The status of health promotion in Botswana

Health education and promotion remains an integral part of public health. This paper details health promotion activities in Botswana since the establishment of the profession in 1988. It further describes health promotion infrastructure, investment in health promotion, human resource training and collaborations within the country. Infrastructure and services for health promotion in the country are mainly provided by government through educational institutions, faith based organizations, non-governmental organizations, general medical practitioners and mining companies complementing the Ministry's efforts. More than 1000 health promotion cadres have been trained at certificate, diploma and degree levels by Boitekanelo College and the Ministry of Health through Serowe Institute of Health Sciences

Opportunities and obstacles to screening for perinatal depression among women in Zimbabwe: a narrative review of literature

Background: The perinatal period provides an opportune time for health care providers to screen for and proffer interventions for women suffering from depression. However, routine screening for depression is not done in primary care settings in Zimbabwe. Aim: This narrative review discusses opportunities and obstacles surrounding screening for perinatal depression in primary care settings in Zimbabwe, with a view to stress the importance of routine screening to policy-makers. Methods: Both electronic and manual searches were done on PubMed, PubMed Central, African Journals Online, Google Scholar and the University of Zimbabwe Institutional Repository (UZIR) using the following key terms: 'women and antenatal depression', 'prenatal depression', 'postnatal depression', 'postpartum depression', 'depressive disorder', or 'common mental disorder' and 'screening and Zimbabwe'. Results: Although opportunities for depression screening are possible because of the high antenatal and postnatal service coverage, the potential for universal screening is fraught with human and financial resource constraints, lack of training in mental health care among primary health care providers and lack of locally validated screening tools for depression. Conclusion: There is a need to channel resources into the training of midwives and other primary health care providers on mental health issues affecting women perinatally

Prevalence and factors associated with postnatal depression among women in two rural districts of Manicaland, Zimbabwe

Background: Low- and middle-income countries are disproportionately affected by postnatal depression (PND). High prevalence of PND in urban Zimbabwe has been reported but the situation in rural settings is largely unknown and this is one of the first studies to report prevalence of PND in Chipinge and Mutasa districts. Objectives: This study explored the prevalence and associated factors of PND among women attending postnatal care services in two rural districts of Chipinge and Mutasa, Manicaland, Zimbabwe between August and September 2017. Methods: One hundred and ninety-two women were recruited consecutively as they attended postnatal services at 7 days and 42 days post delivery. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders, fifth edition criteria was used to classify depression among participants. Prevalence of PND and 95.0% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated and associations with key socio-demographic and risk factors assessed. Results: The mean age of participants was 23.7 years (standard deviation=6.14). Pooled prevalence of PND across the two districts was 26.0% (95% CI: 19.04­31.74). There was ahigher prevalence of PND in Mutasa (31.0%) as compared to Chipinge (21.48%) but this was not statistically significant (p=0.142). Having insufficient food in the household, intimate partner violence and having a child with birthweight under 2500 g significantly increased the likelihood of PND twofold: adjusted odds ratio (aOR)=2.8 (95% CI: 1.2­6.1),aOR=2.5 (95% CI: 1.2­5.3) and aOR=2.4 (95% CI: 1.1­5.6), respectively. Conclusion: The high prevalence of PND and its associated risk factors indicates the need for routine screening and targeted interventions for PND in Zimbabwe, especially in rural areas

Factors Leading to Poor Water Sanitation Hygiene among Primary School going Children in Chitungwiza

Although the world has progressed in the area of water and sanitation; more than 2.3 billion people still live without access to sanitation facilities and some are unable to practice basic hygiene. Access to water and basic sanitation has deteriorated in Chitungwiza and children are at risk of developing illness and missing school due to the deterioration. We sought to investigate the predisposing; enabling and reinforcing factors that are causally related to water- and sanitation- related hygiene practices among school going children. A random sample of 400 primary school children (196 males; 204 females) in four schools in Chitungwiza town; Zimbabwe was interviewed. Behavioural factors were assessed through cross examination of the PROCEED PRECEDE Model. The respondents had been stratified through the random sampling where strata were classes. A structured observation checklist was also administered to assess hygiene enabling facilities for each school. Children's knowledge and perceptions were inconsistent with hygienic behaviour. The family institution seemed to play a more important role in life skills training and positive reinforcement compared to the school (50 vs 27.3). There was no association between a child's sex; age and parents' occupation with any of the factors assessed (P=0.646). Schools did not provide a hygiene enabling environment as there were no learning materials; policy and resources on hygiene and health. The challenges lay in the provision of hygiene enabling facilities; particularly; the lack of access to sanitation for the maturing girl child and a school curriculum that provides positive reinforcement and practical life skills training approach