University of Nairobi

About: University of Nairobi is a education organization based out in Nairobi, Nairobi, Kenya. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Health care. The organization has 6702 authors who have published 10777 publications receiving 231294 citations. The organization is also known as: UoN & IAU-020319.

China & India as Africa's New Donors: The Impact of Aid on Development

Abstract: Using a two-analytical framework and drawing on a wide range of secondary data, this article attempts to assess the likely impact of aid from China and India on the development of Africa. The framework treats aid as one of four main channels through which China and India influence the shape and performance of particular sectors and, through them, development outcomes. The first stage of analysis examines the varying patterns of Chinese and Indian aid and the multiple impacts such aid has on one key sector: manufacturing. The main findings from this level of analysis have to do with the differing patterns of Indian and Chinese aid, differences between Chinese and Indian aid, and aid from western countries, and the interconnections between the impact channels. India and China have different patterns of aid. India concentrates on non-monetary aid mainly in the form of technical assistance and scholarships, while China offers a wider range of monetary and non-monetary aid packages, which include grants and lo...

Patient education and counselling for promoting adherence to treatment for tuberculosis

Abstract: Background Non-adherence to tuberculosis treatment can lead to prolonged periods of infectiousness, relapse, emergence of drug-resistance, and increased morbidity and mortality. In this review, we assess whether patient education or counselling, or both, promotes adherence to tuberculosis treatment. Objectives To evaluate the effects of patient education or counselling, or both, on treatment completion and cure in people requiring treatment for active or latent tuberculosis. Search methods Without language restriction, we searched for eligible studies in the Cochrane Infectious Diseases Group Specialized Register, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, MEDLINE, EMBASE, and LILACS; checked reference lists of relevant articles; and contacted relevant researchers and organizations up to 24 November 2011. Selection criteria Randomized controlled trials examining the effects of education or counselling, or both, on treatment completion and cure in people with clinical tuberculosis; and treatment completion and clinical tuberculosis in people with latent disease. Data collection and analysis We independently screened identified studies for eligibility, assessed methodological quality, and extracted data; with differences resolved by consensus. We expressed study results as risk ratios (RRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CI). Main results We found three trials, with a total of 1437 participants, which examined the effects of different educational and counselling interventions on adherence to treatment for latent tuberculosis. All three trials reported the proportion of people who successfully completed treatment for latent tuberculosis. Overall, education or counselling interventions may increase successful treatment completion but the magnitude of benefit is likely to vary depending on the nature of the intervention, and the setting (data not pooled, 923 participants, three trials, low quality evidence). In a four-arm trial in children from Spain, counselling by nurses via telephone increased the proportion of children completing treatment from 65% to 94% (RR 1.44, 95% CI 1.21 to 1.72; 157 participants, one trial), and counselling by nurses through home visits increased completion to 95% (RR 1.46, 95% CI 1.23 to 1.74; 156 participants, one trial). Both of these interventions were superior to counselling by physicians at the tuberculosis clinic (RR 1.20, 95% CI 0.98 to 1.47; 159 participants, one trial). In the USA, a programme of peer counselling for adolescents failed to show an effect on treatment completion rates at six months (RR 1.01, 95% CI 0.90 to 1.13; 394 participants, one trial). In this trial treatment completion was around 75% even in the control group. In the third study, in prisoners from the USA, treatment completion was very low in the control group (12%), and although counselling significantly improved this, completion in the intervention group remained low at 24% (RR 1.94, 95% CI 1.03 to 3.68; 211 participants, one trial). None of these trials aimed to assess the effect of these interventions on the subsequent development of active tuberculosis, and we found no trials that assessed the effects of patient education or counselling on adherence to treatment for active tuberculosis. Authors' conclusions Educational or counselling interventions may improve completion of treatment for latent tuberculosis. As would be expected, the magnitude of the benefit is likely to depend on the nature of the intervention, and the reasons for low completion rates in the specific setting.

Predictors of early mortality in a cohort of human immunodeficiency virus type 1-infected African children.

Abstract: Background: Pediatric human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) infection follows a bimodal clinical course with rapid progression in 10-45% of children before the age of 2 years and slower progression in the remainder. A prospective observational study was undertaken to determine predictors of mortality in HIV-1-infected African infants during the first 2 years of life. Methods: Infants in a perinatal cohort identified to be HIV-1-infected by DNA PCR were followed monthly to 1 year then quarterly to 2 years or death. Results: Among 62 HIV-1-infected infants infection occurred by the age of 1 month in 56 (90%) infants and 32 (52%) died at median age of 6.2 months. All infant deaths were caused by infectious diseases most frequently pneumonia (75%) and diarrhea (41%). Univariate predictors of infant mortality included maternal CD4 count <200 cells/µl [hazard ratio (HR) 3.4; P = 0.008] maternal anemia (HR = 3.7; P = 0.005) delivery complications (HR = 2.7; P = 0.01) low birth weight (HR = 4.1; P = 0.001) weight length and head circumference