by Manal A Al-Batanony and Ali E Mansour
Original Research
After COVID-19 had begun its journey worldwide, intensified and stringent public health precautionary measures toward COVID-19 was effectively taken by Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) for its control, among which ubiquitous education plays an essential role. This study aimed to assess knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) about COVID-19 among Qassim University students from health and non-health colleges. A cross-sectional study, using a self-administered online, close-ended questionnaire was adopted. 534 Qassim university students from health and non-heal colleges were our participants who, voluntarily and anonymously, answered the questionnaire regarding their KAP toward COVID-19. Appropriate knowledge was acquired by 81.3% subjects, where the level was significantly higher in students from health colleges than their counterparts (P<0.05). 68.2% subjects reported positive attitude, with significantly higher level among older students, students from health colleges and students from the higher academic grades (P<0.05). Proactive practice was found in 87.8% participants which was significantly more prevalent among older students, males and higher grade students (P<0.05). Significant concordant correlation between knowledge, attitude and practice and between attitude and practice were noticed (P<0.05). Tailored public health trainings to improve preventative measures towards COVID-19 should addressed younger students in primary grades, females and students from non-health colleges.
American Journal of Public Health Research. 2020, 8(5), 176-183. DOI: 10.12691/ajphr-8-5-6
Pub. Date: September 24, 2020
3036 Views363 Downloads
by Habibullah Adamu, Oche Mansur Oche and Aminu Umar Kaoje
Original Research
Maternal mortality remains a formidable challenge in many developing countries. Most of these deaths occur due to poor preparation for birth, which is largely attributed to poor involvement of male partners. As men are the chief decision-makers, increasing their involvement in maternal health services could lead to improved maternal health outcomes. We studied the effect of health education on the knowledge, attitude and involvement by male partners in birth preparedness and complication readiness (BPCR) in rural communities of Sokoto state, Nigeria. A mixed-method research design involving a quasi-experimental study, with pre and posttest design was used to study 268 married men selected via multistage sampling technique. Data was collected using structured questionnaires and was analysed using IBM SPSS version 23. The mean age of the respondents in both intervention and control groups were 41.6±8.6 years and 43.09±9.34 years (p=0.184), majority were Hausa Muslims. At baseline, 70-75% of the respondents in both groups mentioned ANC and saving money as part of BPCR, however, only half (50%) of the respondents had good knowledge of BPCR; education and occupation were the strongest predictors of having good knowledge. Also, less than half of the respondents in both groups [65(48.2%) and 59(44.3%)] had positive attitude towards BPCR, less than half, [43(32%) vs 47(35%)] were prepared and less than a quarter [38(28.4%) vs 32(23.9)] had high involvement index at baseline. At post intervention, there was significant increase in proportion of respondents with good knowledge, positive attitude and those who were prepared for birth (p<0.005). The intervention was found to be effective in improving the knowledge and attitude of respondents towards BPCR. There is need for the government to organize massive campaign to educate men especially those living in rural areas on BPCR,
American Journal of Public Health Research. 2020, 8(5), 163-175. DOI: 10.12691/ajphr-8-5-5
Pub. Date: September 15, 2020
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by M. Felicia Cavallini and David J. Dyck
Original Research
Despite knowing the benefits of physical activity (PA), the majority of Americans are not meeting our national PA guidelines of 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) plus 2 or more strengthening activities per week. Multiple studies have pointed to a positive correlation between education and PA participation while other studies did not show this relationship. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between participants’ income and education level to their i) attitudes and preferences for being active, ii) perceptions related to PA and exercise, and iii) top motivators to be physically active. In a two-phase, mixed methodology focus group study in South Carolina, facilitated group discussions were conducted (Phase I) with 175 participants from 13 groups. Questions were asked regarding their preferences, associations, perceptions and top motivators to PA and exercise. Based on the feedback from Phase I, a research generated survey was designed and administrated (Phase II) to the same community groups (229 valid surveys). The survey asked questions on preferences to PA, descriptors and perceptions associated with PA and exercise, and the respondent’s top motivators to PA. The results of this study indicated there was no significant influence of education level or total household income on peoples’ preferences for PA, perceptions associated with PA and exercise and chief motivators to PA. Although socioeconomic status and education can impact one’s participation level in PA, in this case, there was no indication participants differed in their responses, regardless of their education and income background. Therefore, health and medical professionals should not assume there are major differences across adults in how they promote, motivate, and educate communities to be more physically active to meet the American PA guidelines. It is vital people like and embrace their PA choices for long lasting health.
American Journal of Public Health Research. 2020, 8(5), 154-162. DOI: 10.12691/ajphr-8-5-4
Pub. Date: August 23, 2020
3036 Views456 Downloads
by Malliga Jambulingam, Ariel Hunt, Margaret Alston, David Thomas and Yvonne Bronner
Review Article
Background: Despite recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) regarding infant safe sleep practices, 39% of sleep-related infant deaths (SRID) occur among African American (AA) families each year. Effective interventions that promote AA parents/caregivers’ safe sleep practices for infants could help reduce SRID. Objective: To identify appropriate safe sleep interventions that increased compliance of AAP recommendations to reduce the risk of SRID among AA mothers/caregivers, a literature review was conducted. Methods: PubMed, EBSCOhost, and Google Scholar search engines were utilized to identify evidence-based research studies, published in English from 2000-2019 in the U.S that demonstrated the effectiveness of safe sleep interventions for AA parents/caregivers based on the AAP recommendations. Findings: The literature review revealed that multiple-element interventions such as free cribs and related materials, and safe sleep education increased adherence to AAP recommendations as evidenced by the majority mothers using the crib and adopting safe sleep recommendations. Conclusion and Recommendations:Although multiple interventions including education are valuable, culturally appropriate research is needed to better understand what specific intervention(s) will work to increase adherence to the AAP safe sleep recommendations among the remaining 39% of AA parents/caregivers who contribute disproportionately to the SRID disparity. Behavioral and environmental barriers preventing the adoption of safe sleep interventions also need to be studied in this target group of AA parents/caregivers. It is recommended that findings from these highly targeted evidence-based culturally appropriate studies be used to focus on funding, prevention programming, and policies toward the causes of SRID to close the disparity gap.
American Journal of Public Health Research. 2020, 8(5), 147-153. DOI: 10.12691/ajphr-8-5-3
Pub. Date: August 18, 2020
3983 Views544 Downloads1 Likes
by Prateek Gautam and Pradeep Singh
Original Research
In recent years, the subject of substance abuse has drawn considerable attention from researchers and policymakers alike. Researchers have been utilizing the wealth of patient level data available from various agencies to develop prediction models for the relationship between socio-economic factors and substance abuse issues. According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), in 2017, 26% of patients admitted to treatment facilities drop out prematurely, which is significant when considering that roughly 1.5 million people are admitted to these treatment facilities every year, thereby revealing the need for an analysis to identify variables associated with such a large number of people not completing treatment. This study applies Multiple Logistic Regression (MLRM) as well as Random Forest Classification (RF) model to determine significant socio-economic factors responsible for patients prematurely dropping out of substance abuse treatment for opioid misuse. A MLRM has its limitations when the dataset has a large number of categorical variables; machine learning methods such as RF have proven more effective and accurate when dealing with such data. Patient level data from the Treatment Episode Dataset - Discharge (TEDS-D 2017) was analyzed and the models were compared using the Area Under the Curve (AUC) operating characteristic. The MLRM was found to have an AUC of .68 while the RF model had an AUC of .89, thereby demonstrating the advantage of machine learning methods. The factors deemed significant from the RF model can provide healthcare professionals as well as administrative officials with the necessary information to help address the issue of patients prematurely dropping out of opioid misuse treatment.
American Journal of Public Health Research. 2020, 8(5), 140-146. DOI: 10.12691/ajphr-8-5-2
Pub. Date: August 16, 2020
4797 Views515 Downloads
by Ferdinand Nsengimana
Original Research
Background: There is a need of more evidence on which of the two malaria prevention methods, mosquito bednets and indoor residual spraying, is more effective than the other. Objective: To compare the effectiveness of mosquito bednets and indoor residual spraying in the prevention of malaria in Southern Africa. Based on the Health Belief Model, the research questions tested whether there is any relationship between the use of mosquito bednet or the use of indoor residual spraying and reporting fever. Materials and Methods: Using a quantitative research design, secondary data from the 2010 - 2011 Zimbabwe demographic and health survey, 2013 Namibia demographic health survey, and 2013 - 2014 Zambia demographic and health survey were analyzed using IBM/SPSS version 26. Chi-square for association, logistic regression, and multinomial logistic regression tests were conducted with significance level set at p value of ≤ .05. Results: From 2044 children who slept under mosquito bednet the night before data collection 21.8% (n = 446) reported fever during the previous two weeks prior to data collection compared to 22.1% (n = 606) of 2748 children who did not sleep under mosquito bednet. There was no statistically significant association between the use of mosquito bednet and reporting fever during the previous two weeks, x2 (1) = 0.037, p = .848, odds = .987, 95% CI [.859, 1.133]. From 2748 children who lived in dwellings that were not sprayed against mosquito 22.1% (n = 606) reported fever compared to 20.8% (n = 288) of 1387 children who lived in sprayed dwellings. There was no statistically significant association between the use of indoor residual spraying and reporting fever, x2 (1) = 0.903, p = .342, odds = .926, 95% CI [.791, 1.085]. Conclusion: The absence of significant association between mosquito bednet use or indoor residual spraying and having fever in this study could be due to the fact that fever can also manifest in conditions other than malaria. Thus, effort should be made to conduct malaria blood test before concluding whether one has malaria or not based on presence or absence of fever. Furthermore, studies focusing on malaria prevalence should consider collecting data on other variables such as malaria blood test results.
American Journal of Public Health Research. 2020, 8(5), 132-139. DOI: 10.12691/ajphr-8-5-1
Pub. Date: August 11, 2020
2966 Views512 Downloads