Bmc Public Health
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Comparative Study
Patterns of condom use and associated factors among adult HIV positive clients in North Western Ethiopia: a comparative cross sectional study.
The introduction of antiretroviral therapy (ART) has sharply decreased morbidity and mortality rates among HIV infected patients. Due to this, more and more people with HIV live longer and healthier lives. Yet if they practice sex without condom, those with high viral load have the potential to infect their sero-negative sexual partner or at risk of acquiring drug resistant viral strains from their sexual partner who are already infected. Hence, we aimed to assess practice of condom use and associated factors among HIV positive clients at Felege Hiwot Referral Hospital in North Western Ethiopia. ⋯ The study found that those who are on ART were at lower risk of using condom inconsistently as compared to the ART naïve patients living with HIV. Therefore, these results are of high importance in order to design tailored interventions.
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Substance abuse among adolescents is a major public health and social problem. However, studies rarely investigate the relationships between substance abuse, educational achievement and sport factors. Substance abuse is an even more significant problem in societies that have experienced trauma, such as Bosnia and Herzegovina, which have had recent wars. The aims of this study were to investigate substance abuse among adolescents in Bosnia and Herzegovina and to study the potential gender-specific relationships between a) sport factors (physical activity/exercise/athletic participation) and substance abuse and b) scholastic achievement and substance abuse. ⋯ In this study, the incidence of smoking and the consumption of alcohol were alarmingly high. These findings demonstrate the need for intervention programs to address these issues. These problems are particularly important, considering that substance abuse has a negative impact on educational achievement among boys and girls, and sport factors have not been found to be protective factors against substance abuse.
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Public health emergencies have the potential to disproportionately impact disadvantaged populations due to pre-established social and economic inequalities. Internationally, prior to the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic, existing pandemic plans were created with limited public consultation; therefore, the unique needs and characteristics of some First Nations communities may not be ethically and adequately addressed. Engaging the public in pandemic planning can provide vital information regarding local values and beliefs that may ultimately lead to increased acceptability, feasibility, and implementation of pandemic plans. Thus, the objective of the present study was to elicit and address First Nations community members' suggested modifications to their community-level pandemic plans after the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic. ⋯ Our results illustrate the importance of engaging the public, especially First Nations, in pandemic planning to address local perspectives. The community engagement process used was successful in incorporating community-based input to create up-to-date and culturally-appropriate community-level pandemic plans. Since these pandemic plans are dynamic in nature, we recommend that the plans are continuously updated to address the communities' evolving needs. It is hoped that these modified plans will lead to an improved pandemic response capacity and health outcomes, during the next public health emergency, for these remote and isolated First Nations communities. Furthermore, the suggested modifications presented in this paper may help inform updates to the community-level pandemic plans of other similar communities.