Psychosocial conditions and resilience status of street children in Jimma Town

BACKGROUND: Traditional research and practices focused on an investigation of risk factors to handle psychosocial problems street children faced while surviving on the street. However, more recently, attention has been given to how knowledge can be developed in the area to devise interventions that reflect the promotion of resilience as a means of achieving positive outcomes for the children. The purpose of this study was to explore the psychosocial conditions and resilience status of street children in Jimma Town. METHODS: Explanatory sequential research design was employed. Out of 246 teenager street children, 137 were selected using simple random sampling. Questionnaire, interview guide and FGD probes were used in data collection. Mean and standard deviation, multiple regression analysis and Man Whitney U T-test were used to analyze quantitative data; while discourse analysis was used to analyze qualitative data. RESULTS: The result of multiple regression analysis indicated that anxiety significantly predicted resilience status, b=.623, t (109)=8.418, p˂.001. Anxiety also explained a significant proportion of the variance in resilience status, R2=.388, F (112) = 70.86, p ˂.001. Further, the result revealed that street children had slow growing resilience status in which boys were more resilient than girls. CONCLUSION: Street children in Jimma Town faced various psychosocial challenges and had low resilience status. Thus, Jimma Town Women and Children Affairs Office ought to work to build resilience status of street children, in collaboration with different stakeholders in and around the town

Effects of Aerobic Exercise Training on Psychosocial Status and Serum Uric Acid in Men with Essential Hypertension: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Chronic psychosocial stress and serum uric acid (SUA) level have been implicated in the etiology and cardiovascular events risk factors in hypertension. Studies have reported significant benefit of exercise in the overall management of hypertension. However; studies on the effect of exercise on psychosocial stress and SUA in the management of hypertension seem scanty. Aim: The aim of this study was to determine the effect of continuous training program on SUA and psychosocial status of black African (Nigerian) population with hypertension. Subjects and Methods: Age-matched randomized controlled trial was used; subjects with diagnosis of hypertension attending the hypertensive clinic of Murtala Muhammed Specialist Hospital (MMSH); Kano; Nigeria form the population for the study. Two hundred and seventeen subjects with mild to moderate (systolic blood pressure (SBP) between 140 and180 and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) between 90 and 109 mmHg) essential hypertension were grouped into continuous (112) and control groups (105). The continuous group involved in an 8 weeks continuous training (60-79 HR max) of between 45 and 60 min; 3 times per week; while the controls group remain sedentary. SBP; DBP; SUA; VO 2 max and psychosocial status were assessed. Student t-test and Pearson correlation test were used in data analysis. Results: The study revealed significant beneficial effect of continuous training programs on VO 2 max; SBP; DBP; SUA; and psychosocial status (P 0.05). Psychosocial status and SUA was significantly and positively and negatively correlated respectively with VO 2 max at P 0.01. Conclusions: This study concludes and supports the recommendations of moderate intensity (continuous) training program in blood pressure reduction; SUA and psychosocial stress management in hypertension