Background Cervical cancer screening (CCS) uptake remains low in poor countries. Few studies have... more Background Cervical cancer screening (CCS) uptake remains low in poor countries. Few studies have assessed individual need and health system factors which facilitate/impede use of healthcare services, including CCS utilization. Thus, we examined associations between these factors and CCS utilization among women of child-bearing age (WCBA) in Mangochi, Malawi. Methods A cross-sectional study, sampling 482 women (18–49 years) using a multi-stage sampling method was conducted in five health facilities (HFs). Data were collected using a structured interview questionnaire from June-July, 2019. Chi-squared or Fisher’s exact tests were used to compare the distribution of CCS utilization according to different independent groups. Results Our study found that 13.1% of the study participants had a history of CCS. The proportion of WCBA with a history of CCS was significantly higher among HIV + women than HIV- women and women with unknown HIV status, respectively [27.3% (33/121) vs. 8.5% (30/3...
Background Cervical cancer screening (CCS) uptake remains low in poor countries. Limited studies ... more Background Cervical cancer screening (CCS) uptake remains low in poor countries. Limited studies have assessed individual need and health system factors which facilitate/impede use of healthcare services, including CCS uptake. Thus, we examined associations between these factors and CCS uptake among women of child-bearing age (WCBA) in Mangochi, Malawi. Methods A cross-sectional study, sampling 482 women (18–49 years) using a multi-stage sampling method was conducted in five health facilities (HFs). Data were collected from June-July, 2019. Chi-squared or Fisher’s exact tests were used to compare the distribution of CCS uptake according to different independent groups. Results The proportion of WCBA who did CCS was significantly higher among HIV + women than those who were HIV- and with unknown HIV status, respectively [27.3% (33/121) vs 8.5% (30/353) vs 0% (0/8), χ2 = 29.18, df = 2, p < 0.001]. Significantly higher among those who had ever heard of cervical cancer (CC) than thos...
This study was conducted in Mwanza district in southern Malawi with the aim of investigating the ... more This study was conducted in Mwanza district in southern Malawi with the aim of investigating the individual's, community's and health workers' perception of male involvement in maternal health care. In-depth interviews and focus group discussions were the methods used for data collection. The participants' responses generated two main themes namely male involvement in health facility care and outside the health facility. The participants' perception of male involvement in facility care concentrated around six sub-themes describing male involvement as; couple HIV counselling and testing; a government law; a strategy for fast services for women; unfair programme for women without partners; a foreign concept; an act of love. We conclude that male involvement in the health facility care was fragmented and associated mainly with first antenatal care; couple HIV counselling and testing; suggesting poor integration of male involvement into the existing maternal and chil...
Caring is a core function of nurses and it confers upon them ethical obligations as ethical agent... more Caring is a core function of nurses and it confers upon them ethical obligations as ethical agents. Failure to carry out such ethical obligations raises ethical concerns. This study was not intended to explore ethical concerns, but the reported findings reveal problems which have ethical implications. This paper aims to elucidate the ethical issues inherent in the findings and propose strategies to mitigate them. An exploratory-descriptive qualitative design was used within a larger Action Research Study. Data were collected through focus group discussions with nurse/midwives, and through exit interviews which were conducted with the women who participated in the study on their day of discharge. Six focus group discussions and thirty exit interviews were conducted, and data were analysed through thematic analysis. The study took place at selected maternal and child healthcare settings in Lilongwe, Malawi. The participants were nurse/midwives and women who were admitted in maternal a...
Factors that hinder husbands from participating in maternal health care are well documented. Neve... more Factors that hinder husbands from participating in maternal health care are well documented. Nevertheless, very little research has been conducted in Malawi to understand the core causes of such barriers. Therefore, this study was conducted in Mwanza District in southern Malawi to examine the core causes of barriers to husbands’ involvement in maternal health care in rural Malawian settings. Data was collected through in-depth interviews and focus group discussions. The study revealed two main causes of barriers to husband involvement in maternal health care; gender role norms and health system issues. The prevailing gender role norms influence husband participation in maternal health care, and are also reflected in maternal health care delivery system in the rural health facilities in Malawi, whereby, the services are female focused. Therefore, husbands find it difficult to get involved in their spouses’ maternal health care. However, husbands’ involvement in maternal health care i...
Background Adolescent pregnancy is a public health concern in Malawi as it is associated with hig... more Background Adolescent pregnancy is a public health concern in Malawi as it is associated with high risks of adverse pregnancy outcomes. Almost 29% of adolescent women aged 15–19 years are already mothers and adolescent fertility rate is also high estimated at 136 per 1000 women. Therefore, the aim of the study was to explore knowledge of pregnant adolescents on importance of antenatal care and health promotion during pregnancy. Methods A qualitative descriptive design was used to solicit information on significance of antenatal care and how adolescents promote their health during pregnancy. Data was collected from 77 pregnant adolescents, purposively sampled from Namitambo and Namadzi Heath Centres in Chiladzulu District, Malawi. A semi-structured interview guide was used for data collection. Data were analysed manually following principles of qualitative content analysis. Results Themes that emerged from the qualitative data included: knowledge deficit on the purpose and benefits o...
Background Cervical cancer screening (CCS) uptake remains low in poor countries. Few studies have... more Background Cervical cancer screening (CCS) uptake remains low in poor countries. Few studies have assessed individual need and health system factors which facilitate/impede use of healthcare services, including CCS utilization. Thus, we examined associations between these factors and CCS utilization among women of child-bearing age (WCBA) in Mangochi, Malawi. Methods A cross-sectional study, sampling 482 women (18–49 years) using a multi-stage sampling method was conducted in five health facilities (HFs). Data were collected using a structured interview questionnaire from June-July, 2019. Chi-squared or Fisher’s exact tests were used to compare the distribution of CCS utilization according to different independent groups. Results Our study found that 13.1% of the study participants had a history of CCS. The proportion of WCBA with a history of CCS was significantly higher among HIV + women than HIV- women and women with unknown HIV status, respectively [27.3% (33/121) vs. 8.5% (30/3...
Background Cervical cancer screening (CCS) uptake remains low in poor countries. Limited studies ... more Background Cervical cancer screening (CCS) uptake remains low in poor countries. Limited studies have assessed individual need and health system factors which facilitate/impede use of healthcare services, including CCS uptake. Thus, we examined associations between these factors and CCS uptake among women of child-bearing age (WCBA) in Mangochi, Malawi. Methods A cross-sectional study, sampling 482 women (18–49 years) using a multi-stage sampling method was conducted in five health facilities (HFs). Data were collected from June-July, 2019. Chi-squared or Fisher’s exact tests were used to compare the distribution of CCS uptake according to different independent groups. Results The proportion of WCBA who did CCS was significantly higher among HIV + women than those who were HIV- and with unknown HIV status, respectively [27.3% (33/121) vs 8.5% (30/353) vs 0% (0/8), χ2 = 29.18, df = 2, p < 0.001]. Significantly higher among those who had ever heard of cervical cancer (CC) than thos...
This study was conducted in Mwanza district in southern Malawi with the aim of investigating the ... more This study was conducted in Mwanza district in southern Malawi with the aim of investigating the individual's, community's and health workers' perception of male involvement in maternal health care. In-depth interviews and focus group discussions were the methods used for data collection. The participants' responses generated two main themes namely male involvement in health facility care and outside the health facility. The participants' perception of male involvement in facility care concentrated around six sub-themes describing male involvement as; couple HIV counselling and testing; a government law; a strategy for fast services for women; unfair programme for women without partners; a foreign concept; an act of love. We conclude that male involvement in the health facility care was fragmented and associated mainly with first antenatal care; couple HIV counselling and testing; suggesting poor integration of male involvement into the existing maternal and chil...
Caring is a core function of nurses and it confers upon them ethical obligations as ethical agent... more Caring is a core function of nurses and it confers upon them ethical obligations as ethical agents. Failure to carry out such ethical obligations raises ethical concerns. This study was not intended to explore ethical concerns, but the reported findings reveal problems which have ethical implications. This paper aims to elucidate the ethical issues inherent in the findings and propose strategies to mitigate them. An exploratory-descriptive qualitative design was used within a larger Action Research Study. Data were collected through focus group discussions with nurse/midwives, and through exit interviews which were conducted with the women who participated in the study on their day of discharge. Six focus group discussions and thirty exit interviews were conducted, and data were analysed through thematic analysis. The study took place at selected maternal and child healthcare settings in Lilongwe, Malawi. The participants were nurse/midwives and women who were admitted in maternal a...
Factors that hinder husbands from participating in maternal health care are well documented. Neve... more Factors that hinder husbands from participating in maternal health care are well documented. Nevertheless, very little research has been conducted in Malawi to understand the core causes of such barriers. Therefore, this study was conducted in Mwanza District in southern Malawi to examine the core causes of barriers to husbands’ involvement in maternal health care in rural Malawian settings. Data was collected through in-depth interviews and focus group discussions. The study revealed two main causes of barriers to husband involvement in maternal health care; gender role norms and health system issues. The prevailing gender role norms influence husband participation in maternal health care, and are also reflected in maternal health care delivery system in the rural health facilities in Malawi, whereby, the services are female focused. Therefore, husbands find it difficult to get involved in their spouses’ maternal health care. However, husbands’ involvement in maternal health care i...
Background Adolescent pregnancy is a public health concern in Malawi as it is associated with hig... more Background Adolescent pregnancy is a public health concern in Malawi as it is associated with high risks of adverse pregnancy outcomes. Almost 29% of adolescent women aged 15–19 years are already mothers and adolescent fertility rate is also high estimated at 136 per 1000 women. Therefore, the aim of the study was to explore knowledge of pregnant adolescents on importance of antenatal care and health promotion during pregnancy. Methods A qualitative descriptive design was used to solicit information on significance of antenatal care and how adolescents promote their health during pregnancy. Data was collected from 77 pregnant adolescents, purposively sampled from Namitambo and Namadzi Heath Centres in Chiladzulu District, Malawi. A semi-structured interview guide was used for data collection. Data were analysed manually following principles of qualitative content analysis. Results Themes that emerged from the qualitative data included: knowledge deficit on the purpose and benefits o...
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Papers by Lucy Kululanga