Childhood Trauma, Gender Inequitable Attitudes, Alcohol Use and Multiple Sexual Partners: Correlates of Intimate Partner Violence in Northern Tanzania.

Intimate partner violence (IPV), including physical, sexual, emotional, and economic violence, has profound immediate and long-term effects on individuals and communities worldwide. To date, few studies have focused on couples' reporting of IPV. The aim of this article is to present the results of a survey of couples' reporting of IPV and the individual, interpersonal, and social correlates of IPV in northern Tanzania. Four hundred fifty couples from Karatu District, Tanzania, completed a questionnaire measuring attitudes on gender norms and relations, men's experience of childhood trauma, and men's perpetration and women's experience of IPV. We found high levels of acceptance and experience of IPV: 72% of men justified a husband's perpetration of IPV, and 54% of men and 76% of women said that a woman should tolerate violence to keep her family together. The majority of women had ever experienced IPV (77.8%), and 73.6% and 69% had experienced IPV in the past 12 and 3 months, respectively. Men were significantly less likely to report that they had committed IPV: 63.6% ever, 48.9% in the past 12 months, and 46.2% in the past 3 months. Multivariate logistic regression found that younger men, men who reported gender inequitable attitudes, childhood trauma, multiple sexual partners, and alcohol use were significantly more likely to report IPV perpetration in the past 3 months. Younger women, and women with low levels of education and reported food shortages were significantly more likely to report IPV in the past 3 months. These results indicate that social and individual acceptance and justification of IPV are common. Experience of violence persists over time in many relationships. This study demonstrates the need for interventions that address individual-, interpersonal-, and community-level determinants of IPV, including attitudes regarding gender equity, exposure to violence as children and intergenerational violence, lack of education, and poverty.

Prevention and Mitigation of Intimate-Partner Violence: The Role of Community Leaders in Tanzania.

Intimate-partner violence (IPV) is a major public health issue that disproportionately affects women, especially in Tanzania where 40% of women report experiencing IPV. While IPV research has focused on IPV victims and perpetrators, community leaders can provide valuable insight on IPV at the community level. We conducted 50 key informant interviews with community leaders in nine villages in the Karatu district. These leaders identified common themes regarding IPV causes and consequences, reporting methods, and future recommendations. This information can help mitigate IPV at the community level in future interventions and shows community leaders themselves could be powerful tools in future IPV programming.

Together to end violence against women in Tanzania: Results of a pilot cluster randomized controlled trial to evaluate preliminary effectiveness of interpersonal and community level interventions to address intimate partner violence.

In Tanzania, women suffer high rates of intimate partner violence (IPV). We conducted a pilot cluster randomised controlled trial to test the feasibility, acceptability and preliminary effectiveness of IPV prevention interventions targeting men and communities in nine villages randomly assigned to one of three study arms (n = 450 couples). In the Control Group, women participated in savings groups while male partners received no intervention. In Intervention Group 1, women participated in savings groups and men participated in peer-groups addressing gender relations and IPV prevention. In Intervention Group 2, women participated in savings groups, men participated in peer-groups, and community leaders facilitated dialogues on similar topics. Recruitment was completed within one month with 95% retained in the intervention and 81% retained in the endline survey. Acceptability was high, with men participating in 82% of peer-group session hours. More men in Interventions 1 (24%) and 2 (19%) disagreed with wife-beating compared to men in the Control (13%); and more men reported non-perpetration of IPV in Interventions 1 (16%) and 2 (14%) compared to the Control (-2%). Findings suggest a fully powered RCT may detect significant reductions in men's justification and use of IPV, paving the way for evidence-based violence prevention programming. Trial registration: This study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov. Identifier: NCT02434796.

Economic evaluation of HCV testing approaches in low and middle income countries.

BACKGROUND: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection represents a major public health burden with diverse epidemics worldwide, but at present, only a minority of infected persons have been tested and are aware of their diagnosis. The advent of highly effective direct acting antiviral (DAA) therapy, which is becoming available at increasingly lower costs in low and middle income countries (LMICs), represents a major opportunity to expand access to testing and treatment. However, there is uncertainty as to the optimal testing approaches and who to prioritize for testing. We undertook a narrative review of the cost-effectiveness literature on different testing approaches for chronic hepatitis C infection to inform decision-making and formulation of recommendations in the 2017 World Health Organization (WHO) viral hepatitis testing guidelines. METHODS: We undertook a focused search and narrative review of the literature for cost effectiveness studies of testing approaches in three main groups:- 1) focused testing of specific high-risk groups (defined as those who are part of a population with higher seroprevalence or who have a history of exposure or high-risk behaviours); 2) "birth cohort" testing among easily identified age groups (i.e. specific birth cohorts) known to have a high prevalence of HCV infection; and 3) routine testing in the general population. Articles included were those published in PubMed, written in English and published after 2000. RESULTS: We identified 26 eligible studies. Twenty-four of them were from Europe (n = 14) or the United States (n = 10). There was only one study from a LMIC (Egypt) and this evaluated general population testing. Thirteen studies evaluated focused testing among specific groups at high risk for HCV infection, including nine in persons who inject drugs (PWID); five among people in prison, and one among HIV-infected men who have sex with men (MSM). Eight studies evaluated birth cohort testing, and five evaluated testing in the general population. Most studies were based on a one-time testing intervention, but in one study testing was undertaken every 5 years and in another among HIV-infected MSM there was more frequent testing. Comparators were generally either: 1) no testing, 2) the status quo, or 3) multiple different strategies. Overall, we found broad agreement that focused testing of high risk groups such as persons who inject drugs and men who have sex with men was cost-effective, as was birth cohort testing. Key drivers of cost-effectiveness were the prevalence of HCV infection in these groups, efficacy and cost of treatment, stage of disease and linkage to care. The evidence for routine population testing was mixed, and the cost-effectiveness depends largely on the prevalence of HCV. CONCLUSIONS: The evidence base for different HCV testing approaches in LMICs is limited, minimizing the contribution of cost-effectiveness data alone to decision-making and recommendations on testing approaches in the 2017 WHO viral hepatitis testing guidelines. Overall, the guidelines recommended focused testing in high risk-groups, particularly PWID, prisoners, and men who have sex with men; with consideration of two other approaches:- birth cohort testing in those countries with epidemiological evidence of a significant birth cohort effect; and routine access to testing across the general population in those countries with a high HCV seroprevalence above 2% - 5% in the general population. Further implementation research on different testing approaches is needed in order to help guide national policy planning.

Diagnóstico pouco frequente de dor abdominal em unidade de emergência infantil / Unusual diagnosis of abdominal pain in pediatric emergency unit

OBJETIVO: Relatar um caso de doença péptica na infância em escolar, com queixa inicial de dor abdominal aguda e palidez. DESCRIÇÃO DO CASO: Escolar de nove anos procurou pronto-socorro infantil com queixa de dor abdominal súbita e palidez. Não apresentava outros sintomas ou sinais ao exame físico além de mucosas descoradas e hemograma com nível baixo de hemoglobina. Durante a observação intra-hospitalar, apresentou episódio de melena. Foi realizada endoscopia digestiva alta, sendo observadas gastrite erosiva de antro e úlcera duodenal, com Helicobacter pylori positivo. O paciente foi tratado com esquema tríplice (inibidor de bomba de prótons e dois antimicrobianos) por uma semana e, posteriormente, acompanhado ambulatorialmente. COMENTÁRIOS: O caso em questão descreve uma doença rara em unidade de emergência pediátrica. O paciente referia dor abdominal e observou-se palidez confirmada por baixo nível de hemoglobina, que se manteve nos exames subsequentes durante a observação no pronto-socorro infantil, dificultando o diagnóstico de sangramento ativo. Porém, a presença de melena na evolução facilitou e propiciou a condução do caso para se chegar à hipótese de sangramento digestivo alto. Realizada endoscopia digestiva alta, que confirmou o diagnóstico de gastrite erosiva de antro e úlcera duodenal H. pylori positiva, sendo, então, necessário tratamento específico, inclusive para erradicação da bactéria.

OBJECTIVE: To report a case of peptic disease in a school child whose first symptoms were acute abdominal pain and paleness. CASE DESCRIPTION: A nine-year-old school child presented to a pediatric emergency unit with acute abdominal pain and sudden pallor. There were no other symptoms or signs on physical examination, except for discolored mucous and a low hemoglobin level. During hospital observation he presented one episode of melena. The esophagogastroduodenoscopy showed erosive antrum gastritis and duodenal ulcer, with Helicobacter pylori. He was treated with inhibitor pump proton and two antimicrobial for two weeks. COMMENTS: This is a rare presentation in the pediatric emergency unit. The patient had abdominal pain and pallor confirmed by low hemoglobin level, which remained in subsequent blood tests, delaying the diagnosis of active bleeding. The occurrence of melena during hospitalization led to the hypotheses of high digestive bleeding. An esophagogastroduodenoscopy was done and confirmed the presence of erosive antrum gastritis, duodenal ulcer and H. pylori infection. The treatment of the patient included bacterial eradication.