Introduction. Injuries are a major global health problem that affects teenagers in many countries. Though several studies have been done in many countries, little is known among adolescents in Mauritius. Therefore, our paper explored the prevalence and correlates of serious injuries among adolescents in Mauritius. Methods. We analysed the 2017 Global School-Based Student Health Survey (GSHS) data from Mauritius, using the Chi-square test and binomial logistic regression analysis with adjusted odds ratio (AOR) at 95% confidence interval (CI). Results. The prevalence of serious injuries among adolescents in Mauritius stood at 39.0%. Also, the predictors of serious injuries included sex (AOR = 0.70, CI = 0.58–0.81), physical attack (AOR = 0.47, CI = 0.39–0.57), being bullied (AOR = 0.48, CI = 0.48–0.70), suicide ideation (AOR = 0.65, CI = 0.49–0.85), hunger (AOR = 0.65, CI = 0.48–0.86), truancy from school (AOR = 0.77, CI = 0.63–0.93), marijuana use (AOR = 0.54, CI = 0.39–0.76), alcohol consumption (AOR = 0.64, CI = 0.70–0.98), and parental neglect (AOR = 0.83, CI = 0.70–0.98). Conclusion. The rate of injury among adolescents in Mauritius is moderately high, with sex, suicidal thought, hunger, truancy, drug use, and parental neglect as correlates. There is an urgent need for health promotion interventions at family, community, and school levels to deal with this level of serious injuries and the factors influencing such occurrences among these adolescents in Mauritius.

Background The older person population is rapidly increasing globally, including sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Concurrently, malnutrition is also increasing among older persons in SSA, with a dearth of empirical evidence on nutritional status and associated factors among the older persons in the region to inform effective interventions to promote healthy ageing. Aim/Objective This review assessed the nutritional status and associated factors among older persons in SSA. Method PubMed, Google Scholar, and Cochrane Library electronic databases were searched for published articles from 2010 to 2021 using keywords and Boolean logic. Also, we carried out a free web-based search to retrieve other relevant evidence that assesses the older persons’ nutritional status. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses flow chart was used to appraise the research articles that responded to the study’s research questions. Findings Twenty studies met the inclusion criteria, from which data were extracted as findings. The malnutrition prevalence was between 6 to 54% among older persons in SSA. We found that the prevalence of malnutrition vary and could be as high as 28.4% in a low socio-economic status area. Of these studies, twelve (12) provided data on undernutrition with prevalence ranging from 2.9 to 41%;10 provided data on overweight (8.1–54.1%) and 5 on obesity (2.7–44.7%). Seventeen of the studies evaluated factors associated with malnutrition; 4 studies revealed the association between socioeconomic status and malnutrition, 7 studies reported a significant association between dietary habits and malnutrition. Four studies showed an association between educational status and malnutrition. Disease conditions associated with malnutrition were reported in four of the studies. Conclusion This review shows that malnutrition is a problem among older persons in SSA coupled with many risk factors which should be given critical attention. We recommend nutrition education for older persons as well as the development of nutrition interventions for this vulnerable group.

Introduction Africa has a higher burden of malaria-related cases and deaths globally. Children under five accounted for over two-thirds of all malaria deaths in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). This scoping review aims to map evidence of the prevalence, contextual factors and health education interventions of malaria amongst children under 5 years (UN5) in SSA. Method Four main databases (PubMed, Central, Dimensions and JSTOR) produced 27,841 records of literature. Additional searches in Google, Google Scholar and institutional repositories produced 37 records. Finally, 255 full-text records were further screened, and 100 records were used for this review. Results Low or no formal education, poverty or low income and rural areas are risk factors for malaria amongst UN5. Evidence on age and malnutrition as risk factors for malaria in UN5 is inconsistent and inconclusive. Furthermore, the poor housing system in SSA and the unavailability of electricity in rural areas and unclean water make UN5 more susceptible to malaria. Health education and promotion interventions have significantly reduced the malaria burden on UN5 in SSA. Conclusion Well-planned and resourced health education and promotion interventions that focus on prevention, testing and treatment of malaria could reduce malaria burden amongst UN5 in SSA.

Introduction the COVID-19 pandemic has necessitated many public health preventive measures including lockdowns or curfews. However, because humans are used to working and moving up and down, they would need to find ways to avert the negatives associated with the COVID-19 induced lockdown. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to qualitatively explore experiences of Ghanaians during the lockdown period in terms of physical activity, dietary behaviors, boredom, and changes in weight. Methods using a phenomenological approach, we analyzed data from 27 persons from Accra, Tema, and Kumasi who filled our online open-ended survey. We created open-ended items and circulated online (between 21 st April, 2020 and 10 th May, 2020) to persons who experienced the lockdown. We analyzed the data using Colaizzi´s 7-step phenomenological approach. Results many people felt very bored and frustrated during the lockdown period, and some of these people resorted to physical exercise routines either individually or collectively as family. However, many experienced tremendous physical inactivity because of lack of space. They experienced poor eating behaviors, all of which resulted in reported weight gains. Conclusion the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown has caused boredom and frustrations to quite a number of people. Physical inactivity increased because of lack of space, coupled with poor eating habits producing high levels of weight gain among people who experienced the lockdown in Ghana. There is therefore an urgent need to teach these people how to exercise within limited space and how to eat healthily during times of restriction.

Background Nursing is a profession that care for personal and private aspects of people’s lives. Therefore, nurses need to know the basic ethical aspects of nursing which is integral in nursing practices. The purpose of the study was to describe the ethical knowledge, attitude and practice of nurses in the Cape Coast Metropolis of Ghana. Method A cross-section design was used to collect data from 264 nurses in three selected healthcare facilities in the Metropolis. A structured questionnaire was administered to all the categories of these nurses in the selected facilities. Frequency counts and multiple regression statistics were used to analyze the data. Results The results show 78% of nurses possess good ethical knowledge, 84% had a positive attitude, while 98% had good ethical practices. The results further show that nurses’ professional rank [F (1, 259), 2.35, p = .02] and academic qualification [F (1, 259), 2.67, p = .008] were significant predictors of their ethical knowledge and attitude, respectively. Conclusion Inadequate resources, poor set up of working areas and understaffing are the major barriers limiting the practice of good ethical standards among the nurses. The Regional Health Directorate, the Ministry of Health and the Managers in charge of the health facilities need to work together to eliminate these barriers as they have the potential to negatively impact quality healthcare delivery in the Metropolis.