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Objective: This study investigated women living with HIV/AIDS (WLHA)'s practices and decision-making regarding disclosure of HIV status in healthcare settings in Vietnam. Introduction: Disclosure of HIV status in healthcare settings is under-studied. Methods: We conducted in-depth interviews with 30 WLHA in Hanoi, Vietnam. Thematic analysis was conducted to investigate the patterns, considerations, and consequences of HIV disclosure. Results: Most participants chose a selective disclosure strategy based on the type of procedure and healthcare setting. They considered several factors: concerns about stigma/discrimination, risks of confidentiality breach, relevance to healthcare provision, and altruism towards protecting providers and other patients. Selective disclosure or non-disclosure often prevented participants from accessing comprehensive care. Conclusion: The study underscores the need to prepare WLHA to make informed decisions regarding disclosure and provide them with service navigations and support. It also highlights the necessity of reducing stigma and enhancing confidentiality protection to ensure safe disclosure in healthcare settings. Plain Language Summary: Telling Healthcare Providers About HIV Status: How Women with HIV/AIDS in Vietnam Decide and What They Consider This study focuses on how women living with HIV/AIDS in Vietnam decide to share their HIV status with healthcare providers. We interviewed 30 women with HIV/AIDS in Vietnam and found that many choose to reveal their status only in certain situations, depending on the medical procedure and the setting. They weigh various factors before deciding to disclose, including the risk of facing stigma, the need to protect their privacy, how relevant their HIV status is to their other health issues, their wish to protect their healthcare providers and other patients, and how they have been advised by HIV specialists. Unfortunately, choosing not to disclose their status sometimes stops them from getting the full range of medical care they need. The findings stress the importance of helping these women make well-informed choices about disclosing their HIV status. We also need to provide them with additional support and navigational help through healthcare services. Moreover, reducing stigma in healthcare, enhancing providers' ability to gather necessary health information, and ensuring patient privacy are crucial to encouraging more open discussions of HIV status in medical settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Several countries poorly adhere to the World Health Organization's recommendation of folic acid supplementation in the periconceptional period, especially in limited-resource settings. Objective: The objective of this study was to investigate the prevalence of and the factors associated with folic acid usage in the periconceptional period among pregnant women at Gadarif Maternity Hospital in eastern Sudan. Study design: This is a cross-sectional study. Methods: This study was conducted in eastern Sudan from April to September 2022. A total of 720 pregnant women in their first trimester were enrolled. The sociodemographic characteristics and clinical and obstetrical data of pregnant women in their first trimester were assessed using a face-to-face questionnaire. In addition, multivariate regression analysis was performed. Results: In this study, the median (interquartile range) of the age and gravidity of the enrolled women was 26.3 (24.14–29.52) years and 2 (1–4), respectively. Of these 720 women, 423 (58.8%) used folic acid during the periconceptional period, while 27 (3.7%) women used folic acid in the preconceptional period. None of the investigated factors (age, residence, education, employment, body mass index, or gravidity) were associated with periconceptional use of folic acid. Conclusion: The study revealed a low prevalence of folic acid usage in preconceptional period among pregnant women in eastern Sudan. Additional efforts are needed to promote folic acid usage in the preconceptional period as well as in the first trimester. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Globally, neonatal mortality remains a serious catastrophic problem for newborns, particularly in a low-resource setting. There were no neonatal mortality trend studies in the study area. Objective: This study aimed to determine the trends and risk factors of neonatal mortality at the neonatal intensive care unit of Felege Hiwot Comprehensive Specialized Hospital, Northwest Ethiopia. Methods: An institution-based retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted among 870 admitted neonates from January 1, 2016 to December 31, 2020 in the neonatal intensive care unit by a stratified simple random sampling technique. Data were entered into EpiData and then exported to STATA 14.0 for analysis. A linear regression statistical model was used for trend analysis and binary logistic regression was carried out to identify explanatory variables of neonatal mortality. Results: Overall, neonatal mortality averagely increased by 2.1% per year throughout the 5 consecutive years. In this study, rural residency [adjusted odds ratio (AOR): 1.96, 95% confidence interval (CI): (1.26, 3.06)], birth asphyxia (AOR: 7.73, 95% CI: 4.31, 13.84), congenital deformity (AOR: 3.61, 95% CI: 1.17, 11.18), low birth weight (AOR: 2.13, 95% CI: 1.23, 3.67), respiratory distress syndrome (AOR: 3.32, 95% CI: 1.97, 5.59), Ambu-bag resuscitation (AOR: 0.16, 95% CI: 0.07, 0.38), taking antibiotics (AOR: 0.50, 95% CI: 0.27, 0.90), glucose (AOR: 0.47, 95% CI: 0.30, 0.72), and oxygen (AOR: 0.26, 95% CI: 0.16, 0.41) were associated with neonatal mortality. Conclusions: This 5-year trend analysis revealed an increased trend of NMR, indicating more work is still needed to make progress toward meeting the SDG goal by 2030. Rural residency, birth asphyxia, congenital deformity, low birth weight, respiratory distress syndrome, Ambu-bag resuscitation, taking antibiotics, glucose, and oxygen were associated with neonatal mortality. Therefore, all stakeholders shall give due attention to reducing this timely-increasing trend of neonatal mortality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The food handling practices of food handlers can have a significant impact on the hygienic status of the food. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and factors associated with hygienic food handling practices among food handlers in Ethiopia. Methods: PubMed, Science Direct, Google Scholar, and the Cochrane Library databases were used to find articles. Only cross-sectional studies that met the criteria for inclusion were considered. STATA version 16 statistical software was used to perform the meta-analysis. The study's heterogeneity was determined using Cochrane Q test statistics and the I 2 test. A random effect model was used to calculate the pooled prevalence of hygienic food handling practices. Results: To estimate the pooled prevalence of hygienic food handling practices in Ethiopia, 9 out of 33 reviewed studies were included. The prevalence of hygienic food handling practices was found to be 48.36% (95% CI: 39.74-56.99) in this study. Factors associated with hygienic food handling practices included; lack of food safety training (OR = 5.38; 95% CI: 1.71, 16.89), negative attitude (OR = 3.28; 95% CI: 1.50, 7.13), lack of access to handwashing facilities (OR = 4.84; 95% CI: 1.72, 13.65), lack of regular medical checkup (OR = 5.37; 95% CI: 3.13, 9.23), and lack of secondary education (OR = 2.51; 95% CI: 1.46, 4.32) among food handlers. Conclusion: In this study, the prevalence of hygienic food handling practices among Ethiopian food handlers was significantly low. Unhygienic food handling practices were attributed to a lack of food safety training, regular medical checkups, handwashing facilities, an unfavorable attitude toward food hygiene practices, and a lack of formal education. As a result, food handlers should receive ongoing food safety and hygiene training. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the fertility intentions of people living with HIV can guide safer conception planning and prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT). Most research has addressed fertility intentions among women, rather than couples, at a single time point. This clinical trial of a PMTCT intervention in rural Mpumalanga province, South Africa, examined longitudinal fertility intentions among perinatal women living with HIV and their male partners. Study assessments and intervention and control sessions were conducted prenatally and postpartum. Longitudinal predictors of participants' (n = 360 men, n = 917 women) fertility intentions were similar between sexes. Younger age and male involvement in perinatal care were associated with reporting fertility intentions at both baseline and 12 months postpartum. Having an HIV-positive infant and discussing pregnancy plans with a healthcare provider by 12 months postpartum were associated with incident fertility intentions after reporting no plans for further children at baseline. Results highlight the important role of healthcare providers to educate men and women on issues surrounding conception, as well as the potential for incorporating PMTCT and safer conception education into HIV clinical services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Non-adherence to the recommended therapy causes patients with heart failure to experience recurrence of the disease. Reminder book on therapy adherence is very useful, because it assists in monitoring adherence to therapy carried out by patients while at home. Therefore, this study aims to determine the effect of the existence of a reminder book on adherence to therapy among patients with heart failure in a private hospital in Malang. Design and Methods:A pre-experiment design with one-group pre and posttest was used. The respondents were 18 patients that received counseling on the management of heart failure therapy while at home and were given a reminder book. Furthermore, the modified MMAS-8 scale was the study instrument used to measure adherence. Result: The results showed that most respondents were above the age of 65 with a treatment duration of 1 to 5 years. It was discovered that most of the respondents had never received information about heart failure therapy. Data analysis which was carried out using the Wilcoxon test with a p-value of 0.001, showed that there was a significant difference between respondents’ compliance before and after being given a reminder book. Conclusions: From this study, it was concluded that providing a reminder book has an effect on therapeutic adherence in patients with heart failure. Researchers recommend that hospitals should make use of this reminder as a tool to control or supervise outpatient therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The universal access to treatment and care for people living with HIV (PLWHIV) is still a major problem, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, where 70% of HIV-infected people live. Equally important is the fact that HIV/AIDS-related stigma is recognized to be a major obstacle to successfully control the spread of this disease. We devised a pilot project (titled "My friend with HIV remains a friend") to fight the HIV/AIDS stigmatization through educating secondary school students by openly HIV-positive teachers. In a first step, we have measured the amount and type of stigma felt by the PLWHIV in Buea/Cameroon using the "The people living with HIV Stigma Index" from Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS. Gossiping and verbal insults were experienced by 90% of the interviewees, while 9% have experienced physical assaults. Using these data and material from the "Toolkit for action" from the "International Centre for the Research on Women," the teachers educated the students on multiple aspects of HIV/AIDS and stigma. The teaching curriculum included role-plays, picture visualizations, drawing, and other forms of interactions like visits to HIV and AIDS treatment units. Before and after this intervention, the students undertook "True/False" examinations on HIV/AIDS and stigma. We compared these results with results from students from another school, who did not participate in this intervention. We were able to show that the students taking part in the intervention improved by almost 20% points in comparison to the other students. Their results did not change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]