The Central African journal of medicine
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Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
Trends in reproductive health knowledge following a health education intervention among adolescents in Zimbabwe.
Unwanted teenage pregnancy, sexually transmitted infections and the attendant morbidity and mortality necessitate the need for understanding factors influencing adolescent sexuality and the implementation of programmes designed to improve their knowledge, reproductive behaviour, sexual and reproductive health. ⋯ The reproductive health education intervention had an impact on aspects of reproductive biology and contraception as measured by the increased scoring at follow up when comparing intervention and control schools. The overall findings point to the need for early school based reproductive health education programmes incooperating correct information on reproductive biology and the prevention of subsequent reproductive morbidity by imparting information on non-risk behaviour during the early developmental years.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical Trial
A comparison of topical Phenytoin with Silverex in the treatment of superficial dermal burn wounds.
To compare topical diphenylhydantion (Phenytoin) with silver sulphadiazine/chlorhexidine (Silverex) in terms of rate of wound healing, analgesic and antibacterial properties in small to moderate-sized (< 30% TBSA) superficial dermal (second degree) burn wounds. ⋯ Phenytoin is a cheap and easy-to-use medicament, effective in suppressing burn wound bacteria and relieving pain thereby promoting healing, and may be advocated for the purpose in resource-scarce environments.
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To collect, analyse and compare prices of medicines in different sectors and parts of the country and to compare them with the medicine prices in other countries. ⋯ Medicine prices in Zimbabwe are high, a scenario that may compromise affordability and accessibility to medicines especially by the poor. Urgent steps are needed to reduce the level and effect of the high prices on the population, especially the poor.
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Postpartum Haemorrhage (PPH) is the most common cause of maternal mortality globally, leading to a woman's death every seven minutes. In Zimbabwe, there has been a 300% increase in the Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) between 1994 and 2010 and the MMR was estimated at 960 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births in 2012.2-3 Overall, 14% of all maternal deaths in Zimbabwe are due to PPH. Ensuring prompt access to high-quality prevention and treatment of PPH for all women who deliver is an essential strategy to combat PPH-related morbidity and mortality and to make progress toward reaching Millennium Development Goal 5, the reduction of maternal mortality by three-quarters by 2015.
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This paper examines research conducted in Zimbabwe over the past three decades on the patterns of use of traditional medicine in Zimbabwe. While much is known about patterns of choice between traditional vs. orthodox medicine, little is known about when and under what circumstances Zimbabweans use other medical therapies. A more inclusive model of health seeking behaviour that entails a more encompassing definition of traditional medicine and a broader spectrum of health care alternatives is advocated.