African health sciences
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African health sciences · Mar 2021
The impact of motherless paternity testing in a South African population.
Paternity investigations play an important role in determining biological relatedness, and in South Africa, the outcome of these investigations impacts medical, judicial and home affairs decisions. Short Tandem Repeat (STR) analysis is utilised to perform paternity and kinship analysis, due to the polymorphic nature of STR loci. The cost associated with paternity testing is high, and there is a demand for motherless testing. ⋯ We would recommend that within our setup and within similar setups, the mother always be included for testing, except in extreme scenarios such as death. False inclusion of putative fathers could have serious legal implications for testing laboratories.
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African health sciences · Mar 2021
A preliminary study of skin bleaching and factors associated with skin bleaching among women living in Zimbabwe.
Skin bleaching was reported to be commonly practiced among women and Africa was reported to be one of the most affected yet the subject is not given much attention in public health research in Zimbabwe despite the adverse effects of skin bleaching on health. ⋯ Evidence from the research suggests skin bleaching might be common among women living in Zimbabwe and possibly poses serious health threats to the women. Skin bleaching seems to be deep rooted in colourism. The colourism seems to be taken advantage of by the cosmetic industry which produce the potentially hazardous products which promise the revered light skin to women but which comes with a price. However, the study provides a base for future studies to explore more on skin bleaching practices among women living in Zimbabwe.
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African health sciences · Mar 2021
Prevalence and factors associated with hypertension among rural community dwellers in a local government area, South West Nigeria.
Many African countries including Nigeria are said to be at various stages of an epidemiological transition from communicable to non-communicable diseases (NCD). ⋯ Despite being a rural population, there was a high prevalence of hypertension in the study area.
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African health sciences · Mar 2021
What differs former, light and heavy smokers? Evidence from a post-conflict setting.
Evidence suggests that people who live in regions affected by the armed conflict are more likely to smoke. ⋯ Smoking prevention and cessation programs should include the entire community, because exposure to environmental second hand smoke may facilitate initiation and more intense smoking. Screening of student smokers for depression should be prioritized in the process of rebuilding the framework for primary and secondary prevention in the post-conflict period.
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African health sciences · Mar 2021
Medical mortality in an emergency department in Nigeria: the transition is obvious!
The emergency department (ED), a major entry point into the hospital, provides an insight to the type of cases seen, the quality of care and mortality spectrum in a health institution. We aim to identify the spectrum of medical causes of mortality in our ED, the demographic pattern and duration of stay before death. ⋯ The commonest cause of death in the ED was stroke. The burden of death was highest in the younger age group, with most occurring less than 24 hours of admission.