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Introduction Sexual harassment (SH) at the workplace is a globally discussed topic and one deserving of scrutiny. It is an issue that is often avoided although around 25% of nurses worldwide have experienced some form of SH at their workplace. Consequences of SH at workplaces can be very serious and an occupation hazard for nurses around the world. In Sub-Saharan Africa there is also a need for more studies in the field. Objective The overall aim was to determine the prevalence, types, and consequences of sexual harassment among nurses and nursing students at a regional university hospital in Tanzania. Methods The study has a cross-sectional design. A study specific questionnaire was distributed to a total of 200 nurses and nursing students. Descriptive statistics were used for calculation of frequencies, prevalence, including gender differences, types, and consequences of sexual harassment. Results The result show that 9.6% of the participants had experienced some form of SH at their workplace. Regarding the female nurses and students, 10.5% had been sexually harassed at work, whereas the number for males was 7.8%, but 36% knew about a friend who had been sexually harassed. The most common perpetrator were physicians. The victims of SH were uncomfortable going back to work, felt ashamed and angry. Conclusions In conclusion, nearly 10% of the participants had been exposed to sexual harassment. However, an even greater number of victims was found when including by proxy victims of sexual harassment. SH can become a serious occupational hazard and stigmatization for nurses. Enhanced knowledge is needed, and hospitals and medical colleges should emphasize their possibilities to give support and assistance to the victims of SH. Education about SH in all levels and prevention methods should also be emphasized.

BackgroundDiabetes is an emerging public health problem in sub-Saharan Africa. Diabetic retinopathy is the commonest microvascular complication of diabetes and is a leading cause of blindness, mainly in adults of working age. Follow-up is crucial to the effective management of diabetic retinopathy, however, follow-up rates are often poor in sub-Saharan Africa. The aim of this study was to assess the proportion of patients not presenting for follow-up and the reasons for poor follow-up of diabetic patients after screening for retinopathy in Kilimanjaro Region of Tanzania.MethodsAll diabetic patients referred to a tertiary ophthalmology hospital after screening for retinopathy in 2012 were eligible for inclusion in the study. A randomly selected group of patients from the community-based diabetic retinopathy screening register were identified; among this group, follow-up was assessed. Interviews were conducted within this group to inform on the reasons for poor follow-up.ResultsAmong the 203 patients interviewed in the study 50 patients (24.6 %) attended the recommended referral appointment and 153 (75.4 %) did not. Financial reasons were self-reported by 35.3 % of those who did not attend the follow-up appointment as the reason for non-attendance. Multiple logistic regression analysis showed that the patient report of the clarity of the referral process (p = 0.014) and the patient report of whether a healthcare worker told the patient that diabetic retinopathy could be treated (p = 0.005) were independently associated with attendance at a follow-up appointment. Income per month was not associated with attendance at a follow-up appointment on multivariate analysis.ConclusionsFinancial factors are commonly cited as the reason for non-compliance with follow-up recommendations. However, the reasons for poor compliance are likely to be more complicated. This study highlights the importance of health system factors. Improving the clarity of the referral process and frequent reminders to patients that diabetic retinopathy can be treated are practical strategies that should be incorporated into screening programmes to increase attendance at subsequent follow-up appointments. The results from this study are applicable to other screening programmes as well as those for diabetic retinopathy.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12886-016-0288-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Introduction: Tanzania is among of the African countries with high maternal and child mortality rates and fast growing population. It also has high fertility rate and a huge unmet need for family planning. Contraceptive use reported to avert more than 1 million maternal deaths in Sub-Saharan Africa due to decline in fertility rate and thus help to achieve MDG 4 and 5. Therefore, this study aimed to determine factors influencing modern contraceptive use among women aged 15 -49 years in Tanzania. Methods: This was a secondary analysis of Tanzania Demographic Health Survey (TDHS), 2010. A total of 475 clusters (urban and rural) composed of 9663 households were selected. During the survey, a total of 10,139 women aged 15 -49 years were interviewed about sexual and reproductive matters using a standardized questionnaire. We restricted our analysis to married/cohabiting women (n = 6412) responded for in individual records and domestic violence (n = 4471). Univariate and multiple logistic regression analyses were performed using Stata version 11.0. Odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals for determinants of modern contraceptive use were estimated. A P value of 5% (2 tails) was considered statistically significant. Results: Women empowerment (OR = 1.4; 95% CI: 1.13 -1.63), male-female age difference of less or equal to nine (OR = 1.6; 95 CI: 1.01 -2.66), and advice given at health care facilities on family planning (OR = 1.6; 95 CI: 1.37 -1.96) were predictors of modern contraceptive use. Woman sexual violence * Corresponding author. P. L. Kidayi et al. 44was not associated with modern contraceptive use. Conclusions: The predictors of modern contraceptive use in our study correspond with previous studies in low and middle income countries. Women empowerment, male-female age difference, and child desire were important predictors for modern contraceptive use. This highlights the need to promote contraceptive use among women of reproductive age.

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