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Introduction: The present study was conducted to identify factors associated with late recourse to prenatal consultation in the city of Mbandaka. Method: This study was based on a case-control survey. A total of 650 pregnant women (325 cases and 325 controls) responded to a structured questionnaire. Cases were pregnant women seen late in the ANC service and each was paired with a control who came to the first antenatal visit in the first trimester. The data were analysed using SPSS 22 software where multivariate analyses based on the logistic regression model allowed the research objectives to be met. The risk of error considered was 0.05. Results: The factors associated with late recourse to ANC were: cost of ANC (p

Context: Children are vulnerable people who in most cases are exposed to domestic accidents. These accidents occur most frequently in children under 15 years of age. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to describe the characteristics of domestic accidents in children under 15 years of age hospitalized in Kinshasa. Methods: A retrospective descriptive study was conducted in Kinshasa among 80 children who were victims of domestic accidents between 2019 and 2020. A document analysis tool was used to collect data. Results: These domestic accidents affected more children under 5 years of age (median = 3.5) with a sex ratio of 1.3. They are mainly burning (38.8%) with boiling water as the origin (64.5%) as well as trauma (37.5%) following a fall (86.6%). They occurred more during the day (56.3%), in the playground (47.5%), or in the kitchen (32.5%). These accidents affected the head (35%) and the limbs. Wounds (42.5%) were the dominant type of injury, followed by fractures (32.5%). 81.2% of accidents were managed by health personnel and 40% left lameness consequently. Conclusion: Domestic accidents are common in Kinshasa. Raising the awareness of mothers and those in charge of their care would contribute effectively to their reduction or better prevention. These results constitute a basis for the development of a policy aimed at reducing these accidents.

In the Democratic Republic of Congo, a large part of the population now lives in a context of extreme poverty and suffers from serious health problems. Deprived of social protection, these people see themselves therefore in the financial inability to acc...

Background: Global efforts to end female genital mutilation (FGM) have intensified in recent decades because of the rising awareness that such a practice is an act of extreme violence against women and girls. Articles on FGM have been published highlighting the combined efforts of international and non-governmental organizations, governments, as well as religious and civil society groups to end the practice. However, the consequences of this research are not well known, and it seems that the socioeconomic aspects of the practice are underreported.Objective: This review aims to characterize over a 40-year period the scientific output on the consequences of FGM in African countries, the most affected region known for the high prevalence of FGM, and review data on the socioeconomic consequences of the practice.Design: A systematic review of literature was done, looking at the following databases: PubMed, Embase, CINAHL, BDSP, Web of Science, PsycINFO, FRANCIS, Sociological Abstracts, WHOLIS, RERO, and SAPHIR. The analysis was limited to articles concerning the African continent, published in English and French, from January 1, 1972, to December 31, 2011.Results: One hundred ninety-eight articles were reviewed. More than half of the articles were published during the last decade of the study period. The majority of papers were published in biomedical journals (64.1%). Most studies looked at Africa as a region (33.3%). Nigeria was the single country most investigated (19.2%), followed by Egypt (10.6%). Most first authors were affiliated to non-African countries (60.6%): among them 21.2% were US-based, 4% were from African institutions, and 16.2% from Nigeria.The medical and psychological consequences (51.5%) and the prevalence and ethics of the practice (34.4%) were the most frequently investigated topics. The socioeconomic consequences were addressed in a minority of the papers (14.1%): they were classified into direct economic consequences (2.5%), school attendance (1%), marriageability (2%), sexual and marital consequences (3.5%), fertility (2.5%), domestic violence (1%), and discrimination (1.5%).Conclusions: The publication of articles on the consequences of FGM is increasing, but there is little research on the socioeconomic consequences of the practice. More scientific data focusing on this dimension is necessary to strengthen prevention, advocacy, and intervention campaigns.Keywords: female genital mutilation; systematic review; Africa; medical and psychological consequences; prevalence and ethics; socioeconomic consequences(Published: 4 October 2016)Citation: Glob Health Action 2016, 9: 31489 - http://dx.doi.org/10.3402/gha.v9.31489