Sierra Leone Journal of Biomedical Research

Sierra Leone Journal of Biomedical Research (SLJBR) and Partners Building Research Capacity in Sierra Leone

Alhaji U. N'jai — 2023-12-12

No Abstract

Short Communication/Commentary: 2YoungLives

Magenda Kamara — 2023-12-12

No Abstract

Malaria in Sierra Leone in the context of the social determinants of health

Ronald Carshon-Marsh — 2023-12-12

No Abstract

Analysis of the prevalence and factors associated with Hepatitis B infection among adults seeking care at Makeni Government Regional Hospital, Sierra Leone

Peter Palmer — 2023-12-12

This study aimed to determine the seroprevalence of HepaVVs B among adults seeking care at Makeni Regional Hospital, and factors influencing awareness, and aZtudes towards the disease. The significance of this study lies in its potenVal to provide valuable informaVon on the prevalence of HepaVVs B and its risk factors in the study populaVon. This study used a facility-based cross-secVonal design, which involved collecVng data at a single point in Vme from a sample of individuals seeking care at the Makeni Regional Hospital. Blood samples were obtained from parVcipants to evaluate seroprevalence, and quesVonnaires were distributed to collect relevant data. The study included 403 individuals who sought care at Makeni Regional Hospital. SPSS so^ware was used to process, clean, and analyze the acquired data, which included descripVve staVsVcs such as tables and pie charts. The results indicated an esVmated 47% seroprevalence of viral hepaVVs B infecVon among individuals aaending Makeni Regional Hospital. Notably, despite widespread awareness of HepaVVs B infecVon, there were no matching acVons or behavioral changes. A troubling finding was that 64% of the parVcipaVng individuals said that they were engaging in unprotected sexual intercourse and many partnerships, which has been associated with an increased frequency of sexually transmiaed illnesses in previous research. Based on the findings of this study, several recommendaVons can be made to address the high seroprevalence of HBV and to improve public health outcomes. It is crucial to develop and implement comprehensive health educaVon programs in Makeni to raise awareness of the risk factors that contribute to the high prevalence of HBV infecVon. These programs should focus on educaVng the populaVon about the dangers of engaging in unprotected sexual intercourse, mulVple relaVonships, alcohol consumpVon, and smoking.

10-year predicted cardiovascular disease risk among clinical health workers in the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital

Franklin Abdul Lamin — 2023-12-12

Background: Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are diseases that affect the heart and the vascular system. The highest rate of mortality resulMng from non-communicable diseases is majorly from CVDs. 10 – year predicted risk of CVD is the chance that one can develop CVD due to poor lifestyle modificaMons. Clinical health workers are people employed by hospitals that take care and maintain paMents' health. Finding the 10 – year predicted CVD risk of clinical staff at the University of Port Harcourt Teaching is the goal of this study.

Methods: In data collecMon, a descripMve cross-secMonal study, and WHO STEP instruments for NCDs were used. Current and 10 – year predicted risk of CVD among clinical health workers was determined by making use of WHO/ISH risk predicMon tool and Risk Score-Category. WHO/ISH risk predicMon tool was adjusted so that low risk represents below 10%, moderate risk represents 10% to less than 20% and high risk represents 20% and above. With the use of the Risk Score-Category, a risk score of 1 was given to parMcipants if there is any risk factor present. Those considered to be at low risk were having a score between 0 – 2, moderate risk between 3 – 5, and above 6 overall risk factors were classified as high-risk category. For all conMnuous variables were presented as means while mainly categorical variables were presented as frequencies and percentages. In tesMng whether the idenMfied risk factor and risk category of CVD, and professional cadre and risk category of CVD were in any way associated, Chi-square was used. To ascertain the predictors of CVD and in quanMfying the idenMfied predictors, factor analysis and mulMnomial logisMc regression were done respecMvely.

Results: 334 health workers responded and 76 (22.75%) were males while 258 (77.25%) were females. 214 (60.07%) were overweight/obese, 30 (45.78 %) of male parMcipants had waist circumference above 94 cm, and 217 (90.79%) female parMcipants had waist circumference above 80 cm. 51 (15.32%) had systolic blood pressure above 140 mmHg, 46 (13.77%) had diastolic blood pressure above 90 mmHg, and 10 (2.99%) were diabeMc. 132 (39.52%) were at low risk, 192 (57.49%) were moderate risk and, 10 (2.99%) were at the category of a high risk of developing CVD. The idenMfied risk factors and the risk category of CVD were found to be associated with a p-value = <0.001, and professional cadre was not associated with the risk category of CVD Fisher’s exact = 0.416. Hypertension, poor intake of fruits and vegetables, diabetes, and physical inacMvity were the idenMfied predictors of CVD among the respondents. Blood pressure represented a stronger claim while physical inacMvity and poor intake of fruit and vegetable demonstrated a less strong claim. Physical inacMvity and blood pressure were idenMfied as predictors of moderate CVD risk.

Conclusion: Health educaMon and sensiMzaMon are needed to put clinical health workers from both high and moderate risk to low CVD risk. UPTH should make available early diagnosis and a treatment for clinical health workers to easily access it.

Goat ownership pattern and effects of goat mortality on owners in Ghana

Febroina Afriyie Adu-Bredu — 2023-12-12

A cross-sec?onal study was employed to obtain data on goat ownership and the effects of goat mortality on some psychosocial and socio-economic determinants of goat owners in the Ashan? region of Ghana. Data was obtained using pretested ques?onnaires with a total of three hundred and eighty-four (384) goat owners randomly selected from the study area. Data collected included demographic informa?on on the respondents, management prac?ces, herd size, choice of the management system, sources of feed and stock, goat mortality as well as psychological and economic effects on goat owners. Results showed the majority of goat owners (83.3%) were males, and 77.1% were married. Most of the goat owners were between 18-25 years old (42.2%). Majority of the goat owners (63.3%) had primary-level educa?on. Majority of the respondents (89.1%) had herd sizes varying between 1 and 10. Management system was mostly semi-intensive (95.8%). Sources of feed for goats varied from purchased feed (8.9%) and a combina?on of crop residue which are ogen purchased (91.1%). Most (99.5%) obtained their stock through purchase while 60.9% indicated frequent loss of goats. Goat mortality was mostly ahributed to diseases by 67.5% of the goat owners. All of the goat owners indicated that goat mortality affects them economically whilst 95.57% indicated the death of their goats affects other people in their household. Despite the economic and social effects of the death of their goats, majority of the goat owners (95.57%) were not psychologically affected by the death of their goats. Conclusively, goat rearing in the Ashan? Region of Ghana is prac?ced by all age groups and gender, most of whom were literate. Management system was mostly semi-extensive due to its convenience in terms of labor and capital requirements. Goat mortality existed; however, the economic effects of goat mortality were strongly agreed upon by the goat owners as compared to the psychological effects.

Determinants of fertility in Sierra Leone: A logistic regression model approach

Sallieu Kabay Samura — 2023-12-12

No Abstract

Factors associated with viral non-suppression among HIV-positive patients on antiretroviral therapy in Sierra Leone, January 2018–June 2019

Musu Abu — 2023-12-12

Despite the growing number of people on an/retroviral therapy (ART), there is limited informa/on about viral non-suppression and its determinants among HIV-posi/ve individuals enrolled in HIV care in many resource-limited seTngs. We es/mated the propor/on of virally non-suppressed pa/ents, and iden/fied the factors associated with viral non-suppression. We conducted a descrip/ve cross-sec/onal study using rou/nely collected program data from viral load (VL) samples collected across the country for tes/ng at the Central Public Health Reference Laboratories (CPHRL) in Sierra Leone. Data were generated between January 2018 and December 2019. We extracted data on socio-demographic, clinical and VL tes/ng results. We defined viral non-suppression as having ≥1000 copies of viral RNA/ml of blood for plasma or ≥5000 copies of viral RNA/ml of blood for dry blood spots. We used logis/c regression to iden/fy factors associated with viral non-suppression. This study consisted of 8,657 pa/ents, of whom 4224 (74%) were male, and 94.3% were older than 15 years old. Of the total, 7619 (88%) pa/ents rou/nely monitored, 659(8%) were suspected treatment failure and 379(4%) were repeat testers ager suspected failure. The propor/on of non-suppression was 22%, of which 876 (71%) were female. viral non-suppression propor/on was 26% for suspected treatment failures and 23% for pa/ents rou/nely monitored ager suspected failure (23%). Factors associated with viral non-suppression included pa/ent adhered to ARV treatment (aOR= 0.03, 95%CI = 0.23-0.36), aged <15 years (aOR = 0.22, 95%CI = 0.19-0.27) and young adolescents (aOR = 0.22 95%CI = 0.21-0.29), and pa/ents receiving second-line regimens (aOR= 0.1, 95%CI = 0.03-0.17).Viral non-suppression was rela/vely low among pa/ent on ART in Sierra Leone. ARV treatment adherence, being adult and pa/ent receiving first-line treatment were protec/ve factors against viral suppression. We recommend to close follow-up for children and to intensify adherence support for pa/ents suspected with treatment failure.

Factors associated with frequency and use of contraception among women in the Masuba Community, Bombali District, Sierra Leone

Peter Palmer — 2023-12-12

The use of contracepWon helps women and girls realize their basic rights to freely and responsibly decide when and how many babies they should have. However, few studies have examined contracepWon in Sierra Leone. Therefore, this study aimed to invesWgate the factors affecWng how o\en women in the Masuba Community, Bombali District, Sierra Leone use contracepWon. A community-based cross-secWonal design was used to collect quanWtaWve data using a simple random sampling technique to select eligible parWcipants from a sample of 403 women. We used structured quesWonnaires to interview parWcipants privately without hearing from a third party. At a 95% confidence level and 0.05 margin of error, the chi-square test was employed to determine the significance of the associaWon between cross-tabulated variables. The data collected were analyzed using the StaWsWcal Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 16.0, with 380 women remaining a\er 23 missing during data collecWon. The results show the prevalence of contracepWve use was 65%. Women’s age (X² = 13.958, P < 0.05) and educaWon level (X² = 8.137, P < 0.05) were significantly associated with contracepWve use. Factors that were not significantly associated with contracepWve use were marital status (X² = 1.542, P > 0.05), religion (X² = 0.748, P > 0.05), and employment status (X² = 1.038, P > 0.05). Therefore, policies aimed at scaling up contracepWon in Sierra Leone should consider religion, cultural impediments, and other socioeconomic factors among women through a strong advocacy program to increase the level of contracepWve awareness. AddiWonally, providing access to affordable and quality family planning services in remote and underserved areas can increase uWlizaWon rates and help reduce maternal mortality and morbidity. This can be achieved through mobile clinics, community health workers, and partnerships with local healthcare faciliWes.

Herbal medicine safety awareness among Healthcare Professionals in Freetown Sierra Leone

Augustus Osborne — 2023-12-12

Background: There is a pressing need to incorporate herbal medicine preventaKve measures into the current pharmacovigilance system, as recent evidence from the World Health OrganizaKon (WHO) shows. However, medical professionals are generally unaware of the relaKve safety of herbal remedies. Therefore, this research aimed to determine the awareness of herbal safety among medical professionals in Sierra Leone.

Methodology: In this study, we used a cross-secKonal survey of medical staff (n=309) working at three of Freetown, Sierra Leone's, leading medical centers between March and April 2022. The data analysis was performed using StaKsKcal Packages for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 28. We employed descripKve staKsKcs to count instances of a category and assign a percentage. We used a backwards stepwise binary logisKcs regression to find significant associaKons between awareness and predictors at the 5% significance level (p0.05).

Results: Evidence from the study revealed that around 54.7% of respondents knew about herbal medicine safety. There is an associaKon between the knowledge about drug-herbal interacKon and the level of understanding, average observed risk (AOR) = 1.63; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.00-2.66; however, no connecKon was found between years of experience and how well-knownherbal remedies are safe, and finally, no associaKon between the various departments and the level of understanding except for the outpaKent department [Adjusted Odds RaKo (AOR) = 0.49; 95% Confidence Interval (CI):0.25-0.95].

Conclusion: Our findings reveal that medical professionals' knowledge concerning the security of herbal medicine in Freetown, Sierra Leone is unsaKsfactory. Therefore, the regulatory bodies of the various healthcare cadre must promote standardised, coordinated educaKon for all medical personnel to establish an effecKve pharmacovigilance framework for tracking herbal medicaKon.

Knowledge, prevalence, and risk factors for self-reported sexually transmitted diseases among University Students in Sierra Leone

Augustus Osborne — 2023-12-12

Introduction: Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are a worldwide health concern. Students often engage in sexual acKvity while away at college, puVng themselves at risk for STDs, unintended pregnancies, and unsafe aborKons because of their lack of parental supervision. This research aimed to determine the prevalence of STDs and the variables that contribute to their spread among Sierra Leonean University students.

Methods: An institution-based cross-sectional study was conducted on 340 Njala University students selected using the multistage sampling technique in August 2022. The data were collected using a structured, pre-tested self-administered quesKonnaire. Multinomial logistic regression analyses and Pearson chi-square were employed through SPSS version 26 to identify factors associated with sexually transmitted infections. The odds raKo with a 95% confidence interval was computed to determine the level of associaKon. In the regression analysis, variables with a p-value of less than 5% were considered statically significant associations between covariates and sexually transmitted infections.

Result: The prevalence of a posiKve test for STIs among the sexually acKve respondents was found to be (33.6%). The knowledge of STIs among the respondents was very high (90.6%). All respondents in the various age groups (16-20, 21-25, 26-30, 31-35, 36-40 and 41-450) were likelier to have good knowledge of STIs with OR >1 and p < 0.05.

Conclusion: Self-reported STI infection rates among Sierra Leonean University students were relatively high. Therefore, it is crucial to educate students about the dangers of sexual promiscuity and the need to continue using condoms.