Women's empowerment and nutritional status of children in the Gambia: further analysis of the 2020 Gambia demographic and health survey.

Empowering women and the promotion of children's health are key components of the Sustainable Development Goals targeted for achievement by 2030. The survival of young children, which depends on their nutrition, is influenced by an interaction of factors at the household level. This study aims to investigate the association between women's empowerment and undernutrition among children under age 5 using The Gambia Demographic Health Survey (GDHS) 2019-20.Children's undernutrition was measured with two indicators: stunting and underweight. The women's empowerment indicators were educational status, employment, decision making, age at first sex and age at first birth, and acceptance of wife beating. StataSE software Version 17 was used for data analysis. Analyses were cluster-adjusted, sample-weighted, with confounding/moderating variables. Descriptive statistics and cross-tabulations were computed for all variables. Bivariate and multivariate analysis of the outcomes and women's empowerment were conducted.The prevalence of stunting and underweight among the children under age 5 was 17% and 12%, respectively. The results of the multiple logistic regression show that women with no education had 51% (OR = 1.51; 95% CI = 1.11-2.07; p = 0.009), and 52% (OR = 1.52; 95% CI = 1.06-2.14; p = 0.022) greater odds of having children under age 5 who were stunted or underweight compared to those women with primary and higher level of education, respectively. Mothers with a body mass index classified as thin were associated with an increased odds of having stunted (OR = 1.44; 95% CI 1.01-2.05; p = 0.033) and underweight (OR = 1.69; 95% CI = 1.58-3.52; P < 0.001) children. In addition, women who reported accepting wife beating had 69% (OR = 1.69; 95% CI 1.22-2.35; p = 0.002) and 66% (OR = 1.66; 95% CI 1.15-2.40; p = 0.006) greater odds of having stunted and underweight children respectively compared to those who did not accept wife beating.In conclusion, the result of this study shows that women's empowerment is associated with undernutrition among children under age 5 in The Gambia. This is suggesting that implementing policies and interventions that increase the empowerment of women will contribute to the improvement of child nutrition in the country.

Estilos de aprendizaje de preferencia entre estudiantes de Medicina en La Gambia / Learning styles proffered by medical students in The Gambia

Introducción: En las últimas tres décadas, la proposición de que los estudiantes aprenden siguiendo diferentes estilos se ha convertido en un prominente tema en pedagogía a nivel mundial. En La Gambia no se conoce cuáles son los estilos de aprendizaje en estudiantes de Medicina. Objetivo: Caracterizar los estilos de aprendizaje de preferencia en estudiantes de la Escuela de Medicina y Ciencias Afines de la Salud en La Gambia. Métodos: Se aplicó un diseño transversal mediante el cuestionario estandarizado VARK para la recolección de datos, cuyo análisis se realizó con el uso del software SPSS. Resultados: La mayoría de los estudiantes prefirieron variantes multimodales de aprendizaje; la variante bimodal se escogió con más frecuencia. No se obtuvieron asociaciones significativas entre las puntuaciones VARK y el sexo o la edad de los estudiantes (p > 0,05). Se alcanzaron diferencias significativas para las puntuaciones kinestésicas entre estudiantes de preclínica y clínica (p = 0,031). Además, se logró una asociación significativa con relación a las variantes unimodales preferidas entre los estudiantes de preclínica y clínica. No fueron encontradas diferencias significativas en cuanto al rendimiento académico entre estudiantes con preferencias unimodales o multimodales (p > 0,05). Conclusiones: La aplicación del cuestionario VARK permitió la identificación de los estilos preferidos de aprendizaje para modos particulares de presentación de la información en estudiantes de Medicina en La Gambia. Los estilos de aprendizaje difirieron entre los estudiantes, la mayoría de los cuales tuvieron preferencia por los estilos multimodales, que incluían la variante kinestésica. Estos hallazgos pudieran emplearse para mejorar la calidad de la enseñanza(AU)

Introduction: In the last three decades, the proposition that students learn by following different styles has become a prominent topic in pedagogy worldwide. In The Gambia, learning styles in medical students are not known. Objective: To characterize the learning styles preferred by the students of the School of Medicine and Allied Health Sciences of The Gambia. Methods: A cross-sectional design was applied using the standardized VARK questionnaire for data collection, the analysis of which was performed using the SPSS software. Results: Most students preferred multimodal variants of learning; the bimodal variant was chosen more frequently. No significant associations were obtained between VARK scores and the sex or age of the students (p>0.05). Significant differences were reached for kinesthetic scores between preclinical and clinical students (p=0.031). In addition, a significant association was achieved in relation to the preferred unimodal variants among preclinical and clinical students. No significant differences were found regarding academic performance among students with unimodal or multimodal preferences (p>0.05). Conclusions: The application of the VARK questionnaire allowed the identification of preferred learning styles for particular ways of presenting information among medical students in The Gambia. Learning styles differed among students, most of whom had a preference for multimodal styles, which included the kinesthetic variant. These findings could be used to improve the quality of teaching(AU)

Efficiency of immunization service in the Gambia: results of a stakeholder analysis.

OBJECTIVE: The literature demonstrates that conducting a stakeholder analysis to better understand the immunisation context and to involve the stakeholders in the assessment improves the quality and relevance of the assessment and increases the use of results by policy makers thereby ensuring that the programme provides efficient services. This stakeholder analysis is part of a study to assess the sustainability of the expansion of the expanded programme of immunisation in The Gambia. This paper reports and discusses the results of the study on the dimension of attaining high levels of technical efficiency of immunization programmes. Methods: The study, was conducted on the Immunisation service of the Gambia in West Africa. METHODS: The method used was a series of in-dept interviews with sixteen key stakeholders at the central, divisional and facility levels. A stakeholder analysis tool that incorporates key indicators of financial sustainability of the EPI was used in the interviews. RESULTS: Results show that overall the majority of stakeholders strongly support the use of additional resources for implementing several actions (indicators) that can foster the financial sustainability of the EPI, including those that fall under the dimension of efficient immunisation services. Results further demonstrate that wastage is a very serious problem in the immunization system, which stakeholders generally felt is unacceptable. The causes could be grouped into four groups of factors: staff factors, resource factors, client factors and management/policy factors. CONCLUSION: Inefficiencies in the immunisation system, leading to, amomg other things, wastage of resources make expenditures in the EPI system unsustainable for a country that is experiencing slow economic growth and decreasing donor support. More intensified efforts to minimise the inefficiencies are needed to bring about more significant changes for the better