African health sciences
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African health sciences · Dec 2018
Prevalence and knowledge of hypertension among people living in rural communities in Ghana: a mixed method study.
Knowledge and understanding of hypertension and its associated health risks remain inadequate despite increasing trend of hypertension prevalence. This study was conducted to assess the prevalence, knowledge and perceptions of hypertension in rural communities in Ghana. ⋯ This study demonstrates an increased prevalence of hypertension, knowledge gaps and misconceptions surrounding hypertension in rural communities in Ghana. This evidence is useful in streamlining interventional programmes aimed at improving knowledge and prevention of hypertension.
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African health sciences · Dec 2018
Knowledge and perceptions on childhood asthma among care-takers of children with asthma at a National Referral Hospital in Western Kenya: a descriptive study.
Identifying knowledge gaps in asthma self-management and identifying existing myths is an important step in determining appropriate health education and demystifying the myths so as to enhance asthma control. ⋯ Most caregivers perceive syrups to be better despite having good basic knowledge on asthma. There is need to address asthma perceptions among caretakers in resource poor settings which is likely to improve control.
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African health sciences · Dec 2018
Predictor variables for post-discharge mortality modelling in infants: a protocol development project.
Over two-thirds of the five million annual deaths in children under five occur in infants, mostly in developing countries and many after hospital discharge. However, there is a lack of understanding of which children are at higher risk based on early clinical predictors. Early identification of vulnerable infants at high-risk for death post-discharge is important in order to craft interventional programs. ⋯ A systematic approach yielded 55 candidate predictor variables to use in devising predictive models for post-discharge mortality in infants in a low-resource setting.
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African health sciences · Dec 2018
Association of hyperuricemia with metabolic syndrome among university workers: sex and occupational differences.
The relationship between metabolic syndrome (MetS) and hyperuricemia is not fully understood. ⋯ Male workers with hyperuricemia, especially those working in administration were at risk of metabolic syndrome. It is important to screen, prevent and treat metabolic syndrome in individuals diagnosed with hyperuricemia at the workplace.
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African health sciences · Dec 2018
Single tube allele specific PCR: a low cost technique for molecular screening of sickle cell anaemia in Nigeria.
Sickle cell anaemia (SCA) is a hereditary blood disorder caused by a single mutation in the haemoglobin gene. The disease burden of SCA is highest in Nigeria. The allele specific polymerase chain reaction (ASPCR) method is applicable for the direct detection of known single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). ⋯ This study validates ASPCR as an effective, low cost approach for the clinical screening of SCA in Nigeria. ASPCR is also applicable for other genetic diseases, paternity testing, and forensics where more expensive fluorescence-based approaches are not obtainable.