Acute lower respiratory infections among children under five in Sub-Saharan Africa: a scoping review of prevalence and risk factors

Sarfo, Jacob Owusu; Amoadu, Mustapha; Gyan, Thomas Boateng; Osman, Abdul-Ganiyu; Kordorwu, Peace Yaa; Adams, Abdul Karim; Asiedu, Immanuel; Ansah, Edward Wilson; Amponsah-Manu, Forster; Ofosu-Appiah, Priscilla

doi:10.1186/s12887-023-04033-x

Cited by 6 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 54 publications

(150 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Children, particularly those under 5 years of age, constitute a vulnerable population which is at increased risk of numerous diseases leading to increased mortalities and morbidity (Berr et al., 2021 ; Lam et al., 2014 ; Pina et al., 2020 ; Sarfo et al., 2023 ; Tadele et al., 2022 ). The vulnerability of these children stems from their under‐developed organs and immune systems and their inability to fend for themselves.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Preventable and treatable childhood disease conditions, including malaria, pneumonia and diarrhoeal diseases, contribute significantly to child mortality, especially in poor and remote areas (Sarfo et al., 2023 ; World Health Organization, 2020 ). This is mostly due to health system bottlenecks that affect effective child healthcare service delivery.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Experiences of healthcare providers and caregivers regarding health system bottlenecks affecting child healthcare service delivery in a rural district: Empirical qualitative study

Nyande,

Ricks,

Williams

et al. 2024

Nursing Open

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

AimTo explore the experiences of nurses and caregivers about the health system bottlenecks to the delivery of child healthcare services in a rural district in Ghana.DesignThe study employed a qualitative approach using an exploratory, descriptive design.MethodsCollection of data was through semi‐structured, face‐to‐face interviews with 26 participants in the Nkwanta South Municipality, Ghana. Audio recordings of interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed qualitatively. Inductive codes generated were organised into themes and sub‐themes.ResultsThe main health system bottlenecks that emerged were the poor state of in‐patient facilities, inadequate basic logistics and persistent shortage of essential medicines needed for child healthcare delivery.ConclusionsHealth system bottlenecks have the tendency to affect the treatment and hospitalisation outcomes of sick children and eventually impact the state of child healthcare negatively. Concerted efforts by government and local authorities to remove these barriers will help to improve child health and child health outcomes.Public ContributionA total of 26 participants comprising nurses and caregivers, agreed and participated in this study. Interviews with these participants were conducts either in the health facilities or in the communities where they live. Their responses contributed significantly to the content of this article.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Experiences of healthcare providers and caregivers regarding health system bottlenecks affecting child healthcare service delivery in a rural district: Empirical qualitative study

Nyande,

Ricks,

Williams

et al. 2024

Nursing Open

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Assessment of the health impacts of air pollution exposure in East African countries

Baharane,

Shatalov

2024

Environ Monit Assess

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The health effects of air pollution remain a public concern worldwide. Using data from the Global Burden of Disease 2019 report, we statistically analysed total mortality, Disability-Adjusted Life Years (DALY), and Years of Life Lost (YLL) attributable to air pollution in eight East African countries between 1990 and 2019.We acquired ambient ozone (O 3 ), PM 2.5 concentrations and Household Air Pollution (HAP) from the solid fuel from the State of Global Air report. The multilinear regression model was used to evaluate the predictability of YLLs by the air pollutants. We estimated the ratio rate for each health burden attributable to air pollution to compare the country's efforts in the reduction of air pollution health burden. This study found that the total number of deaths attributable to air pollution decreased by 14.26% for 30 years. The drop came from the reduction of 43.09% in mortality related to Lower Respiratory tract Infection (LRI). However, only ve out of eight countries managed to decrease the total number of deaths attributable to air pollution with the highest decrease observed in Ethiopia (40.90%), and the highest increase in Somalia (67.49%). The linear regression model showed that HAP is the pollutant of the most concern in the region, with a 1% increase in HAP resulting in a 31.06% increase in regional YLL (R 2 = 0.93; p < 0.05). With the increasing ground-level ozone, accompanied by the lack of adequate measures to reduce particulate pollutants, the health burdens attributable to air pollution are still a threat in the region.

show abstract

Antibiotic prescription sources and use among under-5 children with fever/cough in sub-Saharan Africa

Tesema,

Biney,

Wang

et al. 2024

International Health

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background Childhood febrile illness is among the leading causes of hospital admission for children <5 y of age in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Antibiotics have played a pivotal role in enhancing health outcomes, especially for children <5 y of age. Antibiotics prescription pattern evidence exists for SSA, however, prescription sources (either from qualified or unqualified sources) and use among children with fever or cough have not been explored. Thus the present study assessed antibiotic prescription sources and use among children <5 y of age with fever and cough in SSA. Methods We used Demographic and Health Survey data from 37 countries with a total of 18 866 children <5 y of age who had fever/cough. The surveys span from 2006 to 2021. The dependent variable was antibiotics taken for fever/cough based on prescriptions from qualified sources. The data were weighted using sampling weight, primary sampling unit and strata. A mixed-effects logistic regression model (both fixed and random effects) was fitted since the outcome variable was binary. Model comparison was made based on deviance (−2 log likelihood) and likelihood ratio tests were used for model comparison. Variables with p≤0.2 in the bivariable analysis were considered for the multivariable mixed-effects binary logistic regression model. In the final model, the adjusted odds ratio (AOR) with a 95% confidence interval (CI) and p<0.05 in the multivariable model were used to declare a significant association with taking antibiotics for fever/cough prescribed from qualified sources. Results The percentage of unqualified antibiotic prescriptions among children <5 y of age who had a fever/cough and took antibiotics was 67.19% (95% CI 66.51 to 67.85), ranging from 40.34% in Chad to 92.67% in Sao Tome. The odds of taking antibiotics prescribed from unqualified sources for fever/cough among children <5 y of age living in rural areas were 1.23 times higher (AOR 1.23 [95% CI 1.13 to 1.33]) compared with urban children. The odds of taking antibiotics prescribed from qualified sources for fever/cough among children <5 y of age whose mothers had primary, secondary and higher education decreased by 14% (AOR=0.86 [95% CI 0.79 to 0.93]), 21% (AOR 0.79 [95% CI 0.72 to 0.86]) and 21% (AOR 0.79 [95% CI 0.65 to 0.95]) compared with those whose mother had no formal education, respectively. Conclusions The study showed that the majority of the children who received antibiotics obtained them from unqualified sources in the 37 SSA countries. Our findings underscore the significance of addressing healthcare disparities, improving access to qualified healthcare providers, promoting maternal education and empowering mothers in healthcare decision-making to ensure appropriate antibiotic use in this vulnerable population. Further research and interventions targeted at these factors are warranted to optimize antibiotic prescribing practices and promote responsible antibiotic use in the management of fever and cough in children <5 y of age.

show abstract

Acute lower respiratory infections among children under five in Sub-Saharan Africa: a scoping review of prevalence and risk factors

Cited by 6 publications

References 54 publications

Experiences of healthcare providers and caregivers regarding health system bottlenecks affecting child healthcare service delivery in a rural district: Empirical qualitative study

Experiences of healthcare providers and caregivers regarding health system bottlenecks affecting child healthcare service delivery in a rural district: Empirical qualitative study

Assessment of the health impacts of air pollution exposure in East African countries

Antibiotic prescription sources and use among under-5 children with fever/cough in sub-Saharan Africa

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About