Basic Medical Sciences Publications

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    The Potentials of a Maternal Mobile Wallet: a Qualitative Case Study on Opportunities and Challenges From Zimbabwe
    (2020-12-30) Nyati-Jokomo, Z.,; Dabengwa, I.M.; Chikoko, L.; Makacha, L.; Nyapwere, N.; Makanga, P.T.
    Background: There are no systems put in place regarding mobile money for maternal savings in Zimbabwe. Therefore, this paper aims to highlight: (a) existing strategies and experiences about maternal savings in Kwekwe District and, (b) examine the implications of household dynamics and current savings behaviour towards the feasibility of implementing the RoadMApp Maternal Healthcare Mobile Wallet (MHMW). Methods: Out of the 49 health facilities in Kwekwe, 2 hospitals (rural and urban), 4 rural health centres, 2 peri-urban, and 2 urban clinics were purposively selected for the study. Participants were recruited from these health facilities. 193 people took part in the study, through 11 Focus Group Discussions, 17 In-Depth Interviews, and 3 Community Meetings. The Socio ecological Model’s categories are applied to interpret the results taking into consideration the barriers and enablers of maternal savings. Results: There is a paucity of information on strategies for maternal savings in Kwekwe District, Zimbabwe. The critical enabler for the implementation of an MHMW could be the use of existing community structures, like the burial societies and other savings clubs. Some of the essential barriers include low access to mobile phones, inadequate network coverage, power outages, a general lack of saving culture by communities, and the hyperinflationary environment in the country. Conclusion: Although, the socio-economic status of households may be the best predictor of maternal savings, ancillary factors such as financial literacy, educational level, cultural norms, and religion will help to understand the psychosocial reasons why communities engage in maternal savings. When implementing an MHMW, specific attention should be paid to individual and community/institutional level factors such as subsidies/interests on amounts saved, enforcing financial discipline, building local level mobile network infrastructure, and relying on locally available persons/systems.
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    The Potentials of a Maternal Mobile Wallet: a Qualitative Case Study on Opportunities and Challenges From Zimbabwe
    (2020) Nyati-Jokomo, Z.; Dabengwa, I.M.; Chikoko, L.; Makacha, L.; Nyapwere, N.; Makanga, N.
    Background: There are no systems put in place regarding mobile money for maternal savings in Zimbabwe. Therefore, this paper aims to highlight: (a) existing strategies and experiences about maternal savings in Kwekwe District and, (b) examine the implications of household dynamics and current savings behaviour towards the feasibility of implementing the RoadMApp Maternal Healthcare Mobile Wallet (MHMW). Methods: Out of the 49 health facilities in Kwekwe, 2 hospitals (rural and urban), 4 rural health centres, 2 peri-urban, and 2 urban clinics were purposively selected for the study. Participants were recruited from these health facilities. 193 people took part in the study, through 11 Focus Group Discussions, 17 In-Depth Interviews, and 3 Community Meetings. The Socioecological Model’s categories are applied to interpret the results taking into consideration the barriers and enablers of maternal savings. Results: There is a paucity of information on strategies for maternal savings in Kwekwe District, Zimbabwe. The critical enabler for the implementation of an MHMW could be the use of existing community structures, like the burial societies and other savings clubs. Some of the essential barriers include low access to mobile phones, inadequate network coverage, power outages, a general lack of saving culture by communities, and the hyperinflationary environment in the country. Conclusion: Although, the socio-economic status of households may be the best predictor of maternal savings, ancillary factors such as financial literacy, educational level, cultural norms, and religion will help to understand the psychosocial reasons why communities engage in maternal savings. When implementing an MHMW, specific attention should be paid to individual and community/institutional level factors such as subsidies/interests on amounts saved, enforcing financial discipline, building local level mobile network infrastructure, and relying on locally available persons/systems.
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    HIV knowledge, risky behaviours and public health care services attendance among adolescents from the Grassroot soccer Zimbabwe programme
    (2020) Mzingwane, M.L.; Mavondo, G.A.; Mantula, F.; Mapfumo, C.; Gwatiringa, C.; Moyo, B.; Dube, P.; Chaibva, C.N.
    Background: Interventions aimed at improving accessing of health care services, including HIV testing, remain a priority in global HIV eradication efforts. Grassroot Soccer Zimbabwe (GRSZ) is an adolescent health organisation that uses the popularity of soccer to promote healthy behaviours. We assessed HIV knowledge levels, riskybehaviours and attitudes in school going adolescents and young adults who attended GRSZ programmes and determined if HIV knowledge levels were associated with increased levels of accessing of health care services by youths. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study carried out on 450 participants aged 13–30 years who attended at least one of the three programmes offered by GRSZ. Self-administered and self-reporting questionnaires were used to collect information on participants’ demographics, knowledge on HIV and reproductive health, sources of information, access to HIV and reproductive health services and attitudes and risky behaviours. Results: A total of 392 (87.1%) responses were received. High HIV and reproductive health knowledge levels were recorded (77.7%) on our scale with females recording higher levels (81.1%) than males (71.1%). The majority of participants (72%) indicated willingness to abstain from risky behaviours such as use of drugs and attending youth sex parties. However about 33.3% of the participants who had sexual intercourse reported having condomless sex. There was marginal association between high HIV and reproductive health knowledge levels and accessing health care services in the past 24 months (p = 0.045). Conclusions: HIV and reproductive health knowledge levels were relatively high among adolescents and were associated with accessing health care services in the past 24 months. There however are some gaps associated with engaging in risky sexual behaviours such as condomless sex which could be addressed by using these findings to assist organizations working with adolescents, educators and policy makers in developing programmes that address adolescent sexual behaviours.
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    A case report of complete appendiceal duplication on the normal site of a single caecum: A new variant?
    (2020) Ngulube, A.; Ntoto, C.O.M.; Matsika, D.; Ndebele, W.; Dube, N.S.; Gapu, P.
    INTRODUCTION: Duplicated appendix is an uncommon entity, typically discovered as an incidental finding during surgery for appendicitis or other abdominal pathologies. It may be associated with other congenital malformations. We report a case of a male neonate incidentally discovered to have an unrecognized variant of duplicated appendix during a laparotomy plus diversion colostomy for imperforate anus at 4 days of age. PRESENTATION OF CASE: A baby delivered at home from an unbooked pregnancy at term, was referred from a primary care clinic to a specialist referral hospital, with a fever and suspected neonatal sepsis on day 1 of life. The patient had not passed meconium and physical examination revealed an imperforate anus. After initiating treatment for sepsis, the patient underwent a laparotomy where a situs inversus totalis and complete appendiceal duplication was found, with both appendices on the normal site of a single caecum. The appendices were left in situ and a diversion colostomy was performed. The patient did well following surgery and was discharged on postoperative day 10 to await definitive surgery. DISCUSSION: Appendiceal malformations have been reported either in isolation or in association with other congenital anomalies. Duplicated appendix occurs rarely and the pathogenesis is not fully under stood. This case adds more evidence that the classification of appendiceal abnormalities should continue evolving as newer types are described. CONCLUSION: Surgeons operating on patients with congenital anomalies must exercise extreme vigilance to identify and document other rare pathologies that may later pose challenges thus avoid morbidity, mortality and potential medicolegal pitfalls.
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    Chlorpyrifos- and dichorfos-induced oxidative and neurogenic damage elicits neuro-cognitive deficits and increases anxiety-like behaviors in wild-type rats
    (Creative commons, 2018-10-16) Imam, Aminu; Sulaiman, Nafeesah Abdulkareem; Oyewole, Aboyeji Lukuman; Chengetanai, Samson; Williams, Victoria; Ajibola, Musa Iyiola; Folarin, Royhaan Olamide; Muhammad, Asma’u Shehu; Shittu, Asma’u Shehu; Ajao, Salihu Moyosore
    The mechanization of agricultural activities has led to indiscriminate deposition of toxic xenobiotics, including organophosphates in the biomes, and this has led to intoxication characterized with deleterious oxidative and neuronal changes. This study investigated the consequences of oxidative and neurogenic disruptions that follow exposure to two organophosphates, chlorpyrifos (CPF) and dichlorvos (DDVP) on neuro-cognitive performance and anxiety-like behaviors in rats Thirty-two adult male Wistar rats (150 – 170g) were randomly divided into 4 groups, orally exposed to normal saline (NS), DDVP (8.8mg/kg), CPF (14.9mg/kg) and DDVP+CPF for 14 consecutive days. On day 10 of exposures, anxiety-like behaviors andamygdala dependent fear learning were assessed using Open Field and Elevated Plus Maze paradigms respectively, while spatial working memory was assessed on day 14 in the Morris water maze paradigm, following 3 training trials each on days 11, 12 and 13. On day 15, the rats were euthanized, and their brains excised, hippocampus and amygdala removed, 5 of which were homogenized and centrifuged to analyze nitric oxide (NO) metabolites, total reactive oxygen species (ROS), and acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity, and the other three processed for histology 43 (cresyl violet stain) and proliferative marker (Ki67 immunohistochemistry). Marked (p≤0.05) loss in 44 body weight, AChE depletion, and overproduction of both NO and ROS were observed after repeated exposure to individual and combined doses of CPF and DDVP. Insults from DDVP exposure appeared more severe owing to the observed greater losses in the body weights of exposed rats. There was also a significant (p≤0.05) effect on the cognitive behaviors recorded from the exposed rats, and these deficits were related to the oxidative damage and neurogenic cell loss in the hippocampus and the amygdala of the exposed rats. Taken together, these results provided an Preprints (www.preprints.org) | NOT PEER-REVIEWED | Posted: 16 October 2018 doi:10.20944/preprints201810.0359.v1 © 2018 by the author(s). Distributed under a Creative Commons CC BY license.2 of 16 insight that oxidative and neurogenic damages are central to the severity of neuro-cognitive dysfunction and increased anxiety-like behaviors that follow organophosphate poisoning