Browsing by Author "Ndawala, Maria"

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    Exploring Knowledge, Attitude and Practices of the Malawian rural communities towards antimicrobial use and resistance prevention
    (Kamuzu University of Health Sciences, 2020-10-16) Ndawala, Maria
    Type of study: Descriptive quantitative study using interview guide Problem statement: There is much that is not known about the level of knowledge of the communities on proper antibiotic use, how bacteria become resistant to antibiotics, how human behavior as well as antibacterial usage at home influences anti-bacterial resistance and how resistant microbes’ spreads. A lot of people take antibiotics without prescriptions from the hospital prescribers and choose to stop the medications whenever they feel a relief from the symptoms. Research Aim: The aim of this project is to assess the knowledge, attitude and practices of rural communities towards anti –bacterial use and resistance prevention. The objectives of this study are;  To describe the understanding of the concept anti-microbial resistance by the rural community.  To assess if clients are given information on how to take the antibiotics when they have been prescribed.  To investigate the community’s adherence to taking the prescribed antimicrobial agents.  To determine the community’s common sources of antimicrobials.  To assess availability of anti bacterial resistance campaign in the community Methodology: The study will be conducted in Mangochi in the villages of T/A Namkumba. A sample population of 350 participants will be recruited based on whether the participant took antibiotics in the past six months. Data will be entered using CSPRO and will be analyzed using SPSS version 20. Thereafter the data will be presented and disseminated through presentation in different forums as well as through publishing. Expected findings and dissemination of results This study will reveal the gap in the knowledge that the Namkumba community has in terms of antibiotic use and resistance prevention. In addition, it will also reveal their attitude and the current practices of this community as far as antimicrobial use is concerned. This proposal will end up into a thesis as a fulfillment of the Masters degree in antimicrobial stewardship. Results of this study will be presented at the District level, National level, coordinated by Ministry of Health, and at the College of Medicine Research Dissemination Conference as well as lodged with the COMREC. Finally, the paper will be prepared and submitted to peer review journals for publication. Possible Constraints Interviewing people at the facility during their visit might be a challenge since some might be rushing to their business places and some might not be willing to participate because they are not feeling well. In addition, meeting participants at their homes might be a challenge since some of the people are business oriented and spend most of their time at their business places. Therefore, for those that I will not be able to administer the interview guide on the same day, i would firstly contact them at the health facility and get the contact details so that can easily book an appointment with them for the interview guide on another day.
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    Factors associated with utilization of intrauterine contraceptive devices (IUCD) among women of child bearing age seeking family planning services at Mangochi district hospital, Version 1.0
    (Kamuzu University of Health Sciences, 2022-05-19) Nkonde, Emmanuel; Ndawala, Maria; Machira, Ireen; Sinkala, Charity
    Type of study This will be a descriptive cross-sectional study utilizing a mixed method approach. The problem to be studied. Intrauterine contraceptive method involves the use of copper-bearing intrauterine device (IUCD) which is a small, flexible plastic frame with copper sleeves or wire around it. It is a highly effective, reversible and long acting contraceptive method which offers long term pregnancy protection. A specially trained health care provider inserts it into a woman’s uterus through the cervix.(1) If inserted properly, this method proves to be very effective with pregnancy occurring once in every 100 women using an IUCD the first year, 6 per 1000 women who use IUCD perfectly and 8 per 1000 women as commonly used. This entails that 992 to 994 of every 1000 women using IUCD may not become pregnant. It is the best long term family planning method because it is non-hormonal, has less side effects and can easily be reversed (2). An IUCD helps to prevent unplanned pregnancy, endometrial and cervical cancers and also reduces risk of ectopic pregnancy. Once inserted, it does not attract extra cost or frequent visits to the hospital and to keep it effective. Despite the stated benefits, only 1% of women in Malawi are utilizing it (3). Furthermore, Mangochi District Hospital registered 0.48% usage of IUCD from October to December 2021 hence the quest to find out factors associated with the utilization.(4) Objectives. The study aims to assess utilization of Intra Uterine Contraceptive Devices among women of child bearing age at Mangochi district hospital. Specifically the study seeks to; identify the competences of health care workers (HCW) in providing IUCDs, Assess the knowledge of the women on IUCD and to determine women’s perceptions towards use of the IUCD Methodology This is a descriptive cross-sectional study utilizing mixed methods approach. A sample of 171 participants will be recruited in this study using non probability sampling method. Quantitative data will be collected using a structured questionnaire which will be administered by the researchers while qualitative data will be collected using in-depth and focus group discussions guides. The data will be analyzed using SPSS 23 and Nvivo for the quantitative and qualitative components respectively. Expected findings The outcome variables shall be knowledge of women on intrauterine contraceptive devices (IUCD) and their perceptions towards the use of IUCD with independent variables that shall be: Competencies of health care workers in providing IUCDs. Other independent variables shall include age, parity, educational level, religious affiliation and source of information. Dissemination The findings of the study will be disseminated to Kamuzu University of Health Sciences (KUHES) Research and Ethics Committee, KUHES library, and Mangochi District council. Finally, a manuscript will also be submitted to peer reviewed journals for publication.