A Cross-Sectional Survey on Knowledge and Perceptions of Health Risks Associated with Arsenic and Mercury Contamination from Artisanal Gold mining in Tanzania.

An estimated 0.5 to 1.5 million informal miners, of whom 30-50% are women, rely on artisanal mining for their livelihood in Tanzania. Mercury, used in the processing gold ore, and arsenic, which is a constituent of some ores, are common occupational exposures that frequently result in widespread environmental contamination. Frequently, the mining activities are conducted haphazardly without regard for environmental, occupational, or community exposure. The primary objective of this study was to assess community risk knowledge and perception of potential mercury and arsenic toxicity and/or exposure from artisanal gold mining in Rwamagasa in northwestern Tanzania. A cross-sectional survey of respondents in five sub-villages in the Rwamagasa Village located in Geita District in northwestern Tanzania near Lake Victoria was conducted. This area has a history of artisanal gold mining and many of the population continue to work as miners. Using a clustered random selection approach for recruitment, a total of 160 individuals over 18 years of age completed a structured interview. The interviews revealed wide variations in knowledge and risk perceptions concerning mercury and arsenic exposure, with 40.6% (n=65) and 89.4% (n=143) not aware of the health effects of mercury and arsenic exposure respectively. Males were significantly more knowledgeable (n=59, 36.9%) than females (n=36, 22.5%) with regard to mercury (x²=3.99, p<0.05). An individual's occupation category was associated with level of knowledge (x²=22.82, p=<0.001). Individuals involved in mining (n=63, 73.2%) were more knowledgeable about the negative health effects of mercury than individuals in other occupations. Of the few individuals (n=17, 10.6%) who knew about arsenic toxicity, the majority (n=10, 58.8%) were miners. The knowledge of individuals living in Rwamagasa, Tanzania, an area with a history of artisanal gold mining, varied widely with regard to the health hazards of mercury and arsenic. In these communities there was limited awareness of the threats to health associated with exposure to mercury and arsenic. This lack of knowledge, combined with minimal environmental monitoring and controlled waste management practices, highlights the need for health education, surveillance, and policy changes

Epidemiology of injury patients at Bugando Medical centre, Tanzania

(East African Medical Journal: 2001 78(3): 161-164

A Retrospective Study on the Unseen Epidemic of Road Traffic Injuries and Deaths Due to Accidents in Mwanza City – Tanzania

Backgrounds: Sixty percent of the global deaths and injuries occur in the developing world and mostly are due to Road traffic accidents (RTAs. looking at the etiological related factors which include, carelessness of the driver, condition of the vehicle or motorcycle, poor condition of roads, risky behavior of the driver, most of these factors can be prevented to some extent. This study therefore, determined the pattern of cases and deaths due to traffic road accidents in Mwanza City Tanzania Methods: In this retrospective study, records, registers and case notes In the surgical ward and causality, medical records and central police station from 2008 to 2011 were used. The study focused on the two referral hospitals (Sekouture regional hospital and Bugando Medical Center). Results: There were 3450 cases due to accidents reported at both centers (Sekouture regional hospital and Bugando Medical Center of which 3224(93.4%) had complete information for analysis.2225 (69%) were male and 999 (31%) were female, and the most affected group were male. Among the RTAs2809 cases (87%) were due to motor cycle accidents which were the leading cause of RTAs with case fatality rate of5% while motor vehicle has case fatality rate of 24% which is 5 times that of motor cycle. Conclusion and Recommendation: Among all RTAs the leading cause of injuries is Motor cycle traffic accidents followed by motor vehicle. RTAs are on increase particularly the motor cycle traffic accidents and has claimed a good number of innocent people’s lives however most of them are preventable, therefore driving course to be introduced to motor cycle drivers with emphasize on the road posters signal, rules and regular checkup of their motor cycles especially commercial motor cycle.Keywords: Motor cycle accidents, RTAs morbidity and mortality rate in Mwanza City

An mHealth pilot designed to increase the reach of prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV (PMTCT) across the treatment cascade in a resource-constrained setting in Tanzania.

BackgroundData collection and integrated reporting between the multiple health facilities for supporting more efficient care linkages is an indispensable element for prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV (PMTCT) by fostering continuity of patient care and improving the treatment cascade for HIV-infected pregnant women. mHealth potentially presents timely solutions to the data challenges related to efficient and effective care delivery in resource-constrained settings, particularly in low- and middle-income countries.MethodsThis randomized controlled pilot study used stratified random sampling for the selection of seven intervention and seven control sites in Misungwi, Tanzania, a rural district in the northwestern region. Twenty-eight health workers at seven intervention health facilities used the Tanzania Health Information Technology (T-HIT) system during a 3-month period from February 23, 2015, through May 23, 2015, to capture antenatal, delivery, and postnatal patient visits.ResultsT-HIT was designed for use on tablets with the goal to improve reporting, surveillance and monitoring of HIV rates and care delivery in the remote and rural settings. Health workers successfully recorded 2,453 visits. Of these, 1,594 were antenatal visits, 484 deliveries were recorded, and 375 were postnatal visits. Within the antenatal visits, 96% of women had a single visit (1474). Healthcare workers were unable to test 6.7% of women antenatally for HIV.ConclusionThe T-HIT pilot demonstrated the feasibility for implementing an mHealth integrated solution in a rural, low-resource setting that links tablet-based surveillance, health worker capacity-building and patient reminders into a single robust and responsive system. Although the implementation phase was only three months, the pilot generated evidence that T-HIT has potential for improving patient outcomes by providing more comprehensive, linked, and timely PMTCT care data at the individual and clinic levels

Determinants of time of seeking health care during a cholera outbreak.

Determinants of time of seeking health care during a cholera outbreak.</p