A practice model for rural district nursing success in end-of-life advocacy care.

Science.gov (United States)

Reed, Frances M; Fitzgerald, Les; Bish, Melanie R

2017-08-24

The development of a practice model for rural district nursing successful end-of-life advocacy care. Resources to help people live well in the end stages of life in rural areas can be limited and difficult to access. District nurse advocacy may promote end-of-life choice for people living at home in rural Australia. The lack of evidence available internationally to inform practice in this context was addressed by exploratory study. A pragmatic mixed method study approved by the University Faculty Ethics Committee and conducted from March 2014 to August 2015 was used to explore the successful end-of-life advocacy of 98 rural Australian district nurses. The findings and results were integrated then compared with theory in this article to develop concepts for a practice model. The model illustrates rural district nurse advocacy success based on respect for the rights and values of people. Advocacy action is motivated by the emotional responses of nurses to the end-of-life vulnerability people experience. The combination of willing investment in relationships, knowing the rural people and resources, and feeling supported, together enables district nurses to develop therapeutic emotional intelligence. This skill promotes moral agency in reflection and advocacy action to overcome emotional and ethical care challenges of access and choice using holistic assessment, communication, organisation of resources and empowering support for the self-determination of person-centred end-of-life goals. Recommendations are proposed from the theoretical concepts in the model. Testing the model in practice is recommended to gain the perceptions of a broader range of rural people both giving and receiving end-of-life-care. A model developed by gathering and comparing district nursing experiences and understanding using mixed methods and existing theory offers evidence for practice of a philosophy of successful person-centred advocacy care in a field of nursing that lacks specific

Youth Involvement In Rural Development Activities In Ogba District ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

. This is because they are major stakeholders in the development process. This study investigates youth involvement in rural development activities in Ogba district of Rivers state, Nigeria. Data was collected from 120 randomly selected youths ...

Mobility and Access for Off-Road Rural Farmers in West-Akim District

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Mobility and Access for Off-Road Rural. Farmers in West-Akim District. Esther Yeboah Da11so-Wired11. Abstract. The study is on the rural transportation problem in Ghana and its consequences on the rural people, especially those who live in off road villages (villages that do not have access to regular transportation ...

Perceived quality of healthcare delivery in a rural District of Ghana ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Objective: The study aimed at finding out clients' perceptions of the quality of healthcare delivery at the district level in rural Ghana, using the Komenda-Edina- Eguafo-Abrem District as a case study. Design: 803 patients were purposively selected and interviewed after visits to health facilities using a pretested questionnaire, ...

The Poor Little Rich District: The Effects of Suburbanization on a Rural School and Community

Science.gov (United States)

Howley, Aimee; Carnes, Marilyn; Eldridge, Anita; Huber, Donna; Lado, Longun Moses; Kotler, Ruth; Turner, Maryalice

2005-01-01

Contextualized in relationship to other case studies about rural districts that have experienced population growth and decline as well as in relationship to the small sociological literature on "boom towns," this study considered the dynamics that seem to be interfering with one previously rural and now suburbanizing district's ability to address…

Analysis of the role of strategic products in sustainable rural livelihoods (Case study: saffron production in the Roshtkhar rural district

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Sadegh Asghari Lafmejani

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Saffron is the most expensive agricultural and pharmaceutical product in the world. It is significant for several reasons such as having high water productivity compared to other crops. It is providing rural employment and preventing their migration, having high medicinal and spice values, ease of maintenance and transportation. Most importantly, it is producing a high revenue compared to other agricultural products. On this basis, due to the suitability of some parts of Iran to saffron production and the role of this product in the livelihood of rural households, assessment of the sustenance impacts of saffron production in the active villages seems absolutely necessary. Therefore, the aim of the present study is to assess the status of saffron production and its role in the livelihood of rural households of the Roshtkhar Rural District. This research was done based on a descriptive-analytic approach. In this regard, the role of saffron cultivation in 355 households living in 13 villages with over 100 households in the study rural district was investigated. To this goal, after conducting documentary studies and initial field visits, a wide range of measures proportional to the circumstances of the study villages were adopted. Then, data collection was performed based on the selected indices and questionnaires were distributed to be filled by villagers and households... To analyze the data, the relevant statistical and spatial analyses were done through the application of Expert choice, SPSS, and ArcGIS software packages. The research findings indicated that the annual revenues derived from saffron production in 43.9% of the households under study were more than they obtained from other sources of income. Through the analysis of the study data, it can be concluded that saffron production has a significant effect on the improvement of the residents’ livelihood in the Roshtkhar Rural District and this fact has reinforced the households�

Review of final-year medical students' rural attachment at district ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

2013-11-15

Nov 15, 2013 ... This paper presents the first phase of an ongoing quality ... a rural district hospital can provide unique learning opportunities for students if the ..... Peabody C, Block A, Jain S. Multi-disciplinary service learning: a medico-legal.

The maintenance of competence of rural district hospital medical ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

District hospital doctors are likely to have educational needs covering surgery, emergency and trauma, in-patient as well as out-patient care at primary service level, an understanding of the rural context and role of other health workers, public-health skills, and teamwork. Given such a broad curriculum, some prioritisation ...

Examining the relationship between school district size and science achievement in Texas including rural school administrator perceptions of challenges and solutions

Science.gov (United States)

Mann, Matthew James

Rural and small schools have almost one-third of all public school enrollment in America, yet typically have the fewest financial and research based resources. Educational models have been developed with either the urban or suburban school in mind, and the rural school is often left with no other alternative except this paradigm. Rural based educational resources are rare and the ability to access these resources for rural school districts almost non-existent. Federal and state based education agencies provide some rural educational based programs, but have had virtually no success in answering rural school issues. With federal and state interest in science initiatives, the challenge that rural schools face weigh in. To align with that focus, this study examined Texas middle school student achievement in science and its relationship with school district enrollment size. This study involved a sequential transformative mixed methodology with the quantitative phase driving the second qualitative portion. The quantitative research was a non-experimental causal-comparative study conducted to determine whether there is a significant difference between student achievement on the 2010 Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills 8 th grade science results and school district enrollment size. The school districts were distributed into four categories by size including: a) small districts (32-550); b) medium districts (551-1500); c) large districts (1501-6000); and d) mega-sized districts (6001-202,773). A one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was conducted to compare the district averages from the 2010 TAKS 8th grade science assessment results and the four district enrollment groups. The second phase of the study was qualitative utilizing constructivism and critical theory to identify the issues facing rural and small school administrators concerning science based curriculum and development. These themes and issues were sought through a case study method and through use of semi

Equity for Rural School Districts: The Final Report of the Countryside Council's School Finance Task Force.

Science.gov (United States)

Wiener, Steve

Soaring values of agricultural land have created inequities in funding between urban and rural school districts in Minnesota. The state's Foundation Aid to school districts is formulated so that districts of high property valuation receive less Foundation Aid than those districts with low property valuation. In recent years inflation has had…

The Impact of Tourism on Rural Development: The Kwabre District ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This paper assesses the traditional craft-based tourism industry in the Kwbre District of Ghana . It investigates specific crafts namely adinkra making, kente weaving and wood carving with the view to highlight their potentials for harness and use as the basis for the development of rural tourism-based economies. The paper ...

Prevalence of Low Calorie Intake by Rural Families in Palpa District of Nepal

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Madhusudhan Ghimire

2013-12-01

Full Text Available Background: Healthy population is indispensable for national development. Adequate food intake by people is the key determinant to keep up their health. Malnutrition nevertheless remains pervasive in developing countries, undermining people’s health, productivity, and often their survival. Food insecurity and hunger remain persistent in Nepal. Prevalence of low calories intake by rural family is widespread throughout the country population. Mainly marginalized communities, ethnic group with poor economic status, traditional societies and lower cast people are exposed to food defi cit. Objective: to investigate the prevalence of low calories intake by rural families and its associated determinants in Palpa district. Materials and methods: The cross-sectional study was designed to achieve objective of the research. A random sample of 339 families was selected from rural areas (DUMRE, DAMKADA, GORKHEKOT and TELGHA villages of this district. Data were analyzed by using the SPSS software for Windows (version 16.0. Results: The existence of inadequate food calorie intake among rural families was most common. Most of them were malnourished. Conclusion: low calorie intake by ethnic group was considerably higher than other groups in community.

The influence of housing characteristics on rural migrants’ living condition in Beijing Fengtai District

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Liu Wen Tao

2015-08-01

Full Text Available The study analyzes the influence of housing characteristics on rural migrants’ living condition in Beijing Fengtai District, China. The researcher will identify rural migrants in Beijing, examine their housing characteristics (housing crowding, housing privacy and housing facility and the influence on their living condition. Also, some suggestions are given to improve their housing characteristics and living condition. The government should revise the migrant housing policy and hukou management. Also, the rural migrants should try to increase their education level and social skills. For the occupation, the local government should give the rural migrants more job opportunity. These issues are analyzed in relation to local government attitudes toward the rural migrants. The analysis is based on data collected from two types of interviews: rural migrants and management interviews which examine the rural migrants’ housing and managerial aspects of this research, respectively. It is also supported by the utilization of secondary data. The findings of the study indicate that the rural migrants’ housing characteristics (housing crowding, housing privacy and housing facility highly influence their living condition in Beijing Fengtai District. Therefore, the local government should give some assistance to this group people in the big cities. This paper reports on the findings of a study to seek acknowledged definitions of the terms Project and Project Management. The study was based on a conventional review and analysis of the definitions from a series of texts.

Cognitive potential and its predictors in children from a rural district of pakistan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gilani, I.

2017-01-01

Effective interventions are available to reduce cognitive deficit currently estimated to affect more than 200 million children under 5 years of age in developing countries. However, developing world's investment is negligible in this regard mainly because of non-existent global indicators to monitor progress with respect to the childhood cognitive development. Intelligence Quotient (IQ) or Full Scale Intelligence Quotient (FSIQ) is an indicator of the cognitive development. This study was designed to assess cognitive potential of 6-7 years old children from a rural district of Pakistan by calculating their FSIQ. Predictors of the FSIQ were also determined. Method: This cross-sectional research was carried out in 40 rural Union Councils (UCs) of 2 sub-districts in district Rawalpindi utilizing simple random sampling technique. Wechsler Pre-school and Primary Scale of Intelligence (WPPSI-IV) was administered to 6-7 years old children (n=300) for measuring their FSIQ. Results: FSIQ of rural Pakistani children, relative to the normative sample, was found to be in the category of low-average. Findings of multiple regression analysis concluded grade/class of the child as the most influential predictor of the FSIQ followed by the level of mother's and then father's education. Conclusion: FSIQ of the rural Pakistani children, relative to the normative sample, was found to be in the category of low-average. Predictors of the FSIQ, seen in this research, were school grades and non-educated parents of the children warranting future research on the contribution of environmental influences to the variability in cognitive potential. (author)

Health worker attrition at a rural district hospital in Rwanda: a need ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Health worker attrition at a rural district hospital in Rwanda: a need for improved placement and retention strategies. Jackline Odhiambo, Felix Cyamatare Rwabukwisi, Christian Rusangwa, Vincent Rusanganwa, Lisa Ruth Hirschhorn, Evrard Nahimana, Patient Ngamije, Bethany Lynn Hedt-Gauthier ...

Supervision of Special Education Instruction in Rural Public School Districts: A Grounded Theory

OpenAIRE

Bays, Debora Ann

2001-01-01

The grounded theory presented in this study describes how the supervision of special education instruction occurs in public elementary schools in rural settings. Grounded theory methodology (Strauss & Corbin, 1998) was employed in this study. Nine elementary schools in three rural districts in the state of Virginia participated in the study. Interview data were collected from 34 participants, including special and general education teachers, principals, and directors of special education. Obs...

Using a Strategic Plan to Promote Technology in Rural School Districts.

Science.gov (United States)

VanSciver, James H.

1994-01-01

About six years ago, a rural Delaware school district formed a community/staff long-range planning committee to craft a strategic plan that would identify school system values and reallocate resources. As vision and mission statements emerged, technology evolved as a major value, with three goals related to funding and accessibility. Collaborative…

Media Magic: Automating a K-12 Library Program in a Rural District.

Science.gov (United States)

Adams, Helen

1994-01-01

Describes the automation process in a library resources center in a small rural school district. Topics discussed include long-range planning; retrospective conversion for an online catalog; library automation software vendors; finances; training; time savings; CD-ROM products; telecomputing; computer literacy skills; professional development…

Non-governmental organisations and rural poverty reduction strategies in Zimbabwe: A case of Binga rural district

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Stephen Mago

2015-09-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the effectiveness of strategies implemented by Non-governmental organisation (NGOs for poverty alleviation in Zimbabwe with specific reference to Zimbabwe’s Binga Rural District. The qulitative research methodology was employed in the article. Data were collected using questionnaires and interviews. Findings indicated that NGOs do not adequately fulfil the needs of the poor due to ineffective strategies that they implement. There is insufficient understanding of the livelihoods of the poor in Binga, hence the need for participatory development approaches. Deepening and widening poverty in the rural areas that are currently served by NGOs is an indicator that their poverty alleviation strategies are inadequate and ineffective to deal with poverty in these rural areas. The paper recommends a policy shift by both NGOs and the government to improve the poverty reduction strategies used by NGOs.

Improving Immunization Coverage in a Rural School District in Pierce County, Washington

Science.gov (United States)

Peterson, Robin M.; Cook, Carolyn; Yerxa, Mary E.; Marshall, James H.; Pulos, Elizabeth; Rollosson, Matthew P.

2012-01-01

Washington State has some of the highest percentages of school immunization exemptions in the country. We compared school immunization records in a rural school district in Pierce County, Washington, to immunization records in the state immunization information system (IIS) and parent-held records. Correcting school immunization records resulted…

Effectiveness of a Home-Based Counselling Strategy on Neonatal Care and Survival: A Cluster-Randomised Trial in Six Districts of Rural Southern Tanzania.

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Claudia Hanson

2015-09-01

Full Text Available We report a cluster-randomised trial of a home-based counselling strategy, designed for large-scale implementation, in a population of 1.2 million people in rural southern Tanzania. We hypothesised that the strategy would improve neonatal survival by around 15%.In 2010 we trained 824 female volunteers to make three home visits to women and their families during pregnancy and two visits to them in the first few days of the infant's life in 65 wards, selected randomly from all 132 wards in six districts in Mtwara and Lindi regions, constituting typical rural areas in Southern Tanzania. The remaining wards were comparison areas. Participants were not blinded to the intervention. The primary analysis was an intention-to-treat analysis comparing the neonatal mortality (day 0-27 per 1,000 live births in intervention and comparison wards based on a representative survey in 185,000 households in 2013 with a response rate of 90%. We included 24,381 and 23,307 live births between July 2010 and June 2013 and 7,823 and 7,555 live births in the last year in intervention and comparison wards, respectively. We also compared changes in neonatal mortality and newborn care practices in intervention and comparison wards using baseline census data from 2007 including 225,000 households and 22,243 births in five of the six intervention districts. Amongst the 7,823 women with a live birth in the year prior to survey in intervention wards, 59% and 41% received at least one volunteer visit during pregnancy and postpartum, respectively. Neonatal mortality reduced from 35.0 to 30.5 deaths per 1,000 live births between 2007 and 2013 in the five districts, respectively. There was no evidence of an impact of the intervention on neonatal survival (odds ratio [OR] 1.1, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.9-1.2, p = 0.339. Newborn care practices reported by mothers were better in intervention than in comparison wards, including immediate breastfeeding (42% of 7,287 versus 35% of 7

School District Personnel Selection Practices: Exploring the Effects of Demographic Factors on Rural Values within a Person-Organization Fit Model.

Science.gov (United States)

Little, Paula S.; Miller, Stephen K.

A study examined the extent to which demographic factors predict rural values in Kentucky public school district hiring officials. Among the demographic factors considered were school district metropolitan classification, school district size, community racial composition, decision makers' position in the organizational hierarchy, and decision…

Rural-Urban Differences in Household Treatment-Seeking Behaviour for Suspected Malaria in Children at Bata District, Equatorial Guinea.

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Maria Romay-Barja

Full Text Available Malaria remains a major cause of morbidity and mortality among children under five years old in Equatorial Guinea. However, little is known about the community management of malaria and treatment-seeking patterns. We aimed to assess symptoms of children with reported malaria and treatment-seeking behaviour of their caretakers in rural and urban areas in the Bata District.A cross-sectional study was conducted in the district of Bata and 440 houses were selected from 18 rural villages and 26 urban neighbourhoods. Differences between rural and urban caregivers and children with reported malaria were assessed through the chi-squared test for independence of categorical variables and the t-Student or the non-parametric Mann-Whitney test for normally or not-normally distributed continuous variables, respectively.Differences between rural and urban households were observed in caregiver treatment-seeking patterns. Fever was the main symptom associated with malaria in both areas. Malaria was treated first at home, particularly in rural areas. The second step was to seek treatment outside the home, mainly at hospital and Health Centre for rural households and at hospital and private clinic for urban ones. Artemether monotherapy was the antimalarial treatment prescribed most often. Households waited for more than 24 hours before seeking treatment outside and delays were longest in rural areas. The total cost of treatment was higher in urban than in rural areas in Bata.The delays in seeking treatment, the type of malaria therapy received and the cost of treatment are the principal problems found in Bata District. Important steps for reducing malaria morbidity and mortality in this area are to provide sufficient supplies of effective antimalarial drugs and to improve malaria treatment skills in households and in both public and private sectors.

The role of cooperatives in sustaining the livelihoods of rural communities: The case of rural cooperatives in Shurugwi District, Zimbabwe

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Smart Mhembwe

2017-04-01

Full Text Available The main focus of the research was to analyse the role of cooperatives in sustaining the livelihoods of local rural communities in Shurugwi District in Zimbabwe. Descriptive survey design was used in this mixed method approach to the study. A questionnaire, interviews and observation methods were employed as the main research instruments. Purposive sampling technique was adopted and data were collected from government officials and from members of the six cooperatives in Shurugwi District. A total of 50 research participants were involved in the study. It was found that cooperatives were established as a strategy to sustain livelihoods of rural communities. With the adoption of cooperatives, people in the rural communities managed to generate employment, boost food production, empower the marginalised, especially women, and promote social cohesion and integration, thereby improving their livelihoods and reducing poverty. Most cooperatives face a number of challenges that include lack of financial support, poor management and lack of management skills, and lack of competitive markets to sell their produce. The study recommends that the government and the banking sector render financial support to cooperatives in rural communities to allow them to expand and diversify their business operations; constant training on leadership and management skills is provided to cooperatives’ members. There is also a need for cooperatives, especially those in the agricultural sector, to form some producer associations so as to easily market their produce. Lastly, the study recommends that future research should focus on investigating issues that hinder the growth of the cooperative movement in rural communities of Zimbabwe. It is hoped that policy-makers, the academia and communities would benefit from the study.

An increase in the burden of neonatal admissions to a rural district hospital in Kenya over 19 years

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Marsh Kevin

2010-10-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Most of the global neonatal deaths occur in developing nations, mostly in rural homes. Many of the newborns who receive formal medical care are treated in rural district hospitals and other peripheral health centres. However there are no published studies demonstrating trends in neonatal admissions and outcome in rural health care facilities in resource poor regions. Such information is critical in planning public health interventions. In this study we therefore aimed at describing the pattern of neonatal admissions to a Kenyan rural district hospital and their outcome over a 19 year period, examining clinical indicators of inpatient neonatal mortality and also trends in utilization of a rural hospital for deliveries. Methods Prospectively collected data on neonates is compared to non-neonatal paediatric (≤ 5 years old admissions and deliveries' in the maternity unit at Kilifi District Hospital from January 1st 1990 up to December 31st 2008, to document the pattern of neonatal admissions, deliveries and changes in inpatient deaths. Trends were examined using time series models with likelihood ratios utilised to identify indicators of inpatient neonatal death. Results The proportion of neonatal admissions of the total paediatric ≤ 5 years admissions significantly increased from 11% in 1990 to 20% by 2008 (trend 0.83 (95% confidence interval 0.45 -1.21. Most of the increase in burden was from neonates born in hospital and very young neonates aged 7 mmol/l predicted inpatient neonatal death with a sensitivity of 81% and a specificity of 68%. Conclusions There is clear evidence of increasing burden in neonatal admissions at a rural district hospital in contrast to reducing numbers of non-neonatal paediatrics' admissions aged ≤ 5years. Though the inpatient case fatality for all admissions aged ≤ 5 years declined significantly, neonates now comprise close to 60% of all inpatient deaths. Simple indicators may identify

Acute admissions to medical departments. A comparison between an urban and a rural district

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hilsted, J C; Evald, T; Elbrønd, R

1995-01-01

of admissions for social reasons was 13 percent to the city hospital versus 3 percent to the district hospital. Relevant alternatives to hospitalization seemed to exist in 50 percent of the admissions to the city hospital versus only 3 percent to the district hospital. Since patients admitted for social reasons...... block hospital beds for a longer time period than those admitted for other reasons, these differences may to some extent explain why length of hospital stay is longer in city hospitals than in rural ones....

A cost-effective evaluation of biomass district heating in rural communities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hendricks, Aaron M.; Wagner, John E.; Volk, Timothy A.; Newman, David H.; Brown, Tristan R.

2016-01-01

Highlights: • Develop a cost-effective model using secondary data examining delivering heat through Biomass District Heating (BDH). • Eight of ten rural villages studied could cost-effectively deliver heat through BDH below the 2013 price of heating oil. • 80% of the annual cost of BDH was attributable to capital expenses. • Erratic fuel oil prices substantially impact future feasibility. • Village level feasibility is highly-influenced by the presence of large heat demanders. - Abstract: The economic feasibility of Biomass District Heating (BDH) networks in rural villages is largely unknown. A cost-effective evaluation tool is developed to examine the feasibility of BDH in rural communities using secondary data sources. The approach is unique in that it accounts for all the major capital expenses: energy center, distribution network, and energy transfer stations, as well as biomass procurement. BDH would deliver heat below #2 fuel oil in eight of the ten rural study villages examined, saving nearly $500,000 per year in heating expenses while demanding less than 5% of the forest residues sustainably available regionally. Capital costs comprised over 80% of total costs, illuminating the importance of reaching a sufficient heat density. Reducing capital costs by 1% lowers total cost by $93,000 per year. Extending capital payment period length five years or lowering interest rates has the next highest influence decreasing delivered heat price 0.49% and 0.35% for each 1% change, respectively. This highlights that specific building heat is a strong determinant of feasibility given the relative influence of high-demanding users on the overall village heat-density. Finally, we use a stochastic analysis projecting future #2 fuel oil prices, incorporating historical variability, to determine the probability of future BDH feasibility. Although future oil prices drop below the BDH feasibility threshold, the villages retain a 22–53% probability of feasibility after

Spontaneous adverse drug reaction reporting in rural districts of Mozambique.

Science.gov (United States)

Sevene, Esperança; Mariano, Alda; Mehta, Ushma; Machai, Maria; Dodoo, Alexander; Vilardell, David; Patel, Sam; Barnes, Karen; Carné, Xavier

2008-01-01

The roll out of various public health programmes involving mass administration of medicines calls for the deployment of responsive pharmacovigilance systems to permit identification of signals of rare or even common adverse reactions. In developing countries in Africa, these systems are mostly absent and their performance under any circumstance is difficult to predict given the known shortage of human, financial and technical resources. Nevertheless, the importance of such systems in all countries is not in doubt, and research to identify problems, with the aim of offering pragmatic solutions, is urgently needed. To examine the impact of training and monitoring of healthcare workers, making supervisory visits and the availability of telecommunication and transport facilities on the implementation of a pharmacovigilance system in Mozambique. This was a descriptive study enumerating the lessons learnt and challenges faced in implementing a spontaneous reporting system in two rural districts of Mozambique - Namaacha and Matutuíne - where remote location, poor telecommunication services and a low level of education of health professionals are ongoing challenges. A 'yellow card' system for spontaneous reporting of adverse drug reactions (ADRs) was instituted following training of health workers in the selected districts. Thirty-five health professionals (3 medical doctors, 2 technicians, 24 nurses, 4 basic healthcare agents and 2 pharmacy agents) in these districts were trained to diagnose, treat and report ADRs to all medicines using a standardized yellow card system. There were routine site visits to identify and clarify any problems in filling in and sending the forms. One focal person was identified in each district to facilitate communication between the health professionals and the National Pharmacovigilance Unit (NPU). The report form was assessed for quality and causality. The availability of telecommunications and transport was assessed. Fourteen months after

Linking agricultural food production and rural tourism in the Kazbegi district – A qualitative study

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S. Hüller

2017-03-01

Full Text Available As in many transition countries, also in Georgia rural urban migration as well as migration from the agricultural sector takes place. This also applies to the Kazbegi district, a mountainous region in the Greater Caucasus of Georgia. The main activity in the district is subsistence farming, while only a few agricultural producers are commercially active. As the region offers beautiful nature, during the last decade tourism has been on the rise, while a dwindling interest in the agricultural sector can be observed. However, the growth in tourism also provides opportunities for small-scale agricultural producers to increase their income by marketing their surplus production to the local tourism sector and thereby improving their livelihoods. In turn, an increase in local agri-food products offered might have a positive effect on the tourism sector. Thus, establishing linkages of agricultural food production and rural tourism might contribute to the economic development of the district and even counteract migration to the capital and from the agricultural sector. Through a qualitative study, we aim at identifying local agri-food products suitable for being marketed to the tourism sector and efficient marketing options. In order to do so, we analyze local agri-food chains. Exploratory interviews, focus group discussions and expert interviews provide data for a qualitative content analysis. First results show that food products which require little technological equipment for processing and do not underlie strict food safety standards, like for example honey, seem to be adequate to tap marketing potentials with regard to rural tourism.

Why Rural Community Day Secondary Schools Students' Performance in Physical Science Examinations Is Poor in Lilongwe Rural West Education District in Malawi

Science.gov (United States)

Mlangeni, Angstone Noel J. Thembachako; Chiotha, Sosten Staphael

2015-01-01

A study was conducted to investigate factors that affect students' poor performance in physical science examinations at Malawi School Certificate of Education and Junior Certificate of Education levels in Community day secondary schools (CDSS) in Lilongwe Rural West Education District in Malawi. Students' performance was collected from schools'…

Prevalence of refractive error and visual impairment among rural school-age children of Goro District, Gurage Zone, Ethiopia.

Science.gov (United States)

Kedir, Jafer; Girma, Abonesh

2014-10-01

Refractive error is one of the major causes of blindness and visual impairment in children; but community based studies are scarce especially in rural parts of Ethiopia. So, this study aims to assess the prevalence of refractive error and its magnitude as a cause of visual impairment among school-age children of rural community. This community-based cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted from March 1 to April 30, 2009 in rural villages of Goro district of Gurage Zone, found south west of Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia. A multistage cluster sampling method was used with simple random selection of representative villages in the district. Chi-Square and t-tests were used in the data analysis. A total of 570 school-age children (age 7-15) were evaluated, 54% boys and 46% girls. The prevalence of refractive error was 3.5% (myopia 2.6% and hyperopia 0.9%). Refractive error was the major cause of visual impairment accounting for 54% of all causes in the study group. No child was found wearing corrective spectacles during the study period. Refractive error was the commonest cause of visual impairment in children of the district, but no measures were taken to reduce the burden in the community. So, large scale community level screening for refractive error should be conducted and integrated with regular school eye screening programs. Effective strategies need to be devised to provide low cost corrective spectacles in the rural community.

An assessment of the compliance with good pharmacy practice in an urban and rural district in Sri Lanka.

Science.gov (United States)

Wijesinghe, P R; Jayakody, R L; De A Seneviratne, R

2007-02-01

To evaluate the compliance of private pharmacies to good pharmacy practice (GPP) in an urban and rural district in Sri Lanka and identify deficiencies with a view to improving supply of safe and effective drugs to consumers. Lot quality assurance sampling (LQAS) method was used to determine the number of pharmacies that need to be studied and the threshold limit of defective elements. An inspection of 20 pharmacies in the urban and all 18 pharmacies in the rural district was carried out using a structured checklist. Compliance to seven subsystems of GPP was studied. Storage of drugs, maintenance of cold chain, dispensing and documentation were comprehensively substandard in both districts. Individual items of supervision in registration, physical environment and order of the pharmacy were also found to be substandard in both districts. This study shows that the LQAS method can be used to identify inadequate pharmacy services in the community as a whole. There was poor compliance to GPP by the private pharmacies in both districts. There are concerns about the quality of drugs and the safety of private pharmacy services to the community. Some of the deficiencies could be easily corrected by educating the pharmacists and authorised officers, and more effective and streamlined supervision.

Analysis of factors affecting rural people's attitudes towards rural tourism: the case of Doroodzan District of the Marvdasht County

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Madineh Khosrowjerdi

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Although different governments place a lot of interest in developing rural tourism targets and a lot of budgets are spend in this respect, less attention is paid to study the attitudes of the host communities towards tourism.  Thus, the aim of this study was to analyze the factors that can affect the attitudes of rural people towards rural tourism in the Doroodzan District of the Marvdasht County. The research was conducted in 2015.  The survey research method was used for this purpose and data were collected using a pre-designed questionnaire. The research sample included 250 villagers that were selected using Kerjcie and Morgan Sampling Table and the Random Sampling Technique. The Face validity of the questionnaire was verified by the expert faculty members and the staff of the Rural Development Management Department of the Yasouj University, and its reliability was also verified by calculating Cronbach's Alpha reliability coefficient (from 0.61 to 0.86 that was obtained from a pilot study.  The results of the Path Analysis showed that value of tourism is the most effective factor for predicting the respondents' attitudes towards rural tourism. Next to that there are other variables such as income from tourism and observation that have had the most effect on the respondents' attitudes. Finally, it is recommended that the means of mass media such as local radio and television broadcast services prepare programs and campaigns about rural tourism and related topics in order to improve the attitudes of the rural people towards rural tourism.

What keeps health professionals working in rural district hospitals in South Africa?

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Louis S. Jenkins

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Background: The theme of the 2014 Southern African Rural Health Conference was ‘Building resilience in facing rural realities’. Retaining health professionals in South Africa is critical for sustainable health services. Only 12% of doctors and 19% of nurses have been retained in the rural areas. The aim of the workshop was to understand from health practitioners why they continued working in their rural settings. Conference workshop: The workshop consisted of 29 doctors, managers, academic family physicians, nurses and clinical associates from Southern Africa, with work experience from three weeks to 13 years, often in deep rural districts. Using the nominal group technique, the following question was explored, ‘What is it that keeps you going to work every day?’ Participants reflected on their work situation and listed and rated the important reasons for continuing to work. Results: Five main themes emerged. A shared purpose, emanating from a deep sense of meaning, was the strongest reason for staying and working in a rural setting. Working in a team was second most important, with teamwork being related to attitudes and relationships, support from visiting specialists and opportunities to implement individual clinical skills. A culture of support was third, followed by opportunities for growth and continuing professional development, including teaching by outreaching specialists. The fifth theme was a healthy work-life balance. Conclusion: Health practitioners continue to work in rural settings for often deeper reasons relating to a sense of meaning, being part of a team that closely relate to each other and feeling supported.

Factors influencing specialist outreach and support services to rural populations in the Eden and Central Karoo districts of the Western Cape.

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Schoevers, Johan; Jenkins, Louis

2015-04-21

Access to health care often depends on where one lives. Rural populations have significantly poorer health outcomes than their urban counterparts. Specialist outreach to rural communities is one way of improving access to care. A multifaceted style of outreach improves access and health outcomes, whilst a shifted outpatients style only improves access. In principle, stakeholders agree that specialist outreach and support (O&S) to rural populations is necessary. In practice, however, factors influence whether or not O&S reaches its goals, affecting sustainability.Aim and setting: Our aim was to better understand factors associated with the success or failure of specialist O&S to rural populations in the Eden and Central Karoo districts in the Western Cape. An anonymous parallel three-stage Delphi process was followed to obtain consensus in a specialist and district hospital panel. Twenty eight specialist and 31 district hospital experts were invited, with response rates of 60.7%-71.4% and 58.1%-74.2% respectively across the three rounds. Relationships, communication and planning were found to be factors feeding into a service delivery versus capacity building tension, which affects the efficiency of O&S. The success of the O&S programme is dependent on a site-specific model that is acceptable to both the outreaching specialists and the hosting district hospital. Good communication, constructive feedback and improved planning may improve relationships and efficiency, which might lead to a more sustainable and mutually beneficial O&S system.

A Study on Nutritional Status of Rural School going Children in Kavre District.

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Mansur, D I; Haque, M K; Sharma, K; Mehta, D K; Shakya, R

2015-01-01

Background Childhood is a time of active growth in terms of physical size, mental, emotional and psychological development. Normal growth is dependent on adequate nutrition and encompasses major transformations from birth to adulthood. Nutrition is a focal point for health and well being; and has special significance in countries with disadvantages in socioeconomic and hygienic standards. Objective The objective of the present study was to assess the nutritional status in terms of prevalence of underweight, stunting and thinness among rural school going children. Method The present study was cross-sectional study, conducted on 438 rural school going children (169 male and 259 female) with the age group 4-16 years, during the period from April 2014 to July 2014. Age was recorded in year; height and weight were measured in centimeter and kilogram respectively. BMI was calculated by using standard equation. Result The present study concluded that the nutritional status in terms of prevalence of underweight, stunting and thinness were found to be 30.85%, 24.54% and 10.05% respectively among rural school going children of Kavre district. It was revealed that 37.87% was underweight, 29.59% was stunted and 11.25% was thinness among male children whereas in female children, 26.27% was underweight, 21.24% was stunted and 9.27% was thinness. Hence, high prevalence of underweight, stunting and thinness were observed in male than in female children. Conclusion The present study has successfully documented the nutritional status in terms of prevalence of underweight, stunting and thinness among the rural school going children of Kavre district. The results of the present study will be useful for policy makers in their endeavor to formulate various developmental and health care programs.

Rural Depopulation Pattern at Yogyakarta Special Province (DIY

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M Baiquni

2004-01-01

This paper is based on a secondary data research i.e. statistical data at rural levels in Yogyakarta, thematics maps and other documents. Statistical methodes and map pattern analysis are employed to analysis data. The result of this research are as follows: a the rural depopulation in DIY can be found in 189 rural areas of 393 rural areas (48.09%; b the spatial distribution of the rural depopulation are in Gunung Kidul District (80 rural areas, Kulon Progo District (59 rural areas Sleman District (33 rural areas, and Bantul District (17 rural areas; c the rural depopulation in Yogyakarta at least related to six factors whih have been identified as out – migration, local resources, carrying capacity, geographycal location or accessibility, rural infrastructure, and service availability.

Precontrol observations on lymphatic filariasis & geo-helminthiases in two coastal districts of rural Orrisa.

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Chhotray, G P; Ranjit, M R; Khuntia, H K; Acharya, A S

2005-11-01

Lymphatic filariasis (LF) is a major public health problem in India, accounting for 40 per cent of the global burden. The World Health Organization has launched a global programme to eliminate LF by 2020 and India is a signatory to it. Orissa, an eastern Indian State has long been known to be endemic for LF. Prior to implementation of mass drug administration programme it is important to collect baseline data on filariasis and geo-helminthiases in the State. The present cross-sectional survey was therefore carried out between February and December 2001 to obtain baseline information on both LF and geo-helminthiases before application of the control measures. The study was carried out in rural areas of Puri and Ganjam districts in two phases. In phase I, the distribution of microfilaraemia in two district was mapped out in randomly selected primary health centres (PHCs), and 12 microfilaraemic villages were identified in each district by cluster analysis for the phase II study. In phase II, detailed clinical and parasitological survey for LF and geo-helminthiases was carried out following the standard procedures. Wuchereria bancrofti was found to be widely prevalent in Puri district with certain pockets of Brugia malayi while W. bancrofti was the only species in Ganjam district. The microfilaraemia (Mf) rate was found to be 9.5 and 11.1 per cent; and circulating filarial antigenaemia (CFA) was 16.8 and 17.8 per cent in Puri and Ganjam respectively. The geometric mean intensity (GMI) of Mf per ml of blood among positive individuals was 387 in Puri and 454 in Ganjam. The overall disease rate in Puri was 7.9 and 8.9 per cent in Ganjam. The prevalence of chronic manifestations was found to be significantly higher (PGanjam; and the heavy infection was found to be significantly higher (PGanjam compared to Puri district. The present study identified LF and geo-helminthiases as widely distributed health problem in rural areas of coastal Orissa which warrants intervention

Underperformance of Planning for Peri-Urban Rural Sustainable Development: The Case of Mentougou District in Beijing

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Jing Lin

2016-08-01

Full Text Available As the basic cell of social structures and spatial units, rural settlement is now experiencing profound changes through the rapid urbanization process underway in China, particularly in peri-urban areas which serve as the main platform and battlefield for urban–rural integration in China’s latest round of new urbanization. Therefore, how to achieve better planning for rural settlement in peri-urban areas is becoming a pressing and paramount research agenda. This paper attempts to explore the possible reasons for the underperformance of planning practice for rural settlement in peri-urban areas of China by taking the Mentougou district of Beijing as a case study. Following a quick and comprehensive review of planning in Mentougou district, a systematic and critical evaluation is then conducted accordingly. It shows that the plans generally play a positive role in development orientation and implementation. Yet, there is still a lot of room for improvement, particularly in the following aspects: (1 lack of initiative and innovation at the local level; (2 lack of long-term vision and consistent implementation; (3 lack of rationale-oriented approach; (4 lack of scientific and in-depth research; (5 lack of multi-stakeholder participation. As a way forward, this paper thus proposes a revised planning scheme for local practice, including classification of typologies and the customized planning design for each typology. At last, this paper calls for more in-depth scientific research on some key topics in the planning field, domestically and internationally.

Changing trends in the prevalence of blindness and visual impairment in a rural district of India: Systematic observations over a decade

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Rohit C Khanna

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Context : Globally, limited data are available on changing trends of blindness from a single region. Aims : To report the changing trends in the prevalence of blindness, visual impairment (VI, and visual outcomes of cataract surgery in a rural district of Andhra Pradesh, India, over period of one decade. Settings and Design : Rural setting; cross-sectional study. Materials and Methods : Using a validated Rapid Assessment of Cataract Surgical Services (RACSS method, population-based, cross-sectional survey was done in a rural district in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India. Two-stage sampling procedure was used to select participants ≥50 years of age. Further, a comparative analysis was done with participants ≥50 years from the previously concluded Andhra Pradesh Eye Disease Study (APEDS study, who belonged to the same district. Statistical Analysis : Done using 11 th version of Stata. Results : Using RACSS, 2160/2300 (93.9% participants were examined as compared with the APEDS dataset (n=521. Age and sex adjusted prevalence of blindness in RACSS and APEDS was 8% (95% CI, 6.9-9.1% and 11% (95% CI, 8.3-13.7%, while that of VI was 13.6% (95% CI, 12.2-15.1% and 40.3% (95% CI, 36.1-44.5%, respectively. Cataract was the major cause of blindness in both the studies. There was a significant reduction in blindness following cataract surgery as observed through RACSS (17.3%; 95% CI, 13.5-21.8% compared with APEDS (34%; 95% CI, 20.9-49.3%. Conclusion : There was a significant reduction in prevalence of blindness and VI in this rural district of India over a decade.

Factors Associated with Contraceptive Use among Women of Reproductive Age in Rural Districts of Burkina Faso.

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Wulifan, Joseph K; Mazalale, Jacob; Jahn, Albrecht; Hien, Hervé; Ilboudo, Patrick Christian; Meda, Nicolas; Robyn, Paul Jacob; Hamadou, Saidou; Haidara, Ousmane; De Allegri, Manuela

2017-01-01

Given the current low contraceptive use and corresponding high levels of unwanted pregnancies leading to induced abortions and poor maternal health outcomes among rural populations, a detailed understanding of the factors that limit contraceptive use is essential. Our study investigated household and health facility factors that influence contraceptive use decisions among rural women in rural Burkina Faso. We collected data on fertile non-pregnant women in 24 rural districts in 2014. Of 8,657 women, 1,098 used a modern contraceptive. Women having a living son, a child younger than one year, and household wealth were more likely to use modern contraceptives. Women in polygamous marriages and women living at least 5 kilometers from a health facility were less likely to use contraception. We conclude that modern contraceptive use remains weak, hence, programs aiming to encourage contraceptive use must address barriers at both the health facility and the household level.

Demographic and financial characteristics of school districts with low and high à la Carte sales in rural Kansas Public Schools.

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Nollen, Nicole L; Kimminau, Kim S; Nazir, Niaman

2011-06-01

Reducing à la carte items in schools-foods and beverages sold outside the reimbursable meals program-can have important implications for childhood obesity. However, schools are reluctant to reduce à la carte offerings because of the impact these changes could have on revenue. Some foodservice programs operate with limited à la carte sales, but little is known about these programs. This secondary data analysis compared rural and urban/suburban school districts with low and high à la carte sales. Foodservice financial records (2007-2008) were obtained from the Kansas State Department of Education for all public K-12 school districts (n=302). χ² and t tests were used to examine the independent association of variables to à la carte sales. A multivariate model was then constructed of the factors most strongly associated with low à la carte sales. In rural districts with low à la carte sales, lunch prices and participation were higher, lunch costs and à la carte quality were lower, and fewer free/reduced price lunches were served compared to rural districts with high à la carte sales. Lunch price (odds ratio=1.2; 95% confidence interval, 1.1 to 1.4) and free/reduced price lunch participation (odds ratio=3.0; 95% confidence interval, 1.0 to 9.8) remained in the multivariate model predicting low à la carte sales. No differences were found between urban/suburban districts with low and high à la carte sales. Findings highlight important factors to maintaining low à la carte sales. Schools should consider raising lunch prices and increasing meal participation rates as two potential strategies for reducing the sale of à la carte items without compromising foodservice revenue. Copyright © 2011 American Dietetic Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Tanzania | Page 22 | IDRC - International Development Research ...

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

Language French. Read more about Quality Improvement for Maternal and Newborn Health in Mtwara Region, Tanzania (IMCHA). Language English. Read more about Building an Enhanced Cadre of Community Health Workers to Improve Maternal and Newborn Health in Rural Tanzania (IMCHA). Language English.

The organized contadi. Administration and territoriality of "rural communities" in four districts of Lombardy (1210-1250 ca

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Paolo Gabriele Nobili

2013-01-01

Full Text Available The paper deals with the evolution in the administrations of four Contadi in central and eastern cities of Lombardy (Bergamo, Brescia, Lodi and Mantova. It begins by examining the estate surveys that in the whole area start from the first two decades of the thirteenth century. These surveys will become instruments of knowledge of local territories. In addition it considers the legislation with which the city was seeking to build an active territoriality of the communities in the district. The district is also divided by cities into smaller administrative entities: the rural communities.

Factors affecting the initial literacy development of urban and rural learners in the Iganga district, Uganda

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Banda, Felix

2005-12-01

Full Text Available The initial motivation for the study was data from the Ministry of Education in Uganda that suggests that in terms of academic performance, urban learners continually outperform rural schools at primary and secondary school levels (Ministry of Education 2002. At present all government examinations are written in English. However, the language in education policy in Uganda differentially stipulates the use English as medium of instruction in urban schools and the use of the mother tongue in rural schools (cf. Kyeyune 2004. Other factors which mitigate against rural learners’ successful academic performance are untrained educators, poor infrastructure and school management practices in rural schools, poverty, lack of supportive academic discourse practices, and a general lack of enthusiasm among rural parents (most of whom have very little formal education for their children’s education. Using data from observations of selected urban and rural homes and schools in The Iganga district and field notes in the form of diary entries, the study draws on New Literacy Studies (NLS particularly the notion of literacy as social practice (Street 2001; Gee 2000; Baynham 2000, 2001, to explore the differential effect of urban and rural-based acculturation processes on the initial literacy development of learners. Finally, since 88% of Ugandans live in rural areas (Uganda Bureau of Statistics 2002, the pedagogical implications for primary schools are discussed and suggestions are made on how to establish an inclusive education system.

A program to enhance k-12 science education in ten rural New York school districts.

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Goodell, E; Visco, R; Pollock, P

1999-04-01

The Rural Partnership for Science Education, designed by educators and scientists in 1991 with funding from the National Institutes of Health, works in two rural New York State counties with students and their teachers from kindergarten through grade 12 to improve pre-college science education. The Partnership is an alliance among ten rural New York school districts and several New York State institutions (e.g., a regional academic medical center; the New York Academy of Sciences; and others), and has activities that involve around 4,800 students and 240 teachers each year. The authors describe the program's activities (e.g., summer workshops for teachers; science exploration camps for elementary and middle-school students; enrichment activities for high school students). A certified science education specialist directs classroom demonstrations throughout the academic year to support teachers' efforts to integrate hands-on activities into the science curriculum. A variety of evaluations over the years provides strong evidence of the program's effectiveness in promoting students' and teachers' interest in science. The long-term goal of the Partnership is to inspire more rural students to work hard, learn science, and enter the medical professions.

Experiences of nurses working in a rural primary health-care setting in Mopani district, Limpopo Province

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MP Mohale

2008-09-01

Full Text Available Professional nurses working in rural, primary health-care settings are experiencing burnout due to serious shortages of personnel. This is exacerbated by the brain drain of nurses leaving the country. Rural settings are resource constrained in terms of personnel and equipment. This results in dissatisfaction among nurses due to the unbearable working conditions which result in stress and frustration. A qualitative, explorative, descriptive study was conducted to explore and describe the experiences of nurses working in a rural primary health-care setting in the greater Letaba sub district in Limpopo Province. Purposive sampling was used to identify the participants. Data was collected in the form of in-depth interviews. The study revealed that nurses working in primary health-care settings were experiencing emotional and physical strain as a result of the shortage of human resources. It was recommended that policies that meet the health-care needs of rural communities be developed, and that strategies to retain professional nurses in primary health-care settings be formulated.

The Effects of Saffron Economic Stability of Rural Residents in the Darbeghazi District City of Nishabur

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Seyed Amir Mohamad Alavizade

2016-08-01

Full Text Available Agricultural sustainability is undoubtedly one of the most important parts of sustainable development. The main source of income for the residents of villages of the Khorasan Razavi province is based on agricultural and horticultural products especially sale of saffron. In this regard the turquoise shades of the flowers of this plant encompass all of the fields in Nishabur and they have been much welcomed by farmers in this city. In this study, the cultivation of saffron in creating economic stability of the rural district Derbghazi in the central part of the city of Nishabur city will be examined. The research method in this paper is based on library, documentary, field and analytical – descriptive studies. In this context and in order to determine the economic stability of rural areas, the Morris Davis model has been used. This model contains three matrices that separately calculate and analyze the economic indicators. The statistical population under study consists of more than one hundred households from the rural villages in the Derbghazi rural district and the sample population studied consists of 308 households based on the Cochran formula. The results of the Morris Davis model indicate that among ten villages that were studied, Behroudi, Jilo, Khojan and Norouazabad have low economic stability, and Rouhabad, Haghiye, Shadmiyane, Karizak plus the villages of Jafarabad garden and Karizak Sabbah have average economic stability. In the end and based on the results of the research study some recommendations are presented in order to maintain employment in the region and support the farmers who are cultivating saffron to encourage the till of saffron and help the economic stability of the residents of the villages that were studied.

Domestic and environmental factors of chikungunya-affected families in Thiruvananthapuram (Rural district of Kerala, India

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T S Anish

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Background: The world is experiencing a pandemic of chikungunya which has swept across Indian Ocean and the Indian subcontinent. Kerala the southernmost state of India was affected by the chikungunya epidemic twice, first in 2006 and then in 2007. Kerala has got geography and climate which are highly favorable for the breeding of Aedes albopictus, the suspected vector. Aim: The aim of the study was to highlight the various domestic and environmental factors of the families affected by chikungunya in 2007 in Thiruvananthapuram district (rural of Kerala. Settings and design: This is a cross-sectional survey conducted in Thiruvananthapuram (rural district during November 2007. Materials and Methods : Samples were selected from field area under three Primary Health Centers. These areas represent the three terrains of the district namely the highland, midland, and lowland. The sample size was estimated to be 134 houses from each study area. The field area of health workers was selected as clusters and six subcenters from each primary health center were randomly selected (lot method. Results and Conclusions: The proportion of population affected by chikungunya fever is 39.9% (38.9-40.9%. The investigators observed water holding containers in the peri-domestic area of 95.6% of the houses. According to regression (binary logistic analysis, the area of residence [adjusted odds ratio (OR = 8.01 (6.06-14.60], residing in a non-remote area [adjusted OR=0.25 (0.16-0.38], perceived mosquito menace [adjusted OR=3.07 (2.31-4.64], and containers/tires outside the house [adjusted OR=5.61 (2.74-27.58] were the independent predictors of the occurrence of chikungunya in households.

Emerging issues on the sustainability of the community based rural water resources management approach in Zimbabwe: A case study of Gwanda District

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Thulani Dube

2012-12-01

Full Text Available Although there is considerable on-going debate about the suitability and sustainability of community based water resources management (CBWRM in Africa as a water provision strategy, evidence shows that this approach has gone a long way in promoting access to clean water amongst rural African communities. CBWRM provides an alternative approach to water provision for rural communities. This paper examines how the strategy has been operationalised in Gwanda District in Zimbabwe. The paper examines the experiences of rural communities in using CBWRM. Data was collected using focus group discussions, key informant in-depth interviews and a survey of 685 households in Gwanda district across five wards. The findings of this study are that 67% of the surveyed rural communities in Gwanda depended on community managed water resources mostly in the form of boreholes and protected wells. High rates of nun-functional sources were reported at 60-70% in most wards. Several system weaknesses were noted in the current CBWRM set-up including a depletion of committee memberships, inadequate community resources, limited agency and government support. This paper makes several recommendations on strengthening the capacity of CBWRM in Zimbabwe and Africa.

Human Visceral Leishmaniasis: a Serological Survey in Rural Areas of Dashti District of Bushehr Province, Southern Iran

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Mohammad Gorgipoor

2017-04-01

Full Text Available Background: Visceral leishmaniasis (VL or kala-azar is a parasitic disease caused by the species of Leishmania donovani complex. Mediterranean type of the disease is endemic in some parts of Iran and more than 95% of cases were reported in children up to 12 years of age. This study was performed to determine the seroprevalence of VL in the rural areas of the Dashti district from Bushehr province.Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, a randomized cluster sampling method was used for the collection of blood samples from children up to 12 years old from rural areas of Dashti district. Before sampling; a questionnaire was filled out for each case. All the collected blood samples were examined after the serum separating by Direct Agglutination Test (DAT for detection of anti-Leishmania infantum antibodies. The cutoff titers of ≥1: 3200 with specific clinical features were supposed to be considered as VL.Results: Altogether, 24 out of 1221 (1.96% blood samples showed titers between 1:800 and 1:1600 which considered as suspicious cases. None of the suspicious cases had a history of kala-azar. None of 1221 collected blood samples showed anti Leishmania infantum (L. infantum at titer ≥1:3200.Conclusion: This study confirms the circulation of L. infantum in Dashti district and highlights the sporadic pattern of VL in the studied areas which necessitates the surveillance system to be monitored by health authorities.

Perinatal mental health care in a rural African district, Uganda: a qualitative study of barriers, facilitators and needs.

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Nakku, Juliet E M; Okello, Elialilia S; Kizza, Dorothy; Honikman, Simone; Ssebunnya, Joshua; Ndyanabangi, Sheila; Hanlon, Charlotte; Kigozi, Fred

2016-07-22

Perinatal mental illness is a common and important public health problem, especially in low and middle-income countries (LMICs). This study aims to explore the barriers and facilitators, as well as perceptions about the feasibility and acceptability of plans to deliver perinatal mental health care in primary care settings in a low income, rural district in Uganda. Six focus group discussions comprising separate groups of pregnant and postpartum women and village health teams as well as eight key informant interviews were conducted in the local language using a topic guide. Transcribed data were translated into English, analyzed, and coded. Key themes were identified using a thematic analysis approach. Participants perceived that there was an important unmet need for perinatal mental health care in the district. There was evidence of significant gaps in knowledge about mental health problems as well as negative attitudes amongst mothers and health care providers towards sufferers. Poverty and inability to afford transport to services, poor partner support and stigma were thought to add to the difficulties of perinatal women accessing care. There was an awareness of the need for interventions to respond to this neglected public health problem and a willingness of both community- and facility-based health care providers to provide care for mothers with mental health problems if equipped to do so by adequate training. This study highlights the acceptability and relevance of perinatal mental health care in a rural, low-income country community. It also underscores some of the key barriers and potential facilitators to delivery of such care in primary care settings. The results of this study have implications for mental health service planning and development for perinatal populations in Uganda and will be useful in informing the development of integrated maternal mental health care in this rural district and in similar settings in other low and middle income countries.

Psychosocial assessment of lathyrism patients in rural Estie district of South Gondar, northern Ethiopia.

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Getahun, H; Haimanot, R T

1998-01-01

Three hundred and thirty three patients in the lathyrism endemic rural Estie district of Northern Ethiopia were interviewed and examined to assess the psychosocial impacts of neurolathyrism. The majority of the affected were in the age group of 11-20 years (43%) followed by 21-30 years (29%). Males were more affected than females (4.8:1). Peak occurrences of neurolathyrism was observed at time of mobilization of the population in villagization and land diversification schemes. Females were affected to lesser extent and at an earlier age than males. Neurolathyrism affected matrimony among the rural farming population where marriage is considered as the most significant social achievement of any young member of the society. Divorce rate due to paralysis was 28%. It also influenced the choice of occupation among the afflicted rural people. Many males went into ecclesiastical professions. A significant number of males also took up occupations which traditionally were considered to be exclusively for women like basketry and embroidery. More females, not withstanding their age, were engaged in cattle-keeping. During the study, the rural communities were made aware of the association of neurolathyrism and consumptions of grass pea seed. It is believed that this step will enable communities to use home-based detoxifying methods and resort to alternate crops during times of food shortage.

Monitoring the referral system through benchmarking in rural Niger: an evaluation of the functional relation between health centres and the district hospital

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Miyé Hamidou

2006-04-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The main objective of this study is to establish a benchmark for referral rates in rural Niger so as to allow interpretation of routine referral data to assess the performance of the referral system in Niger. Methods Strict and controlled application of existing clinical decision trees in a sample of rural health centres allowed the estimation of the corresponding need for and characteristics of curative referrals in rural Niger. Compliance of referral was monitored as well. Need was matched against actual referral in 11 rural districts. The referral patterns were registered so as to get an idea on the types of pathology referred. Results The referral rate benchmark was set at 2.5 % of patients consulting at the health centre for curative reasons. Niger's rural districts have a referral rate of less than half this benchmark. Acceptability of referrals is low for the population and is adding to the deficient referral system in Niger. Mortality because of under-referral is highest among young children. Conclusion Referral patterns show that the present programme approach to deliver health care leaves a large amount of unmet need for which only comprehensive first and second line health services can provide a proper answer. On the other hand, the benchmark suggests that well functioning health centres can take care of the vast majority of problems patients present with.

Making basic health care accessible to rural communities: a case study of Kiang West district in rural Gambia.

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Sanneh, Edward Saja; Hu, Allen H; Njai, Modou; Ceesay, Omar Malleh; Manjang, Buba

2014-01-01

This study focuses on lack of access to basic health care, which is one of the hindrances to the development of the poor, and subjects them to the poverty penalty. It also focuses on contributing to the Bottom of the Pyramid in a general sense, in addition to meeting the health needs of communities where people live on less than $1 a day. Strengthened multistakeholder responses and better-targeted, low-cost prevention, and care strategies within health systems are suggested to address the health burdens of poverty-stricken communities. In this study, a multistakeholder model which includes the government, World Health Organization, United Nations Children Emergency Fund, and the Medical Research Council was created to highlight the collaborative approach in rural Gambia. The result shows infant immunization and antenatal care coverage were greatly improved which contributes to the reduction in mortality. This case study also finds that strategies addressing health problems in rural communities are required to achieve 'Millennium Development Goals'. In particular, actual community visits to satellite villages within a district (area of study) are extremely vital to making health care accessible. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

A study on rural women entrepreneurship in Vempalli Mandal, Kadapa District, A.P. India

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Vijaya Bharathi

2013-01-01

Full Text Available The present study aims to show that in order to improve the status of women entrepreneurship in all spheres of Indian life, the government will need to take an initiative in providing an increased pace of awareness and become meaningful providers of needed training programs especially aimed at strengthening rural women entrepreneurs. It also aims at exploring the present status of women entrepreneurs regarding their socio economic backgrounds, problems faced by them in seeking to create new ventures, motivational factors and the availability of finance for them in Vempalli Mandal, YSR District.

Factors Influencing Participation of Rural Women in Zimbabwes 2013 Constitution Referendum A Case Study Of Ward 22 Gutu District

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Barbra Ncube

2015-08-01

Full Text Available Abstract Participation is the cornerstone of citizen engagement. In constitution making and other public policy formulation processes public participation typically involves preparing the public to participate through civic education and public information campaigns as well as consulting the public on issues such as how the process should take place and the contents of the constitution itself. This study sought to examine the factors that influence womens participation in constitution making processes specifically relating to voting in the constitution referendum in the case of rural women residing in ward 22 of Gutu district of Zimbabwe. Gutu District is the third largest district in Masvingo province. Ward 22 is located in the communal region of Gutu central. The people of ward 22 largely depend on subsistence farming and market gardening for their livelihoods. The objectives of the study were to ascertain to what extent media campaign and publicity efforts by womens civic groups and public interaction through public meetings and hearings were able to influence the participation of Zimbabwean women in the 2013 referendum in ward 22 Gutu district. Over and above these objectives the study sought to document the experiences and views of rural Zimbabwean women on the constitution making process. This study adopted a descriptive case study research design. Samples of 108 women from Ward 22 Gutu District were conveniently selected to participate in this study. Data was collected using a structured interview guide and questionnaires which were administered to the respondents. A focused group discussion was also carried out to verify the information gathered through these instruments. Findings and conclusions were derived by means of detailed comparative and inductive analysis of data. Descriptive statistics were employed in the presentation of the findings. Amongst the major findings are that rural women in ward 22 in Gutu district were in actual

Assessment of arsenic, fluoride, bacteria, and other contaminants in drinking water sources for rural communities of Kasur and other districts in Punjab, Pakistan.

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Arshad, Nasima; Imran, Saiqa

2017-01-01

High levels of arsenic contamination in drinking water of two villages, Badarpur and Ibrahimabad of district Kasur, central Punjab, Pakistan is reported first time in present studies. Groundwater quality situation was found to be impaired when samples of different rural areas of district Kasur were monitored according to Pakistan Standards and Quality Control Authority (PSQCA) for all significant water quality constituents and analyzed for trace elements, physico-chemical, and microbiological parameters. Out of 35water sources, 97 % were found unsafe and only 3 % of the sources were within safe limits. High concentrations of arsenic, fluoride, and bacteria were found in 91, 74, and 77 % sources of drinking water, respectively. Very high concentrations of arsenic ranging 58-3800 μg/L were found in the water samples obtained from Badarpur and Ibrahimabad. A decrease in water contamination was observed with increase in source depth. The health issues like arsenicosis and skeletal/dental flourosis were observed in the residents of the monitored areas. Drinking water quality conditions of some rural areas of northen and southern districts of Punjab was also analyzed and compared with Kasur district. High levels of nitrates were found in the samples of Islamabad and Rawalpindi, while high levels of arsenic, iron, fluoride, and TDS were found in Bahawalpur district. Graphical abstract ᅟ.

Energy aspects of city districts and rural townships; Energieaspekte staedtischer und laendlicher Siedlungen. Schlussbericht

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ott, W.; Arend, M.; Philippen, D. [Econcept AG, Zuerich (Switzerland); Gilgen, K.; Beaujean, K. [Hochschule fuer Technik Rapperswil, Institut fuer Raumentwicklung, Rapperswil (Switzerland); Schneider, S. [Planungsbuero Jud AG, Zuerich (Switzerland)

2008-01-15

This illustrated final report for the Swiss Federal Office of Energy (SFOE) presents the results of a project concerning the energy consumption of various residential districts in cities and in rural townships. The analysis examines the consumption of primary energy by residential buildings, their supply and disposal infrastructures and that of traffic induced by settlements. Also, grey energy: consumption for the construction, renovation and demolition of buildings and infrastructures as well as the consumption of primary energy for the production and disposal of individual motor vehicle traffic and public transport is reviewed. Four Swiss case studies are dealt with including largely homogenous residential districts in Effretikon, Oetwil am See, Uster and the City of Zurich. The results of the analyses made are presented in graphical form. The authors quote the great potential for the reduction of the consumption of settlement-dependent primary energy that lies in the fields of energy-efficiency of buildings, mobility and power consumption. The report is rounded off with a comprehensive appendix.

Factors affecting choice of financial services among rural consumers: Emerging experiences from Gicumbi District, northern Province in Rwanda

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Edward Mutandwa

2015-11-01

Full Text Available Enhancement of financial inclusivity of rural communities is often recognised as a key strategy for achieving economic development in third world countries. The main objective of this study was to examine the factors that influence consumers’ choice of a rural bank in Gicumbi district of Rwanda. Data was collected using structured questionnaires and analysed using a binary probit regression model and non-parametric procedures. Most consumers were aware of Popular Bank of Rwanda (BPR and Umurenge SACCO through radio advertisements, social networks and community meetings. Accessibility, interest rates and quality of services influenced choice of a given financial intermediary. Moreover, the decision to open a rural bank account was significantly influenced by education and farm size (p<0.1. These results indicate the need for financial managers to consider these findings for successful marketing campaigns.

Challenges faced by professional nurses when implementing the Expanded Programme on Immunisation at rural clinics in Capricorn District, Limpopo

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Tebogo M. Mothiba

2016-05-01

Full Text Available Background: Immunisation is the cornerstone of primary healthcare. Apart from the provision of safe water, immunisation remains the most cost-effective public health intervention currently available. Immunisation prevents infectious conditions that are debilitating, fatal and have the potential to cause huge public health burdens, both financially and socially, in South Africa. Aim: To determine the challenges faced by professional nurses when implementing the Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI at rural clinics in Capricorn District, Limpopo Province, South Africa. Setting: The study was conducted in selected primary healthcare clinics of Capricorn District, Limpopo Province. Methods: A qualitative explorative descriptive contextual research design was used to gather data related to the challenges faced by professional nurses when implementing EPI at rural clinics in Capricorn District. Results: The findings revealed that professional nurses had knowledge of the programme, but that they experienced several challenges during implementation of EPI that included staff shortages and problems related to maintenance of the vaccines’ potency. Conclusions: The Department of Health as well as the nursing administration should monitor policies and guidelines, and especially maintenance of a cold chain for vaccines, to ensure that they are practised throughout Limpopo Province. The problem of staff shortages also needs to be addressed so that the EPI can achieve its targeted objectives. Keywords: Professional nurse, knowledge, EPI-SA, immunisation

Knowledge, attitude and practice of private practitioners regarding tb-dots in a rural district of Sindh, Pakistan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ahmed, M.; Fatmi, Z.; Ali, S.; Ahmed, S.; Ara, N.

2009-01-01

Tuberculosis is prevailing in both urban and rural areas of Pakistan. Knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) of private practitioners (PPs) regarding tuberculosis management have been reported only in urban areas of Pakistan. This survey was conducted for the first time in a rural area of Sindh, Pakistan. This survey was conducted in January 2007 at Thatta, a rural district of Sindh, Pakistan. Study subjects were twenty-two allopathic qualified (MBBS) doctors of district Thatta, who were practicing in private setups for at least last one year. Before TB-DOTS training PPs had filled the KAP questionnaire regarding tuberculosis (TB) diagnosis and management through DOTS. Survey data was analysed through SPSS version 11.05 software. On average, five TB suspects per month were seen by each PP. Only 14% of PPs advised sputum microscopy solely for pulmonary TB diagnosis, while 86% of PPs used different combination of tests (chest x-ray/sputum microscopy/ESR/tuberculin test) for TB diagnosis. Over 40% PPs did not prescribe TB treatment regimen according to TB-DOTS category. Majority PPs (85%) did not follow the treatment through sputum microscopy and instead relied on clinical improvement and x-ray clearance. Nearly 60% of TB patients at PPs clinic did not show compliance to the TB treatment and none of PPs were following the retrieval of default cases. A gross lack of PPs knowledge and right practice regarding TB diagnosis and management through DOTS was identified and needed to be addressed through providing DOTS training. (author)

Exclusive Breast Feeding-Knowledge In Different Groups Of Women In Rural And Urban Areas Of Lucknow District

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Ahmed Naim

2013-06-01

Full Text Available A cross-sectional study on S6 females was conducted in the rural and urban areas of Lucknow district of Uttar Pradesh to assess the knowledge of females about exclusive breast-feeding. Knowledge from adolescent girls, married and lactating women was assessed by a pre­tested questionnaire for biosocial correlates (such as marital status,educational status, medium of education, working status, socio-economics status and family size, sources of information, time of initation of breast-feeding and the best method of feeding a baby <4 months of age. Only 9.8% in urban and 13.3% in rural areas had complete knowledge of Exclusive breast-feeding. Educated females had more knowledge in both urban and rural areas of initiating breast-feeding within 1 hr of delivery as compared to un-educated females. The study highlights the needs for continuing medical education and for including knowledge about Exclusive breast-feeding in school curriculum of adolescent girls.

Prevalence and impact of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in a rural district of Uganda : FRESH AIR methodology for sub-Saharan Africa

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Gemert, Frederik

2017-01-01

Prevalence and impact of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in a rural district of Uganda: FRESH AIR methodology for sub-Saharan Africa Worldwide, tobacco smoking is the most common encountered risk factor for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). However, in many low and middle-income

Cost evaluation of reproductive and primary health care mobile service delivery for women in two rural districts in South Africa.

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Kathryn Schnippel

Full Text Available Cervical cancer screening is a critical health service that is often unavailable to women in under-resourced settings. In order to expand access to this and other reproductive and primary health care services, a South African non-governmental organization established a van-based mobile clinic in two rural districts in South Africa. To inform policy and budgeting, we conducted a cost evaluation of this service delivery model.The evaluation was retrospective (October 2012-September 2013 for one district and April-September 2013 for the second district and conducted from a provider cost perspective. Services evaluated included cervical cancer screening, HIV counselling and testing, syndromic management of sexually transmitted infections (STIs, breast exams, provision of condoms, contraceptives, and general health education. Fixed costs, including vehicle purchase and conversion, equipment, operating costs and mobile clinic staffing, were collected from program records and public sector pricing information. The number of women accessing different services was multiplied by ingredients-based variable costs, reflecting the consumables required. All costs are reported in 2013 USD.Fixed costs accounted for most of the total annual costs of the mobile clinics (85% and 94% for the two districts; the largest contributor to annual fixed costs was staff salaries. Average costs per patient were driven by the total number of patients seen, at $46.09 and $76.03 for the two districts. Variable costs for Pap smears were higher than for other services provided, and some services, such as breast exams and STI and tuberculosis symptoms screening, had no marginal cost.Staffing costs are the largest component of providing mobile health services to rural communities. Yet, in remote areas where patient volumes do not exceed nursing staff capacity, incorporating multiple services within a cervical cancer screening program is an approach to potentially expand access to

Age-dependent decline and association with stunting of Giardia duodenalis infection among schoolchildren in rural Huye district, Rwanda.

Science.gov (United States)

Heimer, Jakob; Staudacher, Olga; Steiner, Florian; Kayonga, Yvette; Havugimana, Jean Marie; Musemakweri, Andre; Harms, Gundel; Gahutu, Jean-Bosco; Mockenhaupt, Frank P

2015-05-01

Giardia duodenalis infection is highly prevalent and a cause of underweight in pre-school children in rural Rwanda. The present study aimed at assessing the age-pattern of Giardia infection and its manifestation in older children, i.e., during school age. Stool samples were collected from 622 schoolchildren at two schools in the Huye district of southern Rwanda (rural, 301; urban, 321) and subjected to G. duodenalis specific PCR assays. Clinical and anthropometric data, socio-economic status and factors potentially associated with G. duodenalis infection were assessed. Of the 622 children (mean age, 10.4 years), 35.7% were infected with G. duodenalis (rural, 43.9%; urban, 28.0%; PRwanda, G. duodenalis prevalence among children declined throughout school-age. The data suggest that while lacking overt clinical manifestation at high endemicity, G. duodenalis infection is a common cause of stunting in schoolchildren. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Mental health in primary health care in a rural district of Cambodia: a situational analysis.

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Olofsson, Sofia; Sebastian, Miguel San; Jegannathan, Bhoomikumar

2018-01-01

While mental and substance use disorders are common worldwide, the treatment gap is enormous in low and middle income countries. Primary health care is considered to be the most important way for people to get mental health care. Cambodia is a country with a long history of war and has poor mental health and limited resources for care. The aim of this study was to conduct a situational analysis of the mental health services in the rural district of Lvea Em, Kandal Province, Cambodia. A cross-sectional situational analysis was done to understand the mental health situation in Lvea Em District comparing it with the national one. The Programme for improving mental health care (PRIME) tool was used to collect systematic information about mental health care from 14 key informants in Cambodia. In addition, a separate questionnaire based on the PRIME tool was developed for the district health care centres (12 respondents). Ethical approval was obtained from the National Ethics Committee for Health Research in Cambodia. Mental health care is limited both in Lvea Em District and the country. Though national documents containing guidelines for mental health care exist, the resources available and health care infrastructure are below what is recommended. There is no budget allocated for mental health in the district; there are no mental health specialists and the mental health training of health care workers is insufficient. Based on the limited knowledge from the respondents in the district, mental health disorders do exist but no documentation of these patients is available. Respondents discussed how community aspects such as culture, history and religion were related to mental health. Though there have been improvements in understanding mental health, discrimination and abuse against people with mental health disorders seems still to be present. There are very limited mental health care services with hardly any budget allocated to them in Lvea Em District and Cambodia

Understanding the strategies employed to cope with increased numbers of AIDS-orphaned children in families in rural settings: a case of Mbeya Rural District, Tanzania.

Science.gov (United States)

Fauk, Nelsensius Klau; Mwakinyali, Silivano Edson; Putra, Sukma; Mwanri, Lillian

2017-02-07

The purpose of this study was to understand the strategies employed by families that adopt Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS)-orphaned children (Adoptive families) for coping with and mitigating the impact of AIDS in Mbeya Rural District, Tanzania. High numbers of AIDS-orphaned children aged below 18 years in Mbeya Region have led to increasing the burden of families caring for them. Understanding the coping strategies and impact mitigation activities employed by adoptive families is important in order to develop programmes to help them. This study employed a qualitative method for data collection (one-on-one in-depth interviews). The respondents included 12 male and 8 female heads of families that provide essential care for AIDS-orphaned children in Mbeya Rural District in Tanzania. The framework approach was used to analyse the data that were collected from 15 July to 15 August 2010. The study findings revealed that adoptive families faced several challenges including financial constraints due to increased needs for basic essentials such as health care expenses, school fees and food. Further impacts on adoptive families included shortage of work opportunities and limited time to address these challenges. To mitigate these challenges, adoptive families employed a range of coping strategies including selling family assets and renting out parts of cultivable land for extra cash. Task reallocation which involved the AIDS-orphaned children entering the labour force was also employed as a strategy to mitigate challenges and involved de-enrolling of children from schools so they could take part in income-generating activities in order to earn supplementary family income. The creation of additional income-generating activities such as poultry farming were other coping mechanisms employed, and these received support from both non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and governmental organisations, including the Isangati Agricultural Development Organization (local

High prescription of antimicrobials in a rural district hospital in India

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Alvarez-Uria G

2014-06-01

Full Text Available Background: The World Health Organization (WHO recommends surveillance of antibiotic use as part of the strategy to fight against antimicrobial resistance. However, there is little information about the antibiotic consumption in developing countries, especially in rural areas. Objective: The objective of this study was to describe the antimicrobial consumption in a rural hospital in India Methods: The study was performed in a district hospital situated in Anantapur, Andhra Pradesh. In accordance with WHO recommendations, we used the defined daily dose (DDD methodology to measure the antibiotic use during one year (from 1st August 2011 to 1st August 2012. The antibiotic use was measured using DDDs/100 admissions and DDDs/100 patient-days for inpatients, and DDDs/100 visits for outpatients. Results: During the study period, there were 15,735 admissions and 250,611 outpatient visits. Antibiotics were prescribed for 86% of inpatients and 12.5% of outpatients. Outpatient prescriptions accounted for 2/3 of the overall antibiotic consumption. For inpatients, the total antibiotic use was 222 DDDs/ 100 patient-days, 693 DDDs/ 100 admissions and the mean number of antibiotics prescribed was 1.8. For outpatients, the total antibiotic use was 86 DDDs/ 100 outpatient visits and the mean number of antibiotics prescribed was 1.2. The most common antibiotics prescribed were aminopenicillins and 3rd generation cephalosporins for inpatients, and tetracyclines and quinolones for outpatients. In a sample of patients with diarrhoea or upper respiratory tract infections (URTI, the proportion of patients who received antibiotics was 84% (95% confidence interval [CI], 67-93 and 52% (95% CI, 43-62, respectively. Conclusion: In this rural setting, the use of antimicrobials was extremely high, even in conditions with a predominantly viral aetiology such as diarrhoea or URTI.

Women's perceptions of homebirths in two rural medical districts in Burkina Faso: a qualitative study

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Sombie Issiaka

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background In developing countries, most childbirth occurs at home and is not assisted by skilled attendants. The situation increases the risk of death for both mother and child and has severe maternal complications. The purpose of this study was to describe women's perceptions of homebirths in the medical districts of Ouargaye and Diapaga. Methods A qualitative approach was used to gather information. This information was collected by using focus group discussions and individual interviews with 30 women. All the interviews were tape recorded and managed by using QSR NVIVO 2.0, qualitative data management software. Results The findings show that homebirths are frequent because of prohibitive distance to health facilities, fast labour and easy labour, financial constraints, lack of decision making power to reach health facilities. Conclusion The study echoes the need for policy makers to make health facilities easily available to rural inhabitants to forestall maternal and child deaths in the two districts.

Rural Districts between Urbanization and Land Abandonment: Undermining Long-Term Changes in Mediterranean Landscapes

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Ilaria Zambon

2018-04-01

Full Text Available The present study investigates changes in the rural landscapes of a Mediterranean country (Greece over a long time period (1970–2015 encompassing economic expansions and recessions. Using a spatial distribution of 5 basic agricultural land-use classes (arable land, garden crop, vineyards, tree crop and fallow land derived from official statistics at 6 years (1970, 1979, 1988, 1997, 2006, 2015, a quantitative analysis based on correlation and multivariate techniques was carried out to identify recent changes in the Greek agricultural landscape at prefectural level during different economic waves. Empirical results evidenced both intuitive and counter-intuitive landscape transformations, including: (i a progressive, spatially-homogeneous reduction of cropland; (ii a (more or less rapid decrease in the surface of high-input crops, including arable land, horticulture and vineyards; (iii a parallel increase in the surface of tree crops, especially olive; (iv a spatially-heterogeneous decrease of fallow land concentrated in metropolitan and tourism districts, especially in the last decade; and, finally, (v increasingly diversified landscapes in rural, accessible areas close to the sea coast. Based on a correlation analysis with background socioeconomic indicators, our findings reflect the multiple impacts of urbanization and land abandonment on the composition and diversity of rural landscapes. Changes in agricultural land-use were moulded by multiple drivers depending on latent transformations in rural systems and inherent conflicts with expanding urban regions. Together with market conditions and the Common Agricultural Policy subsidy regime, social contexts and the economic cycle are important when identifying long-term changes in agricultural landscapes, especially in transitional socio-ecological systems.

The hydrochemistry of groundwater in rural communities within the Tema District, Ghana.

Science.gov (United States)

Fianko, Joseph Richmond; Nartey, Vincent K; Donkor, Augustine

2010-09-01

A detailed study has been carried out on groundwater in rural communities in the Tema District of the Greater Accra region of Ghana to establish the hydrochemistry and identify the various sources of contaminants as well assess the physical and chemical quality of the groundwater to ascertain their wholesomeness and the health impacts of the groundwater on the communities. The groundwater was found to vary considerably in terms of chemical and physical properties. Generally, the water was mildly acidic (pH 4.3-7.4), brackish to fresh, and undersaturated with respect to gypsum and halite. The majority of groundwater clustered toward Ca-Mg-SO(4) and Na-Cl facies. About 70% of boreholes sampled have elevated levels of NO(3)(-) -N, Cl(-), and SO(4)(2-) emanating from anthropogenic activities.

Primary Immunization Status In Rural Block Of Kanpur District

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S K Kaushal

2009-06-01

Full Text Available Research question: What is the status of primary immunization of children in the age group of 12-23 month Objective: To assess the status of Primary immunization in age group of 12 to 23 month Children, To compare the primary immunization in intensive and twilight villages, To study the influence of socialfactors affecting immunization & Tofind out reasons for immunization default Study design: cross sectional study Setting and participants: rural block of.Kanpur District and mothers ofchildren in age group of 12-23 months. Study period: July to December 2005 Sample size: 280 mothers of study group children. Study variable: Immunization status, socialfactors, vaccine, reasons for immunization default Results : 32.85% of children were fully immunized. Highest (92.85% covered antigen were found as OPV-1 and lowest (41.78% covered antigen as DPT-3.Literacy and joint family had positive impact on immunization status. The main reasons were observed for immunization default as ignorance (about need/place/person/time and distance factor. Conclusion : Quantity1 wise coverage was quite satisfactory. High dropout rate due to ignorance and distance factors should be taken into

Spatial Recognition of the Urban-Rural Fringe of Beijing Using DMSP/OLS Nighttime Light Data

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Yuli Yang

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Spatial identification of the urban-rural fringes is very significant for deeply understanding the development processes and regulations of urban space and guiding urban spatial development in the future. Traditionally, urban-rural fringe areas are identified using statistical analysis methods that consider indexes from single or multiple factors, such as population densities, the ratio of building land, the proportion of the non-agricultural population, and economic levels. However, these methods have limitations, for example, the statistical data are not continuous, the statistical standards are not uniform, the data is seldom available in real time, and it is difficult to avoid issues on the statistical effects from edges of administrative regions or express the internal differences of these areas. This paper proposes a convenient approach to identify the urban-rural fringe using nighttime light data of DMSP/OLS images. First, a light characteristics–combined value model was built in ArcGIS 10.3, and the combined characteristics of light intensity and the degree of light intensity fluctuation are analyzed in the urban, urban-rural fringe, and rural areas. Then, the Python programming language was used to extract the breakpoints of the characteristic combination values of the nighttime light data in 360 directions taking Tian An Men as the center. Finally, the range of the urban-rural fringe area is identified. The results show that the urban-rural fringe of Beijing is mainly located in the annular band around Tian An Men. The average inner radius is 19 km, and the outer radius is 26 km. The urban-rural fringe includes the outer portions of the four city center districts, which are the Chaoyang District, Haidian District, Fengtai District, and Shijingshan District and the part area border with Daxing District, Tongzhou District, Changping District, Mentougou District, Shunyi District, and Fangshan District. The area of the urban-rural fringe

Difficulties in accessing and availing of public health care systems among rural population in Chittoor District, Andhra Pradesh

OpenAIRE

Geetha Lakshmi Sreerama; Sai Varun Matavalum; Paraiveedu Arumugam Chandresekharan; Veronica Thunga

2015-01-01

Context: Despite policies to make health care accessible to all, it is not universally accessible. Frequent evaluation of barriers to accessibility of health care services paves path for improvement. Hence, present study is undertaken to evaluate the factors and public health policies influencing health care access to rural people in Chittoor District, Andhra Pradesh, which can be interpolated for other regions. Aims: To assess knowledge, perceptions, availing of public health care services, ...

Flooding and poverty: Two interrelated social problems impacting rural development in Tsholotsho district of Matabeleland North province in Zimbabwe

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Ernest Dube

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Flooding and poverty are the two social problems that have coexisted within the rural communities of Tsholotsho district. As a result, both problems have negatively affected and disrupted the everyday pattern of lives of people living in the district. This study sought to highlight how the two problems combine to impact human societies. The objectives that the study sought to fulfil were to establish the impact of flooding on the development of rural communities, to analyse how poverty manifests itself in rural communities, to analyse the relationship that exists between flooding and poverty and to suggest ways for dealing with the two problems. A qualitative research approach, using interviews and observations, was used to gather data from the research participants. The study findings were that flooding impeded development through shifting of human populations, destruction of crops, shelter and livestock. Floods also affected human capital through causing injuries to members of the community. Poverty manifested itself in three ways – as a development barrier, a vulnerability amplifier and a non-discriminatory agent. The study further found that a strong relationship exists between flooding and poverty because of the fact that flooding causes or worsens poverty, whereas poverty increases flood vulnerability. The study concluded that the poor need government assistance to reconstruct shelter destroyed by floods. Furthermore, programs aimed at improving livelihoods of the poor are an indispensable imperative. This study informs policymakers and offers a methodological significance to development and disaster practitioners. It also adds to the body of literature on flooding and poverty.

Effectiveness of a new long-lasting insecticidal nets delivery model in two rural districts of Mozambique: a before-after study.

Science.gov (United States)

Arroz, Jorge A H; Candrinho, Baltazar; Mendis, Chandana; Varela, Pablo; Pinto, João; Martins, Maria do Rosário O

2018-02-05

In 2015, Mozambique piloted a new model of long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs) delivery in a campaign. The new delivery model was used in two rural districts were, and two others were considered as control, maintaining the old delivery model. The aim of this study is to compare the coverage of ownership and use of LLINs in intervention and control districts in Mozambique. A before-after design with control group was carried out 6 months after LLINs distribution. Using systematic probabilistic sampling, 1547 households were surveyed by means of a questionnaire. To find associations between the district categories (intervention and control) and the main outcomes of the study (LLIN ownership, use, and universal coverage achievement), odds ratio (OR) and respective confidence intervals were calculated. Of the 760 households surveyed in the intervention districts, 98.8% had at least one LLIN; of the 787 households surveyed in the control districts, 89.6% had at least one LLIN [OR: 9.7, 95% (CI 4.84-19.46)]. Around 95 and 87% of households owning at least one LLIN reported having slept under the LLIN the previous night in the intervention and control districts, respectively [OR: 3.2; 95% (CI 2.12-4.69)]. Seventy-one percent of the households surveyed achieved universal coverage in the intervention districts against 59.6% in the control districts [OR: 1.6; 95% (CI 1.33-2.03)]. The universal coverage campaign piloted with the new delivery model has increased LLINs ownership, use, and progression for reaching universal coverage targets in the community.

Level of males participation during perinatal period in rural areas of district layyah

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ishtiaq, M.; Khalid, R.

2016-01-01

Background: Although pregnancy is not a disease but life partner and other family members must realize distress and fatigue caused by the pregnancy to pregnant women. Husbands play a very important role in ensuring healthy pregnancy outcomes. Males are mainly responsible in taking decision regarding health seeking of pregnant women in rural areas of Pakistan. This study aimed to explore the level of males participation during perinatal period and to assess their knowledge about danger signs of perinatal period in rural areas of District Layyah, South Punjab. Methods: A community based cross sectional study on pregnant women and their husbands was undertaken in one union council (UC) of district Layyah. 369 couples were selected using proportionate simple random sampling technique. Three hundred and thirty-five agreed and filled the complete questionnaire. Couples having pregnancy or delivery during last one year were included in the study. Women who were divorced, separated or living away from their spouses were excluded. Structured interviewer administered questionnaire adopted from a Nigerian study was translated into Urdu and used to collect data via home visiting. Ethical approval was taken from IRB and written informed consent from the participants. Data was entered and analysed in SPSS V.16. Results: Males level of participation in domestic chores was 326 out of 335 (97.31) and their overall level of knowledge regarding danger signs of pregnancy was 135 out of 335 (40.30 percentage).Economic status (Chi square 6.23, p-value 0.045) and husband educated more than wife (Chi square 10.20, p-value 0.006) were significantly associated with level of knowledge regarding danger signs of pregnancy. Whereas, parity was (Fisher exact test 8.07, p-value 0.017) significantly associated with level of males participation in domestic chores. Conclusion: Husbands have high level of participation in domestic chores but moderate level of knowledge regarding danger signs of

Investigation of Factors Affecting Fuel Consumption of Rural Households in Central District of Zahedan County

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Maryam Sharifzadeh

2014-08-01

Full Text Available Domestic fuel forms a significant part of the total energy demand and providing adequate and sustainable fuel is considered as a pivotal foundation for development. This survey study aims at investigating domestic fuel consumption patterns of rural areas in central district of Zahedan County, Eastern Iran. The sample was consisted of 250 household heads resided in rural areas with more than 25 households. The validity of questionnaire was confirmed by a panel of experts and its reliability was measured by using a pilot study. Findings revealed that, only 43 percent (n=102 household revealed an efficient energy use behavior. The efficient energy consumers were significantly different with respect to their education level, age, income, and the other household characteristics. Results from the structural equation modeling which was used to confirm adequacy of the reasoned action model of fuel consumption behavior, showed that 0.24 percent of fuel consumption behavior was determined by attitude, intention and subjective norms towards fuel consumption. The paper presented applied suggestions regarding fuel consumption with special consideration on health and ecosystem and indoor sanitation issues.

Access to and Usage of Information among Rural Communities: a Case Study of Kilosa District Morogoro Region in Tanzania

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Wulystan Pius Mtega

2012-05-01

Full Text Available The study investigated how rural communities in Kilosa District of Morogoro region in Tanzania accessed and used information. Specifically the study identified the information needs of rural people; determined the factors influencing the choice of information sources; and the appropriateness of the information sources basing on usefulness and preference. Three divisions were involved in the study area, choice of the study area was based on the availability of multiple information sources/channels information seekers could consulted. Simple random sampling technique was employed in selecting villages to be investigated and respondents to be interviewed. Findings showed that almost all people needed information of all types. Most of the information needed related to day to day problems. Information was accessed mainly through radio, television sets, newspapers and magazines, and also through cell phones and face to face communication. Choice of information sources was influenced by the respondents’ level of education, income, sex, age, occupation and distance from the information seeker’s residence to the information sources. Findings showed further that people accessed and used information for solving day to day problems and for leisure purposes. The study recommends that it is important to have frequent rural information needs assessments before providing information services to rural areas. Information providers should repackage information in appropriate forms suitable for rural communities. Moreover, radio and television stations should have enough rural related programmes which should be broadcasted during appropriate time.

The influence of father's child feeding knowledge and practices on children's dietary diversity: a study in urban and rural districts of Northern Ethiopia, 2013.

Science.gov (United States)

Bilal, Selamawit M; Dinant, GeertJan; Blanco, Roman; Crutzen, Rik; Mulugeta, Afework; Spigt, Mark

2016-07-01

Infant and young child feeding has been recognised as an essential element to improve growth of children, especially in developing countries where malnutrition among children and its dire consequences are very prevalent. However, little attention has been paid on the influence of fathers on child feeding practices, although fathers are very important in raising well-adjusted, happy and successful children. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the influence of fathers' child feeding knowledge and practice on children's dietary diversity. A community-based comparative cross-sectional study was conducted among 850 eligible urban and rural households with children of 6-23 months. The father and mother of the child were interviewed on children's dietary diversity and fathers' knowledge and practice of child feeding. Nearly half (46%) of the children in the rural district did not meet the minimum dietary diversity, and in the urban district, the rate was even worse (72%). Grains were the common food group given to the children in both districts, whereas flesh food was the least commonly consumed food group. Additionally, low vitamin A-rich food and other fruit and vegetable consumption seem to be a problem in both districts. Almost all dimensions of fathers' knowledge and practice were significantly related to children's minimum dietary diversity; especially, fathers' knowledge of food groups was an important predictor (P-value child feeding, especially about food groups, are recommended to improve children's dietary diversity in the study communities. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Vaccination perceptions of school employees in a rural school district.

Science.gov (United States)

Macintosh, Janelle; Luthy, Karlen E; Beckstrand, Renea L; Eden, Lacey M; Orton, Jennifer

2014-08-20

There continues to be a need for increases in adult vaccination rates, especially among those working in environments which may easily become communicable disease outbreak centers, such as school employees in the school environment. The purpose of this study was to evaluate why rural Utah school employees were non-compliant with the influenza and measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccines, as well as to identify their views on mandatory vaccination policies. A questionnaire was distributed to all school employees in a rural Utah school district. Data analysis included frequencies and measures of central tendency and dispersion for quantitative items and theme identification for qualitative items. Only 51% of school employees were adequately vaccinated for influenza. Reasons for noncompliance with the influenza vaccine included inconvenience, lack of perceived need, and questionable vaccine efficacy. There were 39.3% school employees who had not received an MMR during adulthood, which was commonly attributed to lack of knowledge regarding the need for this vaccine. Almost half (45.7%) of school employees believed a mandatory vaccination policy should be instituted, although 24.2% of school employees were opposed to mandatory adult vaccination policies. Reasons for opposing vaccination mandates included violation of personal choice, lack of perceived vaccination safety and efficacy, lack of perceived need for adult vaccines, and vaccine cost. Suboptimal vaccination rates of school employees may negatively affect the health and well-being of individuals in the school environment. School employees report a variety of beliefs regarding the influenza and MMR vaccines. While over half of school employees support mandatory vaccination policies for adults working in the school environment, those opposing such a policy report concerns regarding violation of personal choice. Public health officials and school administrators should coordinate efforts to increase vaccination

Knowledge and Attitude of Married Women in the Reproductive Age Group Regarding Emergency Contraception in Selected Rural Areas of Udupi District

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Preethi Fernandes

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Background: Unwanted pregnancy is still a major problem in the modern world despite the widely available contraception services. This study was conducted to determine the knowledge and attitude of married women in the reproductive age group regarding emergency contraception in selected rural areas of Udupi district, India. Material and Methods: The study group comprised of 350 married women in the reproductive age group residing in rural areas of Udupi district, India. A structured questionnaire and an attitude scale were used to assess the knowledge and the attitude. Results: Majority, 69.1% of the married women belonged to Hindu religion, 46.9% had an educational qualification of 10th standard and below. About 13.1% of the married women had undergone abortion. Nearly 96.9% of the married women had heard about emergency contraceptives and only 2% of the married women had used emergency contraceptive pills. About 63.7% out of 339 married women had got information about emergency contraceptive pills from health personnel and about 77.7% from television. Majority 84% had poor knowledge on emergency contraception. About 99.7% had favourable attitude on the use of emergency contraceptives. There was a significant association between knowledge scores and selected variable like education, knowledge and the attitude scores had a correlation. Conclusion: The study identifies the knowledge and attitude of the rural married women regarding emergency contraception, hence to help them to plan future pregnancies and prevent any unwanted or unintended pregnancies.

Assessing the gap between the acute trauma workload and the capacity of a single rural health district in South Africa. What are the implications for systems planning?

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Clarke, D L; Aldous, C; Thomson, S R

2014-06-01

This study focuses on a single rural health district in South Africa, and attempts to establish the burden of disease and to review the capacity of the district hospitals to deal with this load. Ethical approval to undertake this study was obtained from both the University of Kwa-Zulu Natal and the Department of Health. The audit was performed over a 6-month period in the four district hospitals of rural Sisonke District. There were four components to this audit. 1. Information on the hospital incidence of acute trauma in Sisonke was also sourced from the epidemiology unit of the Department of Health in Pietermaritzburg 2. Each of the district hospitals was visited and the medical manager was interviewed. The medical manager was asked to complete the World Health Organization's Tool for Situational Analysis to Assess Emergency and Essential Surgical Care. (SAT). 3. The operative registers were reviewed to determine the number of index cases for trauma. This information was used to determine the unmet need of acute trauma in the district. 4. Each hospital was classified according to the Trauma Society of South Africa (TSSA) guidelines for levels of trauma care. The annual incidence of trauma in the Sisonke District is estimated to be 1,590 per 100,000 population. Although there appeared to be adequate infrastructure in the district hospitals, the SAT revealed significant deficits in terms of capacity of staff to adequately treat and triage acute trauma patients. There is a significant unmet need for trauma care in Sisonke. The four district hospitals can best be classified as Level IV centers of trauma care. There is a significant burden of trauma in the Sisonke District, yet the capacity to deal with this burden is inadequate. Although the physical infrastructure is adequate, the deficits relate to human resources. The strategic choices are between enhancing the district hospitals' capacity to deal with acute trauma, or deciding to bypass them completely and

7 CFR 1900.3 - State, district, and county office employees.

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2010-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 12 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false State, district, and county office employees. 1900.3 Section 1900.3 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) RURAL HOUSING SERVICE, RURAL BUSINESS-COOPERATIVE SERVICE, RURAL UTILITIES SERVICE, AND FARM SERVICE AGENCY, DEPARTMENT OF...

Nursing Personnel Planning for Rural Hospitals in Burdwan District, West Bengal, India, Using Workload Indicators of Staffing Needs

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Roy, Rabindra Nath; Dasgupta, Samir; Bhattacharyya, Krishna Das; Misra, Raghu Nath; Roy, Sima; Saha, Indranil

2014-01-01

ABSTRACT Lack of appropriate human resources planning is an important factor in the inefficient use of the public health facilities. Workforce projections can be improved by using objective methods of staffing needs based on the workload and actual work undertaken by workers, a guideline developed by Peter J. Shipp in collaboration with WHO—Workload Indicators of Staffing Need (WISN). A cross-sectional study was carried out to estimate the nursing stuff requirement for the rural hospitals and provide a quantitative description of imbalances, if there is any, in the allocation at the district level during 2011. The average WISN turns out to be 0.35 for entire district, which means only 35% of the required nurses is available or 65% understaffed. So, there is an urgent need for more allocations and deployment of staff so that workload can be tackled and evenly distributed among all nursing personnel. PMID:25895199

Interaction between Rural People’s Basic Needs and Forest Products: A Case Study of the Katha District of Myanmar

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Zar Chi Hlaing

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The understanding of interaction between rural people and forest products is one of the challenges faced while balancing forest product utilization with forest conservation in Myanmar. This study aims to contribute an effort to such challenges by analyzing the interaction of rural households with forest products in Myanmar. Data were collected using face-to-face questionnaire interviews with 218 households and conducting a rapid tree inventory across 132 circular random plots in selected rural communities around four townships of the Katha District. The empirical results indicate that the 95% of rural households were entirely dependent on forest products. The survey documented 13 main forest products and 54 tree species, which were primarily used for household consumption. Low-income households compared with medium- and high-income households with low educational level (p<0.05 and a small agricultural land area (p<0.05 were found to be more forest-dependent households. Illegal logging, mining, fuel-wood collection, slash-and-burn agriculture, and the establishment of forest plantations were reported as the main causes of forest products depletion. Findings from this study, although at a microlevel, can be used by the Myanmar Forestry Department as baseline information to improve community-based forest management activities.

Prevalence of anemia and associated factors in children living in urban and rural settings from Bata District, Equatorial Guinea, 2013.

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Ncogo, Policarpo; Romay-Barja, Maria; Benito, Agustin; Aparicio, Pilar; Nseng, Gloria; Berzosa, Pedro; Santana-Morales, Maria A; Riloha, Matilde; Valladares, Basilio; Herrador, Zaida

2017-01-01

Anemia in children under 5 years of age is a global public health problem. According to the World Health Organization the current rate of anemia among preschool aged children in Equatorial Guinea is 66%. No information is available above this age. The cross-sectional Prevamal Survey was conducted in 2013 aimed at providing baseline data on malaria prevalence in children aged 2 months-15 years old. Sampling was carried out with the use of a multistage, stratified cluster strategy in the district of Bata, Equatorial Guinea. The χ2 test and adjusted Poisson regression models were applied to assess the association between social-demographic and economic factors, malaria and anemia. A total of 1436 children were tested, out of which 1,421 children (99%) were tested for anemia. Over 85% were anemic; out of them, 284 (24%), 815 (67%) and 111 (9%) children had mild, moderate and severe anemia, respectively. Severe anemia was more frequent among children aged 2-12 months old and those living in rural sites. About 47% tested positive for malaria via a rapid diagnostic test (RDT). This rate was significantly higher in rural villages (66%; panemia and malaria was higher in rural settings (panemia in urban areas displayed a heterogeneity and complexity that differed from the rural environment: in urban neighbourhoods, children with concomitant malaria infection were more likely to be anemic (adjusted prevalence rate (aPR):1.19; CI 95%: 1.12-1.28). Moreover, the prevalence of anemia was higher in children aged above 13 months compared to younger children (pchildren' parents being employees (aPR: 0.86, 95% CI: 0.76-0.96) or self-employed (aPR: 0.86, 95% CI: 0.76-0.97) vs. working in agriculture and/or fishing negatively associated with anemia among urban children. This marked urban-rural variation indicates the importance of targeting specific areas or districts. Strategies aimed at reducing malaria are clearly paramount in this country. Prevention and treatment of other factors

Identification of a threshold for biomass exposure index for chronic bronchitis in rural women of Mysore district, Karnataka, India

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P A Mahesh

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Background & objectives: Exposure to air pollution due to combustion of biomass fuels remains one of the significant risk factors for chronic respiratory diseases such as chronic bronchitis. There is a need to identify the minimum threshold level of biomass index that is significantly associated with chronic bronchitis. This study was undertaken to identify a threshold for biomass exposure index in a rural women population in Mysore district, south India. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted in a representative population of Mysore and Nanjangud taluks. Eight villages each from Mysore and Nanjangud were randomly selected based on the list of villages from census 2001. A house-to-house survey was carried out by trained field workers using the Burden of Obstructive Diseases questionnaire, which evaluated the biomass smoke exposure and chronic bronchitis. All the women aged above 30 yr were included in the study. Results: A total of 2011 women from Mysore and 1942 women from Nanjangud participated in the study. All women were non-smoking and used biomass fuels as the primary fuel for cooking. A threshold of biomass fuel exposure of 60 was identified on multivariate analysis in Mysore district after adjusting for age, passive smoking and working in a occupational exposure to dust, as the minimum required for a significant association with chronic bronchitis. One in every 20 women in Mysore district exposed to biomass fuel exposure index of 110 or more developed chronic bronchitis. Interpretation & conclusions: The minimum threshold of biomass exposure index of 60 is necessary to have a significant risk of developing chronic bronchitis in women. The number needed to harm to develop chronic bronchitis reduces with increasing biomass exposure index and women residing in rural Nanjangud have a higher risk for developing chronic bronchitis as compared to women in Mysore.

Identification of a threshold for biomass exposure index for chronic bronchitis in rural women of Mysore district, Karnataka, India.

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Mahesh, P A; Jayaraj, B S; Prabhakar, A K; Chaya, S K; Vijaysimha, R

2013-01-01

Exposure to air pollution due to combustion of biomass fuels remains one of the significant risk factors for chronic respiratory diseases such as chronic bronchitis. There is a need to identify the minimum threshold level of biomass index that is significantly associated with chronic bronchitis. This study was undertaken to identify a threshold for biomass exposure index in a rural women population in Mysore district, south India. A cross-sectional survey was conducted in a representative population of Mysore and Nanjangud taluks. Eight villages each from Mysore and Nanjangud were randomly selected based on the list of villages from census 2001. A house-to-house survey was carried out by trained field workers using the Burden of Obstructive Diseases questionnaire, which evaluated the biomass smoke exposure and chronic bronchitis. All the women aged above 30 yr were included in the study. A total of 2011 women from Mysore and 1942 women from Nanjangud participated in the study. All women were non-smoking and used biomass fuels as the primary fuel for cooking. A threshold of biomass fuel exposure of 60 was identified on multivariate analysis in Mysore district after adjusting for age, passive smoking and working in a occupational exposure to dust, as the minimum required for a significant association with chronic bronchitis. One in every 20 women in Mysore district exposed to biomass fuel exposure index of 110 or more developed chronic bronchitis. The minimum threshold of biomass exposure index of 60 is necessary to have a significant risk of developing chronic bronchitis in women. The number needed to harm to develop chronic bronchitis reduces with increasing biomass exposure index and women residing in rural Nanjangud have a higher risk for developing chronic bronchitis as compared to women in Mysore.

Neonatal seizures in a rural Iranian district hospital: etiologies, incidence and predicting factors.

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Sadeghian, Afsaneh; Damghanian, Maryam; Shariati, Mohammad

2012-01-01

Current study determined the overall incidence, common causes as well as main predictors of this final diagnosis among neonates admitted to a rural district hospital in Iran. This study was conducted on 699 neonates who were candidate for admission to the NICU. Study population was categorized in the case group, including patients exposed to final diagnosis of neonatal seizures and the control group without this diagnosis. Neonatal seizure was reported as final diagnosis in 25 (3.6%) of neonates. The most frequent discharge diagnosis in the seizure group was neonatal sepsis and in the non-seizure group was respiratory problems. No significant difference was found in early fatality rate between neonates with and without seizures (8.0% vs. 10.1%). Only gestational age <38 week had a relationship with the appearance of neonatal seizure. Low gestational age has a crucial role for predicting appearance of seizure in Iranian neonates.

Verbal Autopsies in Rural Tanzania

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Maternal mortality rates in rural Tanzania are high. In preparation for the introduction of an intervention to reduce maternal deaths by distribution of misoprostol and erythromycin to women living in rural Rorya District, Mara Region, Tanzania, we conducted a limited verbal autopsy by surveying family members of women ...

Perceptions of water access in the context of climate change by rural households in the Seke and Murewa districts, Zimbabwe

OpenAIRE

Mudombi, Shakespear; Muchie, Mammo

2013-01-01

The objective of the study was to assess perceptions of rural household heads with regard to various aspects of water access and climate change, and to evaluate whether there were significant differences in perceptions of respondents from female-headed and male-headed households. The study is based on a cross-sectional survey of 300 respondents conducted in the Seke and Murewa districts of Zimbabwe in 2011. The analysis included mainly descriptive statistics. The majority of both female-heade...

Promoting, Guiding, and Surviving Change in School Districts.

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Deal, Terrence E.; Nutt, Samuel C.

Compiled for school administrators who must initiate or respond to external mandate for change, this guide draws on the experiences of 10 rural school districts that participated in the federally funded Experimental Schools (ES) program for perspectives that can be used in the successful management of change efforts in school districts. Organized…

Association between Childhood Diarrhoeal Incidence and Climatic Factors in Urban and Rural Settings in the Health District of Mbour, Senegal

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Sokhna Thiam

2017-09-01

Full Text Available We assessed the association between childhood diarrhoeal incidence and climatic factors in rural and urban settings in the health district of Mbour in western Senegal. We used monthly diarrhoeal case records among children under five years registered in 24 health facilities over a four-year period (2011–2014. Climatic data (i.e., daily temperature, night temperature and rainfall for the same four-year period were obtained. We performed a negative binomial regression model to establish the relationship between monthly diarrhoeal incidence and climatic factors of the same and the previous month. There were two annual peaks in diarrhoeal incidence: one during the cold dry season and one during the rainy season. We observed a positive association between diarrhoeal incidence and high average temperature of 36 °C and above and high cumulative monthly rainfall at 57 mm and above. The association between diarrhoeal incidence and temperature was stronger in rural compared to urban settings, while higher rainfall was associated with higher diarrhoeal incidence in the urban settings. Concluding, this study identified significant health–climate interactions and calls for effective preventive measures in the health district of Mbour. Particular attention should be paid to urban settings where diarrhoea was most common in order to reduce the high incidence in the context of climatic variability, which is expected to increase in urban areas in the face of global warming.

Association between Childhood Diarrhoeal Incidence and Climatic Factors in Urban and Rural Settings in the Health District of Mbour, Senegal.

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Thiam, Sokhna; Diène, Aminata N; Sy, Ibrahima; Winkler, Mirko S; Schindler, Christian; Ndione, Jacques A; Faye, Ousmane; Vounatsou, Penelope; Utzinger, Jürg; Cissé, Guéladio

2017-09-12

We assessed the association between childhood diarrhoeal incidence and climatic factors in rural and urban settings in the health district of Mbour in western Senegal. We used monthly diarrhoeal case records among children under five years registered in 24 health facilities over a four-year period (2011-2014). Climatic data (i.e., daily temperature, night temperature and rainfall) for the same four-year period were obtained. We performed a negative binomial regression model to establish the relationship between monthly diarrhoeal incidence and climatic factors of the same and the previous month. There were two annual peaks in diarrhoeal incidence: one during the cold dry season and one during the rainy season. We observed a positive association between diarrhoeal incidence and high average temperature of 36 °C and above and high cumulative monthly rainfall at 57 mm and above. The association between diarrhoeal incidence and temperature was stronger in rural compared to urban settings, while higher rainfall was associated with higher diarrhoeal incidence in the urban settings. Concluding, this study identified significant health-climate interactions and calls for effective preventive measures in the health district of Mbour. Particular attention should be paid to urban settings where diarrhoea was most common in order to reduce the high incidence in the context of climatic variability, which is expected to increase in urban areas in the face of global warming.

Inter-linkage between Hinterlands and Service Centers of Bima and Darbang VDCs in Myagdi District: A Rural Development Perspective

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Beg Prasad Garbuja

2015-12-01

Full Text Available This study focuses on exploring the status and contribution of inter- linkage relationship between service center and rural hinterland. The study was conducted in Bima and Darbang Village Development Committees (VDCs of Myagdi district. This paper has used rural development perspective. The respondents were from 63 sample households including producers, consumers and service providers selected by using probability and non probability sampling methods. The primary data were collected through survey questionnaire, key informant interview, participant observation and focus group discussion whereas secondary data were generated from published and unpublished books, articles, journals, profile of VDCs and DDC. The study has revealed with various types of linkage between service center and rural hinterland i.e. service delivery, spatial or physical, administrative, economic, technological, financial and socio-cultural, educational and health service linkage. The study also highlighted productive role of remittance, international experience and adaptation of modern agriculture technology that has been positively affecting socio-economic life of the rural people. Further, joint efforts of public and private sectors’ and local stakeholders’ can be applied for developing and promoting service delivery opportunities and marketing facilities to the local people. The finding of the study has very strong implications to the local stakeholders for formulation of short run and long run local development plan in a similar situation.

Dental Caries and Their Treatment Needs in 3-5 Year Old Preschool Children in a Rural District of India

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Gupta, Devanand; Momin, Rizwan K; Mathur, Ayush; Srinivas, Kavuri Teja; Jain, Ankita; Dommaraju, Neelima; Dalai, Deepak Ranjan; Gupta, Rajendra Kumar

2015-01-01

Background: Dental problems in the preschool children are neglected by their parents as the deciduous teeth are going to shed off, and hence considered to be of no importance and more of economic burden if attended to them. Aims: This study was to determine the caries prevalence in preschool children (3-5-year-old) of rural Moradabad district, to analyze the specific pattern of dental caries experience in this population and to assess the treatment needs among them. Material and Methods: Children within the age group of 3-5 years attending Anganwadi centers of rural Moradabad district were included in the study. Caries diagnosis was based on decayed, extracted, filled surface (defs) and the treatment needs were recorded using World Health Organization (WHO) oral health assessment form 1997. Results: Out of 1,500 children examined, 48.7% males and 52.6% females did not require any treatment. The mean decayed, extracted, filled teeth (deft) value was found to be significantly high in 5-year-old participants when compared to 3-year-old participants (P caries arresting sealant care, extraction, crown bridge element, pulp care, and space maintainer. Conclusion: The most common pattern was pit and fissure, then maxillary anterior pattern, posterior proximal pattern, and posterior buccal lingual smooth surface pattern. The mean deft value was higher in males as compared to females. There is a greater need for oral health education among parents and teachers. PMID:25973401

Determinants of smoking and chewing habits among rural school children in Bankura district of West Bengal, India

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Naba Kumar Das

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Objectives The present study was undertaken to assess the prevalence of smoking and chewing habits and causes of addiction among the school children of rural areas.Methods This cross-sectional study was conducted in four secondary schools from rural areas of Bankura District, West Bengal during August 2012 to September 2012. Total 1674 students studying in 5th to 10th standard (age group of 10-15 years were enrolled in the present study. A self-administered questionnaire was applied for data collection.Results The study showed that 18.45%, 27.95% and 67.56% of the students were smokers, chewer and non-addicted, respectively. Considerable number of boys were addicted with smoking (boys 32.3% vs. 4.33girls % and chewing habits (boys 43.53% vs 12.15girls %. In case of boys, these habits were increased with advancement of ages. Students were more attracted to bidi and tobacco with pan-masala among different types of smoking and chewing agents. The most familiar reasons for tobacco user were: influenced by friends (22.88%, influenced by family members (16.32% and stress relief (10.88%. Conclusion This study indicated that smoking and chewing habits among school children in rural areas is looming public health issue. Adverse health effect of tobacco use may be incorporated in school secondary curriculum to change the attraction with tobacco among the young generation.

Alcohol consumption and household expenditure on alcohol in a rural district in Vietnam

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Peter Allebeck

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Alcohol use and alcohol-related problems are on the rise in low- and middle-income countries. Expenditure on alcohol is an important problem for families and communities and needs to be assessed. Aim: This study examines level of alcohol consumption and expenditure on alcohol in a district in Vietnam. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted in a rural district in northern Vietnam. Multi-stage sampling was employed to randomly select participants from 20 communities and a town in the same district. One thousand five hundred and sixty-four adults (765 males and 799 females aged 18–60 years were interviewed. Information about alcohol use as well as expenditure on alcohol consumption four weeks prior to the interview was gathered. Non-parametric tests and log-linear regression were employed to compare expenditure on alcohol consumption across socioeconomic groups. Results: The prevalence of alcohol use one month prior to interview was 35% (66% among men and 5% among women. The median alcohol consumption among those who reported use of alcohol in the week prior to the interview was 7.9 standard drinks. Excessive drinking (more than 14 standard drinks per week for men and more than seven standard drinks per week for women occurred among 35% of those who used alcohol. Median expenditure for alcohol consumption during one month by those who drank alcohol was USD 3.5, accounting for 4.6% of household food expenditure, 2.7% of total household expenditure, and 1.8% of household income. The differences in alcohol consumption and expenditure between sexes and between socioeconomic groups are also presented. Conclusion: Our study confirms that alcohol consumption and alcohol-related problems are common among men in Vietnam. The share of alcohol expenditure in total household expenditure is substantial, especially among poor households. This should be considered an important public health issue, which needs to be taken into account in

Alcohol consumption and household expenditure on alcohol in a rural district in Vietnam.

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Giang, Kim Bao; Van Minh, Hoang; Allebeck, Peter

2013-01-28

Alcohol use and alcohol-related problems are on the rise in low- and middle-income countries. Expenditure on alcohol is an important problem for families and communities and needs to be assessed. This study examines level of alcohol consumption and expenditure on alcohol in a district in Vietnam. A cross-sectional survey was conducted in a rural district in northern Vietnam. Multi-stage sampling was employed to randomly select participants from 20 communities and a town in the same district. One thousand five hundred and sixty-four adults (765 males and 799 females) aged 18-60 years were interviewed. Information about alcohol use as well as expenditure on alcohol consumption four weeks prior to the interview was gathered. Non-parametric tests and log-linear regression were employed to compare expenditure on alcohol consumption across socioeconomic groups. The prevalence of alcohol use one month prior to interview was 35% (66% among men and 5% among women). The median alcohol consumption among those who reported use of alcohol in the week prior to the interview was 7.9 standard drinks. Excessive drinking (more than 14 standard drinks per week for men and more than seven standard drinks per week for women) occurred among 35% of those who used alcohol. Median expenditure for alcohol consumption during one month by those who drank alcohol was USD 3.5, accounting for 4.6% of household food expenditure, 2.7% of total household expenditure, and 1.8% of household income. The differences in alcohol consumption and expenditure between sexes and between socioeconomic groups are also presented. Our study confirms that alcohol consumption and alcohol-related problems are common among men in Vietnam. The share of alcohol expenditure in total household expenditure is substantial, especially among poor households. This should be considered an important public health issue, which needs to be taken into account in the alcohol policy debate.

Motivation of human resources for health: a case study at rural district level in Tanzania.

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Zinnen, Véronique; Paul, Elisabeth; Mwisongo, Aziza; Nyato, Daniel; Robert, Annie

2012-01-01

An increasing number of studies explore the association between financial and non-financial incentives and the retention of health workers in developing countries. This study aims to contribute to empirical evidence on human resource for health motivation factors to assist policy makers in promoting effective and realistic interventions. A cross-sectional survey was conducted in four rural Tanzanian districts to explore staff stability and health workers' motivation. Data were collected using qualitative and quantitative techniques, covering all levels and types of health facilities. Stability of staff was found to be quite high. Public institutions remained very attractive with better job security, salary and retirement benefits. Satisfaction over working conditions was very low owing to inadequate working equipment, work overload, lack of services, difficult environment, favouritism and 'empty promotions'. Positive incentives mentioned were support for career development and supportive supervision. Attracting new staff in rural areas appeared to be more difficult than retaining staff in place. The study concluded that strategies to better motivate health personnel should focus on adequate remuneration, positive working and living environment and supportive management. However, by multiplying health facilities, the latest Tanzanian human resource for health plan could jeopardize current positive results. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Blood transfusion practice in a rural hospital in Northern Ghana, Damongo, West Gonja District.

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Kubio, Chrysantus; Tierney, Geraldine; Quaye, Theophilus; Nabilisi, James Wewoli; Ziemah, Callistus; Zagbeeb, Sr Mary; Shaw, Sandra; Murphy, William G

2012-10-01

Blood transfusion in rural sub-Saharan Africa presents special challenges. Transfusions are primarily given for emergencies--life-threatening blood loss or anemia; blood is usually collected from family or replacement donors; and facilities to store an adequate reserve in a hospital bank are constrained. We report the everyday and organizational practices in a medium-sized district hospital in Northern Ghana. Information and data on blood transfusion practices at West Gonja Hospital, Damongo, were available from the laboratory reports, from day books and workbooks, and from direct observation in the following four areas: blood collection and blood donors; blood donation testing; blood storage and logistics; and clinical transfusion practice, adverse events, and follow-up. The hospital serves a rural community of 86,000. In 2009, a total of 719 units of whole blood were collected, a rate of 8.36 units per 1000 population. All donors were family or replacement donors. Positivity rates for infectious disease markers were 7.5% (64/853) for hepatitis B surface antigen, 6.1% (50/819) for hepatitis C virus, 3.9% (33/846) for human immunodeficiency virus, and 4.7% (22/468) for syphilis. Supply of laboratory materials was sometimes problematic, especially for temperature-critical materials. Difficulties in sample labeling, storage of blood and laboratory supplies, and disposal of waste were also incurred by operational, material, and financial constraints. Follow-up for outcomes of transfusion is not currently feasible. The operational, demographic, and financial environment pertaining in a rural hospital in Northern Ghana differs substantially from that in which much of current blood transfusion practice and technology evolved. Considerable effort and innovation will be needed to address successfully the challenges posed. © 2012 American Association of Blood Banks.

Prevalence of anemia and associated factors in children living in urban and rural settings from Bata District, Equatorial Guinea, 2013.

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Policarpo Ncogo

Full Text Available Anemia in children under 5 years of age is a global public health problem. According to the World Health Organization the current rate of anemia among preschool aged children in Equatorial Guinea is 66%. No information is available above this age. The cross-sectional Prevamal Survey was conducted in 2013 aimed at providing baseline data on malaria prevalence in children aged 2 months-15 years old. Sampling was carried out with the use of a multistage, stratified cluster strategy in the district of Bata, Equatorial Guinea. The χ2 test and adjusted Poisson regression models were applied to assess the association between social-demographic and economic factors, malaria and anemia. A total of 1436 children were tested, out of which 1,421 children (99% were tested for anemia. Over 85% were anemic; out of them, 284 (24%, 815 (67% and 111 (9% children had mild, moderate and severe anemia, respectively. Severe anemia was more frequent among children aged 2-12 months old and those living in rural sites. About 47% tested positive for malaria via a rapid diagnostic test (RDT. This rate was significantly higher in rural villages (66%; p<0.001. The prevalence of anemia and malaria was higher in rural settings (p<0.001. On the other hand, anemia in urban areas displayed a heterogeneity and complexity that differed from the rural environment: in urban neighbourhoods, children with concomitant malaria infection were more likely to be anemic (adjusted prevalence rate (aPR:1.19; CI 95%: 1.12-1.28. Moreover, the prevalence of anemia was higher in children aged above 13 months compared to younger children (p<0.005. Belonging to the poorest wealth tertile were positively (aPR: 1.14, 95% CI: 1.05-1.24 and children' parents being employees (aPR: 0.86, 95% CI: 0.76-0.96 or self-employed (aPR: 0.86, 95% CI: 0.76-0.97 vs. working in agriculture and/or fishing negatively associated with anemia among urban children. This marked urban-rural variation indicates the

A comparative study on nutritional status and body composition of urban and rural schoolchildren from Brandsen district (Argentina).

Science.gov (United States)

Cesani, Maria Florencia; Garraza, Mariela; Bergel Sanchís, María Laura; Luis, María Antonia; Torres, María Fernanda; Quintero, Fabián Aníbal; Oyhenart, Evelia Edith

2013-01-01

The purpose of this study was to analyze whether nutritional status and body composition varies according to the environment of residence (urban or rural) of children in the Brandsen district (Argentina). Weight, height, arm circumference and tricipital and subscapular skinfolds were performed in 1368 schoolchildren aged 3 to 14. NHANES III reference was used to estimate nutritional status -underweight, stunting, wasting, overweight, and obesity- and to evaluate body composition -deficit and excess of adipose (DA, EA) and muscular (DM, EM) tissues of the arm-. Central fat distribution (CFD) was estimated using the subscapular-tricipital index. A structured questionnaire was implemented to evaluate socio-environmental characteristics. Nutritional categories based on body size and body composition were compared between urban and rural areas of residence using Chi-squared tests (χ2). The results indicated for the total sample: 1.1% underweight, 6.9% stunting, 0.4% wasting, 12.1% overweight, 9.7% obesity, 22.0% DM, 2.5% EM, 0.1% DA, 17.6% EA, and 8.5% CFD. Significant differences between urban and rural areas were found only for CFD. The socio-environmental analysis showed that while access to public services and housing quality was significantly better in the urban area, a considerable number of city households lived under deficient conditions, lacked health insurance and had low socioeconomic level. Fifty-three percent of the undernourished children had DM without urban-rural significant differences, and none of them showed DA. In the overweight plus obesity group, 62.8% presented EA, 6.4% EM, 4.7% DM, and 22.8% CFD. The highest percentages of DM and CFD were recorded in rural areas (p = 0.00). We conclude that the child population shows the "double burden" of malnutrition. The environment of residence does not promote any differentiation in the nutritional status. Nevertheless, the increment of central adiposity and, in some cases of muscle deficit in rural

A comparative study on nutritional status and body composition of urban and rural schoolchildren from Brandsen district (Argentina.

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Maria Florencia Cesani

Full Text Available The purpose of this study was to analyze whether nutritional status and body composition varies according to the environment of residence (urban or rural of children in the Brandsen district (Argentina. Weight, height, arm circumference and tricipital and subscapular skinfolds were performed in 1368 schoolchildren aged 3 to 14. NHANES III reference was used to estimate nutritional status -underweight, stunting, wasting, overweight, and obesity- and to evaluate body composition -deficit and excess of adipose (DA, EA and muscular (DM, EM tissues of the arm-. Central fat distribution (CFD was estimated using the subscapular-tricipital index. A structured questionnaire was implemented to evaluate socio-environmental characteristics. Nutritional categories based on body size and body composition were compared between urban and rural areas of residence using Chi-squared tests (χ2. The results indicated for the total sample: 1.1% underweight, 6.9% stunting, 0.4% wasting, 12.1% overweight, 9.7% obesity, 22.0% DM, 2.5% EM, 0.1% DA, 17.6% EA, and 8.5% CFD. Significant differences between urban and rural areas were found only for CFD. The socio-environmental analysis showed that while access to public services and housing quality was significantly better in the urban area, a considerable number of city households lived under deficient conditions, lacked health insurance and had low socioeconomic level. Fifty-three percent of the undernourished children had DM without urban-rural significant differences, and none of them showed DA. In the overweight plus obesity group, 62.8% presented EA, 6.4% EM, 4.7% DM, and 22.8% CFD. The highest percentages of DM and CFD were recorded in rural areas (p = 0.00. We conclude that the child population shows the "double burden" of malnutrition. The environment of residence does not promote any differentiation in the nutritional status. Nevertheless, the increment of central adiposity and, in some cases of muscle deficit in

Maternal health care initiatives: Causes of morbidities and mortalities in two rural districts of Upper West Region, Ghana.

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Joshua Sumankuuro

Full Text Available Maternal and neonatal morbidities and mortalities have received much attention over the years in sub-Saharan Africa; yet addressing them remains a profound challenge, no more so than in the nation of Ghana. This study focuses on finding explanations to the conditions which lead to maternal and neonatal morbidities and mortalities in rural Ghana, particularly the Upper West Region.Mixed methods approach was adopted to investigate the medical and non-medical causes of maternal and neonatal morbidities and mortalities in two rural districts of the Upper West Region of Ghana. Survey questionnaires, in-depth interviews and focus group discussions were employed to collect data from: a 80 expectant mothers (who were in their second and third trimesters, excluding those in their ninth month, b 240 community residents and c 13 healthcare providers (2 district directors of health services, 8 heads of health facilities and 3 nurses.Morbidity and mortality during pregnancy is attributed to direct causes such urinary tract infection (48%, hypertensive disorders (4%, mental health conditions (7%, nausea (4% and indirect related sicknesses such as anaemia (11%, malaria, HIV/AIDS, oedema and hepatitis B (26%. Socioeconomic and cultural factors are identified as significant underlying causes of these complications and to morbidity and mortality during labour and the postnatal period. Birth asphyxia and traditional beliefs and practices were major causes of neonatal deaths.These findings provide focused targets and open a window of opportunity for the community-based health services run by Ghana Health Service to intensify health education and promotion programmes directed at reducing risky economic activities and other cultural beliefs and practices affecting maternal and neonatal morbidity and mortality.

An investigation into the level of empowerment of rural women in the Zululand district of KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa.

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Bhengu, B R

2010-06-01

The aim of the study was to evaluate the outcome of the empowerment of rural women in relation to gender issues, power, and communication within the Zululand District of KwaZulu-Natal in SouthAfrica after implementation of a four-year Primary Health Care project in partnership with the Provincial Department of Health, and two Schools of Nursing at the University of KwaZulu-Natal and McMaster University in Canada. This project is based on substantial evidence which reveals that rural women are being neglected to the extent that these women have missed out on opportunities for development. The reasons for this disempowerment of women, particularly rural women, are thought to be due to the feminisation of poverty, as well as female submission, educational deprivation, privacy of domestic violence, exploitation, domination by men and cultural oppression (patriarchy). A qualitative research approach was used. Focus group discussion was utilised as the data collection technique, and this was also applied during the collection of baseline data. An interview guide covered issues of concern in the communities and households, including what the women would, or had done about these, how they engaged in decision-making in their families, how they handled situations when there was a difference of opinion, and their awareness of, and ability to claim their rights, including control of their lives. The data was collected from six clinics, from groups of six to ten women in the predominantly rural Zululand District of KwaZulu-Natal. The project has revealed improvement in the women's realisation of their rights, albeit limited, in communication, self-confidence, and reliance, including partnerships between Primary Health Care Nurses and women's groups. The formation of women's groups facilitated community development and participation in their own health, socio-economic and emotional development. The project suggests that such groups be encouraged and allowed to network for

An investigation into the level of empowerment of rural women in the Zululand district of KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa

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B.R. Bhengu

2010-09-01

Full Text Available The aim of the study was to evaluate the outcome of the empowerment of rural women in relation to gender issues, power, and communication within the Zululand District of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa after implementation of a four-year Primary Health Care project in partnership with the Provincial Department of Health, and two Schools of Nursing at the University of KwaZulu-Natal and McMaster University in Canada. This project is based on substantial evidence which reveals that rural women are being neglected to the extent that these women have missed out on opportunities for development. The reasons for this disempowerment of women, particularly rural women, are thought to be due to the feminisation of poverty, as well as female submission, educational deprivation, privacy of domestic violence, exploitation, domination by men and cultural oppression (patriarchy. A qualitative research approach was used. Focus group discussion was utilised as the data collection technique, and this was also applied during the collection of baseline data. An interview guide covered issues of concern in the communities and households, including what the women would, or had done about these, how they engaged in decision-making in their families, how they handled situations when there was a difference of opinion, and their awareness of, and ability to claim their rights, including control of their lives. The data was collected from six clinics, from groups of six to ten women in the predominantly rural Zululand District of KwaZulu-Natal. The project has revealed improvement in the women’s realisation of their rights, albeit limited, in communication, self-confidence, and reliance, including partnerships between Primary Health Care Nurses and women’s groups. The formation of women’s groups facilitated community development and participation in their own health, socio-economic and emotional development. The project suggests that such groups be encouraged and

Options for rural electrification in Arua District, Uganda

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Onzia, Joseph; Núñez Bosch, Osvaldo Manuel

2015-01-01

This study proposed a power generation system suitable for rural area application. The electrification options were proposed for secondary schools, health centres, households and trading centre loads using solar PV system, diesel fired generators, biogas co-fired diesel generators and grid extension. The study is based on simulation, modeling and optimization of renewable energy system. Designs for the options considered were based on the electricity demand and environmental conditions of Arua district. From the designs, capital costs for each option were determined. This was used in carrying out simulations in HOMER computer program to come up with the most cost effective options. Sensitivity analysis was carried out to determine the effects of variation in costs such as diesel price and capital cost of solar PV system.Based on simulation results, it has been found that the trading centre, with 500 kW of electrical demand, must be electrified using the grid extension. The breakeven grid distance is 75.1 km. Grid extension become cost effective compared to diesel generators and solar PV system within this distance. The load at household level ranges from as low as 16 W to 5 kW. For 103 W peak load, the most cost effective option was solar PV system. The second best option was biogas co-fired diesel generator. For schools and health centres with load of up to 15 kW, biogas co-fired generator is the best compared to the total cost of 18 kW diesel fired generator which is higher. Therefore, where biogas cannot be generated, diesel generators should be used. Based on the amount of pollutants produced, a biogas co-fired diesel generator is the best option. (full text)

Prevalence of canine gastrointestinal helminths in urban Lusaka and rural Katete Districts of Zambia.

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Bwalya, Eugene C; Nalubamba, King S; Hankanga, C; Namangala, B

2011-07-01

Faecal samples were collected from January 2010 through September 2010 to determine the prevalence of gastrointestinal (GI) helminths infestation in dogs in urban Lusaka and rural Katete Districts of Zambia. A total of 452 faecal samples (n=160 Katete, n=292 Lusaka) were examined by faecal flotation for the presence of helminth eggs and 82.5% of dogs were positive for GI helminths in Katete compared to 76% for Lusaka. Positive results with the presence of at least one parasite corresponded to 72.9% Ancylostoma caninum, 11% Toxocara canis, 4.8% Toxascaris leonina, 2.4% Dipylidium caninum, 0.7% Taeniidae and 0.3% T. vulpis, species for Lusaka while Katete recorded 70.6% A. caninum, 18.1% T. vulpis, 11.1% T. canis, 13.1% D. caninum, 3.8% T. leonina, and 0.6% Taeniidae. Except for T. vulpis and D. caninum (pcaninum showed significant difference in prevalence by age category. The study also showed the presence of zoonotic intestinal helminths A. caninum, T. canis and D. caninum. The study highlights that there was no significant difference in spectrum and prevalence of GI helminths between urban and rural areas in Zambia. It further brings to light the importance of educating owners of dogs on the importance of regular deworming of dogs and control of ectoparasites in order to minimise the risk that these dogs pose to them and the public. © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Snakebites in Two Rural Districts in Lao PDR: Community-Based Surveys Disclose High Incidence of an Invisible Public Health Problem.

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Inthanomchanh Vongphoumy

Full Text Available The Lao PDR (Laos is one of the least developed countries in Asia with an estimated 25% of the population living in poverty. It is the habitat of some highly venomous snakes and the majority of the population earns their living from agricultural activities. Under these circumstances the incidence of snakebites is expected to be high.Two cross-sectional, community-based surveys were performed in Champone and Phin district, Savannakhet province, Lao PDR to estimate snakebite incidence. Multistage random sampling was used. In the first stage approximately 40% of all villages in each district were randomly selected. In the second stage 33% of all households in each village were randomly chosen. Members of the selected households were interviewed about snakebites during the previous 12 months.Thirty-five of 9856 interviewees reported a snakebite in a 12 month period in Champone district and 79 of 7150 interviewees in Phin district. The estimated incidence is 355 snakebites per 100,000 persons per year and 1105 per 100,000 in Champone and Phin district respectively. All snakebite victims received treatment by traditional healers or self-treatment at home and nobody went to a hospital. Incidence of snakebites, calculated on the basis of hospital records of 14 district hospitals and Savannakhet provincial hospital, ranged from 3 to 14 cases per 100,000 persons per year between 2012 and 2014.Incidence of snakebites is high in rural communities in Laos with significant regional differences. Poverty most likely contributes significantly to the higher number of snakebites in Phin district. Hospital statistics profoundly underestimates snakebite incidence, because the majority of snakebite victims receive only treatment by traditional healers or self-treatment in their village. There is an urgent need to train medical staff and students in management of snakebite patients and make snake antivenom available to cope effectively with this important public

Snakebites in Two Rural Districts in Lao PDR: Community-Based Surveys Disclose High Incidence of an Invisible Public Health Problem.

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Vongphoumy, Inthanomchanh; Phongmany, Panom; Sydala, Sengdao; Prasith, Nouda; Reintjes, Ralf; Blessmann, Joerg

2015-01-01

The Lao PDR (Laos) is one of the least developed countries in Asia with an estimated 25% of the population living in poverty. It is the habitat of some highly venomous snakes and the majority of the population earns their living from agricultural activities. Under these circumstances the incidence of snakebites is expected to be high. Two cross-sectional, community-based surveys were performed in Champone and Phin district, Savannakhet province, Lao PDR to estimate snakebite incidence. Multistage random sampling was used. In the first stage approximately 40% of all villages in each district were randomly selected. In the second stage 33% of all households in each village were randomly chosen. Members of the selected households were interviewed about snakebites during the previous 12 months. Thirty-five of 9856 interviewees reported a snakebite in a 12 month period in Champone district and 79 of 7150 interviewees in Phin district. The estimated incidence is 355 snakebites per 100,000 persons per year and 1105 per 100,000 in Champone and Phin district respectively. All snakebite victims received treatment by traditional healers or self-treatment at home and nobody went to a hospital. Incidence of snakebites, calculated on the basis of hospital records of 14 district hospitals and Savannakhet provincial hospital, ranged from 3 to 14 cases per 100,000 persons per year between 2012 and 2014. Incidence of snakebites is high in rural communities in Laos with significant regional differences. Poverty most likely contributes significantly to the higher number of snakebites in Phin district. Hospital statistics profoundly underestimates snakebite incidence, because the majority of snakebite victims receive only treatment by traditional healers or self-treatment in their village. There is an urgent need to train medical staff and students in management of snakebite patients and make snake antivenom available to cope effectively with this important public health problem in

Emergence of the notion of retirement in rural China. The case of rural districts of Shanghai.

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Shih-Jiunn, Shi

2008-10-01

Since the outset of the reform process in 1978, rural China has been undergoing fundamental changes in the relationships between the state, society and individuals. Social policy, including pension policy for rural residents, is an essential factor in this transformation process which has influenced the life chances of many peasants. This paper deals with the relationship between social policy and individual life courses in the case of Shanghai's rural pension policy. It integrates the theoretical insights from life course research to emphasise the close relationship between the state welfare and the institutionalisation of the life course. By analysing biographical interviews conducted in rural Shanghai, this article has identified the changing nature of welfare mix in rural old-age security as well as the emergence of the notion of retirement among the peasants in rural Shanghai. The introduction of the innovative rural pension policy has given rise to the rudimentary emergence of a modern life course, in the contour of a temporal partition between work and retirement. However, diverse local subsidies and individual household situations have led to different perceptions and biographical orientations of the peasants with respect to their old-age security and retirement.

Mixing methodology, nursing theory and research design for a practice model of district nursing advocacy.

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Reed, Frances M; Fitzgerald, Les; Rae, Melanie

2016-01-01

To highlight philosophical and theoretical considerations for planning a mixed methods research design that can inform a practice model to guide rural district nursing end of life care. Conceptual models of nursing in the community are general and lack guidance for rural district nursing care. A combination of pragmatism and nurse agency theory can provide a framework for ethical considerations in mixed methods research in the private world of rural district end of life care. Reflection on experience gathered in a two-stage qualitative research phase, involving rural district nurses who use advocacy successfully, can inform a quantitative phase for testing and complementing the data. Ongoing data analysis and integration result in generalisable inferences to achieve the research objective. Mixed methods research that creatively combines philosophical and theoretical elements to guide design in the particular ethical situation of community end of life care can be used to explore an emerging field of interest and test the findings for evidence to guide quality nursing practice. Combining philosophy and nursing theory to guide mixed methods research design increases the opportunity for sound research outcomes that can inform a nursing model of care.

Bacterial pathogen spectrum of acute diarrheal outpatients in an urbanized rural district in Southwest China

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Yongming Zhou

2018-05-01

Full Text Available Objectives: To conduct a one-year pathogen surveillance of acute diarrheal disease based on outpatient clinics in township hospitals in rural Hongta District of Yunnan Province, China. Methods: Fecal specimens of acute diarrhea cases and relevant epidemiological information were collected. Salmonella, Shigella, Vibrio, Aeromonas, Plesiomonas shigelloides and diarrheogenic Escherichia coli (DEC were examined. Results: Among the 797 stool specimens sampled, 198 samples (24.8% were positive in pathogen isolation, and 223 strains were isolated. The order of isolation rates from high to low were DEC, Aeromonas, P. shigelloides, Salmonella, Shigella and Vibrio. The overall positive rate in middle school students and preschool children was relatively high; while the overall positive rate of less than 1-year-old infants and above 55 years olds was relatively low. The isolates were analyzed by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE. Some cases had the same or very close onset time, and the isolates had similar PFGE patterns, suggesting a possible outbreak once occurred but was not detected by the current infectious disease reporting system. Conclusions: Pathogen infection and transmission in rapidly urbanized rural areas is a serious issue. There is a great need for a more sensitive and accurate mode of monitoring, reporting and outbreak identification of diarrheal disease. Keywords: Diarrheal disease, Diarrheogenic pathogen, Molecular typing, Surveillance, Bacterial pathogen

OBSTACLES TO FAMILY PLANNING USE AMONG RURAL WOMEN IN ATIAK HEALTH CENTER IV, AMURU DISTRICT, NORTHERN UGANDA

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Ouma, S.; Turyasima, M.; Acca, H.; Nabbale, F.; Obita, K. O.; Rama, M.; Adong, C. C.; Openy, A.; Beatrice, M. O.; Odongo-Aginya, E. I.; Awor, S.

2016-01-01

Background Uganda’s rapid population growth (3.2%) since 1948 has placed more demands on health sector and lowered living standard of Ugandans resulting into 49% of people living in acute poverty especially in post conflict Northern Uganda. The population rise was due to low use of contraceptive methods (21% in rural areas and 43% in urban areas) and coupled with high unmet need for family planning (41%). This indicated poor access to reproductive health services. Effective use of family planning could reduce the rapid population growth. Objective To determine obstacles to family planning use among rural women in Northern Uganda. Design A descriptive cross-sectional analytical study. Setting Atiak Health Centre IV, Amuru District, rural Northern Uganda. Subjects Four hundred and twenty four females of reproductive ages were selected from both Inpatient and Outpatient Departments of Atiak Health Centre IV. Results There was high level of awareness 418 (98.6%), positive attitude 333 (78.6%) and fair level of utilisation 230 (54.2%) of family planning. However, significant obstacles to family planning usage included; long distance to Health facility, unavailability of preferred contraceptive methods, absenteeism of family planning providers, high cost of managing side effects, desire for big family size, children dying less than five years old, husbands forbidding women from using family planning and lack of community leaders’ involvement in family planning programme. Conclusions In spites of the high level of awareness, positive attitude, and free family planning services, there were obstacles that hindered family planning usage among these rural women. However, taking services close to people, reducing number of children dying before their fifth birthday, educating men about family planning, making sure family planning providers and methods are available, reducing cost of managing side effects and involving community leaders will improve utilisation of family

OBSTACLES TO FAMILY PLANNING USE AMONG RURAL WOMEN IN ATIAK HEALTH CENTER IV, AMURU DISTRICT, NORTHERN UGANDA.

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Ouma, S; Turyasima, M; Acca, H; Nabbale, F; Obita, K O; Rama, M; Adong, C C; Openy, A; Beatrice, M O; Odongo-Aginya, E I; Awor, S

Uganda's rapid population growth (3.2%) since 1948 has placed more demands on health sector and lowered living standard of Ugandans resulting into 49% of people living in acute poverty especially in post conflict Northern Uganda. The population rise was due to low use of contraceptive methods (21% in rural areas and 43% in urban areas) and coupled with high unmet need for family planning (41%). This indicated poor access to reproductive health services. Effective use of family planning could reduce the rapid population growth. To determine obstacles to family planning use among rural women in Northern Uganda. A descriptive cross-sectional analytical study. Atiak Health Centre IV, Amuru District, rural Northern Uganda. Four hundred and twenty four females of reproductive ages were selected from both Inpatient and Outpatient Departments of Atiak Health Centre IV. There was high level of awareness 418 (98.6%), positive attitude 333 (78.6%) and fair level of utilisation 230 (54.2%) of family planning. However, significant obstacles to family planning usage included; long distance to Health facility, unavailability of preferred contraceptive methods, absenteeism of family planning providers, high cost of managing side effects, desire for big family size, children dying less than five years old, husbands forbidding women from using family planning and lack of community leaders' involvement in family planning programme. In spites of the high level of awareness, positive attitude, and free family planning services, there were obstacles that hindered family planning usage among these rural women. However, taking services close to people, reducing number of children dying before their fifth birthday, educating men about family planning, making sure family planning providers and methods are available, reducing cost of managing side effects and involving community leaders will improve utilisation of family planning and thus reduce the rapid population growth and poverty.

Urban-rural disparities in the nutritional status of school adolescent girls in the Mizan district, south-western Ethiopia.

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Berheto, Tezera M; Mikitie, Wondafrash K; Argaw, Alemayehu

2015-01-01

Malnutrition that occurs during adolescence has important consequences for the future growth and development of the individual, particularly in girls in developing countries. Besides limiting growth, adolescent malnutrition has important consequences for society. Despite this, there is a lack of information on the nutritional status of adolescent girls in Ethiopia. This study was therefore performed to help redress this lack of data and to provide information for future improvements by health planners and policy makers. A comparative cross-sectional study design was employed to determine the urban-rural disparity in nutritional status of adolescent school girls in the Mizan district in south-western Ethiopia. A two-stage sampling procedure was used to randomly select 622 adolescent girls, 311 each from urban and rural locations. Trained field workers used structured questionnaires to obtain the desired information from the respondents. Anthropometric measurements of height and weight were collected using standard procedures and appropriate quality control measures. Height-for-age Z-scores and body mass index (BMI)-for-age Z-scores were generated using AnthroPlus software. The independent sample t-test and χ2 test were used to determine statistical significance. There were no significant differences in the ages or physical activities of the two populations of girls studied. Consumption of cereal, vegetables, sweets, sugars, fats, meat, and eggs was similar between the two groups, although slight differences were found with regard to legumes, milk, and fruit consumption. No significant differences were found in the prevalence of mild underweight girls and overweight girls in the urban and rural groups (26.5% vs 22.3% and 7.5% vs 5.2%, respectively). Significant stunting was, however, present in the rural population (40.9% vs. 17.8% in the urban group). Although overall lower than the reference data provided by WHO, the mean BMI-for-age Z-scores and height-for-age Z

Drawing a Link—Women’s Empowerment and Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act: A Study Conducted in the Goalpara District, Assam

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Dr Manisha Bhattacharyya

2016-03-01

Full Text Available This article reports on an empirical research that examined the extent of economic empowerment gained by women engaged in Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA in the district of Goalpara, Assam. The key objective of the MGNREGA is to provide social security to rural households by guaranteeing 100 days of paid employment in public works within a year. Based on nine variables (education, land ownership, ownership of other assets, control over income contributed by a woman to her family, control over the income of the family, savings, access to credit, social participation, cash income earned from income generating activities and calculated using empowerment index, the research compared the magnitude of women’s empowerment before and after getting involved in MGNREGA. The findings suggest that while MGNREGA is an important leap to ensuring economic empowerment to rural women, but the scheme has not been implemented properly in the district—women and men not getting 100 days of employment, irregular mode of payment, very slow progress and poor quality in public works.

Managing Ebola from rural to urban slum settings: experiences from ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The Bundigugyo district outbreak followed but was detected late as a new virus. The subsequent outbreaks in the districts of Luwero district (2011, 2012) and Kibaale (2012) were limited to rural areas. Methods: Detailed records of the outbreak presentation, cases, and outcomes were reviewed and analyzed. Each outbreak ...

Interactive Instructional Television: Education for Rural Areas.

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Anagal, Judy; And Others

The Rural Special Education Project is a federally funded partnership between Kayenta Unified School District and Northern Arizona University's (NAU) Center for Excellence in Education that aims to prepare well qualified special education teachers to work in rural and reservation schools. The participants are Native American residents working…

Rural versus urban differences in end-of-life care for lung cancer patients in Germany.

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Walter, Julia; Tufman, Amanda; Leidl, Reiner; Holle, Rolf; Schwarzkopf, Larissa

2018-07-01

To assess rural-urban differences in healthcare utilization and supportive care at the end-of-life in German lung cancer patients. We identified 12,929 patients with incident lung cancer in 2009 from claims data and categorized them to four district types (major city, urban, rural, remote rural). We compared site of death, unplanned hospitalizations, hospital days, outpatient doctor, general practitioner (GP) and home visits, structured palliative care, therapy with antidepressants, pain relief medication and chemotherapy, and therapeutic puncturing in the last 30 and 14 days of life using mixed models with logistic link function for binary outcomes and log link function for count data. We adjusted all models by age, sex, comorbidities, metastases location and presence of multiple tumors at diagnosis, survival in months, and type of tumor-directed treatment. We found significant differences in two of the outcomes measured. The likelihood of > 14 hospital days in the last 30 days was significantly higher in rural districts than in remote rural districts (1.27 [1.05, 1.52], p = 0.0003). The number of visits to the GP in the last 30 days of life was significantly lower in urban districts than in remote rural districts (β = - 0.19 [- 0.32, - 0.06], p = <0.0001). No other endpoints were associated with regional differences. Triggering factors for high and low utilization of healthcare were mostly age, comorbidities, and prior anticancer treatment. Healthcare utilization and supportive care did not differ significantly between different district types. Results reject the hypothesis of regional inequity in end-of-life care of lung cancer patients in Germany.

Self Medication: Predictors and Practices among Rural Population of Nellikuppam Village, Kancheepuram District, Tamil Nadu

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Kalaivani Annadurai

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Background: Inappropriate self medication is one of the leading causes of growing antibiotic resistance in developing nations which poses a major public health threat worldwide and assessment of self medication practices is essential for better understanding of the problem. Aim and Objectives: To find out the predictors of self medication use among the residents of Nellikuppam village, Kancheepuram District, Tamil Nadu. To assess the self medication practices among the residents of Nellikuppam village, Kancheepuram District, Tamil Nadu. Material and Methods: This was a descriptive cross sectional study conducted among 335 adult households with six months recall period in Nellikuppam village of Tamil Nadu during May to October, 2014 using a pretested semi-structured questionnaire. Results: Prevalence of self medication among adult rural population was 53.43% and only half of the study population opined that it was harmful. Pharmacists (72.06% were the major source of drug information on self medication. Paracetomol (84.91% was the commonest drug used for self medication. Major predictors were perception of illness as minor ailment and unavailability of doctors in their locality. Nearly half of the current self medication users (47.49% were in the idea of practicing self medication in the future. Conclusion: This study results implies the need for proper enforcement of legal measures towards the restriction of over the counter medicine and creating awareness among general population on adverse reaction of self medication.

Predictors of knowledge towards malaria of rural tribal communities in Dhalai District of Tripura, India.

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Kumar, S; Debbarma, A

2013-10-01

Reduction of malarial morbidity and mortality is one of the top public health priorities in Tripura and the Country. To achieve these targets it is imperative to have active community participation to control malaria. Community participation in turn depends on people's knowledge and attitude towards the disease. This study was conducted to examine the factors that predict the knowledge of rural tribal communities in Dhalai district of Tripura towards malaria. This community based epidemiological cross-sectional descriptive study was carried out in Dhalai district of Tripura. A pre-tested structured questionnaire collecting socio-demographic and malaria-related KAP information was administered to the 216 adult respondents from a representative sample of households. As a whole, there were 147(68.1%) illiterate respondents. Out of them, 89(41.2%) persons were male and 58(26.9%) were female. Correct knowledge about the cause of malaria was 2.77 times higher in males than females and 11.53 times higher in literate tribal people than in illiterate. Correct knowledge about the symptoms fever, chills, and rigors of malaria were also higher in male sex and in literate tribal people. Use of smoke as preventive measure was very high among the respondents. Common predictors of correct knowledge about etiology and clinical features of malaria were in male Tripuri and Reang community. Use of smoke for killing of adult mosquito was predicted by illiteracy. Promotion of literacy and participation in health education are vital component in terms of knowledge and practice.

Leveraging community health worker system to map a mountainous rural district in low resource setting: a low-cost approach to expand use of geographic information systems for public health.

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Munyaneza, Fabien; Hirschhorn, Lisa R; Amoroso, Cheryl L; Nyirazinyoye, Laetitia; Birru, Ermyas; Mugunga, Jean Claude; Murekatete, Rachel M; Ntaganira, Joseph

2014-12-06

Geographic Information Systems (GIS) have become an important tool in monitoring and improving health services, particularly at local levels. However, GIS data are often unavailable in rural settings and village-level mapping is resource-intensive. This study describes the use of community health workers' (CHW) supervisors to map villages in a mountainous rural district of Northern Rwanda and subsequent use of these data to map village-level variability in safe water availability. We developed a low literacy and skills-focused training in the local language (Kinyarwanda) to train 86 CHW Supervisors and 25 nurses in charge of community health at the health center (HC) and health post (HP) levels to collect the geographic coordinates of the villages using Global Positioning Systems (GPS). Data were validated through meetings with key stakeholders at the sub-district and district levels and joined using ArcMap 10 Geo-processing tools. Costs were calculated using program budgets and activities' records, and compared with the estimated costs of mapping using a separate, trained GIS team. To demonstrate the usefulness of this work, we mapped drinking water sources (DWS) from data collected by CHW supervisors from the chief of the village. DWSs were categorized as safe versus unsafe using World Health Organization definitions. Following training, each CHW Supervisor spent five days collecting data on the villages in their coverage area. Over 12 months, the CHW supervisors mapped the district's 573 villages using 12 shared GPS devices. Sector maps were produced and distributed to local officials. The cost of mapping using CHW supervisors was $29,692, about two times less than the estimated cost of mapping using a trained and dedicated GIS team ($60,112). The availability of local mapping was able to rapidly identify village-level disparities in DWS, with lower access in populations living near to lakes and wetlands (p villages even in mountainous rural areas. These data

Assessing the potential of rural and urban private facilities in implementing child health interventions in Mukono district, central Uganda-a cross sectional study.

Science.gov (United States)

Rutebemberwa, Elizeus; Buregyeya, Esther; Lal, Sham; Clarke, Sîan E; Hansen, Kristian S; Magnussen, Pascal; LaRussa, Philip; Mbonye, Anthony K

2016-07-15

Private facilities are the first place of care seeking for many sick children. Involving these facilities in child health interventions may provide opportunities to improve child welfare. The objective of this study was to assess the potential of rural and urban private facilities in diagnostic capabilities, operations and human resource in the management of malaria, pneumonia and diarrhoea. A survey was conducted in pharmacies, private clinics and drug shops in Mukono district in October 2014. An assessment was done on availability of diagnostic equipment for malaria, record keeping, essential drugs for the treatment of malaria, pneumonia and diarrhoea; the sex, level of education, professional and in-service training of the persons found attending to patients in these facilities. A comparison was made between urban and rural facilities. Univariate and bivariate analysis was done. A total of 241 private facilities were assessed with only 47 (19.5 %) being in rural areas. Compared to urban areas, rural private facilities were more likely to be drug shops (OR 2.80; 95 % CI 1.23-7.11), less likely to be registered (OR 0.31; 95 % CI 0.16-0.60), not have trained clinicians, less likely to have people with tertiary education (OR 0.34; 95 % CI 0.17-0.66) and less likely to have zinc tablets (OR 0.38; 95 % CI 0.19-0.78). In both urban and rural areas, there was low usage of stock cards and patient registers. About half of the facilities in both rural and urban areas attended to at least one sick child in the week prior to the interview. There were big gaps between rural and urban private facilities with rural ones having less trained personnel and less zinc tablets' availability. In both rural and urban areas, record keeping was low. Child health interventions need to build capacity of private facilities with special focus on rural areas where child mortality is higher and capacity of facilities lower.

Instructional Technology for Rural Schools: Access and Acquisition

Science.gov (United States)

Sundeen, Todd H.; Sundeen, Darrelanne M.

2013-01-01

Integrating instructional technology into all classrooms has the potential to transform modern education and student learning. However, access to technology is not equally available to all districts or schools. Decreased funding and budgetary restraints have had a direct impact on technology acquisition in many rural school districts. One of the…

Preventing the preventable through effective surveillance: the case of diphtheria in a rural district of Maharashtra, India.

Science.gov (United States)

Phalkey, Revati K; Bhosale, Rajesh V; Joshi, Abhijeet P; Wakchoure, Sushil S; Tambe, Muralidhar P; Awate, Pradip; Marx, Michael

2013-04-08

Epidemic diphtheria is still poorly understood and continues to challenge both developing and developed countries. In the backdrop of poor immunization coverage, non-existent adult boosters, weak case based surveillance and persistence of multiple foci, there is a heightened risk of re-emergence of the disease in epidemic forms in India. Investigating each outbreak to understand the epidemiology of the disease and its current status in the country is therefore necessary. Dhule a predominantly tribal and rural district in Northern Maharashtra has consistently recorded low vaccination coverages alongside sporaidic cases of diphtheria over the last years. This study reports the findings of an onsite survey conducted to assess a recent outbreak of diphtheria in Dhule district and the response mounted to it. Secondary data regarding outbreak detection and response were obtained from the district surveillance office. Clinical data were extracted from hospital records of eleven lab confirmed cases including one death case. Frequency distributions were calculated for each identified clinical and non- clinical variable using Microsoft™ Excel® 2010. Our findings suggest a shift in the median age of disease to adolescents (10-15 years) without gender differences. Two cases (18%) reported disease despite immunization. Clinical symptoms included cough (82%), fever (73%), and throat congestion (64%). About 64% and 36% of the 11 confirmed cases presented with a well defined pseudomembrane and a tonsillar patch respectively. Drug resistance was observed in all three culture positive cases. One death occurred despite the administration of Anti-Diphtheric Serum in a partially immunized case (CFR 9%). Genotyping and toxigenicity of strain was not possible due to specimen contamination during transport as testing facilities were unavailable in the district. The outbreak raises several concerns regarding the epidemiology of diphtheria in Dhule. The reason for shift in the median

SPATIAL DIFFERENTIATION OF THE SEASONAL UNEMPLOYMENT. AN EXAMPLE OF COASTAL DISTRICTS OF ZACHODNIOPOMORSKIE VOIVODESHIP IN POLAND

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maria Klonowska-Matynia

2014-12-01

Full Text Available The main aim of this article is to analyse and asses spatial diversity and seasonality of unemployment rate on labour market in selected seaside districts (rural, urban and rural-urban in the Zachodniopomorskie voivodeship in Poland. The following thesis was formulated: the location of the examined districts in the coastal zone determines their nature tourism and similar behaviour in the observed seasonal unemployment changes. Seasonal changes of the monthly unemployment rate were studied in the period 2001--2012. Data from the Central Statistical Office, Regional Data Bank and the Regional Labour Office in Szczecin were used in research process. The results confirm the authors’ assumptions about a relatively high sensitivity of the surveyed markets to seasonal changes, which is determined by the tourist nature of the area of the surveyed districts. There is no reason to assess that all the coastal districts react in a similar way. It has been observed that rural markets are more sensitive to seasonal unemployment changes in relation to the urban markets.

Developing district health systems in the rural Transvaal

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Close attention needs to be given to district- level health management, the ..... pilot efforts to inrroduce village-level healrh committees. A detailed proposal from ... authorities and the divided interests that have resulted from years of fragmented ...

Policy framework for sustainable utilisation of farmland for the Waterberg District Municipality in South Africa

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Nhemachena, C

2011-01-01

Full Text Available This study crafts a policy framework for sustainable utilisation of farmland for the Waterberg District Municipality in South Africa. The district, being predominantly agricultural and rural, faces contention in terms of land allocation...

Emergency obstetric care in a rural district of Burundi: What are the surgical needs?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

E De Plecker

Full Text Available In a rural district hospital in Burundi offering Emergency Obstetric care-(EmOC, we assessed the a characteristics of women at risk of, or with an obstetric complication and their types b the number and type of obstetric surgical procedures and anaesthesia performed c human resource cadres who performed surgery and anaesthesia and d hospital exit outcomes.A retrospective analysis of EmOC data (2011 and 2012.A total of 6084 women were referred for EmOC of whom 2534(42% underwent a major surgical procedure while 1345(22% required a minor procedure (36% women did not require any surgical procedure. All cases with uterine rupture(73 and extra-uterine pregnancy(10 and the majority with pre-uterine rupture and foetal distress required major surgery. The two most prevalent conditions requiring a minor surgical procedure were abortions (61% and normal delivery (34%. A total of 2544 major procedures were performed on 2534 admitted individuals. Of these, 1650(65% required spinal and 578(23% required general anaesthesia; 2341(92% procedures were performed by 'general practitioners with surgical skills' and in 2451(96% cases, anaesthesia was provided by nurses. Of 2534 hospital admissions related to major procedures, 2467(97% were discharged, 21(0.8% were referred to tertiary care and 2(0.1% died.Overall, the obstetric surgical volume in rural Burundi is high with nearly six out of ten referrals requiring surgical intervention. Nonetheless, good quality care could be achieved by trained, non-specialist staff. The post-2015 development agenda needs to take this into consideration if it is to make progress towards reducing maternal mortality in Africa.

Public accountability needs to be enforced -a case study of the governance arrangements and accountability practices in a rural health district in Ghana.

Science.gov (United States)

Van Belle, Sara; Mayhew, Susannah H

2016-10-12

Improving public accountability is currently high on the global agenda. At the same time, the organisation of health services in low- and middle-income countries is taking place in fragmented institutional landscapes. State and non-state actors are involved in increasingly complex governance arrangements. This often leads to coordination problems, confusion of roles and responsibilities and possibly accountability gaps. This study aimed at assessing the governance arrangements and the accountability practices of key health actors at the level of a Ghanaian health district with the aim to understand how far public accountability is achieved. We adopted the case study design as it allows for in-depth analysis of the governance arrangements and accountability relations between actors, their formal policies and actual accountability practices towards the public and towards stakeholders. Data were collected at a rural health district using in-depth interviews, observation and document review. In the analysis, we used a four-step sequence: identification of the key actors and their relationships, description of the multi-level governance arrangements, identification of the actual accountability relations and practices between all actors and finally appraisal of the public accountability practices, which we define as those practices that ensure direct accountability towards the public. In this rural health district with few (international) non-governmental organisations and private sector providers, accountability linkages towards management and partners in health programmes were found to be strong. Direct accountability towards the public, however, was woefully underdeveloped. This study shows that in settings where there is a small number of actors involved in organising health care, and where the state actors are underfunded, the intense interaction can lead to a web of relations that favours collaboration between partners in health service delivery, but fails public

[Ecological risk assessment of rural-urban ecotone based on landscape pattern: A case study in Daiyue District of Tai' an City, Shandong Province of East China].

Science.gov (United States)

Shi, Hao-Peng; Yu, Kai-Qin; Feng, Yong-jun

2013-03-01

Based on the remote sensing data in 2000, 2005, and 2010, this paper analyzed the variation trends of the land use type and landscape pattern in Daiyue District of Tai' an City from 2000 to 2010. The ecological risk index was built, that of the District was re-sampled and spatially interpolated, and the spatiotemporal pattern of the ecological risk in the rural-urban ecotone of the District was analyzed. In 2000-2010, the main variation trend of the land use type in the District was the shift from natural landscape to artificial landscape. The intensity of human disturbance was larger in cultivated land, garden plot, and forestland than in other landscape types, while the human disturbance in water area was smaller. The ecological loss degree of cultivated land and water area decreased somewhat, while that of the other land use types presented an increasing trend. The ecological risk distribution in the District was discrete in 2000 and 2010, but most centralized in 2005. The ecological risk of each ecological risk sub-area had an increasing trend in 2000-2005, but was in adverse in 2005-2010. In 2000-2010, the ecological risk of the District was mainly at medium level. Spatially, the distribution of the ecological risk in the District had an obvious differentiation, with an overall diffusive increasing from forestland as the center to the surrounding areas. In the District, the ecological risk was mainly at medium and higher levels, the area with lower ecological risk had an obvious dynamic change, while that with the lowest and highest ecological risk had less change.

Trees in the small city retail business district: comparing resident and visitor perceptions

Science.gov (United States)

Kathleen L. Wolf

2005-01-01

Many small cities and towns are located near resource lands, and their central business districts serve both residents and visitors. Such quasi-rural retail centers face competitive challenges from regional shopping malls, online purchasing, and big box discount retailers. District merchants must strategically enhance their market...

Delivering Online Professional Development in Mathematics to Rural Educators

Science.gov (United States)

Cady, Jo; Rearden, Kristin

2009-01-01

Rural school districts struggle to attract, retain, and support highly qualified mathematics teachers. A series of four online professional development courses in the form of integrated mathematics content and pedagogy courses was designed to meet the professional development needs of rural middle school mathematics teachers. Changes in teachers'…

Provision of Information to Rural Communities in Bama Local ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Provision of Information to Rural Communities in Bama Local Government Area of Borno State, Nigeria. Y Aliyu, E Camble ... findings of the study showed that rural people in the Soye district have identifiable information needs mainly in the areas of agriculture, health, government programmes and small scale industries.

Factors associated with health facility childbirth in districts of Kenya, Tanzania and Zambia

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Phiri, Selia Ng'anjo; Kiserud, Torvid; Kvåle, Gunnar

2014-01-01

of delivery. Socioeconomic position was measured by employing a construct of educational attainment and wealth index. All analyses were stratified by district and urban-rural residence. RESULTS: There were substantial inter-district differences in proportion of health facility childbirth. Facility childbirth......BACKGROUND: Maternal mortality continues to be a heavy burden in low and middle income countries where half of all deliveries take place in homes without skilled attendance. The study aimed to investigate the underlying and proximate determinants of health facility childbirth in rural and urban...... areas of three districts in Kenya, Tanzania and Zambia. METHODS: A population-based survey was conducted in 2007 as part of the 'REsponse to ACcountable priority setting for Trust in health systems' (REACT) project. Stratified random cluster sampling was used and the data included information on place...

A Curriculum Infusion Approach to Preservice Rural Teacher Preparation: Strategies and Resources.

Science.gov (United States)

Sarachan-Deily, Ann Beth; And Others

Collaborative strategies were used by The College of Saint Rose (CSR) and 15 rural school districts in upstate New York to implement preservice teacher training and programming to better meet the needs of handicapped learners in rural settings. Through meetings and questionnaires, rural administrative teams identified relevant skills and issues…

Assessment of Compliance to Treatment of Diabetes and Hypertension amongst Previously Diagnosed Patients from Rural Community of Raigad District of Maharashtra.

Science.gov (United States)

Kakumani, Kiranmayi Venkata; Waingankar, Prasad

2016-12-01

Substantial burden of diabetes and hypertension is on rise in India, leading to a twin epidemic. India, being a rural country, has unique problems regarding the treatment compliance which is a serious risk for morbidity and mortality. To assess the compliance to treatment of hypertension and diabetes amongst the diagnosed patients from rural area and to study reasons of non-compliance and knowledge and attitude. Community based, cross sectional, observational study conducted in the rural communities of Tara and Barapada villages of Raigad district of Maharashtra. Survey was conducted covering population of 2115 across 360 families, 250 at Barapada and 110 at Tara. All the cases of diabetes and hypertension diagnosed for more than one year were included. A structured and pre-tested questionnaire was administered including details on demography, medical documentation, treatment details and factors assessing the compliance, knowledge and attitude towards the diseases. When reviewed the treatment adherence pattern based on documentary evidence and interview of the patient, on history of taking medication strictly since the detection illness, it was found that more than 70% of the Diabetics and more than 75% of the Hypertensive have discontinued the treatment in between. The most common reasons of non-compliance is the lack of sufficient motivation for treatment adherence as many mentioned (61.4% diabetics, 55.8% hypertensives) difficulty to remember to take daily medication due to work or forgetfulness. This is followed by lack of money (50%diabetics, 55.8% hypertensives) and living far away from doctor in city (43% diabetics and 46% hypertensives). The study findings are only tip of iceberg and the non-adherence to the treatment of diabetes and hypertension in rural population is at alarmingly high. Illiteracy, lack of faith in treatment and motivation, unawareness and self-neglect as well as financial constraints and lack of specialist care in rural area is playing

Coconut processing technologies for rural transformation – Case study on coconut water vinegar

OpenAIRE

6. Seeja Thomachan, Deepu Mathew and Habeeburrahman P. V.

2010-01-01

The role of coconut based technologies in social development of rural India is described based on the influence of coconut vinegar technology in the rural women of Malappuram district, Kerala state, India

Religiously Motivated Travel and Rural Tourism in Vhembe District of South Africa

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gyekye Agyapong

2014-01-01

Full Text Available The study investigated the socio-economic impact of religious tourism (UAAC gathering on the local tourism industry and on surrounding rural communities in Vhembe District Municipality (VDM of South Africa. Questionnaires were used to collect data on pilgrims (visitors, businesses, and residents during, and immediately after the event. Statistical techniques were used to analyse the data to gain insight into the data as basis for answering the research questions posed in this study. The results revealed that majority of the pilgrims to the UAAC gathering were from the host province of Limpopo. Also, most pilgrims travel to the pilgrimage site solely for religious reasons. Another significant finding is that the average spending per pilgrim by pilgrims from the rest of South Africa is larger than their Limpopo and foreign pilgrim counterparts. Furthermore, the results showed that while businesses were positive about the pilgrimage’s contribution to increased sales from their businesses, they at the same time opined that the event does not generate any additional employment. This could be because out of every R100 of pilgrims spending only R2.16 remains in the local economy through leakages. Finally an important finding of the study is overall consensus among residents that the annual pilgrimage gathering promotes morality, improved socialization as well as a sense of feeling good and proud of their community.

Anemia and intestinal parasite infection in school children in rural Vietnam

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Thi, Le H.; Brouwer, I.D.; Verhoef, H.; Khan, N.C.; Kok, F.J.

2007-01-01

Objectives: This study hypothesized that besides iron deficiency, intestinal parasites infection is also a determinant of anemia in schoolchildren in rural Vietnam. Methods: 400 primary schoolchildren from 20 primary schools in Tam Nong district, a poor rural area in Vietnam, were randomly selected

Roles and challenges of the multidisciplinary team involved in prosthetic rehabilitation, in a rural district in South Africa

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ennion L

2016-10-01

Full Text Available Liezel Ennion, Anthea Rhoda Department of Physiotherapy, Faculty of Community and Health Sciences, University of the Western Cape, Cape Town, South Africa Background: Major lower limb amputations result in a significant sense of loss, psychological stress, and decrease in function and overall quality of life for the amputee. The holistic, patient-centered prosthetic rehabilitation of an amputee requires input from a team of dedicated health professionals from different disciplines commonly referred to as a multidisciplinary team (MDT. MDT rehabilitation is considered crucial in the reintegration of the amputee into the community, as well as for providing psychological support after limb loss. Multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary rehabilitation has been proven to be more successful than therapy provided by individual therapists in a number of different populations, regardless of the population studied. However, in most developing countries, there is a significant lack of multidisciplinary rehabilitation.Aim: To explore the roles and challenges of the members of the MDT involved in trans-tibial amputation rehabilitation in a rural community in South Africa (SA.Design: An explorative sequential qualitative descriptive study.Setting: A rural district in the KwaZulu Natal province in SA.Participants: Nine prosthetic users, three surgeons, three traditional healers, 17 therapists, four prosthetists, and four community health workers.Instruments for data collection: Semistructured interviews and focus group discussions.Results: The roles of the members of the MDT were clarified, and various members of the MDT highlighted specific challenges relating to their experiences and roles in the rehabilitation team. Lack of interdisciplinary rehabilitation and communication among team members, as well as lack of resources, and patient education negatively impact the rehabilitation of trans-tibial amputees.Conclusion: Aiming to address the limited resources

Differences in Food and Beverage Marketing Policies and Practices in US School Districts, by Demographic Characteristics of School Districts, 2012.

Science.gov (United States)

Merlo, Caitlin L; Michael, Shannon; Brener, Nancy D; Coffield, Edward; Kingsley, Beverly S; Zytnick, Deena; Blanck, Heidi

2016-12-15

Foods and beverages marketed in schools are typically of poor nutritional value. School districts may adopt policies and practices to restrict marketing of unhealthful foods and to promote healthful choices. Students' exposure to marketing practices differ by school demographics, but these differences have not yet been examined by district characteristics. We analyzed data from the 2012 School Health Policies and Practices Study to examine how food and beverage marketing and promotion policies and practices varied by district characteristics such as metropolitan status, size, and percentage of non-Hispanic white students. Most practices varied significantly by district size: a higher percentage of large districts than small or medium-sized districts restricted marketing of unhealthful foods and promoted healthful options. Compared with districts whose student populations were majority (>50%) non-Hispanic white, a higher percentage of districts whose student populations were minority non-Hispanic white (≤50% non-Hispanic white) prohibited advertising of soft drinks in school buildings and on school grounds, made school meal menus available to students, and provided families with information on school nutrition programs. Compared with suburban and rural districts, a higher percentage of urban districts prohibited the sale of soft drinks on school grounds and used several practices to promote healthful options. Preliminary findings showing significant associations between district demographics and marketing policies and practices can be used to help states direct resources, training, and technical assistance to address food and beverage marketing and promotion to districts most in need of improvement.

Hope and despair: community health assistants' experiences of working in a rural district in Zambia.

Science.gov (United States)

Zulu, Joseph Mumba; Kinsman, John; Michelo, Charles; Hurtig, Anna-Karin

2014-05-25

In order to address the challenges facing the community-based health workforce in Zambia, the Ministry of Health implemented the national community health assistant strategy in 2010. The strategy aims to address the challenges by creating a new group of workers called community health assistants (CHAs) and integrating them into the health system. The first group started working in August 2012. The objective of this paper is to document their motivation to become a CHA, their experiences of working in a rural district, and how these experiences affected their motivation to work. A phenomenological approach was used to examine CHAs' experiences. Data collected through in-depth interviews with 12 CHAs in Kapiri Mposhi district and observations were analysed using a thematic analysis approach. Personal characteristics such as previous experience and knowledge, passion to serve the community and a desire to improve skills motivated people to become CHAs. Health systems characteristics such as an inclusive work culture in some health posts motivated CHAs to work. Conversely, a non-inclusive work culture created a social structure which constrained CHAs' ability to learn, to be innovative and to effectively conduct their duties. Further, limited supervision, misconceptions about CHA roles, poor prioritisation of CHA tasks by some supervisors, as well as non- and irregular payment of incentives also adversely affected CHAs' ability to work effectively. In addition, negative feedback from some colleagues at the health posts affected CHA's self-confidence and professional outlook. In the community, respect and support provided to CHAs by community members instilled a sense of recognition, appreciation and belonging in CHAs which inspired them to work. On the other hand, limited drug supplies and support from other community-based health workers due to their exclusion from the government payroll inhibited CHAs' ability to deliver services. Programmes aimed at integrating

Sustainability of donor-funded rural water supply and sanitation projects in Mbire district, Zimbabwe

Science.gov (United States)

Kwangware, Johnson; Mayo, Aloyce; Hoko, Zvikomborero

The sustainability of donor-funded rural water supply and sanitation projects was assessed in Mbire district, Zimbabwe in terms of level of community participation, quality of implementation and reliability of the systems. The study was carried out through questionnaires, focus group discussions, interviews and field observations. The results show that the quality of implementation of the projects was deemed to be good and participation of the communities in project ideas initiation and choice of technology was found to be very low. Reliability of the systems was found to be very high with 97% of the boreholes in all the three wards studied being functional. Financial management mechanisms were very poor because water consumers were not willing to pay for operation and maintenance. The projects were classified as potentially sustainable with sustainability index between 5.00 and 6.67. Poor financial management mechanisms for effective borehole maintenance, poor quality of construction and lack of community participation in project planning were found to be potential threats to the sustainability of the projects. Future projects should establish the need for the service and should thus be demand driven to ensure effective participation of the water consumers and enhance project's potential for sustainability.

Blind Spots: Small Rural Communities and High Turnover in the Superintendency

Science.gov (United States)

Kamrath, Barry; Brunner, C. Cryss

2014-01-01

This article examines high superintendency turnover through rural community members' perceptions of such attrition in their districts. Findings indicate that community members perceived high turnover as negative and believed that turnover was created by financial pressures, rural community resistance to educational trends, and bias against…

Prevalence and associated factors for stunting among 6-12 years old school age children from rural community of Humbo district, Southern Ethiopia.

Science.gov (United States)

Bogale, Tesfahun Yonas; Bala, Elazar Tadesse; Tadesse, Minyahil; Asamoah, Benedict Oppong

2018-05-24

Stunting is one of the most serious and challenging public health problems in Ethiopia, which constitute a significant obstacle to achieving better child health outcomes. This study aimed to assess the prevalence and factors associated with stunting among 6-12 years old children in Humbo district, Southern Ethiopia. This was a cross-sectional study conducted among 633 children 6-12 years old living in Humbo district, Southern Ethiopia, from March to April, 2015. A multistage cluster sampling technique was used to select participants from households in eight Villages in the study area. Height was measured using standard methods and height for age Z-score was computed to assess stunting. EPI info version 3.5.4 was used for data entry, whereas Anthroplus software and SPSS version 20.0 were used for computation of height for age Z-scores and statistical analyses respectively. Simple and multiple logistic regression analyses were used to examine factors associated with stunting in the study sample, using 95% confidence limits (statistical significance set at p < 0.050). Prevalence of stunting was 57%, about, 3.5% were severely stunted, 27.3% moderately stunted and 26.4% mildly stunted, and the mean (SD) was - 1.1 (±1.2). About 7 (1.1%) boys and 15 (2.4%) girls were severely stunted. Age groups 10-12 years had significantly higher rate of stunting than others. Age (AOR = 1.7, 95% CI = 1.1-2.6), big family size (AOR = 4.6, 95% CI = 2.2-9.5) and field disposal of wastes (AOR = 2.7, 95% CI = 1.2-5.8) were factors significantly associated with stunting. This study exposed high rate of stunting among school age children. Stunting remains a noticeable attribute of rural school age children. Findings suggest the need to implement evidence-based school-aged rural children nutrition policy and strategies as well as need for intervention to improve domestic waste management system in the rural community.

Assessment of knowledge on sexually transmitted infections and sexual risk behaviour in two rural districts of Bhutan.

Science.gov (United States)

Norbu, Kunzang; Mukhia, Sontosh; Tshokey

2013-12-06

The incidence of STI is high and increasing in Bhutan. Poor understanding of risky sexual behavior could be a cause. Comprehensive community surveys have not been previously done. This study was conducted to assess local knowledge on STIs and sexual risk behaviour in two rural districts of Bhutan: Gasa and Zhemgang. The study population included residents aged 15-49 years in the two districts. Health Assistants (HAs) visited all households to distribute questionnaires assessing understanding of knowledge on STIs and risk behaviour. Questionnaires were scored and analyzed. The average score was 61.6%. Respondents had highest knowledge about prevention and lowest about disease and complications. There was a positive correlation between level of education and knowledge on STI (P sexual behavior with 31.2% having sexual relationships with non-regular partners and 10.9% had extramarital sexual contacts. Regular use of condoms with non-regular partners was 49.1%. The most common reason for not using condom was unavailability during the sexual encounter. The study showed that despite increasing knowledge there was no reduction in risky sexual behaviour (p > 0.05). The study population had variable understanding of STIs and their complications. One in three persons practiced risky sexual behaviour, higher in men. Condom use was low. There was no reduction of risky sexual behaviour with increasing level of knowledge indicating that increasing level of knowledge does not necessarily reduce risky sexual behaviour.

Using targeted vouchers and health equity funds to improve access to skilled birth attendants for poor women: a case study in three rural health districts in Cambodia.

Science.gov (United States)

Ir, Por; Horemans, Dirk; Souk, Narin; Van Damme, Wim

2010-01-07

In many developing countries, the maternal mortality ratio remains high with huge poor-rich inequalities. Programmes aimed at improving maternal health and preventing maternal mortality often fail to reach poor women. Vouchers in health and Health Equity Funds (HEFs) constitute a financial mechanism to improve access to priority health services for the poor. We assess their effectiveness in improving access to skilled birth attendants for poor women in three rural health districts in Cambodia and draw lessons for further improvement and scaling-up. Data on utilisation of voucher and HEF schemes and on deliveries in public health facilities between 2006 and 2008 were extracted from the available database, reports and the routine health information system. Qualitative data were collected through focus group discussions and key informant interviews. We examined the trend of facility deliveries between 2006 and 2008 in the three health districts and compared this with the situation in other rural districts without voucher and HEF schemes. An operational analysis of the voucher scheme was carried out to assess its effectiveness at different stages of operation. Facility deliveries increased sharply from 16.3% of the expected number of births in 2006 to 44.9% in 2008 after the introduction of voucher and HEF schemes, not only for voucher and HEF beneficiaries, but also for self-paid deliveries. The increase was much more substantial than in comparable districts lacking voucher and HEF schemes. In 2008, voucher and HEF beneficiaries accounted for 40.6% of the expected number of births among the poor. We also outline several limitations of the voucher scheme. Vouchers plus HEFs, if carefully designed and implemented, have a strong potential for reducing financial barriers and hence improving access to skilled birth attendants for poor women. To achieve their full potential, vouchers and HEFs require other interventions to ensure the supply of sufficient quality maternity

Rural Industrial Entrepreneurship - The Case of Bardhaman District in West Bengal

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Dutta, S.

2004-01-01

For a living, most of the rural people in developing countries are primarily dependent on agriculture. If the farmers, who have investible surplus generated from agriculture, are interested in non-farm entrepreneurship then rural economy can find an industrial route of development. With this

Issues and prospects for coal utilization in Zimbabwe's rural households

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Maya, R.S.

1990-01-01

The increasing shortage of traditional fuels in Zimbabwe has prompted government to consider seriously the use of coal in rural households. In this regard, both government and the privately owned coal industry have begun pilot projects in selected rural areas to initiate the introduction of coal stoves and coal fuels. These efforts by government and the coal industry need to be informed by knowledge of the financial and economic dimensions of coal diffusion to rural economies, the environmental implications of widespread coal use in rural households, and the general acceptability of coal as a fuel to households with a long tradition of free fuels. This paper summarizes the results of a study undertaken to provide such background information. Conducted over six months during 1988, the study included field surveys of four districts in Zimbabwe: Murewa, Shurugwi, Mberengwa, and Mazoe Citrus Estates. All but the Mazoe district are rural settings with severe shortages of fuelwood. Mazoe Citrus Estates is a semi-urban plantation community which has had over twenty years' experience with coal use in households under a company-sponsored programme which supplies both fuels and stoves free of charge

The Role of Rural Communities in the Postsecondary Preparation of Low-Income Students

Science.gov (United States)

Alleman, Nathan F.; Holly, L. Neal

2014-01-01

In the past decade, rural education has been critiqued for contributing to brain drain and social stratification that saps the human, social, and economic resources of rural communities. This article, based on an investigation of six small rural school districts in the same state, offers an alternative view of the role of community groups and…

Differences in Food and Beverage Marketing Policies and Practices in US School Districts, by Demographic Characteristics of School Districts, 2012

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Michael, Shannon; Brener, Nancy D.; Coffield, Edward; Kingsley, Beverly S.; Zytnick, Deena; Blanck, Heidi

2016-01-01

Introduction Foods and beverages marketed in schools are typically of poor nutritional value. School districts may adopt policies and practices to restrict marketing of unhealthful foods and to promote healthful choices. Students’ exposure to marketing practices differ by school demographics, but these differences have not yet been examined by district characteristics. Methods We analyzed data from the 2012 School Health Policies and Practices Study to examine how food and beverage marketing and promotion policies and practices varied by district characteristics such as metropolitan status, size, and percentage of non-Hispanic white students. Results Most practices varied significantly by district size: a higher percentage of large districts than small or medium-sized districts restricted marketing of unhealthful foods and promoted healthful options. Compared with districts whose student populations were majority (>50%) non-Hispanic white, a higher percentage of districts whose student populations were minority non-Hispanic white (≤50% non-Hispanic white) prohibited advertising of soft drinks in school buildings and on school grounds, made school meal menus available to students, and provided families with information on school nutrition programs. Compared with suburban and rural districts, a higher percentage of urban districts prohibited the sale of soft drinks on school grounds and used several practices to promote healthful options. Conclusion Preliminary findings showing significant associations between district demographics and marketing policies and practices can be used to help states direct resources, training, and technical assistance to address food and beverage marketing and promotion to districts most in need of improvement. PMID:27978408

Wet nitrogen deposition across the urban-intensive agricultural-rural transect of a small urban area in southwest China.

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Deng, Ouping; Zhang, Shirong; Deng, Liangji; Zhang, Chunlong; Fei, Jianbo

2018-03-01

Understanding of the spatial and temporal variation of the flux of atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition is essential for assessment of its impact on ecosystems. However, little attention has been paid to the variability of N deposition across urban-intensive agricultural-rural transects. A continuous 2-year observational study (from January 2015 to December 2016) was conducted to determine wet N deposition across the urban-intensive agricultural-rural transect of a small urban area in southwest China. Significantly spatial and temporal variations were found in the research area. Along the urban-intensive agricultural-rural transect, the TN and NH 4 + -N deposition first increased and then decreased, and the NO 3 - -N and dissolved organic N (DON) deposition decreased continuously. Wet N deposition was mainly affected by the districts of agro-facilities, roads and build up lands. Wet NH 4 + -N deposition had non-seasonal emission sources including industrial emissions and urban excretory wastes in urban districts and seasonal emission sources such as fertilizer and manure volatilization in the other districts. However, wet NO 3 - -N deposition had seasonal emission sources such as industrial emissions and fireworks in urban district and non-seasonal emission sources such as transportation in the other districts. Deposition of DON was likely to have had similar sources to NO 3 - -N deposition in rural district, and high-temperature-dependent sources in urban and intensive agricultural districts. Considering the annual wet TN deposition in the intensive agricultural district was about 11.1% of the annual N fertilizer input, N fertilizer rates of crops should be reduced in this region to avoid the excessive application, and the risk of N emissions to the environment.

Primary healthcare system capacities for responding to storm and flood-related health problems: a case study from a rural district in central Vietnam.

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Van Minh, Hoang; Tuan Anh, Tran; Rocklöv, Joacim; Bao Giang, Kim; Trang, Le Quynh; Sahlen, Klas-Göran; Nilsson, Maria; Weinehall, Lars

2014-01-01

As a tropical depression in the East Sea, Vietnam is greatly affected by climate change and natural disasters. Knowledge of the current capacity of the primary healthcare system in Vietnam to respond to health issues associated with storms and floods is very important for policy making in the country. However, there has been little scientific research in this area. This research was to assess primary healthcare system capacities in a rural district in central Vietnam to respond to such health issues. This was a cross-sectional descriptive study using quantitative and qualitative approaches. Quantitative methods used self-administered questionnaires. Qualitative methods (in-depth interviews and focus groups discussions) were used to broaden understanding of the quantitative material and to get additional information on actions taken. 1) Service delivery: Medical emergency services, especially surgical operations and referral systems, were not always available during the storm and flood seasons. 2) Governance: District emergency plans focus largely on disaster response rather than prevention. The plans did not clearly define the role of primary healthcare and had no clear information on the coordination mechanism among different sectors and organizations. 3) Financing: The budget for prevention and control of flood and storm activities was limited and had no specific items for healthcare activities. Only a little additional funding was available, but the procedures to get this funding were usually time-consuming. 4) Human resources: Medical rescue teams were established, but there were no epidemiologists or environmental health specialists to take care of epidemiological issues. Training on prevention and control of climate change and disaster-related health issues did not meet actual needs. 5) Information and research: Data that can be used for planning and management (including population and epidemiological data) were largely lacking. The district lacked a disease

Primary healthcare system capacities for responding to storm and flood-related health problems: a case study from a rural district in central Vietnam

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Hoang Van Minh

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Background: As a tropical depression in the East Sea, Vietnam is greatly affected by climate change and natural disasters. Knowledge of the current capacity of the primary healthcare system in Vietnam to respond to health issues associated with storms and floods is very important for policy making in the country. However, there has been little scientific research in this area. Objective: This research was to assess primary healthcare system capacities in a rural district in central Vietnam to respond to such health issues. Design: This was a cross-sectional descriptive study using quantitative and qualitative approaches. Quantitative methods used self-administered questionnaires. Qualitative methods (in-depth interviews and focus groups discussions were used to broaden understanding of the quantitative material and to get additional information on actions taken. Results: 1 Service delivery: Medical emergency services, especially surgical operations and referral systems, were not always available during the storm and flood seasons. 2 Governance: District emergency plans focus largely on disaster response rather than prevention. The plans did not clearly define the role of primary healthcare and had no clear information on the coordination mechanism among different sectors and organizations. 3 Financing: The budget for prevention and control of flood and storm activities was limited and had no specific items for healthcare activities. Only a little additional funding was available, but the procedures to get this funding were usually time-consuming. 4 Human resources: Medical rescue teams were established, but there were no epidemiologists or environmental health specialists to take care of epidemiological issues. Training on prevention and control of climate change and disaster-related health issues did not meet actual needs. 5 Information and research: Data that can be used for planning and management (including population and epidemiological

Coverage and compliance MDA programme for lymphatic filariasis in Bidar district, Karnataka, India

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Dharukaswami. Mallayya. Koradhanyamath

2012-08-01

Full Text Available Objective: To describe the socio demographic characteristics of beneficiaries of the Mass Drug Administration (MDA programme, to assess the coverage, compliance and causes for noncompliance towards MDA in the district, to assess the awareness regarding elephantiasis among beneficiaries and to assess the knowledge of drug distributors towards the filariasis and MDA programme. Methods: This cross sectional study was conducted in 3 rural and 1 urban clusters in Bidar district for the period of 1 week. 50 houses were selected in each cluster by systematic random sampling method and data was collected in a structured proforma by interview technique. Results: Majority of beneficiaries were at the age group of 15-60 years (72.3% and male (53%. The overall coverage of MDA in Bidar district was 62.3%. Compliance among those who had received the tablets was 60.4%. Coverage and compliance was more in rural areas compared to urban. The most common reason quoted for not consuming drugs was fear of adverse effects (72.2% The incidence of adverse events was 0.2%. Even though 75% of them were aware of the disease elephantiasis, only 45.4% had knowledge regarding MDA programme. The knowledge of drug distributors towards MDA and filariasis was found to be adequate. Conclusions: Coverage and compliance towards MDA in Bidar district was poor. The coverage and compliance in rural areas was higher compared to the urban areas.

Utilization of Electronic Learning System in Swat Rural Areas

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Nazir Ahmed Sangi

2017-12-01

Full Text Available As developments in electronic technologies i.e. personal computers, laptops, tablets, mobiles and wearable devices, the way of learning is also changing. Therefore, utilization of Information and Communication Technology (ICT has great important role in schools and colleges. ICT is using by students, teachers and societies in District Swat, KP, Pakistan in the form of mobiles internet (for social contact and chat, computers internet (for knowledge exploration and entertainment and multimedia (for teaching and learning. One of the difficulties involved in rural areas’ students of District Swat is that they cannot join class rooms due to their poor livelihood condition and far away from schools and colleges. Especially most of the females of rural areas of Swat do not come to schools and colleges for their family tradition and culture. Various questions were examined in every aspect of educational technologies in this study. We surveyed 50 responded randomly at District Swat from different schools and colleges and discovered that the responded were generally positive and have great interest about e-learning in Swat. The use of proposed electronic system for the learning, the literacy rate will increase in rural areas and students will achieve their individual goals.

Role Of Gram Panchayat In Rural Development A Study Of Mathura District Uttar Pradesh

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Suman Kumari

2015-08-01

Full Text Available The Panchayats are expected to play an important role in rural development in India particularly after independence. Plan documents of both the central and state governments and various committees have emphasized the importance of these bodies in the policy. Sustainable and inclusive growth of overall rural development of Panchayat Raj Institutions. Empowering rural population to participate in rural development programs for improving their quality of life. Providing rural infrastructure and socio-economic growth opportunities for the poor people in rural areas. Accountable and efficient functions of Panchayat Raj Institutions. Providing opportunity for rural livelihood. Development of rural areas has a bearing on improved agricultural production and related economic activities availability of natural and financial resources and their development improvement of service delivery - paving way for improved human development. The department is striving hard to improve the livelihood of the rural populace and to inculcate awareness in the economic social and political spheres through effective implementation of decentralized administration and implementation of programmes decided particularly by the rural populace.

Farming systems and food security in Kwale District, Kenya

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Oosten, van C.

1989-01-01

This study examines agricultural production and off-farm employment among the rural population in Kwale District Kenya. Research was carried out in two villages, located in different agro-ecological zones: Kibandaongo, in the low-potential livestock-millet zone, inhabited by the Duruma; and Bongwe,

Dimensions Of Basic School Dropouts In Rural Ghana: The Case Of ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The objective of this paper was to investigate the various dimensions of basic school dropouts in rural Ghana using the Asutifi district as a case study. The analysis of data (both quantitative and qualitative) gathered from several stakeholders of basic education in the district, revealed that the causes of school dropout were ...

Rural Settlement Development and Environment Carrying Capacity Changes in Progo River Basin

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Su Ritohardoyo

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Generally the broader rural settlement the heavier population pressure on agricultural land. It indicates that carrying capacity of the rural environment threatened lower. The spatial distribution of the threat in a river basin is quite important as one of the river basin management inputs. Therefore, this article aims at exposing result of research about influence rural population growth and rural settlement land changes to environment carrying capacity. This research was carried out in the rural area in Progo river basin consists 56 sub districts (34 sub districts part of Jawa Tengah Province, and 22 sub districts part of Yogyakarta Special Region. The whole sub districts are such as unit analysis, and research method is based on secondary data analysis. Several data consist Districts Region in Figure 1997 and 2003 (Temanggung, Magelang, Kulon Progo, Sleman and Bantul such as secondary data analysis. Data analysis employs of frequency and cross tabulation, statistics of regression and test. Result of the research shows that population growth of the rural areas in Progo river basin are about 0.72% annum; or the household growth about 3.15% annum as long as five years (1996-2003. Spatial distribution of the population growth in the upper part of the Progo river basin is higher than in the middle and lower part of the basin. The number proportion of farmer in every sub district area in this river basin have increased from 69.95% in 1997 to 70.81% in the year of 2003. It means that work opportunities broadening are still sluggish. However, the number proportion of farmers in the upper part of the Progo river basin is lower than in the middle and lower part of the basin. The rates of settlement land areas changes (0.32 ha/annum as long as five years (1997-2003 is not as fast as the rates of agricultural land areas changes (0.47 ha/annum. Spatial land settlement areas changes in the lower (6.1 ha/annum and middle parts (2.4 ha/annum faster than

STROKE IN RURAL SOUTH AFRICA - CONTRIBUTING TO THE ...

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cerebrovascular accident (CVA) in a rural South African population. Design. ... part of a community-based prospective study examining the burden of disease, in ... to support district health development. .... Community-based work looking at ...

"It is not possible for me to have diabetes"-community perceptions on diabetes and its risk factors in Rural Purworejo District, Central Java, Indonesia.

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Pujilestari, Cahya Utamie; Ng, Nawi; Hakimi, Mohammad; Eriksson, Malin

2014-06-12

Accumulating evidence suggests that negative perceptions towards diabetes can limit the management and prevention of the disease. The negative perceptions towards diabetes are prevalent in many different settings, especially among rural communities. Few qualitative studies have been performed to understand how the community views diabetes and its associated risk factors. This study aimed to explore general community perceptions of diabetes and its risk factors in rural Indonesia. A total of 68 participants were recruited to 12 focus group discussions (FGDs) comprised of different age groups and sexes. The FGDs were conducted in six villages in rural Purworejo District, Central Java, Indonesia, from 2011 to 2012. All FGDs were recorded and transcribed. Qualitative content analysis was performed to describe and analyse how the rural community perceived diabetes and its risk factors. Diabetes was perceived as a visible and scary sugar disease, and the affected individuals themselves were blamed for getting the disease. Recognised as 'sugar' or 'sweet-pee' disease with terrifying effects, diabetes was believed to be a disease with no cure. The participants seemed to have an unrealistic optimism with regards to the diabetes risk factors. They believed that diabetes would not affect them, only others, and that having family members with diabetes was necessary for one to develop diabetes. Our findings demonstrate that rural communities have negative perceptions about diabetes and at the same time individuals have unrealistic optimism about their own risk factors. Understanding how such communities perceive diabetes and its risk factors is important for planning prevention strategies. Health messages need to be tailored to health-related behaviours and the local culture's concepts of diseases and risk factors.

Lifestyle Patterns and Prevalence of Overweight and Obesity among Rural School Children of Age 6 to 9 Years of District Una, Himachal Pradesh

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Shilpa Choudhary

2017-01-01

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Many studies have reported prevalence of overweight and obesity in children and adolescents from urban areas as well as of underweight or malnutrition from rural areas. With changing lifestyles everywhere, a need was felt to study the prevalence of overweight and obesity among rural children also. METHODOLOGY: Present cross-sectional study was planned involving 210 school children (103 boys and 107 girls of age 6-9 years from various private schools of district Una, Himachal Pradesh, India. IOTF (International Obesity Task Force cutoffs for BMI were used. Information about lifestyle, eating habits, physical activity and socio-economic status was collected through well designed questionnaire, which was filled by the parents of the children. The population studied mostly belonged to lower and upper middle class. SPSS version 17.0 was used to analyze the data. RESULTS: Overweight and obesity among children was found to be 14.8%. Time spent in physical activity has reduced greatly; also there was increased sedentary lifestyle among rural children. 93.5% of overweight and obese children were considered fine (according to their weight by their parents. The children, who did not have their food timely, ate less frequently and ate junk food more than 3-times a week, were found to be more overweight and obese. CONCLUSION: Percentage of overweight and obese children (14.8% seen in the study has provided evidence that it is not only the urban population or the higher socioeconomic class groups that are affected with the lifestyle related problems but changing lifestyle has affected rural children also.

Prevalence of Common Mental Disorders in a Rural District of Kenya, and Socio-Demographic Risk Factors

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David Kiima

2012-05-01

Full Text Available Association between common mental disorders (CMDs, equity, poverty and socio-economic functioning are relatively well explored in high income countries, but there have been fewer studies in low and middle income countries, despite the considerable burden posed by mental disorders, especially in Africa, and their potential impact on development. This paper reports a population-based epidemiological survey of a rural area in Kenya. A random sample of 2% of all adults living in private households in Maseno, Kisumu District of Nyanza Province, Kenya (50,000 population, were studied. The Clinical Interview Schedule-Revised (CIS-R was used to determine the prevalence of common mental disorders (CMDs. Associations with socio-demographic and economic characteristics were explored. A CMD prevalence of 10.8% was found, with no gender difference. Higher rates of illness were found in those who were of older age and those in poor physical health. We conclude that CMDs are common in Kenya and rates are elevated among people who are older, and those in poor health.

Building Special Education Teacher Capacity in Rural Schools: Impact of a Grow Your Own Program

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Sutton, Joe P.; Bausmith, Shirley C.; O'Connor, Dava M.; Pae, Holly A.; Payne, John R.

2014-01-01

Rural education has a legacy of unique challenges, with highest priority needs in the South. Chief among these challenges are the conditions of poverty associated with many rural districts and the education of students with disabilities. Compared with their urban and suburban counterparts, rural teachers experience higher rates of turnover, and…

Leading Education Innovations in Rural Schools: Reflections from i3 Grantees

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Fox, Tom; Friedrich, Linda; Harmon, Hobart; McKithen, Clarissa; Phillips, Andie; Savell, Susan; Schaefer, Victoria; Silva, Mihiri

2017-01-01

The Investing in Innovation (i3) Improving Rural Achievement Community, a professional learning community of grantees under the US Department of Education's i3 program, created this document to share knowledge and experiences related to working in rural districts across the United States. Grounded in field-based experiences and lessons, it serves…

Prevalence of psychosocial problems among adolescents in rural areas of District Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh

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Vaibhav Jain

2014-10-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Adolescence is a period of transition between childhood and adulthood. It is a phase of life marked by special attributes including rapid physical growth and development; physical, social and psychological maturity. Aims & Objectives: The present cross sectional study was conducted to assess the prevalence of psychosocial problems among adolescents in a rural area of District Muzaffarnagar. Materials & Methods: The study subjects were 210 adolescent girls and boys (10-19 years old selected using multistage random sampling technique. The subjects were interviewed & detailed information was collected on a structured and pre-tested questionnaire after taking consent from the subject/ parents. The clinical diagnosis was generated as per the criteria laid down in ICD-10. The data was entered in Epi Info statistical software package Version 3.4.3 and suitable statistical methods were applied. Results: The overall prevalence of psychosocial problems amongst adolescent was found to be 41.43%. Most of them had conduct disorder (40.51% males & 35.88% females followed by depression (30.38% males & 26.72% females. Conclusions: There are significant psychosocial problems amongst the adolescents. So, enough emphasis should be given to this component of adolescent health and thus it is recommended that a holistic approach to the underlying causes of psychosocial problems of adolescents should be undertaken.

Gender differences, routes of transmission, socio-demographic characteristics and prevalence of HIV related infections of adults and children in an HIV cohort from a rural district of India.

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Alvarez-Uria, Gerardo; Midde, Manoranjan; Pakam, Raghavakalyam; Naik, Praveen Kumar

2012-01-02

Despite 67% of HIV infected people in India are rural residents, the epidemiology of HIV in rural areas is not well known. This is an observational cohort study of 11,040 HIV infected people living in a rural district of India. The prevalence of hepatitis B, hepatitis C and syphilis of HIV infected patients were compared to the seroprevalence in 16,641 blood donors from the same area. The age of diagnosis in adults was below 35 years in 70% of cases and 56% were illiterate. One third of women were widows and only 3.6% of adults had a permanent job. Women were diagnosed at earlier age, had lower level of education, had poorer employment conditions and depended more on their relatives than men. In a survey performed to a subgroup of patients, 81% of women referred to have acquired HIV from their spouse, whereas 51% of men acquired HIV from commercial sex. Patients with HIV had significantly higher prevalence of hepatitis B, hepatitis C and syphilis than blood donors. Seroprevalence of HIV-2, hepatitis C and toxoplasmosis were low compared to other sites. Six percent were children (illiteracy of people living with HIV in rural India, especially women. Future health programmes of HIV in India should take into account the particularities of the HIV epidemic in rural areas.

Unmet Needs of Family Planning Among Women: A Cross-Sectional Study in a Rural Area of Kanchipuram District, Tamil Nadu, South India.

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Vishnu Prasad, R; Venkatachalam, J; Singh, Zile

2016-10-01

Global contraceptive usage was 63.3 % in 2010 which was 9 % more than that in 1990. NFHS-III 2005-2006 revealed that the contraceptive prevalence rate was 56 % while in the past decade it was 48 %. In India, female sterilization is the most commonly preferred method of contraception accounting for 76 %, while in Tamil Nadu it was 90 %. Thus, this study aims at measuring the prevalence of unmet needs of family planning and its determinants in a rural area of Kancheepuram district, Tamil Nadu. The study was carried out as a community-based cross-sectional study in Chunambed panchayat, a rural area in Kanchipuram District, Tamil Nadu, India, among 505 women of age group 15-49 years. Cluster random sampling was done to select the households to include in the study. In every household, all the available and eligible women were explained about the study and recruited after obtaining informed consent. Chi-square test was applied for finding the difference in proportion, and p value <0.05 was considered statistically significant. The prevalence of unmet need for family planning in our study population was nearly 31 %; it was even more for younger age groups and for the women whose family size was less. 51.7 % of the participants were currently using a contraceptive measure and very few of their partners used contraception. Government health facilities were the major source of contraceptive service and majority of our participants were well aware about the various contraceptive methods. Unmet needs of family planning were high in our study population, and the knowledge about the contraceptive use and family planning was found to be fairly adequate.

Comparative evaluation of MRSA nasal colonization epidemiology in the urban and rural secondary school community of Kurdistan, Iraq.

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Hussein, Nawfal R; Basharat, Zarrin; Muhammed, Ary H; Al-Dabbagh, Samim A

2015-01-01

To study the nasal carriage rate of Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) (including methicillin-resistant strains) in secondary school community of the urban and rural districts of the Kurdistan region of Iraq, a cross-sectional population based survey was carried out in the city Duhok and rural areas of Amedya, Akre and Zakho. Nasal swabs were obtained from nostrils of 509 students aged 14-23 years. Resistance to methicillin was assessed by Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion and agar dilution assay. Vancomycin sensitivity was also tested on Muller-Hinton agar. It was found that the frequency of overall S. aureus nasal carriage (SANC) was 17.75% (90/509, CI95, 14.58-21.42%). In urban areas, the carriage rate was 20.59% (49/239, CI95, 15.64-26.29%), whereas it was 15.24% (41/270, CI95, 11.17-20.10%) in rural districts. The frequency of methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) among the isolated strains was found to be 2.04% (1/49) and 21.95% (9/41) in urban and rural areas respectively. It was found that in urban residents, the odd ratio (OR) of acquiring SANC was 1.44 (CI95, 0.91-2.27%) and risk ratio (RR) was at least 1.35 (CI95, 0.92-1.96%) while OR decreased to 0.12 (CI95, 0.01-0.96%) for MRSA carriage. Hence, the S. aureus carriage rate was higher in urban districts compared to rural areas while more MRSA were found in rural areas compared to urban districts. All studied strains were sensitive to vancomycin. This study provided baseline information for S. aureus nasal colonization in the region. Also, it showed that living in rural areas increased the odds of MRSA colonization. More attention should be paid to control MRSA colonization in rural communities.

Birth preparedness and complication readiness among the women beneficiaries of selected rural primary health centers of Dakshina Kannada district, Karnataka, India.

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Kibballi Madhukeshwar Akshaya

Full Text Available Birth preparedness and complication readiness (BPCR is a strategy to promote timely use of skilled maternal and neonatal care during childbirth. According to World Health Organization, BPCR should be a key component of focused antenatal care. Dakshina Kannada, a coastal district of Karnataka state, is categorized as a high-performing district (institutional delivery rate >25% under the National Rural Health Mission. However, a substantial proportion of women in the district experience complications during pregnancy (58.3%, childbirth (45.7%, and postnatal (17.4% period. There is a paucity of data on BPCR practice and the factors associated with it in the district. Exploring this would be of great use in the evidence-based fine-tuning of ongoing maternal and child health interventions.To assess BPCR practice and the factors associated with it among the beneficiaries of two rural Primary Health Centers (PHCs of Dakshina Kannada district, Karnataka, India.A facility-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 217 pregnant (>28 weeks of gestation and recently delivered (in the last 6 months women in two randomly selected PHCs from June -September 2013. Exit interviews were conducted using a pre-designed semi-structured interview schedule. Information regarding socio-demographic profile, obstetric variables, and knowledge of key danger signs was collected. BPCR included information on five key components: identified the place of delivery, saved money to pay for expenses, mode of transport identified, identified a birth companion, and arranged a blood donor if the need arises. In this study, a woman who recalled at least two key danger signs in each of the three phases, i.e., pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum (total six was considered as knowledgeable on key danger signs. Optimal BPCR practice was defined as following at least three out of five key components of BPCR.Proportion, Odds ratio, and adjusted Odds ratio (adj OR for optimal BPCR

Birth preparedness and complication readiness among the women beneficiaries of selected rural primary health centers of Dakshina Kannada district, Karnataka, India.

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Akshaya, Kibballi Madhukeshwar; Shivalli, Siddharudha

2017-01-01

Birth preparedness and complication readiness (BPCR) is a strategy to promote timely use of skilled maternal and neonatal care during childbirth. According to World Health Organization, BPCR should be a key component of focused antenatal care. Dakshina Kannada, a coastal district of Karnataka state, is categorized as a high-performing district (institutional delivery rate >25%) under the National Rural Health Mission. However, a substantial proportion of women in the district experience complications during pregnancy (58.3%), childbirth (45.7%), and postnatal (17.4%) period. There is a paucity of data on BPCR practice and the factors associated with it in the district. Exploring this would be of great use in the evidence-based fine-tuning of ongoing maternal and child health interventions. To assess BPCR practice and the factors associated with it among the beneficiaries of two rural Primary Health Centers (PHCs) of Dakshina Kannada district, Karnataka, India. A facility-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 217 pregnant (>28 weeks of gestation) and recently delivered (in the last 6 months) women in two randomly selected PHCs from June -September 2013. Exit interviews were conducted using a pre-designed semi-structured interview schedule. Information regarding socio-demographic profile, obstetric variables, and knowledge of key danger signs was collected. BPCR included information on five key components: identified the place of delivery, saved money to pay for expenses, mode of transport identified, identified a birth companion, and arranged a blood donor if the need arises. In this study, a woman who recalled at least two key danger signs in each of the three phases, i.e., pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum (total six) was considered as knowledgeable on key danger signs. Optimal BPCR practice was defined as following at least three out of five key components of BPCR. Proportion, Odds ratio, and adjusted Odds ratio (adj OR) for optimal BPCR practice. A

Improving the Small Rural or Remote School: The Role of the District

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Clarke, Simon; Wildy, Helen

2011-01-01

There is a robust body of work highlighting distinctive challenges encountered by leaders of small schools in pursuit of school improvement but this work has focused on the school as the unit of change and neglects the role of the district. As the district potentially influences what principals know and how they use their knowledge, this article…

Impact of the introduction of a colposcopy service in a rural South ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Objective. To describe the establishment of a colposcopy service at a district hospital in a rural sub-district of the Western Cape, South Africa, and assess its impact on colposcopy uptake. Design. A retrospective double-group cohort study using a laboratory database of cervical cytology results, clinical records and ...

THE PATTERNS AND CHARACTERISTICS OF PERI-URBAN SETTLEMENT IN EAST UNGARAN DISTRICT, SEMARANG REGENCY

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Febrina Sri Arta

2015-10-01

Full Text Available East Ungaran District is a peri-urban area arising from the urban-rural interaction between Semarang City and Semarang Regency. Interaction of these two regions is supported with the accessibility that is characterized by high commuting flows. The impact of this interaction is mix of urban and rural characteristics in East Ungaran District. This conditions will also affect land use in East Ungaran District, such as housing, economic facilities, and residential infrastructure. The increase of unplanned settlements has the potential to lead to inefficient land use, particularly in residential infrastructure. The purpose of this research is to examine patterns and characteristics of settlements in the East Ungaran District in 2015. This research uses descriptive quantitative with a spatial approach using remote sensing techniques. The results show that there are two types of settlement patterns in East Ungaran District, i.e, clustered pattern and random pattern. The characteristics of settlements are medium up to the good socio-economic condition (such as high income, good education, certificate ownership, permanent construction of housing, and good health and good condition in infrastructure (determined by road conditions, sources of clean water, waste disposal systems, and sanitary systems. © 2015 GJGP UNDIP. All rights reserved.

Treatment choices for fevers in children under-five years in a rural Ghanaian district

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Gyapong Margaret

2010-06-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Health care demand studies help to examine the behaviour of individuals and households during illnesses. Few of existing health care demand studies examine the choice of treatment services for childhood illnesses. Besides, in their analyses, many of the existing studies compare alternative treatment options to a single option, usually self-medication. This study aims at examining the factors that influence the choices that caregivers of children under-five years make regarding treatment of fevers due to malaria and pneumonia in a rural setting. The study also examines how the choice of alternative treatment options compare with each other. Methods The study uses data from a 2006 household socio-economic survey and health and demographic surveillance covering caregivers of 529 children under-five years of age in the Dangme West District and applies a multinomial probit technique to model the choice of treatment services for fevers in under-fives in rural Ghana. Four health care options are considered: self-medication, over-the-counter providers, public providers and private providers. Results The findings indicate that longer travel, waiting and treatment times encourage people to use self-medication and over-the-counter providers compared to public and private providers. Caregivers with health insurance coverage also use care from public providers compared to over-the-counter or private providers. Caregivers with higher incomes use public and private providers over self-medication while higher treatment charges and longer times at public facilities encourage caregivers to resort to private providers. Besides, caregivers of female under-fives use self-care while caregivers of male under-fives use public providers instead of self-care, implying gender disparity in the choice of treatment. Conclusions The results of this study imply that efforts at curbing under-five mortality due to malaria and pneumonia need to take into

Rural environment study for water from different sources in cluster of villages in Mehsana district of Gujarat.

Science.gov (United States)

Khatri, Nitasha; Tyagi, Sanjiv; Rawtani, Deepak

2017-12-07

Water pollution and water scarcity are major environmental issues in rural and urban areas. They lead to decline in the quality of water, especially drinking water. Proper qualitative assessment of water is thus necessary to ensure that the water consumed is potable. This study aims to analyze the physicochemical parameters in different sources of water in rural areas and assess the quality of water through a classification system based on BIS and CPCB standards. The classification method has defined water quality in six categories, viz., A, B, C, D, E, and F depending on the levels of physicochemical parameters in the water samples. The proposed classification system was applied to nine villages in Kadi Taluka, Mehsana district of Gujarat. The water samples were collected from borewells, lakes, Narmada Canal, and sewerage systems and were analyzed as per APHA and IS methods. It was observed that most of the physicochemical parameters of Narmada Canal and borewell water fell under class A, thus making them most suitable for drinking. Further, a health camp conducted at Karannagar village, Mehsana revealed no incidents of any waterborne diseases. However, there were certain incidents of kidney stones and joint pain in few villages due to high levels of TDS. Toxic metal analysis in all the water sources revealed low to undetectable concentration of toxic metals such as lead, arsenic, mercury, and cadmium in all the water sources. It is also recommended that the regular treatment of the Narmada Canal water be continued to maintain its excellent quality.

Rural Alaska Mentoring Project (RAMP)

Science.gov (United States)

Cash, Terry

2011-01-01

For over two years the National Dropout Prevention Center (NDPC) at Clemson University has been supporting the Lower Kuskokwim School District (LKSD) in NW Alaska with their efforts to reduce high school dropout in 23 remote Yup'ik Eskimo villages. The Rural Alaska Mentoring Project (RAMP) provides school-based E-mentoring services to 164…

Improving paediatric and neonatal care in rural district hospitals in the highlands of Papua New Guinea: a quality improvement approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Sa'avu, Martin; Duke, Trevor; Matai, Sens

2014-05-01

In developing countries such as Papua New Guinea (PNG), district hospitals play a vital role in clinical care, training health-care workers, implementing immunization and other public health programmes and providing necessary data on disease burdens and outcomes. Pneumonia and neonatal conditions are a major cause of child admission and death in hospitals throughout PNG. Oxygen therapy is an essential component of the management of pneumonia and neonatal conditions, but facilities for oxygen and care of the sick newborn are often inadequate, especially in district hospitals. Improving this area may be a vehicle for improving overall quality of care. A qualitative study of five rural district hospitals in the highlands provinces of Papua New Guinea was undertaken. A structured survey instrument was used by a paediatrician and a biomedical technician to assess the quality of paediatric care, the case-mix and outcomes, resources for delivery of good-quality care for children with pneumonia and neonatal illnesses, existing oxygen systems and equipment, drugs and consumables, infection-control facilities and the reliability of the electricity supply to each hospital. A floor plan was drawn up for the installation of the oxygen concentrators and a plan for improving care of sick neonates, and a process of addressing other priorities was begun. In remote parts of PNG, many district hospitals are run by under-resourced non-government organizations. Most hospitals had general wards in which both adults and children were managed together. Paediatric case-loads ranged between 232 and 840 patients per year with overall case-fatality rates (CFR) of 3-6% and up to 15% among sick neonates. Pneumonia accounts for 28-37% of admissions with a CFR of up to 8%. There were no supervisory visits by paediatricians, and little or no continuing professional development of staff. Essential drugs were mostly available, but basic equipment for the care of sick neonates was often absent or

Factors affecting school completion by the girl child in Binga Rural ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Despite the plausible increase in the enrolment rate of girls, progress in education among rural girls at global, regional and local level has been impeded by high influx of school dropouts. The objectives of the study were to assess factors that prohibit girls from completing their formal education in Binga rural district in ...

Situation of Environmental Health of Rural Communities in Palpa District of Nepal

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Moushami Ghimire

2013-12-01

Full Text Available Background: Sanitation  refers to create and  maintain  hygienic conditions, through services such as garbage collection and its proper disposal, wastewater disposal, consumption of safe drinking water, housing condition and its surrounding, an act or process of making sanitary,  the promotion of hygiene and prevention of disease. Human being is a social animal and being a part of society, factors affecting the society also affect human and his surroundings. The study is concerned to demographic variables and environmental practices in rural communities. Objectives: To find out environmental situation and observe an impact of demographic variables on environmental factors. Materials and methods: A cross-sectional study was followed to conduct the study in palpa district of Nepal at 2012. Three hundred thirty nine households were selected through simple random procedure. Semi-structure interview schedule was used to collect information. Data were analyzed using software SPSS for windows version 16.0.  Results: Most of the families were faithful to ethnic group. Practices of refuse and excreta disposable had unsatisfactory where percentages of throwing refuse and open field defecation was 39.2 and 9.1 respectively. 77.6% households were consumed tap water. Most of the households (53.4% did not have proper drainage system around their houses. Conclusion: Family type and caste of households were strongly associated with practice related to excreta disposal, drainage system and refuse disposable. Improper sanitation could be main threat to public health promotion and disease prevention in study areas.

Modelling the impact of rural migration on tropical deforestation in South-West Ethiopia

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Van Rompaey, Anton; Debonne, N.; Vanmaercke, Matthias

2016-01-01

A major driver of tropical deforestation is rural frontier migration. In this paper an attempt is made to formally describe the human-environment interactions that are manifested in a forested system experiencing a large influx of rural migrants. The Guraferda district in South-West Ethiopia was

The consumption of alcohol among men in rural Sarawak

OpenAIRE

Amit, Noh

2017-01-01

This research examined sociocultural factors associated with alcohol use among men in rural Sarawak, Malaysia. A mixed methods design was used to explore the phenomenon of alcohol use among young men in rural villages in Kuching and Samarahan Districts, Sarawak. A questionnaire (161 participants), semi structured individual interviews (50 participants), and eight focus group discussions (46 participants) were conducted with men from Iban, Bidayuh, and Malay ethnicities, aged 18-30 years. ...

In the way of clean and safe drinking water : exploring limitations to improvement of the water supply in Bagamoyo District, Tanzania

OpenAIRE

Bemspång, Josefina; Segerström, Rebecka

2009-01-01

Bagamoyo District, in the Pwani region in Tanzania, supplies a large part of Tanzania'sbiggest city, Dar es Salaam, with water. At the same time many people in rural villages in thedistrict do not have access to clean and safe water. This thesis aims to explore what limitationsthere are to improvement of the rural water supply in Bagamoyo District. Specific attention ispaid to the organizational structure of the water sector and how roles and responsibilities aredivided, defined and communica...

Using targeted vouchers and health equity funds to improve access to skilled birth attendants for poor women: a case study in three rural health districts in Cambodia

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Souk Narin

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background In many developing countries, the maternal mortality ratio remains high with huge poor-rich inequalities. Programmes aimed at improving maternal health and preventing maternal mortality often fail to reach poor women. Vouchers in health and Health Equity Funds (HEFs constitute a financial mechanism to improve access to priority health services for the poor. We assess their effectiveness in improving access to skilled birth attendants for poor women in three rural health districts in Cambodia and draw lessons for further improvement and scaling-up. Methods Data on utilisation of voucher and HEF schemes and on deliveries in public health facilities between 2006 and 2008 were extracted from the available database, reports and the routine health information system. Qualitative data were collected through focus group discussions and key informant interviews. We examined the trend of facility deliveries between 2006 and 2008 in the three health districts and compared this with the situation in other rural districts without voucher and HEF schemes. An operational analysis of the voucher scheme was carried out to assess its effectiveness at different stages of operation. Results Facility deliveries increased sharply from 16.3% of the expected number of births in 2006 to 44.9% in 2008 after the introduction of voucher and HEF schemes, not only for voucher and HEF beneficiaries, but also for self-paid deliveries. The increase was much more substantial than in comparable districts lacking voucher and HEF schemes. In 2008, voucher and HEF beneficiaries accounted for 40.6% of the expected number of births among the poor. We also outline several limitations of the voucher scheme. Conclusions Vouchers plus HEFs, if carefully designed and implemented, have a strong potential for reducing financial barriers and hence improving access to skilled birth attendants for poor women. To achieve their full potential, vouchers and HEFs require other

Rural health service managers' perspectives on preparing rural health services for climate change.

Science.gov (United States)

Purcell, Rachael; McGirr, Joe

2018-02-01

To determine health service managers' (HSMs) recommendations on strengthening the health service response to climate change. Self-administered survey in paper or electronic format. Rural south-west of New South Wales. Health service managers working in rural remote metropolitan areas 3-7. Proportion of respondents identifying preferred strategies for preparation of rural health services for climate change. There were 43 participants (53% response rate). Most respondents agreed that there is scepticism regarding climate change among health professionals (70%, n = 30) and community members (72%, n = 31). Over 90% thought that climate change would impact the health of rural populations in the future with regard to heat-related illnesses, mental health, skin cancer and water security. Health professionals and government were identified as having key leadership roles on climate change and health in rural communities. Over 90% of the respondents believed that staff and community in local health districts (LHDs) should be educated about the health impacts of climate change. Public health education facilitated by State or Federal Government was the preferred method of educating community members, and education facilitated by the LHD was the preferred method for educating health professionals. Health service managers hold important health leadership roles within rural communities and their health services. The study highlights the scepticism towards climate change among health professionals and community members in rural Australia. It identifies the important role of rural health services in education and advocacy on the health impacts of climate change and identifies recommended methods of public health education for community members and health professionals. © 2017 National Rural Health Alliance Inc.

Approach to malaria in rural hospitals

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Jency Maria Koshy

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Malaria is one of the most common parasitic infections in the developing countries. In Rural India, most patients would be treated by primary and secondary care physicians. This article is aimed at providing a feasible approach to the cases of malaria in mission hospitals and other rural hospitals taking into account all the resource limitations. A study done over one year on patients detected to have malaria at Jiwan Jyoti Christian Hospital in Sonbhadra district has helped the authors to identify the various challenges faced by doctors working in the rural hospitals. The article has looked at the various complications associated with malaria and their management. It has also stressed upon the increasing incidence of chloroquine resistance.

[Fresno County Library Rural Literacy Outreach Program. Final Performance Report, 1988-1989.

Science.gov (United States)

Walling, Joyce

The Library Rural Literacy Outreach Program targeted to ten rural communities in the Fresno County, California, Free Library district is reported. The sites were chosen based on inquiries from volunteers in those communities and support for the program by the branch library staff. Goals of the program were to provide literacy services to adult…

A large-scale investigation of the quality of groundwater in six major districts of Central India during the 2010-2011 sampling campaign.

Science.gov (United States)

Khare, Peeyush

2017-09-01

This paper investigates the groundwater quality in six major districts of Madhya Pradesh in central India, namely, Balaghat, Chhindwara, Dhar, Jhabua, Mandla, and Seoni during the 2010-2011 sampling campaign, and discusses improvements made in the supplied water quality between the years 2011 and 2017. Groundwater is the main source of water for a combined rural population of over 7 million in these districts. Its contamination could have a huge impact on public health. We analyzed the data collected from a large-scale water sampling campaign carried out by the Public Health Engineering Department (PHED), Government of Madhya Pradesh between 2010 and 2011 during which all rural tube wells and dug wells were sampled in these six districts. Eight hundred thirty-one dug wells and 47,606 tube wells were sampled in total and were analyzed for turbidity, hardness, iron, nitrate, fluoride, chloride, and sulfate ion concentrations. Our study found water in 21 out of the 228 dug wells in Chhindwara district unfit for drinking due to fluoride contamination while all dug wells in Balaghat had fluoride within the permissible limit. Twenty-six of the 56 dug wells and 4825 of the 9390 tube wells in Dhar district exceeded the permissible limit for nitrate while 100% dug wells in Balaghat, Seoni, and Chhindwara had low levels of nitrate. Twenty-four of the 228 dug wells and 1669 of 6790 tube wells in Chhindwara had high iron concentration. The median pH value in both dug wells and tube wells varied between 6 and 8 in all six districts. Still, a significant number of tube wells exceeded a pH of 8.5 especially in Mandla and Seoni districts. In conclusion, this study shows that parts of inhabited rural Madhya Pradesh were potentially exposed to contaminated subsurface water during 2010-2011. The analysis has been correlated with rural health survey results wherever available to estimate the visible impact. We next highlight that the quality of drinking water has enormously improved

IMMUNIZATION COVERAGE IN ETAWAH: A BORDER DISTRICT OF UTTAR PRADESH

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C M Singh

2012-06-01

Full Text Available Research question: What is the coverage of immunization among children of 12-23 months age group in rural Etawah (a border District of Uttar Pradesh? Objectives: 1. To assess the immunization coverage among 12-23 months age group children in rural Etawah. 2. To study the association of different socio-demographic factors with utilization of immunization services. Study Design: A community based cross sectional study. Setting: The present study was conducted in Saifai Block of District Etawah. Participants: Two hundred and ten children of 12-23 months were included in the study. Results: The percentage of completely immunized children was found to be 40%. The present study revealed that approximately 79.0% children were immunized against BCG, while the corresponding figure for measles vaccination was just 42.4%. Drop-out rate for complete immunization was 48.1%. Conclusion: Overall coverage of immunization services among children aged 12-23 months was lower than the national figures for rural Etawah. Literacy status of parents was significantly associated with the percentage of fully immunized children and the drop-out rate was also found to be higher among children of illiterate mothers. So there is need and scope of more focused Information, education and communication efforts towards parents regarding immunization services.

IMMUNIZATION COVERAGE IN ETAWAH: A BORDER DISTRICT OF UTTAR PRADESH

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C M Singh

2012-07-01

Full Text Available Research question: What is the coverage of immunization among children of 12-23 months age group in rural Etawah (a border District of Uttar Pradesh? Objectives: 1. To assess the immunization coverage among 12-23 months age group children in rural Etawah. 2. To study the association of different socio-demographic factors with utilization of immunization services. Study Design: A community based cross sectional study. Setting: The present study was conducted in Saifai Block of District Etawah. Participants: Two hundred and ten children of 12-23 months were included in the study. Results: The percentage of completely immunized children was found to be 40%. The present study revealed that approximately 79.0% children were immunized against BCG, while the corresponding figure for measles vaccination was just 42.4%. Drop-out rate for complete immunization was 48.1%. Conclusion: Overall coverage of immunization services among children aged 12-23 months was lower than the national figures for rural Etawah. Literacy status of parents was significantly associated with the percentage of fully immunized children and the drop-out rate was also found to be higher among children of illiterate mothers. So there is need and scope of more focused Information, education and communication efforts towards parents regarding immunization services.

Creating Highly Qualified Teachers: Maximizing University Resources to Provide Professional Development in Rural Areas

Science.gov (United States)

Mollenkopf, Dawn L.

2009-01-01

The "highly qualified teacher" requirement of No Child Left Behind has put pressure on rural school districts to recruit and retain highly qualified regular and special education teachers. If necessary, they may utilize uncertified, rural teachers with provisional certification; however, these teachers may find completing the necessary…

Prevalence of psychosocial problems among adolescents in rural areas of District Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh

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Vaibhav Jain

2014-09-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Adolescence is a period of transition between childhood and adulthood. It is a phase of life marked by special attributes including rapid physical growth and development; physical, social and psychological maturity. Aims & Objectives: The present cross sectional study was conducted to assess the prevalence of psychosocial problems among adolescents in a rural area of District Muzaffarnagar. Materials & Methods: The study subjects were 210 adolescent girls and boys (10-19 years old selected using multistage random sampling technique. The subjects were interviewed & detailed information was collected on a structured and pre-tested questionnaire after taking consent from the subject/ parents. The clinical diagnosis was generated as per the criteria laid down in ICD-10. The data was entered in Epi Info statistical software package Version 3.4.3 and suitable statistical methods were applied. Results: The overall prevalence of psychosocial problems amongst adolescent was found to be 41.43%. Most of them had conduct disorder (40.51% males & 35.88% females followed by depression (30.38% males & 26.72% females. Conclusions: There are significant psychosocial problems amongst the adolescents. So, enough emphasis should be given to this component of adolescent health and thus it is recommended that a holistic approach to the underlying causes of psychosocial problems of adolescents should be undertaken.

A Description of an Inclusion Model That Is Working in a Rural Area.

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Dreisbach, Melanie; And Others

This paper describes an inclusion program at the Kayenta Unified School District (KUSD), located on the Navajo Reservation in northeastern Arizona. KUSD is a rural school district with approximately 2,800 students enrolled in 4 schools (primary, intermediate, middle, and high schools). Virtually all students are Navajo, with 88 percent of students…

Mobility and Access for Off-Road Rural Farmers in West-Akim District

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The study is on the rural transportation problem in Ghana and its consequences on the rural people, especially those who live in off road villages (villages that do not have access to regular transportation systems). The study specifically discusses the failure of the existing road transport network to provide sufficient services ...

The strategic role of district heating in renewable energy use; Die strategische Bedeutung der Nahwaerme zur Nutzung erneuerbarer Energien

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nast, M. [Deutsches Zentrum fuer Luft- und Raumfahrt e.V. (DLR), Stuttgart (Germany). Abt. Systemanalyse und Technikbewertung; Boehnisch, H. [Zentrum fuer Sonnenenergie- und Wasserstoff-Forschung Baden-Wuerttemberg (ZSW), Stuttgart (Germany)

1998-02-01

District heating allows the utilization of biomass in low emission heating plants, the exploitation of solar energy and the seasonal storage of heat. If a sustainable energy supply system is to be created, district heating must not only be the system of choice for new housing districts but must also be retrofitted in existing settlements. The detailed analysis of a rural community shows that large segments of existing buildings can be connected to district heating systems even in regions with predominantly single dwellings and rural housing densities. The conditions necessary for establishing district heating systems are discussed. (orig.) [Deutsch] Nahwaermesysteme ermoeglichen, fossile und biogene Brennstoffe einzusetzen und lassen sich an saisonale Waermespeicher anschliessen. Zum Aufbau einer nachhaltigen Energieversorgung ist Nahwaerme nicht nur in Neubaugebieten notwendig sondern muss auch in den schon laenger genutzten Gebaeudebestand integriert werden. Das Beispiel einer umfassend analysierten Landgemeinde zeigt, dass ein grosser Teil des bestehenden Gebaeudebestandes an Waermenetze angeschlossen werden kann, selbst bei vorherrschender Bebauung mit Einfamilienhaeusern und laendlichen Gebaeudedichten. Die notwendigen Rahmenbedingungen fuer den Aufbau einer Nahwaermeversorgung werden erlaeutert. (orig.)

Measles in vaccinated children 1.5 to 3 years of age in rural community of district peshawar, pakistan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Khan, A.; Ullah, O.; Ahmad, I.

2015-01-01

In many developing countries measles is a leading cause of childhood morbidity and mortality. Despite of vaccination thousands of children have been infected by measles virus during last couple of years in Pakistan. The objective of this study was to determine the measles vaccination coverage rate and frequency of measles among vaccinated children of age 1.5-3 years in rural community of district Peshawar. Methods: The cross-sectional study was carried out among 385 children aged 1.5-3 year of rural community of Peshawar. After taking informed consent from parents/guardians a predesigned questionnaire was filled. Evidence of vaccination and measles history was taken by vaccination card, doctor prescription and parent/guardian recall. Data was gathered and analysed by using SPSS-16. Results: Of the 385 children, 361 (93.7%) were vaccinated against measles at 9 month. It was found that 27 (7.48%) vaccinated children had measles history of which 23 (6.74%) were infected after 9 month vaccination. One hundred and ninety-two (49.8%) children were vaccinated both at 9 and 15 months, and 14 (7.29%) dual vaccinated children had a measles history, 9 among them (4.68%) were infected after taking both measles doses. Conclusion: The occurrence of measles among vaccinated children and low coverage rate of second dose of measles vaccine raises many questions about vaccination program and its efficacy. Further studies are needed to evaluate the influence of other predisposing factors like vaccine quality, manufacturer, supply, cold chain, handling, nutritional status of children and technical approach, on measles vaccine efficacy. (author)

The coming vitality of rural places

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Craig B. HOWLEY

2013-04-01

Full Text Available ABSTRACTIn many parts of the world, whether “developing” or “developed,” the concept of a rural sort of education is largely ignored by national ministries. The United States is just one notable example of silence at the bureaucratic center, despite scholarly interest in provincial universities. The future may change the “terms of engagement,” however, and this essay considers the leadership of rural schools and communities from the vantage of the daunting, but clearly visible, challenges of the future. The challenges described in the essay relate to a variety of visible, perhaps even familiar, economic, environmental, political, and cultural threats confronting life in the coming century. Though increasingly important and relevant to education, these threats are not a common part of discussions in education policy. The essay explains why, and why the threats are important to rural villages and districts. Discussion concludes with five rurally appropriate shifts of thinking that might help rural citizens and subjects around the world engage the challenges and counter the threats.

Characterization of Dairy Production Systems and Analysis of Milk Promotion Strategies in Rural and Urban Areas in Niger: Case of the Urban Community of Niamey and Rural District of Filingue

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A. R. Boukari

2007-01-01

Full Text Available Livestock breeding and particularly milk production play a major role in poverty alleviation and economic growth. The present study aimed at characterizing the production systems and opening avenues for milk production in a (suburban [urban community of Niamey (UCN] and in a rural environment [rural district of Filingue (RDF] in Niger. In UCN, surveys were carried out in 35 dairy sites randomly selected among the 150 already indexed within a radius of 50 km from the capital. Out of these, 12 sites were selected allowing the questionnaire to be administered to 169 heads of household. In RDF, 49 heads of household, located in five villages within 75 km of Filingue, were surveyed. Results showed that in UCN, breeders owned few dairy cows (five on average, i.e. 28% of the bovine herd, which produced in all seasons 7 to 10 L/household/day; they marketed fresh milk more often than in RDF because they had access to dairy transformation units. In RDF, they owned more cows (ten on average, i.e. 52% of the bovine herd, which produced only during the rainy season and the cold dry season (between 0 to 10 and 10 to 20 L/household/ day according to 66 and 20% of the persons surveyed, respectively; dairy products were transformed more often before sale (melted butter, curdled milk, cheese. The innovations observed in the surveyed breeders were related to changes in herd management. The constraints to dairy production development in the urban area concerned in particular production and preservation of good-quality fresh milk all the way to transforming units or consumers, while in the rural area, it concerned the lack of avenues. In urban areas, it is essential to organize the supply of food inputs, evening collection of milk and to popularize technical topics and innovating practices.

Family Size and Rural Poverty -in the Kwahu South District in Ghana ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Rural Poverty is one of the greatest social problems confronting the world today. The problem is more pronounced in the developing countries. Ghana is no exception to this global problem of rural poverty. Ghana as a nation has adopted a lot of measures to address poverty. From the early 1980's to 2002, the country has ...

Unregulated Autonomy: Uncredentialed Educational Interpreters in Rural Schools.

Science.gov (United States)

Fitzmaurice, Stephen

2017-01-01

Although many rural Deaf and Hard of Hearing students attend public schools most of the day and use the services of educational interpreters to gain access to the school environment, little information exists on what interpreters are doing in rural school systems in the absence of credentialing requirements. The researcher used ethnographic interviews and field observations of three educational interpreters with no certification or professional assessment to explore how uncredentialed interpreters were enacting their role in a rural high school. The findings indicate that uncredentialed interpreters in rural settings perform four major functions during their school day: preparing the environment, staff, and materials; interpreting a variety of content; interacting with numerous stakeholders; and directly instructing Deaf and Hard of Hearing students. Generally, educational interpreters in rural districts operate with unregulated autonomy, a situation that warrants further research and a national standard for all educational interpreters.

ICTs in rural education: Let the game begin

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Botha, Adele

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Over a period of three years, 255 teachers at 26 schools in Cofimvaba, which lies in the very rural Nciba district of the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa, have been using mobile tablets in their classrooms to support teaching and learning...

Irrigation and Rural Welfare: Implications of Schistosomiasis among ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This paper examines the effects of the prevalence of urinary schistosomiasis infection on the socio-economic health of irrigation farmers in the rural districts of Kazaure Area, Northern Nigeria. It first reviews some general consideration of irrigation environment and schistosomiasis, its major associated health problem.

Characteristics of Poverty in Rural Communities of Gold Mining District Area West Sumbawa

OpenAIRE

Ibrahim, Ibrahim; Baiquni, Muhammad; Ritohardoyo, Su; Setiadi, Setiadi

2016-01-01

The research is conducted in rural areas of gold mining with the aim to find out the characteristics of poverty in the rural area of gold mining in West Sumbawa regency. The survey method is used in this study, focusing on the rural mining area. Sample of respondents are 167 households, selected by purposive sampling from four villages, which are determined based on the first ma slope. The data analysis uses cross tabulation and frequency tables. The results showes that the poverty rate in th...

Perceptions of Crisis Management in a K-12 School District

Science.gov (United States)

Tucker, Joy

2012-01-01

This multiple-case qualitative study was conducted to examine the perceptions of community members, students, and staff regarding school crisis management following a 2006 tornado and 2010 bus accident in a small rural school district in Missouri. Online surveys were collected from 66 participants, and 10 follow-up interviews were completed with…

Gender differences, routes of transmission, socio-demographic characteristics and prevalence of HIV related infections of adults and children in an HIV cohort from a rural district of India

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Gerardo Alvarez-Uria

2012-02-01

Full Text Available Despite 67% of HIV infected people in India are rural residents, the epidemiology of HIV in rural areas is not well known. This is an observational cohort study of 11,040 HIV infected people living in a rural district of India. The prevalence of hepatitis B, hepatitis C and syphilis of HIV infected patients were compared to the seroprevalence in 16,641 blood donors from the same area. The age of diagnosis in adults was below 35 years in 70% of cases and 56% were illiterate. One third of women were widows and only 3.6% of adults had a permanent job. Women were diagnosed at earlier age, had lower level of education, had poorer employment conditions and depended more on their relatives than men. In a survey performed to a subgroup of patients, 81% of women referred to have acquired HIV from their spouse, whereas 51% of men acquired HIV from commercial sex. Patients with HIV had significantly higher prevalence of hepatitis B, hepatitis C and syphilis than blood donors. Seroprevalence of HIV-2, hepatitis C and toxoplasmosis were low compared to other sites. Six percent were children (<15 years and almost half of them had lost one or both of their parents. The study shows the poor socio-economical situation and the high level of illiteracy of people living with HIV in rural India, especially women. Future health programmes of HIV in India should take into account the particularities of the HIV epidemic in rural areas.

Prevalence of goiter and urinary iodine status in six-twelve-year-old rural primary school children of Bharuch district, Gujarat, India

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Haresh Rameshkumar Chandwani

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Background: Iodine deficiency disorder (IDD creates major public health problems in India, including Gujarat. The Bharuch district is a known iodine deficiency endemic area. This study was conducted to estimate the prevalence of goiter in primary school children; to determine the median urinary iodine concentration; to assess the level of iodine in salt samples at the household and retail shop levels; and to study the profile of salt sold at retail shops. Methods: This study was carried out by using the 30-cluster survey method in the primary schools of the rural areas in Bharuch district. A total of 70 students, including five boys and five girls from the first to seventh classes, who were present in class on the day of the visit were selected randomly for goiter examination from each village. Urine samples were collected from one boy and one girl from each class in each cluster. From each community, a maximum of two boys and two girls from each standard in the same age group were examined and also salt samples were tested from their households. From each village, one retail shop was visited and the salt purchased from those shops was immediately tested for iodine with spot kits. Results: We found a goiter prevalence of 23.2% (grade 1 - 17.4% and grade 2 - 5.8%. As the age increased, the goiter prevalence decreased except in nine-year-olds. The median urinary iodine excretion level was 110 μg/L. An Iodine level > 15 ppm was found in 93% of the salt samples tested at the household level. Conclusion: The present study showed moderate goiter prevalence in primary school children in the Bharuch district of Gujarat and an inadequate iodine content of salt at some household levels.

Usage and recall of FMCG brands by rural consumers and relevant facts

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Savanam Chandra Sekhar

2015-01-01

Full Text Available India is a country of villages. It has mammoth rural population of 833 million spread over 640,867 villages. Rural markets are small in size, distantly scattered and heterogeneous. They provide awesome opportunities for fast moving consumer goods (FMCG companies. Rural consumers aspire to use brands rather than just commodities. At this juncture, understand rural consumer usage of FMCG brands and awareness is perceived appropriate. The objective of this research paper is to study the usage and recall of FMCG brands by rural consumers in Prakasam district of Andhra Pradesh in India. Thus, a modest attempt is made in this paper to divulge relevant facts of the topic with empirical data. This article is quite useful to the stakeholders of rural marketing.

Postpartum care attendance at a rural district hospital in Zambia

NARCIS (Netherlands)

J. Lagro (Joep); A. Liche (Agnes); J. Mumba (John); R. Ntebeka (Ruth); J. van Roosmalen (Jos)

2006-01-01

textabstractPostpartum care is an important tool in both preventive and promotive maternal health care. We studied the postpartum care attendance rate in 540 women who delivered at a district hospital in Zambia. Forty-two percent of the women attended postpartum care within six weeks of delivery.

STUDIES OF ADVERSE DRUG REACTION PROFILE OF ANTISNAKE VENOM AT DISTRICT GENERAL HOSPITAL

OpenAIRE

Mulchand Shende *, Sneha Gawali , Kanchan Bhongade , Vivek Bhuskade , Abhijit Nandgaonkar

2017-01-01

Snake bite is a common predominant problem of the rural and periurban areas, neglected and frequently devastating environmental and occupational disease, especially in rural areas of tropical developing countries. This study aimed to investigate of the adverse drug reaction profile of anti-snake venom (ASV) in a district general hospital. An observational study was conducted in hospital for six months. A total number of 142 indoor case papers of snake bite from October 2016 to April 2017 were...

Impact of chronic respiratory symptoms in a rural area of sub-Saharan Africa: an in-depth qualitative study in the Masindi district of Uganda.

Science.gov (United States)

van Gemert, Frederik; Chavannes, Niels; Nabadda, Nahid; Luzige, Simon; Kirenga, Bruce; Eggermont, Celeste; de Jong, Corina; van der Molen, Thys

2013-09-01

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), once regarded as a disease of developed countries, is now recognised as a common disease in low- and middle-income countries. No studies have been performed to examine how the community in resource poor settings of a rural area in sub-Saharan Africa lives with chronic respiratory symptoms. To explore beliefs and attitudes concerning health (particularly respiratory illnesses), use of biomass fuels, tobacco smoking, and the use of health services. A qualitative study was undertaken in a rural area of Masindi district in Uganda, using focus group discussions with 10-15 members of the community in 10 randomly selected villages. Respiratory symptoms were common among men, women, and children. In several communities respiratory symptoms were stigmatised and often associated with tuberculosis. Almost all the households used firewood for cooking and the majority cooked indoors without any ventilation. The extent of exposure to tobacco and biomass fuel smoke was largely determined by their cultural tradition and gender, tribal origin and socioeconomic factors. Many people were unaware of the damage to respiratory health caused by these risk factors, notably the disproportionate effect of biomass smoke in women and children. The knowledge of chronic respiratory diseases, particularly COPD, is poor in the rural community in sub-Saharan Africa. The lack of knowledge has created different beliefs and attitudes concerning respiratory symptoms. Few people are aware of the relation between smoke and respiratory health, leading to extensive exposure to mostly biomass-related smoke.

An investigation of the relationship between autonomy, childbirth practices, and obstetric fistula among women in rural Lilongwe District, Malawi.

Science.gov (United States)

Kaplan, Julika Ayla; Kandodo, Jonathan; Sclafani, Joseph; Raine, Susan; Blumenthal-Barby, Jennifer; Norris, Alison; Norris-Turner, Abigail; Chemey, Elly; Beckham, John Michael; Khan, Zara; Chunda, Reginald

2017-06-19

Obstetric fistula is a childbirth injury caused by prolonged obstructed labor that results in destruction of the tissue wall between the vagina and bladder. Although obstetric fistula is directly caused by prolonged obstructed labor, many other factors indirectly increase fistula risk. Some research suggests that many women in rural Malawi have limited autonomy and decision-making power in their households. We hypothesize that women's limited autonomy may play a role in reinforcing childbirth practices that increase the risk of obstetric fistula in this setting by hindering access to emergency care and further prolonging obstructed labor. A medical student at Baylor College of Medicine partnered with a Malawian research assistant in July 2015 to conduct in-depth qualitative interviews in Chichewa with 25 women living within the McGuire Wellness Centre's catchment area (rural Central Lilongwe District) who had received obstetric fistula repair surgery. This study assessed whether women's limited autonomy in rural Malawi reinforces childbearing practices that increase risk of obstetric fistula. We considered four dimensions of autonomy: sexual and reproductive decision-making, decision-making related to healthcare utilization, freedom of movement, and discretion over earned income. We found that participants had limited autonomy in these domains. For example, many women felt pressured by their husbands, families, and communities to become pregnant within three months of marriage; women often needed to seek permission from their husbands before leaving their homes to visit the clinic; and women were frequently prevented from delivering at the hospital by older women in the community. Many of the obstetric fistula patients in our sample had limited autonomy in several or all of the aforementioned domains, and their limited autonomy often led both directly and indirectly to an increased risk of prolonged labor and fistula. Reducing the prevalence of fistula in Malawi

Factors Impacting on Organisational Learning in Three Rural Health ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

... assessment of hospital leadership as being supportive of learning were significant predictors of attendance among doctors. Conclusions: Despite severe staff shortages in these rural districts, at facilities where there was a perception of leadership and teamwork the professional staff generally attended learning sessions.

Rural tourism – return to the farm perspective

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, Niels Christian; Nissen, Kathrine Aae; Just, Flemming

2010-01-01

on innovation, i.e. development of new tourism products, preferably based on natural, human and social resources found within the rural district. However, in an ongoing study, carried out for the Danish Food Industry Agency, we shift focus (back) towards the development potential for farms wanting to diversify......Several studies have pointed to tourism as a tool for economic development and a means for keeping the population in rural areas. Typically areas suffering from decline in agriculture and general socio-economic trends. The general view seems to be that, many rural areas are inevitably moving...... towards a post-productive state, and that a possible adaption is diversification of economic activity and “multifunctional land use”, with tourism and recreation among the functions. In the tourism and rural (sociology) literature, the community perspective has been dominant, along with a focus...

The physical and aesthetic quality of ground water in rural areas of Lahore district

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Salik, M.; Mahmood, K.; Sadiq, M.

2009-01-01

Physical and aesthetic parameters of drinking water include total dissolved solids, electrical conductivity (EC), taste, odour, colour and turbidity, Although these parameters are not considered to be harmful for health, but they do effect the look and taste of the water, and may cause it to be undrinkable by some people. Addressing these water quality problems is therefore important and all have relatively simple solutions. A study was conducted in twenty villages of Lahore district to, assess the physical and aesthetic quality of ground water. It was observed that in rural area ground water is used for domestic and drinking purpose. Therefore, tube wells water samples were twenty villages were collected, Bore depths .ranged from 60 to 380 feet. Three water samples were collected from each of twenty villages and were analyzed for total dissolved solids, electrical conductivity (EC), taste, odour, colour and turbidity, Analysis showed that regarding colour, odour and taste all, water samples were fit. Considering World Health Organization permissible limit for turbidity (5 Nephlometric Turbidity Unit) all the water samples were fit. Regarding total dissolved solids, 33.3 % water samples were unfit while, 64.7 % were fit considering the WHO criteria (1000 mill). Regarding pH. 7.5 % of water samples were unfit for drinking and only 25 % water samples fall within safe limit. Considering all the parameters, 10 samples (16.6 %) were fit and remaining 50 samples were unfit out of total 60 water samples. (author)

Cost-effectiveness of canine vaccination to prevent human rabies in rural Tanzania.

Science.gov (United States)

Fitzpatrick, Meagan C; Hampson, Katie; Cleaveland, Sarah; Mzimbiri, Imam; Lankester, Felix; Lembo, Tiziana; Meyers, Lauren A; Paltiel, A David; Galvani, Alison P

2014-01-21

The annual mortality rate of human rabies in rural Africa is 3.6 deaths per 100 000 persons. Rabies can be prevented with prompt postexposure prophylaxis, but this is costly and often inaccessible in rural Africa. Because 99% of human exposures occur through rabid dogs, canine vaccination also prevents transmission of rabies to humans. To evaluate the cost-effectiveness of rabies control through annual canine vaccination campaigns in rural sub-Saharan Africa. We model transmission dynamics in dogs and wildlife and assess empirical uncertainty in the biological variables to make probability-based evaluations of cost-effectiveness. Epidemiologic variables from a contact-tracing study and literature and cost data from ongoing vaccination campaigns. Two districts of rural Tanzania: Ngorongoro and Serengeti. 10 years. Health policymaker. Vaccination coverage ranging from 0% to 95% in increments of 5%. Life-years for health outcomes and 2010 U.S. dollars for economic outcomes. Annual canine vaccination campaigns were very cost-effective in both districts compared with no canine vaccination. In Serengeti, annual campaigns with as much as 70% coverage were cost-saving. Across a wide range of variable assumptions and levels of societal willingness to pay for life-years, the optimal vaccination coverage for Serengeti was 70%. In Ngorongoro, although optimal coverage depended on willingness to pay, vaccination campaigns were always cost-effective and lifesaving and therefore preferred. Canine vaccination was very cost-effective in both districts, but there was greater uncertainty about the optimal coverage in Ngorongoro. Annual canine rabies vaccination campaigns conferred extraordinary value and dramatically reduced the health burden of rabies. National Institutes of Health.

Monthly food insecurity assessment in rural mkushi district, Zambia: a longitudinal analysis

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Muzi Na

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Perception-based scales are widely used for household food insecurity (HFI assessment but were only recently added in national surveys. The frequency of assessments needed to characterize dynamics in HFI over time is largely unknown. The study aims to examine longitudinal changes in monthly reported HFI at both population- and household-level. Methods A total of 157 households in rural Mkushi District whose children were enrolled in the non-intervened arm of an efficacy trial of biofortified maize were included in the analysis. HFI was assessed by a validated 8-item perception-based Likert scale on a monthly basis from October 2012 to March 2013 (6 visits, characterizing mostly the lean season. An HFI index was created by summing scores over the Likert scale, with a possible range of 0–32. The Wilcoxon matched signed-ranks test was used to compare distribution of HFI index between visits. A random effect model was fit to quantify the sources of variance in indices at household level. Results The median [IQR] HFI index was 4.5 [2, 8], 5 [1, 8], 4 [1, 7], 4 [1, 6], 3 [1, 7] and 4 [1, 6] at the six monthly visits, respectively. HFI index was significantly higher in visit 1 and 2 than visit 3–6 and on average the index decreased by 0.25 points per visit. Within- and between-household variance in the index were 10.6 and 8.8, respectively. Conclusions The small change in mean monthly HFI index over a single lean season indicated that a seasonal HFI measure may be sufficient for monitoring purposes at population level. Yet, higher variation within households suggests that repeated assessments may be required to avoid risk of misclassification at household level and to target households with the greatest risk of food insecurity.

[The gene pool of the Belgorod oblast population: changes in the endogamy indices of district populations with time].

Science.gov (United States)

Churnosov, M I; Sorokina, I N; Balanovskaia, E V

2008-08-01

Changes in the endogamy indices of district populations of the Central Chernozem region of Russia during the past 100 years were studied. The size of an elementary population in this region increased from that of a rural municipality in the mid-20th century to that of an administrative district in the late 20th century.

Contribution of draft cattle to rural livelihoods in a district of southeastern Uganda endemic for bovine parasitic diseases: an economic evaluation.

Science.gov (United States)

Okello, Walter O; Muhanguzi, Dennis; MacLeod, Ewan T; Welburn, Susan C; Waiswa, Charles; Shaw, Alexandra P

2015-11-05

A study was conducted in Tororo District in eastern Uganda to assess the socio-economic contribution of draft cattle to rural livelihoods. The aim of the study was to empirically quantify the economic value of draft cattle thus contributing to understanding the impact of endemic parasitic diseases of cattle on livestock productivity and subsequently household income, labor and food security. A total of 205 draft cattle keeping households (n = 205) were randomly selected and structured household questionnaires were administered, focusing on work oxen use, productivity, inputs and outputs. The data obtained was analyzed using standard statistical methods and used to calculate the gross margin from the draft cattle enterprise. Secondary data were obtained from focus group discussions and key informant interviews and these were analyzed using Bayesian methods. The study showed that, apart from being labor saving, the use of animal traction is highly profitable with the gross margin per year from the use of draft cattle amounting to 245 United States dollars per work oxen owning household. The cash obtained from hiring out draft animals was equivalent to nearly a quarter of the average local household's monetary receipts. It also revealed that endemic bovine parasitic diseases such as trypanosomiasis and tick-borne diseases reduced draft cattle output by 20.9 % and potential household income from the use of draft oxen by 32.2 %. The presence of endemic cattle diseases in rural Uganda is adversely affecting the productivity of draft cattle, which in turn affects household income, labor and ultimately food security. This study highlights the contribution of draft cattle to rural livelihoods, thus increasing the expected impact of cost-effective control strategies of endemic production limiting livestock diseases in Uganda.

Managing Ebola from rural to urban slum settings: experiences from Uganda.

Science.gov (United States)

Okware, Sam I; Omaswa, Francis; Talisuna, Ambrose; Amandua, Jacinto; Amone, Jackson; Onek, Paul; Opio, Alex; Wamala, Joseph; Lubwama, Julius; Luswa, Lukwago; Kagwa, Paul; Tylleskar, Thorkild

2015-03-01

Five outbreaks of ebola occurred in Uganda between 2000-2012. The outbreaks were quickly contained in rural areas. However, the Gulu outbreak in 2000 was the largest and complex due to insurgency. It invaded Gulu municipality and the slum- like camps of the internally displaced persons (IDPs). The Bundigugyo district outbreak followed but was detected late as a new virus. The subsequent outbreaks in the districts of Luwero district (2011, 2012) and Kibaale (2012) were limited to rural areas. Detailed records of the outbreak presentation, cases, and outcomes were reviewed and analyzed. Each outbreak was described and the outcomes examined for the different scenarios. Early detection and action provided the best outcomes and results. The ideal scenario occurred in the Luwero outbreak during which only a single case was observed. Rural outbreaks were easier to contain. The community imposed quarantine prevented the spread of ebola following introduction into Masindi district. The outbreak was confined to the extended family of the index case and only one case developed in the general population. However, the outbreak invasion of the town slum areas escalated the spread of infection in Gulu municipality. Community mobilization and leadership was vital in supporting early case detection and isolations well as contact tracing and public education. Palliative care improved survival. Focusing on treatment and not just quarantine should be emphasized as it also enhanced public trust and health seeking behavior. Early detection and action provided the best scenario for outbreak containment. Community mobilization and leadership was vital in supporting outbreak control. International collaboration was essential in supporting and augmenting the national efforts.

Prospecting for Groundwater in the Bawku West District of the Upper ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

An integrated approach involving the Electromagnetic (EM) and Vertical electrical sounding (VES) survey methods, has been used to locate potential drilling sites to find groundwater for twenty (20) rural communities in the Bawku West District of the Upper East Region of Ghana. The EM method involved the use of the ...

How Small School Districts Can Organize to Afford Their Small Schools

Science.gov (United States)

Burton, Christine

2010-01-01

While the research continues to mount on the benefits of school downsizing and decentralizing efforts in urban areas, there exists a paradox for small school Administrators who continue to struggle against forces of consolidation. Small schools in rural and suburban districts have fought for their existence against the pressures of consolidation…

Assessment of historical and cultural heritage in Lubensky district of Poltava region

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Марина Cторчак

2017-09-01

Full Text Available The article assesses available historical and cultural heritage of Lubny district, Poltava region. Among the considered assessment methods of the historical and cultural heritage K. A. Polyvach’s method has been chosen for the study, as it allows to assess the security of an administrative district. According to this method, the provision of rural districts according to the following indicators was carried out: the number of objects and their division into types; concentration of objects calculated on the area of the territory; a modified concentration index. The latter takes into account not only the area, but also the population. The coefficient of objects’ localization, showing the largest number of cultural monuments and the smallest area of rural councils has also been indicated. In Lubensky district, archeological monuments dominate, namely, the fraternal graves and memorial plaques to the fallen heroes of warriors. The disadvantage of this area is the lack of fixed objects of science and technology that would act as a tourist resource. The largest number of historical and cultural heritage objects is concentrated in Vovchytsya, Kalaydenska, Mgarska and Mykhnivska village councils, and the smallest number is in Shershnevsky, Matskiv and Okipsky. In general, it can be said that there are 102 objects in Lubensky area - this is not enough, if you also take into account that their placement is not uniform. In addition to the lowest level of livelihood in Shershnivska, Okipa, Berezivka, Tyshkivska, Vyshchebulatka, Matskivska, Lytvyakivska and Novorikhivska settlement councils there are only monuments of one category, which diminishes their interest among tourists. In the area the most promising for the development of tourism are Mgarska, Vovchytska and Kalaydentsi rural councils, because within them there is an opportunity to build complex tourist routes and, in general, to develop tourist infrastructure, not only because of the large

Community involvement in obstetric emergency management in rural areas: a case of Rukungiri district, Western Uganda

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Ogwang Simon

2012-03-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Maternal mortality is a major public health problem worldwide especially in low income countries. Most causes of maternal deaths are due to direct obstetric complications. Maternal mortality ratio remains high in Rukungiri district, western Uganda estimated at 475 per 100,000 live births. The objectives were to identify types of community involvement and examine factors influencing the level of community involvement in the management of obstetric emergencies. Methods We conducted a descriptive study during 2nd to 28th February 2009 in rural Rukungiri district, western Uganda. A total of 448 heads of households, randomly selected from 6/11 (54.5% of sub-counties, 21/42 (50.0% parishes and 32/212 (15.1% villages (clusters, were interviewed. Data were analysed using STATA version 10.0. Results Community pre-emergency support interventions available included community awareness creation (sensitization while interventions undertaken when emergency had occurred included transportation and referring women to health facility. Community support programmes towards health care (obstetric emergencies included establishment of community savings and credit schemes, and insurance schemes. The factors associated with community involvement in obstetric emergency management were community members being employed (AOR = 1.91, 95% CI: 1.02 - 3.54 and rating the quality of maternal health care as good (AOR = 2.22, 95% CI: 1.19 - 4.14. Conclusions Types of community involvement in obstetric emergency management include practices and support programmes. Community involvement in obstetric emergency management is influenced by employment status and perceived quality of health care services. Policies to promote community networks and resource mobilization strategies for health care should be implemented. There is need for promotion of community support initiatives including health insurance schemes and self help associations; further community

[Research of the Stormwater Runoff and Pollution Characteristics in Rural Area of Yuhang District, Hangzhou].

Science.gov (United States)

Duan, Sheng-hui; Zhao, Yu; Shan, Bao-qing; Tang, Wen-zhong; Zhang, Wen-qiang; Zhang, Shu-zhen; Lang, Chao

2015-10-01

In order to investigate the pollution characteristics of stormwater runoff in the southern developed rural region, the runoff samples were collected from four different underlying surfaces during three storm events in Caoqiao and Pujia Tou, which are two typical villages and are located in Yuhang District of Hangzhou. The content of nutrition (nitrogen and phosphorus) and heavy metals (Mn, Cu, Zn, Ni, Cr, Cd, As, Pb) in the simples were analyzed, and the difference of EMC ( event mean concentration) and pollution load of the contaminants in the runoff on different underlying surfaces were compared. The results showed that the EMC of TSS, COD, NH4(+)-N, TP and TN were 16.19, 21.01, 0.74, 1.39 and 2.39 mg x L(-1) in the Caoqiao, respectively; as to Pujia Tou, they were 3.10, 15.69, 0.90, 0.78 and 3.58 mg x L(-1), respectively. The content of heavy metals was all lower than the national surface water quality of two type water in the runoff. Compared with the quality standards for surface water, the EMC of TP was 9 times and 3. 5 times higher and TN was 1. 8 times and 1. 2 times higher in two areas. Besides, the pollution loads of TSS and COD were the highest in farmland.

A study of malnutrition and associated risk factors among children of age 06-59 months in rural area of Jabalpur district, Madhya Pradesh

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Nandini Shukla

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Background: “Malnutrition is a silent emergency”. Malnutrition is not only an important cause of childhood mortality and morbidity, but also leads to permanent impairment of both physical and mental growth of those who survive. Aims & Objectives: To determine the prevalence of malnutrition and association with various risk factors among children of age 06-59 months in rural area of Jabalpur district Madhya Pradesh. Material and Methods: Study was conducted among 517 children of age group 06-59 months in two randomly selected blocks of Jabalpur District.  Multistage random sampling technique was used. Predesigned questionnaire was used to collect data and anthropometric measurements were done. Data analysis was done using Epi Info™ 7.1.5 and SPSS 20.0 (free trial version. Result: The prevalence of underweight, stunting and wasting were found to be 35.8%, 41.4% and 19.7% respectively while the prevalence of obese and overweight was 2.7% & 5.6% respectively. Children born with low birth weight, having higher birth order, more number of siblings, those with incomplete immunization status and inappropriate feeding practices were associated with malnutrition. Conclusion: The present study demonstrates the multiple risk factors for childhood malnutrition requiring multisectoral approach to fight against this silent killer.

An Assessment of Participation of Rural Women in Livestock Management and Their Training Needs in Potohar Region

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Farhana Nosheen*, Tanvir Ali1, Haq Nawaz Anwar2 and Muhammad Ahmad3

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Potohar plateau is a mountainous and rocky region, covered with scrub forest, interspaced with flat lying plains; the north and north-east consist of softly undulating plain areas along with some rocky patches. Realizing the need for the quantification of women participation in livestock management, a study was conducted to assess the level of participation and need of training in areas of interest. Chakwal, the third most populated district of barani Potohar, was selected as the universe of this research. Like other districts of Pakistan, all livestock species were reared in Potohar region including Chakwal district. Among total livestock population in the district, the decreasing order of species began with goats, followed by cattle, sheep, buffaloes, asses, camels, horses and mules. Although rural women had productive role in livestock management, yet they neither received adequate advice not had adequate access to modern technology that could benefit them in their livestock management activities. It was revealed from the study that more frequently carried out activities by rural women were livestock management, animal production, protection and poultry husbandry. Rural women were interested to get their training in livestock management, animal production, protection, poultry husbandry and marketing of animals to boost up the livestock productivity.

Intoxication by mining revenues. San Marcos district politics after twelve years of Antamina’s presence

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Guillermo Salas Carreño

2010-12-01

Full Text Available This paper describes and analyses the changes in local politicstaken place in the district of San Marcos (Huari, Ancash associatedwith the arrival of the Canon Minero – a fraction of taxes paid byAntamina mining company to the Peruvian State. Canon Minero hasincreased sudden and spectacularly the municipality’s funds so muchthat currently San Marcos in «ones of the Peruvian richest districts».The paper pays attention to the municipal elections of 2006 and theimplementation of the Plan Piloto de Mantenimiento de la InfraestructuraPública, a program of temporary work for all San Marcos’citizens. The latter was key for launching a novel alliance betweenthe municipality and the rural population, particularly with the ConoSur composed by hamlets which were traditionally unimportantactors in district politics. Hence, district politics had stopped to bedominated by the struggle between two factions of former landlordfamilies and had become articulated by the opposition between therural hamlets and the town of San Marcos with the emergence ofethnic political claims. Also, local politics ceased to revolve aroundAntamina and has become entangled with struggles over the administrationof Canon Minero. Rural communities which have directnegotiations with Antamina remain important political actors whichare independent from the municipality and are even oppose to it.

Trends and Determinants of Rural Poverty: A Logistic Regression Analysis of Selected Districts of Punjab

OpenAIRE

Amara Amjad Hashmi; Maqbool H. Sial; Maaida Hussain Hashmi

2008-01-01

Poverty is widespread in the rural areas, where the people are in a state of human deprivation with regard to incomes, clothing, housing, health care, education, sanitary facilities and human rights. Nearly 61 percent of the country’s populations live in rural areas. In Pakistan poverty has been increased in rural areas and is higher than urban areas. Of the total rural population 65 percent are directly or indirectly linked with agriculture sector. In Pakistan more than 44.8 percent people g...

Participation and innovation, the keys to rural development: The case of rural Medellin

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Rodríguez Adolfo Hernandez

2011-08-01

Full Text Available

The challenge of rural development in the Municipality of Medellin has to do with a political decision to assess processes based on participation and innovation in rural communities. The authorities have the opportunity to establish a territory in order to guarantee stability and consolidation of the populations considering their many activities when the districts are threatened by rampant urban sprawl. The opportunity exists to rebuild civil society in the territory based on cultural identity and to build new spaces without exclusion.

Exploring the condom gap: is supply or demand the limiting factor - condom access and use in an urban and a rural setting in Kilifi district, Kenya.

Science.gov (United States)

Papo, Jacqueline K; Bauni, Evasius K; Sanders, Eduard J; Brocklehurst, Peter; Jaffe, Harold W

2011-01-14

to explore the extent of the condom gap, investigating the relative roles of supply-side and demand-side factors in determining condom use. GPS mapping of condom outlets, and population-based survey. an urban and a rural site were selected within the Epidemiological and Demographic Surveillance Site in Kilifi district, Kenya. Potential condom outlets (n = 281) were mapped and surveyed, and questionnaires on condom access and use (n = 630) were administered to a random sample of men and women aged 15-49. Multivariate logistic regression was performed to assess the relative roles of supply-side and demand-side barriers on condom use. the median straight-line distance to free condoms was 18-fold higher in the rural versus urban site. Among sexually active respondents, 42% had ever used a condom, and 23% had used a condom over the past 12 months, with lower levels among rural versus urban respondents (P supply-side or demand-side barriers, compared with individuals experiencing both types of barriers. Despite low levels of usage and the presence of supply-side and demand-side barriers, reported unmet need for condoms was low. there is an urgent need for renewed condom promotion efforts aimed at building demand, in addition to improving physical access, in resource-limited settings with generalized HIV epidemics in sub-Saharan Africa. 2011 Wolters Kluwer Health | Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.

Clusters and local development: the case of the textile district of Atuntaqui

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César Paredes

2013-09-01

Full Text Available Atuntaqui is heralded as a local economic development success story. The author scrutinizes the experience of the textile industrial district in Atuntaqui in the province of Imbabura, and concludes that the district actually represents a case of overspecialization, given a lack of economic diversification. Moreover the author notes that the municipality has an urban bias, pointing out the need for a broader ¨territorial¨ approach to local and regional development planning that factors in issues like water scarcity, rural poverty and exploitation of female labour, as opposed to the current myopic view that ignores rural urban linkages. In the article the success story of Atuntaqui is downplayed, stating that donors exaggerated the economic impact of the textile cluster.Atuntaqui is viewed as a model by neighboring cities as a result of its recent economic dynamism. Local policy makers need to look deeper into these efforts, and also take into account negative externalities, concluding that clusters are not a panacea for quick industrial development.

Investigating GEAR-Up College Readiness Program's Influence on Postsecondary Decisions of Rural Hispanic Youth

Science.gov (United States)

Boydstun, Kelli Dawn

2016-01-01

This qualitative case study investigated how the GEAR-Up college readiness program influenced the postsecondary decisions of Hispanic students who participated in the GEAR-Up program for the recommended six-year period in a rural school district in Texas. It was not known how long-term participation in the GEAR-Up program at a rural school…

Personnel Recruitment and Retention in Rural America: A Growing Problem.

Science.gov (United States)

Helge, Doris I.; Marrs, Lawrence W.

1982-01-01

The article presents successful strategies based on A. Maslow's hierarchy for recruiting special education personnel for rural school systems. Techniques for selling a district to prospective teachers and administrators are discussed and suggestions for integrating newcomers are covered. (Author/SB)

Management of appendix mass in a Nigerian rural district | Umunna ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Background: The traditional management of an appendix mass is conservative, followed by interval appendicectomy. Interval appendicectomy is now controversial. Aim: To present an experience with the management of appendix mass among a rural people in Nigeria. Methods: Patients presenting with appendix masses ...

Impact of maize storage on rural household food security in Northern ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Seugnet

security in Northern Kwazulu-Natal1 ... incidence of hunger is high among rural South African .... FARMERS IN THREE STUDY DISTRICTS OF NORTHERN KWAZULU-NATAL, 1999 (N = 134) ... Three goats equaled one head of cattle. Calves ...

Determinants of infant and young child feeding practices by mothers in two rural districts of Sindh, Pakistan: a cross-sectional survey.

Science.gov (United States)

Khan, Gul Nawaz; Ariff, Shabina; Khan, Ubaidullah; Habib, Atif; Umer, Muhammad; Suhag, Zamir; Hussain, Imtiaz; Bhatti, Zaid; Ullah, Asmat; Turab, Ali; Khan, Ali Ahmad; Garzon, Alba Cecilia; Khan, Mohammad Imran; Soofi, Sajid

2017-01-01

Infant and young child feeding (IYCF) practices during the first two years of life are important for the growth and development of a child. The aim of this study was to assess IYCF practices and its associated factors in two rural districts of Pakistan. A cross-sectional study was conducted in two rural districts of Sindh province, Pakistan as part of a stunting prevention project between May and August 2014. A standard questionnaire on IYCF practices recommended by World Health Organization was used to collect information from 2013 mothers who had a child aged between 0 and 23 months. Only 49% of mothers initiated breastfeeding within one hour of birth. Thirty-seven percent of mothers exclusively breastfed their infants for six months. Seventy-percent mothers introduced complementary feeding at 6-8 months of age. Eighty-two percent of mothers continued breastfeeding for at least one year and 75% for at least two years of age. IYCF practices were not significantly different for boys and girls in the study area. Being an employed mother (AOR 2.14; 95% CI 1.02, 4.51) was positively associated with the early initiation of breastfeeding. Children who were born at a health facility (AOR 0.65; 95% CI 0.50, 0.84) and were aged six to eleven months (AOR 0.70; 95% CI 0.54, 0.90) were less likely to be have an early initiation of breastfeeding. Mothers aged 25 to 29 years (AOR 1.83; 95% CI 1.05, 3.18), being literate (AOR 1.79; 95% CI 1.15, 2.78), and higher income (AOR 10.6; 95% CI 4.40, 25.30) were more likely to have an improved dietary diversity. Being an employed mother (AOR 2.18; 95% CI 1.77, 4.03) and higher income were more likely to have minimum acceptable diet (AOR 9.7; 95% CI 4.33, 21.71). IYCF practices were below the acceptable level and associated with maternal age, maternal illiteracy, unemployment, and poor household wealth status. Emphasis should be given to improve maternal literacy and reduction in poverty to improve IYCF practices.

Investigation of Current Situation of Learning Motivation, Social Anxiety and Loneliness of the Left-behind Children in Rural Primary School

OpenAIRE

Zhang Biyun; Xu Ming

2015-01-01

Objective: To understand the situation of learning motivation, social anxiety and loneliness of the left-behind children. Method: Selecting three rural primary schools in Xian’an District of Xianning City to investigate left-behind situation, learning motivation, social anxiety and loneliness of pupils in Grades 4 to 6 in rural primary school in Xian’an District by the use of the MAAT-I-A which is revised by Zhou Bucheng, the Social Anxiety Scale for Children (SASC) and the Children’s Lonelin...

Potential use of mobile phones in improving animal health service delivery in underserved rural areas: experience from Kilosa and Gairo districts in Tanzania.

Science.gov (United States)

Karimuribo, Esron D; Batamuzi, Emmanuel K; Massawe, Lucas B; Silayo, Richard S; Mgongo, Frederick O K; Kimbita, Elikira; Wambura, Raphael M

2016-10-07

Sub-optimal performance of the animal health delivery system in rural areas is common in developing countries including Tanzania. However, penetration of mobile phones and availability of good road network and public transport systems offer opportunities for improving the access of rural communities to diagnostic and advisory services from facilities and expertise located in urban areas. A questionnaire survey on possession and use of mobile phones by pastoral and agro-pastoral communities in Kilosa and Gairo districts was carried out between November and December 2015. A total number of 138 livestock keepers from three villages of Chakwale (54), Mvumi (41) and Parakuyo (43) participated in the study. An e-based system was designed and tested to link rural communities with urban diagnostic facilities. It was observed that the average number of phones possessed by individuals interviewed and household families was 1.1 ± 0.26 (1-2) and 3.5 ± 2.23 (1-10), respectively. It was further observed that out of 138 livestock keepers interviewed, 133 (96.4 %) had feature phones while 10 (7.2 %) of them possessed smartphones. Mobile phone is currently used to support livestock production by communicating on animal health in Parakuyo (18, 41.9 %), Mvumi (18, 43.9 %) and Chakwale (14, 25.9 %). Other contributions of mobile phones in livestock and crop agriculture observed in the study area include: exchange of livestock price information, crop price information, communicating on plant health/diseases, livestock extension and advisory services as well as crop farming extension and advisory services. We also designed and tested an e-based SUAVetDiag® system to support timely diagnosis of infectious disease conditions and prompt advice on case management in veterinary underserved areas. Availability of mobile phones in rural areas, in combination with supporting infrastructure and facilities in urban areas, has potential to stimulate local development and improving

Gender equality in rural development and agricultural extension in ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

... (implementation, access to and control of resources) of women in maleheaded households, female-headed households and male-headed households in rural development and agricultural extension was the focus of this study. The district was purposively selected based on crop and livestock farming systems of the zone.

Users' perspectives on decentralized rural water services in Tanzania

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Masanyiwa, Z.S.; Niehof, A.; Termeer, C.J.A.M.

2015-01-01

This article examines the impact of decentralization reforms on improving access to domestic water supply in the rural districts of Kondoa and Kongwa, Tanzania, using a users' and a gender perspective. The article addresses the question whether and to what extent the delivery of gender-sensitive

A Rural Special Education Teacher Training Program: Successful Adaptations.

Science.gov (United States)

Prater, Greg; And Others

The Rural Special Education Program (RSEP), a partnership between Northern Arizona University (NAU) and Kayenta Unified School District (KUSD), provides training for preservice special education teachers to work with Native American students and their families. To date, the program has provided training for 63 preservice special education…

Factors Influencing Teacher Job Satisfaction and Their Alignment with Current District Practices in a Rural School District

Science.gov (United States)

Wallace, Taneal Marie

2010-01-01

School districts' decisions across the country are influencing the satisfaction level of teachers, in both positive and negative ways. With statistics reporting as high as fifty percent of teachers leaving the profession in the first five years of experience (Ingersoll, 2003), determining the reasons for teacher dissatisfaction are important in…

Assessment of drinking water quality and rural household water treatment in Balaka District, Malawi

Science.gov (United States)

Mkwate, Raphael C.; Chidya, Russel C. G.; Wanda, Elijah M. M.

2017-08-01

Access to drinking water from unsafe sources is widespread amongst communities in rural areas such as Balaka District in Malawi. This situation puts many individuals and communities at risk of waterborne diseases despite some households adopting household water treatment to improve the quality of the water. However, there still remains data gaps regarding the quality of drinking water from such sources and the household water treatment methods used to improve public health. This study was, therefore, conducted to help bridge the knowledge gap by evaluating drinking water quality and adoption rate of household water treatment and storage (HWTS) practices in Nkaya, Balaka District. Water samples were collected from eleven systematically selected sites and analyzed for physico-chemical and microbiological parameters: pH, TDS, electrical conductivity (EC), turbidity, F-, Cl-, NO3-, Na, K, Fe, Faecal Coliform (FC) and Faecal Streptococcus (FS) bacteria using standard methods. The mean results were compared to the World Health Organization (WHO) and Malawi Bureau of Standards (MBS) (MS 733:2005) to ascertain the water quality for drinking purposes. A total of 204 randomly selected households were interviewed to determine their access to drinking water, water quality perception and HWTS among others. The majority of households (72%, n = 83) in Njerenje accessed water from shallow wells and rivers whilst in Phimbi boreholes were commonly used. Several households (>95%, n = 204) were observed to be practicing HWST techniques by boiling or chlorination and water storage in closed containers. The levels of pH (7.10-7.64), F- (0.89-1.46 mg/L), Cl- (5.45-89.84 mg/L), NO3- (0-0.16 mg/L), Na (20-490 mg/L), K (2.40-14 mg/L) and Fe (0.10-0.40 mg/L) for most sites were within the standard limits. The EC (358-2220 μS/cm), turbidity (0.54-14.60 NTU), FC (0-56 cfu/100 mL) and FS (0-120 cfu/100 mL) - mainly in shallow wells, were found to be above the WHO and MBS water quality

Power imbalance and consumerism in the doctor-patient relationship: health care providers' experiences of patient encounters in a rural district in India.

Science.gov (United States)

Fochsen, Grethe; Deshpande, Kirti; Thorson, Anna

2006-11-01

The aim of this study is to explore health care providers' experiences and perceptions of their encounters with male and female patients in a rural district in India with special reference to tuberculosis (TB) care. The authors conducted semistructured interviews with 22 health care providers, 17 men and 5 women, from the public and private health care sectors. Findings reveal that doctors adopted an authoritarian as well as a consumerist approach in the medical encounter, indicating that power imbalances in the doctor-patient relationship are negotiable and subject to change. Gender was identified as an influencing factor of the doctor's dominance. A patient-centered approach, acknowledging patients' own experiences and shared decision making, is called for and should be included in TB control activities. This seems to be especially important for female patients, whose voices were not heard in the medical encounter.

The prevalence of uncorrected refractive error in urban, suburban, exurban and rural primary school children in Indonesian population

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Indra Tri Mahayana

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Uncorrected refractive error (URE is a major health problem among school children. This study was aimed to determine the frequency and patterns of URE across 4 gradients of residential densities (urban, exurban, suburban and rural. This was a cross-sectional study of school children from 3 districts in Yogyakarta and 1 district near Yogyakarta, Indonesia. The information regarding age, sex, school and school grader were recorded. The Snellen’s chart was used to measure the visual acuity and to perform the subjective refraction. The district was then divided into urban, suburban, exurban and rural area based on their location and population. In total, 410 school children were included in the analyses (urban=79, exurban=73, suburban=160 and rural=98 school children. Urban school children revealed the worst visual acuity (P<0.001 and it was significant when compared with exurban and rural. The proportion of URE among urban, suburban, exurban and rural area were 10.1%, 12.3%, 3.8%, and 1%, respectively, and it was significant when compared to the proportion of ametropia and corrected refractive error across residential densities (P=0.003. The risk of URE development in urban, suburban, exurban, and rural were 2.218 (95%CI: 0.914-5.385, 3.019 (95%CI: 1.266-7.197, 0.502 (95%CI: 0.195-1.293, and 0.130 (95%CI:0.017-0.972, respectively. Urban school children showed the worst visual acuity. The school children in urban and suburban residential area had 2 and 3 times higher risk of developing the URE.

Factors impacting on organisational learning in three rural health ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

a relatively new concept in the healthcare system.1. A learning ... challenges to those working in a rural setting because of the distance from academic ... ness to change entire routines and standard operating procedures embedded in ... priorities for an intervention to create learning organisations of district hospitals and ...

The impact of innovation funding on a rural health nursing service: the Reporoa experience.

Science.gov (United States)

Connor, Margaret; Nelson, Katherine; Maisey, Jane

2009-07-01

Health Reporoa Inc. offers a first contact rural nursing service to the village of Reporoa and surrounding districts. From 2003 to 2006 it became a project site through selection for the Ministry of Health (MoH) primary health care nursing innovation funding. Health Reporoa Inc. successfully achieved its project goals and gained an ongoing contract from Lakes District Health Board to consolidate and further expand its services at the close of the funding period. This paper examines the impact of the innovation funding during the project period and in the two years that followed. The major impact came through an expansion of the accessible free health service to the local population; advancing nursing practice; increased connection to the nursing profession and wider health community, and enhanced affirmation of the nursing contribution. The rural nursing service model developed at Health Reporoa, through the benefit of innovation funding, can now act as a blueprint for other rural health services, particularly those in high deprivation areas.

Nitrate in drinking water and vegetables: intake and risk assessment in rural and urban areas of Nagpur and Bhandara districts of India.

Science.gov (United States)

Taneja, Pinky; Labhasetwar, Pawan; Nagarnaik, Pranav

2017-06-06

The study focuses on the estimation of health risk from nitrate present in the drinking water and vegetables in Nagpur and Bhandara districts in the state of Maharashtra, India. Drinking water samples from 77 locations from the rural as well as urban areas and 22 varieties of vegetable were collected and analyzed for the presence of nitrate for a period of 1 year (two seasons). The daily intake of nitrate from these water and vegetable samples was then computed and compared with standard acceptable intake levels to assess the associated health risk. The mean nitrate concentration of 59 drinking water samples exceeded the Bureau of Indian Standards limit of 45 mg/L in drinking water. The rural and urban areas were found to have mean nitrate concentration in drinking water as 45.69 ± 2.08 and 22.53 ± 1.97 mg/L, respectively. The estimated daily intake of drinking water samples from 55 study sites had nitrate concentration far below the safety margin indicating serious health risk. The sanitation survey conducted in 12 households reported contaminated source with positive E. coli count in 20 samples as the major factor of health risk. The average nitrate concentration was maximum in beetroot (1349.38 mg/kg) followed by spinach (1288.75 mg/kg) and amaranthus (1007.64 mg/kg). Among the samples, four varieties of the vegetables exceeded the acceptable daily intake (ADI) with an assumption of 0.5 kg consumption of vegetables for an average of a 60-kg individual. Therefore, irrigation of these locally grown vegetables should be monitored periodically for nitrogen accumulation by the crop above the ADI limit. The application of nitrogenous fertilizers should also be minimized in the rural areas to help protect the nitrate contamination in groundwater sources.

Mobilization and Adaptation of a Rural Cradle-to-Career Network

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Sarah J. Zuckerman

2016-10-01

Full Text Available This case study explored the development of a rural cradle-to-career network with a dual focus on the initial mobilization of network members and subsequent adaptations made to maintain mobilization, while meeting local needs. Data sources included interviews with network members, observations of meetings, and documentary evidence. Network-based social capital facilitated mobilization. Where networks were absent and where distrust and different values were evident, mobilization faltered. Three network adaptations were discovered: Special rural community organizing strategies, district-level action planning, and a theory of action focused on out-of-school factors. All three were attributable to the composition of mobilized stakeholders and this network’s rural social geography. These findings illuminate the importance of social geography in the development and advancement of rural cradle-to-career networks.

Institutional Delivery Service Utilization among Women from Rural Districts of Wolaita and Dawro Zones, Southern Ethiopia; a Community Based Cross-Sectional Study.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mihiretu Alemayehu Arba

Full Text Available The highest number of maternal deaths occur during labour, delivery and the first day after delivery highlighting the critical need for good quality care during this period. Therefore, for the strategies of institutional delivery to be effective, it is essential to understand the factors that influence individual and household factors to utilize skilled birth attendance and institutions for delivery. This study was aimed to assess factors affecting the utilization of institutional delivery service of women in rural districts of Wolaita and Dawro Zones.A community based cross-sectional study was done among mothers who gave birth within the past one year preceding the survey in Wolaita and Dawro Zones, from February 01 -April 30, 2015 by using a three stage sampling technique. Initially, 6 districts were selected randomly from the total of 17 eligible districts. Then, 2 kebele from each district was selected randomly cumulating a total of 12 clusters. Finally, study participants were selected from each cluster by using systematic sampling technique. Accordingly, 957 mothers were included in the survey. Data was collected by using a pretested interviewer administered structured questionnaire. The questionnaire was prepared by including socio-demographic variables and variables of maternal health service utilization factors. Data was entered using Epi-data version 1.4.4.0 and exported to SPSS version 20 for analysis. Bivariate and multiple logistic regressions were applied to identify candidate and predictor variables respectively.Only 38% of study participants delivered the index child at health facility. Husband's educational status, wealth index, average distance from nearest health facility, wanted pregnancy, agreement to follow post-natal care, problem faced during delivery, birth order, preference of health professional for ante-natal care and maternity care were predictors of institutional delivery.The use of institutional delivery service is

Institutional Delivery Service Utilization among Women from Rural Districts of Wolaita and Dawro Zones, Southern Ethiopia; a Community Based Cross-Sectional Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Arba, Mihiretu Alemayehu; Darebo, Tadele Dana; Koyira, Mengistu Meskele

2016-01-01

The highest number of maternal deaths occur during labour, delivery and the first day after delivery highlighting the critical need for good quality care during this period. Therefore, for the strategies of institutional delivery to be effective, it is essential to understand the factors that influence individual and household factors to utilize skilled birth attendance and institutions for delivery. This study was aimed to assess factors affecting the utilization of institutional delivery service of women in rural districts of Wolaita and Dawro Zones. A community based cross-sectional study was done among mothers who gave birth within the past one year preceding the survey in Wolaita and Dawro Zones, from February 01 -April 30, 2015 by using a three stage sampling technique. Initially, 6 districts were selected randomly from the total of 17 eligible districts. Then, 2 kebele from each district was selected randomly cumulating a total of 12 clusters. Finally, study participants were selected from each cluster by using systematic sampling technique. Accordingly, 957 mothers were included in the survey. Data was collected by using a pretested interviewer administered structured questionnaire. The questionnaire was prepared by including socio-demographic variables and variables of maternal health service utilization factors. Data was entered using Epi-data version 1.4.4.0 and exported to SPSS version 20 for analysis. Bivariate and multiple logistic regressions were applied to identify candidate and predictor variables respectively. Only 38% of study participants delivered the index child at health facility. Husband's educational status, wealth index, average distance from nearest health facility, wanted pregnancy, agreement to follow post-natal care, problem faced during delivery, birth order, preference of health professional for ante-natal care and maternity care were predictors of institutional delivery. The use of institutional delivery service is low in the study

Severe malnutrition among children under the age of 5 years admitted to a rural district hospital in southern Mozambique.

Science.gov (United States)

Nhampossa, Tacilta; Sigaúque, Betuel; Machevo, Sónia; Macete, Eusebio; Alonso, Pedro; Bassat, Quique; Menéndez, Clara; Fumadó, Victoria

2013-09-01

To describe the burden, clinical characteristics and prognostic factors of severe malnutrition in children under the age of 5 years. Retrospective study of hospital-based data systematically collected from January 2001 to December 2010. Rural Mozambican district hospital. All children aged malnutrition. During the 10-year long study surveillance, 274 813 children belonging to Manhiça’s Demographic Surveillance System were seen at out-patient clinics, almost half of whom (47 %) presented with some indication of malnutrition and 6% (17 188/274 813) with severe malnutrition. Of these, only 15% (2522/17 188) were eventually admitted. Case fatality rate of severe malnutrition was 7% (162/2274). Bacteraemia, hypoglycaemia, oral candidiasis, prostration, oedema, pallor and acute diarrhoea were independently associated with an increased risk of in-hospital mortality, while malaria parasitaemia and breast-feeding were independently associated with a lower risk of a poor outcome. Overall minimum communitybased incidence rate was 15 cases per 1000 child-years at risk and children aged 12–23 months had the highest incidence. Severe malnutrition among admitted children in this Mozambican setting was common but frequently went undetected, despite being associated with a high risk of death. Measures to improve its recognition by clinicians responsible for the first evaluation of patients at the out-patient level are urgently needed so as to improve their likelihood of survival. Together with this, the rapid management of complications such as hypoglycaemia and concomitant co-infections such as bacteraemia, acute diarrhoea, oral candidiasis and HIV/AIDS may contribute to reverse the intolerable toll that malnutrition poses in the health of children in rural African settings.

Leadership Strategies for Maintaining Success in a Rural School District

Science.gov (United States)

Freeman, Greta G.; Randolph, Ivan

2013-01-01

Success in a PK-12 educational environment begins at the top with school leadership. Due to economic problems, poverty and added responsibilities, leaders in rural communities throughout the United States face sensitive and distinctive challenges. Based on research and years of administrative experience as school and school system leaders, the…

Adolescent alcohol use in rural South African high schools | Onya ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Objective: To examine psychosocial correlates of lifetime alcohol use among adolescents in rural South African high schools. Method: Questionnaires were administered to 1600 students from 20 randomly selected high schools in the Mankweng district within Limpopo province. Self-report data on alcohol use, demographic, ...

Dimensional evaluation of a rural mobile learning teacher professional development curriculum

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Botha, Adele

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Education Development (ICT4RED) TPD Curriculum was designed and validated as a standalone intervention in a single district, for rural teachers, but did it carry Higher Education Institution accreditation. This implementation gap is addressed in its adaption...

Costs and consequences of a cash transfer for hospital births in a rural district of Uttar Pradesh, India.

Science.gov (United States)

Coffey, Diane

2014-08-01

The Janani Suraksha Yojana, India's "safe motherhood program," is a conditional cash transfer to encourage women to give birth in health facilities. Despite the program's apparent success in increasing facility-based births, quantitative evaluations have not found corresponding improvements in health outcomes. This study analyses original qualitative data collected between January, 2012 and November, 2013 in a rural district in Uttar Pradesh to address the question of why the program has not improved health outcomes. It finds that health service providers are focused on capturing economic rents associated with the program, and provide an extremely poor quality care. Further, the program does not ultimately provide beneficiaries a large net monetary transfer at the time of birth. Based on a detailed accounting of the monetary costs of hospital and home deliveries, this study finds that the value of the transfer to beneficiaries is small due to costs associated with hospital births. Finally, this study also documents important emotional and psychological costs to women of delivering in the hospital. These findings suggest the need for a substantial rethinking of the program, paying careful attention to incentivizing health outcomes. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Epidemiology of District Surgery in Malawi: a Two Year Study of ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Background: The true surgical requirement of a rural African population is also not precisely known. Methods: Data gathered over a 2-year period from 1993 to 1995 on surgical and anaesthetic activities in 18 District Hospitals in Malawi are presented. Results: Theatre records showed that 45,032 operations were carried out ...

District health information system assessment: a case study in iran.

Science.gov (United States)

Raeisi, Ahmad Reza; Saghaeiannejad, Sakineh; Karimi, Saeed; Ehteshami, Asghar; Kasaei, Mahtab

2013-03-01

Health care managers and personnel should be aware and literate of health information system in order to increase the efficiency and effectiveness in their organization. Since accurate, appropriate, precise, timely, valid information and interpretation of information is required and is the basis for policy planning and decision making in various levels of the organization. This study was conducted to assess the district health information system evolution in Iran according to WHO framework. This research is an applied, descriptive cross sectional study, in which a total of twelve urban and eight rural facilities, and the district health center at Falavarjan region were surveyed by using a questionnaire with 334 items. Content and constructive validity and reliability of the questionnaire were confirmed with correlation coefficient of 0.99. Obtained data were analyzed with SPSS 16 software and descriptive statistics were used to examine measures of WHO compliance. The analysis of data revealed that the mean score of compliance of district health information system framework was 35.75 percent. The maximum score of compliance with district health information system belonged to the data collection process (70 percent). The minimum score of compliance with district health information system belonged to information based decision making process with a score of 10 percent. District Health Information System Criteria in Isfahan province do not completely comply with WHO framework. Consequently, it seems that health system managers engaged with underlying policy and decision making processes at district health level should try to restructure and decentralize district health information system and develop training management programs for their managers.

Harvesting and consumption of fuel and timber wood in rural area of district tank, pakistan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Badshah, L.; Hussain, F.; Burni, T.

2014-01-01

The study revealed that 90% of the rural people with different age group of District Tank, Pakistan depended upon firewood for catering. The total annual wood consumption for fueling by brick brewers, food sellers and domestic utilization was 18371 metric tons in this remote region. The saw machines also convert 13650 metric tons of timber wood yearly into logs and boards of various grades. The total wood consumption exceeds the quantity of wood harvested by tree fellers, farmers and wood sellers. Therefore the balance of over 13000 metric tons is sourced from neighboring forest of Tehsil Kulachi and Dera Ismail Khan. The quantity of wood removed and consumed for various purposes did not show a significant difference at (0.05) among the six locations. However student t-test showed significant difference existed in the mean annual removal and consumption of wood in the area. The study also enumerated Acacia nilotica, Tamarix aphylla, and Sueda fruticosa as the best and preferred fuel species. While Acacia nilotica, Prosopis farcta and Dalbergia sisso as the frequently used timber species in the region. The criterion of firewood and lumber consumption was very conventional like durability in blaze and opposed to termite. Consequently, it is recommended scientific vegetation conservation strategies meant at improved burning of fuel wood and maximized used of timber products as a complimentary efforts to enforced tree planting for conservation of plant resources. (author)

Modelling seasonal farm labour demand: What can we learn from rural Kakamega district, western Kenya?

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Vincent Canwat

2012-09-01

Full Text Available Seasonality of agricultural activities causes fluctuation in the quantity of labour consumed by these activities, and yet many rural labour studies in developing countries still treat labour demand in agriculture as if it is the same across different farm operations. To unearth the amount of information hidden by this aggregated analysis, labour demand for specific farm operations was estimated based on data collected from Kakamega District. This analysis shows that increasing household size increases labour demand for planting, weeding and harvesting. Increasing the share of elderly household members has a negligible effect on labour demand for farm activities except for land preparation, with which it is positively related. Participation of primary school-going children in farm activities is the highest in planting and harvesting. Participation in off-farm employment seems to increase labour demand only during peak seasons. The area planted appears to have an insignificant effect on labour demand for land preparation. Planting sugar cane appears to reduce labour demand for weeding and primary processing, but planting tea increases labour demand for planting. Mechanising land preparation only reduces labour demand for land preparation, but it seems to be offset by other labour-intensive farm operations. The distance from water source is positively related to labour demand for land preparation, but the distance to the market is negatively related to labour demand for weeding and harvesting. These observations point to the need for supporting and investing in technological and organisational innovations in agriculture.

Use of Lot quality assurance sampling surveys to evaluate community health worker performance in rural Zambia: a case of Luangwa district.

Science.gov (United States)

Mwanza, Moses; Zulu, Japhet; Topp, Stephanie M; Musonda, Patrick; Mutale, Wilbroad; Chilengi, Roma

2017-04-17

The Better Health Outcomes through Mentoring and Assessment (BHOMA) project is a cluster randomized controlled trial aimed at reducing age-standardized mortality rates in three rural districts through involvement of Community Health Workers (CHWs), Traditional Birth Attendants (TBAs), and Neighborhood Health Committees (NHCs). CHWs conduct quarterly surveys on all households using a questionnaire that captures key health events occurring within their catchment population. In order to validate contact with households, we utilize the Lot Quality Assurance Sampling (LQAS) methodology. In this study, we report experiences of applying the LQAS approach to monitor performance of CHWs in Luangwa District. Between April 2011 and December 2013, seven health facilities in Luangwa district were enrolled into the BHOMA project. The health facility catchment areas were divided into 33 geographic zones. Quality assurance was performed each quarter by randomly selecting zones representing about 90% of enrolled catchment areas from which 19 households per zone where also randomly identified. The surveys were conducted by CHW supervisors who had been trained on using the LQAS questionnaire. Information collected included household identity number (ID), whether the CHW visited the household, duration of the most recent visit, and what health information was discussed during the CHW visit. The threshold for success was set at 75% household outreach by CHWs in each zone. There are 4,616 total households in the 33 zones. This yielded a target of 32,212 household visits by community health workers during the 7 survey rounds. Based on the set cutoff point for passing the surveys (at least 75% households confirmed as visited), only one team of CHWs at Luangwa high school failed to reach the target during round 1 of the surveys; all the teams otherwise registered successful visits in all the surveys. We have employed the LQAS methodology for assurance that quarterly surveys were

Rural and urban transit district benchmarking : effectiveness and efficiency guidance document.

Science.gov (United States)

2011-05-01

Rural and urban transit systems have sought ways to compare performance across agencies, : identifying successful service delivery strategies and applying these concepts to achieve : successful results within their agency. Benchmarking is a method us...

EVALUATION OF THE QUALITY OF EDUCATION FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT ON THE EXAMPLE OF RURAL SETTLEMENTS OF DAKHADAYEVSKY DISTRICT OF THE REPUBLIC OF DAGESTAN

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G. M. Abdurakhmanov

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Aim. Analysis of the quality of environmental education for sustainable development on the example of educational institutions of villages of Dakhadayevsky district in Dagestan. Methods. The basis for research is the results of the surveys and testing among the schoolchildren of 5-11 grades and teachers of rural settlements of Dakhadayevsky District. The research is conducted using a special surveys designed at the faculty of ecology and geography of Dagestan State University. Statistical analysis was based on the general principles of statistics and carried out with the use of Statistica and Excel application packages. Results. The obtained data clearly reflect the situation of environmental education in Russian schools: unbalanced presentation of separate sections in the content of education. As follows from the results, the content of environmental education in schools is dominated by the knowledge gained in the course of learning biology and to a much lesser rate of geography. Analysis of the results showed that in schools the ecological knowledge is gained insufficiently. The comparative analysis of individual components of environmental training of pupils of the region showed varying results in different populations. Conclusions. The pro-file of environmental training for primary school students is analyzed, considering Russian educational standards. An attempt was made to explain these results and make recommendations to improve the learning environment.

The incidence, aetiology and outcome of acute seizures in children admitted to a rural Kenyan district hospital

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Maitland Kathryn

2008-02-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Acute seizures are a common cause of paediatric admissions to hospitals in resource poor countries and a risk factor for neurological and cognitive impairment and epilepsy. We determined the incidence, aetiological factors and the immediate outcome of seizures in a rural malaria endemic area in coastal Kenya. Methods We recruited all children with and without seizures, aged 0–13 years and admitted to Kilifi District hospital over 2 years from 1st December 2004 to 30th November 2006. Only incident admissions from a defined area were included. Patients with epilepsy were excluded. The population denominator, the number of children in the community on 30th November 2005 (study midpoint, was modelled from a census data. Results Seizures were reported in 900/4,921(18.3% incident admissions and at least 98 had status epilepticus. The incidence of acute seizures in children 0–13 years was 425 (95%CI 386, 466 per 100,000/year and was 879 (95%CI 795, 968 per 100,000/year in children Conclusion There is a high incidence of acute seizures in children living in this malaria endemic area of Kenya. The most important causes are diseases that are preventable with available public health programs.

Planning for rural energy system: Part 2

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Devadas, V.

2001-01-01

This paper discusses the central importance of energy inputs in development, and presents the complex interactions within subsystems that contribute a Rural Energy System. This paper also brings about the importance of the primary data for realistic renewable energy planning at the micro level in a given rural system. Factors that render secondary data somewhat inadequate for such applications are discussed. The differences between energy related data from secondary and primary sources in respect of representative villages in Kanyakumari District of Tamil Nadu, India, are detailed. A rural system model for computing the output from various components of a rural system is also presented. This projection is made by making use of a set of technical coefficients, which relate the inputs to the outputs from individual segments of the rural production system. While some of the technical coefficients are developed based on previously published data, a large number have been quantified on the basis of careful survey. The usefulness of the model is discussed. The paper also presents a Linear Programming Model for optimum resource allocation in a rural system. The objective function of the Linear Programming Model is maximizing the revenue of the rural system where in optimum resource allocation is made subject to a number of energy and non-energy related relevant constraints. The model also quantifies the major yields as well as the byproducts of different sectors of the rural economic system. (Author)

Magnitude of Maternal Anaemia in Rural Burkina Faso: Contribution of Nutritional Factors and Infectious Diseases

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Nicolas Meda

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Background. Maternal anaemia is a worldwide public health problem affecting particularly developing countries. In Burkina Faso, little data is available for rural areas. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of maternal anaemia and the risk factors associated with it in the rural health district of Hounde in Burkina Faso but also to define better control measures of maternal anaemia. Methods. This cross-sectional study conducted in 2010 had a sample of 3,140 pregnant women attending antenatal care in all the 18 primary health care facilities of the district. The women’s characteristics and their knowledge about contraceptives and sexually transmitted infections (STI were collected. Also, physical and gynaecological examination, completed by vaginal, cervix, blood, and stool samplings, were collected. Results. A prevalence of 63.1% was recorded for maternal anaemia. Geophagy rate was 16.3% and vitamin A deficiency 69.3%. In addition, anaemia was independently associated with low education, low brachial perimeter, geophagy, and primigravida. But no statically significant relationship was found between maternal anaemia and infectious diseases or vitamin A deficiency. Conclusion. The magnitude of maternal anaemia was found to be higher in rural Hounde health district and should be addressed by adequate policy including education and the fight against malnutrition.

The increasing burden of tuberculosis in rural South Africa - impact ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Objective. To determine the impact of the HIV epidemic on tuberculosis caseload in rural South Africa. Setting. Hlabisa health district, Kwazulu-Natal. Methods. Demographic and clinical data were extracted from the tuberculosis database for the period, May 1991 June 1995. The attributable fraction of HIV-infected ...

Analysis of Migration Flows of the Population of the Vologda Oblast Districts

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Mikhail Mikhailovich Panov

2015-09-01

Full Text Available The article presents the research on the main directions and scale of migration in municipal districts of the Vologda Oblast and considers the main types of migration and the specifics of their statistical accounting. The data by Rosstat served as a basis upon which a general analysis of migration dynamics in the Vologda Oblast districts was carried out; and the article presents its periodization. Three main periods are defined: the “migration shock” of 1991–1999 after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the migration stability of 2000–2008 and the post-crisis rural out-migration that began in 2009 and is increasing year by year. At the same time, gross migration indicators have shown high sensitivity to significant socioeconomic change, in particular, to the economic crises of 1999 and 2008. The article describes the main age and gender characteristics of migrants, it has been determined that the most active migrants are girls aged 15–29, who move from rural to urban settlements. In general, it is the young people aged 15–34 who are most likely to migrate. The author has found out that most of the Vologda Oblast districts are characterized by a higher outflow of the population, which is in some places restrained by a relative migration attractiveness of a number of areas. The author has found out that most districts of the Oblast are characterized by a higher outflow of the population, which is sometimes restrained by relative migration attractiveness of some areas. The author highlights the region’s territories with the highest migration attraction; in the long run they can play the role of “growth points” in the region; these territories comprise Velikoustyugsky and Chagodoshchensky districts, as well as several districts of the central part of the Vologda Oblast – Ust-Kubinsky and Vologodsky. The author also points out the territories that suffered the most from out-migration: Kichmengsko-Gorodetsky, Vashkinsky

Characteristics of Poverty in Rural Communities of Gold Mining District Area West Sumbawa

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Ibrahim Ibrahim

2016-06-01

Full Text Available The research is conducted in rural areas of gold mining with the aim to find out the characteristics of poverty in the rural area of gold mining in West Sumbawa regency. The survey method is used in this study, focusing on the rural mining area. Sample of respondents are 167 households, selected by purposive sampling from four villages, which are determined based on the first ma slope. The data analysis uses cross tabulation and frequency tables. The results showes that the poverty rate in the research area is still low. The results of the combined value of the characteristic size of the hilly topography of poverty are 84 per cent and 83.7 per cent flat topography caused by low levels of income, quality of houses, agricultural land ownership, livestock ownership, ownership of valuables

[Funding of a free healthcare campaign in a rural district of Cameroon: optimizing the role of civil society in sub-Saharan Africa].

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Keugoung, B; Fouelifack Ymele, F; Dongtsa Mabou, J; Nangue, C; Ngouadjio Kougoum, P; Takoudjou, L; Hercot, D; Meli, J

2013-05-01

Financial barriers represent a major obstacle to access to health care in sub-Saharan Africa and thus to the implementation of the Bamako Initiative. We describe an experience in which a civil society organization financed a free healthcare campaign in a rural health district in Cameroon. In all, 2,073 patients received free consultations, laboratory tests, and drugs. Adults older than 40 years accounted for 55.7% of all patients. The most frequent diseases were: osteoarticular conditions (24.1%), malaria (20.8%), and intestinal parasitosis (12.5%). In health systems financed mainly by cost recovery, some population needs remain uncovered by health services. There is a need to involve and reinforce the role of civil society in health system financing. It can help to pool more funds and improve the management of health resources to increase financial access to health care for poor people.

Encouragers and discouragers affecting medical graduates' choice of regional and rural practice locations.

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McKillop, Ann; Webster, Craig; Bennett, Win; O'Connor, Barbara; Bagg, Warwick

2017-12-01

Access to health care as near to where people live as possible is desirable. However, not enough medical graduates choose to work in rural and regional areas, especially in general practice. The career decisions of recent medical graduates are known to be affected by a variety of professional, societal and personal factors. Internationally, medical programmes have exposed students to regional and rural experiences partly to encourage them to seek employment in these areas after graduation. As such, the Pūkawakawa Programme is a year-long regional and rural experience for selected Year 5 students from the University of Auckland‘s Medical Programme in New Zealand in partnership with the Northland District Health Board and two Primary Health Organisations. A lack of clarity about the drivers of rural and regional career decisions underpinned this study, which aimed to explore the barriers and encouragers for students of the programme to return as resident medical officers to the regional hospital where they had gained clinical experience. A mixed-method, descriptive design was used, including a short survey, followed by participation in a focus-group discussion or a one-on-one interview. Survey data were summarised in tabular form and inductive, thematic analysis was applied to transcripts of focus groups and interviews. Nineteen doctors in their first or second year following graduation participated: 15 who had returned to the hospital where they had clinical experience in the programme and four who were employed elsewhere. 'A match of personal goals and intended career intentions' was the reason most frequently selected for junior doctors’ choice of early career employment. Other frequently selected reasons were lifestyle, friends and family close by, and the reputation and experience of the Pūkawakawa Programme. Qualitative data revealed that the learning experience, the unique design of the curriculum and associated support from clinicians were identified as

The effect of rural road transport infrastructure on smallholder farmers’ agricultural productivity in Horro Guduru Wollega Zone, Western Ethiopia

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Sileshi Tamene

2017-04-01

Full Text Available This study was carried out to examine access to rural road infrastructure and its effects on smallholder farmers’ agricultural productivity in Horro Guduru Wollega Zone, Western Ethiopia. A three stage random sampling technique was employed to select 500 farming households in the study area and data was collected on their socio-economic and farm specific characteristics. The collected data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and stepwise multiple regression analysis. The result of multiple regression model used revealed that distance to major market is important in predicting agricultural productivity of smallholder farmers at 5% levels of probability in Abe Dongoro, Amuru and Hababo Guduru districts. Ownership of intermediate means of transport was also found to influence agricultural productivity in Horro, Amuru and Hababo Guduru districts (p = 0.05. Further analysis of the regression model showed a significant negative correlation between distance to nearest all weather roads and distance to zonal head quarter on one hand and agricultural productivity on the other hand in Abe Dongoro, Hababo Guduru and Amuru districts. Rural kebeles of Abe Dongoro and Amuru districts which has vast agricultural potential were found to be the most inaccessible in Horro Guduru Wollega Zone. It is therefore suggested that interventions in the transport sector should include provision of rural roads as well as measures that will help improve vehicle supply in rural areas. An attempt has to be done also to increase the use of intermediate means of transport to ease agricultural inputs and outputs mobility and farm access.

A Review of a Successful Unsubsidized Market-Based Rural Solar Development Initiative in Laikipia District, Central Kenya

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O. Wambuguh

2013-10-01

Full Text Available The development of renewable energy technologies (RETs in many areas far from grid-based electricity have primarily involved solar photovoltaics (SPVs which tap solar radiation to provide heat, light, hot water, electricity, and cooling for homes, businesses, and industry. A study on RETs took place in the Wiyumiririe Location of Laikipia District (north-central Kenya, a rich agricultural region. To explore this solar initiative in such a remote part of the country, a purposive randomized convenience sample of 246 households was selected and landowner interviews conducted, followed by field visits and observations. Although more than half of the households visited had SPV installations, solar energy was found to contribute only 18% of household estimated total energy needs; most residents still primarily relying on traditional energy sources. Several types of solar panels of different capacities and costs were utilized. Many landowners had at least one or two rooms using solar energy for household lighting, for appliance charging and to power radio and television. Almost all respondents appreciated that solar energy was clean renewable energy that greatly improved household living conditions; gave them some prestige; was easy to use and maintain; and was available year around. Although such significant benefits were associated with SPVs, only about 40% of residents interviewed were somehow satisfied with its development. Respondents expressed specific developmental initiatives that were closely associated with the availability of solar energy. Nevertheless, a number of challenges were raised associated with SPVs primarily investment capital and equipment costs and maintenance. As solutions to capital building will not solely rely on subsidies or individual farmer inputs, strategies must be found to mobilize the essential and tested tools for success including sustainable capital generation, building local institutions and capacities that

Oral cleanliness of 12-13-year-old and 15-year-old school children of Sunsari District, Nepal

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Yee R

2006-09-01

Full Text Available The aim of the study was to evaluate the oral cleanliness of school children in the District of Sunsari, Nepal. A multi-stage random sampling oral epidemiological survey was conducted in private and government, urban, rural town and rural village schools in 15 illakas of Sunsari District, Eastern Nepal. A total of 600, 12-13-year-old and 600 15-year-old school children were examined by trained examiners using the simplified oral hygiene index (OHI-S. The average age-group, debris and calculus index scores were combined to obtain the simplified oral hygiene index (OHI-S. The mean OHI-S scores were compared and evaluated using the parametric t-test for two independent samples. The mean OHI-S for urban 12-13-year-old school children was 0.98 compared to 1.34 for school children of rural towns and 1.44 for school children of rural villages and these differences in mean OHI-S were statistically significant ( P < 0.005. In the 15-year-old age group, urban school children had a mean OHI-S score of 1.00 compared to 1.37 for rural towns and 1.43 for rural villages. The variance in the mean OHI-S scores were statistically significant ( P < 0.005. The overall level of cleanliness in the school children surveyed was good. Children of urban schools had the lowest scores followed by school children from rural towns and then rural villages. When the mean OHI-S scores were compared with the DMFT scores, there was an inverse relationship between oral cleanliness and dental caries. Frequency of sugar consumption and the availability and affordability of fluoridated toothpaste may be important factors in the development of dental caries than oral cleanliness.

Situating mobile health: a qualitative study of mHealth expectations in the rural health district of Nouna, Burkina Faso.

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Duclos, Vincent; Yé, Maurice; Moubassira, Kagoné; Sanou, Hamidou; Sawadogo, N Hélène; Bibeau, Gilles; Sié, Ali

2017-07-12

The implementation of mobile health (mHealth) projects in low- and middle-income countries raises high and well-documented expectations among development agencies, policymakers and researchers. By contrast, the expectations of direct and indirect mHealth users are not often examined. In preparation for a proposed intervention in the Nouna Health District, in rural Burkina Faso, this study investigates the expected benefits, challenges and limitations associated with mHealth, approaching these expectations as a form of situated knowledge, inseparable from local conditions, practices and experiences. The study was conducted within the Nouna Health District. We used a qualitative approach, and conducted individual semi-structured interviews and group interviews (n = 10). Participants included healthcare workers (n = 19), godmothers (n = 24), pregnant women (n = 19), women with children aged 12-24 months (n = 33), and women of childbearing age (n = 92). Thematic and content qualitative analyses were conducted. Participants expect mHealth to help retrieve patients lost to follow-up, improve maternal care monitoring, and build stronger relationships between pregnant women and primary health centres. Expected benefits are not reducible to a technological realisation (sending messages), but rather point towards a wider network of support. mHealth implementation is expected to present considerable challenges, including technological barriers, organisational challenges, gender issues, confidentiality concerns and unplanned aftereffects. mHealth is also expected to come with intrinsic limitations, to be found as obstacles to maternal care access with which pregnant women are confronted and on which mHealth is not expected to have any significant impact. mHealth expectations appear as situated knowledges, inseparable from local health-related experiences, practices and constraints. This problematises universalistic approaches to mHealth knowledge, while nevertheless hinting at

Is 'Opt-Out HIV Testing' a real option among pregnant women in rural districts in Kenya?

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Wamalwa David

2011-03-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background An 'opt-out' policy of routine HIV counseling and testing (HCT is being implemented across sub-Saharan Africa to expand prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT. Although the underlying assumption is that pregnant women in rural Africa are able to voluntarily consent to HIV testing, little is known about the reality and whether 'opt-out' HCT leads to higher completion rates of PMTCT. Factors associated with consent to HIV testing under the 'opt-out' approach were investigated through a large cross-sectional study in Kenya. Methods Observations during HIV pre-test information sessions were followed by a cross-sectional survey of 900 pregnant women in three public district hospitals carrying out PMTCT in the Busia district. Women on their first antenatal care (ANC visit during the current pregnancy were interviewed after giving blood for HIV testing but before learning their test results. Descriptive statistics and multivariate regression analysis were performed. Results Of the 900 women participating, 97% tested for HIV. Lack of testing kits was the only reason for women not being tested, i.e. nobody declined HIV testing. Despite the fact that 96% had more than four earlier pregnancies and 37% had been tested for HIV at ANC previously, only 17% of the women surveyed knew that testing was optional. Only 20% of those surveyed felt they could make an informed decision to decline HIV testing. Making an informed decision to decline HIV testing was associated with knowing that testing was optional (OR = 5.44, 95%CI 3.44-8.59, not having a stable relationship with the child's father (OR = 1.76, 95%CI 1.02-3.03, and not having discussed HIV testing with a partner before the ANC visit (OR = 2.64 95%CI 1.79-3.86. Conclusion High coverage of HIV testing appears to be achieved at the cost of pregnant women not understanding that testing is optional. Good quality HIV pre-test information is central to ensure that pregnant women

INDICADORES ANTROPOMÉTRICOS EN DOS ESCUELAS PÚBLICAS DE ZONA RURAL Y CITADINA EN EL PERÚ. 2014

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Pedro Javier Navarrete Mejía

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Malnutrition and obesity / overweight associated with malnutrition generate infringement of the potential capabilities on the physical and educational development at school age. The National Household Survey 2008 is sufficient evidence to ensure that malnutrition has the greatest impact on rural areas and that obesity / overweight is higher in urban areas. In recent years the Peruvian government, as part of its modernization and economic growth, has been allocating significant resources to programs for food and nutritional assistance to school aged children in. The aim of the study was to compare anthropometric indicators in two primary schools in a rural and urban area with similar characteristics, to determine the trend of malnutrition and overweight in these areas. Materials and Methods: Analytical- comparative, prospective cross-sectional study. The research included 159 children form the Acobamba school district (Huancavelica and 280 children from the Carabayllo school district (Lima from two public schools in an inner city and rural area. Information on the study variables (age, sex, weight, height and BMI were collected using a pre prepared data collection sheet. The period of data collection was from April to May 2014 Result: higher prevalence of malnutrition was evident in Acobamba (10.06% and increased obesity/overweight in Carabayllo (16.79%; the mean BMI of children of Acobamba and Carabayllo are statistically equal. Conclusion: The epidemiological characteristics of the study population in both districts of Acobamba (Huancavelica and Carabayllo (Lima show relationship of malnutrition in rural areas, while obesity / overweight. Despite being two populations with different geographical characteristics (urban and rural they have similar characteristics around the nutritional status of the population - for the study sample, which would indicate changes in the profiles of food consumption in rural areas, so it is necessary to conduct

Kericho CLinic-based ART Diagnostic Evaluation (CLADE: design, accrual, and baseline characteristics of a randomized controlled trial conducted in predominately rural, district-level, HIV clinics of Kenya.

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Fredrick K Sawe

Full Text Available Prospective clinical trial data regarding routine HIV-1 viral load (VL monitoring of antiretroviral therapy (ART in non-research clinics of Sub-Saharan Africa are needed for policy makers.CLinic-based ART Diagnostic Evaluation (CLADE is a randomized, controlled trial (RCT evaluating feasibility, superiority, and cost-effectiveness of routine VL vs. standard of care (clinical and immunological monitoring in adults initiating dual nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NRTI+non-NRTI ART. Participants were randomized (1:1 at 7 predominately rural, non-research, district-level clinics of western Kenya. Descriptive statistics present accrual patterns and baseline cohort characteristics.Over 15 months, 820 adults enrolled at 7 sites with 86-152 enrolled per site. Monthly site enrollment ranged from 2-92 participants. Full (100% informed consent compliance was independently documented. Half (49.9% had HIV diagnosed through voluntary counseling and testing. Study arms were similar: mostly females (57.6% aged 37.6 (SD = 9.0 years with low CD4 (166 [SD = 106] cells/m3. Notable proportions had WHO Stage III or IV disease (28.7%, BMI <18.5 kg/m2 (23.1%, and a history of tuberculosis (5.6% or were receiving tuberculosis treatment (8.2% at ART initiation. In the routine VL arm, 407/409 (99.5% received baseline VL (234,577 SD = 151,055 copies/ml. All participants received lamivudine; 49.8% started zidovudine followed by 38.4% stavudine and 11.8% tenofovir; and, 64.4% received nevirapine as nNRTI (35.6% efavirenz.A RCT can be enrolled successfully in rural, non-research, resource limited, district-level clinics in western Kenya. Many adults presenting for ART have advanced HIV/AIDS, emphasizing the importance of universal HIV testing and linkage-to-care campaigns.ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01791556.

Conservational Exploitation as a Sustainable Development Strategy for a Small Township: The Example of Waipu District in Taichung, Taiwan

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Li-Wei Liu

Full Text Available ABSTRACT: The contemporary form of urban-rural interfaces is moving toward a more hybridized identity, since nowadays ambiguous places prevail. In particular, contemporary rural settlements are increasingly exhibiting urban characteristics in terms of their built environments. Many traditional agricultural landscapes in the world have thus been altered due to rapid urbanization, such that in order to maintain environmental diversity, the conservation of agricultural landscapes and their functions has become an important issue. Waipu District is located in the northwest of Taichung, a peri-urban area of Taichung City. This means that Waipu is rural in appearance at present but may undergo rapid urbanization in the near future. In order to protect quality local characteristics from land exploitation and move towards sustainable development, this paper depicts a strategy of conservational exploitation which is adopted to direct the future development of Waipu so as to maintain its characteristics and environmental sustainability. This paper also briefly documents the process of an experimental practice through which graduate students with landscape architecture, recreation, and urban planning backgrounds have taken part in an experimental project with professional social services in order to develop master plans for Waipu. By means of field surveys, interviews with local people, and discussions with local officials, a landscape master plan, a tourism plan, and a spatial plan developed by the students have been provided to the Waipu District Office. These plans are intended to help Waipu to develop its unique characteristics, improve local landscapes, and promote local economic development. In order to conserve rural landscapes, cultural landscaping and cultural tourism have been identified as development concepts for future development. Conservational exploitation which focuses on maintaining cultural landscapes and promoting cultural tourism can

Assessing process of paediatric care in a resource-limited setting: a cross-sectional audit of district hospitals in Rwanda.

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Hategeka, Celestin; Shoveller, Jeannie; Tuyisenge, Lisine; Lynd, Larry D

2018-05-01

Routine assessment of quality of care helps identify deficiencies which need to be improved. While gaps in the emergency care of children have been documented across sub-Saharan Africa, data from Rwanda are lacking. To assess the care of sick infants and children admitted to Rwandan district hospitals and the extent to which it follows currently recommended clinical practice guidelines in Rwanda. Data were gathered during a retrospective cross-sectional audit of eight district hospitals across Rwanda in 2012/2013. Medical records were randomly selected from each hospital and were reviewed to assess the process of care, focusing on the leading causes of under-5 mortality, including neonatal conditions, pneumonia, malaria and dehydration/diarrhoea. Altogether, 522 medical records were reviewed. Overall completion of a structured neonatal admission record was above 85% (range 78.6-90.0%) and its use was associated with better documentation of key neonatal signs (median score 6/8 and 2/8 when used and not used, respectively). Deficiencies in the processes of care were identified across hospitals and there were rural/urban disparities for some indicators. For example, neonates admitted to urban district hospitals were more likely to receive treatment consistent with currently recommended guidelines [e.g. gentamicin (OR 2.52, 95% CI 1.03-6.43) and fluids (OR 2.69, 95% CI 1.2-6.2)] than those in rural hospitals. Likewise, children with pneumonia admitted to urban hospitals were more likely to receive the correct dosage of gentamicin (OR 4.47, 95% CI 1.21-25.1) and to have their treatment monitored (OR 3.75, 95% CI 1.57-8.3) than in rural hospitals. Furthermore, children diagnosed with malaria and admitted to urban hospitals were more likely to have their treatment (OR 2.7, 95% CI 1.15-6.41) monitored than those in rural hospitals. Substantial gaps were identified in the process of neonatal and paediatric care across district hospitals in Rwanda. There is a need to (i

Prevalence and incidence of neurological disorders among adult Ugandans in rural and urban Mukono district; a cross-sectional study.

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Kaddumukasa, Mark; Mugenyi, Leviticus; Kaddumukasa, Martin N; Ddumba, Edward; Devereaux, Michael; Furlan, Anthony; Sajatovic, Martha; Katabira, Elly

2016-11-17

The burden of neurological diseases is increasing in developing countries. However, there is a prominent scarcity of literature on the incidence of neurological diseases in sub-Saharan Africa. This study was therefore undertaken to determine the prevalence and incidence of neurological diseases in this setting to serve as a baseline for planning and care for neurological disorders in Uganda. The study was conducted within rural and urban Mukono district, east of Kampala city of Uganda, central region. Over a period of six months, a cross sectional survey was conducted and screening was performed using a standardized questionnaire. All subjects with neurological symptoms and signs were reviewed by a team of neurologists and neurological diagnoses made. Of the 3000 study subjects, 50.3% (1510/3000) were from the rural setting. Out of the participants screened, 67.4% were female, with a median age of 33 years. Among the 98 subjects with confirmed neurological disorders, the frequency of diseases was as follows; peripheral neuropathy (46.2%), chronic headaches (26.4%), and epilepsy (8.5%), followed by pain syndromes (7.5%), stroke (6.6%) and tremors/Parkinson disease (3.8%). The crude prevalence rates of these disorders (95% CI) were 14.3% (8.5-24.1); 13.3% (7.7-22.8); 33.7% (23.9-47.4) for stroke, epilepsy and peripheral neuropathy respectively. Peripheral neuropathy followed by chronic headaches had the highest estimated incidence/1000 years. Stroke had an estimated incidence of 3.6 new cases with 95% CI of (2.1-6.1)/1000 years. Peripheral neuropathy, chronic headaches and epilepsy disorders are major causes of morbidity in Sub-Saharan settings. There is an urgent need of more robust and powered studies to determine the incidence of these diseases.

Prevalence of Diabetic Retinopathy and its Associated Factors in a Rural Area of Villupuram District of Tamil Nadu, India.

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Nadarajan, Balasubramanian; Saya, Ganesh Kumar; Krishna, Ramesh Babu; Lakshminarayanan, Subitha

2017-07-01

There is limited information on prevalence of Diabetic Retinopathy (DR) among diabetic subjects and its associated factors in a rural setting in developing countries including India. The information will be useful for initiating early screening strategies for this group in the community. To assess the prevalence and certain associated factors of DR among diabetic subjects in a rural area of Tamil Nadu, India. This cross-sectional study was conducted among 105 Type 2 diabetic subjects in Pakkam and Mandagapattu sub-center area of Kondur Primary Health Center in Villupuram district of Tamil Nadu, India. Data on associated factors which include sociodemographic factors, duration of disease, family history, and frequency of blood test, treatment regularity, hypertension, visual acuity and cataract were collected. Detailed eye examination including visual acuity, direct ophthalmoscope and Non Mydriatic Fundus Camera was done. Data was analysed by univariate analysis and described in proportion or percentages. The mean age of the study population was 56.69 years. About 47 (44.8%) of the subjects were more than 60 years of age followed by 44 subjects (41.9%) in age group 45-59 years. Fundus examination in at least one eye was seen in 83 people (79.0%). Prevalence of DR in any eye and both the eye was 32.53% (27/83) and 31.58% (24/76) respectively. Severity of DR was moderate (51.9%) followed by mild (44.4%) and severe (3.7%). DR prevalence was more among >60 years age group (p=0.032) and lesser education level (p=0.057). There was no association of DR with duration of disease, family history of diabetes, treatment regularity, presence of hypertension, visual acuity and cataract (p>0.05). The prevalence of DR was inferred to be high and further larger follow up studies will explore the role of associated factors and its quantification in the causation of DR.

Rural non-farm activities in Central Asia: a regional analysis of magnitude, structure, evolution and drivers in the Kyrgyz Republic

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Atamanov, A.; Berg, van den M.M.

2012-01-01

This article provides an in-depth regional analysis of the rural nonfarm economy in Kyrgyzstan based on three household budget surveys for 2003, 2005 and 2006. Regression analysis reveals that the share of time spent in the commercial rural nonfarm economy was larger in districts with low

Demographic, knowledge, attitudinal, and accessibility factors associated with uptake of cervical cancer screening among women in a rural district of Tanzania: three public policy implications.

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Lyimo, Frida S; Beran, Tanya N

2012-01-10

Cervical cancer is an important public health problem worldwide, which comprises approximately 12% of all cancers in women. In Tanzania, the estimated incidence rate is 30 to 40 per 100,000 women, indicating a high disease burden. Cervical cancer screening is acknowledged as currently the most effective approach for cervical cancer control, and it is associated with reduced incidence and mortality from the disease. The aim of the study was to identify the most important factors related to the uptake of cervical cancer screening among women in a rural district of Tanzania. A cross sectional study was conducted with a sample of 354 women aged 18 to 69 years residing in Moshi Rural District. A multistage sampling technique was used to randomly select eligible women. A one-hour interview was conducted with each woman in her home. The 17 questions were modified from similar questions used in previous research. Less than one quarter (22.6%) of the participants had obtained cervical cancer screening. The following characteristics, when examined separately in relation to the uptake of cervical cancer screening service, were significant: husband approval of cervical cancer screening, women's level of education, women's knowledge of cervical cancer and its prevention, women's concerns about embarrassment and pain of screening, women's preference for the sex of health provider, and women's awareness of and distance to cervical cancer screening services. When examined simultaneously in a logistic regression, we found that only knowledge of cervical cancer and its prevention (OR = 8.90, 95%CI = 2.14-16.03) and distance to the facility which provides cervical cancer screening (OR = 3.98, 95%CI = 0.18-5.10) were significantly associated with screening uptake. Based on the study findings, three recommendations are made. First, information about cervical cancer must be presented to women. Second, public education of the disease must include specific information on how to prevent it

Demographic, knowledge, attitudinal, and accessibility factors associated with uptake of cervical cancer screening among women in a rural district of Tanzania: Three public policy implications

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Lyimo Frida S

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Cervical cancer is an important public health problem worldwide, which comprises approximately 12% of all cancers in women. In Tanzania, the estimated incidence rate is 30 to 40 per 100,000 women, indicating a high disease burden. Cervical cancer screening is acknowledged as currently the most effective approach for cervical cancer control, and it is associated with reduced incidence and mortality from the disease. The aim of the study was to identify the most important factors related to the uptake of cervical cancer screening among women in a rural district of Tanzania. Methods A cross sectional study was conducted with a sample of 354 women aged 18 to 69 years residing in Moshi Rural District. A multistage sampling technique was used to randomly select eligible women. A one-hour interview was conducted with each woman in her home. The 17 questions were modified from similar questions used in previous research. Results Less than one quarter (22.6% of the participants had obtained cervical cancer screening. The following characteristics, when examined separately in relation to the uptake of cervical cancer screening service, were significant: husband approval of cervical cancer screening, women's level of education, women's knowledge of cervical cancer and its prevention, women's concerns about embarrassment and pain of screening, women's preference for the sex of health provider, and women's awareness of and distance to cervical cancer screening services. When examined simultaneously in a logistic regression, we found that only knowledge of cervical cancer and its prevention (OR = 8.90, 95%CI = 2.14-16.03 and distance to the facility which provides cervical cancer screening (OR = 3.98, 95%CI = 0.18-5.10 were significantly associated with screening uptake. Conclusions Based on the study findings, three recommendations are made. First, information about cervical cancer must be presented to women. Second, public education of

The development of rural area residence based on participatory planning case study: A rural residential area of Pucungrejo village, Magelang through "neighborhood development" program

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KP, R. M. Bambang Setyohadi; Wicaksono, Dimas

2018-03-01

The poverty is one of the prevailing problems in Indonesia until now. Even a change of the era of governance has not succeeded in eradicating the problem of poverty. The program of poverty alleviation program has always been a focus in the budget allocation in all era of leadership in Indonesia. Those programs were strategic because it prepared the foundation of community self-reliance in the form of representative, entrenched and conducive community leadership institutions to develop of social capital of society in the future. Developing an area of the village requires an integrated planning (Grand Design) to figure out the potential and the problems existing in the rural area as well as the integration of the rural area surrounding. In addition, the grand design needs to be synchronized to the more comprehensive spatial plan with a hierarchical structure such as RTBL, RDTRK / RRTRK, RTRK, and RTRW. This rural area management plan can be oriented or refer to the pattern developed from neighborhood Development program which is part of the PNPM Mandiri program. The neighborhood development program is known as residential area development plan whose process involves of the entire community. Therefore, the regional development up to the scale of the environment requires the planning phase. Particularly, spatial planning which emphasizes the efforts to optimize sectorial development targets to be integrated into an integrated development process must be conducted, in addition to taking into consideration the opportunities, potentials and limitations of the resources, the level of interconnection with the central government within the district and between sub-districts and rural areas.

[The social hygienic model of organization of preventive activities concerning rural population of the Omskaia oblast].

Science.gov (United States)

Berehnoii, V G

2016-01-01

The study was carried out concerning environmental factors and social hygienic portrait of rural residents. The analysis determined environmental, social and behavioral risk factors of health. The pathologies of risk for rural residents were substantiated. In conditions of degradation of accessibility of medical care to inhabitants residing outside of district centers specified by decreasing of capacity of hospital medical care and decreasing of accessibility of out-patient services, the visiting trips of physicians ’ teams and activities concerning development of hygienic literacy were organized in 2012-2014. This approach permitted ameliorating health indices and organization of medical care for the given category of citizen, including positive results in decreasing of mortality, timely diagnostic of diseases, reduction of number of emergency operations in central district hospitals and attenuation of intensity of impact of regulative risk factors. All this determined in the upshot social and economic effectiveness of advanced model of prevention of health disorders of rural residents.

Rural School Superintendents: A National Study of Perspectives of Board Presidents.

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Kennedy, Robert L.; Barker, Bruce O.

1987-01-01

Results of two surveys of 59 and 47 school board presidents from 26 and 21 different states, respectively, having district enrollments of 300 or smaller, indicated the most valued capabilities considered in hiring rural superintendents were interpersonal relations/communications skills, financial/organizational management skills, and good moral…

Prevalence of injections and knowledge of safe injections among rural residents in Central China.

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Yan, Y W; Yan, J; Zhang, G P; Gao, Z L; Jian, H X

2007-08-01

Abuse of the injection services, namely unnecessary injections and unsafe injections, exists extensively in developing countries. Unsafe injection practices contribute to the transmission of blood-borne pathogens. The aims of this study were to survey the prevalence of injections and knowledge of injection safety among the rural residents in Jingzhou district, Hubei, China and to provide scientific data for developing a health educational programme. A retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted in 12 villages, which were selected from the Jingzhou district by the random sampling method. 50 rural residents were interviewed per village using a questionnaire. Among the 595 residents studied, 192 had received at least one injection in the past three months, with an injection prevalence of 32.3 percent and an average of 0.93 injections. 90.3 percent of the rural residents knew that unsafe injections could transmit the following blood-borne pathogens: human immunodeficiency virus (74.4 percent), hepatitis B virus (55.8 percent) and hepatitis C virus (22.9 percent). Logistic regression analysis showed that the residents' age, educational level and residential area were important factors in influencing their knowledge about injection safety. The results indicated that the injection prevalence was high among rural residents in the study area, and their knowledge regarding injection safety should be further improved.

Beyond the City Lights: A Multiple-Case Study of Successful, Experienced Secondary Science Teachers in Rural Schools

Science.gov (United States)

DeVore-Wedding, Beverly R.

Recruitment and retention concerns for teachers, particularly in rural school districts and in science, fill the daily news and research literature. The shortage of STEM workers is also another concern as well. Then why do nationally recognized secondary science teachers remain in rural schools with lower salaries, increased responsibilities beyond teaching content, and multi-preparations, stay in those schools? How do they overcome challenges in their schools? This multiple case study focuses on Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST) awardees who have taught secondary science in rural school districts 10 years or more. Eight rural PAEMST high school science teachers were identified in Nebraska and the six contiguous states; four consented to participate in this study. Interviews of these teachers and a colleague, principal, and or students were conducted to answer the research questions. Using a lens of resiliency, similarities were identified that show how these teachers overcome adversity and thrived in their rural school and communities. Resilient themes that emerged from this study are adaptability, autonomy, collaborative, competency, connectedness, problem-solvers, and resourcefulness. Common themes of success for teaching in rural schools for the four teachers were autonomy and relationships. Common themes of challenges for teaching in rural schools were diversity, funding, professional isolation, and teaching assignments. These characteristics and strategies may help schools with their recruitment and retention of teachers as well as teachers themselves benefiting from hearing other teachers' stories of success and longevity.

Perceptions of Organizational Culture of a Multi-Campus Community College District: Mixed Methods in Concert

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Kuster Dale, Kimberly

2012-01-01

This concurrent, mixed-methods case study analyzed perceptions of current and preferred organizational culture within a rural, multi-campus community college district. This phenomenon was examined by analyzing and comparing data collected by surveying all full-time employees utilizing the Organizational Culture Assessment Instrument (OCAI) and…

Dissatisfaction with traditional birth attendants in rural Tanzania.

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Mbaruku, Godfrey; Msambichaka, Beverly; Galea, Sandro; Rockers, Peter C; Kruk, Margaret E

2009-10-01

To assess women's satisfaction with traditional birth attendants (TBAs) in rural Tanzania. A population-representative sample of households in Kasulu district was used to collect data on demographics, childbirth history, and perception of TBAs and doctors/nurses from women who had recently had a child and from their partners. Two-thirds of women who gave birth in a health facility reported being very satisfied with the experience, compared with 21.2% of women who delivered at home with TBAs. A sizeable proportion of women felt that TBAs had poor medical skills (23.1%), while only 0.3% of women felt the same about doctors' and nurses' skills. Of women who delivered with a TBA, 16.0% reported that TBAs had poor medical skills whereas 0.5% stated the same for doctors and nurses. Although many women delivered at home in this rural study district, women and their partners reported higher confidence in doctors and nurses than in TBAs. Policymakers and program managers should not assume that women prefer TBAs to trained professionals for delivery but should consider system barriers to facility delivery in interventions aimed at reducing maternal mortality.

Poor long-term outcomes for cryptococcal meningitis in rural South ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Objectives. To explore linkage to and retention in HIV care after an episode of cryptococcal meningitis (CM) in rural South Africa. Design. A retrospective case series of adult individuals (≥16 years old) with laboratory-confirmed CM from January - December 2007 at Hlabisa Hospital – a district hospital in northern KwaZulu- ...

Menopausal challenges as perceived by women in rural villages of ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The study explored the challenges of menopause as perceived by participants in rural villages of Vhembe District. A cross-sectional study involved a sample of 500 women between the ages of 40 years and above. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data and was analysed descriptively. The results indicated that ...

Cigarette smoking and use of smokeless tobacco in Moshi rural ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Cigarette smoking and use of smokeless tobacco in Moshi rural district of Kilimanjaro region, northern Tanzania. KS Mnyika, E Klouman, K-I Klepp. Abstract. No Abstract. East African Journal of Public Health Vol. 3 (1) April 2006: 24-27. Full Text: EMAIL FULL TEXT EMAIL FULL TEXT · DOWNLOAD FULL TEXT DOWNLOAD ...

Determinants of late antenatal care presentation in rural and peri-urban communities in South Africa: A cross-sectional study.

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Ebonwu, Joy; Mumbauer, Alexandra; Uys, Margot; Wainberg, Milton L; Medina-Marino, Andrew

2018-01-01

To investigate and compare determinates for delayed first presentation to antenatal care (ANC) services. A cross-sectional study was conducted amongst pregnant women attending their first ANC visit in rural Capricorn District and peri-urban Tlokwe sub-district communities in South Africa. Data collection included questionnaires and medical record abstraction. Bivariate and multivariate analyses assessed factors associated with late ANC presentation. We recruited 807 pregnant women. Of these, 51% of rural women and 28% of peri-urban women presented late for first ANC. Rural women were more likely to present late for first ANC (AOR = 2.65; 95% CI 1.98-3.55) and report barriers to accessing ANC services (PANC presentation in rural communities was associated with being married (AOR = 2.36; 95% CI 1.33-4.19), employed (AOR = 1.90; 95% CI 1.03-3.50), ANC after presenting early (AOR 0.51; 95% CI 0.30-0.89) and being pregnant for the first time (AOR = 0.56; 95% CI 0.34-0.94). Both rural and peri-urban women had high rates of late presentation for first ANC. However, women in the rural communities were more likely to present late. Unplanned pregnancy was an independent risk factor in both rural and peri-urban communities. Interventions around family planning, especially for adolescent girls and young women, are needed to improve early presentation for ANC.

Stakeholders' views on maternity care shortcomings in rural Ghana: An ethnographic study among women, providers, public, and quasiprivate policy sector actors.

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Ayanore, Martin Amogre; Pavlova, Milena; Biesma, Regien; Groot, Wim

2018-01-01

Access to skilled provider and emergency obstetric care is not universal across all districts in Ghana. The lived experiences of 3 stakeholder groups on maternity care shortcomings in 3 rural Ghanaian districts are examined in this study. We applied an ethnographic study approach where field data were collected between March to May 2015 in 3 rural districts of northern Ghana. Data were collected among women with recent births experiences (n = 90), health care providers (n = 16), and policy actors (n = 6). Transcripts were read through to identify similar and divergent stakeholders' views. Significant expressions and experiences of stakeholders on maternity care shortcomings were extracted and evaluated to define key themes. Four themes emerged: social/community factors, payments for health care, facility level factors, and policy level factors. The results show that traditional women's roles divest time for maternity care. Poor transport arrangements, insufficient health workforce, health funding gaps, insurance reimbursements delays, and catastrophic health expenditures on travel and drugs are attested as major barriers across all stakeholder groups in all districts studied. The discussion of the study findings suggests it is important to ascertain the scale of informal payments and their impacts on health access. Investments in health workforce and reliable ambulatory service systems could help address poor referral difficulties in rural areas of the country. Social support for community initiatives that pool funds could provide extra resources and relieve cost access-related challenges for using maternity care in rural settings in Ghana. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

"Reforms Looked Really Good on Paper": Rural Food Service Responses to the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010

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Cornish, Disa; Askelson, Natoshia; Golembiewski, Elizabeth

2016-01-01

Background: The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 (HHKA) required schools to make changes to meals provided to children. Rural school districts have limited resources, with increased obesity rates and local food insecurity. In this study we sought to understand the perceptions of rural food service directors and the barriers to implementing…

Exploring Risk Perception and Attitudes to Miscarriage and Congenital Anomaly in Rural Western Kenya

OpenAIRE

Dellicour, Stephanie; Desai, Meghna; Mason, Linda; Odidi, Beatrice; Aol, George; Phillips-Howard, Penelope A.; Laserson, Kayla F.; ter Kuile, Feiko O.

2013-01-01

Background\\ud Understanding the socio-cultural context and perceptions of adverse pregnancy outcomes is important for informing the best approaches for public health programs. This article describes the perceptions, beliefs and health-seeking behaviours of women from rural western Kenya regarding congenital anomalies and miscarriages.\\ud \\ud Methods\\ud Ten focus group discussions (FGDs) were undertaken in a rural district in western Kenya in September 2010. The FGDs included separate groups c...

The forecast scenario of rural territories infrastructure development (on the example of the Volga federal district

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Valery Nikolaevich Zekin

2014-06-01

Full Text Available The authors’ point of view at the forecast of rural territories infrastructure development in Permskiy krai, Udmurtia and Kirovskaya Oblast by considering of innovative technology implementation is given in this paper. The improvement of rural people life conditions has been planned on the basis of this research. The indexes for life quality of rural people assessment were determined. The main ways for their increasing were defined. An important role in this process belongs to the small innovative enterprises, which develop new technologies and forward them to rural enterprises. It reduces risks because of their implementation and promotes the sustainable development of rural territories. It is planned that on the basis of the authors’ method of innovations application, the subsidized regions using their potential will sell their products on the external market of countries accessed to WTO and thereby will provide population with employment and increase its standard of living.

Rural dentistry: Is it an imagination or obligation in community dental ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

During the past two decades, epidemiologic studies in less developed or developing countries have clearly reported that caries prevalence shows the distinctive patterns over the word, even though it is declining in many developed countries. Due to huge rural districts where arrival is problematic and ineffective dental and ...

What variables should be considered in allocating Primary health care Pharmaceutical budgets to districts in Uganda?

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Mujasi, Paschal N; Puig-Junoy, Jaume

2015-01-01

A key policy question for the government of Uganda is how to equitably allocate primary health care pharmaceutical budgets to districts. This paper seeks to identify variables influencing current primary health care pharmaceutical expenditure and their usefulness in allocating prospective pharmaceutical budgets to districts. This was a cross sectional, retrospective observational study using secondary administrative data. We collected data on the value of pharmaceuticals procured by primary health care facilities in each district from National Medical Stores for the financial year 2011/2012. The dependent variable was expressed as per capita district pharmaceutical expenditure. By reviewing literature we identified 26 potential explanatory variables. They include supply, need and demand, and health system organization variables that may influence the demand and supply of health services and the corresponding pharmaceutical expenditure. We collected secondary data for these variables for all the districts in Uganda (n = 112). We performed econometric analysis to estimate parameters of various regression models. There is a significant correlation between per capita district pharmaceutical expenditure and total district population, rural poverty, access to drinking water and outpatient department (OPD) per capita utilisation.(P Uganda (Adjusted R(2) = 0.528). All variables in the model are significant (p Uganda are: district outpatient department attendance per capita, total district population, total number of government health facilities in the district and the district human poverty index.

Adverse social, nutrition and health conditions in rural districts of the ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

2010-08-25

Aug 25, 2010 ... Results: Households in OR Tambo had less access to services (tap water 3%, toilets 33%), compared to Umkhanyakude (tap water 50%, toilets 82%) and .... Tambo 28%) or casual employees (Umkhanyakude 17%; Zululand. 2%; OR Tambo 20%). ..... and enable the rural poor to enter the formal job market.

National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, poverty and prices in rural India.

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Gaiha, Raghav; Kulkarni, Vani S; Pandey, Manoj K; Imai, Katsushi S

2010-01-01

The objective of this analysis is mainly to construct an intuitive measure of the performance of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) in India. The focus is on divergence between demand and supply at the district level. Some related issues addressed are: (i) whether the gap between demand and supply responds to poverty; and (ii) whether recent hikes in NREGS wages are inflationary. Our analysis confirms responsiveness of the positive gap between demand and supply to poverty. Also, apprehensions expressed about the inflationary potential of recent hikes in NREGS wages have been confirmed. More importantly, higher NREGS wages are likely to undermine self-selection of the poor in it.

[Frequent attendance in a Primary Health Care District].

Science.gov (United States)

Menéndez Granados, Nicolás; Vaquero Abellán, Manuel; Toledano Estepa, Manuel; Pérez Díaz, Manuel Modesto; Redondo Pedraza, Rosa

2017-10-09

To describe the distribution of frequent attenders (FA) through the different primary care practices in Cordoba-Guadalquivir Health District (Córdoba, Spain). An ecological study was performed, including data from 2011 to 2015. Defining FA as those subjects who made12 or more appointments per year; independently analysed for nursing, general practice and paediatrics. Prevalence of frequent attendance and FA/professional ratio were used as dependent variables. Demographic characteristics from district population, number of health professionals and use of general facilities were also examinated. Aiming to understand FA distribution, primary health settings were classified according to facility size and environmental location (urban, suburban and rural). The mean prevalence for FA was 10.86% (0.5 SE) for nursing; general practice 21.70% (0.7 SE) and for paediatrics 16.96% (0.7 SE). FA/professional ratios for the different professional categories were: 101.07 (5.0 SE) for nursing, 239.74 (9.0 SE) for general practice and 159.54 (9.8 SE) for paediatrics. A major part of primary health care users make a high number of consultations. From this group, women overuse nursing and general practitioner services more compared to men. A higher prevalence of FAs was observed in smaller settings, in rural areas. Although taking the FAs:professional ratio as the bar, medium-size practices are more highly overused. Copyright © 2017 SESPAS. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

SMS for Life: a pilot project to improve anti-malarial drug supply management in rural Tanzania using standard technology

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2010-01-01

Background Maintaining adequate supplies of anti-malarial medicines at the health facility level in rural sub-Saharan Africa is a major barrier to effective management of the disease. Lack of visibility of anti-malarial stock levels at the health facility level is an important contributor to this problem. Methods A 21-week pilot study, 'SMS for Life', was undertaken during 2009-2010 in three districts of rural Tanzania, involving 129 health facilities. Undertaken through a collaborative partnership of public and private institutions, SMS for Life used mobile telephones, SMS messages and electronic mapping technology to facilitate provision of comprehensive and accurate stock counts from all health facilities to each district management team on a weekly basis. The system covered stocks of the four different dosage packs of artemether-lumefantrine (AL) and quinine injectable. Results Stock count data was provided in 95% of cases, on average. A high response rate (≥ 93%) was maintained throughout the pilot. The error rate for composition of SMS responses averaged 7.5% throughout the study; almost all errors were corrected and messages re-sent. Data accuracy, based on surveillance visits to health facilities, was 94%. District stock reports were accessed on average once a day. The proportion of health facilities with no stock of one or more anti-malarial medicine (i.e. any of the four dosages of AL or quinine injectable) fell from 78% at week 1 to 26% at week 21. In Lindi Rural district, stock-outs were eliminated by week 8 with virtually no stock-outs thereafter. During the study, AL stocks increased by 64% and quinine stock increased 36% across the three districts. Conclusions The SMS for Life pilot provided visibility of anti-malarial stock levels to support more efficient stock management using simple and widely available SMS technology, via a public-private partnership model that worked highly effectively. The SMS for Life system has the potential to alleviate

SMS for Life: a pilot project to improve anti-malarial drug supply management in rural Tanzania using standard technology

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mwafongo Winfred

2010-10-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Maintaining adequate supplies of anti-malarial medicines at the health facility level in rural sub-Saharan Africa is a major barrier to effective management of the disease. Lack of visibility of anti-malarial stock levels at the health facility level is an important contributor to this problem. Methods A 21-week pilot study, 'SMS for Life', was undertaken during 2009-2010 in three districts of rural Tanzania, involving 129 health facilities. Undertaken through a collaborative partnership of public and private institutions, SMS for Life used mobile telephones, SMS messages and electronic mapping technology to facilitate provision of comprehensive and accurate stock counts from all health facilities to each district management team on a weekly basis. The system covered stocks of the four different dosage packs of artemether-lumefantrine (AL and quinine injectable. Results Stock count data was provided in 95% of cases, on average. A high response rate (≥ 93% was maintained throughout the pilot. The error rate for composition of SMS responses averaged 7.5% throughout the study; almost all errors were corrected and messages re-sent. Data accuracy, based on surveillance visits to health facilities, was 94%. District stock reports were accessed on average once a day. The proportion of health facilities with no stock of one or more anti-malarial medicine (i.e. any of the four dosages of AL or quinine injectable fell from 78% at week 1 to 26% at week 21. In Lindi Rural district, stock-outs were eliminated by week 8 with virtually no stock-outs thereafter. During the study, AL stocks increased by 64% and quinine stock increased 36% across the three districts. Conclusions The SMS for Life pilot provided visibility of anti-malarial stock levels to support more efficient stock management using simple and widely available SMS technology, via a public-private partnership model that worked highly effectively. The SMS for Life system has

Women Managing/Managing Women: The Marginalization of Female Leadership in Rural School Settings.

Science.gov (United States)

Sherman, Ann

2000-01-01

Examines 21 female administrators' accounts of their experience in a rural Nova Scotia school district. Presents preliminary findings of these women's own responses, resistances, and initiatives while attempting to legitimize and implement their preferred leadership styles, which stressed relationships, instructional leadership, communication, and…

Prevalence of type 1 diabetes mellitus in Karnal district, Haryana state, India

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Kalra Sanjay

2010-03-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Little work has been done on the prevalence of type 1 diabetes in north India. This paper reports the prevalence of type 1 diabetes in Karnal district of Haryana state, India. Materials and methods Prevalence of type 1 diabetes was assessed by a hospital-based registry and by analysis of data contributed by chemists and other physicians. Results The overall prevalence of type 1 diabetes in Karnal district is 10.20/100,000 population, with a higher prevalence in urban (26.6/100,000 as compared to rural areas (4.27/100,000. Karnal city, with a population of 222017, has a relatively high prevalence of type 1 diabetes (31.9/100,000. The prevalence in men is higher (11.56/100,000 than in women (8.6/100,000. In the 5 to 16 years age group, the prevalence is 22.22/100,000, while in the 0-5 years age group, prevalence is 3.82/100,000. Conclusions This report highlights the urban-rural and male-female gradient in the prevalence of type 1 diabetes in Karnal, north India.

Cooperation and trust in the context of decentralization reforms in rural Tanzania

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Masanyiwa, Z.S.; Niehof, A.; Termeer, C.J.A.M.

2014-01-01

This paper investigates the impact of decentralization reforms on cooperation and trust at the village level in Tanzania, using a gender perspective. The paper draws on survey and qualitative data from ten villages in two rural districts. The findings show that the reforms have revitalized 'formal’

Detection of Cutaneous Leishmaniasis by PCR in Fasa district in 2012

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Mehdi Sharafi

2013-09-01

Material & Methods: Slit biopsies were collected from 138 suspected cases of cutaneous leishmaniasis who were presented, consecutively, in Fasa district from April 2011 to February 2012. After the microscopy, the entire smear was then scraped off the slide surface for DNA extraction and PCR assay. Results: All 138 investigated smears were reported positive by microscopy and nested PCR assay. In PCR, One of the smears had the 750-bp band, indicative of L. tropica and the rest had the 560-bp band indicative of L. major. Conclusion: In conclusion, the cutaneous leishmaniasis found in Fasa district is predominantly Rural Cutaneous Leishmaniasis. The PCR-based assay used in the present study appears to be a suitable and powerful tool for the characterization of Leishmanial species.

A Mirage or a Rural Life Line? Analysing the impact of Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Guarantee Act on Women Beneficiaries of Assam

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Rituparna Bhattacharyya

2013-05-01

Full Text Available The National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA, launched in February 2006 was renamed in October 02, 2009 as the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (henceforth, MGNREGA. It is an anti-poverty flagship programme of the Government of India. The key purpose of MGNREGA is to enhance wage employment in the rural areas by providing at least 100 days of guaranteed employment to every household in a financial year.  The MGNREGA implementation status report for the financial year 2012-2013 unfolds that the programme has already provided employment to 44.9 million households across 28 districts and five union territories. Hence, it is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore the impact of MGNREGA on women beneficiaries. A plethora of research argues that MGNREGA, which promotes inclusive growth, is a vehicle of change, a lifeline for rural women. So far, however, there has been very little discussion about the impact of MGNREGA on women beneficiaries of Assam. This research is an attempt to examine the participation of women in MGNREGA, Assam. It critically looks at the issues, problems and challenges confronted by the women while working at MGNREGA. Written from a feminist perspective on gender, poverty and women’s empowerment, the research seeks to address the problems of the women beneficiaries through their lived experiences. For this, we conducted in-depth interviews with the women beneficiaries in the months of August and September, 2009 in four remote areas namely, Burka, Chandrapur, Barbhang and Muguriya, the first two situated in Kamrup, while the third and the fourth in Barpeta districts of Assam, where the programme of MGNREGA is on-going. The findings of the research suggest measures so that the programme can be made more effective in the long run.

Effectiveness of an integrated intervention in the control of endo- and ectoparasites of pigs kept by smallholder farmers in Mbeya rural and Mbozi districts, Tanzania

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kabululu, Mwemezi Lutakyawa; Ngowi, Helena Aminiel; Kimera, Sharadhuli Iddi

2018-01-01

This study was conducted to evaluate effectiveness of an integrated management intervention in the control of endo- and ectoparasites of pigs kept by smallholder farmers in Mbeya Rural and Mbozi districts of southern highlands of Tanzania. A repeated cross-sectional group randomization design...... and ectoparasites, but no effect on sero-prevalence of PC. The reported ineffectiveness of the intervention against PC is probably an underestimation because serology is not able to provide quantitative data. It may also be a result of reduced compliance as this was a field study. Nevertheless, further studies...... was used to measure intervention effect by comparing changes from baseline values of prevalence and faecal egg counts between the two groups. No significant difference (p > 0.05) was observed between the two groups, in changes from baseline of sero-prevalence of PC. The intervention significantly reduced...

Dietary patterns and household food insecurity in rural populations of Kilosa district, Tanzania.

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Julius Edward Ntwenya

Full Text Available Few studies have investigated the relationship between dietary pattern and household food insecurity. The objective of the present analysis was to describe the food consumption patterns and to relate these with the prevalence of food insecurity in the context of a rural community.Three hundred and seven (307 randomly selected households in Kilosa district participated in the study. Data were collected during the rainy season (February-May and post harvest season (September-October in the year 2011. Food consumption pattern was determined using a 24-h dietary recall method. Food insecurity data were based on the 30 day recall experience to food insecurity in the household. Factor analysis method using Principal Components extraction function was used to derive the dietary patterns and correlation analysis was used to establish the existing relationship between household food insecurity and dietary patterns factor score.Four food consumption patterns namely (I Meat and milk; (II Pulses, legumes, nuts and cooking oils; (III fish (and other sea foods, roots and tubers; (IV Cereals, vegetables and fruits consumption patterns were identified during harvest season. Dietary patterns identified during the rainy season were as follows: (I Fruits, cooking oils, fats, roots and tubers (II Eggs, meat, milk and milk products (III Fish, other sea foods, vegetables, roots and tubers and (IV Pulses, legumes, nuts, cereals and vegetables. Household food insecurity was 80% and 69% during rainy and harvest-seasons, respectively (P = 0.01. Household food insecurity access scale score was negatively correlated with the factor scores on household dietary diversity.Food consumption patterns and food insecurity varied by seasons with worst scenarios most prevalent during the rainy season. The risk for inadequate dietary diversity was higher among food insecure households compared to food secure households. Effort geared at alleviating household food insecurity could

Female infertility in India: Causes, treatment and impairment of fertility in selected districts with high prevalence

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Shraboni Patra

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Although the ‘universal access to sexual and reproductive health care’ has received priority in the SDG‐3, the rural women experiencing infertility problem in India are unable to access and afford quality reproductive health care. The study investigates the present infertility situation, with a focus on risk factors, treatment seeking for infertility, and impact of infertility on fertility in India and its districts with high infertility prevalence. The DLHS‐3 data is used. Top fifteen districts with high infertility prevalence are selected for analysis. Simple bivariate and multivariate techniques are applied. In India, the prevalence of ever‐experienced primary, secondary, and current infertility is 6.6%, 2.1% and 4.6% respectively, whereas, in the selected districts, the estimates for the same indicators are 15%, 3.1%, and 5% respectively. A higher prevalence of reported symptoms of RTIs/STIs and menstrual problems is observed among women who ever had infertility. Treatment seeking for infertility is low in Korba and Koryia. The MCEB is less among women who ever had experienced infertility. The prevalence of ever‐experienced infertility and current infertility is considerably higher among women from socio‐economically disadvantaged sections. Awareness of RTIs, STIs, and menstrual problems, and preventive care can reduce infertility among rural women.

Factors contributing to the low uptake of medical male circumcision in Mutare Rural District, Zimbabwe

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Irene O. Chiringa

2016-05-01

Full Text Available Background: Medical male circumcision (MMC has become a significant dimension of HIV prevention interventions, after the results of three randomised controlled trials in Uganda, South Africa and Kenya demonstrated that circumcision has a protective effect against contracting HIV of up to 60%. Following recommendations by the World Health Organization, Zimbabwe in 2009 adopted voluntary MMC as an additional HIV prevention strategy to the existing ABC behaviour change model. Purpose: The purpose of this study is thus to investigate the factors contributing to the low uptake of MMC. Methods: The study was a quantitative cross-sectional survey conducted in Mutare rural district, Zimbabwe. Questionnaires with open- and closed-ended questions were administered to the eligible respondents. The target population were male participants aged 15–29 who met the inclusion criteria. The households were systematically selected with a sample size of 234. Statistical Package for the Social Sciences was used to analyse the data. Results: Socioculturally, circumcised men are viewed as worthless (37%, shameful (30% and are tainted as promiscuous (20%, psychological factors reported were infection and delayed healing (39%, being ashamed and dehumanised (58%, stigmatised and discriminated (40.2% and fear of having an erection during treatment period (89.7% whilst socio-economic factors were not having time, as it will take their time from work (58% and complications may arise leading to spending money on treatment (84%. Conclusion: Knowledge deficits regarding male medical circumcision lead to low uptake, education on male medical circumcision and its benefits. Comprehensive sexual health education should target men and dispel negative attitudes related to the use of health services. Keywords: Factors, Low uptake, Medical Male Circumcision (MMC

Aspirations, Expectations, and Influences on the Post-Secondary Plans of Rural Youth

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Corra, Jennifer Lynn

2015-01-01

This study examines the influences that high school seniors considered when making their plans for after graduation. Bourdieu's theory of habitus and Coleman's social capital theory inform the conceptual framework. Qualitative interviews were conducted with students and school counselors from four rural Kentucky school districts. Family, peers and…

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, rural environment and agricultural work in the Local Health District of Ferrara, Italy, in the years 1964-1998.

Science.gov (United States)

Govoni, Vittorio; Granieri, Enrico; Fallica, Elisa; Casetta, Ilaria

2005-11-01

Previous epidemiological surveys, both analytic and descriptive, in the Local Health District (LHD) of Ferrara, northern Italy, have indicated that rural residence and agricultural work might constitute risk factors for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). The present investigation is a demographic survey in the LHD of Ferrara in the years 1964-1998 which aimed to verify whether the level of urbanization and agricultural activities might influence the risk of ALS. Based on the data obtained in a recent incidence study in the LHD of Ferrara which reported a mean annual crude incidence rate of ALS in the years 1964-1998 of 1.63 per 100,000 population (95 % CI 1.31-2.00), it was possible to compare the number of observed ALS cases and the number of expected ALS cases according to the level of urbanization and usual occupation on the basis of the residential and occupational pattern identified in the population of the LHD of Ferrara in the study period under the assumption of a homogeneous distribution of ALS. The present survey identified four different levels of urbanization in the LHD of Ferrara in the study period and for none of them was a difference between the number of observed and expected ALS cases found. Also in the most rural of the four identified levels of urbanization (small villages with an average population in the study period lower than 1,000 inhabitants and scattered houses in the countryside) no difference was found between observed and expected number of ALS cases (observed ALS cases 16, 95% Poisson CI 9.1-25.9, expected ALS cases 18.3). Based on the occupational pattern identified in the population of the LHD of Ferrara in the study period the number of incident cases of ALS whose usual occupation was in agricultural work exceeded the expected number (observed ALS cases 22, 95% Poisson CI 13.8-32.3, expected ALS cases 6.0). The present findings indicate that rural residence itself does not influence the risk of ALS while agricultural activities

Emergency general surgery in Rwandan district hospitals: a cross-sectional study of spectrum, management, and patient outcomes.

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Mpirimbanyi, Christophe; Nyirimodoka, Alexandre; Lin, Yihan; Hedt-Gauthier, Bethany L; Odhiambo, Jackline; Nkurunziza, Theoneste; Havens, Joaquim M; Omondi, Jack; Rwamasirabo, Emile; Ntirenganya, Faustin; Toma, Gabriel; Mubiligi, Joel; Bayitondere, Scheilla; Riviello, Robert

2017-12-01

Management of emergency general surgical conditions remains a challenge in rural sub-Saharan Africa due to issues such as insufficient human capacity and infrastructure. This study describes the burden of emergency general surgical conditions and the ability to provide care for these conditions at three rural district hospitals in Rwanda. This retrospective cross-sectional study included all patients presenting to Butaro, Kirehe and Rwinkwavu District Hospitals between January 1st 2015 and December 31st 2015 with emergency general surgical conditions, defined as non-traumatic, non-obstetric acute care surgical conditions. We describe patient demographics, clinical characteristics, management and outcomes. In 2015, 356 patients presented with emergency general surgical conditions. The majority were male (57.2%) and adults aged 15-60 years (54.5%). The most common diagnostic group was soft tissue infections (71.6%), followed by acute abdominal conditions (14.3%). The median length of symptoms prior to diagnosis differed significantly by diagnosis type (p operated on at the district hospital, either by a general surgeon or general practitioner. Patients were more likely to receive surgery if they presented to a hospital with a general surgeon compared to a hospital with only general practitioners (75% vs 43%, p operation in a hospital with a general surgeon as opposed to a general practitioner. This provides evidence to support increasing the surgical workforce in district hospitals in order to increase surgical availability for patients.

Caregivers' Malaria Knowledge, Beliefs and Attitudes, and Related Factors in the Bata District, Equatorial Guinea.

Science.gov (United States)

Romay-Barja, Maria; Ncogo, Policarpo; Nseng, Gloria; Santana-Morales, Maria A; Herrador, Zaida; Berzosa, Pedro; Valladares, Basilio; Riloha, Matilde; Benito, Agustin

2016-01-01

Adequate community knowledge about malaria is crucial in order to improve prevention by reducing exposure to the disease. Malaria is a major cause of morbidity and mortality among children of less than five years of age in Equatorial Guinea. However, information concerning the accuracy of community knowledge is insufficient. This study aimed at assessing the depth of caregivers' knowledge of malaria, their beliefs and attitudes about this disease, and their socioeconomic determinants in the Bata district of Equatorial Guinea. A cross-sectional study was conducted in the district of Bata, involving 440 houses selected from 18 rural villages and 26 urban neighbourhoods. A combined "Malaria Knowledge Score" was generated based on caregivers' knowledge about transmission, symptoms, prevention, the treatment of children, and best place to seek treatment. Multivariate logistic regressions analyses were performed to assess those factors that are associated with knowledge about malaria. A total of 428 caregivers were interviewed; 255 (59.6%) and 173 (40.4%) lived in urban and rural areas respectively. Significant differences between rural and urban households were observed in caregivers' malaria knowledges and beliefs. Almost 42% of urban and 65% of rural caregivers were unaware as to how malaria is transmitted (OR = 2.69; 95% CI: 1.78-4.05). Together with rurality, the factors most significantly associated with the Malaria Knowledge were the level of education of the caregiver and the socioeconomic status of the household. Improvements in educational programs are needed to empower the most vulnerable households such that they can pro-actively implement malaria control measures. This could be achieved by a comprehensive communication strategy aimed at changing individual and community behaviours, and delivered by suitably trained community health workers and indoor residual spraying personnel.

Integration of Mental Health into Primary Health Care in a rural ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Objective: Mental health has been identified as a major priority in the Ugandan Health Sector Strategic Plan. Efforts are currently underway to integrate mental health services into the Primary Health Care system. In this study, we report aspects of the integration of mental health into primary health care in one rural district in ...

Determinants of Rural Industrial Entrepreneurship of Farmers in West Bengal : A Structural Equations Approach

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Folmer, Henk; Dutta, Subrata; Oud, Han

2010-01-01

This article presents a structural equations model of rural industrial entrepreneurship (RIE) among farmers in the Bardhaman district, West Bengal, India. It identifies the determinants of RIE but also analyzes impacts of RIE on its endogenous determinants. Age, education, marital status, number of

Determinants of rural industrial entrepreneurship of farmers in West Bengal: A structural equations approach

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Folmer, H.; Dutta, S.; Oud, J.H.L.

2010-01-01

This article presents a structural equations model of rural industrial entrepreneurship (RIE) among farmers in the Bardhaman district, West Bengal, India. It identifies the determinants of RIE but also analyzes impacts of RIE on its endogenous determinants. Age, education, marital status, number of

How Can Childbirth Care for the Rural Poor Be Improved? A Contribution from Spatial Modelling in Rural Tanzania.

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Piera Fogliati

Full Text Available Maternal and perinatal mortality remain a challenge in resource-limited countries, particularly among the rural poor. To save lives at birth health facility delivery is recommended. However, increasing coverage of institutional deliveries may not translate into mortality reduction if shortage of qualified staff and lack of enabling working conditions affect quality of services. In Tanzania childbirth care is available in all facilities; yet maternal and newborn mortality are high. The study aimed to assess in a high facility density rural context whether a health system organization with fewer delivery sites is feasible in terms of population access.Data on health facilities' location, staffing and delivery caseload were examined in Ludewa and Iringa Districts, Southern Tanzania. Geospatial raster and network analysis were performed to estimate access to obstetric services in walking time. The present geographical accessibility was compared to a theoretical scenario with a 40% reduction of delivery sites.About half of first-line health facilities had insufficient staff to offer full-time obstetric services (45.7% in Iringa and 78.8% in Ludewa District. Yearly delivery caseload at first-line health facilities was low, with less than 100 deliveries in 48/70 and 43/52 facilities in Iringa and Ludewa District respectively. Wide geographical overlaps of facility catchment areas were observed. In Iringa 54% of the population was within 1-hour walking distance from the nearest facility and 87.8% within 2 hours, in Ludewa, the percentages were 39.9% and 82.3%. With a 40% reduction of delivery sites, approximately 80% of population will still be within 2 hours' walking time.Our findings from spatial modelling in a high facility density context indicate that reducing delivery sites by 40% will decrease population access within 2 hours by 7%. Focused efforts on fewer delivery sites might assist strengthening delivery services in resource-limited settings.

Going places, staying home : rural-urban connections and the significance of land in Buhera district, Zimbabwe

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Andersson, J.A.

2002-01-01

This book consists of four articles containing detailed ethnographic studies of people who are commonly known as migrant workers.Conventional studies on rural-urban migration and urbanisation have often examined such people in either rural or urban social situations,analysing respectively the

Impact of migration on rural employment and earnings in the Western Development Region of Nepal.

Science.gov (United States)

Tiwari, I P

1996-01-01

This study examines the impact of migration on rural employment and income in the Western Development Region of Nepal. Data were obtained from interviews conducted among a sample population among villages in the mountain zone of the north, to the Terai in the south. The study area boundaries are irregular in order to ensure adequate spatial, topographic, and socioeconomic representation. The sample included 1387 hill people, 1248 mountain people, and 96 Terai people. Only 15.8% of the sample had access roads to villages in hill areas. 51% had access to roads in the Terai. There is no history of occupational mobility, but settlements changed over time as an adjustment to conditions. Pioneer models of development that aimed to increase economic opportunity included planned settlements. Presently, migration is comprised of rural to rural, rural to urban, and urban to urban. Rural to rural migration is primarily short distances, while long distances accompany hill to Terai moves. 37.0% of immigrants in hill areas migrate between hill districts. About 33% of hill valley settlers were first generation in-migrants, of which about 60% were migrants from hill settlements. Over 60% of the Terai plains' immigrants were from hill districts. The largest short distance movements were from higher to lower elevations, followed by horizontal movements. Permanent emigration has declined in recent years. At least one member from 34.9% of households was a temporary emigrant seeking employment. 41.5% of households had at least one employee in the Eastern Pokhara Valley. Many hill emigrants travel to foreign countries. Migrants were better educated and more involved in agriculture and salaried jobs. Analysis of variance findings indicates that rural temporary migrants came from households with smaller landholdings and larger family size. Findings support the Todaro hypothesis and findings of House and Rempel (1980) in Kenya, that reflect the benefits from migration.

Prevalence of osteoarthritis of knee joint among adult population in a rural area of Kanchipuram District, Tamil Nadu.

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Venkatachalam, Jayaseelan; Natesan, Murugan; Eswaran, Muthurajesh; Johnson, Abel K Samuel; Bharath, V; Singh, Zile

2018-01-01

Osteoarthritis (OA) is one of the most common degenerative disorders among the elderly population; although aging is the most important cause, research has shown that it is a complex disease with many etiologies. It is not an inevitable part of aging but rather the result of a combination of factors, many of which can be modified or prevented. The objective of this study was to assess the burden and determinants of OA knee among the adult population. A community-based, cross-sectional study among 1986 adult persons living in a rural area in Kanchipuram district, Tamil Nadu, South India, was interviewed and examined from January 2014 to December 2014. Data collection was done by the postgraduates, trained health workers under the supervision of principal investigator. Written and informed consent was obtained before data collection. OA was diagnosed using the criteria laid down by the American College of Rheumatology, and it was validated and tested in the study area. A total of 1986 adult respondents were interviewed out of which 27.1% had OA of knee. Age more than 50 years, female gender, tobacco usage, illiteracy, lower socioeconomic class, positive family history of OA, diabetes, and hypertension were found to be associated with OA knee (P < 0.05). The burden of osteoarthritis knee was high in this region. Hence, effective preventive strategy has to be taken to minimize this burden.

Vertical integration of local fuel producers into rural district heating systems – Climate impact and production costs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kimming, M.; Sundberg, C.; Nordberg, Å.; Hansson, P.-A.

2015-01-01

Farmers can use their own agricultural biomass residues for heat production in small-scale systems, enabling synergies between the district heating (DH) sector and agriculture. The barriers to entry into the Swedish heat market were extremely high as long as heat distribution were considered natural monopoly, but were recently lowered due to the introduction of a regulated third party access (TPA) system in the DH sector. This study assesses the potential impact on greenhouse gas emissions and cost-based heat price in the DH sector when farmers vertically integrate into the heat supply chain and introduce more local and agricultural crops and residues into the fuel mix. Four scenarios with various degree of farmer integration, were assessed using life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology, and by analysis of the heat production costs. The results show that full integration of local farm and forest owners in the value chain can reduce greenhouse gas emissions and lower production costs/heat price, if there is an incentive to utilise local and agricultural fuels. The results imply that farmer participation in the DH sector should be encouraged by e.g. EU rural development programmes. - Highlights: • Five DH production systems based on different fuels and ownership were analysed. • Lower GHG emissions were obtained when farmers integrate fully into the DH chain. • Lower heat price was obtained by full vertical integration of farmers. • Salix and straw-based production resulted in the lowest GHG and heat price

The prevalence of human immunodeficiency virus among pregnant women attending a hospital in the Moungo district, Cameroon

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van dan Meeberg, P. C.; Kooiman, R. C.; Buisman, N. J.; Goudsmit, J.; Lange, J. M.; Bannenberg, A. F.

1989-01-01

A seroepidemiological survey conducted from January to May 1986 among 650 pregnant women from mixed rural/urban origin in the Moungo district, Cameroon, revealed a very low prevalence of antibodies to human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV). One subject appeared to be infected with HIV 2. This is

Comparative Analysis of Households Solid Waste Management in Rural and Urban Ghana.

Science.gov (United States)

Boateng, Simon; Amoako, Prince; Appiah, Divine Odame; Poku, Adjoa Afriyie; Garsonu, Emmanuel Kofi

2016-01-01

The comparative analysis of solid waste management between rural and urban Ghana is largely lacking. This study investigated the solid waste situation and the organisation of solid waste management in both urban and rural settings from the perspective of households. The study employed cross-sectional survey covering both rural and urban districts in the Ashanti and Greater Accra Regions of Ghana. The study systematically sampled houses from which 400 households and respondents were randomly selected. Pearson's Chi square test was used to compare demographic and socioeconomic variables in rural and urban areas. Multivariate Test, Tests of Between-Subjects Effects, and Pair-Wise Comparisons were performed through one-way MANOVA to determine whether or not solid waste situations in rural and urban areas are significantly different. The results revealed that location significantly affects solid waste management in Ghana. Urban communities had lower mean scores than rural communities for poor solid waste situation in homes. However, urban communities had higher mean scores than rural communities for poor solid waste situation in principal streets and dumping sites. The study recommends that the local government authorities implement very comprehensive policies (sanitary inspection, infrastructure development, and community participation) that will take into consideration the specific solid waste management needs of both urban and rural areas.

Comparative Analysis of Households Solid Waste Management in Rural and Urban Ghana

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Simon Boateng

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The comparative analysis of solid waste management between rural and urban Ghana is largely lacking. This study investigated the solid waste situation and the organisation of solid waste management in both urban and rural settings from the perspective of households. The study employed cross-sectional survey covering both rural and urban districts in the Ashanti and Greater Accra Regions of Ghana. The study systematically sampled houses from which 400 households and respondents were randomly selected. Pearson’s Chi square test was used to compare demographic and socioeconomic variables in rural and urban areas. Multivariate Test, Tests of Between-Subjects Effects, and Pair-Wise Comparisons were performed through one-way MANOVA to determine whether or not solid waste situations in rural and urban areas are significantly different. The results revealed that location significantly affects solid waste management in Ghana. Urban communities had lower mean scores than rural communities for poor solid waste situation in homes. However, urban communities had higher mean scores than rural communities for poor solid waste situation in principal streets and dumping sites. The study recommends that the local government authorities implement very comprehensive policies (sanitary inspection, infrastructure development, and community participation that will take into consideration the specific solid waste management needs of both urban and rural areas.

Comparative Analysis of Households Solid Waste Management in Rural and Urban Ghana

Science.gov (United States)

Appiah, Divine Odame; Poku, Adjoa Afriyie; Garsonu, Emmanuel Kofi

2016-01-01

The comparative analysis of solid waste management between rural and urban Ghana is largely lacking. This study investigated the solid waste situation and the organisation of solid waste management in both urban and rural settings from the perspective of households. The study employed cross-sectional survey covering both rural and urban districts in the Ashanti and Greater Accra Regions of Ghana. The study systematically sampled houses from which 400 households and respondents were randomly selected. Pearson's Chi square test was used to compare demographic and socioeconomic variables in rural and urban areas. Multivariate Test, Tests of Between-Subjects Effects, and Pair-Wise Comparisons were performed through one-way MANOVA to determine whether or not solid waste situations in rural and urban areas are significantly different. The results revealed that location significantly affects solid waste management in Ghana. Urban communities had lower mean scores than rural communities for poor solid waste situation in homes. However, urban communities had higher mean scores than rural communities for poor solid waste situation in principal streets and dumping sites. The study recommends that the local government authorities implement very comprehensive policies (sanitary inspection, infrastructure development, and community participation) that will take into consideration the specific solid waste management needs of both urban and rural areas. PMID:27807453

Spatial distribution of biomass consumption as energy in rural areas of the Indo-Gangetic plain

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Saud, T.; Singh, D.P.; Gadi, Ranu; Mandal, T.K.; Saxena, M.; Sharma, S.K.; Gautam, R.; Mukherjee, A.; Bhatnagar, R.P.; Pathak, H.

2011-01-01

Biomass is widely used as energy source in rural households in India. Biomass samples and socio-economic data have been collected at district level in the rural areas of Indo-Gangetic plain (IGP), India to determine the emissions of trace gases and aerosols from domestic fuels. Dung cake, fuelwood and crop residue are main sources of energy in rural areas of the IGP. Dung cake is the major domestic fuel (80-90%) in the rural areas of Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal, whereas, 99% of rural households in Uttarakhand use wood as the main energy source. Using crop production data and usage of crop residues as energy, new consumption values have been estimated (21.13 Mt). Present information on the domestic fuel usage would be helpful in determining budgets estimates of trace gases and aerosols for India. (author)

Prevalence & Practice of Self-Medication in Ernakulum District, southern India

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Nimitha Paul

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Introduction Self-medication can lead to many problems and has many concerns associated with it including development of drug resistance. The objectives of the current study were to assess the prevalence of self-medication practices among people residing in selected urban and rural areas of Ernakulam district, to assess the pattern of use of self-medications and to determine the differences, if any, between the rural, urban and slum population in the prevalence and pattern of use of self-medications Methods A community based cross-sectional study was conducted and 539 individuals from urban, rural and urban slums of Ernakulam district, Kerala were interviewed using a structured questionnaire. Data was tabulated in MS Excel and analysed using IBM Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS version 15. Descriptive statistics such as frequency and percentage was used to summarize the data. Univariate and multivariate analysis was done to assess the factors associated with self-medication Results In the study, 21.5% (114/539 reported that they practised self-medication within last three months. Major indications for self-medication were aches and pain (28.9%, fever (22.8% and chronic diseases (13.7%. Among those who practised self-medication, 6.1% (7/114 used antibiotics. In the final logistic regression model, being in urban area [urban areas (OR 5.8, 95% CI 3.2-10.4, urban slums (OR 2.9, 95% CI 1.5-5.4] and increasing age groups [18-59 years (OR 2.1 95% CI 1.1-3.8 and more than 60 years (OR 3.2 95% CI 1.6-6.5] were associated with self-medication practices. Conclusion Holistic approach should be taken to prevent the problem of self-medications, which includes proper awareness and education to public, improving access to care and regulation of pharmacies regarding sale of drugs.

Analysis of Food Poverty of Rural Women in Villages of Central district of Boyer-Ahmad County

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2014-10-01

Full Text Available The findings revealed that about 31 percent of women were below and 69% were above the food poverty line. Comparison of averages of some variables including education status, employment (head of household, income, banking facilities such as credit and loans, property and assets, savings, economic skills, economic participation, government supports, husband's attitude, self-confidence, self-esteem, physical and mental healths showed that there are significant differences between poor and non-poor rural women. The discriminant analysis indicated that variables like husband attitude, self-confidence, and self-essteem correctly classified about 87.7 percent of rural women as poor or non-poor. Due to the husband's attitude had a significant role in differentiation of the two groups, the social and cultural education of rural men are recommended. Furthermore, the supporting sterategies that includes the distribution of food commodities, unemployment insurance and pensions, medical insurance and development of educational services for rural women is suggested.

Pesticides in shallow groundwater of Bahawalnagar, Muzafargarh, D.G. Khan and Rajan Pur districts of Punjab, Pakistan.

Science.gov (United States)

Tariq, Muhammad Ilyas; Afzal, Shahzad; Hussain, Ishtiaq

2004-06-01

In Pakistan there is little data on environmental contamination of rural water sources by pesticides. This study evaluated pesticide contamination of groundwater in four intensive cotton growing districts. Water samples were collected from 37 rural open wells in the areas of Bahwalnagar, Muzafargarh, D.G. Khan and Rajan Pur districts of Punjab and analysed for eight pesticides which are mostly used. Information on types of pesticide used and distance to nearest pesticide mixing area and application areas was obtained for each site. From the eight pesticides analysed, six pesticides were detected in the water samples. Only cypermethrin and cabosulfan were not detected. The percentage of detection of bifenthrin, lambda-cyhalothrin, carbofuran, endosulfan, methyl parathion and monocrotophos was, respectively 13.5%, 5.4%, 59.4%, 8%, 5.4% and 35.1% in July; 16.2%, 13.55%, 43.2%, 8%, N.D. (not detected) and 24.3% in October. Maximum contamination levels (MCLs) established by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for drinking water were not exceeded. The study has shown the need for monitoring pesticide contamination in rural water resources, and the development of drinking water quality standards for specific pesticides in Pakistan. The conclusions and recommendations will be disseminated to senior decision makers in central and local governments, extension agents and farmers.

Voluntary, Randomized, Student Drug-Testing: Impact in a Rural, Low-Income, Community

Science.gov (United States)

Barrington, Kyle D.

2008-01-01

Illegal drug use and abuse by the nation's secondary school students is a continuing public health issue and this is especially true for students living in rural, low-income areas where access to intervention and treatment services is often limited. To address this issue, some school districts have implemented voluntary, randomized, student …

Environmental resources reduce income inequality and the prevalence, depth and severity of poverty in rural Nepal

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Chhetri, Bir Bahadur Khanal; Larsen, Helle Overgaard; Smith-Hall, Carsten

2015-01-01

This paper investigates the economic importance of environmental income to rural households in Nepal and how environmental income influences poverty and inequality measures. Qualitative contextual information was collected from two village development committees in middle Gorkha District followed...

Audit of antenatal care in a rural district of KZN, South Africa

African Journals Online (AJOL)

pregnant women received three doses of tetanus toxoid vaccination before delivery. Conclusion: The ... combat AIDS, malaria and other diseases).1 The detection of high-risk ... services provided in rural KZN against the set national standards at the ... immunisation (a total of 3 doses) is given to prevent neonatal tetanus:.

at advanced level in rural secondary schoolş in Makonde District in ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Variations in the Geography 'A' level results for both the Physical and Human Geography components have been noticed in both ... It cantherefore be concluded that the variations in the results for Advanced level Geography in rural secondary schools ..... not problem-solving approaches yet diversification of teaching and ...

Delivering at home or in a health facility? health-seeking behaviour of women and the role of traditional birth attendants in Tanzania.

Science.gov (United States)

Pfeiffer, Constanze; Mwaipopo, Rosemarie

2013-02-28

Traditional birth attendants retain an important role in reproductive and maternal health in Tanzania. The Tanzanian Government promotes TBAs in order to provide maternal and neonatal health counselling and initiating timely referral, however, their role officially does not include delivery attendance. Yet, experience illustrates that most TBAs still often handle complicated deliveries. Therefore, the objectives of this research were to describe (1) women's health-seeking behaviour and experiences regarding their use of antenatal (ANC) and postnatal care (PNC); (2) their rationale behind the choice of place and delivery; and to learn (3) about the use of traditional practices and resources applied by traditional birth attendants (TBAs) and how they can be linked to the bio-medical health system. Qualitative and quantitative interviews were conducted with over 270 individuals in Masasi District, Mtwara Region and Ilala Municipality, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. The results from the urban site show that significant achievements have been made in terms of promoting pregnancy- and delivery-related services through skilled health workers. Pregnant women have a high level of awareness and clearly prefer to deliver at a health facility. The scenario is different in the rural site (Masasi District), where an adequately trained health workforce and well-equipped health facilities are not yet a reality, resulting in home deliveries with the assistance of either a TBA or a relative. Instead of focusing on the traditional sector, it is argued that more attention should be paid towards (1) improving access to as well as strengthening the health system to guarantee delivery by skilled health personnel; and (2) bridging the gaps between communities and the formal health sector through community-based counselling and health education, which is provided by well-trained and supervised village health workers who inform villagers about promotive and preventive health services, including

Assesment on Reproductive Performance and Hormonal Studies in Rural Women Beedi Rollers in Jagitial District of Telangana State

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Vanitha Baluka

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Beedi manufacturing is the second largest industry in India. It provides employment to millions of women mostly from the poor socioeconomic class. In North region of Telangana, beedi rolling is a major occupation for illiterate women in many villages. It may affect due to the inhalation of unfiltered tobacco dust and volatile and toxic components of tobacco. Biomonitoring of women beedi rollers and their reproductive performance assessment is necessary to take prevention/control the reproduction failure and carcinogen effect on cervical system. Continuous exposed to unfiltered tobacco dust may have systemic effect and lead to many disorders including hormone defects and reproductive health problems. Although studies have been carried out on beedi industry workers and tobacco smoke exposed people at national and international level, no such studies were carried out on women beedi rollers living in rural areas in Telangana State. Hence, this investigation is attempted to understand the study is find to association with hormonal levels and reproductive outcome in rural women beedi rollers of reproductive age in North Telangana. Statistical analysis was done for the obtained results to find the significance between the two groups for the reproductive outcome and Hormonal Studies. Total 50 women (married who are exposed minimum 6-10 years to the unfiltered tobacco dust beedi rollers in the age group of 25 to 45 years from villages of Jagitial district were enrolled for this study. 50 equal numbers of women in the same age group belonging to the same socio economic status and not exposed occupationally to chemical and physical agents was selected for comparison (control group. Estroidal, Progesterone the T3, T4 and TSH levels were measured found significantly T3, T4 levels were low in the beedi rollers, compared the controls. TSH levels were found to be higher in the beedi rollers. Estroidal and progesterone levels were obtained non

Self-reported health problems, health care utilisation and unmet health care needs of elderly men and women in an urban municipality and a rural area of Bhaktapur District of Nepal.

Science.gov (United States)

Kshetri, Dan B B; Smith, William C S

2011-06-01

The study aimed to identify the felt common health problems, utilisation of health services and unmet needs of urban and rural elderly people of Bhaktapur district, Nepal. It was a cross sectional population study of people aged 60 years or more where 204 respondents were interviewed in 2009. The common felt problems were pain and swelling of joints (65.7%), indigestion (63.7%), excessive tiredness (38.2%) and hypertension (35.8%). Pain and swelling of joints (72.5%) and back pain (40.4%) were higher in rural elderly population whereas indigestion (67.6%) and hypertension (37.85%) were higher in urban population. Pain and swelling of joints (66.7%) and indigestion (69.6%) were higher in males, and hypertension (50.0%), back pain (38.2%) and chronic bronchitis/asthma (39.2%) were higher in females. The unmet needs varied between different health problems. In general women had more unmet needs than men, where 80 unmet needs were identified for the 102 men compared with 105 for the 102 women, and these unmet needs increased dramatically with age. This approach yields new insights into the health care needs of the elderly and will be helpful to health care planners.

Landscape planning for agridevelopment at regional scale: an example from cotton growing Yavatmal district, Maharashtra, India

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Bhaskara Phaneendra Bhaskar

2015-12-01

Full Text Available The basaltic landscape planning on the hot semiarid ecosystem in cotton growing Yavatmal district, Maharashtra tends to concentrate on 52 per cent of total cultivated area with 43 per cent of rural families living below poverty line posing major problem for environmental protection and resource management. Concepts of sustainable development at regional-level planning suggested that there is a growing concern for the landscape community to develop a strategic regional agricultural planning perspective in order to assist landscape planning goals. These challenges were explored with particular reference to the cotton growing Yavatmal district in Maharashtra through baseline land resource / agronomic surveys and assessing the production potential of regional rural landscapes for crop planning. Landscape analysis, premised on the geopedological and elevation constructs, culminated in a spatial coverage of hills and ridges (12.6 per cent of total area in northern and central parts whereas plateaus (29.3 per cent in association with isolated hills, mesas and butte and escarpments (17.7 per cent, pediplains (28.8 per cent and plains (8.1 per cent in south western parts of the district. Regional level analysis revealed spatially variable soil typologies dominated by vertisols and vertic intergrades. An exploration and brief account of integration landscape planning was discussed with some reflections on the experience and highlighting some of the problems and potentials of this approach within the regional context.

Universal Prevention Program Outcomes: Safe Schools Healthy Students in a Rural, Multicultural Setting

Science.gov (United States)

Harris, Elizabeth; McFarland, Joyce; Siebold, Wendi; Aguilar, Rafael; Sarmiento, Ana

2007-01-01

The Idaho Consortium for Safe Schools Healthy Students consists of three school districts in rural North Central Idaho and the Nez Perce Tribe's Students for Success Program. Universal prevention programs implemented in the elementary schools include Second Step and the middle schools implemented the Life Skills program. Each of the three…

Providing palliative care in rural Nepal: Perceptions of mid-level health workers

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Rajesh N Gongal

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Nepal is beginning to develop palliative care services across the country. Most people live in rural areas, where the Mid-Level Health Workers (MHWs are the major service providers. Their views on providing palliative care are most important in determining how the service is organized and developed.Aim: This study aims to ascertain the perceptions of MHWs about palliative care in their local community, to inform service development.Methods: A> qualitative descriptive design, using focus group discussions, was used to collect data from a rural district of Makwanpur, 1 of the 75 districts of Nepal. Twenty-eight MHWs participated in four focus group discussions. The data were analyzed using content analysis.Result: Four themes emerged from the discussion: (i suffering of patients and families inflicted by life-threatening illness, (ii helplessness and frustration felt when caring for such patients, (iii sociocultural issues at the end of life, and (iv improving care for patients with palliative care needs.Conclusion: MHWs practicing in rural areas reported the suffering of patients inflicted with life-limiting illness and their family due to poverty, poor access, lack of resources, social discrimination, and lack of knowledge and skills of the health workers. While there are clear frustrations with the limited resources, there is a willingness to learn among the health workers and provide care in the community.

Perceptions of water access in the context of climate change by rural households in the Seke and Murewa districts, Zimbabwe

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Shakespear Mudombi

2013-09-01

Full Text Available The objective of the study was to assess perceptions of rural household heads with regard to various aspects of water access and climate change, and to evaluate whether there were significant differences in perceptions of respondents from female-headed and male-headed households. The study is based on a cross-sectional survey of 300 respondents conducted in the Seke and Murewa districts of Zimbabwe in 2011. The analysis included mainly descriptive statistics. The majority of both female-headed and male-headed households relied on rainfall for their crops, rivers were cited as the main water source for their livestock and protected wells supplied water for household use. Households experienced water shortages, which were attributed mainly to reduced rainfall. The general perception was that there would be less water available in future, with a greater proportion of female-headed than male-headed households perceiving such difficulties. However, very few respondents indicated that they would consider emigrating, although female-headed households were more likely to consider emigrating than male-headed households. A considerable number of respondents indicated that they did not have any means to overcome the water shortages. This highlights the need for interventions such as training and empowerment of individuals with regard to sustainable water use and management.

Adaptation measures to sustain indigenous practices and the use of indigenous knowledge systems to adapt to climate change in Mutoko rural district of Zimbabwe

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Shingirai S. Mugambiwa

2018-04-01

Full Text Available This article examines adaptation measures used to sustain indigenous practices and the use of indigenous knowledge systems (IKS to adapt to climate change in Mutoko rural district of Zimbabwe. Community-based adaptation is able to reduce the vulnerability as well as improve the resilience of the local people to climatic variability and change. Subsistence farmers have always adopted adaptive strategies to some of these changes over the years. As such, the adoption of indigenous practices will significantly help rural community members to adapt to climate change. This study employed a qualitative method and an exploratory design, and the results are derived from 30 purposively selected in-depth interviews. The study discovered that there are numerous measures used to adapt to climate change and subsequently to sustain indigenous practices. The study also found that the community no longer grows maize in large quantities, having shifted to millet and sorghum in order to adapt to climate change. The community also provided various strategies to adapt to climate change. These strategies include mulching, creating large storage houses for produce and creating temporary walls on riverbanks in order to store water when the rivers dry up. This study concludes that climate change adaptation measures employed by the community have significantly helped them to sustain their indigenous practices in many ways. Also, the use of IKS, through activities such as crop type change from maize to traditional millet and sorghum (which facilitates traditional lifestyle and activities, re-establishes the community’s indigenous practices since they are made to observe the practices of yesteryear.

Performance of health laboratories in provision of HIV diagnostic and supportive services in selected districts of Tanzania.

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Ishengoma, Deus S; Kamugisha, Mathias L; Rutta, Acleus S M; Kagaruki, Gibson B; Kilale, Andrew M; Kahwa, Amos; Kamugisha, Erasmus; Baraka, Vito; Mandara, Celine I; Materu, Godlisten S; Massaga, Julius J; Magesa, Stephen M; Lemnge, Martha M; Mboera, Leonard E G

2017-01-23

Roll-out and implementation of antiretroviral therapy (ART) necessitated many countries in Sub-Saharan Africa to strengthen their national health laboratory systems (NHLSs) to provide high quality HIV diagnostic and supportive services. This study was conducted to assess the performance of health laboratories in provision of HIV diagnostic and supportive services in eight districts (from four regions of Iringa, Mtwara, Tabora and Tanga), after nine years of implementation of HIV/AIDS care and treatment plan in Tanzania. In this cross-sectional study, checklists and observations were utilized to collect information from health facilities (HFs) with care and treatment centres (CTCs) for HIV/AIDS patients; on availability of laboratories, CTCs, laboratory personnel, equipment and reagents. A checklist was also used to collect information on implementation of quality assurance (QA) systems at all levels of the NHLS in the study areas. The four regions had 354 HFs (13 hospitals, 41 Health Centres (HCs) and 300 dispensaries); whereby all hospitals had laboratories and 11 had CTCs while 97.5 and 61.0% of HCs had both laboratories and CTCs, respectively. Of the dispensaries, 36.0 and 15.0% had laboratories and CTCs (mainly in urban areas). Thirty nine HFs (12 hospitals, 21 HCs and six dispensaries) were assessed and 56.4% were located in urban areas. The assessed HFs had 199 laboratory staff of different cadres (laboratory assistants = 35.7%; technicians =32.7%; attendants = 22.6%; and others = 9.1%); with >61% of the staff and 72.3% of the technicians working in urban areas. All laboratories were using rapid diagnostic tests for HIV testing. Over 74% of the laboratories were performing internal quality control and 51.4% were participating in external QA programmes. Regional and district laboratories had all key equipment and harmonization was maintained for Fluorescence-Activated Cell Sorting (FACS) machines. Most of the biochemical (58.0%) and haematological

Teacher Incentive Pay Programs in the United States: Union Influence and District Characteristics

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Guodong Liang

2015-06-01

Full Text Available This study examined the characteristics of teacher incentive pay programs in the United States. Using the 2007–08 SASS data set, it found an inverse relationship between union influence and districts’ incentive pay offerings. Large and ethnically diverse districts in urban areas that did not meet the requirements for Adequate Yearly Progress as defined under the No Child Left Behind Act are more likely to offer a larger number of economic incentives. Although rural districts are likely to reward teachers in hard-to-staff schools, they are not more likely to reward teachers who are certified by the National Board or who teach in the subject areas of shortage, nor are they more likely to offer multiple financial incentives.

Prevalence of emotional and behavioural problems in Johor Bahru District school children--comparing three geographical areas.

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Cheah, Y C; Kadir, A B; Jeyarajah, S

1997-06-01

This is a cross sectional community study in Johor Bahru District. The aim of this study is to estimate the overall prevalence of emotional and behavioural deviance among the school children in three different geographical areas, and to identify their correlates. This paper presents the findings of phase one of a two-stage procedure involving a total of 589 children aged 10-12 years. Using the cut-off point validated locally, the prevalence of deviance on the parental scale was 40% in the rural school, 30.2% in the agricultural resettlement (Felda) school and 32.3% in the urban school. On the teachers' assessment, the prevalence of deviance was 40.8% in the rural school, 10.8% in the Felda School and 8.9% in the urban school. There was significantly higher prevalence of deviance in the rural school on the teachers' scale. In the rural school, significantly higher prevalence of deviance was found among boys.

Conseptual framework of ensuring food security in the Ural federal district

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Aleksandr Samvelovich Beletskiy

2011-12-01

Full Text Available The paper reviews the risks and threats to food security of the Ural Federal District which can significantly reduce its the level. The most significant risks are grouped according to the following classification: macroeconomic, technological, climatic, agro-ecological and foreign trade risks. The main directions of economic policy of the Ural Federal District in the area of food security are defined. Particular attention is paid to the improvement of economic and physical availability of food for all groups of population and to the problems of formation of the state material reserves and food safety. Strategic development priorities in the field of agricultural and fishery products, raw materials and food, sustainable development of rural areas in the field of foreign policy are formulated. Conceptual bases for the implementation mechanism of economic policies to ensure food security in the region are suggested.

The role of district heating in decarbonising the EU energy system and a comparison with existing strategies

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Connolly, David; Lund, Henrik; Mathiesen, Brian Vad

2013-01-01

Many strategies have already been proposed for the decarbonisation of the EU energy system by the year 2050. These typically focus on the expansion of renewable energy in the electricity sector and subsequently, electrifying both the heat and transport sectors as much as possible...... are identified and then, the EU27 energy system is modelled to investigate the impact of district heating. The results indicate that a combination of heat savings, district heating in urban areas, and individual heat pumps in rural areas will enable the EU27 to reach its greenhouse gas emission targets by 2050...

Injection practice in Kaski district, Western Nepal: a community perspective.

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Gyawali, Sudesh; Rathore, Devendra Singh; Shankar, Pathiyil Ravi; Kumar, Vikash K C; Maskey, Manisha; Jha, Nisha

2015-04-29

Previous studies have shown that unsafe injection practice is a major public health problem in Nepal but did not quantify the problem. The present community-based study was planned to: 1) quantify injection usage, 2) identify injection providers, 3) explore differences, if any, in injection usage and injection providers, and 4) study and compare people's knowledge and perception about injections between the urban and rural areas of Kaski district. A descriptive, cross-sectional mixed-methods study was conducted from July to November 2012, using a questionnaire based survey and focus group discussions (FGDs). A semi-structured questionnaire advocated by the World Health Organization was modified and administered to household heads and injection receivers in selected households and the FGDs were conducted using a topic guide. The district was divided into urban and rural areas and 300 households from each area were selected. Twenty FGDs were held. In 218 households (36.33%) [99 in urban and 119 in rural] one or more members received at least one injection. During the three month recall period, 258 subjects (10.44%) reported receiving injection(s) with a median of two injections. The average number of injections per person per year was calculated to be 2.37. Health care workers (34.8%), staff of medical dispensaries (37.7%), physicians (25.2%), and traditional healers (2.3%) were consulted by the respondents for their basic health care needs and for injections. Compared to urban respondents, more rural respondents preferred injections for fever (p injections due to injections being perceived by them as being powerful, fast-acting, and longer lasting than oral pills. More than 82% of respondents were aware of, and named, at least one disease transmitted by using unsterile syringes during injection administration or when syringes are shared between people. Less preference for injections and high awareness about the association between injections and injection

Safe drinking water still a dream in rural areas of South Africa. Case ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

From October to November 2004, and from July to September 2005, a survey of 55 plants was conducted in five District Municipalities (Cacadu, Chris Hani, Amathola, Ukhahlamba and O.R. Tambo) of the Eastern Cape Province, with the aim of examining the disinfection practices used in small rural systems of the Eastern ...

Sero-prevalence and associated risk factors of peste des petits ruminants and contagious caprine pleuro-pneumonia in goats and sheep in the Southern Zone of Tanzania.

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Mbyuzi, Albano O; Komba, Erick V G; Kimera, Sharadhuli I; Kambarage, Dominic M

2014-09-01

A retrospective Sero-prevalence analysis was conducted in 2012 in order to find out whether contagious caprine pleuro-pneumonia (CCPP) and peste des petits ruminants (PPR) had already been introduced in Mtwara and Lindi regions of Southern Tanzania by 2007 and 2009. A total of 477 randomly selected sera from a bank of 3500 small ruminant samples that were collected as part of Rift Valley Fever surveillance of 2007 in Mtwara and Lindi regions were used in this study. Seroconversion was also evaluated in the 504 sera that were collected in 2009 as part of disease outbreak investigations in Tandahimba and Newala districts of Mtwara region. Seroconversions to CCPP and PPR were tested using competitive ELISA. In addition, information on different variables available in the existing surveillance forms gathered during sampling was used in the analysis of risk factors associated with seropositivity to the two diseases. The overall seroprevalence of CCPP for the sera of 2007 and 2009 in goats was 52.1% (n=447) and 35.5% (n=434) respectively; while in sheep the seroprevalence was 36.7% (n=30) and 22.9% (n=70) respectively. Seroconversion to PPR in goats and sheep was 28.7% (n=434) and 35.7% (n=70) respectively based on the sera of 2009. However, no antibodies were detected in the 2007 sera. Mixed infections were detected in 7.4% (n=434) of the goat and 12.9% (n=70) of sheep samples. Significant risk factors associated with seropositivity to CCPP in 2007 included introduction of new animals in flocks (OR=3.94; 95% CI 1.86-8.36; p<0.001) and raising animals in government farms (OR=4.92; 95% CI 1.57-15.76; p=0.02); whereas, seropositivity to CCPP in 2009 increased with introduction of new animals in flocks (OR=18.82; 95% CI 8.06-43.96; p<0.001), raising animals in government farms (OR=4.04; 95% CI 2.69-6.42; p<0.001) and raising animals in Newala district (OR=2.35; 95% CI 1.53-3.62; p<0.001). On the other hand, predictors for seropositivity to PPR in 2009 were introduction of

Lack of knowledge about sexually transmitted infections among women in North rural Vietnam

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Lan Pham

2009-06-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The serious long-term complications of sexually transmitted infections (STI in women and newborns are well-documented. Particularly, STI imply considerable social consequences for women. Low STI knowledge has been shown to be associated with unsafe sex. In Vietnam, misconceptions regarding STI exist, and rural women delay seeking care for STI. The aim of the study was to investigate knowledge of STI among women aged 15 to 49 years in a rural district of Vietnam and to evaluate possible associations between socioeconomic factors and STI knowledge. Methods A cross-sectional population-based study using face-to-face interviews was carried out between March and May 2006 in a demographic surveillance site in rural Vietnam. In total, 1805 women aged 15–49 years were randomly selected to participate in the study. The interviews were based on a structured questionnaire including questions on sociodemographic characteristics of the women and their knowledge about STI. Each correct answer was scored 1, incorrect or do not know answer was scored 0. Multivariate analyses were applied to examine associations between socio-economic conditions and STI knowledge. Intra-cluster correlation was calculated to examine similarities of STI knowledge within clusters. Results Of the 1,805 respondents, 78% (73% married vs. 93% unmarried, p Conclusion The low levels of STI knowledge found among women of reproductive age in a rural district of Vietnam indicate an urgent need of health education interventions, of which, young and unmarried women should be specifically targeted.

An overview of the health and management challenges of rural poultry stock in North Central Nigeria

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Julius Olaniyi Aiyedun

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Objectives: Poultry production in rural areas is considered as an important source of livelihood for most rural communities. The objective of the present study was to investigate the major factors affecting production of rural poultry in three senatorial districts in North Central Nigeria namely Kwara Central, Kwara South and Kwara North.. Materials and Methods: The major factors affecting production of rural poultry were investigated using structured questionnaire to gather data on health and management practices between January to December 2014. Results: The socio-economic characteristics of respondents showed that majority of rural poultry farmers are women and illiterate, that sourced fund from their personal savings, relations and friends. The study also showed that seasonal variation and disease significantly influenced poultry production and its marketability. Conclusion: There is the need to put in place enabling environment to encourage commercialization of rural poultry production in Nigeria and globally. [J Adv Vet Anim Res 2016; 3(1.000: 79-83

Assessment of factors which affect multiple uses of water sources at household level in rural Zimbabwe - A case study of Marondera, Murehwa and Uzumba Maramba Pfungwe districts

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Katsi, Luckson; Siwadi, Japson; Guzha, Edward; Makoni, Fungai S.; Smits, Stef

Water with all its multiple uses plays a pivotal role in the sustenance of rural livelihoods, especially the poor. As such, the provision of water which go beyond domestic to include water for small-scale productive uses should be encouraged to enhance peoples’ livelihood options by making significant contribution to household income, food security, improved nutrition and health. All these multiple benefits, if combined can assist in the fight against hunger and poverty. This study was conducted in Mashonaland East province, covering Marondera, Murehwa and Uzumba Maramba Pfungwe districts in Zimbabwe for the period December 2005-May 2006 to assess factors which affect multiple uses of water sources at household level. Participatory Rural Appraisal tools such as discussions, observations and interviews were used for data collection. The survey found that people indeed require water for productive purposes apart from domestic uses, which are often given top priority. The study found out that multiple uses of water sources at household level can be affected by segmentation of water services into domestic and productive water supply schemes, technology and system design, water quality and quantity and distance to water sources among other factors. The study recommends that water service providers to be able to provide appropriate, efficient and sustainable services, they should understand and appreciate that people’s water needs are integrated and are part and parcel of their multifaceted livelihood strategies.

Sexual and reproductive health information sources preferred by out-of-school adolescents in rural southwest Uganda

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Nobelius, A.; Kalina, B.; Pool, R.; Whitworth, J.; Chesters, J.; Power, R.

2010-01-01

This paper defines how out-of-school adolescents from Masaka District in rural southwest Uganda currently receive sexual and reproductive health information and how they would prefer to receive that information. Information adolescents feel they lack falls into three broad categories: sexual and

Assessing the potential of rural and urban private facilities in implementing child health interventions in Mukono district, central Uganda

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rutebemberwa, Elizeus; Buregyeya, Esther; Lal, Sham

2016-01-01

keeping, essential drugs for the treatment of malaria, pneumonia and diarrhoea; the sex, level of education, professional and in-service training of the persons found attending to patients in these facilities. A comparison was made between urban and rural facilities. Univariate and bivariate analysis...... was done. RESULTS: A total of 241 private facilities were assessed with only 47 (19.5 %) being in rural areas. Compared to urban areas, rural private facilities were more likely to be drug shops (OR 2.80; 95 % CI 1.23-7.11), less likely to be registered (OR 0.31; 95 % CI 0.16-0.60), not have trained...... attended to at least one sick child in the week prior to the interview. CONCLUSION: There were big gaps between rural and urban private facilities with rural ones having less trained personnel and less zinc tablets' availability. In both rural and urban areas, record keeping was low. Child health...

Rates of coverage and determinants of complete vaccination of children in rural areas of Burkina Faso (1998-2003).

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Sia, Drissa; Fournier, Pierre; Kobiané, Jean-François; Sondo, Blaise K

2009-11-17

Burkina Faso's immunization program has benefited regularly from national and international support. However, national immunization coverage has been irregular, decreasing from 34.7% in 1993 to 29.3% in 1998, and then increasing to 43.9% in 2003. Undoubtedly, a variety of factors contributed to this pattern. This study aims to identify both individual and systemic factors associated with complete vaccination in 1998 and 2003 and relate them to variations in national and international policies and strategies on vaccination of rural Burkinabé children aged 12-23 months. Data from the 1998 and 2003 Demographic and Health Surveys and the Ministry of Health's 1997 and 2002 Statistical Yearbooks, as well as individual interviews with central and regional decision-makers and with field workers in Burkina's healthcare system, were used to carry out a multilevel study that included 805 children in 1998 and 1,360 children in 2003, aged 12-23 months, spread over 44 and 48 rural health districts respectively. In rural areas, complete vaccination coverage went from 25.9% in 1998 to 41.2% in 2003. District resources had no significant effect on coverage and the impact of education declined over time. The factors that continued to have the greatest impact on coverage rates were poverty, with its various dimensions, and the utilization of other healthcare services. However, these factors do not explain the persistent differences in complete vaccination between districts. In 2003, despite a trend toward district homogenization, differences between health districts still accounted for a 7.4% variance in complete vaccination. Complete vaccination coverage of children is improving in a context of worsening poverty. Education no longer represents an advantage in relation to vaccination. Continuity from prenatal care to institutional delivery creates a loyalty to healthcare services and is the most significant and stable explanatory factor associated with complete vaccination of

A Study on Marketing Behaviour of Rural Youth Entrepreneurs among Seven Different Ventures

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S. Janani

2016-11-01

Full Text Available The study was conducted among 210 rural youth entrepreneurs of seven different ventures in Krishnagiri district to assess their marketing behaviour. The entrepreneurial ventures selected for the study were Sericulture, Mushroom Production, Hi-tech nurseries (Polyhouse, Fruit and flower nursery, Fisheries, Poultry farming and Value addition (Tamarind processing and Millet based cookies.

La Implementacion de la Tecnologia en el Salon de Clases: Una guia para los que toman decisiones en las escuelas rurales (Putting Technology into the Classroom: A Guide for Rural Decision Makers).

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Boethel, Martha; Dimock, K. Victoria; Hatch, Lin; Adams, Sharon, Ed.; Heath, Marilyn, Ed.

This guide is intended for superintendents and central office staff in small, rural school districts who are considering ways of using technology in the classroom. It provides information about why technology is worth the trouble and what it can accomplish, lays out the basic issues and tasks involved in integrating technology into classroom…

An evaluation of the utilisation of reproductive and child health services provided by government to the rural community of Anand District, Gujrat.

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Bhanderi, D J; Mukherjee, S M; Gohel, Manisha K; Christian, D S

2009-01-01

A multi-indicator thirty cluster survey was conducted during February- March 2008 in the rural areas of Anand district of Gujrat state to assess the utilization of the reproductive and child health services provided through government sector. In each selected village minimum 40 households were visited till total eight children in age group 12-23 months, at least two antenatal mothers in last trimester and five mothers who delivered in last year were studied. A total of 555 children of age less than three years & 1481 women in reproductive age group were included in the study. 74.8% of the children had institutional delivery. Birth registration was almost 100%. Immunization coverage was 84.5%. Registration of children and pregnant mothers under Mamta Abhiyan(MA) were 91% and 84 % respectively. Only 53% children were brought to Mamta Diwas Kendra regularly. Vitamin A coverage to children was 76.9%. Tetanus toxoid coverage of pregnant women was 85.1%, while Iron tablets were provided to 48.3% women. 43% of the postnatal mothers had no post-partum visit. Utilization of government schemes among postnatal women was 9% to 20%.

Biofuel demand estimation in the rural domestic energy sector of India

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sinha, C.S.; Joshi, Veena

1994-01-01

The major efforts and their limitations to formulate rural domestic energy requirements in India are discussed. Results of some of the recent efforts for quantifying biofuel consumption in rural areas are presented. Emphasis is on the recent efforts to collate and analyze results of energy consumption survey of 638 villages covering over 39,000 households. These are used to estimate biofuel use for different agro-climatic regions in India by estimating consumption at the district level in the rural domestic sector. The results are aggregated at the state level and they are compared with other estimates for India. The range of consumption aggregated at the national level is found to vary widely (93-252 million tonnes/yr of firewood, 54-107 million tonnes/yr of animal waste and 36-99 million tonnes/yr of agricultural residues). Reasons for the wide disparity in the results is briefly discussed. (author)

A Quantitative Assessment of an Outsourced Agricultural Extension Service in the Umzimkhulu District of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

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Lyne, Michael C.; Jonas, Nomonde; Ortmann, Gerald F.

2018-01-01

Purpose: This study evaluates the impact of an outsourced extension service delivered by Lima Rural Development Foundation (Lima) in the Umzimkhulu district of South Africa. The evaluation is conducted at both the household and program levels. Design/methodology/approach: Household impacts were estimated using two-stage regression with…

Rural women's perspectives of maternity services in the Midland Region of New Zealand.

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Gibbons, Veronique; Lancaster, Gytha; Gosman, Kim; Lawrenson, Ross

2016-09-01

INTRODUCTION Rural women face many challenges with regards to maternity services. Many rural primary birthing facilities in New Zealand have closed. The Lead Maternity Carer (LMC) model of maternity care, introduced in 1990, has moved provision of rural maternity care from doctors to independent midwifery services. Shortages of rural midwives in the Midland region led to rural maternity care being seen as a vulnerable service. AIM To understand the views and experiences of rural women concerning maternity care, to inform the future design and provision of rural maternity services. METHODS Participants were drawn from areas purposively selected to represent the five District Health Boards comprising the Midland health region. A demographic questionnaire, focus groups and individual interviews explored rural women's perspectives of antenatal care provision. These were analysed thematically. RESULTS Sixty-two women were recruited. Key themes emerging from focus groups and interviews included: access to services, the importance of safety and quality of care, the need for appropriate information at different stages, and the role of partners, family and friends in the birthing journey. While most women were happy with access to services, quality of care, provision of information, and the role of family in their care, for some women, this experience could be enhanced. CONCLUSION Midwives are the frontline service for women seeking antenatal services. Support for rural midwives and for local birthing units is needed to ensure rural women receive services equal to that of their urban counterparts.

Non-farm employment in rural Kenya : micro-mechanisms influencing food and nutrition of farming households

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Mwadime, R.K.N.

1996-01-01

The study reported here describes the links between non-farm employment and child nutritional status in rural coastal Kenya using a model adapted from an operational model commonly used in nutrition planning. Four studies were conducted in 1994 and 1995 in a community in Kwale district. Three of

Parasitic infections of digestive tract of dogs in territory of Braničevo District

OpenAIRE

Đurić, Boban; Ilić, Tamara; Trailović, Dragiša; Kulišić, Zoran; Dimitrijević, Sanda

2011-01-01

This paper presents the results of two-year investigations of parasitic infections of the digestive tract of dogs originating from the territories of eight municipalities of Braničevo District. Investigations were performed on 345 dogs of different breeds and age categories, originating from rural and urban environments. The investigations encompassed dogs bred in decent hygiene conditions, as well as dogs living in unhygienic conditions. Some of the dogs c...

Management of district hospitals--exploring success.

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Couper, Ian D; Hugo, Jannie F M

2005-01-01

The aim of the study was to explore and document what assists a rural district hospital to function well. The lessons learned may be applicable to similar hospitals all over the world. A cross-sectional exploratory study was carried out using in-depth interviews with 21 managers of well-functioning district hospitals in two districts in South Africa. Thirteen themes were identified, integrated into three clusters, namely 'Teams working together for a purpose', 'Foundational framework and values' and 'Health Service and the community'. Teamwork and teams was a dominant theme. Teams working together are held together by the cement of good relationships and are enhanced by purposeful meetings. Unity is grown through solving difficult problems together and commitment to serving the community guides commitment towards each other, and towards patients and staff. Open communication and sharing lots of information between people and teams is the way in which these things happen. The structure and systems that have developed over years form the basis for teamwork. The different management structures and processes are developed with a view to supporting service and teamwork. A long history of committed people who hand over the baton when they leave creates a stable context. The health service and community theme cluster describes how integration in the community and community services is important for these managers. There is also a focus on involving community representatives in the hospital development and governance. Capacity building for staff is seen in the same spirit of serving people and thus serving staff, all aimed at reaching out to people in need in the community. The three clusters and thirteen themes and the relationships between them are described in detail through diagrams and narrative in the article. Much can be learned from the experience of these managers. The key issue is the development of a team in the hospital, a team with a unified vision of giving

Nutrient intake of adolescents in rural area of Himachal Pradesh

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Ritika Khandelwal

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Background: The nutrient requirements during adolescence are higher than at any other stage of life. Inadequate nutrient intake leads to poor growth, delayed sexual maturation, slow linear growth, anaemia and osteomalacia. Aim &Objective: To assess the nutrient intake of adolescents in 13-15 years belonging to rural area of Shimla district, Himachal Pradesh. Material & Methods: A school based cross-sectional study was conducted during 2014 - 2015 in rural area of Shimla district. Thirty clusters were identified using population proportionate to size sampling method.  A total of 170 adolescents in the age group of 13-15 years studying in government schools were enrolled. Dietary assessment was done using 24h dietary recall method. Results: The percentage deficit in boys for calorie, iron, zinc and calcium intake was found 37.9%, 53.7%, 35.5% and 22.4% respectively as compared to Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDA. The girls had percentage deficit for calorie, iron, zinc and calcium intake as 47.7%, 61.5%, 53.6%, and 43.6 % respectively as compared to RDA. Conclusion: The findings of present study indicate that the nutrient intake of adolescents aged 13-15 years was inadequate.

Assessment of Diarrheal Disease Prevalence and Associated Risk Factors in Children of 6-59 Months Old at Adama District Rural Kebeles, Eastern Ethiopia, January/2015.

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Regassa, Wakigari; Lemma, Seblewengel

2016-11-01

Diarrheal disease is the commonchildhood illness and a leading killer of children aged under 5 years, especially in developing countries like Ethiopia. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of diarrheal disease and associated risk factors among children of 6-59 months old at Adama district rural kebeles, Eastern Ethiopia. Community based cross sectional study design was conducted in January/2015. Descriptive method was used to describe study variables quantitatively and explanatory method to identify the effect of determinant factors on diarrheal disease occurrence. A single population proportion sample size formula was applied. Random sampling procedure was used by lottery method to select five kebeles and 442 house-holds. Data was collected by using pretested, structured questionnaires through interview and observational checklist by trained data collectors. Double entry was made to epi-info 3.5.3 and & transferred to SPSS20 for analysis. The two weeks' period prevalence of diarrheal disease in children aged 6 to59 months was 14.7%; 95%CI [11.5-18.1]. mother/caregiver who did not practice hand washing during the critical time was the only factor identified to be significantly associated with AOR=2.2; 95%CI [1.0-4.7] for the child hood diarrheal disease occurrence at Adama distict rural kebeles. Diarrheal disease prevalence is changed by child's caregiver hand washing practice during critical time. Health education for child's caregiver on hand washing practice during critical time is an important intervention for the prevention of diarrheal disease prevalence among children.

Implementing intimate partner violence care in a rural sub-district of South Africa: a qualitative evaluation

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Kate Rees

2014-09-01

Full Text Available Background: Despite a high burden of disease, in South Africa, intimate partner violence (IPV is known to be poorly recognised and managed. To address this gap, an innovative intersectoral model for the delivery of comprehensive IPV care was piloted in a rural sub-district. Objective: To evaluate the initiative from the perspectives of women using the service, service providers, and managers. Design: A qualitative evaluation was conducted. Service users were interviewed, focus groups were conducted amongst health care workers (HCW, and a focus group and interviews were conducted with the intersectoral implementation team to explore their experiences of the intervention. A thematic analysis approach was used, triangulating the various sources of data. Results: During the pilot, 75 women received the intervention. Study participants described their experience as overwhelmingly positive, with some experiencing improvements in their home lives. Significant access barriers included unaffordable indirect costs, fear of loss of confidentiality, and fear of children being removed from the home. For HCW, barriers to inquiry about IPV included its normalisation in this community, poor understanding of the complexities of living with violence and frustration in managing a difficult emotional problem. Health system constraints affected continuity of care, privacy, and integration of the intervention into routine functioning, and the process of intersectoral action was hindered by the formation of alliances. Contextual factors, for example, high levels of alcohol misuse and socio-economic disempowerment, highlighted the need for a multifaceted approach to addressing IPV. Conclusions: This evaluation draws attention to the need to take a systems approach and focus on contextual factors when implementing complex interventions. The results will be used to inform decisions about instituting appropriate IPV care in the rest of the province. In addition, there is

Nutritional status and associated factors among children less than five years of age in tehsil Zarghoon town, District Quetta, Baluchistan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Achakzai, P.; Khan, R.

2016-01-01

Background: Globally, more than one-third of mortalities in children under five years of age are attributable to malnutrition. The prevalence of malnourished children in Pakistan is inclining. A knowledge gap exists due to availability of limited literature about the nutritional status of children in rural Baluchistan. Therefore, this study assessed the magnitude and factors associated with nutritional status of children of less than five years of age in Tehsil Zarghoon Town of District Quetta. Methods: A community based cross-sectional study was conducted in two rural union councils of Tehsil Zarghoon Town of District Quetta, selected randomly. An existing questionnaire was modified and three research assistants were hired to collect data from 104 children, selected systematically. Data analysis was done using SPSS-20 and World Health Organization (WHO) Anthro software. Results: Results showed that the proportion of stunting and wasting in children comprising the study population was 48.1% and 9.7% respectively. A significant association was demonstrated between stunting and wasting and socio-demographic characteristics, child health characteristics and maternal health characteristics. Conclusion: It was concluded that the nutritional status of children under five years of age in Tehsil Zarghoon Town of district Quetta was unsatisfactory. Thus, community mobilization and incorporation of nutrition related activities in primary health care are recommended. (author)

Analysis of the Role of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in Climate Change Awareness in Seke and Murewa Districts of Zimbabwe

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Muchie, Mammo; Mudombi, Shakespear

The paper provides an analysis of the role of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in contributing to climate change awareness in rural areas namely Seke and Murewa districts in Zimbabwe. The literature review showed that for successful adaptation and mitigation by individuals and co...

THE DISPERSION OF AGRICULTURAL AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT EU FUNDS ON A REGIONAL AND DISTRICT LEVEL IN HUNGARY

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Horvath Peter

2015-07-01

Full Text Available A national objective was realised when Hungary joined the European Union based on the preliminary result of the referendum. Naturally, there were pros and cons about the accession and there were those who refused the European integration. Still the emotion was stronger that came from the future EU membership and the hope in terms of the agriculture that with the opportunities offered by the EU both the Hungarian agriculture and countryside would follow a development course. Because of the accession a lot of support forms as well as the EU institutions became available but considering the impacts there were no clear positions. Obviously, today we know what kind of objective, positive changes were brought by the accession for example in terms of infrastructural and machine supply, broadened market possibilities and income growth. Still we also experience the objective disadvantages such as the stronger competition and the mass expansion of multinational food-processing and trading companies. The scientific measurement and judgement of the developmental changes which are difficult to measure is still a subject of debate. We have done the concentration analysis for two budget periods 2004-2006 and 2007-2013 respectively. Between 2004-2006 the regional concentration is more balanced year by year than the district. In the district values even in this period we can already experience the fact that very few farmers receive a big amount of support. Between 2007-2013 there are no sharp differences in the case of concentration neither in the region nor in the district. The Lorenz curve shows a classic concentration distribution in the Southern Great Plain Region every year. The course of Lorenz curves is supported by the value of the concentration ratio which is the total share of the support of the three players receiving the biggest funds since the indicator has been hovering around the 10% average value in the region since 2006 while in the district we

Districts on the Edge: The Impact of Urban Sprawl on a Rural Community.

Science.gov (United States)

Theobald, Paul

1988-01-01

Portrays the controversy surrounding schools and education in a rural community experiencing both an influx of urban and suburban newcomers and the effects of urban sprawl. Reports on surveys of student educational attitudes, household information, and outside activities, and on interviews with teachers, school administrators, and residents.…

Prevalence of gingival diseases, malocclusion and fluorosis in school-going children of rural areas in Udaipur district

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Dhar V

2007-06-01

Full Text Available High prevalence of dental diseases has been recorded in Rajasthan, however, not much work has been done to ascertain the prevalence of dental diseases in Udaipur district. This study was conducted among 1,587 government school children of Udaipur district in the age group of 5-14 years for recording the prevalence of gingival diseases, fluorosis and malocclusion. Gingivitis was found in 84.37% of children, malocclusion in 36.42% and fluorosis in 36.36%.

Seasonal Distribution of Trace Metals in Ground and Surface Water of Golaghat District, Assam, India

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M. Boarh

2010-01-01

Full Text Available A study has been carried out on the quality of ground and surface water with respect to chromium, manganese, zinc, copper, nickel, cadmium and arsenic contamination from 28 different sources in the predominantly rural Golaghat district of Assam (India. The metals were analysed by using atomic absorption spectrometer. Water samples were collected from groundwater and surface water during the dry and wet seasons of 2008 from the different sources in 28 locations (samples. The results are discussed in the light of possible health hazards from the metals in relation to their maximum permissible limits. The study shows the quality of ground and surface water in a sizeable number of water samples in the district not to be fully satisfactory with respect to presence of the metals beyond permissible limits of WHO. The metal concentration of groundwater in the district follows the trend As>Zn>Mn>Cr>Cu>Ni>Cd in both the seasons.

Prevalence of Untreated Surgical Conditions in Rural Rwanda: A Population-Based Cross-sectional Study in Burera District.

Science.gov (United States)

Maine, Rebecca G; Linden, Allison F; Riviello, Robert; Kamanzi, Emmanuel; Mody, Gita N; Ntakiyiruta, Georges; Kansayisa, Grace; Ntaganda, Edmond; Niyonkuru, Francine; Mubiligi, Joel M; Mpunga, Tharcisse; Meara, John G; Hedt-Gauthier, Bethany L

2017-12-20

In low- and middle-income countries, community-level surgical epidemiology is largely undefined. Accurate community-level surgical epidemiology is necessary for surgical health systems planning. To determine the prevalence of surgical conditions in Burera District, Northern Province, Rwanda. A cross-sectional study with a 2-stage cluster sample design (at village and household level) was carried out in Burera District in March and May 2012. A team of surgeons randomly sampled 30 villages with probability proportionate to village population size, then sampled 23 households within each village. All available household members were examined. The presence of 10 index surgical conditions (injuries/wounds, hernias/hydroceles, breast masses, neck masses, obstetric fistulas, undescended testes, hypospadias, hydrocephalus, cleft lip/palate, and clubfoot) was determined by physical examination. Prevalence was estimated overall and for each condition. Multivariable logistic regression was performed to identify factors associated with surgical conditions, accounting for the complex survey design. Of the 2165 examined individuals, 1215 (56.2%) were female. The prevalence of any surgical condition among all examined individuals was 12% (95% CI, 9.2-14.9%). Half of conditions were hernias/hydroceles (49.6%), and 44% were injuries/wounds. In multivariable analysis, children 5 years or younger had twice the odds of having a surgical condition compared with married individuals 21 to 35 years of age (reference group) (odds ratio [OR], 2.2; 95% CI, 1.26-4.04; P = .01). The oldest group, people older than 50 years, also had twice the odds of having a surgical condition compared with the reference group (married, aged >50 years: OR, 2.3; 95% CI, 1.28-4.23; P = .01; unmarried, aged >50 years: OR, 2.38; 95% CI, 1.02-5.52; P = .06). Unmarried individuals 21 to 35 years of age and unmarried individuals aged 36 to 50 years had higher odds of a surgical condition compared with the

Quality of newborn care: a health facility assessment in rural Ghana using survey, vignette and surveillance data

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Vesel, Linda; Manu, Alexander; Lohela, Terhi J.; Gabrysch, Sabine; Okyere, Eunice; ten Asbroek, Augustinus H. A.; Hill, Zelee; Agyemang, Charlotte Tawiah; Owusu-Agyei, Seth; Kirkwood, Betty R.

2013-01-01

To assess the structural capacity for, and quality of, immediate and essential newborn care (ENC) in health facilities in rural Ghana, and to link this with demand for facility deliveries and admissions. Health facility assessment survey and population-based surveillance data. Seven districts in

Social Vulnerability and Ebola Virus Disease in Rural Liberia.

Science.gov (United States)

Stanturf, John A; Goodrick, Scott L; Warren, Melvin L; Charnley, Susan; Stegall, Christie M

2015-01-01

The Ebola virus disease (EVD) epidemic that has stricken thousands of people in the three West African countries of Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea highlights the lack of adaptive capacity in post-conflict countries. The scarcity of health services in particular renders these populations vulnerable to multiple interacting stressors including food insecurity, climate change, and the cascading effects of disease epidemics such as EVD. However, the spatial distribution of vulnerable rural populations and the individual stressors contributing to their vulnerability are unknown. We developed a Social Vulnerability Classification using census indicators and mapped it at the district scale for Liberia. According to the Classification, we estimate that districts having the highest social vulnerability lie in the north and west of Liberia in Lofa, Bong, Grand Cape Mount, and Bomi Counties. Three of these counties together with the capital Monrovia and surrounding Montserrado and Margibi counties experienced the highest levels of EVD infections in Liberia. Vulnerability has multiple dimensions and a classification developed from multiple variables provides a more holistic view of vulnerability than single indicators such as food insecurity or scarcity of health care facilities. Few rural Liberians are food secure and many cannot reach a medical clinic in Liberia may be warranted. We demonstrate how social vulnerability index approaches can be applied in the context of disease outbreaks, and our methods are relevant elsewhere.

Social marketing in a rural African district.

Science.gov (United States)

Kipp, W; Kabwa, P; Mwesigye, B

1992-01-01

21 focus group discussions were held in 5 locations of Kabarole district, Uganda, with 200 male and female participants to assess the demand for and acceptability of condoms in the region. The discussions were also held to obtain information related to the design of products and motivational materials, and included people believed to engage in high-risk sex, lower-risk members of the general population, and shop owners. Condoms and condom use are strongly desired within this population, with participants expressing interest in high-quality products of uniform size which are continuously available at convenient outlets. Moreover, shop and pharmacy owners were more than willing to display subtle messages about condoms and advertise their availability. The main barriers to use were low female acceptance, unavailability, societal attitudes, high cost, and the inability to buy condoms at night when shops are closed. Feedback led to the development of the logo of a man holding a spear and a shield and the adoption of the brand name Engabu, Rutooro terminology for a wooden shield. Comparatively stronger, yet sensitive, brown condoms were eventually packaged in dark brown wrappings in groups of 5. Vendors are offered the packets of 5 condoms for US$0.06, which they are expected t sell at US$0.08; owners expressed the preference for slot-box distribution containers. In addition, people in the sales network were all trained so they could explain proper condom use to clients. A post-study assessment found people content with the product and its presentation, so the social marketing program was officially launched in September, 1992. Condoms were sold heavily in the 1st few weeks of the program despite the lack of media and newspaper coverage per national government condom policy. Knowledge of the availability of condoms will instead be spread through counseling and health education sessions, seminars, and informal talks.

Cost of microbial larviciding for malaria control in rural Tanzania.

Science.gov (United States)

Rahman, Rifat; Lesser, Adriane; Mboera, Leonard; Kramer, Randall

2016-11-01

Microbial larviciding may be a potential supplement to conventional malaria vector control measures, but scant information on its relative implementation costs and effectiveness, especially in rural areas, is an impediment to expanding its uptake. We perform a costing analysis of a seasonal microbial larviciding programme in rural Tanzania. We evaluated the financial and economic costs from the perspective of the public provider of a 3-month, community-based larviciding intervention implemented in twelve villages in the Mvomero District of Tanzania in 2012-2013. Cost data were collected from financial reports and invoices and through discussion with programme administrators. Sensitivity analysis explored the robustness of our results to varying key parameters. Over the 2-year study period, approximately 6873 breeding sites were treated with larvicide. The average annual economic costs of the larviciding intervention in rural Tanzania are estimated at 2014 US$ 1.44 per person protected per year (pppy), US$ 6.18 per household and US$ 4481.88 per village, with the larvicide and staffing accounting for 14% and 58% of total costs, respectively. We found the costs pppy of implementing a seasonal larviciding programme in rural Tanzania to be comparable to the costs of other larviciding programmes in urban Tanzania and rural Kenya. Further research should evaluate the cost-effectiveness of larviciding relative to, and in combination with, other vector control strategies in rural settings. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Birth preparedness and complication readiness among rural women of reproductive age in Abeshige district, Guraghe zone, SNNPR, Ethiopia

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Zepre K

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Kebebush Zepre,1 Mirgissa Kaba2 1Guraghe Zone Health Department, Wolkite, SNNPR, 2School of Public Health, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Background: Birth preparedness and complication readiness (BPCR is a strategy that helps women to consider all available maternal health care services during pregnancy and prepare for potential complications. Federal Ministry of Health in Ethiopia has taken steps to roll out the strategy at community level. Yet, women in rural communities still do not make use of available services to avoid complications in connection to pregnancy and delivery. Objective: This study aims to assess the current BPCR practice and determine associated factors among rural women of reproductive age in Abeshige district, Guraghe zone, SNNPR, Ethiopia. Methods: A community-based cross-sectional study was carried out from February to March 2015. A total of 454 women were randomly selected and interviewed using pretested structured questionnaires, while opinion leaders, health extension workers, and selected women in the community were engaged in in-depth interviews and focus group discussions, using checklists prepared to guide the interviews. Data from different sources were analyzed, triangulated, and interpreted to respond to the objectives. Results: Thirty-seven percent of the respondents were found to have prepared for birth and its complications. BPCR was higher among women who lived within a 1-hour walk from a health center (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] =3.51, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.78, 36.79 and who were aware of the danger signs of pregnancy (AOR =1.72, 95% CI: 1.78, 2.94 and postpartum complications (AOR =2.32, 95% CI: 1.32, 4.21. A major source of information was found to be health extension workers and one-to-five women networks (AOR =2.81, 95% CI: 1.34, 6.21 and (AOR =2.52, 95% CI: 1.17, 5.54, respectively. Qualitative finding revealed that lack of transportation and concern over cost of services

Perceptions on climate change and its impact on livelihoods in Hwange district, Zimbabwe

OpenAIRE

Charles Nhemachena; Reneth Mano; Shakespear Mudombi; Virginia Muwanigwa

2014-01-01

This study investigated perceptions of rural communities on climate change and its impacts on livelihoods. The research was conducted in the semi-arid Hwange district in Matebelel and North province of Zimbabwe. The perceptions were compared with empirical evidence from climatic studies on trends on temperature and rainfall, and impacts on livelihoods in the country and region. The findings from the current study are generally in agreement with those of other studies that indicate changes in ...

Condom use at first and latest sexual events among young people: evidence from a rural and peri-urban setting in Uganda.

Science.gov (United States)

Tumwesigye, N M; Ingham, R; Holmes, D

2013-06-01

Condom use remains low among young people despite high prevalence of HIV, STIs, and unplanned pregnancy in Uganda. This paper presents patterns of condom use at first and latest sexual events and associated factors. The data were obtained from 445 sexually active unmarried people aged 15-24 from one peri-urban and another rural district. Stratified multi-stage cluster sampling technique was applied. Logistic regression was used to identify factors associated with condom use at each of the two sexual events, while multinomial logistic regression was used to establish factors correlated with condom use at both first and last sex. Factors associated with condom use at each event were residence in the peri-urban district and higher education attainment. Factors correlated with condom use at both first and last sex were residence in peri-urban district (pcondom use at first sex are different from those that affect condom use at latest sexual event. Prevention programmes against STIs, HIV and unplanned pregnancies among young people focus more on rural areas and those with minimal or no education.

Prevalence and factors related to smoking among secondary school students in Kota Tinggi District, Johor, Malaysia.

Science.gov (United States)

Lim, K H; Amal, N M; Hanjeet, K; Mashod, M Y; Wan Rozita, W M; Sumarni, M G; Hadzrik, N O

2006-06-01

Smoking among adolescent is a public health concern in Malaysia. Multiple studies on smoking prevalence and its related factors have been conducted in Malaysia, however, they were specific to either urban or rural areas alone. Studies in mixed settlement areas (urban, rural, land development area) had not been intensively investigated. This study reports the prevalence, demographic and factors related to smoking amongst form four students in the district of Kota Tinggi, Johor. A cross-sectional study of 16-year old secondary school students in Kota Tinggi district was conducted using two-stage stratified, proportionate sampling in July 2005. The study instrument used was a validated structured questionnaire on smoking and its related factors. Smoking prevalence was found to be 29.7%. More than 50% of male students were smokers. Prevalence was highest in FELDA (Federal Land Development Authority) settlement areas. Smoking was associated with having a brother or friend who smokes and poor academic performance. The study revealed that smoking prevalence was high, especially among male students in land development schemes. This situation will contribute to high smoking-related health problems in the future if proper preventive measures are not taken accordingly.

Measuring health system strengthening: application of the balanced scorecard approach to rank the baseline performance of three rural districts in Zambia.

Science.gov (United States)

Mutale, Wilbroad; Godfrey-Fausset, Peter; Mwanamwenge, Margaret Tembo; Kasese, Nkatya; Chintu, Namwinga; Balabanova, Dina; Spicer, Neil; Ayles, Helen

2013-01-01

There is growing interest in health system performance and recently WHO launched a report on health systems strengthening emphasising the need for close monitoring using system-wide approaches. One recent method is the balanced scorecard system. There is limited application of this method in middle- and low-income countries. This paper applies the concept of balanced scorecard to describe the baseline status of three intervention districts in Zambia. The Better Health Outcome through Mentoring and Assessment (BHOMA) project is a randomised step-wedged community intervention that aims to strengthen the health system in three districts in the Republic of Zambia. To assess the baseline status of the participating districts we used a modified balanced scorecard approach following the domains highlighted in the MOH 2011 Strategic Plan. Differences in performance were noted by district and residence. Finance and service delivery domains performed poorly in all study districts. The proportion of the health workers receiving training in the past 12 months was lowest in Kafue (58%) and highest in Luangwa district (77%). Under service capacity, basic equipment and laboratory capacity scores showed major variation, with Kafue and Luangwa having lower scores when compared to Chongwe. The finance domain showed that Kafue and Chongwe had lower scores (44% and 47% respectively). Regression model showed that children's clinical observation scores were negatively correlated with drug availability (coeff -0.40, p = 0.02). Adult clinical observation scores were positively association with adult service satisfaction score (coeff 0.82, p = 0.04) and service readiness (coeff 0.54, p = 0.03). The study applied the balanced scorecard to describe the baseline status of 42 health facilities in three districts of Zambia. Differences in performance were noted by district and residence in most domains with finance and service delivery performing poorly in all study districts. This tool could

Biofuel demand estimation in the rural domestic energy sector of India

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sinha, C.S.; Joshi, V.

1993-01-01

The major efforts and their limitations to formulate rural domestic energy requirements in India are discussed. Results of some of the recent efforts for quantifying biofuel consumption in rural areas are presented thereafter. Emphasis in this paper is on the recent efforts to collate and analyze results of energy consumption survey of 638 villages covering over 39,000 households. These are used to estimate biofuel use for different agro-climatic regions in India by estimating consumption at the district level in the rural domestic sector. The results are aggregated at the state level and they are compared with other estimates for India. The range of consumption aggregated at the national level is found to vary widely (93-252 million tonnes/y of firewood, 54-107 million tonnes/y of animal waste and 36-99 million tonnes/y of agricultural residues). Reasons for the wide disparity in the results is briefly discussed. (author)

A Survey Study of Cryptosporidium Infection in Children under 10 Years Old Referred to the Health Care Centers of Hamadan District in 2013

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M. Asadi

2014-10-01

Full Text Available Introduction & Objective: Cryptosporidium is one of the most important zoonotic and oppor-tunistic protozoa and can cause diarrhea in those with impaired immune systems, as well as the children. Considering the high sensitivity of children against infection caused by crypto-sporidium, its zoonotic nature and lack of treatment, this study aimed to determine the prevalence of cryptosporidium infection in children under 10 years old, referred to the health care centers of Hamadan district. Materials & Methods: This study was conducted in 2013 on 420 children (222 males and 198 females, who were referred to urban and rural health care centers in Hamadan district. Stool samples were examined using formalin-ether method and modified Ziehl-Neelsen staining technique. The results were analyzed with chi-square test. Results: Of the 420 children studied, 2 individuals (0.47% (A 16-month-old boy and a 6-year-old girl were infected with cryptosporidium spp. The infection was observed only in rural areas and in children that were in direct contact with the animals. Conclusion: The results of this study showed a presence of cryptosporidium in rural areas compared to urban areas and in children in contact with animals. Therefore it is necessary to promote the public health awareness of rural population. (Sci J Hamadan Univ Med Sci 2014; 21 (3: 211-217

Comparative evaluation of energy-related aspects in urban and in rural districts - Case study in the Canton of Neuchatel, Switzerland; Analyse comparative des aspects energetiques de quartiers urbains et ruraux. Etude de cas dans le canton de Neuchatel. Rapport final

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Perret, L.; Vuilleumier, R.; Bonhote, P. [Planair SA, La Sagne (Switzerland); Rey, E. [Bauart Architectes et Urbanistes SA, Neuchatel (Switzerland)

2007-07-01

The project aims at identifying the energy impact of various current ways of regional planning through a case study of eight districts in the canton of Neuchatel. The districts reveal the trends of planning in an urban centre, and in incorporated (suburb) or unincorporated territory. Thus, the influence of the distance to the centre of the agglomeration named 'centrality' has been studied. The energy expenditure for the buildings' construction phase (buildings, roads, networks) and utilization phase (heating, electricity, water, waste, networks) has been taken into account as well as the mobility. The energy investments have been evaluated by the method SNARC. The energy expenditure for operation and mobility has been evaluated based on questionnaires addressed to the inhabitants. As a result, the variable 'centrality' has only a weak role on the life cycle analysis (LCA) per inhabitant. In our case, the LCA for incorporated districts (suburb) and unincorporated districts are similar. With a LCA per square meter, the impact is completely similar and no correlation with the variable 'centrality' has been noticed. As the households are larger per inhabitants when the district is located in a suburban zone, the LCA per square meter remains stable. On the contrary, if the LCA is determined per household, the LCA is perfectly correlated with the variable 'centrality'. Thus, a household in the centre of Neuchatel consumes twice less energy resources than a household in Val-of-Ruz (rural area). The study highlights also the critical impacts of a LCA on a district scale. Finally, this study gives recommendations based on the energy and demographic prospects in order to respond to the objective of a 2000 watts society. (author)

A Study On Neonatal Mortality In Jamnagar District Of Gujarat

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Yadav Sudha

1998-01-01

Full Text Available Research question: Which are the maternal, socio-demographic and neonatal attributes responsible for neonatal mortality in rural areas of Gujarat? Objectives: (i To know various maternal, socio-demographic and neonatal factors responsible for neonatal mortality in rural areas of Gujarat (ii To estimate neonatal mortality rate in the area. Setting: Rural areas of six Primary Health Centers of Jamnagar district of Gujarat State. Study design: Community based cohort study. Sample size: Population of 40512 Participants: Members of the family in which neonatal deaths occurred. Outcome variable: Neonatal mortality Analysis: Sample proportions. Results: Neonatal mortality rate on the basis of follow-up of births during one year was found to be 47.27 per thousand live births. The major maternal and socio-demographic factors responsible for neonatal mortality were; maternal age, illiteracy, lack of antenatal care, closely spaced pregnancies, delivery conducted at home, delivery conducted untrained personnel and delayed initiation of breast feeding. The major neonatal factors responsible for mortality in neonates were; low birth weight, prematurity, first order of birth, early phase of neonatal period, male gender of the child. The leading causes of neonatal mortality were found to be prematurity, birth asphyxia, neonatal infections and congenital anomalies.

Iodine deficiency in children: A comparative study in two districts of south-interior Karnataka, India.

Science.gov (United States)

Ahmed, Mansoor; Zama, Syed Y; Nagarajarao, Vadiraja; Khan, Mudassir A

2014-01-01

Iodine is an essential component of the hormones produced by the thyroid gland that are essential for mammalian life. Although goiter is the most visible sequelae of iodine deficiency, the major impact of hypothyroidism as a result of iodine deficiency is impaired neurodevelopment, particularly early in life. According to the World Health Organization, it is the single most preventable cause of mental retardation and brain damage. The simplest, most effective and inexpensive preventive method is the consumption of iodized salt. The objective of the following study is to estimate the prevalence of goiter in children in the rural areas of Mysore and Coorg districts in India and estimate iodine levels in salt samples. A cross-sectional study in the age group of 6-12 years, using population proportionate to size systematic sampling method. The total sample size was 10,082: out of which 5337 was from Mysore and the rest from Coorg district. Clinical examination of the thyroid gland was done and salt samples collected for the estimation of Iodine. The total prevalence of goiter was 19.01% in children of 6-12 years in Coorg district and 8.77% in Mysore district and it was more in females than in males. It was observed that iodine deficiency disorders is endemic in both districts, with a prevalence of 19.01% in children aged 6-12 years in Coorg district and 8.77% in Mysore district. Analysis of salt samples suggested that most of the samples were inadequately iodised (73.92% in Coorg and 45.92% in Mysore).

Surgical referral coordination from a first-level hospital: a prospective case study from rural Nepal.

Science.gov (United States)

Fleming, Matthew; King, Caroline; Rajeev, Sindhya; Baruwal, Ashma; Schwarz, Dan; Schwarz, Ryan; Khadka, Nirajan; Pande, Sami; Khanal, Sumesh; Acharya, Bibhav; Benton, Adia; Rogers, Selwyn O; Panizales, Maria; Gyorki, David; McGee, Heather; Shaye, David; Maru, Duncan

2017-09-25

Patients in isolated rural communities typically lack access to surgical care. It is not feasible for most rural first-level hospitals to provide a full suite of surgical specialty services. Comprehensive surgical care thus depends on referral systems. There is minimal literature, however, on the functioning of such systems. We undertook a prospective case study of the referral and care coordination process for cardiac, orthopedic, plastic, gynecologic, and general surgical conditions at a district hospital in rural Nepal from 2012 to 2014. We assessed the referral process using the World Health Organization's Health Systems Framework. We followed the initial 292 patients referred for surgical services in the program. 152 patients (52%) received surgery and four (1%) suffered a complication (three deaths and one patient reported complication). The three most common types of surgery performed were: orthopedics (43%), general (32%), and plastics (10%). The average direct and indirect cost per patient referred, including food, transportation, lodging, medications, diagnostic examinations, treatments, and human resources was US$840, which was over 1.5 times the local district's per capita income. We identified and mapped challenges according to the World Health Organization's Health Systems Framework. Given the requirement of intensive human capital, poor quality control of surgical services, and the overall costs of the program, hospital leadership decided to terminate the referral coordination program and continue to build local surgical capacity. The results of our case study provide some context into the challenges of rural surgical referral systems. The high relative costs to the system and challenges in accountability rendered the program untenable for the implementing organization.

Developing effective policy strategies to retain health workers in rural Bangladesh: a policy analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Rawal, Lal B; Joarder, Taufique; Islam, Sheikh Md Shariful; Uddin, Aftab; Ahmed, Syed Masud

2015-05-20

Retention of human resources for health (HRH), particularly physicians and nurses in rural and remote areas, is a major problem in Bangladesh. We reviewed relevant policies and provisions in relation to HRH aiming to develop appropriate rural retention strategies in Bangladesh. We conducted a document review, thorough search and review of relevant literature published from 1971 through May 2013, key informant interviews with policy elites (health policy makers, managers, researchers, etc.), and a roundtable discussion with key stakeholders and policy makers. We used the World Health Organization's (WHO's) guidelines as an analytical matrix to examine the rural retention policies under 4 domains, i) educational, ii) regulatory, iii) financial, and iv) professional and personal development, and 16 sub-domains. Over the past four decades, Bangladesh has developed and implemented a number of health-related policies and provisions concerning retention of HRH. The district quota system in admissions is in practice to improve geographical representation of the students. Students of special background including children of freedom fighters and tribal population have allocated quotas. In private medical and nursing schools, at least 5% of seats are allocated for scholarships. Medical education has a provision for clinical rotation in rural health facilities. Further, in the public sector, every newly recruited medical doctor must serve at least 2 years at the upazila level. To encourage serving in hard-to-reach areas, particularly in three Hill Tract districts of Chittagong division, the government provides an additional 33% of the basic salary, but not exceeding US$ 38 per month. This amount is not attractive enough, and such provision is absent for those working in other rural areas. Although the government has career development and promotion plans for doctors and nurses, these plans are often not clearly specified and not implemented effectively. The government is

Disclosure, stigma of HIV positive child and access to early infant diagnosis in the rural communities of OR Tambo District, South Africa: a qualitative exploration of maternal perspective.

Science.gov (United States)

Adeniyi, Vincent Oladele; Thomson, Elza; Ter Goon, Daniel; Ajayi, Idowu Anthony

2015-08-26

Despite the overwhelming evidence confirming the morbidity and mortality benefits of early initiation of highly active anti-retroviral therapy (HAART) in HIV-infected infants, some children are still disadvantaged from gaining access to care. The understanding of the maternal perspective on early infant HIV diagnosis and prompt initiation of HAART has not been adequately explored, especially in the rural communities of South Africa. This study explores the perspectives of mothers of HIV-exposed infants with regard to early infant diagnosis (EID) through a lens of social and structural barriers to accessing primary healthcare in OR Tambo district, Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. In this qualitative study, we conducted semi-structured interviews at two primary healthcare centres in the King Sabata Dalindyebo Municipality of the OR Tambo district, South Africa. Twenty-four purposive sample of mothers of HIV-exposed infants took part in the study. Interviews were tape-recorded, transcribed and field notes were obtained. The findings were triangulated with two focus group discussions in order to enrich and validate the qualitative data. Thematic content analysis was employed to analyse the data. The participants have fairly good knowledge of mother-to-child transmission of HIV and the risks during pregnancy, delivery and breastfeeding. The majority of participants were confident of the protection offered by anti-retroviral drugs provided during pregnancy, however, lack knowledge of optimal time for early infant diagnosis of HIV. Reasons for not accessing EID included fear of finding out that their child is HIV positive, feelings of guilt and/or shame and embarrassment with respect to raising an HIV infected infant. Personal experiences of HIV diagnosis and HAART were associated with participants' attitudes and beliefs toward care-seeking behaviours. Stigma resulting from their own disclosure to others reduced their likelihood of recommending EID to other members of

Knowledge of obstetric fistula prevention amongst young women in urban and rural Burkina Faso: a cross-sectional study.

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Aduragbemi O Banke-Thomas

Full Text Available Obstetric fistula is a sequela of complicated labour, which, if untreated, leaves women handicapped and socially excluded. In Burkina Faso, incidence of obstetric fistula is 6/10,000 cases amongst gynaecological patients, with more patients affected in rural areas. This study aims to evaluate knowledge on obstetric fistula among young women in a health district of Burkina Faso, comparing rural and urban communities. This cross-sectional study employed multi-stage sampling to include 121 women aged 18-20 years residing in urban and rural communities of Boromo health district. Descriptive statistics and multiple logistic regression analysis were used to compare differences between the groups and to identify predictors of observed knowledge levels. Rural women were more likely to be married (p<0.000 and had higher propensity to teenage pregnancy (p=0.006. The survey showed overall poor obstetric fistula awareness (36%. Rural residents were less likely to have adequate preventive knowledge than urban residents [OR=0.35 (95%-CI, 0.16-0.79]. This effect was only slightly explained by lack of education [OR=0.41 (95%-CI, 0.18-0.93] and only slightly underestimated due to previous pregnancy [OR=0.27 (95%-CI, 0.09-0.79]. Media were the most popular source of awareness amongst urban young women in contrast to their rural counterparts (68% vs. 23%. Most rural young women became 'aware' through word-of-mouth (68% vs. 14%. All participants agreed that the hospital was safer for emergency obstetric care, but only 11.0% believed they could face pregnancy complications that would require emergency treatment. There is urgent need to increase emphasis on neglected health messages such as the risks of obstetric fistula. In this respect, obstetric fistula prevention programs need to be adapted to local contexts, whether urban or rural, and multi-sectoral efforts need to be exerted to maximise use of other sectoral resources and platforms, including existing routine

Does online learning click with rural nurses? A qualitative study.

Science.gov (United States)

Riley, Kim; Schmidt, David

2016-08-01

To explore the factors that influence rural nurses engagement with online learning within a rural health district in New Sound Wales (NSW), Australia. This qualitative study based on appreciative inquiry methodology used semi-structured interviews with managers and nurses. Purposive sampling methods were used to recruit facility managers, whereas convenience sampling was used to recruit nurses in 2012-2013. Three public health facilities in rural NSW. Fourteen nurses were involved in the study, including Health Service Managers (n = 3), Nurse Unit Manager (n = 1), Clinical Nurse Specialists (n = 3), Registered Nurses (n = 2), Enrolled Nurses (n = 2) and Assistant in Nursing (n = 3). The research found that online learning works well when there is accountability for education being undertaken by linking to organisational goals and protected time. Nurses in this study valued the ability to access and revisit online learning at any time. However, systems that are hard to access or navigate and module design that did not provide a mechanism for users to seek feedback negatively affected their use and engagement. This study demonstrates that rural nurses' engagement with online learning would be enhanced by a whole of system redesign in order to deliver a learning environment that will increase satisfaction, engagement and learning outcomes. © 2015 National Rural Health Alliance Inc.

Council Districts

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Town of Cary, North Carolina — View the location of the Town of Cary’s four Town Council districts.Please note that one district, District A, is split into two geo-spatial areas. One area is in...

Routine implementation costs of larviciding with Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis against malaria vectors in a district in rural Burkina Faso.

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Dambach, Peter; Schleicher, Michael; Stahl, Hans-Christian; Traoré, Issouf; Becker, Norbert; Kaiser, Achim; Sié, Ali; Sauerborn, Rainer

2016-07-22

The key tools in malaria control are early diagnosis and treatment of cases as well as vector control. Current strategies for malaria vector control in sub-Saharan Africa are largely based on long-lasting insecticide-treated nets (LLINs) and to a much smaller extent on indoor residual spraying (IRS). An additional tool in the fight against malaria vectors, larval source management (LSM), has not been used in sub-Saharan Africa on a wider scale since the abandonment of environmental spraying of DDT. Increasing concerns about limitations of LLINs and IRS and encouraging results from large larvicide-based LSM trials make a strong case for using biological larviciding as a complementary tool to existing control measures. Arguments that are often quoted against such a combined approach are the alleged high implementation costs of LSM. This study makes the first step to test this argument. The implementation costs of larval source management based on Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis (Bti) (strain AM65-52) spraying under different implementation scenarios were analysed in a rural health district in Burkina Faso. The analysis draws on detailed cost data gathered during a large-scale LSM intervention between 2013 and 2015. All 127 villages in the study setup were assigned to two treatment arms and one control group. Treatment either implied exhaustive spraying of all available water collections or targeted spraying of the 50 % most productive larval sources via remote-sensing derived and entomologically validated risk maps. Based on the cost reports from both intervention arms, the per capita programme costs were calculated under the assumption of covering the whole district with either intervention scenario. Cost calculations have been generalized by providing an adaptable cost formula. In addition, this study assesses the sensitivity of per capita programme costs with respect to changes in the underlying cost components. The average annual per capita costs of

Impact of extension interventions in improving livelihood of dairy farmers of Nadia district of West Bengal, India.

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Garai, Suman; Garai, Sanchita; Maiti, Sanjit; Meena, B S; Ghosh, M K; Bhakat, Champak; Dutta, T K

2017-03-01

Livestock is a one of the major sources of livelihood for most of the small and marginal farmers in India, particularly for rural households who live in below poverty line. Extension interventions have long been seen as a key element for enabling farmers to obtain information and technologies that can improve their livelihoods. It is also recognized that extension is an important factor in promoting dairy development. Ex-post-facto cause to effect research design was applied in this study to trace out the impact of extension interventions in improving knowledge, attitude, adoption towards scientific dairy farming practices and improvement in milk production of dairy animal and income from dairying which will be resulted into improved livelihood of rural poor in Nadia district of West Bengal, India. Therefore, 60 dairy farmers of experimental villages who were considered as beneficiaries and 60 dairy farmers of control villages who were considered as non-beneficiaries were selected as sample for the study. It was found that beneficiaries had significantly higher score in all the five components of livelihood improvement with its all sub components, i.e., knowledge, attitude, adoption of scientific dairy farming practices, milk production per household per day and monthly income from dairying except disease control, and marketing component of adoption. Hence, it may be concluded that extension interventions had a significant impact on improving livelihood of rural dairy farmers in Nadia district of West Bengal, India.

Factors influencing access to agricultural knowledge: The case of smallholder rice farmers in the Kilombero district of Tanzania

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Wulystan P. Mtega

2016-05-01

of agricultural extension agents, and poor information and communication technologies infrastructure hindered access to agricultural knowledge among rice farmers in the district. Conclusion: A strong public–private partnership is needed to enhance access to agricultural knowledge in rural areas. In this regard, the government should set up policies and strategies that motivate private sector investment and involvement in provision of agricultural knowledge in rural areas. The private sector should extend their agricultural-related activities to most rural areas so that more people can have access to agricultural knowledge. Keywords: smallholder farmers; agricultural knowledge; access to knowledge;access to information; Tanzania

Interrelations between segetal and ruderal flora in the Olsztyn Lake District

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Tadeusz Korniak

2013-12-01

Full Text Available The paper presents differences and similarities between segetal and ruderal flora in the Olsztyn Lake District. The investigation was conducted in rural areas and in areas of small towns. 415 taxa of vascular plants were noted altogether in the flora examined. The segetal flora includes 259 species, and the ruderal flora - 334 ones. A comparison between species of those two florae (table l, figure l, 81 species appear in segetal habitats, and 156 in ruderal habitats. Common species, for those two comparsing florae (segetal and ruderal were 178. The following plants were classified as frequent or common in ruderal habitats of the Olsztyn Lake District, having (under certain conditions a significant influence on the weed infestation of cultivated fields: Amaranthus retroflexus, Artemisia vulgaris, Atriplex patula, Chamomilla suaveolens, Cirsium arvense, Conyza canadensis, Descurainia sophia, Galinsoga ciliata, Galinsoga parviflora, Geranium pusillum, Lapsana communis, Melandrium album, Poa annua, Polygonum aviculare, Rumex crispus, Sisymbrium officinale, Sonchus arvensis, Sonchus asper, Sonchus oleraceus, Tussil farfara.

Sexual and Reproductive Health Information Sources Preferred by Out-of-School Adolescents in Rural Southwest Uganda

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Nobelius, Ann-Maree; Kalina, Bessie; Pool, Robert; Whitworth, Jimmy; Chesters, Janice; Power, Robert

2010-01-01

This paper defines how out-of-school adolescents from Masaka District in rural southwest Uganda currently receive sexual and reproductive health information and how they would prefer to receive that information. Information adolescents feel they lack falls into three broad categories: sexual and reproductive health issues, the negotiation of sex…

An Evaluation of a Decade of a Rural Field-Based Special and Elementary Teacher Training Program.

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Medina, Catherine; Redsteer, Denise; Prater, Greg; Minner, Sam

To address the need for special education teachers trained in rural and culturally diverse settings, a field-based special education program was implemented in Kayenta Unified School District (KUSD), Arizona, on the Navajo Nation. KUSD provided teacher housing, classroom space, sites for practicum coursework, and some student teaching placements.…

Assessing the tangible and intangible benefits of tourism: perceptions of economic, social, and cultural impacts in Labrador’s Battle Harbour Historic District

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Howard Ramos

2016-05-01

Full Text Available Literature on rural and small island tourism critically questions the commodification of culture and landscapes, showing that replacing rural resource based industries with tourism often leads to a mummification of culture and questionable economic payoffs. Using original survey and qualitative data from three communities in Labrador’s Battle Harbour Historic District, this paper explores how rural and island communities perceive the benefits of tourism and interactions with tourists. The paper finds that residents value the cultural showcasing of their communities and history, but are ambiguous about the economic rewards of tourism. We conclude by questioning whether the cultural rewards of tourism, around meaning making, outweigh other rewards around promoting economically and socially viable communities.

Examining national and district-level trends in neonatal health in Peru through an equity lens: a success story driven by political will and societal advocacy

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Luis Huicho

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Peru has impressively reduced its neonatal mortality rate (NMR. We aimed, for the period 2000–2013, to: (a describe national and district NMR variations over time; (b assess NMR trends by wealth quintile and place of residence; (c describe evolution of mortality causes; (d assess completeness of registered mortality; (e assess coverage and equity of NMR-related interventions; and (f explore underlying driving factors. Methods We compared national NMR time trends from different sources. To describe NMR trends by wealth quintiles, place of residence and districts, we pooled data on births and deaths by calendar year for neonates born to women interviewed in multiple surveys. We disaggregated coverage of NMR-related interventions by wealth quintiles and place of residence. To identify success factors, we ran regression analyses and combined desk reviews with qualitative interviews and group discussions. Results NMR fell by 51 % from 2000 to 2013, second only to Brazil in Latin America. Reduction was higher in rural and poorest segments (52 and 58 %. District NMR change varied by source. Regarding cause-specific NMRs, prematurity decreased from 7.0 to 3.2 per 1,000 live births, intra-partum related events from 2.9 to 1.2, congenital abnormalities from 2.4 to 1.8, sepsis from 1.9 to 0.8, pneumonia from 0.9 to 0.4, and other conditions from 1.2 to 0.7. Under-registration of neonatal deaths decreased recently, more in districts with higher development index and lower rural population. Coverage of family planning, antenatal care and skilled birth attendance increased more in rural areas and in the poorest quintile. Regressions did not show consistent associations between mortality and predictors. During the study period social determinants improved substantially, and dramatic out-of-health-sector and health-sector changes occurred. Rural areas and the poorest quintile experienced greater NMR reduction. This progress was driven

Measuring health system strengthening: application of the balanced scorecard approach to rank the baseline performance of three rural districts in Zambia.

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Wilbroad Mutale

Full Text Available INTRODUCTION: There is growing interest in health system performance and recently WHO launched a report on health systems strengthening emphasising the need for close monitoring using system-wide approaches. One recent method is the balanced scorecard system. There is limited application of this method in middle- and low-income countries. This paper applies the concept of balanced scorecard to describe the baseline status of three intervention districts in Zambia. METHODOLOGY: The Better Health Outcome through Mentoring and Assessment (BHOMA project is a randomised step-wedged community intervention that aims to strengthen the health system in three districts in the Republic of Zambia. To assess the baseline status of the participating districts we used a modified balanced scorecard approach following the domains highlighted in the MOH 2011 Strategic Plan. RESULTS: Differences in performance were noted by district and residence. Finance and service delivery domains performed poorly in all study districts. The proportion of the health workers receiving training in the past 12 months was lowest in Kafue (58% and highest in Luangwa district (77%. Under service capacity, basic equipment and laboratory capacity scores showed major variation, with Kafue and Luangwa having lower scores when compared to Chongwe. The finance domain showed that Kafue and Chongwe had lower scores (44% and 47% respectively. Regression model showed that children's clinical observation scores were negatively correlated with drug availability (coeff -0.40, p = 0.02. Adult clinical observation scores were positively association with adult service satisfaction score (coeff 0.82, p = 0.04 and service readiness (coeff 0.54, p = 0.03. CONCLUSION: The study applied the balanced scorecard to describe the baseline status of 42 health facilities in three districts of Zambia. Differences in performance were noted by district and residence in most domains with finance and service

Measuring Health System Strengthening: Application of the Balanced Scorecard Approach to Rank the Baseline Performance of Three Rural Districts in Zambia

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Mutale, Wilbroad; Godfrey-Fausset, Peter; Mwanamwenge, Margaret Tembo; Kasese, Nkatya; Chintu, Namwinga; Balabanova, Dina; Spicer, Neil; Ayles, Helen

2013-01-01

Introduction There is growing interest in health system performance and recently WHO launched a report on health systems strengthening emphasising the need for close monitoring using system-wide approaches. One recent method is the balanced scorecard system. There is limited application of this method in middle- and low-income countries. This paper applies the concept of balanced scorecard to describe the baseline status of three intervention districts in Zambia. Methodology The Better Health Outcome through Mentoring and Assessment (BHOMA) project is a randomised step-wedged community intervention that aims to strengthen the health system in three districts in the Republic of Zambia. To assess the baseline status of the participating districts we used a modified balanced scorecard approach following the domains highlighted in the MOH 2011 Strategic Plan. Results Differences in performance were noted by district and residence. Finance and service delivery domains performed poorly in all study districts. The proportion of the health workers receiving training in the past 12 months was lowest in Kafue (58%) and highest in Luangwa district (77%). Under service capacity, basic equipment and laboratory capacity scores showed major variation, with Kafue and Luangwa having lower scores when compared to Chongwe. The finance domain showed that Kafue and Chongwe had lower scores (44% and 47% respectively). Regression model showed that children's clinical observation scores were negatively correlated with drug availability (coeff −0.40, p = 0.02). Adult clinical observation scores were positively association with adult service satisfaction score (coeff 0.82, p = 0.04) and service readiness (coeff 0.54, p = 0.03). Conclusion The study applied the balanced scorecard to describe the baseline status of 42 health facilities in three districts of Zambia. Differences in performance were noted by district and residence in most domains with finance and service delivery

Self-reported health and health care use in an ageing population in the Agincourt sub-district of rural South Africa

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Benjamin Clark

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Background: South Africa is experiencing a demographic and epidemiological transition with an increase in population aged 50 years and older and rising prevalence of non-communicable diseases. This, coupled with high HIV and tuberculosis prevalence, puts an already weak health service under greater strain. Objective: To measure self-reported chronic health conditions and chronic disease risk factors, including smoking and alcohol use, and to establish their association with health care use in a rural South African population aged 50 years or older. Methods: The Study on Global Ageing and Adult Health (SAGE, in collaboration with the INDEPTH Network and the World Health Organization, was implemented in the Agincourt sub-district in rural northeast South Africa where there is a long-standing health and socio-demographic surveillance system. Household-based interviews were conducted in a random sample of people aged 50 years and older. The interview included questions on self-reported health and health care use, and some physical measurements, including blood pressure and anthropometry. Results: Four hundred and twenty-five individuals aged 50 years or older participated in the study. Musculoskeletal pain was the most prevalent self-reported condition (41.7%; 95% Confidence Interval [CI] 37.0–46.6 followed by hypertension (31.2%; 95% CI 26.8–35.9 and diabetes (6.1%; 95% CI 4.1–8.9. All self-reported conditions were significantly associated with low self-reported functionality and quality of life, 57% of participants had hypertension, including 44% of those who reported normal blood pressure. A large waist circumference and current alcohol consumption were associated with high risk of hypertension in men, whereas in women, old age, high waist–hip ratio, and less than 6 years of formal education were associated with high risk of hypertension. Only 45% of all participants reported accessing health care in the last 12 months. Those who reported

Hybrid Terrestrial-Satellite DVB/IP Infrastructure in Overlay Constellations for Triple-Play Services Access in Rural Areas

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E. Pallis

2010-01-01

Full Text Available This paper discusses the convergence of digital broadcasting and Internet technologies, by elaborating on the design, implementation, and performance evaluation of a hybrid terrestrial/satellite networking infrastructure, enabling triple-play services access in rural areas. At local/district level, the paper proposes the exploitation of DVB-T platforms in regenerative configurations for creating terrestrial DVB/IP backhaul between the core backbone (in urban areas and a number of intermediate communication nodes distributed within the DVB-T broadcasting footprint (in rural areas. In this way, triple play services that are available at the core backbone, are transferred via the regenerative DVB-T/IP backhaul to the entire district and can be accessed by rural users via the corresponding intermediate node. On the other hand, at regional/national level, the paper proposes the exploitation of a satellite interactive digital video broadcasting platform (DVB S2/RCS as an overlay network that interconnects the regenerative DVB-T/IP platforms, as well as individual users, and services providers, to each other. Performance of the proposed hybrid terrestrial/satellite networking environment is validated through experimental tests that were conducted under real transmission/reception conditions (for the terrestrial segment and via simulation experiments (for the satellite segment at a prototype network infrastructure.

Technoeconomic analysis of a biomass based district heating system. Paper no. IGEC-1-ID01

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang, H.; Ugursal, V.I.; Fung, A.

2005-01-01

District energy systems (DES) that produce steam, hot water or chilled water at a central plant and then distribute that energy to buildings in the district for space heating, domestic hot water heating and air conditioning provide opportunities for increasing energy efficiency and reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Use of biomass, such as wood, wood byproducts and wastes, fast-growing trees, agricultural crops and waste, in place of conventional fossil fuels to produce the thermal energy needed by a DES, presents further opportunities for reducing green house gas emissions as well as providing rural employment, and local solutions to rural and remote energy needs. In this paper, a technoeconomic analysis of a biomass based DES for a community center in Nova Scotia, Canada is presented. The methodology used to size and design the heating and ventilating system, as well as the biomass based DES is discussed. Annual energy requirement and biomass fuel consumption predictions are presented along with cost estimates. A comparative assessment of the economic feasibility of the system vis-a-vis a conventional oil fired system is conducted. While the results are specific to the particular application, the design and analysis methodology that is presented in the paper can be used for any similar application. (author)

Barriers to quality patient care in rural district hospitals

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Johanna E. Eygelaar

2012-05-01

Reliability of the instrument was verified using the Cronbach alpha coefficient and a pilot study. The validity, specifically construct and content validity, were assured by means of an extensive literature review, pilot study and use of experts. Ethics approval was obtained from the relevant stakeholders. Results showed that 272 participants (97% disagreed that provision of staff was adequate, with staff above 40 years of age more likely to disagree (p = <0.01. A statistically significant association was shown between availability of doctors and staff not being able to cope with emergencies (p = <0.01. Most participants (n =212; 76% indicated that they were not receiving continuing education, with the registered nurses more likely to disagree (χ² test, p = 0.02. Participants in both hospital types A (n = 131; 82% and B (n = 108; 91% also disagreed that provision of equipment and consumables was adequate. The research showed that inadequacies relating to human resources, professional development, consumables and equipment influenced the quality of patient care. Urgent attention should be given to the problems identified to ensure quality of patient care in rural hospitals.

The State of Girl-Child’s Education in Zambia : The Case of Chongwe District

OpenAIRE

Mwanza, Peggy

2015-01-01

This paper discusses the importance of education with specific reference to Girl-Child’s education, and gender inequality1 and inequity2 in education in Zambia, focusing on one of the rural areas, Chongwe District. Many International Conferences are suggesting that educating girls is one of the ways of achieving gender equality in education thereby helping in achieving Education for All in primary and secondary schooling. In Zambia, with many economic and social problems, this is a particular...

Assessment of the Ehlanzeni District health transport and logistics function: Enhancing rural healthcare delivery systems

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Mashiri, MAM

2009-07-01

Full Text Available This paper seeks to establish a baseline against which to assess the impacts of the ‘Ehlanzeni District Health Transport Function’ for the district’s healthcare service delivery output, and by extension, health and welfare outcomes. The main...

Impact of a Rural Special Education Field-Based Program on the Kayenta School System and Community.

Science.gov (United States)

Silva, Charlie; And Others

In partnership with the Kayenta Unified School District (KUSD) on the Navajo Reservation in northeastern Arizona, Northern Arizona University developed the Rural Special Education Project (RSEP) as a field-based training program for special education teachers. In the past 3 years, 22 Anglo American and 26 Navajo students have graduated from RSEP.…

National rural drinking water monitoring: progress and challenges with India's IMIS database

OpenAIRE

Wescoat, James; Fletcher, Sarah Marie; Novellino, Marianna

2015-01-01

National drinking water programs seek to address monitoring challenges that include self-reporting, data sampling, data consistency and quality, and sufficient frequency to assess the sustainability of water systems. India stands out for its comprehensive rural water database known as Integrated Management Information System (IMIS), which conducts annual monitoring of drinking water coverage, water quality, and related program components from the habitation level to the district, state, and n...

The Assessment of Indoor Air Pollution associated with household fuel use in Bagalkot District, Karnataka, India

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Yogesh Gopal Parajuli

2012-03-01

Full Text Available India is one of the developing countries with high incidence of traditional fuel use in the rural areas such as Wood, Dung cakes, Agricultural residues and so on. The available literature shows the traditional fuels as a major contributor for increased levels of indoor air pollution in the developing countries. Aim: To estimate the prevalence of traditional fuel use and the exposure time among people in Bagalkot District, Karnataka, India. Settings and Design: Sirur Village, Bagalkot District. A Cross-Sectional Study. Methods and Material: The sample size N=185 was calculated according to the prevalence of traditional fuel use in rural India, Prevalence=86% shown by National Sample Survey report in 2001. The total households surveyed were 215. Statistical analysis used :Data collected was analyzed using SPSS (version 16.0 package. Results: The total population in 215 houses was 1,177. The prevalence of traditional fuel use was 100%. None of the kitchen had improved stoves with the presence of outlet pipeline (flue. The average cooking hours for a day was 5.6 hours divided into three sessions (Morning- 2.5 hours, Afternoon- 1 hour and Evening- 2.1 hours. There was a significant difference found between the prevalence of tuberculosis among adults and the type of the house. (Fisher’s exact test, at 0.05 level of significance. Conclusions: Women primarily cook in the rural houses using the traditional fuel and children in the age group of 0-15 years accounted for more than half of total people who were present in kitchen while cooking.

The Assessment of Indoor Air Pollution associated with household fuel use in Bagalkot District, Karnataka, India.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yogesh Gopal Parajuli

2012-01-01

Full Text Available India is one of the developing countries with high incidence of traditional fuel use in the rural areas such as Wood, Dung cakes, Agricultural residues and so on. The available literature shows the traditional fuels as a major contributor for increased levels of indoor air pollution in the developing countries. Aim: To estimate the prevalence of traditional fuel use and the exposure time among people in Bagalkot District, Karnataka, India. Settings and Design: Sirur Village, Bagalkot District. A Cross-Sectional Study. Methods and Material: The sample size N=185 was calculated according to the prevalence of traditional fuel use in rural India, Prevalence=86% shown by National Sample Survey report in 2001. The total households surveyed were 215. Statistical analysis used :Data collected was analyzed using SPSS (version 16.0 package. Results: The total population in 215 houses was 1,177. The prevalence of traditional fuel use was 100%. None of the kitchen had improved stoves with the presence of outlet pipeline (flue. The average cooking hours for a day was 5.6 hours divided into three sessions (Morning- 2.5 hours, Afternoon- 1 hour and Evening- 2.1 hours. There was a significant difference found between the prevalence of tuberculosis among adults and the type of the house. (Fisher’s exact test, at 0.05 level of significance. Conclusions: Women primarily cook in the rural houses using the traditional fuel and children in the age group of 0-15 years accounted for more than half of total people who were present in kitchen while cooking.

Maternal complications in a geographically challenging and hard to reach district of Bangladesh: a qualitative study.

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Biswas, Animesh; Dalal, Koustuv; Abdullah, Abu Sayeed Md; Gifford, Mervyn; Halim, M A

2016-01-01

Background: Maternal complications contribute to maternal deaths in developing countries. Bangladesh still has a high prevalence of maternal mortality, which is often preventable. There are some geographically challenging and hard to reach rural districts in Bangladesh and it is difficult to get information about maternal complications in these areas. In this study, we examined the community lay knowledge of possible pregnancy complications. We also examined the common practices associated with complications and we discuss the challenges for the community. Methods: The study was conducted in Moulvibazar of north east Bangladesh, a geographically challenged, difficult to reach district. Qualitative methods were used to collect the information. Pregnant women, mothers who had recently delivered, their guardians and traditional birth attendants participated in focus group discussions. Additionally, in-depth interviews were conducted with the family members. Thematic analyses were performed. Results: The study revealed that there is a lack of knowledge of maternal complications. In the majority of cases, the mothers did not receive proper treatment for maternal complications.   There are significant challenges that these rural societies need to address: problems of ignorance, traditional myths and family restrictions on seeking better treatment. Moreover, traditional birth attendants and village doctors also have an important role in assuring appropriate, effective and timely treatment. Conclusions:  The rural community lacks adequate knowledge on maternal complications.  Reduction of the societal barriers including barriers within the family can improve overall practices. Moreover, dissemination of adequate information to the traditional birth attendant and village doctors may improve the overall situation, which would eventually help to reduce maternal deaths.

The deforestation of rural areas in the Lower Congo Province.

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Iloweka, Ernest Manganda

2004-12-01

The Lower Congo is one of eleven provinces in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and is located southwest of Kinshasa Town Province. It has an area of approximately 53.947 km2 with a population of 1,504,361 at an estimated 237 persons per km2. The Province comprises five districts, including Lukaya and Cataracts where rural poverty is severe and the population struggle to make a living through agriculture and woodcutting. These activities result in excessive resource exploitation. The high demand for foodstuffs and the high consumption of wood (for energy, construction and export) in Kinshasa, the capital city of the Democratic Republic of Congo and the expanding towns of Matadi and Boma in the Lower Congo Province, are speeding the deforestation rate and unbalancing forest ecosystems. In addition there is the stress resulting from reduced josher (the rest period for agriculture ground), plus climate change and erosion. The phenomena that that we need to address in these two districts include deforestation, reduced josher, excessive agriculture, erosion, burning and climate change which taken together largely explain the current soil degradation. These areas are marked by excessive post deforestation savannah formation and extended areas of sandy soil, distributed throughout grass and shrub savannahs. This desertification, which is rampant in Lukaya and Cataracts, risks imprisoning the rural population in a vicious cycle of poverty if adequate solutions are not found.

Views of teenagers on termination of pregnancy at Muyexe high school in Mopani District, Limpopo Province, South Africa.

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Ramakuela, Nditsheni J; Lebese, Tsakani R; Maputle, Sonto M; Mulaudzi, Lindiwe

2016-05-31

Teenage pregnancy is a global social health concern especially because of the HIV and AIDS pandemic, sexually transmitted infections, high rate of termination of pregnancy (TOP), adolescents' parenthood and decreased level of contraceptives. To explore the views of teenagers on the TOP at Muyexe high school in a rural village of Mopani District, Limpopo Province. Muyexe high school in a rural village of Mopani District, Limpopo Province, in South Africa. A qualitative method using explorative and descriptive designs was used to find in-depth description and understanding of teenagers' views on TOP. The target population was girls aged 15-19 years at Muyexe high school in Mopani District. Non-probability, convenient sampling was used to select high school teenage girls who had undergone TOP for the study. Data were collected using individual self-report technique (interview). Tesch's eight steps of qualitative data analysis were used. Measures to ensure trustworthiness and ethical considerations were observed. Two major themes were revealed: (1) Views of teenagers regarding TOP (poverty, relationship problems and single parenthood, negative impact on the teen's life while attending school) and (2) teenager's fears regarding pregnancy (stigma, fear of parents and friends, rape and incest and fear of giving birth). Majority of participants had knowledge about TOP; some had experiences about TOP while others held inadequate knowledge. Recommendations were based on the findings by teaching dangers of TOP and various contraceptive methods to prevent unwanted pregnancies and TOP.

An Evaluation of UV-Monitoring Enhanced Skin Cancer Prevention among Farm Youth in Rural Virginia

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Chen, Yi-Chun; Ohanehi, Donatus C.; Redican, Kerry J.

2015-01-01

Background: Health districts in southwest Virginia have one of the highest ultraviolet (UV) radiation exposure and sunburn rate. Due to higher levels of UV exposure, rural farm youth are at higher risk for skin cancer than non-farm youth. Few studies have been published that explore best practices for decreasing UV exposure among this population.…

Investigation of Current Situation of Learning Motivation, Social Anxiety and Loneliness of the Left-behind Children in Rural Primary School

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Zhang Biyun

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Objective: To understand the situation of learning motivation, social anxiety and loneliness of the left-behind children. Method: Selecting three rural primary schools in Xian’an District of Xianning City to investigate left-behind situation, learning motivation, social anxiety and loneliness of pupils in Grades 4 to 6 in rural primary school in Xian’an District by the use of the MAAT-I-A which is revised by Zhou Bucheng, the Social Anxiety Scale for Children (SASC and the Children’s Loneliness Scale (CLS. Results: (1 The learning motivation of the left-behind children in rural primary school is in a slightly higher medium level. Social anxiety is significantly higher than normal level in Chinese city, and the level of loneliness of about 1/5 of the left-behind children is relatively high. (2 The score of learning motivation, social anxiety and loneliness of the left-behind children in the level of knowledge learning has significant grade differences, without significant gender differences. (3 The level of learning motivation, social anxiety and loneliness of the left-behind children is slightly higher than that of non-left-behind children, but both differences are not significant.

Prevalence of Hypertension in Akwa Ibom State, South-South Nigeria: Rural versus Urban Communities Study

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Effiong Ekong Akpan

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Recent studies have shown an increasing trend in the prevalence of hypertension in rural communities compared to that of the urban communities. This study was therefore carried out to determine the prevalence of hypertension and its predictors (if any in both urban and rural communities of Akwa Ibom State of Nigeria. Subjects and Method. This was a cross-sectional study of urban and rural communities of Akwa Ibom State for the prevalence of hypertension and its predictors. Two urban cities and two rural communities were randomly selected from the three senatorial districts of the state. Hypertension was defined based on the Seventh Report of the Joint National Committee on the Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of Hypertension. Results. Nine hundred and seventy-eight (978 participants were recruited from rural areas and five hundred and ninety (590 from urban centers. The rural populace had higher systolic, diastolic, and mean arterial blood pressure than the urban populace (P<0.001, < 0.002, < 0.001, resp.. The prevalence of hypertension was significantly higher in the rural populace than in the urban populace [44.3% (95% CI 41.1–47.4% versus 28.6% (95% CI 24.9–32.3%]. Age, BMI, and proteinuria were independent predictors of hypertension occurrence. Conclusion. There is an epidemiologic change in the prevalence of hypertension in the rural communities of Nigeria.

Iodine deficiency in children: A comparative study in two districts of south-interior Karnataka, India

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Mansoor Ahmed

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Iodine is an essential component of the hormones produced by the thyroid gland that are essential for mammalian life. Although goiter is the most visible sequelae of iodine deficiency, the major impact of hypothyroidism as a result of iodine deficiency is impaired neurodevelopment, particularly early in life. According to the World Health Organization, it is the single most preventable cause of mental retardation and brain damage. The simplest, most effective and inexpensive preventive method is the consumption of iodized salt. Objectives: The objective of the following study is to estimate the prevalence of goiter in children in the rural areas of Mysore and Coorg districts in India and estimate iodine levels in salt samples. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study in the age group of 6-12 years, using population proportionate to size systematic sampling method. The total sample size was 10,082: out of which 5337 was from Mysore and the rest from Coorg district. Clinical examination of the thyroid gland was done and salt samples collected for the estimation of Iodine. Results: The total prevalence of goiter was 19.01% in children of 6-12 years in Coorg district and 8.77% in Mysore district and it was more in females than in males. Conclusions: It was observed that iodine deficiency disorders is endemic in both districts, with a prevalence of 19.01% in children aged 6-12 years in Coorg district and 8.77% in Mysore district. Analysis of salt samples suggested that most of the samples were inadequately iodised (73.92% in Coorg and 45.92% in Mysore.

Biomass, energy and economic and natural resource differentiation in rural southern India

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Bhagavan, M.R.; Giriappa, S.

1995-01-01

The rural economy in India is as yet only partially monetized and continues to retain its semi-subsistence character, while at the same time undergoing the process of becoming more monetized and market-orientated. A large field study was conducted in rural Karnataka, a state in southern India, which uncovers the relations between the energy situations of the rural social classes and their access to labour, land, cash and physical assets. Of equal significance are regional variations in ecology, rainfall and irrigation. The study's principal focus is the rural household, but it also includes some analysis of the energy dimensions in agricultural activities and small-scale rural services. Eight villages were covered by the survey, one in each district, carefully selected to reflect the geographic, climatic, biomass-resource and socio-economic features of Karnataka. In each village an average of 55 households were studied in depth, making up a total of 450 households. Clear and marked differentiations are uncovered between the rural social classes in various aspects of energy production, purchase, sale and consumption, as well as in labour and cash inputs into the energy flows. It is found that traditional forms of biomass are still the dominant type of energy for all rural strata, and that only the rural middle class can be said to have begun the transition towards modern fuels, although its consumption of modern fuels is still negligibly small in absolute terms. The study reveals that the rural middle class faces no energy crisis, while the 'intermediate' class of the small peasantry is just about managing to make ends meet in energy terms. In contrast to this, the rural wage labour class continues to remain in a state of energy crisis. (author)

Adopters and Non-Adopters of Low-Cost Household Latrines: A Study of Corbelled Pit Latrines in 15 Districts of Malawi

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Rochelle Holm

2016-09-01

Full Text Available The Sustainable Development Goals will challenge low- and middle-income settings to look at new approaches for rural sanitation. In 2013, Mzuzu University, in partnership with United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF Malawi, started a low-cost latrine program in rural areas using the corbelled latrine design supported by locally owned sustainable businesses. The objective of this work was to trace customers (early household adopters and non-customers through field observations and interviews in 15 districts of Malawi. The research team spent 193 personnel work days in data collection and found 21 households as adopters in 7 districts. Most respondents had a preference with regard to the design of the sanitation facility they would like to use. Although sharing of sanitation facilities was common, the corbelled latrine is promoted as a single household pit latrine design. Unfortunately, 8% (23/304 of non-adopters responded they practiced open defecation. Households were satisfied with the corbelled latrine design, and no latrine was found to have collapsed during field visits. To promote the corbelled latrine in Malawi, the following are recommended: (1 education of frontline government extension workers towards non-subsidized household latrines; (2 identification of rural low-income households as the best target for potential adopters; and (3 linkage of low-cost sanitation technologies to community mobilization campaigns led by the government, such as Community Led Total Sanitation.

Understanding the rural population migration pattern of Uttarakhand using Geophysical, Geological and Socio-Economical BigData

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Chattopadhyay, Kausik; Chattopadhyay, Pallavi

2017-04-01

Uttarakhand, a Himalayan state of India is facing a worst scenario of rural population migration for the past few decades from hill regions to the planes. While urbanization is believed to be one of the major factors for migration, how geo scientific parameters can impact the population to redraw the demographies of the hills is studied in this research. An attempt is made using density based clustering and Apriori association rule mining on 45 derived variables with a time series of 30 years to understand the rural population migration pattern. Both zone identification and origin-destination pair extraction are formulated as spatial-temporal point clustering problem and DBSCAN (Density-Based Spatial Clustering of Applications with Noise) is applied to solve them. Specifically the population migration is formulated as a 4D point clustering problem and the relative distance between two origin - destination pair with a preference factor is used to fine tune the cluster length. In Apriori, threshold values for confidence and J-measure are kept same as for rule extraction. Rules with maximum confidence level and J-measure are obtained for an antecedent window of 18 months, consequent window of 4 months and time lag of 2 months. From the rules extracted, it can be demonstrated that almost all the geoscience indices are occurring as antecedents for migration episodes. The result demonstrates that the three districts that have registered the highest migration rates are also the districts that have witnessed maximum depletion in water sources. Even though some districts have higher number of landslide incidents, their out migration is less compared to other hill districts. However districts experiencing higher number of earthquakes are experiencing higher out migration. Upper hill region with higher precipitation experience higher migration compared to their lower hill counterpart. However this is not true when compared to the counter parts in the plane regions. Even

Early Childhood Safety Education: An Overview of Safety Curriculum in Outer Metropolitan, Regional and Rural NSW

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Barr, Jennifer; Saltmarsh, Sue; Klopper, Christopher

2009-01-01

This article reports on preliminary findings from a 2008 survey and telephone interviews with 27 directors of early childhood education and care (ECEC) services located in regional and rural districts of the Australian state of New South Wales. Data from the study suggests that some areas of safety education--most notably road/traffic safety and…

Culture Development Planning in the Special Region of Yogyakarta (Management Planning of Cultural Heritage in Kotagede District based on Community Empowerment Conservation Model

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Eko Suryanti

2014-09-01

Full Text Available The Special Region of Yogyakarta is a cultural rich city with excellent cultural resources. Yogyakarta should manage their assets with long-term planning to keep the sustainability. There is a very unique planning process due to a combination of political, technocratic, participatory, top down and bottom up approaches. This planning process is comprehensive or integrated because its involved many actor from multisectoral, multidisciplinary, multi regulatory, and multi planning documents, etc. Local wisdoms have been coloring the planning documents. This study describe and analyze the cultural development planning in Yogyakarta especially on the Management Planning in Kotagede Cultural Heritage District. We used qualitative descriptive approach methods and Miles and Huberman analysis methods. Participation of community and Non Governmental Organization (NGO in conservation planning of cultural heritage in this area is very significant in simplify the government task because people have been more literate in planning, have database of cultural assets, and capable of making their own decisions for the future of the region. Participatory rural appraisal (PRA dan Rapid Rural Appraisal (RRA were integrated in the planning process of Kotagede Heritage District management, thus it becomes a model of cultural heritage with community empowerment-based conservation. Keywords: culture development planning, comprehensive planning, heritage cultural district, community empowerment-based conservation.

Factors influencing sustainability of communally-managed water facilities in rural areas of Zimbabwe

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Kativhu, T.; Mazvimavi, D.; Tevera, D.; Nhapi, I.

2017-08-01

Sustainability of point water facilities is a major development challenge in many rural settings of developing countries not sparing those in the Sub-Saharan Africa region. This study was done in Zimbabwe to investigate the factors influencing sustainability of rural water supply systems. A total of 399 water points were studied in Nyanga, Chivi and Gwanda districts. Data was collected using a questionnaire, observation checklist and key informant interview guide. Multi-Criteria analysis was used to assess the sustainability of water points and inferential statistical analysis such as Chi square tests and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) were used to determine if there were significant differences on selected variables across districts and types of lifting devices used in the study area. The thematic approach was used to analyze qualitative data. Results show that most water points were not functional and only 17% across the districts were found to be sustainable. A fusion of social, technical, financial, environmental and institutional factors was found to be influencing sustainability. On technical factors the ANOVA results show that the type of lifting device fitted at a water point significantly influences sustainability (F = 37.4, p planning stage of water projects was also found to be critical for sustainability although field results showed passive participation by communities at this critical project stage. Financial factors of adequacy of financial contributions and establishment of operation and maintenance funds were also found to be of great importance in sustaining water supply systems. It is recommended that all factors should be considered when assessing sustainability since they are interrelated.

Equity and vaccine uptake: a cross-sectional study of measles vaccination in Lasbela District, Pakistan

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Soberanis José

2009-10-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Achieving equity means increased uptake of health services for those who need it most. But the poorest families continue to have the poorest service. In Pakistan, large numbers of children do not access vaccination against measles despite the national government's effort to achieve universal coverage. Methods A cross-sectional study of a random sample of 23 rural and 9 urban communities in the Lasbela district of south Pakistan, explored knowledge, attitudes and discussion around measles vaccination. Several socioeconomic variables allowed examination of the role of inequities in vaccination uptake; 2479 mothers provided information about 4007 children aged 10 to 59 months. A Mantel-Haenszel stratification analysis, with and without adjustment for clustering, clarified determinants of measles vaccination in urban and rural areas. Results A high proportion of mothers had appropriate knowledge of and positive attitudes to vaccination; many discussed vaccination, but only one half of children aged 10-59 months accessed vaccination. In urban areas, having an educated mother, discussing vaccinations, having correct knowledge about vaccinations, living in a community with a government vaccination facility within 5 km, and living in houses with better roofs were associated with vaccination uptake after adjusting for the effect of each of these variables and for clustering; maternal education was an equity factor even among those with good access. In rural areas, the combination of roof quality and access (vaccination post within 5 km along with discussion about vaccines and knowledge about vaccines had an effect on uptake. Conclusion Stagnating rates of vaccination coverage may be related to increasing inequities. A hopeful finding is that discussion about vaccines and knowledge about vaccines had a positive effect that was independent of the negative effect of inequity - in both urban and rural areas. At least as a short term

Artisanal small-scale mining: Potential ecological disaster in Mzingwane District, Zimbabwe

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Siduduziwe Ncube-Phiri

2015-05-01

Full Text Available Artisanal small-scale mining (ASM has devastating impacts on the environment, such as deforestation, over-stripping of overburden, burning of bushes and use of harmful chemicals like mercury. These environmental impacts are a result of destructive mining, wasteful mineral extraction and processing practices and techniques used by the artisanal small-scale miners. This paper explores the ecological problems caused by ASM in Mzingwane District, Zimbabwe. It seeks to determine the nature and extent to which the environment has been damaged by the ASM from a community perspective. Interviews, questionnaires and observations were used to collect qualitative data. Results indicated that the nature of the mining activities undertaken by unskilled and under-equipped gold panners in Mzingwane District is characterised by massive stripping of overburden and burning of bushes, leading to destruction of large tracts of land and river systems and general ecosystem disturbance. The research concluded that ASM in Mzingwane District is an ecological time bomb, stressing the need for appropriate modifications of the legal and institutional frameworks for promoting sustainable use of natural resources and mining development in Zimbabwe. Government, through the Ministry of Small Scale and Medium Enterprises, need to regularise and formalise all gold mining activities through licensing, giving permanent claims and operating permits to panners in order to recoup some of the added costs in the form of taxes. At the local level, the Mzingwane Rural District Council (MRDC together with the Environmental Management Agency (EMA need to design appropriate environmental education and awareness programmes targeting the local community and gold panners.

Determination of Trekking Potential of Bartİn- Arİt District

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Sebahat AÇIKSÖZ, Mehmet TOPAY, Hakan AYDIN

2006-01-01

Full Text Available Current studies have emphasized that the sportive activities making in nature have positive effects on the physiologic and psychological structure of human. People have taken away from nature due to the urbanization begin to prefer the sportive activities such as trekking in the natural area which is parcially protected. The aim of this study is to determine the potential of trekking activity in Bartın-Arıt District. In this research, trekking routs in Arıt District and its surrounding areas designated by using the Technique of Rapid Rural Evaluation (RRE. The findings have been analyzed with the Method of Strength, Weakness, Opportunities, Threatment (SWOT Analysis and the suggestions have been developed. To conclusion, 26 trekking routs which have different difficulty degrees were determined. This research are taken importance because of the determined routs can be contributed on the social and economic structure of the local community, if they use in the context of alternative tourism.

Rural women are more likely to use long acting contraceptive in Tigray region, Northern Ethiopia: a comparative community-based cross sectional study.

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Alemayehu, Mussie; Kalayu, Aster; Desta, Alem; Gebremichael, Hailay; Hagos, Tesfalem; Yebyo, Henock

2015-09-04

In the latest report of Ethiopian Demographic and Health Survey (EDHS) 2011, the maternal mortality ratio (MMR) was estimated at 676/100,000 live births, with total fertility rate at 4.8 and contraceptive prevalence rate at 29 %. Knowledge and utilization of long acting contraceptive in the Tigray region are low. This study aims at comparing and identifying factors related to the utilization of long acting contraceptive in urban versus rural settings of Ethiopia. A comparative community-based cross-sectional study, comprised of quantitative and qualitative methods, was conducted among 1035 married women in Wukro (urban area) and Kilteawlaelo district (rural area) in March, 2013. Stratified sampling technique was employed to approach the study participants. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 20. Multiple logistic regression analysis was used to identify the respective effect of independent predictors on utilization of long acting contraceptive. The proportion of long acting contraceptive use among the respondents was 19.9 % in the town of Wukro and 37.8 % in the district of Kilteawlaelo. Implanon was the most common type of contraceptive used in both districts, urban (75 %) and rural (94 %). The odds of using the long acting contraceptive method were three times higher among married women in the rural areas as compared with the urban women [AOR = 3. 30; 95 %, CI:2.17, 5.04]. No or limited support from male partners was an obstacle to using long acting contraceptive method [AOR = 0. 24, 95 of CI: 0.13, 0.44]. Moreover, married women whose partner did not permit them to use long acting contraceptive [AOR = 0. 47, 95 % of CI: 0.24, 0.92] and women who attended primary education [AOR = 0.24, 95 %, CI: 0.13, 0.44] were significantly associated with long acting contraceptive use. Overall, the proportion of long acting contraceptive use has found to be low. Rural women were more likely to use long acting contraceptives as compared to urban women

Occupational Therapy and Physiotherapy in Acute Stroke: Do Rural Patients Receive Less Therapy?

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Josie Merchant

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Objective. To assess whether acute stroke patients in rural hospitals receive less occupational therapy and physiotherapy than those in metropolitan hospitals. Design. Retrospective case-control study of health data in patients ≤10 days after stroke. Setting. Occupational therapy and physiotherapy services in four rural hospitals and one metropolitan hospital. Participants. Acute stroke patients admitted in one health district. Main Outcome Measures. Frequency and duration of face-to-face and indirect therapy sessions. Results. Rural hospitals admitted 363 patients and metropolitan hospital admitted 378 patients. Mean age was 73 years. Those in rural hospitals received more face-to-face (p>0.0014 and indirect (p=0.001 occupational therapy when compared to those in the metropolitan hospital. Face-to-face sessions lasted longer (p=0.001. Patients admitted to the metropolitan hospital received more face-to-face (p>0.000 and indirect (p>0.000 physiotherapy when compared to those admitted to rural hospitals. Face-to-face sessions were shorter (p>0.000. Almost all were seen within 24 hours of referral. Conclusions. Acute stroke patients in Australian rural hospital may receive more occupational therapy and less physiotherapy than those in metropolitan hospitals. The dose of therapy was lower than recommended, and the referral process may unnecessarily delay the time from admission to a patient’s first therapy session.

The costs of introducing artemisinin-based combination therapy: evidence from district-wide implementation in rural Tanzania.

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Njau, Joseph D; Goodman, Catherine A; Kachur, S Patrick; Mulligan, Jo; Munkondya, John S; McHomvu, Naiman; Abdulla, Salim; Bloland, Peter; Mills, Anne

2008-01-07

The development of antimalarial drug resistance has led to increasing calls for the introduction of artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT). However, little evidence is available on the full costs associated with changing national malaria treatment policy. This paper presents findings on the actual drug and non-drug costs associated with deploying ACT in one district in Tanzania, and uses these data to estimate the nationwide costs of implementation in a setting where identification of malaria cases is primarily dependant on clinical diagnosis. Detailed data were collected over a three year period on the financial costs of providing ACT in Rufiji District as part of a large scale effectiveness evaluation, including costs of drugs, distribution, training, treatment guidelines and other information, education and communication (IEC) materials and publicity. The district-level costs were scaled up to estimate the costs of nationwide implementation, using four scenarios to extrapolate variable costs. The total district costs of implementing ACT over the three year period were slightly over one million USD, with drug purchases accounting for 72.8% of this total. The composite (best) estimate of nationwide costs for the first three years of ACT implementation was 48.3 million USD (1.29 USD per capita), which varied between 21 and 67.1 million USD in the sensitivity analysis (2003 USD). In all estimates drug costs constituted the majority of total costs. However, non-drug costs such as IEC materials, drug distribution, communication, and health worker training were also substantial, accounting for 31.4% of overall ACT implementation costs in the best estimate scenario. Annual implementation costs are equivalent to 9.5% of Tanzania's recurrent health sector budget, and 28.7% of annual expenditure on medical supplies, implying a 6-fold increase in the national budget for malaria treatment. The costs of implementing ACT are substantial. Although drug purchases

Diagnostic Survey on Storage Structures and Methods in Maize, Cowpeas and Beans in Kilifi and Kwale Districts of Coastal Kenya

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Kega, V.M.; Kamande, M.M; Onyango, J.R

1999-01-01

A study on storage methods and structures for maize and cowpeas was conducted in Kwale and Kilifi Districts of Kenya. Participatory rural appraisal methods were used to identify farmers' constraints and possible interventions. The main method of storage of maize for consumptions in the two districts was in traditional cribs. These two were constructed as platforms above the fireplace in the house. Kilifi farmers stored their seed in stoppered containers while Kwale farmers stored their seed maize on cobs above the fire place. Maize storage losses due to insect pests were between 0% to 40% depending on the strength and the extent of heating regime. Rats also cause major grain losses. Women were responsible for food security and storage of seed. Opportunities for intervention to alleviate losses in the two districts were identified and some will be tested out on farmers' fields

Beyond the biomedical: community resources for mental health care in rural Ethiopia.

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Selamu, Medhin; Asher, Laura; Hanlon, Charlotte; Medhin, Girmay; Hailemariam, Maji; Patel, Vikram; Thornicroft, Graham; Fekadu, Abebaw

2015-01-01

The focus of discussion in addressing the treatment gap is often on biomedical services. However, community resources can benefit health service scale-up in resource-constrained settings. These assets can be captured systematically through resource mapping, a method used in social action research. Resource mapping can be informative in developing complex mental health interventions, particularly in settings with limited formal mental health resources. We employed resource mapping within the Programme for Improving Mental Health Care (PRIME), to systematically gather information on community assets that can support integration of mental healthcare into primary care in rural Ethiopia. A semi-structured instrument was administered to key informants. Community resources were identified for all 58 sub-districts of the study district. The potential utility of these resources for the provision of mental healthcare in the district was considered. The district is rich in community resources: There are over 150 traditional healers, 164 churches and mosques, and 401 religious groups. There were on average 5 eddir groups (traditional funeral associations) per sub-district. Social associations and 51 micro-finance institutions were also identified. On average, two traditional bars were found in each sub-district. The eight health centres and 58 satellite clinics staffed by Health Extension Workers (HEWs) represented all the biomedical health services in the district. In addition the Health Development Army (HDA) are community volunteers who support health promotion and prevention activities. The plan for mental healthcare integration in this district was informed by the resource mapping. Community and religious leaders, HEWs, and HDA may have roles in awareness-raising, detection and referral of people with mental illness, improving access to medical care, supporting treatment adherence, and protecting human rights. The diversity of community structures will be used to support