The University of Zambia Journals
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Determinants of Career Aspirations Among Selected Junior Secondary School Students in Oyo State
Get PDFThe purpose of this study was to investigate the determinants of career aspiration among selected junior secondary school students in Oyo State, Nigeria. Two hundred and ten (210) participants constituted the study sample. Both the independent and dependent variables were measured with validated instruments with the validity reliability of 0.87. The data obtained was analyzed using simple percentage and Pearson Product Moment Correlation (PPMC) Statistical method. Three (3) research questions were raised and answered. The result showed that there was a significant relationship between parenting styles and career aspirations of junior secondary school students (r= .751; p=0.00;
The Validity of The Patient Health Questionnaire-2 As A Depression Screening Tool in Women Receiving Antenatal Care at Chelstone First Level Hospital, Lusaka, Zambia
Get PDFBackground: The Patient Health Questionnaire-2 is frequently used as the first step in assessing people for major depressive disorder symptoms. However, its accuracy in correctly distinguishing between major depressive disorder cases and non-cases among pregnant women seeking prenatal care services in Zambia has not been studied. We set out to determine the validity of The Patient Health Questionnaire-2 as a brief screening tool for antenatal depression in pregnant women attending antenatal care services at Chelstone First Level Hospital in Lusaka, using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale as the gold standard.
Method: We carried out a descriptive cross-sectional study and enrolled pregnant women who were receiving prenatal treatment at Chelstone First Level Hospital. The Patient Health Questionnaire -2 was used to screen 281 pregnant women, with the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) serving as the gold standard. The Patient Health Questionnaire -2's concurrent validity was determined by comparing its performance in distinguishing between major depressive disorder cases and non-cases with the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale, which served as the gold standard.
Results: On receiver operating characteristic curve analysis, the Patient Health Questionnaire-2 predicted major depressive disorders with 66 percent sensitivity and 89 percent specificity at a cut-off score of 2, with an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.90 [95 percent CI: 0.85-0.94]. For identifying major depressive illness in pregnancy, a cut-off value of 2 was shown to be best for optimizing sensitivity without sacrificing specificity. Women with a PHQ-2 score of 2 had substantially higher Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale ratings for depressive symptoms than women with a score less than 2. The PHQ-2 had a positive and negative predictive value of 0.75 and 0.83, respectively.
Conclusion: The PHQ-2 is a reliable screening tool for major depression in pregnant women seeking prenatal healthcare in primary care. To confirm the diagnosis, it should be followed by a more comprehensive diagnostic process involving structured clinical interviews or longer diagnostic tools such as the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM Disorders
Influence of COVID-19 on HIV/AIDS Retention for People living with HIV
Get PDFBackground:
In the time of Covid-19, various strategies are initiated by the Ministry of Health to ensure that accessibility to health care services remains within reach and undisturbed. The developed strategies include: issues of retention implemented through ensuring that stable client receive multi month dispensation, fast track service, and optimize appointment system. Despite the implementation of these strategies tailored to the improvement of patient retention, many patients at Kanyama level one hospital miss clinical appointments with late timings of drug pick-up. The factors behind late drug pick-up in the presence of COVID-19 were not clearly documented. We therefore set out to investigate the influence of COVID-19 on the timing of drug pick-up among HIV/AIDS patients at Kanyama level one hospital in Zambia.
Methods and Materials:
We carried out a Cross-sectional study at Kanyama level one hospital in Zambia using electronic records of 300 HIV patients were are on ART. Circular systematic sampling was used to select respondents from the list after an initial consented chat. Binary logistic regression was fitted on the data to determine the influence of COVID-19 and its interactions with background factors on late drug pick-up.
Results:
The presence of COVID-19 reduces the chances of picking-up the drugs latte. The interaction of the presence of COVID-19 and aging, (married or being single), having tertiary education and being female increases the chances of picking up the drugs late.
Conclusion: If the complete viral suppression program goals are to be achieved, programs for the improving retention among HIV patients on ART should incorporate more sensitizations and encouragements to the affected subgroups and invest more in the community adherence group, and faith base community initiative (FBI) to maximize on community drug distribution as effective mode of DSD in the presence of COVID-19
AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE RE-ENTRY POLICY REVISED GUIDELINES AND THE BAN ON CORPORAL PUNISHMENT IN SELECTED SECONDARY SCHOOLS OF CHONGWE AND LUSAKA DISTRICTS
Get PDFThis study investigated the effectiveness of the Re-entry Policy Revised Guidelines and the Ban on Corporal Punishment in selected secondary schools of Chongwe and Lusaka districts. It involved key stakeholders, including Ministry of General Education (now Ministry of Education) officials in the Lusaka province and the two districts, head teachers, and teachers in those schools (as implementers), and pupils and their parents (as beneficiaries). Since the study was qualitative in nature, the descriptive design and qualitative methods were used for data collection. Secondary data was collected from literature including journals, organizational reports and the government of Zambia policy statements.
The study findings were that the two measures were ineffectively implemented, which caused them not to be effective and fail to meet their intended objectives. Therefore, the study recommended that MoGE disseminates both the Re-entry Policy revised guidelines. In the case of corporal punishment, MoGE should first develop guidelines on alternative disciplinary measures to be used in schools. There should be a deliberate programme to ensure that teachers, pupils and parents are knowledgeable of the contents for both (the revised guidelines and alternative punishment guidelines). In addition, MoGE should develop a monitoring and evaluation system to ensure that there is effective monitoring and evaluation at school, district, provincial and national levels of both measures while remedial actions are made timely
PERCEPTIONS OF NON-CHRISTIAN LEARNERS, PARENTS AND RELIGIOUS LEADERS ON SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL RELIGIOUS EDUCATION IN NDOLA DISRICT OF ZAMBIA
Get PDFThe study mainly investigated the perceptions of non-Christian learners, parents and religious leaders on multi-faith Religious Education (RE) in Zambia, focusing on selected secondary schools in Ndola district. It thus aimed at finding out the perceptions of non-Christian learners, parents and non-Christian religious leaders on secondary school RE. Being qualitative in nature, the study employed qualitative approaches, which are appropriate for studying people’s attitudes, perceptions, views, opinions and feelings. This qualitative approach involved the use of interviews and focus group discussions with non-Christian learners, parents and religious leaders; it also involved some relevant document analysis. The findings of the study showed that the non-Christian pupils, parents and non-Christian religious leaders perceived the senior secondary school RE syllabuses 2044 and 2046 as being more of Christian Education than multi-faith RE as most of the topics in the syllabuses were about Christianity while their religious traditions were not adequately and correctly represented. Additionally, there were no teaching and learning materials for the non-Christian religions to facilitate proper teaching and learning.
The study therefore recommended that the Zambian secondary school RE syllabuses should be revised so that they become more inclusive in nature and content, thereby representing all stakeholders fully. In doing so, the leaders of the different religious traditions covered in RE should be consulted and involved in providing or producing relevant teaching and learning materials. The non-Christian religious leaders should be proactive in lobbying the Ministry of general Education to make Zambian RE more inclusive of their religions. Furthermore, teachers of RE should be sensitized to become more resourceful in finding relevant teaching and learning materials for topics involving non-Christian religions
Development of African Christianity in Central Africa
No full textAfrica is a continent rich in religious heritage. Part of that story pre-dates colonialism with a strong tradition of traditional religion. When missionaries arrived from Europe, they brought ideas, not always new ones, to the continent that profoundly shaped it and the people therein. At times, there were positive changes but all too often, Christianity of the nineteenth century sought to erase the culture, religions and societal structure of the way of life. This article has focused on nations within central Africa, for specific examples, as well as spoken to a wider thematic overview of the region, religion and its interplay with colonialism more broadly. Another historical reality is that missionaries did not remain rooted only in the bringing of spiritual ideas but they became agents of change. While some, such as Albert Schweitzer, did act out of goodness and compassion, many missionaries became either willing or unknowing, agents of colonialism via the introduction of the language, societal restructuring, and geographic knowledge that could be employed by cartographers to aid colonisation. Today, Christian communities thrive in Africa, outpacing many areas of the world, including the majority of the European nations where the missionaries originated from. This article has used the framework of historical examination of qualitative research, through examinations of scholarly articles, focused on history and culture. In addition, quantitative information has been included, particularly in exploring the contemporary reality of the colonial Christian heritage, such as exploring the Christian makeup of African countries versus former colonial European powers. The aim of this article was to explore the shaping power of Christianity on Africa, specifically central Africa and to understand how the blend of traditional African religious heritage and the legacy of colonialism has uniquely produced contemporary African Christianity. In a further chapter of the story of Christianity, Africa and Europe, Africa is now an exporter of Christianity, reviving churches in Europe, both through the migration of Africans to Europe, as well as through the online presence of African churches. This echoes a heritage of Africa as an original participant in Christianity, rather than an inheritor of a foreign religion
RITUAL OF CIRCUMCISION, MOOD DISORDERS AND MANAGEMENT IN CAMARA LAYE’S THE AFRICAN CHILD
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This article examines the therapeutic strategies utilised in the management of mood disorders which characterise the ritual rites of circumcision in Camara Laye’s The African Child. The article argues that circumcision rites for adolescents triggers mood disorders such as anxieties, phobia, insomnia, distress, and so on. These abnormal health conditions can be managed through various adjustments and coping strategies to provide healing to the circumcised patients, parents and society by diverting and
alleviating their psychic and emotional pains. They are utilised as mood stimulants and self-coping strategies before the ritual of circumcision
Application of Political Satire in Mission to Kala and Devil on The Cross
Get PDFThe study attempted to demonstrate how political satire is applied in a pre-independence African fiction Mission to Kala and a post- independence African fiction Devil on the Cross. Satire, mild or bitter, has a history of being used to expose the negative socio-economic and political realities perpetrated by both the sympathisers of colonialism and later the agents of neo-colonialism in the post-independence phase. The study employed the Marxist literary theory and Literary Onomastics through stylistic analysis and demonstrated how satire exposed the evils and how a ‘training camp’ in the colonial era was transformed into a ‘jungle’ in post-independent Africa. Character types in both periods exhibited parasitic traits such as greed, selfishness, narrow appetites and sadistic violence leading to exploitation and oppression. This historical transition was delineated on the basis of the colonised African elite and subordinates as the direct off-shoot of the African bourgeoisie groups, which created a symbolic connection between the two periods of time in the African context. The findings indicated that both texts maintained the Marxist outlook, employed ironic juxtaposition to satirise capitalism, each satirist employed a different style and Beti had the colonised African elite and subordinates as his targets of satire as opposed to Ngugi’s comprador politicians, comprador and national bourgeoisie. The masses were not spared of criticism
Potential Causes of Acaricide Resistance in Rhipicephalus and AmblyommaTicks (Acari: Ixodidae) in Namwala District, Zambia
Get PDFAcaricide resistance in ticks poses a great threat to livestock production in many parts of the world where ticks are a problem. The objectives of this study were to screen for acaricide resistance in Rhipicephalus and Amblyomma ticks using phenotypic and molecular assays, and to assess current tick control practices used by cattle farmers in the traditional sector of Namwala District. The larval packet test was used to screen for acaricide resistance in ticks covering concentrations up to twice the discriminatory dose for amitraz, diazinon and cypermethrin. Genetic mutations associated with resistance to amitraz (A22C-T8P and T65C-L22S), and organophosphates/ pyrethroids (G1120A) were screened using polymerase chain reaction and sequencing. Information on tick control practices at the household level was collected using a semi-structured questionnaire. Intermediate resistance (21-50%) to amitraz and cypermethrin was detected in both Rhipicephalus and Amblyomma ticks, with both tick genera showing susceptibility to diazinon
Genetic Diversity of Schistosoma haematobium in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Systematic Review
Get PDFUrogenital schistosomiasis caused by the parasite Schistosoma haematobium is the most common form of schistosomiasis. This parasite has a high potential for genetic exchange within parasite populations giving rise to the genetic diversity that is important for its survival. Genetic differences may lead to some parasite strains being more immunogenic, which may have a negative impact on the management and control of schistosomiasis. Therefore, understanding these genetic differences in the parasite may lead to better disease management. This review aimed to systematically review the scientific literature on the genetic diversity and population structuring of S. haematobium and the methods used across sub-Saharan African countries.
A literature search was done on PubMed, African Journals Online and Google scholar using predefined search terms such as urinary schistosomiasis, S.haematobium, and genetic diversity in sub-Saharan Africa in combination with Boolean operators (AND, OR). The search included studies published from 2000-2020 that emphasised on genetic diversity of S.haematobium in sub-Saharan Africa. A country in sub-Saharan Africa was included if it had a study that determined the genetic diversity of S. haematobium.
Sixteen study articles from 18 sub-Saharan African countries met the inclusion criteria. The genetic diversity of S.haematobium varied from low to high using different methods. Most studies (18/36 or 50%) in these countries showed a high genetic diversity of S.haematobium. Four methods, namely, restriction fragment length polymorphism, randomly amplified polymorphic DNA, DNA barcoding and Microsatellite markers, were used to determine diversity. In these studies, measures of genetic diversity such as number of alleles per minute or allelic richness, heterozygosity, number of genotypes and unique haplotypes were used. Microsatellites were the most commonly used method, and the studies reported a number of alleles per locus ranging from 2-19 alleles per locus and heterozygosity of 6 to 71% in some studies. The highest number of studies were conducted in West Africa, Nigeria and Zimbabwe, at 4/36(11%) each.
Results show the need for continued monitoring of genetic variations in S. haematobium in sub-Saharan Africa. This will aid in understanding disease epidemiology and advancing novel treatment and vaccine strategie