Effect of Public Librairies in the Attainment of Health Millennium Development Goals in Senegal

This study surveys the roles of Public libraries in the attainment of health Millennium Development Goals in Senegal. It also identifies the health-information needs of the community and information services rendered by the libraries. The role of public libraries in the attainment of health-MDGs has been a daunting task for public libraries as a result of government negligence. The methodology adopted for the study is the survey design in which questionnaires was used for obtaining data. The target population was public library staff/users in Senegal. The result showed that public libraries have played significant role towards the attainment of health-MDGs and library users make significant demand for all categories of health information especially in the area of maternal and childcare. However, majority of the public libraries have no Internet services. The findings makes it imperative for all other relevant agencies to key into the health-MDGs especially in assisting the Public Libraries. The study will bring to the awareness of users, the roles public libraries plays in supporting local and international policies and the provision of information services for library users.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.11591/ijphs.v1i1.70

Do agile managed information systems projects fail due to a lack of emotional intelligence?

YesAgile development methodologies (ADM) have become a widely implemented project management approach in Information Systems (IS). Yet, along with its growing popularity, the amount of concerns raised in regard to human related challenges caused by applyingADMare rapidly increasing. Nevertheless, the extant scholarly literature has neglected to identify the primary origins and reasons of these challenges. The purpose of this study is therefore to examine if these human related challenges are related to a lack of Emotional Intelligence (EI) by means of a quantitative approach. Froma sample of 194 agile practitioners, EI was found to be significantly correlated to human related challenges in agile teams in terms of anxiety, motivation, mutual trust and communication competence. Hence, these findings offer important new knowledge for IS-scholars, project managers and human resource practitioners, about the vital role of EI for staffing and training of agile managed IS-projects

Computer aided screening of retinopathy of prematurity — A multiscale Gabor filter approach

Non invasive imaging of retina offers easy evaluation and early diagnosis of various systemic diseases like diabetic retinopathy, arteriosclerosis, hypertension and retinopathy of prematurity (ROP). Treatment of ROP, one of the leading causes of childhood blindness is warranted based on the diagnosis of Plus disease which is characterized by high degree of tortuosity and large vessel width for blood vessels in the retina. Here we present a semi-automated computer based method for the screening of Plus disease. This method uses multiscale Gabor filters for the detection of retinal blood vessels and for obtaining their orientations at each pixel. Morphological image processing followed by Gabor filtering helps in obtaining the final vessel map of the images. A 50 image database obtained from KIDROP Bangalore, India were classified as either plus, pre-plus or normal case by quantitatively measuring the amount of tortuosity and width from the vessel map of each images. An overall sensitivity of 1.0 and specificity 0.92 obtained for these images

Determinants of medication adherence among people living with HIV/AIDS in Senegal

This prospective cross-sectional study was carried out to determine factors such as clinical and demographic variables that may affect medication adherence among people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) receiving treatment at the Institute of health and hygiene of Dakar, but HIV/AIDS group based in Dakar are affiliated to Non-Governmental Organizations which are all consenting. Groups were enrolled into study but 305 PLWHA volunteered to participate throughout the three months period of the study. The study was conducted with the aid of structured interview assisted questionnaires to obtain information on demographic characteristics such as age, sex, occupation, marital status, educational backgrounds, and source of support. Information on availability and side effects of antiretroviral drugs were also obtained. This study indicated that majority of people living with HIV/AIDS interviewed were females (80.3%) while (19.7%) were males. Male respondents show better adherence (91.7%) to ARV medications than female counterparts (83.7%). Subjects in age the age groups 24-35 years which is the most sexually active groups are more vulnerable (59.1%) when compared to other age groups. A large number, (67.2%) were married and there was a significant difference between marital status of PHWHA (P<0.05) and level of adherence to antiretroviral medications. Descriptive and Chi-square statistical tests were used respectively to evaluate the distribution of respondent's opinion and investigate the level of association between the variables being considered and respondent's adherence to antiretroviral medications. We conclude that there is need to carry out further study in order to fully explore the extent to which marital status and other factors can affect medication adherence of people living with HIV/AIDS

Bilateral combined central retinal artery and vein occlusion in a 3-year-old child with nephrotic syndrome

Nephrotic syndrome (NS) is a common disease of childhood but ophthalmic manifestations are seldom reported. We report a rare occurrence of bilateral combined central retinal artery and vein occlusion in a 3-year-old with NS. The child presented with bilateral painless loss of vision, central pallid retinae with cherry red spots, vascular tortuosity, and retinal hemorrhages. There was delayed filling of the arteriolar circulation and a delay in arteriovenous transit time on angiography and increased central retinal thickening on optical coherence tomography. She was treated with oral steroids, subcutaneous low molecular weight heparin, and oral acetylsalicylic acid. The central retinae showed resolution of the hemorrhages, tortuosity, edema, and pallor within 3 weeks. Visual acuity recovered bilaterally to 20/360, 20/190, and 20/40 at 1, 3, and 6 weeks, respectively. We discuss the possible reasons for good recovery in our patient. Though bilateral combined central retinal artery and vein occlusion is rare in pediatric NS, the treating physician should be aware of this entity as it can be successfully managed