2 research outputs found
Five-year mortality rate in an ophthalmic ward in Zimbabwe
Objective: To determine the mortality rate in the ophthalmic ward at the Sekuru KaguviHospital Eye Unit (SKHEU), Zimbabwe, from January 2009 to December 2013 and to identify the causes of death.
Design: A hospital-based clinical audit.
Methods: Data from completed hospital death notification forms and medical records of patients who had died in the ward during the review period were collected that included age, gender, diagnoses, date of admission, date of death and cause of death. The data were analysed using Epi Info7 software.
Setting: The audit was conducted at SKHEU, the largest tertiary eye unit in Zimbabwe. It comprises an ophthalmic ward with 30 beds and caters for about 900 patients per year. Patients are admitted via the Out-patients Department where about 30 000 patients are seen yearly. SKHEU is part of the Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals, which is one of the four major referral hospitals in Zimbabwe.
Results: Of the 4722 ophthalmic admissions at SKHEU during the 5-year study period, therewere 15 (0.3%) deaths, with a male:female ratio of 3:2 giving a mortality rate of 0.3% and an average of 3 deaths per year. The highest number of deaths was in 2009 when 7 deaths occurred, whilst the lowest number was 1 death in 2010 and 1 in 2013. Of the 15 deaths,4 (26.7%) were children < 12 years old and 11 (73.3%) were adults; of whom 12 (80%) patients had orbital malignancies, 2 (13.3%) had orbital cellulitis and 1 (6.7%) had ocular trauma. Theorbital malignancies included ocular surface squamous neoplasia (OSSN), retinoblastomaand non-Hodgkins lymphoma (NHL). The most common probable cause of death was OSSN which accounted for 9 (60%) of the deaths.
Conclusion: The mortality rate at SKHEU was 0.3%, with approximately 3 deaths occurring per year. The most common attributable cause of death was OSSN
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Mentored postdoctoral training in Zimbabwe: A report on a successful collaborative effort
Low-and-middle-income countries (LMICs) have high disease burdens, necessitating increased research. However, LMIC research output constitutes only 2% of global total. To increase output, researchers must be capacitated. The University of Zimbabwe (UZ) and the University at Buffalo (UB), developed and implemented the AIDS International Research Training Program (AITRP), in 2008, that focused on graduate scholars. The subsequent HIV Research Training Program (HRTP), begun in 2016, and piloted post-doctoral training to enhance research productivity at UZ. This report discusses the collaboration. As of 2016, prospective candidates applied by submitting letters of intent, research proposals, curriculum vitae and biographical sketches. The scholars research training included hypothesis and project development, completion of grant applications, research project budgets, research presentations to diverse audiences and the application of advanced statistics to research data. The first cohort of five postdoctoral scholars were trained at UZ and UB, between 2016 and 2019. Through the formalized postdoctoral training approach, scholars identified areas of focus. In 2017, one of the scholars obtained a National Institutes of Health (NIH) Emerging Global Leader Award and is now a highly-rated researcher based in South Africa. A second scholar made NIH D43 and K43 grant applications, while the remaining three are academicians and early researchers at UZ. Although research output in Africa and many LMICs is low, it can be built through cooperation similar to the UZ-UB HRTP. This manuscript reports on an effort aimed at building individual and institutional research capacity in Zimbabwe. This can serve as a model for building other similar training programs