Volume 10, Issue 10, October 2022 Edition - GSJ Journal Publication

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CHILDREN PSYCHOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT AND ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF RAFIKI INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL BUGESERA DISTRICT, RWANDA []


Child psychological development effect has become a global problem that needs to be tackled if children are to be given the right to education and freedom. Early exposure to adverse early childhood experiences including physical, sexual, and emotional; neglect; violence; household dysfunction; parental substance abusers or mental illness; and an absent parent are strong predictors of poor academic performance. The main objective of this study was assessing the effects of children psychological development on children academic performance in Rafiki international school in Nyamata District of Rwanda. The specific objectives are; to establish the effects of cognitive development, social emotional development and personality development on children‘s academic performance in Rafiki international school. The study will be significant to the policy makers as a reference on the necessity of curbing the menace of child abuse in parenting related to child psychological development; it will be benefit to all children who go to school from different families who are under different psychological threats. The study adopted a descriptive research design. The target population (91) respondents for this study comprised teachers and caregivers. Sample sizes are 74 respondents and were selected from population. To arrive to the findings, the researcher used structured questionnaires. Data was analyzed and interpreted using descriptive statistics (mean and standard deviation), inferential regression correlation, presented in the frequency tables. The major findings were personality development and emotional development had moderate positive relationship (r=0.437 p=0.000 and(r= 0.484, p=0.00) respectively while cognitive development had weak negative association (r=-0.350 p=0.00) with academic performance school of pupils. The study concluded that cognitive development affect academic performance and therefore social mental and enthusiastic advancements are critical to development in youth. Emotional developments are important to growth in early childhood. The emotional developments are associated with the ability to communicate with others in the classroom (teachers and peers) and outside of school. The study recommends that Rafiki international school look at effects of cognitive development on children psychological development as it will help in providing some quite beneficial information to help the board in understanding this relationship cognitive development and children psychological development which will improve academic performance level of pupils in the school. Last recommendation is that Rafiki international should construct learning environments that take into consideration pupils’ individual differences and strengths. Personality assessment may be a useful tool in effectively guiding and counseling pupils throughout their academic pursuit. Information on the personality of each pupil in school could be used to direct pupils towards disciplines.

An outcome evaluation of Income Generating Activities to improve household income and self-reliance for caregivers in Chitungwiza, Zimbabwe (2020-2022). A case study of Presley Children’s Trust (pseudonym) []


The current study is an outcome evaluation of the Income Generating Activities implemented by Presley Children’s Trust (pseudonym) to improve household income and self-reliance of caregivers in Chitungwiza (2020-2022). Entrenched in the outcome evaluation, the present interpretive mixed method evaluation executed semi-structured face-to-face individual interviews and questionnaires with 28 participants, 3 males and 25 females, with experiences in the income generating activities, document analysis and non-participant observations to collect data. The implementation of income generating activities have a number of benefits for the families as it allows families to realise income and it empowers women as decision makers in their projects. The study revealed that 70% of the participants are between the ages of 41-55 while 30 % are between 31-40 years. This may be attributable to the targeted selection of beneficiaries of into the project looking at the criteria that looks at the vulnerabilities that comes from old age and those who are leaving with orphan and vulnerable children and the average household size is four. The study further presented the experiences of the income-generating grant beneficiaries in implementing income-generating projects, paying particular attention to their successes and challenges. The recommendations presented in this study were meant to ensure sustainable grant allocation process, focusing on measures that are supported by the findings. Overall, the income-generating grant scheme could do much more and achieve better results than currently. These findings clearly indicate that efforts should have been put to increase awareness and create an acceptable level of mastery and perception of income generating grants among the beneficiaries. There was no evidence that focused attention and specific activities were in place for this to happen, as even within the training opportunities provided, particular attention was on specific skills and not necessarily to contribute to improved perceptions of the income-generating grants.

Safe Staffing in Nursing: A Concept Analysis []


Background: The concept of safe staffing in nursing has been ubiquitous in the profession since the history of time; and it is deemed pivotal in providing safe, quality and evidence-based Care to healthcare consumers. A plethora of nursing ggroups'definitions of “"afe staffing”"vary widely, suggested safe nurse-patient ratio, policies, and regulations. Staffing pattern greatly impacts the capability of nurses to provide quality, safe, and holistic Care in all practice settings. Therefore, safe staffing must be well defined to cater for the multifaceted process of nursing care. Aim: This concept analysis seeks to standardize the definitions of the concept safe staffing out of gathered evidence-based studies, research, and scholarly articles and journals. In addition, the researchers also seek to clear the meaning of the concept and its usage within the field of nursing profession. Method: This concept analysis utilized the concept analysis of Walker and AAvant's(2019). The 8-steps which was modified from the classic concept analysis by WWilson's(1963) was used to investigate how the concept safe staffing is defined in the current bodies of knowledge. Conclusions: Safe staffing among nurses is a critical health policy issue about which there is broad agreement on an abstract level (that nurses are an important component of the healthcare delivery system and that nurse staffing influences and affects safety), but little agreement on what research data has established and what research data has not established, and active disagreement about the best policy directions to protect public safety. Keywords: safe staffing, optimal staffing, concept analysis, Avant and Walker, appropriate nurse staffing, adequate staffing, staffing effectiveness Email: bbreyes@ceu.edu.ph

CONTRIBUTION OF OUTSOURCING SERVICES ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT PERFORMANCE IN TANZANIA: A CASE OF IRINGA MUNICIPAL COUNCIL []


The purpose of this study was to assess the effectiveness of outsourcing goods/services on local government performance in Tanzania, a case of Iringa Municipal Council. Specifically, the study wanted to determine the effectiveness of IT outsourcing services, legal outsourcing services, training outsourcing services and security outsourcing services on local government performance in Iringa Municipal Council. With the aid of quantitative research approach together with the use of descriptive research design, a researcher was able conclude the findings. From the targeted population of 235 employees, a sample size of 70 employees were drawn using simple random sampling. Information gathered from the respondents were analyzed using both descriptive statistics and regression analysis. The findings showed that the majority of the respondents agreed to the variables being used or effective in their institutions. The study found out that IT outsource services, Legal Outsource Services and Security Outsource Services were significant predictors of local government performance whereas it has an impact of 92.7%. By considering the findings of the study, it is recommended that since there is a significant relationship between outsourcing services and local government performance, the management of local government needs to ensure that the legal outsourcing effects are considered in necessary basis since they contribute to local government performance.

CUSTOMER PERCEPTION OF SERVICE QUALITY IN THE TANZANIAN TELECOMMUNICATION SECTOR. []


The purpose of this study was to assess the customer’s perception of service quality in the Tanzanian telecommunication sector, a case of Tigo company in Iringa Municipality. The study was guided by five specific objectives which were, to determine customers' perception of the services based on tangibility, to determine customers’ perception of reliability to the services, to determine customers’ perception of responsiveness to the services and to determine customers’ perception of assurance to the services provided in Tigo Company in Iringa. Qualitative and Quantitative approaches were used for this study, where the study involved a sample size of 65 respondents for Quantitative and 5 respondents for interview. The study used case study technique to collect comprehensive, systematic and in-depth information. Data were collected through questionnaires and unstructured interviews. The findings revealed that the customers perception on service quality in Tanzania telecommunication sector is very important in the performance of today’s business competition where in correlation the results shows that there is a significant relationship between tangibility and service quality, responsiveness and service quality, reliability and service quality, assurance and service quality, empathy and service quality. However, the company needs to set out rules that are viewed as fair and practical by employees to promote and provide better service to customers. This can be achieved by having good appearance of physical facilities, equipment, personnel and written materials, ability to perform the promised service dependably and accurately, willingness to help customers and provide prompt service, Employees’ knowledge and courtesy and their ability to inspire trust and confidence, caring, easy access, good communication, customer understanding, prepare monthly training of service provision, proper service market visit, increase more service desk and individualised attention given to customers to help enhance team spirit within the company.

Enabling Namibian Teachers to Teach Beyond the Physical Classroom []


Teachers have for long been confined to teaching only in the physical presence of the learners. However, times have changed, and teachers do not have the constant physical presence of learners to teach. Therefore, this article explains how the Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture (MoEAC) can enable teachers to use computer technology to teach their learners, even when they are not physically present. The study is based on the findings of a study that was conducted between 2013 and 2015 titled ‘The integration of computer technology in the Namibian Education system’ (Simataa, 2015). This qualitative study explored the integration of computer technology for teaching and learning. The study found that teachers did not have the skills and resources required to use computer technology in their teaching practices. Recommendations of the study included provision of computer technology resources to schools.

Design and implementation of student attendance monitoring system using face recognition []


ABSTRACTThe use of facial recognition as a means of developing a non contact method of attendance taking and notifying the parents of an absentee student each time the student did not attend lecture. The Human face is important for recognition and is widely used in many applications like human monitoring, attention analysis, human-machine interaction. Attendance taking is vey paramount in any academic system as it has a direct correlation with performance of the students. The essence of this work is to mitigate the shortcomings of the manual systems and other automated attendance taking methods. In this COVID-19 era, the physical interaction of humans with common devices for attendance can be life-threatening, also it gives room for distraction during classes, it is also tedious and time-consuming task, prone to errors and manipulations. This work offers a solution to attendance taking in a classroom by using a Face recognition system. The proposed system made used of two algorithms Haar cascade for Face detection and Local Binary Pattern Histogram (LBPH) for Face recognition. Haar cascade algorithm is used to detect the faces from the current frame. This algorithm is used to differentiate the pattern of face and non-face. It will locate the faces in a frame. After detection of face, we used a face recognition concept to recognize the students while the Local Binary Pattern feature descriptor is used to identify the student texture to recognize the ID. Using Face Recognition, the record of student is updated and stored in the database. During class, when the face of the individual student matches with one of the faces stored in the database then the attendance is recorded, else an email is sent to absentee’s parent/guardian. The object oriented analysis and design methodology (OOADM) was used in the analysis and design of the proposed system. The system was developed using python as front end and MySQL as back end for storing students’ information and attendance records. Results showed that the developed system was able to eliminate the problems associated with manual and other contact-based methods of attendance taking.

DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION OF AN ONLINE SHOPPING SYSTEM (A CASE STUDY OF MAHADI MEGA SHOPS, KADUNA) []


Online shopping is a form of e-commerce (electronic commerce) that allows people to directly purchase items from sellers over the internet using a web browser. This brings us to the term “e-commerce. This project's aim is to design and implement an Online Shopping System by identifying the requirements of the system and conducting a system analysis which leads to the designing of the proposed system based on the identified requirements. In the process of carrying out this project, the software development life cycle model that was adopted is Waterfall. Use case diagram was used to depict the functional requirements of the system, the system was modeled using a sequence diagram and activity diagram. The primary sources of data were Observation and interviews and also secondary sources such as reviews of past records, books, and journals. The system was implemented using a 3-tier approach, with a backend MySQL database, a middle tier apache server, and a web browser as the frontend client. In order to develop an online shopping application using HTML, CSS, JAVA Script, server-side scripting language PHP, and relational database MySQL Initially the system intended to cover more aspects of online shopping, but due to limited time, the scope was limited to just a few functionalities. I recommend a 1-click ordering method, providing moderators more control over products so that each moderator can maintain their own products and providing classes for customers so that different offers can be given to each class.

STUDY OF PHYSICAL RESOURCES BEING PROVIDED TO THE SPECIAL STUDENTS USING EDUCATIONAL DATA MINING (with special reference to J.R.D. University, Chitrakoot) []


There are many institutes working in the field of Special Education in India, out of which four national institutes are established. There are very few non-governmental organizations working for Special Students (divyangjan) in the field of higher education in India, one of which is established in Chitrakoot. J.R.D. University, Chitrakoot (UP) was established in 2001 by Jagadguru Swami Rambhadracharya Ji Maharaj, who himself is a visually impaired person. The main objective of the University is to provide higher and professional education to the Special Students (divyangjan) only. In this study data collection was done from the students of J.R.D. University, Chitrakoot. Mainly three types of special students are studying in the University, locomotor disabled, visually impaired and hearing impaired. Data collected from the students of the various postgraduate, undergraduate and diploma courses running by the University.

A DOCUMENTARY FILM “RINDU SANG BARA API” THROUGH A THEMATIC NARRATIVE STRUCTURE []


A documentary film is a creative process of presenting the reality of events. The final project of “Rindu Sang Bara Api” applies a doc-umentary concept through a comparative and contradictory style with a thematic narrative structure. Comparative and contradictory styles are ways of conveying information in films by comparing events and using more critical interviews to gain public opinion. The explanations are usually delivered in the form of a narrative, a statement from a source, or given by voice. Documentary narrative structure, as we discussed, is a method of showing how the sequence of events is presented to the audience. The thematic narrative structure divides the film into sections to show how events occurred. The documentary film “Rindu Sang Bara Api” raises a communi-ty culture called the Torch War (Perang Obor) during the Covid-19 pandemic. This activity is a form of Earth Alms to be a means of giving thanks and praying to God to avoid harm, including the dangers of the Covid-19 virus. The implementation of the Torch War raises pros and cons between government policies and the ongoing Torch War.

Etude des cas: Planification Familiale dans la Division Provinciale de la Santé de de Lomami : Couverture Sanitaire et Accessibilité des services par les femmes à l’âge de procréer []


Actuellement l’accès aux services de Planification Familial est limité, particulièrement dans les milieux ruraux. La couverture totale des Zones de Santé en PF n’est pas garantie sur toute l’étendue de la RDC, on note une faible intégration des services de la Planification Familiale dans les Zones de Santé. Sur les 16 Zones de Santé de la DPS Lomami seulement moins de la moitié (trente et sept pourcent) ont intégré les services de Planification Familiale. Bien qu’une partie du paquet Minimum d’activité de base des services de santé soit intégrée, la Planification Familiale serait souvent une composante négligée. Cette étude est transversale à visé descriptive, elle est faite au cours de la période de Janvier à Juin 2017. Elle a concerné les femmes en âge de procréer (de 15 à 49 ans) ayant accès à ces services dans les Zones de Santé la Division Provinciale de la Santé de Lomami. La taille de l’échantillon n’a pas été calculé vu que nous notre études s’étend sur toute la DPS. Chaque ZS est prise dans cette étude comme une grappe dans laquelle seront recherchées les structures ayant intégré la PF. Les résultats de cette étude montrent la faible intégration des services de Planification familiale dans la plupart des zones de Santé de la DPS Lomami. Dans l’ensemble, 6 sur 16 Zones de santé soit 37% ont intégré les services de Planification Familiale. Sur les 316 CS de la DPS, 123 Centres de Santé (39%) ont intégré les services Clinique de Planification Familiale, 17 Centre de santé soit 5% ont intégré la Planification Familiale basée sur la distribution à base communautaire, plus de la moitié soit 60% des femmes à l’âge de procréer n’ont pas accès aux services de Planification Familiale. Le programme de Planification Familiale dans la Division Provinciale de la Santé de Lomami continue de présenter des grandes insuffisances notamment en ce qui concerne l’accessibilité des services, on note la faible couverture des services de Planification Familial et une faible intégration des services cliniques et communautaires de Planification Familiale dans la Province.

Prevalence and factors associated with late initiation of antenatal care among pregnant women attending Gitwe hospital, Rwanda []


Introduction: Antenatal care (ANC) is very key health intervention provided to pregnant mothers for maintaining healthier pregnancy and baby inside womb through promotional, preventive and both detecting and treating early any health problems related to pregnancy. WHO recommends first ANC to be done within first 12 weeks of gestation (first ANC done after 12 weeks of gestation was considered as late initiation). This study aimed to determine prevalence and assess factors associated with late initiation of antenatal care among pregnant women attending Gitwe hospital in Rwanda. Methods: Cross-sectional study design with quantitative approach was used. A sample size of 409 respondents were recruited by using systematic sampling technique with kth value of two in four selected public health centers of Gitwe Hospital by convenience sampling technique from 10th May 2022 up to 8th August 2022. Structured questionnaire used to collect primary data. Descriptive analysis (percentage, mean and frequencies), bivariate (Chi-square test with α=0.05) and multivariate binary logistic regression analysis (95% CI and AOR) were done by using statistical packages for social sciences (SPSS v21.0). Results: among 409 respondents, 67% of mothers were in age group of 21 and 34 years. Majority of them (57.9%) were primarily educated. Around 77.8% of respondents were farmers, 98% of respondents were Christians. 19% of mothers were single. 90.2% of respondents live in rural areas. Study showed that 43% of mothers late initiated ANC. Moreover, binary logistic regression revealed that these following factors: living in rural area {AOR=3.984, 95% CI: [1.718;9.236], P=0.001}; high family size (≥6 people) {AOR: 2.143, 95%CI: [1.243;3.695], P=0.006}; lack of health insurance{AOR: 3.337, 95%CI: [1.153;9.654], P=0.026}; unplanned pregnancy {AOR=2.014, 95%CI:[1.334;3.040], P=0.001};lack of knowledge about right time to start ANC { AOR: 3.000, 95%CI:[ 2.062-5.000], p<0.001} and experiencing family conflict {AOR: 4.584, 95%CI: [2.287;9.189], P<0.001} were significantly found to be associated with delay of ANC. Conclusion: Therefore, Ministry of Health in collaboration with other stakeholders was recommended to plan and conduct community outreach educating all people importance of early ANC and disadvantages of late ANC to reduce late initiation of ANC.

Current status of food hygiene practice and food safety system along with municipal abattoirs in Ethiopian []


Agricultural development in Ethiopia is considered an important issue dealt with by the Government and Animal production is an essential part of agricultural farming systems. Even though, livestock and meat production status is increasing yearly, Annual per capita of meat consumption in Ethiopia is less than 8.5 kg per person per year, which is the secondlowest in all of Africa. This has a serious impact on the entire livestock value chain from animal breeding up to meat production and consumption. There is low standard farming, veterinary service, and hygienic practice in the slaughtering chain starting from the farm up to preparation and consumption of animal origin food like meat. This results due to many factors such as the absence or scarcity of facilities at farm level, animal transportation, slaughterhouse and retail shop and restaurant. This study indicated that at country level, there is little information concerning public abattoirs found in the country, their facility and operation in conjunction with good hygienic practice in the plant up to the preparation of ready-to-eat food. Most animal products including meat are highly perishable due to bacterial load and handling methods. A cross-contamination from raw meat due to poor handling during production at abattoirs or transportation to retail shop, is a major cause of food borne disease in developing countries including Ethiopia. The food system in Ethiopia is not always as organized and developed as in other developed countries. The regulation of Ethiopian standard was prepared under the direction of the Agricultural and Food Technology Technical Committee and published by the quality and Standard Authority of Ethiopia (QSAE). However, the application of this regulation was not practical especially in public abattoirs. Food shortage and lack of appropriate food safety assurance systems are problems that have become obstacles to the Ethiopian economic development and public health safety. Therefore the public slaughterhouse status and their facility should be indicated by concerning body annually because the abattoirs are a place that is important for disease surveillance and control. Also the potential effects of primary production activities on the safety and suitability of food should be considered at all times. Keywords: slaughterhouse, meat, food safety, public, standard, Ethiopia

PREVALENCE OF SHIN SPLINTS AMONG HIKERS IN ISLAMABAD []


Background and objective Medial Tibial Stress Syndrome (MTSS) or Shin-Splint Syndrome is a clinical pain condition defined as exercise-induced pain along the posteromedial tibial border (distal third) caused by repetitive loading stress during running and jumping and provoked on palpation over a length of ≥5consecutive centimeters. MTSS is mostly present in sportsmen, military personnel, runners and athletes. The aim of our study is to determine the prevalence and functional disability among hikers with shin splint in Islamabad METHODS Descriptive case study was conducted among Hikers of Islamabad. Patients’ data was collected through interviewer administered questionnaire and the pain disability questionnaire including questions related to demographics, anthropometrics such as weight, height, BMI, and duration of hiking etc to determine the prevalence and associated risk factors of shin splints. Pain was measured through pain measurement scale, which has 11 points and Pain disability scale was made which has seven parameters, for each of the 7 categories of life activity listed and the number on the scale describes the level of disability subjects typically experience.RESULTS A total of 50 participants were taken for the study. Data was analyzed through SPSS version 26. All of the participants had shin splints syndrome. Among them, 43 (86%) were males and 7 (14%) were females. CONCLUSION Findings suggested that the shin splint is 26.88% prevalent and is seen in age groups of adults (26-30 year (52%)).Though this study found no significant association as risk factors of shin splints with socio-demographic characteristics and anthropometrical characteristics but found significant association with nature of activity and role of the pain while hiking and after hiking

The Importance of Communication in the Context of Retiring Couples []


The experience of retirement within the scope of couples is a variable phenomenon, as indicated within the research above. There are many factors that influence retirement, while those related to economics are particularly important. The present study explores the communication process that informs couples experiencing or transitioning into retirement. Results: Economic factors however are likely to markedly influence the way in which retirement is experienced, and also the communications that occur within the scope of a couple in which one or both members have retired. Conclusion: Therefore, it is stated that economic concerns are inherently related to communication within the scope of a retired couple’s relationship, as lacking in economic concerns, many communications would become nonessential that would likely be negative in nature.

THE GAPS IN THE AFRICA LEGAL SYSTEM THAT RESTRAIN EFFECTIVE IMPLEMENTATION OF TRANSITIONAL JUSTICE (TJ) IN AFRICA: CASE STUDY MOZAMBIQUE []


Compliance with transitional justice mechanisms in Africa is still a challenge. From its struggle for independence in 1964 through its civil wars and ongoing armed conflict in the Cabo Delgado and Niassa provinces; Mozambique failed to implement adequate transitional justice mechanisms except for its traditional Magamba spirit and amnesty laws. The African Union Transitional Justice legal architecture could not help because it does not impose any obligations to member states on how to manage post-conflict situations. Combining the African legal and policy framework for Transitional Justice with the steps taken in Mozambique can help to get out of the puzzle. Through the perusal of contextual and thematic writings on the Mozambique case, this article finds that the African legal instruments have little contribution pertaining to Transitional Justice and lack the binding provisions obliging member states to comply and implement the mechanisms to tackle the past gross violations of human rights. Keywords: Armed conflict, Transitional justice, Mozambique, African legal instruments, magamba, and amnesty.

Prevalence and factors associated with occupational health hazards among health care providers at King Faisal Hospital. []


Population’s wellbeing and development would be better depending on working. Unfortunately, there are specific form of risks to the health and safety of individual related to the working environment. Rwanda as a country with quick social economic development has created all necessary to stop occupational health hazards within its public and the private health places. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and factors associated with occupational health hazards among healthcare workers at King Faisal Hospital and a cross-sectional study design was used. Simple random sampling technique was applied to select 269 people as sample size from the target population who was healthcare providers at King Faisal Hospital. To analyze data of this study SPSS V.21 was used and enable to calculate measures of central tendency. The study findings showed that the majority of participants 43.9% aged between 41years and 55 years and 43.1% were male while 56.9% of them were female. The study revealed that that 56.9% participants had hazard and 43.1% participants didn’t have hazard. The respondents aged 56 years and above were less like to meet hazard [AOR=0.325; 95% CI=0.167-2.11; P=0.03] compared to respondents aged 25-40 years. Health provider with master’s degree and above were less likely to meet hazards [AOR=0.241; 95% CI=0.075-0.776; P=0.09] compared to health provider with Bachelor's degree. To address this, the researcher has provided some recommendations to Ministry of health and RBC to reduce frequency and severity of occupational accidents in different industries.

: Determinants of HIV prevalence in Rwanda: secondary analysis of Rwanda demographic health survey 2014/2015 []


HIV continues to be a major public health concern. Globally 0.8% [0.6%-0.9%] of adults from 15 to 49 years are HIV positive. And it continues to vary enormously between countries and regions. In Rwanda the HIV prevalence has been 3% since 2005. The present study provided a comprehensive data and information on HIV prevalence and its determinants in Rwanda. Determinants associated with HIV prevalence in Rwanda identified using datasets of RDHS 2014-2015. Target population of the study is 12,940 people constituted by Rwandan men aged 15-59 years and women 15-49 years being most sexually active population. A secondary data analysis was done on RDHS 2014-2015 and IBM SPSS Statistics 21 was used for analysis, this showed frequency distribution and cross tabulation of different variables. The low percentage of participants counted 3.21% tested positive while 96.79% participants tested negative. This study also shows that 47.85% were male and 52.15% were female. 25.22% respondents live in urban area as habitants, 74.78% respondents live in rural area as habitants and 91.69% respondents said that they did not use condom at the last time having sex. The results from multivariate analysis revealed that male respondents were less likely to be infected by HIV [AOR=0.951; 95%CI=0.023-1.748; P=0.004] compared to female. Respondents from rural areas were less likely to be infected by HIV [AOR=0.356; 95%CI=0.276-0.459; P=0.004] compared to respondents from urban areas. The Researcher recommend the Ministry of health to integrate their policies and programs on HIV and the world of work in development plans and poverty reduction strategies and income-generating strategies, as appropriate and should take every opportunity to disseminate information about their policies and programs on HIV.

Knowledge, attitude and practices towards palliative care services among healthcare providers at Kibagabaga Hospital, Rwanda []


Abstract Palliative care is a holistic approach that improves the quality of life of patients and their families facing the problem associated with chronic and life-threatening illness, through the prevention and relief of suffering by means of early identification and impeccable assessment and treatment of pain and other health problems. Little is known about knowledge, attitude and practices of health care providers towards palliative care in Rwanda. Therefore, the objective of this study was to assess health care provider’s knowledge, attitude and practices towards palliative care services at Kibagabaga Hospital. A cross-sectional research design with quantitative approach was employed. This study targeted 247 doctors, nurses and midwives working at Kibagabaga hospital. Using Solvin’s formula, a sample of 153 health care workers was estimated. Simple random sampling was used to select respondents from Kibagabaga hospital units/Department. A structured questionnaire was used to collect quantitative data. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 21; descriptive analysis performed to establish healthcare provider’s knowledge, attitude and practices towards palliative care services. The study findings showed shows that among respondents that among respondents 42.5% were male while 57.5% were female. For education level, the majority of respondents 56.9% had Bachelor's Degree, 20.3% had Diploma, and 22.9% of them were Medical Doctors. The research findings showed that 50.3% of respondents had low knowledge towards palliative care and 49.7% of respondents hah high knowledge towards palliative care, 38.6% of respondents had positive attitude towards palliative care and 56.9% of respondents hah good practices towards palliative care. Although, this study revealed that the level of knowledge of health care providers was the factors associated with level practices towards palliative care. To address this, the researcher has provided some recommendations to the Ministry of Health & Rwanda Biomedical Center and its organs which will help to improve awareness towards palliative care related knowledge, attitude and practices.

FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH POST-CAESAREAN SURGICAL SITE INFECTION AT RUTONGO DISTRICT HOSPITAL-RWANDA []


Post-Caesarean Surgical Site Infection (SSI) is among the most common complications after caesarean delivery (CD), with a prevalence rate of 3% to 15% in developed and developing countries respectively. The risk of developing infections post-CD is 5 to 20 times higher than that of vaginal delivery. SSI is greatly affecting the physical, psychological and economic status of the patient and her family. The study done by Nkurunziza et al (2016), showed that the prevalence of post-caesarean SSI at Kirehe district hospital-Rwanda was 10.9%. Therefore, little is known about the prevalence and the factors associated with post-caesarean SSI at district level including Rutongo district hospital-Rwanda. The overall objective of this study was to determine the factors associated with post-caesarean SSI at Rutongo district hospital. The targeted population was 2016 files of women who underwent CD at Rutongo district hospital from 2017-2021. It was a quantitative retrospective study. The data has been collected using an adapted study checklist and analysed in SPSS 22. The descriptive statistics with frequencies and Logistic Regression were used to determine the prevalence and the associated factors for post-caesarean SSI. All in all, the current study revealed that the prevalence of post-caesarean SSI for mothers who underwent CD from 2017 to 2021 was 5.6%. The factors associated with post-caesarean SSI at Rutongo DH were multiparity, socio-economic category I&II, antenatal care visits less than 4, history of anaemia on pregnancy, history of non-communicable diseases, history of infectious diseases, high body mass index, ASA class >3, use of traditional drugs, PROM, foetal distress, multiple digital vaginal exams>5, no preoperative body bathe, lower experience of surgeon, time of operation >60 minutes, interrupted suture, no preoperative antibiotics, no postoperative, emergency CD, intraoperative blood loss> 1000ml and transfusion, and postoperative hospital stay>3 days. There was no association between post-caesarean SSI with maternal age, occupation, referring health facility, previous uterine scar, arrested labor, skin preparation with iodine-chlorine solution, and type of incision. The researcher recommended that there is a need for prioritizing post-caesarean SSI prevention and control measures within the hospitals. It is important for public health sector to raise women’s awareness of factors associated with post-caesarean SSI and how they can be prevented.

Human Resource Management Practices and Employee performance in Rwanda: A case of Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International cooperation []


This research examined the influence of human resources management practices on employee performance with reference to employees of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation. The results revealed that human resource management practices affect employee performance in MINAFFET-Rwanda. A cross-sectional study was performed with data collected through a survey among 103 employees of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation. The Census method was used where all population was used as sample size. The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences SPSS version 22 was used to analyze the data. A Pearson coefficient correlation of 0.609 showed that there was a significant correlation between the reward system and employee performance. The correlation of 0.604 showed that there is a significant relationship between training and development and employee performance. A correlation of 0.648 showed that there is a significant relationship between recruitment and selection and employee performance. For training and development, the results showed the mean of 4.36 that employees who were well placed and skilled enough were in working. As part of recruitment and selection processes, the results showed the mean of 4.55 that institutions hired direct positions that communicated. The mean of 4.38 is that the ministry usually designed and planned in-service training and career development for ameliorating their capacity and competencies. For the rewarding system, the results showed the mean of 4.56 that the staff members were afforded, the mean of 3.75 that payment was sufficient, the mean of 3.91 that the ministry provided adequate benefices, and the mean of 4.71 that the ministry appreciated, and respected workers who were performing well. Specifically, the study determined the influence of recruitment on employee performance, identified the influence of training and development on employee performance in public institutions, and analyzed the impact of the reward system on employee performance. The researcher concluded that MINAFFET-Rwanda has effectively applied the human resource management practices that favor the indicators of on-duty performance and recommended that MINAFFET-Rwanda continue its good human resource management practices and improve where necessary to achieve highly effective Management practices to strengthen performance in the ministry and other institutions are strongly encouraged to adopt the human resources management practices that promote staff performance. Keywords: Human, Resource, Management, Practices, Employee, performance, Rwanda

DETERMINANTS OF HOUSEHOLD FOOD SECURITY IN ADDIS ABABA CITY ADMINISTRATION []


In recent years, the prevalence of undernourishment was 30 percent for sub-Saharan Africa, compared with 16 percent for Asia and the Pacific (Ali, 2011). In Ethiopia, almost 40 percent of the total population in the country and 57 percent of Addis Ababa population lives below the international poverty line of US$ 1.25 per day (UNICEF, 2009). This study aims to analyze the determinant of household food secrity in Addis Ababa city administration. Primary data were collected from a survey of 256 households in the selected sub-city, namely Addis Ketema, Arada, and Kolfe Keranio, in the year 2022. Both Purposive and multi-stage cluster random sampling procedures were employed to select study areas and respondents. Descriptive statistics and order logistic regression model were used to test the formulated hypotheses. The result reveals that out of the total sampled households, 25% them were food secured, 13% were mildly food insecure, 26% were moderately food insecure and 36% were severely food insecure. The study indicates that household family size, house ownership, household income, household food source, household asset possession, household awareness on inflation, household access to social protection program, household access to credit and saving and household access to training and supervision on food security have a positive and significant effect on the likelihood of household food security status. However, marital status of household head, employment sector of household head, dependency ratio and household’s nonfood expenditure has a negative and significant influence on household food security status. The study finally suggests that the government in collaboration with financial institutions and NGO should work on sustaining household food security by creating awareness, providing credit, facilitate rural-urban linkage between producer and consumer and work on urban infrastructure improvement. Moreover, the governments also work closely and monitor consumer good suppliers, if possible find a way to subsidize consumable goods to more insecure households and make them to be food secured. Last but not least, keeping this country’s peace will play a crucial role to sustain food security. Key word: Determinants, Household, Food Security, Order Logit Model, Addis Ababa

ANALYSIS OF ANTIMALARIALS []


Malaria is a life-threatening parasitic ailment that spreads by bites of mosquito predominantly- female anopheles mosquito. This malady is endemic chiefly in the regions that receive high rainfall such as tropical climates/ subtropical climates as hot and humid climates are propitious for the boom of mosquitoes. The Protozoan Specie blameworthy of spawning the disease is Plasmodium falciparum, Plasmodium malaraie, Plasmodium ovale and Plasmodium vivax. According to the WHO bulletin, approximate 214 million cases were reported in 2015 & 4,38,000 fatal cases accounts to this deadly disease (World Health Organization, Malaria Factsheet, 2016). Medicines prescribed treating malaria are known as Anti-Malarial Drugs. Substantial cases of poisoning have been recorded for over dosage and side effects consequent on administration of Anti- Malarial Drugs.