University of Zambia

About: University of Zambia is a education organization based out in Lusaka, Lusaka, Zambia. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Health care. The organization has 2593 authors who have published 4402 publications receiving 122411 citations. The organization is also known as: UNZA.

Promotion of couples' voluntary counselling and testing for HIV through influential networks in two African capital cities

Abstract: Most new HIV infections in Africa are acquired from cohabiting heterosexual partners. Couples' Voluntary Counselling and Testing (CVCT) is an effective prevention strategy for this group. We present our experience with a community-based program for the promotion of CVCT in Kigali, Rwanda and Lusaka, Zambia. Influence Network Agents (INAs) from the health, religious, non-governmental, and private sectors were trained to invite couples for CVCT. Predictors of successful promotion were identified using a multi-level hierarchical analysis. In 4 months, 9,900 invitations were distributed by 61 INAs, with 1,411 (14.3%) couples requesting CVCT. INAs in Rwanda distributed fewer invitations (2,680 vs. 7,220) and had higher response rates (26.9% vs. 9.6%), than INAs in Zambia. Context of the invitation event, including a discreet location such as the INA's home (OR 3.3–3.4), delivery of the invitation to both partners in the couple (OR 1.6–1.7) or to someone known to the INA (OR 1.7–1.8), and use of public endorsement (OR 1.7–1.8) were stronger predictors of success than INA or couple-level characteristics. Predictors of successful CVCT promotion included strategies that can be easily implemented in Africa. As new resources become available for Africans with HIV, CVCT should be broadly implemented as a point of entry for prevention, care and support.

Social Responsibility as a Dimension of Intelligence, and as an Educational Goal: Insights From Programmatic Research in an African Society

Abstract: This article examines the implications that 4 decades of multimethod research in Zambia have for psy- chological assessment, parent-teacher communication, educational policy, and research methodology. Its pri- mary focus is a cultural study of indigenous ideas in a rural Chewa community in eastern Zambia that concluded that, within this culture, children's intelligence was con- strued as an amalgam of cognitive alacrity and social responsibility. But in Zambia, as elsewhere, the curricu- lum of institutionalized public basic schooling is almost exclusively addressed to the cultivation of knowledge and cognitive skills. The article outlines the approach to edu- cation taken by Child-to-Child, one that resonates with indigenous African values and practices. It also describes a case study of the application of this approach at a pub- lic primary school in northern Zambia that documented sustained increases in social responsibility alongside strong academic outcomes. Connections with research and policy in other societies are also discussed. KEYWORDS—social responsibility; intelligence; education; Africa; cultural psychology; socialization

Toward an Open-Access Global Database for Mapping, Control, and Surveillance of Neglected Tropical Diseases

Abstract: BACKGROUND: After many years of general neglect, interest has grown and efforts came under way for the mapping, control, surveillance, and eventual elimination of neglected tropical diseases (NTDs). Disease risk estimates are a key feature to target control interventions, and serve as a benchmark for monitoring and evaluation. What is currently missing is a georeferenced global database for NTDs providing open-access to the available survey data that is constantly updated and can be utilized by researchers and disease control managers to support other relevant stakeholders. We describe the steps taken toward the development of such a database that can be employed for spatial disease risk modeling and control of NTDs. METHODOLOGY: With an emphasis on schistosomiasis in Africa, we systematically searched the literature (peer-reviewed journals and 'grey literature'), contacted Ministries of Health and research institutions in schistosomiasis-endemic countries for location-specific prevalence data and survey details (e.g., study population, year of survey and diagnostic techniques). The data were extracted, georeferenced, and stored in a MySQL database with a web interface allowing free database access and data management. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: At the beginning of 2011, our database contained more than 12,000 georeferenced schistosomiasis survey locations from 35 African countries available under http://www.gntd.org. Currently, the database is expanded to a global repository, including a host of other NTDs, e.g. soil-transmitted helminthiasis and leishmaniasis. CONCLUSIONS: An open-access, spatially explicit NTD database offers unique opportunities for disease risk modeling, targeting control interventions, disease monitoring, and surveillance. Moreover, it allows for detailed geostatistical analyses of disease distribution in space and time. With an initial focus on schistosomiasis in Africa, we demonstrate the proof-of-concept that the establishment and running on global NTD database is feasible and should be expanded without delay

Newborn Care Training of Midwives and Neonatal and Perinatal Mortality Rates in a Developing Country

Abstract: OBJECTIVE: This study was designed to test the hypothesis that 2 training programs would reduce incrementally 7-day neonatal mortality rates for low-risk institutional deliveries. METHODS: Using a train-the-trainer model, certified research midwives sequentially trained the midwives who performed deliveries in low-risk, first-level, urban, community health clinics in 2 cities in Zambia in the protocol and data collection, in the World Health Organization Essential Newborn Care (ENC) course (universal precautions and cleanliness, routine neonatal care, resuscitation, thermoregulation, breastfeeding, kangaroo care, care of small infants, and common illnesses), and in the American Academy of Pediatrics Neonatal Resuscitation Program (in-depth basic resuscitation). Data were collected during 3 periods, after implementation of each training course. RESULTS: A total of 71 689 neonates were enrolled in the 3 study periods. All-cause, 7-day neonatal mortality rates decreased from 11.5 deaths per 1000 live births to 6.8 deaths per 1000 live births after ENC training (relative risk: 0.59 [95% confidence interval: 0.48–0.77]; P CONCLUSIONS: ENC training for midwives reduced 7-day neonatal mortality rates in low-risk clinics. Additional in-depth basic training in neonatal resuscitation may reduce mortality rates further.

A universal testing and treatment intervention to improve HIV control : one-year results from intervention communities in Zambia in the HPTN 071 (PopART) cluster-randomised trial

Abstract: BACKGROUND: The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) 90-90-90 targets require that, by 2020, 90% of those living with HIV know their status, 90% of known HIV-positive individuals receive sustained antiretroviral therapy (ART), and 90% of individuals on ART have durable viral suppression. The HPTN 071 (PopART) trial is measuring the impact of a universal testing and treatment intervention on population-level HIV incidence in 21 urban communities in Zambia and South Africa. We report observational data from four communities in Zambia to assess progress towards the UNAIDS targets after 1 y of the PopART intervention. METHODS AND FINDINGS: The PopART intervention comprises annual rounds of home-based HIV testing delivered by community HIV-care providers (CHiPs) who also support linkage to care, ART retention, and other services. Data from four communities in Zambia receiving the full intervention (including immediate ART for all individuals with HIV) were used to determine proportions of participants who knew their HIV status after the CHiP visit; proportions linking to care and initiating ART following referral; and overall proportions of HIV-infected individuals who knew their status (first 90 target) and the proportion of these on ART (second 90 target), pre- and post-intervention. We are not able to assess progress towards the third 90 target at this stage of the study. Overall, 121,130 adults (59,283 men and 61,847 women) were enumerated in 46,714 households during the first annual round (December 2013 to June 2015). Of the 45,399 (77%) men and 55,703 (90%) women consenting to the intervention, 80% of men and 85% of women knew their HIV status after the CHiP visit. Of 6,197 HIV-positive adults referred by CHiPs, 42% (95% CI: 40%-43%) initiated ART within 6 mo and 53% (95% CI: 52%-55%) within 12 mo. In the entire population, the estimated proportion of HIV-positive adults who knew their status increased from 52% to 78% for men and from 56% to 87% for women. The estimated proportion of known HIV-positive individuals on ART increased overall from 54% after the CHiP visit to 74% by the end of the round for men and from 53% to 73% for women. The estimated overall proportion of HIV-positive adults on ART, irrespective of whether they knew their status, increased from 44% to 61%, compared with the 81% target (the product of the first two 90 targets). Coverage was lower among young men and women than in older age groups. The main limitation of the study was the need for assumptions concerning knowledge of HIV status and ART coverage among adults not consenting to the intervention or HIV testing, although our conclusions were robust in sensitivity analyses. CONCLUSIONS: In this analysis, acceptance of HIV testing among those consenting to the intervention was high, although linkage to care and ART initiation took longer than expected. Knowledge of HIV-positive status increased steeply after 1 y, almost attaining the first 90 target in women and approaching it in men. The second 90 target was more challenging, with approximately three-quarters of known HIV-positive individuals on ART by the end of the annual round. Achieving higher test uptake in men and more rapid linkage to care will be key objectives during the second annual round of the intervention. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01900977.