Browsing by Author "Magesa, Emmanuel Salvatory"

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    Assessment of the knowledge, attitudes and practices of female secondary school learners on emergency contraception in Ongwediva, Oshana Region
    (2014) Magesa, Emmanuel Salvatory
    Emergency contraception (EC) has been available in Namibia for many years; however, there has been little research on knowledge, attitudes and practice of female learners about it. The aim of this study was to assess the knowledge, attitudes and practices of secondary school female learners towards emergency contraception. A cross sectional descriptive study of 294 secondary female learners was conducted at Mweshipandeka and Gabriel Taapopi secondary schools in Ongwediva, Namibia, during January 2013. A self-administered questionnaire was distributed to female learners who agreed to participate in the study. The findings indicated that only 4.4% of female learners had heard and used emergency contraception. About 48% of them reported that oral contraceptive pills are used for EC, 6% mentioned implants as EC and 9% mentioned intrauterine device (IUD) as an EC. Only 7.8% mentioned the correct time (within 72hrs) of taking ECs in case of unprotected sex. More than 29% of female learners mentioned friends/family as the source of information about EC. About 86% of female learners who heard EC know the mechanism of action of EC pills and 8.5% believed that EC worked by inducing abortion. More than 80% of students had positive attitudes towards EC. The level of knowledge of female learners in secondary schools about EC appears low; hence there is a need for more awareness creation and education among the learners on EC. This could be done through peer education in the schools and a possible incorporation of EC issues in secondary school curriculum.
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    Modeling stock levels of Malaria rapid diagnostic test kits and nievirapine syrup in Oshana region, Namibia
    (University of Namibia, 2019) Magesa, Emmanuel Salvatory
    Malaria and HIV/AIDS are two most widely spread diseases in Sub-Saharan Africa. The co-infection is very common in the region, especially in unstable malaria transmission areas with the prevalence of 29.9 - 40%. In Namibia these two diseases are common in northern eastern regions, which are unstable malaria transmission areas. These two diseases affect poorer segments of the population. Individually and biologically Malaria increases viral load of HIV people. The severity of malaria is more in pregnant women and children as well as people live with HIV. Equity access of malaria diagnostic test kits and NVP syrup is critical in control these two epidemic diseases. Given the nature of current conditions, justification exists for a study to develop and demonstrate a mathematical modeling of estimating stock levels, which can establish parameters to prevent stock-outs of mRDT and NVP syrup. The study adopted a mixed-method design in order to provide a broader perspective of modeling of stock levels in public health facilities, which underpins the delivery of mRDT for testing malaria and NVP syrup for PMTCT. In its quantitative aspect, the study adopted a descriptive approach to acquire data from a period of five years retrospectively, in this case 2012 to 2016 inclusive. Data were mainly obtained from Syspro, DHIS and EDT softwares. The data were analysed using SPSS version 23 software, in which time series analysis was applied to determine forecasted consumption of mRDT and NVP syrup. The correlation coefficient and Binary logistic regression were used to identify factors associated with stock-out of mRDT and NVP syrup. Mathematical models of stock levels were developed and validated. The findings showed that due to seasonal variation and other unforeseen variables, the consumption of mRDT and NVP syrup in public health facilities is increasing every quarter, while delivery lead time being a main factor and predictor of stock out. The model developed found to have predictive accuracy of more than 70% in estimating stock levels. The use of this supply models will curb unnecessary costs due to irregular orders. Furthermore, the model will contribute to the prevention of stock out and diseases control. It is a recommendation that similar models should be developed for other medicines such as anti TB, other ARVs and antihypertensive drugs.