IntroductionThe purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between socio-demographic characteristics, risky sexual behaviour, alcohol use and transactional sex among female bar workers in Yaounde, Cameroon.Materials and methodsA cross-sectional survey was conducted among a representative sample of 410 female bar workers, recruited through a modified version of venue-based cluster sampling technique from May to June 2017. Transactional sex was defined as having received money/gifts in exchange for sex with any sexual partner in the past 12 months. Logistic regression models were performed to identify the factors associated with transactional sex. The level of statistical significance was set at p< = 0.05.ResultsAbout 14.9% (n = 61) of respondents reported to have engaged in transactional sex, 83.7% (n = 338) had multiple sexual partners at the time of the study, 14.4% (n = 55) had sex with one or more of their male customers in the past 6 months. Almost 73.4% (n = 301) reported alcohol use. Of these, 37.2% (n = 112) were frequent alcohol consumers. About 17.6% (n = 72) reported to have had unprotected sex under the influence of alcohol in the past 6 months. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that those who engaged in transactional sex were more likely to have had sex with a male customer in the past 6 months (aOR = 7.34; 95% CI, 3.63–16.98), had sex under the influence of alcohol in the past 6 months (aOR = 2.42; 95% CI, 1.18–4.96) and frequent alcohol consumers (aOR = 2.06; 95%CI, 1.04–4.10). Respondents who had their last sexual intercourse 4 weeks or more prior to the study (aOR = 0.26; 95% CI, 0.08–0.84) were less likely to have engaged in transactional sex.ConclusionsOur study concludes that female bar workers are exposed to male customers and engage in risky sexual practices including transaction sex. Most of them also consume alcohol which increases their risk of HIV and STI acquisition. They are a high-risk group that need to be targeted with HIV prevention interventions.

Introduction premenstrual syndrome (PMS) is a prevalent health problem affecting women of reproductive age and some young women use oral contraceptive pills (OCPs) to prevent unwanted pregnancy. However, the association between OCP use and the experience of symptoms of PMS has not been studied in Cameroon. We examined the association between the use of OCPs and PMS among female university students in Cameroon. Methods we used data extracted from a larger study on sexual and reproductive health that was conducted between July and August 2018 among female university students at the University of Yaoundé 1, Cameroon. A pre-tested, validated and paper-based self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data. We extracted data (demographic and health characteristics, contraceptive use and experience of PMS) for the 424 sexually active students who participated in the larger study. We used Poisson regression analysis to examine the association between OCP use and PMS and conducted stratified analysis to determine effect modification. The level of statistical significance was set at p≤0.05. Results the median age of the 424 sexually active female university students was 23 years (IQR=21-25). About 77.8% of participants self-reported to have experienced symptoms of PMS prior to their last menstrual period. The most commonly reported symptoms of PMS were breast tenderness (55.7%), acne/pimples (39.2%) and abdominal pain (31.1%). After adjusting for confounders in multivariate analysis, we found a statistically significant relationship between the use of OCPs and experience of symptoms of PMS. Current OCP users had a slightly increased risk (PR=1.21; 95%CI, 1.09-1.32, p<0.001) of developing symptoms of PMS compared to non-pill users. We found that age modified the effect of this association. Among older students (≥25 years), the direction of the effect was strongly positive and statistically significant (APR=1.32; 95%CI, 1.12-1.56, p=0.001). Conclusion the proportion of female university students who reported to have experienced symptoms of PMS prior to their last menstrual period was high. The use of OCPs was positively associated with the risk of developing symptoms of PMS and this relationship was modified by age. Further studies in Cameroon and other sub-Saharan African countries are required to understand this relationship.

Background. In Cameroon, there are limited data on treatment outcomes of pediatric tuberculosis (TB). We sought to identify the factors associated with unsuccessful treatment outcomes and the risk factors for mortality among children receiving TB treatment in the Centre Region of Cameroon. Methods. This was a multicentre facility-based retrospective cohort study using routinely collected programmatic data. All children <15 years old treated for TB between 2018 and 2020 in 21 health facilities were included. We assessed risk factors for experiencing an unsuccessful treatment outcome and mortality through multivariable logistic regression analysis. Results. Of the 610 children with TB, 307 (50.3%) were females and the median age was 6 years (IQR = 2–12). One hundred and fifty-three (25.1%) of the children were TB/HIV co-infected patients. TB treatment success (cases categorized as cured and completed treatment) was observed in 488 (80.0%) of the patients. Unsuccessful treatment outcomes were experienced by 122 (20.0%) children. Of these, 73 (12.0%) died, 4 (0.6%) had treatment failure, 25 (4.1%) were lost to follow-up, and the outcomes of 20 (3.3%) children were not evaluated. In multivariable analysis, HIV-positive status (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 2.43; 95% CI, 1.55–3.80, p < 0.001 ) and clinical method of TB diagnosis (AOR = 2.46; 95% CI, 1.55–3.91, p < 0.001 ] were associated with unsuccessful treatment outcomes. HIV-positive status (AOR = 4.23; 95% CI, 2.44–7.33, p < 0.001 ) and clinical method of TB diagnosis (AOR = 2.22; 95% CI, 1.25–3.91, p = 0.006 ) were the risk factors for mortality among children on TB treatment. Conclusion. The study found that HIV-TB co-infected children and those clinically diagnosed with TB were significantly more likely to have had unsuccessful TB treatment outcomes and mortality. Our findings underscore the need for healthcare workers to closely monitor and support HIV-TB co-infected children on TB treatment. TB/HIV collaborative activities should be strengthened by implementing TB preventive interventions among HIV-infected children.

Background. This study was designed to assess the level of knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) of healthcare workers (HCWs) on pediatric TB management and its associated factors in the Centre Region of Cameroon. Methods. A cross-sectional study was conducted between January and March 2022. HCWs, selected through a multistage sampling technique in 21 health facilities, were interviewed using a KAP questionnaire on pediatric TB management. Logistic regression analyses were used to test associations between HCWs’ characteristics and knowledge, attitudes, and practice levels at a 0.05 level of significance. Results. The median age of the participants was 35 years (IQR = 30–42), and the majority (73.2%) were females. About half (50.9%) of the participants (173/340) had good knowledge, 55.6% (189/340) had a good attitude, and 57.1% (194/340) had good practice scores on pediatric TB management. Having a bachelor’s degree and above, working in the TB unit, and having received training on pediatric TB in the last five years were significantly associated with good knowledge of pediatric TB management. Similarly, having a bachelor’s degree or higher and more than five years of experience providing TB services were significantly associated with a good attitude towards pediatric TB management. Being a general practitioner, nurse, and lab technician was significantly associated with good practice in pediatric TB management. Conclusion. The level of knowledge, attitude, and practice on pediatric TB management among HCWs was suboptimal, as substantial gaps were identified. The Ministry of Health and other international organizations need to prioritize training, coaching, and mentoring support to help HCWs improve their knowledge, attitude, and practice to detect, diagnose, and treat pediatric TB.