African health sciences
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African health sciences · Jun 2020
Prevalence, risk-inducing lifestyle, and perceived susceptibility to kidney diseases by gender among Nigerians residents in South Western Nigeria.
Kidney disease (KD) is increasingly recognized as a major public health problem worldwide with rising incidence and prevalence. Early identification of KD risk factors will slow down progression to kidney failure and death. ⋯ The prevalence of KD risk-inducing lifestyles was high. More emphasis should be placed on effective public health programmes towards behavioural change in order to adopt lifestyle modification as well as to reduce the tendency to develop KD.
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African health sciences · Jun 2020
An audit tool for relicensing inspection for private hospitals in eThekwini district, South Africa.
South Africa is moving towards National Health Insurance (NHI), which aims to provide access to universal health coverage for all South Africans. The NHI will only accredit and contract eligible health facilities that meet nationally approved quality standards in the public and private sector. Detailed tools for measuring compliance with the National Core Standards (NCS) and Batho Pele principles have been developed and implemented in the public sector. To date and since its implementation in the public sector, very little is known about the national audit tool and the method used to evaluate quality and patient safety standards in private hospitals in eThekwini district. ⋯ These findings were significant and denoted the need for a standardised clinical audit tool for private hospitals in eThekwini district.
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African health sciences · Jun 2020
Pulmonary functions of commercial tricyclists (Keke Napep riders) in Enugu State, Nigeria.
Tricyclists are continuously exposed to vehicle emissions and other environmental pollutants, due to the nature of their job and vehicle design, which may be hazardous to health. However, there is paucity of data on the pulmonary functions of commercial tricyclists in Nigeria, which should have provided insight into any relevant health concerns in this population, hence this study. ⋯ Decreased pulmonary function values of commercial tricyclists in this study is suggestive of their predisposition to occupation-related pulmonary disorders, particularly the restrictive patterns.
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African health sciences · Jun 2020
Elabela levels in patients with type 2 diabetes: can it be a marker for diabetic nephropathy?
Elabela (ELA) is a hormone that is secreted at high levels in the kidneys of a healthy adult. This study aims to investigate whether serum ELA levels of patients with Type 2 Diabetes vary with the severity of renal damage. ⋯ The fact that ELA levels are higher in healthy individuals compared to diabetic patients without microalbuminuria, and higher in diabetic patients without microalbuminuria compared to patients with advanced albuminuria and kidney damage, suggests that the ELA level can be an important clinical prognostic variable and even a promising agent for the treatment of diabetic nephropathy patients.
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African health sciences · Jun 2020
Determinants of neonatal mortality in Ethiopia: an analysis of the 2016 Ethiopia Demographic and Health Survey.
The first 28 days of life, the neonatal period, are the most vulnerable time for a child's survival. Neonatal mortality accounts for about 38% of under-five deaths in low and middle income countries. This study aimed to identify the determinants of neonatal mortality in Ethiopia. ⋯ To reduce neonatal mortality in Ethiopia, there is a need to implement sex specific public health intervention mainly focusing on male neonate during pregnancy, child birth and postnatal period. A relatively simple and cost-effective public health intervention should be implemented to make sure that all pregnant women are screened for multiple pregnancy and if positive, extra care should be given during pregnancy, child birth and postnatal.