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Development and Validation of a Mobile Game for Culturally Sensitive Child Sexual Abuse Prevention Education in Tanzania: Mixed Methods Study
Get PDFA research article was submitted by JMIR Serious Games 2021 | vol. 9 |Background: Globally, 3 out of 20 children experience sexual abuse before the age of 18 years. Educating children about sexual abuse and prevention is an evidence-based strategy that is recommended for ending child sexual abuse. Digital games are increasingly being used to influence healthy behaviors in children and could be an efficient and friendly approach to educating children about sexual abuse prevention. However, little is known on the best way to develop a culturally sensitive game that targets children in Africa—where sexual education is still taboo—that would be engaging, effective, and acceptable to parents and caretakers.
Objective: This study aimed to develop a socioculturally appropriate, mobile-based game for educating young children (<5 years) and parents and caretakers in Tanzania on sexual abuse prevention.
Methods: HappyToto children’s game was co-designed with 111 parents and caretakers (females: n=58, 52.3%; male: n=53, 47.7%) of children below 18 years of age and 24 child experts in Tanzania through surveys and focus group discussions conducted from March 2020 to April 2020. From these, we derived an overview of topics, sociocultural practices, social environment, and game interface designs that should be considered when designing child sexual abuse prevention (CSAP) education interventions. We also conducted paper prototyping and storyboarding sessions for the game’s interface, storylines, and options. To validate the application’s prototype, 32 parents (females: n=18, 56%; males: n=14, 44%) of children aged 3-5 years and 5 children (females: n=2, 40%; males: n=3, 60%) of the same age group played the game for half an hour on average. The parents undertook a pre-post intervention assessment on confidence and ability to engage in CSAP education conversations, as well as exit surveys on the usability and sociocultural acceptability of the game, while children were quizzed on the topics covered and their enjoyment of the game.
Results: Parents and caregivers showed interest in the developed game during the conducted surveys, and each parent on average navigated through all the parts of the game. The confidence level of parents in talking about CSAP increased from an average of 3.56 (neutral) before using the game to 4.9 (confident) after using the game. The ability scores, calculated based on a range of topics included in CSAP education talks with children, also increased from 5.67 (out of 10) to 8.8 (out of 10) after the game was played. Both confidence level and ability scores were statistically significant (P<.001). All 5 children were interested in the game and enjoyed the game-provided activities.
Conclusions: The HappyToto game can thus be an effective technology-based intervention for improving the knowledge and skills of parents and children in CSAP education
Epidemiology of leptospirosis in Tanzania: A review of the current status, serogroup diversity and reservoirs
Get PDFThis research article was published in the PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, 2021Background
Tanzania is among the tropical countries of Sub-Saharan Africa with the environmental conditions favorable for transmission of Leptospira. Leptospirosis is a neglected zoonotic disease, and although there are several published reports from Tanzania, the epidemiology, genetic diversity of Leptospira and its host range are poorly understood.
Methods
We conducted a comprehensive review of human and animal leptospirosis within the 26 regions of the Tanzanian mainland. Literature searches for the review were conducted in PubMed and Google Scholar. We further manually identified studies from reference lists among retrieved studies from the preliminary search.
Results
We identified thirty-four studies describing leptospirosis in humans (n = 16), animals (n = 14) and in both (n = 4). The number of studies varied significantly across regions. Most of the studies were conducted in Morogoro (n = 16) followed by Kilimanjaro (n = 9) and Tanga (n = 5). There were a range of study designs with cross-sectional prevalence studies (n = 18), studies on leptospirosis in febrile patients (n = 13), a case control study in cattle (n = 1) and studies identifying novel serovars (n = 2). The most utilized diagnostic tool was the microscopic agglutination test (MAT) which detected antibodies to 17 Leptospira serogroups in humans and animals. The Leptospira serogroups with the most diverse hosts were Icterohaemorrhagiae (n = 11), Grippotyphosa (n = 10), Sejroe (n = 10), Pomona (n = 9) and Ballum (n = 8). The reported prevalence of Leptospira antibodies in humans ranged from 0.3–29.9% and risk factors were associated with occupational animal contact. Many potential reservoir hosts were identified with the most common being rodents and cattle.
Conclusion
Leptospirosis is prevalent in humans and animals in Tanzania, although there is regional and host variation in the reports. Many regions do not have information about the disease in either humans or their animal reservoirs. More studies are required to understand human leptospirosis determinants and the role of livestock in leptospirosis transmission to humans for the development of appropriate control strategies
Livestock movement informs the risk of disease spread in traditional production systems in East Africa
Get PDFThis research article was published by Springer Nature Limited in 2021In Africa, livestock are important to local and national economies, but their productivity is constrained by infectious diseases. Comprehensive information on livestock movements and contacts is required to devise appropriate disease control strategies; yet, understanding contact risk in systems where herds mix extensively, and where different pathogens can be transmitted at different spatial and temporal scales, remains a major challenge. We deployed Global Positioning System collars on cattle in 52 herds in a traditional agropastoral system in western Serengeti, Tanzania, to understand fine-scale movements and between-herd contacts, and to identify locations of greatest interaction between herds. We examined contact across spatiotemporal scales relevant to different disease transmission scenarios. Daily cattle movements increased with herd size and rainfall. Generally, contact between herds was greatest away from households, during periods with low rainfall and in locations close to dipping points. We demonstrate how movements and contacts affect the risk of disease spread. For example, transmission risk is relatively sensitive to the survival time of different pathogens in the environment, and less sensitive to transmission distance, at least over the range of the spatiotemporal definitions of contacts that we explored. We identify times and locations of greatest disease transmission potential and that could be targeted through tailored control strategies
Assessment of Fluoride Bioaccumulation Potential in African Catfish (Clarias gariepinus) Reared in Fluoride Rich Water
Get PDFThis research articles was published in the Tanzania Journal of Science Issue,Volume.47. No2. 2021Fluoride bioaccumulation in fish poses a significant impact on their growth, survival and
consequently to upper trophic levels. Few studies have reported the impacts of high fluoride
concentrations and their accumulation potential to catfish in African settings. A 60-day catfish
cultivation was conducted at Ngarenanyuki ward and the Nelson Mandela African Institution of
Science and Technology (NM-AIST) in Arusha, Tanzania to determine fluoride bioaccumulation
and its impacts to catfish growth and survival. Juvenile catfish were exposed to 36 mg F–/L pond
water and synthetic water containing fluoride (NaF) concentrations of 5, 15, 36 and 45 mg/L in
aquaria set at NM-AIST laboratory. Fluoride concentrations in fish tissues were analysed by ion-
selective electrode. Fish survival rate was greater than 90% in ≤ 36 mg/L fluoride levels compared
to 65.8% in 45 mg F–/L aquarium. Significant fluoride bioaccumulation was observed in fish
bones (222.00 mg/kg, dry weight), gills (177.4 mg/kg), skin (9 mg/kg) and low amount in fillets
(1.467 mg/kg). Fluoride bioaccumulation significantly rose with fluoride levels increase and
exposure time (p = 0.000). The study concludes that high fluoride occurrence and its increased
exposure time increases fluoride bioaccumulation in African catfish. Therefore, growing catfish in
water containing ≥ 45 mg F–/L requires defluoridation process
Biological properties of extracts from locally grown banana leaves indicate their possible use for wound dressing in Arusha, Tanzania
Get PDFThis research article was published by International Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Research Volume 12, 2021This study assessed the biological properties and safety profile of extracts from locally grown banana leaves in Arusha (Tanzania), to affirm their possible use for wound dressing. Screening for phytoconstituents in extracts from studied banana plant species, ijuhi inkundu (IJ) mlelembo (ML) and kimalindi (KIM), revealed the presence of various secondary metabolites; anthraquinones, alkaloids, flavonoids, tannins, terpenoids, phenols, phytosterol and saponins. Susceptibility of microorganisms to studied banana varieties were in the order of KIM > ML > IJ. One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) revealed a statistical difference of mean among all extracts (p kimalindi > ijuhi inkundu > mlelembo. Brine shrimp results for toxicity showed that almost all extracts were non-toxic to the shrimps, exhibiting mild toxicity by giving the LC50 values higher than 100 µg/mL
Warehouse Management System Enhancement: A Case Study of ATOZ Textiles Limited
Get PDFThis conference paper was published by IEEE, 2021With technology advancement, the application of technology in conglomerate companies is crucial for company performance.Technology utilization in industry in developing countries is a challenge. Often there is a crisis of equipment, goods, and items destruction or loss in warehouses. The enhancement of the warehouse management system for the company helps to utilize resources effectively, thus improving company performance.This study aimed to enhance the management of warehouses through the use of information communication and technology. The study developed mobile applications for customer registration, order management, and stock management. The study also extended the web applications for account management, order management, invoice generation, client registration, and stock management. The study was conducted at AtoZ Textiles Company Limited located in the Kisongo area, Arusha Region
A Review on Computational Fluid Dynamics Applications in the Design and Optimization of Crossflow Hydro Turbines
Get PDFThis research article was published by Hindawi, 2021In recent years, advances in using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software have greatly increased due to its great potential to
save time in the design process compared to experimental testing for data acquisition. Additionally, in real-life tests, a limited
number of quantities are measured at a time, while in a CFD analysis all desired quantities can be measured at once, and with a
high resolution in space and time. )is article reviews the advances made regarding CFD modeling and simulation for the design
and optimization of crossflow hydro turbines (CFTs). )e performance of these turbines depends on various parameters like the
number of blades, tip speed ratio, type of airfoil, blade pitch, chord length and twist, and its distribution along the blade span.
Technical aspects of the model design, which include boundary conditions, solution of the governing equations of the water flow
through CFTS, and the assumptions made during the simulations are thoroughly described. From the review, a clear idea on the
suitability of the accuracy CFD applications in the design and optimization of crossflow hydro turbines has been provided.
)erefore, this gives an insight that CFD is a useful and effective tool suitable for the design and optimization of CFTs
Patterns of multimorbidity and their association with hospitalisation: a population-based study of older adults in urban Tanzania.
Get PDFBackground
while the HIV epidemic remains a considerable challenge in sub-Saharan Africa, a dramatic reduction in the associated mortality has led to a fundamental shift in the public health priorities aimed at tackling multimorbidity. Against the unprecedented level of urbanisation taking place in Tanzania, the burden of multimorbidity and its consequences among ageing adults, in the form of costly inpatient hospitalisation, remain unquantified.
Methods
we used data from one of Africa’s largest urban population cohort, the Dar es Salaam Health and the Demographic Surveillance System, to quantity the extent of multimorbidity (occurrence of 2 ≥ health conditions) and discordant multimorbidity (occurrence of conditions in 2 ≥ domains in mental health, non-communicable and communicable health) among 2,299 adults aged ≥40 years in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. We fitted logistic regression models to investigate the association between multimorbidity and inpatient hospitalisation.
Results
the prevalence of multimorbidity and discordant multimorbidity were 25.3 and 2.5%, respectively. Although the severe forms of multimorbidity (2.0% with ≥4 health conditions) and discordancy were low, hospitalisation was significantly higher based on the regression analyses. Household food insecurity was the only socio-economic variable that was significantly and consistently associated with a greater hospitalisation.
Conclusion
we found an alarmingly high degree of multimorbidity among this ageing urban population where hospitalisation was driven by multimorbidity. As public health resources remain scarce, reducing costly inpatient hospitalisation requires multilevel interventions that address clinical- and structural-level challenges (e.g. food insecurity) to mitigate multimorbidity and promote long-term healthy independent living among older adults in Tanzania.This research article published by Oxford University Press, 202
Sustainable Food Production Systems for Climate Change Mitigation: Indigenous Rhizobacteria for Potato Bio-fertilization in Tanzania
Get PDFThe global rise in human population has led to the intensification of agricultural
activities to meet the ever-rising food demand. The potato (Solanum tuberosum L.)
is a crop with the potential to tackle food security issues in developing countries
due to its short growth cycle and high nutrient value. However, its cultivation is
heavily dependent on artificial fertilizers for yield maximization which culminates in global warming and other environmental problems. There is need,
therefore, for its alternative fertilization technologies to mitigate climate change.
This study evaluated the potential of indigenous rhizobacteria for potato cropping
in Tanzania. Ten potato rhizobacterial isolates belonging to Enterobacter, Klebsiella, Citrobacter, Serratia, and Enterobacter genera were obtained from a
previous collection from different agro-ecological areas in Tanzania. The isolates
were characterized culturally, microscopically, biochemically, and by their carbohydrate utilization patterns. Their in vitro plant growth-promoting (PGP) traits
such as nitrogen fixation, solubilization of phosphates, potassium, and zinc, and
production of siderophores, indole acetic acid, and gibberellic acids were then
evaluated. Lastly, sterilized potato seed tubers were bacterized with the inoculants
and grown in pots of sterile soil in a screen-house using untreated plants as a
control experiment. The potato rhizobacterial isolates had varying characteristics
and showed varying in vitro PGP activities. The screen-house experiment also
showed that the rhizobacterial treatments significantly ( p < 0.05) enhanced
different parameters associated with potato growth by up to 91% and established
the potential of most of the isolates as alternative biofertilizers in potato cropping
systems in Tanzania.This research article published by Springer Nature, 202
Effectiveness and Suitability of Oyster Mushroom in Improving the Nutritional Value of Maize Flour Used in Complementary Foods
Get PDFThis research article published by Hindawi, 2021Complementary foods based on habitual cereals such as maize have been linked with the promotion of undernutrition in young children. Blending the starchy-rich maize with nutritious-rich indigenous food such as oyster mushroom could improve the nutritional composition of complementary foods. This study investigated the effectiveness and suitability of oyster mushrooms in improving the nutritional value of maize flour commonly used as a bulk ingredient in complementary foods. Flour made of well-cleaned and sun-dried oyster mushroom was blended with maize flour at 0% (control), 30%, 40%, and 50%. Proximate composition, mineral density, and sensory evaluation were determined using standard procedures. Significant improvement in the nutritional quality of formulated flour blends with all proportions of mushroom flour was obtained . Blending maize flour with 30%, 40%, or 50% oyster mushroom flour improved the protein content of formulated flour blends from 8.63% to 18.20%, 8.63% to 20.37% and 8.63% to 22.75%, respectively. The increase in ash and fiber content ranged between 82.52% to 84.16% and 50.69% to 58.35%, respectively. Mineral content of formulated flour blends was improved from 62.89% to 64.72% (iron), 7.63% to 22.69% (zinc), 77.48% to 78.02% (calcium), and 67.55% to 67.64% (potassium). Sensory scores of porridges prepared from formulated flour blends showed good acceptance for the colour, flavour, and aroma of the porridges from three formulated flour blends. Overall, this study recommends blending oyster mushroom with maize flour to improve the nutritional content of formulated flour blend for young children who rely on maize porridge as their complementary food