Informatics Publishing Limited

Abstract

Introduction- An outbreak of suspected influenza was detected at Sangano clinic where most of the cases were coming from Mukuwapasi and ST Lukes primary schools which are 4 km and 3km respectively from the clinic. A total of 571 cases were reported and no deaths were reported. The source of infection was not known and this study was done to investigate risk factors associated with contracting the suspected influenza.

Methods and Materials- A descriptive cross sectional study design and an unmatched 1:1 case control were conducted where a case was any person who presented with signs and symptoms of flu with or without a viral positive test, but living in the surrounding area of Sangano. A control was any person residing in the same area who did not present the signs and symptoms of suspected influenza during the same period. An interviewer administered questionnaire was used to collect data.

Results- A total of one hundred and ninety six participants (98 cases and 98 controls) were enrolled and the summaries of results are as follows. Risk factors associated with contracting suspected influenza at Sangano clinic include: Sharing a bed with someone with flu symptoms in the past 7 days (OR=2.85: CI=2.241-3.451), having a relative visiting in past 7 days with symptoms of flu (OR=2.93; CI=1.538- 5.434), greeting by shaking hands or hugging any person who was ill within the last 7 days (OR=3.26; CI=1.21 - 10.19), sharing clothes and bedding with a friend(OR=2.16; CI=1.28-7.46) and being a school resident (OR= 4.43; CI= 1.21- 10.19).

Discussion and conclusion – It was noted that lower knowledge levels among school children, coughing and sneezing at each other and greeting by shaking hands, hugging promoted the spread of suspected influenza. Health workers lacked skills in managing cases. A study by  (Rabie,2006) also found out that Hand washing has been shown to reduce non-specific respiratory infection risk by 6% to 44% in various settings and was highly effective in preventing transmission of SARS (Fung, 2006).Therefore there is need for Health promotion officer to  health education to school children and community to avoid close contact during outbreaks.

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Objective: To examine the relationship of child abandonment with maternal perception of the infant and perceived social support during the perinatal period.

Design: Correlational two group comparative survey

Setting: Khami women's prison and United Bulawayo Hospital

Subjects: Women who had abandoned their babies Main outcome

Measures: Demographic variables included maternal age at the time of pregnancy, parity, education level, marital status, medication used in pregnancy, length of pregnancy, health status. Maternal perception of the infant was measured using a Neonatal Perception Inventory. Social support was measured using the Perceived Social Support Scale -Friends and Family (Prociano and Heller, 1983). Results Bi-variate correlation showed a negative correlation to infant perception. Further analysis showed that the groups were also different in terms of age, marital status, place of delivery, but not different in terms of the education attainment, employment status, and child factors such as age, sex, and gestational age of the child. Conclusion Child abandoners were younger mostly single and did not deliver in hospital settings. They were likely to have had a negative perception of their infant. However, child abandonment was not associated with education attainment, employment status, and child factors such as age, sex, and gestational age of the child.

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Objectives: The study sought to establish factors associated with delayed first visit for antenatal care by pregnant mothers in Seke district of Mashonaland East Province, Zimbabwe.

Methods: A 1:1 case control study design was employed. A case was a pregnant mother who presented for the first ANC visit after 16 weeks of conception (late booking). A control was a pregnant mother who presented for first ANC visit at 16 weeks of conception or earlier (early booking). Systematic sampling method was used to select cases and controls from the Health centre register. A total of 86 cases and 86 controls were interviewed.

Results: Three risk factors were found to be statistically significant and associated with coming late for first ANC visit. These are unavailability of daily ANC services had an odds of 2.2 (CI=0.15; 0.90), not attending ANC awareness campaigns with an odds of 0.5 (CI=0.28; 1.18), and not being involved in decision making on time and place of ANC visits with an odds of 1.9 (CI=1.06; 3.64).

Conclusion: The ANC services need to be provided daily even on weekends, more ANC awareness campaigns should be done to educate the community on ANC importance and the advantages of coming early for first ANC visit.

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This study aimed at determining the relationship between domestic violence during pregnancy and adverse pregnancy outcomes. A descriptive correlational study design was employed. The setting for this study was Marondera Provincial Hospital in Zimbabwe, targeting women of childbearing age 15 to 49 years. A total of 120 participants were drawn from post-natal, neonatal unit and female wards including both post-natal and post aborted mothers. Convenient sampling method was used to recruit participants and face to face interviews were done using structured interviews to collect data. Data was coded and computed using the SPSS 16.0 and was analysed through descriptive and inferential statistics. The study revealed that women are experiencing different forms of domestic violence but they are not reporting. The results revealed that 32.5% of women experienced psychological/emotional abuse, 24.2% economic abuse, 11.7% physical abuse and 7.5% sexual abuse. Of the 120 participants, 21.7% reported abuse in pregnancy. The major adverse pregnancy outcomes reported included preterm deliveries (9.2%), low birth weight (13.3%), birth asphyxia8.3%, still births (2.5%), neonatal deaths (0.8%) and abortion (3.3%). Late antenatal care booking 79 (65.8%) and unbooked 1 (0.8%) cases were reported as some of the major risk factors. The major abusers were the intimate partners (17.5%), followed by the ex-husbands (1.7%). Other people like the in-laws were also reported as abusers (2.5%). The study revealed that these cases were going away unreported as most of the cases were not reported for medical care and even to the police. The inferential statistics revealed that there is a positive relationship between domestic violence during pregnancy and adverse pregnancy outcomes at (r=.229* and p=<0.05). R-squared indicated that experience of domestic violence during pregnancy accounts for 5.3% of the variance in the occurrence of adverse pregnancy outcomes. The study revealed that there is great need to intensify education of both men and women on the effects of domestic violence in pregnancy and strength the policy framework for the implementation of the local, regional and international polices on rights of women in a bid to improve health outcomes for women and children.

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