Search results for "rural"

Regression of Severe Tungiasis-Associated Morbidity after Prevention of Re-Infestation: A Case Series from Rural Madagascar

2013

Tungiasis (sand flea disease) is a neglected tropical disease. Heavy infestation results in mutilation of the feet and difficulty in walking. We identified eight individuals with extremely severe tungiasis in rural Madagascar. To prevent reinfestation, four individuals received solid shoes and four received a daily application of an herbal repellent effective against Tunga penetrans. Over a period of 10 weeks the feet were examined and the severity of tungiasis- associated morbidity was measured. Within this period, the severity score for acute tungiasis decreased 41% in the shoe group and 89% in the repellent group. The four major inflammation-related symptoms disappeared in the four patie…

Rising rural body-mass index is the main driver of the global obesity epidemic in adults.

2019

Body-mass index (BMI) has increased steadily in most countries in parallel with a rise in the proportion of the population who live in cities1,2. This has led to a widely reported view that urbanization is one of the most important drivers of the global rise in obesity3,4,5,6. Here we use 2,009 population-based studies, with measurements of height and weight in more than 112 million adults, to report national, regional and global trends in mean BMI segregated by place of residence (a rural or urban area) from 1985 to 2017. We show that, contrary to the dominant paradigm, more than 55% of the global rise in mean BMI from 1985 to 2017—and more than 80% in some low- and middle-income regions—w…

Predictors of mortality in HIV-infected patients starting antiretroviral therapy in a rural hospital in Tanzania

2008

Background Studies of antiretroviral therapy (ART) programs in Africa have shown high initial mortality. Factors contributing to this high mortality are poorly described. The aim of the present study was to assess mortality and to identify predictors of mortality in HIV-infected patients starting ART in a rural hospital in Tanzania. Methods This was a cohort study of 320 treatment-naïve adults who started ART between October 2003 and November 2006. Reliable CD4 cell counts were not available, thus ART initiation was based on clinical criteria in accordance with WHO and Tanzanian guidelines. Kaplan-Meier models were used to estimate mortality and Cox proportional hazards models to identify p…

Territorial Differences in Infant Mortality in Latvia in the First Decade of the Third Millennium

2015

Objective: Infant and child mortality are some of the most substantial indicators of country welfare. Infant mortality (IM) in Latvia is constantly the highest among 25 Member States of the European Union. Since the regaining of independence in 1991, IM has decreased by almost 50%, however, it is still high enough to cause concern that the country will not be able to meet the UN Millennium Development Goals to decrease IM in Latvia by 2015. The Medical Faculty at the University of Latvia has conducted several studies identifying correlations between IM and GDP, total expenditure on health, unemployment and GINI coefficient. It is necessary to identify all IM causes and relationships which h…

Cervical ectopy: associations with sexually transmitted infections and HIV. A cross-sectional study of high school students in rural South Africa.

2014

Objectives It has been hypothesised that ectopy may be associated with increased susceptibility to sexually transmitted infections (STIs). In this cross-sectional study, we wanted to explore the association between STIs (including HIV) and cervical ectopy. Methods We included 700 sexually active young women attending randomly selected high schools in a rural district in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The district is endemic of HIV and has a high prevalence of STIs. We did computer-assisted measurements of the ectocervical area covered by columnar epithelium (ectopy) in colposcopic images and STI analyses on cervicovaginal lavage and serum samples. All participating women answered a questionna…

“Now I Feel That I Can Achieve Something”: Young Tanzanian Women’s Experiences of Empowerment by Participating in Health Promotion Campaigns

2021

The United Nations (UN) emphasizes that health promotion, education, and empowerment of women are all goals that will help to end poverty. In eastern rural Tanzania, young women who dropped out of school now take an active part in health promotion campaigns in schools and villages through the youth program “Innovative and Productive Youth”, which is administered by the nongovernmental organization Hatua na Maendeleo (HAMA). The aim of this qualitative study was to explore how some of these young Tanzanian women experience participating in health promotion campaigns. A hermeneutic phenomenology design with focus group interviews was used. The study’s participants were nine young women betwee…

For patients with breast cancer, geographic and social disparities are independent determinants of access to specialized surgeons. A eleven-year popu…

2012

Abstract Background It has been shown in several studies that survival in cancer patients who were operated on by a high-volume surgeon was better. Why then do all patients not benefit from treatment by these experienced surgeons? The aim of our work was to study the hypothesis that in breast cancer, geographical isolation and the socio-economic level have an impact on the likelihood of being treated by a specialized breast-cancer surgeon. Methods All cases of primary invasive breast cancer diagnosed in the Côte d’Or from 1998 to 2008 were included. Individual clinical data and distance to the nearest reference care centre were collected. The Townsend Index of each residence area was calcul…

A study protocol for applying the co-creating knowledge translation framework to a population health study

2013

Background: Population health research can generate significant outcomes for communities, while Knowledge Translation (KT) aims to expressly maximize the outcomes of knowledge producing activity. Yet the two approaches are seldom explicitly combined as part of the research process. A population health study in Port Lincoln, South Australia offered the opportunity to develop and apply the co-KT Framework to the entire research process. This is a new framework to facilitate knowledge formation collaboratively between researchers and communities throughout a research to intervention implementation process. Design: This study employs a five step framework (the co-KT Framework) that is formulate…

The demand of health and schooling services in rural Mali

1984

Entre forme d'habitat groupé et forme d'habitat dispersé : le cas intermédiaire d'une occupation rurale aux IIIe et IVe siècles ap. J.-C. entre Fragn…

2011

A diagnosis made in 2008 on a zone measuring 98 ha north-east of Chalon-sur-Saône has revealed a lane, a small funerary zone and four occupied areas incorporating buildings used for domestic and agricultural (barn) purposes used during the last two thirds of the 3rd century and the first half of the 4th century ad. The linear distribution of the remains over a distance of 1300 metres has stimulated lively interest and poses several questions regarding the exact nature of the occupation. One of the hypotheses put forward is that of a small agglomeration associated with a possible estate. Analysis relies on studies of ceramic and metallic objects and examination of sets of coins