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.
Background
Adolescent pregnancy is a public health issue with well-defined causes and health risks with social and economic implications. Aim of this review was to examine adverse pregnancy outcomes and risk factors associated with adolescent pregnancy in Africa.
Method
PubMed Central, Science Direct and JSTOR were the main databases for the literature review. Other online sources and experts were consulted for relevant studies. In all, 11,574 records were identified and 122 were considered as full-text studies for evaluation after thorough screening and removal of duplicates. Finally, 53 studies were included in this review for thematic synthesis.
Results
The 53 studies sampled 263,580 pregnant women, including 46,202 adolescents (< 20 years) and 217,378 adults (> 20 years). Adolescent pregnancy was associated with higher risks of adverse pregnancy outcomes. Factors of poor pregnancy outcomes included low socioeconomic and educational status, poor utilization of antenatal care, risky lifestyles such as alcohol consumption, and unattractive health care factors. Maternal health care utilization was identified as an important factor to improve pregnancy outcomes among adolescents in Africa.
Conclusion
To prevent adolescent pregnancy, stakeholders need to help lower socioeconomic inequalities, poor utilization of antenatal care, alcohol consumption, and improve adolescents’ health care and their educational status. Issues such as child marriage, abortion, poor health care infrastructure and non-adolescent friendly health facilities need to be addressed.
Background
Suicide poses a debilitating threat to various aspects of adolescents’ lives worldwide. Although suicide prevention efforts are evident globally through the upsurge of literature on this subject matter, there is limited evidence on the prevalence and correlates of suicidal behaviours among school-going adolescents in Saint Lucia.
Methods
Authors data set from the Global School-based Student Health Survey to examine the prevalence, predisposing and protective factors of suicidal behaviours among 1,864 students from schools in Saint Lucia.
Results
We found a prevalence of 25.5%, 22.1%, and 17.5% for suicidal ideation, suicidal plan and suicidal attempt, respectively. After adjusting for other factors, we found that being a male and having understanding parents were protective of suicidal behaviours. However, suicidal ideation was predicted by being physically attacked, bullied, parental/guidance tobacco use, loneliness, and worrying. Also, being a victim of physical attack and bullying, having close friends, being lonely, and worrying were predictive of making suicidal plans among adolescents. The risk of attempting suicide was predicted by cigarette smoking, current use of tobacco and related products, bullying, having close friends, being lonely, and worrying.
Conclusion
The findings of this study posit the need for school-based interventions to help address triggers of suicidal behaviours among adolescents in Saint Lucia to attain the global Sustainable Development Goals targets of suicide prevention.
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