Mining alters the natural landscape and discharges large volumes of wastes that pose serious pollution hazards to the environment, to human health and to agriculture. As a result, the recent 2 decades have witnessed a global surge in research on post-mining landscape restoration, yielding a suite of techniques including physical, chemical, biological (also known as phytoremediation) and combinations. Despite the long history of mining in Africa, no systematic review has summarized advances in restoration research and practices after mining disturbance. Thus, the aim of this review was to document the state-of-knowledge and identify gaps in restoration of postmining landscape in Africa through literature review. We found that: (1) there has been substantial progress in identifying species suitable for phytoremediation; (2) few studies evaluated the feasibility of organic amendments to promote autochthonous colonization of mine wastelands or growth of planted species; and (3) restoration of limestone quarries in Kenya, sand mining tailings in South Africa, and gold mine wasteland in Ghana are successful cases of large-scale post-mining restoration practices in Africa. However, the pace of post-mining landscape restoration research and practice in Africa is sluggish compared to other parts of the global south. We recommend: (1) mainstreaming the restoration of mine wastelands in national research strategies and increased development planning to make the mining sector ''Green''; (2) inventory of the number, area, and current status of abandoned mine lands; (3) expanding the pool of candidate species for phytostabilization; (4) further evaluating the phytostabilization potential of organic amendments, e.g., biochar; (5) assessing the impacts of mining on regional biodiversity.

Background and Objectives: Pre-existing diabetes is associated with poor pregnancy outcomes, yet much is unknown about knowledge of preconception care among diabetic women. The objective of this study was to examine the knowledge and preconception care seeking practices of diabetic women in the reproductive age. Methods: A cross- sectional hospital based study of 114 diabetic women between 15-45 years old was conducted between March and May 2017. Data was collected using structured questionnaires in face to face interviews. Chi- square test was used to determine the association between knowledge levels and identified factors; these were further analyzed using binary logistic regression to determine the adjusted odds of poor knowledge. Results: The findings showed that 52.6% of diabetic women that participated in our study had poor knowledge of preconception care. Independent factors associated with poor knowledge on preconception care were up to primary level of education [AOR 4.54, 95% CI (2.23, 9.27)] and ?1 year duration of diabetes diagnosis [AOR 3.21 95% (1.35, 7.65)]. About 67% of the participants with a history of being pregnant after diagnosis of diabetes did not seek pre-conception care. Conclusions and Implications for Translation: The study indicated poor knowledge level as well as poor practice of seeking preconception care. There is need to explore the establishment of clinical guidelines and policies that will allow the dissemination of pregnancy related advise to diabetic women. Key words: • Diabetes Mellitus • Diabetic Women. • Preconception Care • Reproductive Age Group • Knowledge • Practice • Zambia   Copyright © 2017 Mutale et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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The recent focus on rural–urban cancer disparities in the United States (U.S.) requires a comprehensive understanding of the processes and relations that influence cancer care seeking and decision making. This is of particular importance for Black, Latino, and Native populations living in rural areas in the U.S., who remain marginalized in health care spaces. In this article, we describe the household production of health approach (HHPH) as a contextually-sensitive approach to examining health care seeking and treatment decisions and actions. The HHPH approach is based on several decades of research and grounded in anthropological theory on the household, gender, and therapy management. This approach directs analytical attention to how time, money, and social resources are secured and allocated within the household, sometimes in highly unequal ways that reflect and refract broader social structures. To demonstrate the benefits of such an approach to the study of cancer in rural populations in the U.S., we take lessons from our extensive HHPH research in Zambia. Using a case study of a rural household, in which household members had to seek care in a distant urban hospital, we map out what we call a rural HHPH approach to bring into focus the relations, negotiations, and interactions that are central to individual and familial health care seeking behaviors and clinical treatment particular to rural regions. Our aim is to show how such an approach might offer alternative interpretations of existing rural cancer research in the U.S. and also present new avenues for questions and for developing interventions that are more sensitive to people’s realities.

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Bedsiders' welfare is a neglected issue in the Zambian health system therefore, they are at risk of facing untold challenges as they care for the patient. With the current shortage of healthcare staff in hospitals, it implies that the clinicians may not be able to meet all aspects of the holistic health care approach i.e. social, mental, or physical aspects of health and that’s where the bedside comes in. Besides are arbitrarily defined as the informal caregivers including family, relatives, or friends for an in-patient of any hospital duration.

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