Leveraging strong social ties among young men in Dar es Salaam: A pilot intervention of microfinance and peer leadership for HIV and gender-based violence prevention

Gender inequality is at the core of the HIV patterns that are evident in sub-Saharan Africa. Gender-based violence (GBV) and lack of economic opportunity are important structural determinants of HIV risk. We piloted a microfinance and health promotion intervention among social networks of primarily young men in Dar es Salaam. Twenty-two individuals participated in the microfinance component and 30 peer leaders were recruited and trained in the peer health leadership component. We collected and analysed observational data from trainings, monitoring data on loan repayment, and reports of peer conversations to assess the feasibility and acceptability of the intervention. Eighteen of the loan recipients (82%) paid back their loans, and of these 15 (83%) received a second, larger loan. Among the loan defaulters, one died, one had chronic health problems, and two disappeared, one of whom was imprisoned for theft. The majority of conversations reported by peer health leaders focused on condoms, sexual partner selection, and HIV testing. Few peer leaders reported conversations about GBV. We demonstrated the feasibility and acceptability of this innovative HIV and GBV prevention intervention. The lessons learned from this pilot have informed the implementation of a cluster-randomised trial of the microfinance and peer health leadership intervention.     

Examining the contraceptive decisions of young,HIV-infected women: A qualitative study

This study qualitatively examined factors that influenced contraceptive choices in a sample of young, HIV-infected women. Individual qualitative interviews were conducted among 30 vertically and horizontally HIV-infected women (n = 26 African American) from the ages of 14 to 24 years (Mean age = 20.9 years). We recruited sample groups with the following characteristics: (a) current contraceptive/condom use with ≥1 child (n = 11); (b) current contraceptive/condom use with no children (n = 12); and (c) no current contraceptive/condom use with no children (n = 7). A semi-structured interview guide was used to ask participants about factors influencing past and current contraceptive choices. Individual interviews were digitally recorded and transcribed verbatim; analyses to identify core themes were informed by the Grounded Theoretical approach. Young, HIV-infected women did not identify their HIV serostatus or disease-related concerns as influential in their contraceptive decisions. However, they reported that recommendations from health-care providers and input from family and friends influenced their contraceptive choices. They also considered a particular method’s advantages (e.g., menstrual cycle improvements) and disadvantages (e.g., increased pill burden) when selecting a method. Findings suggested that HIV-infected young women’s contraceptive decisions were influenced by factors other than those related to their infection.     

Relationship between physical growth and motor development in the WHO Child Growth Standards

Aim: To examine relationships among physical growth indicators and ages of achievement of six gross motor milestones in the WHO Child Growth Standards population. Methods: Gross motor development assessments were performed longitudinally on the 816 children included in the WHO Child Growth Standards. Six milestones (sitting without support, hands-and-knees crawling, standing with assistance, walking with assistance, standing alone, walking alone) were assessed monthly from 4 until 12 mo of age and bimonthly thereafter until children could walk alone or reached 24 mo. Failure time models were used 1) to examine associations between specified ages of motor milestone achievement and attained growth z scores and 2) to quantify these relationships as delays or accelerations in ages of milestone achievement. Results: Statistically significant associations were noted between ages of achievement of sitting without support and attained weight-for-age, weight-for-length and BMI-for-age z scores. An increase of one unit z score in these indicators was associated with 3 to 6 d acceleration in the respective achievement age. Statistically significant associations also were noted between various milestone achievement ages and growth when 3- or 6-mo and birth length-for-age z scores were entered jointly in the failure time models. In these analyses, one unit z-score increase in length-for-age was associated with 1 to 3 d delay in the respective achievement age.
Conclusion: Sporadic, significant associations were observed between gross motor development and some physical growth indicators, but these were quantitatively of limited practical significance. These results suggest that, in healthy populations, the attainment of these six gross motor milestones is largely independent of variations in physical growth.     

系统康复治疗对年轻肩关节脱位患者肩关节稳定性的作用

目的对年轻患者肩关节脱位进行系统的康复治疗,以检验系统康复疗法疗效优于单纯固定的假设。方法根据所采用的治疗方法,将43例40岁以下的急性肩关节脱位患者分成实验组23例,对照组20例。实验组患者进行包括关节活动范围锻炼、发展肩胛骨周围肌的肌力训练、发展肩袖肌的肌力、适度的外展、外旋锻炼及耐力训练在内的系统康复治疗。对照组只进行单纯固定后未经系统康复治疗。对两组患者的临床效果进行比较。结果实验组复发率为17%(4/23),对照组复发率为45%(9/20),两组复发率比较差异有显著性意义(χ2=3.866,P<0.05);随访结果显示肩关节ASES评分实验组为90.9±4.87,对照组为75.4±4.94,两组差异有非常显著性意义(t=9.94,P=2.99×10-12<0.01)。结论肩关节脱位年轻患者进行系统的康复锻炼,可以提高患肩的稳定性。     

中青年脑梗死68例临床分析

脑梗死多见于老年人，但近年来中青年（16-45岁）患者逐渐增多且有年轻化趋势，深人探讨中青年脑梗死的致病因素及临床表现对其防治有重要意义。本文回顾性分析了我院自1998年1月到2004年12月问收治的中青年脑梗死患者68例，现报告如下。     

2 121例老年急性冠脉综合征患者血清脂类浓度的分析

目的分析60岁以上老年人血清脂类水平的参考值,并探讨急性冠脉综合征与血脂指标的相关性.方法将3 766例健康成人分为≤60岁和＞60岁的两个年龄段,采用生物化学的方法测量他们的血脂水平,找出60岁以上老年人的脂类参考值.同时分析2 121例老年急性冠脉综合征病人的脂类指标.结果 60岁以上老年人血脂参考值为:TC 4.65±1.96×1.05mmol/L;TG 1.02±1.96×0.45mmol/L;HDL-C 1.47±1.96×0.40mmol/L;LDL-C 2.98±1.96×0.56mmol/L;ApoA1 1.32±1.96×0.25g/L;ApoB 0.99±1.96×0.35g/L,并且急性心肌梗死和不稳定性心绞痛病人血清脂类各项指标之间没有显著性差异.结论血清LDL-C/HDL-C＞5和TG ≥1.9mmol/L这两项联合指标比其他单独指标与老年人急性冠脉综合征关系更密切.     

80例健康青年分别经针刺或艾灸肺俞穴后的肺功能变化

目的：探讨针刺与艾灸肺俞穴对健康人肺功能的影响。方法：我们选择了20－22岁健康男性80例，随机分为针刺组和艾灸组各40例，于针刺，艾灸前和针刺，艾灸后10min测试用力肺活量（FVC），用力呼气量（FEV1．0），最大呼气中段流速（MMF），最大呼气流量（PEFR），75％，50％，25％肺活量时的最大呼气流速（V75，V50，V25），结果：显示经针刺和艾灸肺俞穴后2组FVC，FFV1．0均显著增加，P＜0．05，2组间比较针刺组FVC明显高于艾灸组，P＜0．05，而且艾灸组MMF，V25亦显著降低P＜0．05，结论：健康人经针刺和艾灸肺俞穴后均可使大气道阻力减少，肺容量增加，提示一定量的艾燃烧后的烟雾可使健康人肺功能受到影响，使肺的小气道收缩，出现阻塞性改变。     

老年冠心病患者实施健康教育的远期效果分析

目的：探讨老年冠心病患者实施健康教育的远期效果。方法：110例老年冠心病患者被随机分为健康教育组（教育组）及对照组，每组各55例。在常规治疗的基础上教育组在住院期间及出院后4年内给予健康教育处方结合口头卫生宣教及科普板报知识等经常性的健康教育活动，而对照组不予健康教育。结果：教育组患者对冠心病知识的了解情况、饮食控制情况、规律服药治疗情况比对照组好（P＜0．01），出院后再次住院次数比对照组少（P＜0．01）。而情绪及吸烟量控制两组无显著性差异（P＞0．05）。结论：对老年冠心病患者实施经常性的健康教育是控制疾病恶化的重要措施。