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Medical students gaining experience in outpatient's clinics and admission wards are exposed to clinical clerkship as this is an important part of their training. There is paucity of reported patients' experiences and perceptions of medical students in low-income settings. The present study was conducted at the Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital (QECH), Malawi to describe patients' and perceptions of, and experience with medical students being present when patients are seen by a medical doctor...

We conducted a quasi-experiment to investigate whether a peer education intervention could result in positive sexual behavioral change outcomes in selected schools in Northern Malawi. The experimental participants (n = 158) were exposed to an HIV risk reduction intervention. The control participants (n = 147) were exposed to a Health Promotion Package. At 8 months, there were significant improvements in the intervention arm on several outcomes. The experimental group was 96% less likely to...

Among school- attending adolescents, victimization from bullying is associated with anxiety, depression and poor academic performance. There are limited reports on victimization from bullying in Zambia; we therefore conducted this study to determine the prevalence and correlates for victimization from bullying among adolescents in grades 7 to 10 in the country in order to add information on the body of knowledge on victimization from bullying.The 2004 Zambia Global School-based Health Survey...

Mental health and injury are neglected public health issues especially in low-income nations. The objective of the study was to determine the prevalence and socio-demographic correlates for serious injury in the last 12 months.The study used data of the 2007 Djibouti Global School-based Health Survey. Logistic regression analysis was used to establish associations. Of the 1, 777 respondents, 61.1% (63.2% males and 57.8% females) reported having sustained serious injury (SSI). Compared to...

Despite advocating for male involvement in antenatal education, there is unmet need for antenatal education information for expectant couples. The objective of this study was to gain a deeper understanding of the education content for couples during antenatal education sessions in Malawi. This is needed for the development of a tailor-made curriculum for couple antenatal education in the country, later to be tested for acceptability, feasibility and effectiveness.An exploratory cross...

Dental health is a neglected aspect of adolescent health globally but more so in low-income countries. Secondary analysis using the 2004 Zambia Global School-Based Health Survey (GSHS) was conducted in which we estimated frequencies of relevant socio-demographic variables and explored associations between selected explanatory variables and self-reported poor oral hygiene (not cleaning or brushing teeth) within the last 30 days of the completion of questionnaire.Most of the 2257 respondents...

Few studies have assessed the effectiveness and acceptability of male partner involvement in antenatal education. Yet, male involvement in antenatal care including antenatal education has been proposed as a strategy to improve maternal and neonatal outcomes. We conducted this study to add to the body of knowledge on acceptability of male partner involvement in antenatal education following an intervention.This was a cross sectional qualitative study using 18 in-depth interviews with 10...

The shortage of doctors in all specialties in Malawi is particularly severe in rural areas. Contributory factors are the low number of students graduating each year, migration of doctors, and the preference of new graduates for practising in urban areas. Attempts to increase the output from Malawi's only medical school are insufficient to meet the country's healthcare needs.We studied the factors influencing career choices of medical undergraduates of the College of Medicine in Blantyre,...

Education is important in improving economies and creating literate, self-reliant and healthy societies. However, hunger is a barrier to basic education in Malawi. Hunger is also associated with a number of health risk behaviours, such as bullying, suicide ideation and unhygienic behaviours that may jeopardize the future of children. There are, however, limited data on the prevalence and associated factors of hunger among school children in Malawi.The study used data from the Malawi Global...

There is a critical shortage of healthcare workers in sub-Saharan Africa, and Malawi has one of the lowest physician densities in the region. One of the reasons for this shortage is inadequate retention of medical school graduates, partly due to the desire for specialization training. The University of Malawi College of Medicine has developed specialty training programs, but medical school graduates continue to report a desire to leave the country for specialization training. To understand...

Using data from the 2003 Dar es Salaam (Tanzania) Global Youth Tobacco Survey (GYTS), we assessed factors associated with current cigarette smoking among adolescents. We estimated frequencies and conducted logistic regression analysis to identify predictors of current cigarette smoking. Of the 1947 students included in the study, 1893 students indicated their gender of which 53.4% were females. Most (59.7%) students were in the 13-15 years age group. Some 13.3% (95% CI: 11.8%-14.9%) reported...

There are limited data on the prevalence and associated factors of truancy in southern Africa. Yet truancy should attract the attention of public health professionals, educators and policy makers as it may be associated with adolescent problem behaviours. The objectives of the study were to estimate the prevalence and determine correlates of school truancy among pupils in Zambia.We used data collected in 2004 in the Zambia Global School-based Health Survey. Logistic regression analysis was...

In 2004, the Malawian Ministry of Health declared a human resource crisis and launched a six year Emergency Human Resources Programme. This included salary supplements for key health workers and a tripling of doctors in training. By 2010, the number of medical graduates had doubled and significantly more doctors were working in rural district hospitals. Yet there has been little research into the views of this next generation of doctors in Malawi, who are crucial to the continuing success of...

IntroductionWhere data are available, bullying victimization is prevalent globally with significant regional variations in the rates of victimization (1-2). In a study on bully victimization among in-school adolescents from five continents, Due et al (2) reported the highest 30 day prevalence for bullying victimization among boys was in Zimbabwe (70.2%), while Zambia had the highest prevalence for girls (67%). Adverse conditions positively associated with victimization from bullying include...

Physical and emotional violence against adolescents is a neglected, but growing problem globally. Violence against adolescents negatively affects the victim in terms of physical health, school attendance and performance and social adjustment. The literature on the prevalence and associated factors of bullying against adolescents is sparse in southern Africa outside South Africa. Such data are even sparser for Malawi. The current study was conducted to estimate the prevalence of self-reported...

Emigration has contributed to a shortage of doctors in many sub-Saharan African countries. Specialty training is highly valued by doctors and a potential tool for retention. Yet not all types of training may be valued equally. In the first study to examine preferences for postgraduate training in depth, we carried out a discrete choice experiment as part of a cross-sectional survey of all Malawian doctors within seven years of graduation and not yet in specialty training. Over August 2012 to...

Background Low production and high emigration have led to few doctors in many sub-Saharan African countries, impeding the delivery of essential health services and response to new health threats. Retaining doctors in their country of training, therefore, has been the focus of recent policy efforts. Out of possible incentives, the opportunity to specialise has been found to be particularly important to doctors. Yet the specialist workforce is also small in many countries, necessitating a...

Correlates of bullying victimization among school-going adolescents in Algeria: Results from the 2011 global school-based health surveyIntroduction: Literature establishes negative public health impact of bullying.Bullies and bully-victims are more likely to engage in a cluster of other delinquent behaviors.Objectives: The objective of this study was to determine correlates of bullying victimization among school-going adolescents in Algeria.Materials and Methods: The study analyzed data from...

Cannabis dependence in adolescents predicts increased risks of using other illicit drugs, poor academic performance and reporting psychotic symptoms. The prevalence of cannabis use was estimated two decades ago in Zambia among secondary school students. There are no recent estimates of the extent of the problem; further, correlates for its use have not been documented in Zambia. The objective of study was to estimate the current prevalence of cannabis use and its socio-demographic correlates...