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We investigated perceived impacts of COVID-19 on the delivery of adolescent HIV treatment and prevention services in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) by administering a survey to members of the Adolescent HIV Prevention and Treatment Implementation Science Alliance (AHISA) from February to April 2021. We organized COVID-19 impacts, as perceived by AHISA teams, under three themes: service interruptions, service adjustments, and perceived individual-level health impacts. AHISA teams commonly reported interruptions to prevention programs, diagnostic testing, and access to antiretroviral therapy (ART). Common service adjustments included decentralization of ART refills, expanded multi-month ART distribution, and digital technology use. Perceived individual-level impacts included social isolation, loss to follow-up, food insecurity, poverty, and increases in adolescent pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections. The need for collaboration among stakeholders were commonly cited as lessons learned by AHISA teams. Survey findings highlight the need for implementation science research to evaluate the effects of pandemic-related HIV service adaptations in SSA.

Study Objective Botswana has a high pregnancy rate among adolescent girls and young women (AGYW). Long-acting reversible contraceptive (LARC) use among AGYW in Botswana is low, despite its high effectiveness for preventing pregnancy. Using an implementation science framework, we assessed barriers and facilitators to LARC implementation among AGYW in Botswana. Design Cross-sectional mixed methods. Setting Gaborone, Botswana. Participants Twenty sexually active AGYW ages 18-24 years; 20 health system stakeholders. Interventions Surveys and semistructured interviews grounded in the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research. Main Outcome Measures Themes reflecting barriers and facilitators of LARC implementation. Results The median age for AGYW was 22 (interquartile range, 21-23) years. Twenty percent were using an implant and none had ever used an intrauterine device. Barriers and facilitators of LARC implementation spanned factors at each Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research domain: (1) LARC characteristics like side effects; (2) the clinics’ inner settings, including availability of youth-friendly services; (3) characteristics of health system stakeholders, such as LARC skills, and AGYW experiences, attitudes, and beliefs about LARCs; (4) the outer setting external to clinics and Botswana's health system including reproductive health law and policy for minor adolescents; and (5) the implementation process level such as the availability of free or low-cost LARCs. Conclusion We identified multilevel, context-specific factors that affect LARC implementation. Our findings can inform the development of interventions to increase LARC implementation in Botswana by addressing intersecting factors across patient, clinic, health system, and sociopolitical levels, such as providing confidential services to minors and improving LARC training and supply chain pipelines.

Purpose This study aims to describe the spectrum of allergic diseases of children and adolescents in a single allergy treatment centre in Botswana, over a period of 8 years. Patients and methods A retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted using medical records of all patients aged 18 years or younger, seen at an allergy treatment centre in Botswana. Data were presented descriptively. Association between variables was explored by χ 2-test. Results Four hundred and seven patients with a mean age of 5.8 years (SD 4.4) at the time of presentation included 239 (58.7%) females and 365 (87.5%) black Africans. The most common diseases were asthma (n=249, 61.2%) followed by allergic rhinitis (AR) (n=232, 57.0%) and atopic dermatitis (AD) (n=165, 40.5%). One hundred and fifteen cases (46.2%) of asthmatic patients were skin prick test positive; sensitized to grass, moulds, dust mites and animal dander, in decreasing frequency, whereas those with allergic rhinitis (AR) and allergic conjunctivitis (AC) were sensitized to trees and all allergens identified in asthmatics. Concomitant asthma was diagnosed in 171 (73.7%) with AR, 71 (68.3%) with AC, 75 (45.5%) with AD and 42 (47.7%) with food allergy. The most common triggers for asthma exacerbations include upper respiratory tract infections, weather changes, and exposure to passive cigarette smoke. Paternal allergy and allergic disease in grandparents are predisposing factors for asthma (p=0.016 and p=0.001, respectively). Paternal allergy is also predisposed to AR (p=0.007), while maternal history of allergic disease was associated with AD (p=0.019). Conclusion The most common chronic pediatric conditions seen in our allergic disease study were asthma, allergic rhinitis and atopic dermatitis with the most common triggers being viral upper respiratory tract infections, weather changes and exposure to cigarette smoke, all of which are modifiable risk factors. This exploratory study lays the foundation for future interventional studies that may be directed towards the spectrum of allergic diseases.

Additional file 1. Overall characteristics of infants born to women enrolled in the Moving Mothers towards Empowerment Trial.

Introduction: Youth living with HIV (YLWH) experience higher rates of mental illness than their peers. Holistic care for YLWH may involve adopting mental health screening programs into comprehensive HIV care to help identify and address mental health concerns in young people. We explored various contexts, procedures, and safety measures throughout the integration and maintenance of a mental health screening program for adolescents attending an HIV referral clinic in Gaborone, Botswana. Methods: Implementation goals included a safety goal of 100% appropriate referral rate for emergency cases, and a screening goal of 70% of the approximately 1100 adolescent and young adults who were clients of the clinic at least once in the one year review period. Frequent meetings with the behavioral health team and relevant clinic staff were conducted to determine when, where and how to screen the clients. Referral procedures and an emergency protocol for certain “red flag” behaviors was developed to facilitate a warm handing off to trained mental health professionals along with a backup for non-mental health clinicians to assist in the absence of the PSS team. Every other week severe score case reports were produced by the screening team to prevent loss to follow up of suicidal ideation, hallucination or very high scores. Mild to moderate cases were referred to clinicians trained in brief intervention therapy. Results: Of the 846 clients screened, 191 (19.2%) had severe scores. Eight (4.1%) of these 191 severe case scores were either not immediately reported, or were inappropriately referred. Two of those eight had suicidal ideation and were not immediately referred but were appropriately followed up after being identified during bimonthly implementation team meetings. Identifying a specific trained person tasked with facilitating the screening was found to be most helpful. As was training the clinicians in methods to respond to mild to moderate results, particularly during unavailability of PSS team members. A clear and detailed protocol for severe cases was also noted as a key element in keeping the screening program safe. Conclusions: Establishing a universal screening program in an LMIC is possible with the consideration of various contextual factors.

Adolescents living in low-resource settings lack access to adequate psychological care. The barriers to mental health care in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) include high disease burden, low allocation of resources, lack of national mental health policy and child and adolescent mental health (CAMH) professionals and services, poverty, illiteracy and poor availability of adolescent friendly health services. WHO has recommended a stepped task shifting approach to mental health care in LMIC. Training of non-mental health specialists like peers, teachers, community health workers, paediatricians and primary care physicians by CAMH and framing country-specific evidence-based national mental health policies are vital in overcoming barriers to psychological care in LMIC. Digital technology and telemedicine can be used in providing economical and accessible mental health care services to adolescents.

Aims When implementing interventions for adolescents, specific adolescent friendly adaptation from adult interventions is vital. The Friendship Bench is a lay counselor community therapy model that has been shown to have high efficacy in adult populations with adult lay counselors in Zimbabwe and other communities. Our objective was to understand the overall mental health needs and necessary adaptations for lay counselor based work for adolescents in Botswana. Methods We used theory of change activities during stakeholder meetings to discuss necessary elements of the Friendship Bench for use with adolescents. We held four groups sessions with stakeholders who were youth, parents, members of youth serving non-governmental organizations, members of government, and HIV clinic clinicians, and social workers. The meetings addressed root causes of poor mental health in youth in Botswana, overall structure of mental health services, ultimate outcomes we would hope to achieve with a youth mental health intervention, and action steps and assumptions necessary to implement a lay counselor intervention. Results Root causes of mental health in youth included lack of knowledge about these issues, family problems like abuse/neglect, and poor communication, low self-esteem, rapid growth of technology, and biology/genetics. Structurally barriers included: the stigma against mental illness, lack of psychosocial support, poor follow-up for mental health services, cultural beliefs about mental illness, and fragmented mental health services available. The stakeholders seek a program that empowers adolescents and youth counselors to address mental health concerns in order to create a healthier community. The group identified several major elements of an effective lay counselor intervention including age appropriate (youth) lay counselors, broad education and screening of youth at risk, creative and fun ways of engaging and maintaining them into the intervention, flexibility with schedules, and strong lay counselors with adequate training and personalities that support thoughtful interpersonal engagement. Lay counselor pre-training qualifications were defined and included a preference for youth with similar diagnoses, a minimum of secondary school training, age of 18 to 35 and agreement to attend mandatory counseling. Conclusion Stakeholders from multiple segments of the community can illustrate key elements of interventions being expanded to new populations and environments.

BACKGROUND: Future orientation (FO), an essential construct in youth development, encompassing goals, expectations for life, and ability to plan for the future. This study uses a multidimensional measure of future orientation to assess the relationship between change in future orientation and change in substance use over time. METHODS: Data were from the Pathways to Desistence study. Justice involved youth (n = 1,354), ages 14 to 18 at time of recruitment, completed interviews every six months for three years. Multiple measures were chosen a priori as elements of future orientation. After evaluating the psychometrics of a new measure for future orientation, we ran mixed effects cross-lagged panel models to assess the relationship between changes in future orientation and substance use (tobacco, marijuana, hard drugs, and alcohol). RESULTS: There was a significant bidirectional relationship between future orientation and all substance use outcomes. Adjusted models accounted for different sites, sex, age, ethnicity, parental education, and proportion of time spent in a facility. In adjusted models, higher levels of future orientation resulted in smaller increases in substance use at future time points. CONCLUSIONS: Future orientation and substance use influence each other in this sample of adolescent offenders. Treating substance use disorders is also likely to increase future orientation, promoting positive youth development more generally. This study expands our understanding of the longitudinal relationship between changes in future orientation and changes in levels of substance use in a sample of justice involved youth with high levels of substance use, a group of considerable clinical and policy interest.

Context: Few studies in developing settings seek to determine caregivers' level of satisfaction with medical services provided for their children. High-quality medical care is associated with improved health outcomes and higher health-care utilization. Aims: We sought to understand caregiver satisfaction in the pediatric ward of a large hospital in Botswana. Settings and Design: A cross-sectional, descriptive survey was conducted in the pediatrics medical ward at a referral hospital in Gaborone, Botswana, between September and October 2017. Subjects and Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted on caregivers admitted with their children in the pediatric ward of a large multispecialty hospital in Botswana. A total of 250 caregivers took a modified Service Quality Instrument from September to October 2017. The quality service instrument provides expectation and perception data in two subscales and assesses the difference between expectation and perception score, or gap score, for five dimensions of medical care. Statistical Analysis Used: All data were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Science software. Results: The mean gap scores for the cohort were all negative, showing poor satisfaction and discrepancies between expectations and perceptions. The overall mean gap score was at − 0.315 (P

BACKGROUND: Hopefulness has been associated with increased treatment retention and reduced substance abuse among adults, and may be a promising modifiable factor to leverage in substance abuse treatment settings. Few studies have assessed the relationship between hopefulness and substance use in adolescents, particularly those with high-risk backgrounds. OBJECTIVE: We explored whether high hope is associated with less likelihood for engaging in a variety of substance use behaviors in a sample of marginalized adolescents. METHODS: Using logistic regression, we assessed results from a cross-sectional anonymous youth behavior survey (n = 256 youth, ages 14 to 19). We recruited from local youth serving agencies (e.g., homeless shelters, group homes, short-term detention). RESULTS: The sample was almost 60% male and two thirds African American. Unadjusted models showed youth with higher hope had a 50–58% (p =

Acquired hypothyroidism secondary to iodine deficiency is rarely reported in iodine-replete environments. The case of a 9-year-old patient with severe acquired hypothyroidism due to iodine deficiency is presented. His deficiency occurred because of a restrictive diet used to control eosinophilic esophagitis. Hypothyroidism and iodine deficiency were quickly corrected with a kelp supplement.