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Biomedical subjects

Masamine Jimba

Publications and source records attributed to Masamine Jimba.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

AIDS health beliefs and intention for sexual abstinence among male adolescent students in Kathmandu, Nepal: a test of perceived severity and susceptibility.

OBJECTIVES: In Nepal, male adolescent students are at high risk for infection with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) because of their risky sexual behaviours. This study examined whether two subscales of the Health Belief Model (HBM), perceived severity and perceived susceptibility, are associated with abstinence intention among Nepalese male adolescent students for HIV/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) prevention. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: A school-based study was conducted at a single school located in central Kathmandu from July to August 2002. Participants included 183 male students in Grades 9-12 aged 14-19 years. Anonymous self-reported questionnaires were used, and Zagumny's AIDS Health Belief Scale was adopted as a measure of perceived severity and perceived susceptibility. RESULTS: Over half of the students (53%) strongly agreed with abstinence intention. Students with higher levels of perceived severity strongly agreed with abstinence intention [crude odds ratio 1.86, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.02-3.38; adjusted odds ratio 1.94, 95% CI 1.05-3.58], but those with higher levels of perceived susceptibility did not. Moreover, age-stratified analysis showed that a high level of perceived susceptibility tended to decrease strong abstinence intention among students aged 16-19 years. CONCLUSIONS: Perceived severity enhanced abstinence intention. The interpretations of perceived susceptibility need further examination through a longitudinal study among students aged 16-19 years. Furthermore, future research is needed to assess the effect of HIV/AIDS education on HIV/AIDS prevention strategies using perceived severity as a motivational tool to help persuade Nepalese male students to abstain from sexual intercourse.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed2006

Beyond deworming: the promotion of school-health-based interventions by Japan.

Deworming bestows a variety of health and socioeconomic benefits and has been embraced by developing countries. To extend the beneficial impact of deworming, the Asian Centre of International Parasite Control (ACIPAC) project has carried out activities to link deworming with health-promoting school programs in the Greater Mekong Subregion (Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam). ACIPAC has also conducted an integrated school-health-based program, including deworming and malaria education, under the umbrella of the health-promoting schools initiative. Implementing "beyond-deworming" efforts is now a practical challenge in the subregion.

Animals↗
PubMed2006

Why do adult women in Vietnam take iron tablets?

BACKGROUND: Conducting iron supplementation programs has been a major strategy to reduce iron deficiency anemia in pregnancy. However, only a few countries have reported improvements in the anemia rate at a national level. The strategies used for control of nutrition problems need regular review to maintain and improve their effectiveness. The objective of this study was to analyze the factors in compliance with taking iron tablets, where daily doses of iron (60 mg) and folic acid (400 microg) were distributed in rural Vietnamese communes. METHODS: A cross sectional survey was conducted in Nghe An province, Vietnam in January, 2003. The study population was adult women aged less than 35 years who delivered babies between August 1st 2001 and December 1st 2002 (n = 205), of which 159 took part in the study. Data for the study were collected from a series of workshops with community leaders, focus group discussions with community members and a questionnaire survey. RESULTS: Improvements in the rate of anemia was not given a high priority as one of the commune's needs, but the participants still made efforts to continue taking iron tablets. Two major factors motivated the participants to continue taking iron tablets; their experience of fewer spells of dizziness (50%), and their concern for the health of their newborn baby (54%). When examining the reasons for taking iron tablets for at least 5-9 months, the most important factor was identified as 'a frequent supply of iron tablets' (OR = 11.93, 95% CI: 4.33-32.85). CONCLUSION: The study found that multiple poor environmental risk factors discouraged women from taking iron tablets continuously. The availability (frequent supply) of iron tablets was the most effective way to help adult women to continue taking iron tablets.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2006

Reaching hard-to-reach migrants by letters: an HIV/AIDS awareness programme in Nepal.

We assessed the impact of an HIV/AIDS programme for Nepalese migrants to India that involved writing letters. The programme created opportunities for sending HIV/AIDS-related messages to the migrants in India, and encouraging them practicing safer sex. Initially, they received the messages only from the programme, but later from their colleagues, spouses or other family members. They discussed the messages in groups, disseminated them, and sought more knowledge in their destinations. These findings indicated that using letters could be an effective way to reach inaccessible migrants at their destinations, and help them to improve their HIV/AIDS-related knowledge, and safer sex practices.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2006

Keys to success for a school-based malaria control program in primary schools in Thailand.

School-based malaria control has been recognized as a new approach for the control of this disease in the Greater Mekong Subregion since 2000. We evaluated a school-based malaria control program near the western border of Thailand using a before-after intervention study. The major intervention activities included teacher training with specialized malaria teaching materials and participatory learning methods. The target population was 17 school principals, 111 teachers and 852 schoolchildren of grade 3, 4, and 5 in 17 schools. After the intervention, the teachers taught about malaria more actively than before. The teachers who could design a lesson plan on malaria increased from 30.7% to 47.7% (p=0.015) and the teachers who had taught about malaria increased from 71.9% to 84.3% (p=0.035). As a result of the program, the schoolchildren changed their behavior positively towards malaria prevention with significant difference in 6 of 7 questions. For example, the schoolchildren 'who always took care of mosquito bites' increased from 42.7% to 62.1% (p<0.001) and the schoolchildren 'who always reported their parents or teachers when they had fever' increased from 36.0% to 56.0% (p<0.001). In conclusion, the keys to a successful intervention lie in good teaching materials and a participatory approach utilizing the well-established Thailand's school health system. Beyond Thailand, school-based malaria control could be applied to other Greater Mekong Subregion countries with careful analysis of school health context in each country.

Adult↗
PubMed2006

Targeting newly enrolled low-age school children for the control of the intestinal helminth infection in rural Nepal.

This study aims to identify an effective intervention group for the control of the intestinal helminth infection among school-age children in rural Nepal. We examined 1677 stool samples of school-age children from 25 schools and 1014 samples from 25 communities in rural Nepal. We used formalin-ether sedimentation technique for the microscopic examination of the stool samples and identified three major intestinal helminths: Ascariasis lumbricoides, hookworm and Trichuris trichiura. Our results revealed that the newly enrolled under-6-year-old children at the schools were more widely infected with at least one of the three major helminths than those in the communities (odds ratio [OR] 2.29). We detected a significant difference in the prevalence of A. lumbricoides (OR 1.70), hookworm (OR 2.57) and T.trichiura (OR 3.23) between under-6-year-old children at the schools and those at the communities. The study results suggest that an appropriate deworming programme is needed for the newly enrolled under-6-year-old children in the primary schools in Nepal.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2006

Emerging co-infection of HIV and hepatitis B virus in far western Nepal.

We detected a prevalence (11%) of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection among male adult villagers (n = 149) in far western Nepal where migration to India is common. Although only one migrant-returnee was infected with both HBV and HIV, co-infection may occur more frequently in future as the HIV prevalence is high (8%).

Adolescent↗
PubMed2006

Effects of a long-term volunteer surgical program in a developing country: the case in Vietnam from 1993 to 2003.

OBJECTIVE: This study evaluates the activities of the Japanese Cleft Palate Foundation from 1993 to 2003 in southern Vietnam. DESIGN: We assessed trends associated with patient age at first operation for primary lip repair and palate repair by using medical records of the patients. PARTICIPANTS: This study consisted of 790 patients with nonsyndromic cleft lip and/or palate (CL/P). RESULTS: The median patient age for lip repair was reduced from 14.0 years in 1993 to 1.3 years by 2003. For palate repair, the median age was reduced from 13.5 years in 1993 to 5.0 years in 1999 through 2003. The age distributions of both lip and palate repair in the later years became smaller than the age distributions in 1993. The number of adult patients declined throughout the period. CONCLUSIONS: The Japanese Cleft Palate Foundation contributed to lowering the age at first operation for CL/P and to reducing the number of adult patients in Ben Tre province, southern Vietnam. However, appropriate supports will be necessary to maintain CL/P treatment and to improve locally supported health care for patients with CL/P.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2006

Assessment of IDD problem by estimation of urinary iodine among school children.

Iodine deficiency disorder (IDD) is a major micronutrient deficiency problem in Nepal. Urinary iodine estimation has been the gold standard employed for the assessment of iodine status and of IDD. This study was conducted with objective to assess the urinary iodine among the school children of Kavre, Lalitpur and Parsa districts. Attempts were made to relate urinary iodine with salt use and other sociodemographic variables. Altogether 190 urine samples (74 samples from Kavre, 89 from Parsa and 27 from Lalitpur district) were collected from school children aged 5-13 years. The urinary iodine was analyzed by using urinary iodine assay kit (Bioclone Australia Pvt Limited). It was found that 3.2% children had urine iodine concentration below 20 microg/l. Similarly, the percentage of children with urine iodine concentration 21-50 microg/l, 51-99 microg/l, 100-299 microg/l and above 300 microg/l were 14.2%, 10.5%, 43.7% and 28.4% respectively. Iodine deficient population of school children was 39.2% of Kavre, 19.1% of Parsa and 25.9% of Lalitpur. Overall, it was found that 27.9% children had urine iodine level less than the normal WHO levels. The median urine iodine level was 139.0 microg/l of Kavre, 266.7 microg/l of Parsa and 244.4 microg/l of Lalitpur school children. Urinary iodine excretion (UIE) median value among male students was 211.9 microg/l, among female students was 190.2 microg/l and the difference was statistically insignificant (P > 0.05). There was no significant correlation between consumed salt iodine level and urine iodine excretion level (P > 0.05). Short-term iodine supplementation programs should be arranged for iodine deficient children in the study districts. This study shows that IDD continues to be prevalent in the country as a major public health problem, which requires strengthening effective intervention program and other preventive measures.

Adolescent↗