Experiences of geophagy during pregnancy among African migrant women in London: implications for public health interventions

This study explored African migrant women's clay ingestion experiences during pregnancy against a backdrop of health risks warnings in order, to inform public health interventions by the UK Food Standards Agency and Public Health England, now known as the UK Health Security Agency. An interpretative phenomenological approach (IPA) was utilized, and data were collected with a total of 30 participants through individual in-depth interviews and one focus group discussion. Findings showed clay ingestion is a fluid and widely accepted cultural practice among African communities with most participants having been socialized into ingestion during childhood, through family influences and current social networks in their adulthood. Vomiting, nausea, spitting, appetite challenges, and cravings were cited as the main reasons for clay ingestion during pregnancy. With strong claims regarding its effectiveness, clay was ingested every day by most participants, and at times in large quantities despite the potential health risks. This calls for innovative and culturally sensitive public health interventions starting with the inclusion of clay ingestion health risk messages in maternal health nutrition information within antenatal settings. This can be done as part of multilevel interventions informed by life course approaches, which also consider community health messages and an enabling regulatory policy framework focusing on clay sold for human ingestion

A Comparative Study on the Quality of Life of Leprosy Patients in Kilifi and Kwale Counties in Kenya

Background:Kenya at present is in the post-elimination phase of leprosy having achieved a prevalence of <1 case per 10,000 persons in 1989. In 2019 Kenya notified 163 leprosy patients, highest being in Kilifi and Kwale counties. About a quarter (26%) of the notified leprosy patients had grade 2 disability at the time of diagnosis, this being the most severe form of disability that may indicate a late diagnosis. This study aimed at assessing the quality of life of leprosy patients to guide policies and programs intended to enhance the health and well-being of leprosy patients.Materials and Methods:This was a case-control study conducted in Kilifi and Kwale Counties. For every leprosy index patient enrolled, two controls were identified within the same village to match the case. Descriptive statistics were used to summarise demographic and clinical variables. The World Health Organisation (WHOQOL-BREF) tool was used to measure the quality of life. The tool derived four (4) domains of physical health, psychological status, social relationship, and environmental profile. These were transformed into a scale between 0 to 100 for analysis. The F-test was used to compare mean scores in the four domains between cases and controls. The quality of life among the index cases against their controls was further analysed using conditional logistic regression models.Results: A total of 98 leprosy patients and 167 controls were evaluated for quality of life. On the perception of quality of life, leprosy patients had significantly lower mean transformed scores of 39 (SD 25) versus 49 (SD 25) p= <0.0001 compared to controls. Similarly, index cases had lower health satisfaction scores of 42 (SD 26) compared to controls scoring 61(SD 27) p=<0.001. Overall leprosy patients had statistically significant poorer scores on physical health, psychological health, social relationships and environmental QoL domains. Differences were most remarkable in the psychological domain, with a mean transformed score of 53 (SD 20) versus 68 (SD 16) p= < 0.0001 for controls. The overall quality of life model revealed that leprosy patients who were found to have either diabetes or hypertension enjoyed a better overall quality of life with OR of 10.98 and 1.22 respectively with a p-value <0.00001. Patients with tuberculosis and HIV presented the poorest quality of life with ORs of 0.49 and 0.14 respectively.Conclusion: The quality of life of the leprosy patients was significantly lower than that of the community controls in all the domains. Governments and communities need to prioritize rehabilitation measures such as the provision of artificial limbs, cataract surgery, and social protection disbursements to help leprosy victims improve their quality of life

Cohort Profile: Burden of Obstructive Lung Disease (BOLD) study

The Burden of Obstructive Lung Disease (BOLD) study was established to assess the prevalence of chronic airflow obstruction, a key characteristic of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and its risk factors in adults (≥40 years) from general populations across the world. The baseline study was conducted between 2003 and 2016, in 41 sites across Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, the Caribbean and Oceania, and collected high-quality pre- and post-bronchodilator spirometry from 28 828 participants. The follow-up study was conducted between 2019 and 2021, in 18 sites across Africa, Asia, Europe and the Caribbean. At baseline, there were in these sites 12 502 participants with high-quality spirometry. A total of 6452 were followed up, with 5936 completing the study core questionnaire. Of these, 4044 also provided high-quality pre- and post-bronchodilator spirometry. On both occasions, the core questionnaire covered information on respiratory symptoms, doctor diagnoses, health care use, medication use and ealth status, as well as potential risk factors. Information on occupation, environmental exposures and diet was also collected

Information Needs and Seeking Behavior of Young Small-Scale Dairy Farmers in Murang’a County, Kenya

Access to agricultural information influences the farming practices adopted by farmers. Small scale dairy farmers need frequent access to agricultural information to cope with modern dairy farming practices. Inefficient access and dissemination of dairy agricultural information can negatively affect the production level of dairy products. The study sought to assess the information needs and seeking behavior of young small-scale dairy farmers in Murang’a County, Kenya. The area has experienced low dairy agricultural productions despite its high potential in dairy farming. The study established that all the young dairy farmers required dairy agricultural information however dairy agricultural information is not readily available to them. Also, factors such as lack of exposure, lack of confidence, illiteracy, inadequate time and lack of funds negatively affected their information seeking behavior. The study therefore recommended the government to; recruit more extension officers within Murang’a County to ensure improved extension services, set up agricultural resource centers with qualified information providers to assess, select, market and acquire useful agricultural resources, improve infrastructure and set up cyber cafes within the sub counties and also educate dairy farmers on the use of technologies in accessing agricultural information

Information Communication Technologies (Icts) Employed By Young Farmers in Access and Use of Dairy Agricultural Information in Murang’a County, Kenya

Information Communication Technology (ICT) has changed the way information is created, stored, accessed and disseminated. It has the potential to enhance access and use of agricultural information by farmers in rural areas thereby improving their farming practices. The study was undertaken to assess how young farmers use ICT technologies in accessing and using dairy agricultural information in Murang’a County, Kenya. The study aimed at assessing the awareness by farmers on technologies available for use in accessing agricultural information and strategies used by farmers in accessing and using dairy agricultural information as a way of promoting dairy farming production. The results of the study revealed that 88% of the farmers agreed that they were aware of the use of technology in accessing agricultural information. 75% of the respondents used radio where television was rated second while mobile phones were rarely used. Majority at (80%) never used technologies such as computers, CD/DVD and social media to access and use dairy agricultural information. Three quarters (75%) preferred using other sources such as extension workers, friends, and relatives over technology. All the extension officers interviewed used technology to acquire and disseminate information. Radio was highly used, followed by internet/web services and social media. The study concluded that dairy farmers have limited access to modern technologies such as mobile phones in access and use of agricultural information. The Kenya National Library Services in collaboration with the Department of Livestock Production should set up exhibitions and information literacy programs for dairy farmers. Infrastructure should be improved in the rural areas of Murang’a County by setting up Cyber cafes within the subcounties and educate dairy farmers on the use of ICT technologies to access and use agricultural information