcus granulosus (sensu lato) infection in animals is a prerequisite for epidemiological studies and surveillance of echinococcosis in endemic, re-emergent or emergent transmission zones. Advances in diagnostic approaches for definitive hosts and livestock, however, have not progressed equally over the last 20 years. Development of laboratory based diagnostics for canids using coproantigen ELISA and also coproPCR, have had a huge impact on epidemiological studies and more recently on surveillance during hydatid control programmes. In contrast, diagnosis of cystic echinococcosis (CE) in livestock still relies largely on conventional post-mortem inspection, despite a relatively low diagnostic sensitivity especially in early infections, as current serodiagnostics do not provide a sufficiently specific and sensitive practical pre-mortem alternative. As a result, testing of dog faecal samples by coproantigen ELISA, often combined with mass ultrasound screening programmes for human CE, has been the preferred approach for monitoring and surveillance in resource-poor endemic areas and during control schemes. In this article we review the current options and approaches for diagnosis of E. granulosus infection in definitive and animal intermediate hosts (including applications in non-domesticated species) and make conclusions and recommendations for further improvements in diagnosis for use in epidemiological studies and surveillance schemes

Postcolonial Narratives: Discourse and Epistemological Spaces

By bringing together critical discourse analysis of personal narratives and postcolonial theory, this work addresses other ways of knowing in the academy and provides different lenses of discourse analysis. Specifically, this paper presents two narratives from international faculty in the U.S. academy. Drawing upon work by Phillion (2002) and He (2002), we use our narratives to enter into a discussion of how we have attempted to successfully negotiate the academy and also attempt to maintain our own postcolonial identities. To this end, we also used the lens of postcolonial theory to analyze our narratives and frame our discussions. We explore the im/possible spaces that our deterritorialized consciousness' inhabit and roam by revealing the epistemological spaces discursively produced within/against the U.S. academy (Fairclough, 1995; Foucault, 1977). Further, we explore how our intellectual neo-nomadism allows us to be simultaneously aware of, yet free from boundaries, whilst remaining conscious of the "ideological aggressivity" (MacCannell, 1994) of knowledge production for the U.S. academy. In conclusion, we suggest that the field might benefit from 'hearing' such narratives, complicated by an added layer of theory, to increase the understanding of the study of discourse and the academy

Do Teacher Characteristics Influence the Relationship Between School Performance and Quit Intent? Insights from Public Secondary Schools in Nairobi City County

The general objective of this study was to establish the influence of teacher characteristics on the relationship between school performance and quit intent among public secondary school teachers in Nairobi City County. The study employed descriptive cross-sectional survey research design whereby data was collected from teachers sampled across public secondary schools in Nairobi City County. The target population for this study comprised a total of 2048 teachers in the public secondary schools in Nairobi City County. Using purposive sampling, the sample was prorated and picked from 69 public secondary schools in Nairobi City County. The sample comprised 207 respondents. A structured questionnaire was used to collect primary data from the respondents on all the variables. Data on all the indicators, and hence variables, was then analysed guided by the four objectives using linear regression method and descriptive method. The study found that school performance had a significant and negative effect on quit intent among public secondary school teachers. Teacher characteristics had a significant and negative influence on the relationship between school performance and quit intent among public secondary school teachers in Nairobi City County. The study recommends that the Ministry of Education and Teachers Service Commission (TSC) should put in place measures to improve school performance, undertake initiatives to enhance teacher characteristics, create an environment of trust and collaboration to encourage teachers to take ownership of their school’s performance. The study recommends that the TSC put a lot more consideration on the characteristics of teachers such as level of education, age and work experience when hiring teachers and progressively. This will ensure that those employed fit in the positions and hence can work in the schools long enough. Keywords: Teacher Characteristics; School Performance; Public Secondary Schools; Quit Intent DOI: 10.7176/EJBM/16-3-03 Publication date: April 30th 202