A study of the vacuum stream degassing of molten iron

Imperial Users onl

Constraints to exclusive breastfeeding practice among breastfeeding mothers in Southwest Nigeria: implications for scaling up

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The practice of exclusive breastfeeding is still low despite the associated benefits. Improving the uptake and appropriating the benefits will require an understanding of breastfeeding as an embodied experience within a social context. This study investigates breastfeeding practices and experiences of nursing mothers and the roles of grandmothers, as well as the work-related constraints affecting nurses in providing quality support for breastfeeding mothers in Southwest Nigeria.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Using a concurrent mixed method approach, a structured questionnaire was administered to 200 breastfeeding mothers. In-depth interviews were also held with breastfeeding mothers (11), nurses (10) and a focus group discussion session with grandmothers.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Breastfeeding was perceived as essential to baby's health. It strengthens the physical and spiritual bond between mothers and their children. Exclusive breastfeeding was considered essential but demanding. Only a small proportion (19%) of the nursing mothers practiced exclusive breastfeeding. The survey showed the major constraints to exclusive breastfeeding to be: the perception that babies continued to be hungry after breastfeeding (29%); maternal health problems (26%); fear of babies becoming addicted to breast milk (26%); pressure from mother-in-law (25%); pains in the breast (25%); and the need to return to work (24%). In addition, the qualitative findings showed that significant others played dual roles with consequences on breastfeeding practices. The desire to practice exclusive breastfeeding was often compromised shortly after child delivery. Poor feeding, inadequate support from husband and conflicting positions from the significant others were dominant constraints. The nurses decried the effects of their workload on providing quality supports for nursing mothers.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Breastfeeding mothers are faced with multiple challenges as they strive to practice exclusive breastfeeding. Thus, scaling up of exclusive breastfeeding among mothers requires concerted efforts at the macro, meso and micro levels of the Nigerian society.</p

Healthcare professionals' level of medication knowledge in Africa:A systematic review

OBJECTIVE: Understanding how much healthcare professionals (HCPs) know about medication can help to devise strategies to improve rational medication use. This study aimed to synthesis information on the level of medication knowledge of HCPs in Africa. METHOD: We performed a systematic literature study in Embase and PubMed. We included original studies quantifying HCPs' medication knowledge, published between 2012 and 2016. We extracted disease focus, country, number and type of HCPs included and all medication-related knowledge questions and scored the quality of papers. The outcome measure was the percentage HCPs who correctly answered medication knowledge questions. RESULTS: We identified 64 studies from 12 African countries, comprising 13,911 HCPs, mostly nurses/midwifes and physicians. We extracted 306 medication-related knowledge questions, and only 52% (SD 28) of HCPs correctly answered them. Knowledge questions were mainly about medication prescribed for communicable diseases (70%), followed by non-communicable diseases (11%), and family Planning/Gynecology (10%). Most papers concluded that there was a considerable medication knowledge gap among HCPs. CONCLUSION: We found a low level of medication knowledge across different disease areas, countries and HCPs. This underlines the continuous need to strengthen the undergraduate and postgraduate education in (clinical) pharmacology and therapeutics in Africa

Faecal microbial transplant

Faecal Microbial Transplantation (FMT), have been shown to be successfully managed along with a variety of gastrointestinal disorders, including Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI), inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). FMT is a medical procedure that involves a donor transferring healthy gut bacteria to the recipient. The effectiveness of FMT is thought to be due to the ability of the healthy gut to restore balance to the recipient's microbiome, which is the community of microorganisms that inhabit the gastrointestinal tract. One of the key advantages of FMT is that it is a relatively simple and low-cost treatment option, compared to other therapies that may be more invasive or require long-term medication use. However, FMT is not without its limitations, including the potential for the transfer of infectious agents from the donor to the recipient and the potential for negative side effects in some patients. In this research, we discuss the current state of the evidence on FMT, including its potential benefits and risks, as well as future directions for research in this area