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At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2002

Culturally competent care: emphasis on understanding the people of Afghanistan, Afghanistan Americans, and Islamic culture and religion.

Since the attacks in New York and Washington, DC, in September 2001, increased racial and religious animosity has left Arabs, other Middle Easterners, Muslims, and those who bear physical resemblance to members of these groups, fearful. This article provides information about the people of Afghanistan, Afghanistan Americans, and Islamic culture and religion, which can greatly assist the nurse who is confronted with persons from diverse cultures during the provision of care. The Giger & Davidhizar Transcultural Assessment Model was first published in the International Nursing Review in 1990. This model is now used worldwide and provides an assessment model to assist in understanding cultural phenomena and individuals from different cultures.

Afghanistan↗
PubMed2002

Competitive nodulation blocking of cv. Afghanistan pea is related to high levels of nodulation factors made by some strains of Rhizobium leguminosarum bv. viciae.

Cultivar Afghanistan peas are resistant to nodulation by many strains of Rhizobium leguminosarum bv. viciae but are nodulated by strain TOM, which carries the host specificity gene nodX. Some strains that lack nodX can inhibit nodulation of cv. Afghanistan by strain TOM. We present evidence that this "competitive nodulation-blocking" (Cnb) phenotype may result from high levels of Nod factors inhibiting nodulation of cv. Afghanistan peas. The TOM nod gene region (including nodX) is cloned on pIJ1095, and strains (including TOM itself) carrying pIJ1095 nodulate cv. Afghanistan peas very poorly but can nodulate other varieties normally. The presence of pIJ1095, which causes increased levels of Nod factor production, correlates with Cnb. Nodulation of cv. Afghanistan by TOM is also inhibited by a cloned nodD gene that increases nod gene expression and Nod factor production. Nodulation of cv. Afghanistan can be stimulated if nodD on pIJ1095 is mutated, thus severely reducing the level of Nod factor produced. Repression of nod gene expression by nolR eliminates the Cnb phenotype and can stimulate nodulation of cv. Afghanistan. Addition of Nod factors to cv. Afghanistan roots strongly inhibits nodulation. The Cnb+ strains and added Nod factors inhibit infection thread initiation by strain TOM. The sym2A allele determines resistance of cv. Afghanistan to nodulation by strains of R. leguminosarum bv. viciae lacking nodX. We tested whether sym2A is involved in Cnb by using a pea line carrying the sym2A region introgressed from cv. Afghanistan; nodulation in the introgressed line was inhibited by Cnb+ strains. Therefore, the sym2A region has an effect on Cnb, although another locus (or loci) may contribute to the stronger Cnb seen in cv. Afghanistan.

Bacterial Proteins↗
PubMed2001

Malnutrition and mortality in Kohistan District, Afghanistan, April 2001.

CONTEXT: The humanitarian situation in Afghanistan has been deteriorating for more than 3 years because of civil war and severe drought. Because of recent events, the international community is predicting a severe worsening of the country's current situation. OBJECTIVE: To assess the magnitude and causes of mortality and prevalence of malnutrition in Kohistan district, Faryab province, Afghanistan. DESIGN: Two-stage, 30-cluster household survey conducted April 4 through 10, 2001, which included anthropometric measurements, assessment of food coping mechanisms, and retrospective mortality data collection for November 26, 2000, through April 4, 2001. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: A total of 378 households comprising 3165 people living in Kohistan district, Faryab province, Afghanistan. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Crude mortality rate, mortality rate among children younger than 5 years, causes of death, prevalence of wasting and stunting among children aged 6 to 59 months (weight-for-height and height-for-age z scores <-2, respectively), and food coping mechanisms. RESULTS: The crude mortality rate among the 3165 persons surveyed during the period of interest was 2.6 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.7-3.5) per 10 000 per day and the mortality rate among 763 children younger than 5 years was 5.9 (95% CI, 2.0-8.8) per 10 000 per day. Diarrhea (25.0%), respiratory tract infections (19.4%), measles (15.7%), and scurvy (6.5%) caused most of the 108 deaths. The prevalences of wasting and stunting among 708 children aged 6 to 59 months were 7.0% (95% CI, 5.9%-9.0%) and 63.7% (95% CI, 58.6%-68.8%), respectively. Evidence of late-stage food coping mechanisms and prefamine indicators existed among the population. CONCLUSIONS: These data indicate that, by April 2001, a humanitarian crisis already existed in Kohistan. Essential humanitarian services, including food aid and public health programs, are urgently required in such regions of Afghanistan and will be crucial if a worsening humanitarian crisis is to be avoided. For these services and programs to be implemented, the international community needs to create adequate humanitarian space (ie, a secure and accessible location where humanitarian organizations can provide services to emergency-affected populations) to ensure that humanitarian organizations have access to populations within Afghanistan as well as to refugees who flee to surrounding countries.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2004

Combat duty in Iraq and Afghanistan, mental health problems, and barriers to care.

BACKGROUND: The current combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan have involved U.S. military personnel in major ground combat and hazardous security duty. Studies are needed to systematically assess the mental health of members of the armed services who have participated in these operations and to inform policy with regard to the optimal delivery of mental health care to returning veterans. METHODS: We studied members of four U.S. combat infantry units (three Army units and one Marine Corps unit) using an anonymous survey that was administered to the subjects either before their deployment to Iraq (n=2530) or three to four months after their return from combat duty in Iraq or Afghanistan (n=3671). The outcomes included major depression, generalized anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which were evaluated on the basis of standardized, self-administered screening instruments. RESULTS: Exposure to combat was significantly greater among those who were deployed to Iraq than among those deployed to Afghanistan. The percentage of study subjects whose responses met the screening criteria for major depression, generalized anxiety, or PTSD was significantly higher after duty in Iraq (15.6 to 17.1 percent) than after duty in Afghanistan (11.2 percent) or before deployment to Iraq (9.3 percent); the largest difference was in the rate of PTSD. Of those whose responses were positive for a mental disorder, only 23 to 40 percent sought mental health care. Those whose responses were positive for a mental disorder were twice as likely as those whose responses were negative to report concern about possible stigmatization and other barriers to seeking mental health care. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides an initial look at the mental health of members of the Army and the Marine Corps who were involved in combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Our findings indicate that among the study groups there was a significant risk of mental health problems and that the subjects reported important barriers to receiving mental health services, particularly the perception of stigma among those most in need of such care.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2006

Literature review: Afghanistan women's health crisis, health service delivery, and ethical issues for international aid.

The literature indicates that the health of women in Afghanistan is poor. In 1997 maternal mortality in Afghanistan was one of the worst in the world. Difficulties in establishing health services revolve around fundamentalist Islamic ideas and ongoing violence within Afghanistan. The literature holds advice on key behaviours for health professionals who may chose to work in Afghanistan. The literature also identifies the local level action that is occurring as the issue of women's health is recognised. Humanitarian assistance has been provided, with international aid agencies having to weigh the ethical responsibilities they hold and one agency tragically facing the violent loss of its own staff. Easy answers are not in the literature, merely an opportunity to understand, consider, and take action about what is facing women in Afghanistan and those who try to help.

Afghanistan↗
PubMedDate not supplied

A population-based assessment of women's mental health and attitudes toward women's human rights in Afghanistan.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the health status of Afghan women and attitudes of these women and their male relatives during the period of Taliban rule toward women's rights and community development needs in Afghanistan. METHODS: In household residences in two regions in Afghanistan (one Taliban controlled and the other not under the Taliban) and a refugee camp and repatriation center in Pakistan, structured interviews were conducted among a random sample of women and men exposed to Taliban policy and women living in a non-Taliban controlled area (724 Afghan women and 553 male relatives). RESULTS: Major depression was far more prevalent among women exposed to Taliban policies (73%-78%) than among women living in a non-Taliban controlled area (28%). Sixty-five percent of women living in a Taliban-controlled area and 73% of women in Pakistan exposed to Taliban policies expressed suicidal ideation at the time of the study, compared with 18% of those in a non-Taliban controlled area. More than 90% of both women and men expressed support for equal work and educational opportunities, free expression, protection of women's rights, participation of women in government, and the inclusion of women's human rights concerns in peace talks. A majority of both women and men believed that guaranteeing civil and political rights (69%) and meeting basic needs (90%) were important for the health and development of their communities. CONCLUSIONS: In Afghanistan under the Taliban, policies restricting women's rights were not the product of years of tradition or of social and economic deprivation. Instead, they were man-made policies as easily and swiftly revoked as they were instituted. Depression rates among women in Afghanistan, especially in Taliban-controlled areas, were extraordinarily high. Current efforts to rebuild Afghanistan must address these high rates of depression and other mental health problems to ensure women's full participation in development.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Drug abuse in Afghanistan.

1. The two major drugs abused in Afghanistan are hashish and opium. Opium is either smoked or eaten. Hashish is only smoked. 2. Solitary abuse of one single drug, either hashish or opium, is the common feature of drug abuse in Afghanistan. 3. Abuse of other patent drugs as well as multiple drug abuse by the same individual, increasingly common elsewhere, is quite rare. 4. Self-treatment is a major cause of drug abuse in Afghanistan while escape from boredom and lack of work and motivation is another. 5. Hashish as well as opium is commonly abused by people of a low socioeconomical standard. 6. Alcohol, a more recent introduction by the upper class, is becoming popular among city dwellers with major risks involved for the future. 7. Drug abuse in Afghanistan has so far not created problems comparable to those in the West, although there is no guarantee that in future it will not do so. Coercive measures aimed at depriving an individual of his drug of choice may involve the greater risk of drug substitution which will then be an even more difficult problem to manage. 8. Factors involved in prevention as well as cure of the drug-dependent population in Afghanistan have been discussed.

Afghanistan↗
PubMed1988

Identification of nodX, a gene that allows Rhizobium leguminosarum biovar viciae strain TOM to nodulate Afghanistan peas.

Gene(s) conferring the ability of Rhizobium leguminosarum biovar viciae strain TOM to nodulate primitive peas (cultivar Afghanistan) had been located in a 2.0 kb region of its sym plasmid, pRL5JI. In this DNA, a single open reading frame of 1101 bp, corresponding to a gene, nodX was found. nodX is downstream of nodJ which is present in strain TOM and also in the sym plasmid of a typical strain of this biovar. nodX specifies a hydrophobic protein (of Mr 41,036) with no clear similarity to other proteins in data bases. Mutations in nodX abolished nodulation of Afghanistan peas but not nodulation of commercial peas. nodX-lacZ fusions were used to show that transcription of nodX was activated by root exudates from both commercial and Afghanistan peas and by defined flavonoids. Exudate from Afghanistan peas activated nod genes of typical strains of R. leguminosarum biovar viciae which fail to nodulate these peas; thus, their failure to nodulate these primitive peas is not due to a lack of activation of their nod genes by exudate from Afghanistan peas. A homologue of nodX exists in R. leguminosarum biovar trifolii (which nodulates clover) but not in typical strains of R. leguminosarum biovar viciae.

Base Sequence↗
PubMed2002

Maternal mortality in Herat Province, Afghanistan, in 2002: an indicator of women's human rights.

CONTEXT: Maternal mortality rates in Afghanistan are estimated to be high. OBJECTIVE: To assess maternal mortality and human rights issues in Herat, Afghanistan. DESIGN AND SETTING: Cross-sectional survey of 4886 Afghan women living in 7 districts in Afghanistan's Herat Province, which included 34 urban and rural villages/towns. Using structured interviews/questionnaires, these women also provided maternal mortality information on 14 085 sisters in March 2002. A survey of health facilities in the 7 districts was also conducted. PARTICIPANTS: Mean (SE) age of the respondents was 31 (0.23) years (range, 15-49 years). The majority had received 0.35 (0.11) years of formal education and 4233 (88%) were married (mean [SE] age at marriage, 15 [0.3] years; range, 5-39 years). The mean (SE) number of pregnancies was 5.0 (0.08) and live births was 4.6 (0.2). RESULTS: There were 276 maternal deaths among 14 085 sisters of the survey respondents (593 maternal deaths/100 000 live births per year; 95% confidence interval [CI], 557-630). Of the 276 deaths, 254 (92%) were reported from rural areas. The respondents reported the following primary problems: lack of food (41%), shelter (18%), and clean water (14%). Of 4721 respondents, 4008 (85%) wanted to get married at the time of their wedding, but 957 (20%) felt family pressure. Of 4703 women, 4117 (87%) had to obtain permission from their husband or male relative to seek health care; only 1% (54/3946) reported not being permitted to obtain prenatal care. Of 4881 women, 597 (12%) used birth control, but 23% (1013/4294) wanted to use birth control. Of 4306 women, 3189 (74%) reported that decisions about the number and spacing of children were made by husband and wife equally. Of 4637 respondents, 519 (11%) reported receiving prenatal care. Of 4624 women, 40 (0.9%) reported a trained health care worker was present at birth; 97% (4475/4612) had untrained traditional birth attendants. Only 17 of 27 listed health facilities were functional and only 5 provided essential obstetric care. Only 35 physicians served a population of 793 214. CONCLUSIONS: Women in most of Herat Province, Afghanistan, have a high risk of maternal mortality. Human rights factors may contribute to preventable maternal deaths in the region.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2006

Development knowledge and experience--from Bangladesh to Afghanistan and beyond.

PROBLEM: In Afghanistan the challenges of development are daunting, mainly as a result of many years of conflict. The formation of a new government in 2001 paved the way for new initiatives from within and outside the country. BRAC (formerly Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee), a Bangladeshi nongovernmental organization with a long history of successful work, extended its development model to Afghanistan in 2002. LOCAL SETTING: Provincial Afghanistan. APPROACH: BRAC has implemented programmes in Afghanistan in the areas of health, education, microfinance, women's empowerment, agriculture, capacity development and local government strengthening, and has taken many of these programmes to scale. RELEVANT CHANGES: With a total staff of over 3000 (94% Afghan and the rest Bangladeshis), BRAC now works in 21 of the country's 34 provinces. BRAC runs 629 non-formal primary schools with 18 155 students, mostly girls. In health, BRAC has trained 3589 community workers who work at the village level in preventive and curative care. BRAC runs the largest microfinance programme in the country with 97 130 borrowers who cumulatively borrowed over US$ 28 million with a repayment rate of 98%. LESSONS LEARNED: Initial research indicates significant improvement in access to health care. Over three years, much has been achieved and learned. This paper summarizes these experiences and concludes that collaboration between developing countries can work, with fine-tuning to suit local contexts and traditions.

Afghanistan↗
PubMed2002

Burden of tuberculosis in Afghanistan: update on a war-stricken country.

AIM: To review Afghans Tuberculosis (TB) Control Program and assesses the impact of disruption induced by the war in Afghanistan. METHODS: National TB control program of Afghanistan was reviewed in terms of its milestones, achievement parameters, and potential barriers. Information and data were collected by review visits to the Ministry of Health and health facility survey of non-governmental organizations working for TB control in Afghanistan. Local and international literature was consulted. RESULTS: Mortality and morbidity figures due to tuberculosis remained alarmingly high in the last two decades, especially among women. Current estimates show that the incidence of active TB cases is 278 per 100,000 and mortality mounts to 15,000 cases per year. The epidemiological profile reflecting the situation of Afghans inside and outside the country is extremely deplorable. The situation has worsened due to the cessation of TB control activities during the war. Compliance of patients and access to the treatment has become very difficult in an emergency situation. Similarly, an increasing number of TB cases among Afghans refugees in Pakistan have also been observed. Overcrowded refugee camps and lack of treatment facilities increases manyfold the risk of further transmission. CONCLUSION: TB is a major public health threat inside and outside war-stricken Afghanistan. TB control activities need prompt attention of health authorities in reestablishing TB control network. World Health Organization's guidelines and nationwide Directly Observed Treatment Short Course strategy should be adopted and sufficient resources allocated. It is vital to build a peaceful environment with a viable and durable alliance of local and international donors in the fight against TB.

Adult↗
PubMed1979

Some causes of blindness seen at Noor Eye Institute, Afghanistan.

This is a survey of the causes of blindness recorded by three students of The City University during a six-week stay at NOOR Eye Institute in Kabul, Afghanistan. The nature of the sample used makes it unsuitable for direct comparison with surveys from other countries. Nevertheless, broad conclusions can be drawn. Severe eye disease is a considerable problem in Afghanistan, in common with other developing countries. The survey included all new patients seen in the outpatient clinic, blind to the extent of being unable to count fingers at more than three metres, in one eye or both. The sample of patients was examined by an ophthalmologist working with our team. A diagnosis was made and various social and demographic questions were asked with the help of an interpreter. In all, 473 patients were examined and included in our survey sample, a very high proportion of the new patients attending the clinic (40.46 per cent). The main causes of blindness were found to be cataract (31.12 per cent), corneal scarring (19.8 per cent), chorioretinal degenerations (6.79 per cent), glaucoma (6.65 per cent) and aphakia (5.52 per cent). Of the major causes of blindness, about forty per cent of the cases were considered remediable, and about thirty per cent could have been prevented. An outstanding difference between the causes of blindness in developed nations and those seen in Afghanistan was the amount of blindness caused by infection, especially in the younger age groups (up to 30 years). Cataract is a major cause of blindness in the older age groups of both societies. People suffering from ocular disease in Afghanistan wait until their sight is badly impaired or lost completely before seeking treatment. This results from a lack of knowledge of what could be done to conserve sight, the irreversible nature of many eye diseases, the distances involved in travelling to the clinic, and even a lack of knowledge of its existence.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1993

Importation of malaria into the USSR from Afghanistan, 1981-89.

Between 1981 and 1989, a total of 7683 cases of Plasmodium vivax [corrected] malaria were imported into the USSR from Afghanistan, mainly by demobilized military personnel. For 23.8% of these cases the clinical manifestations appeared within a month of returning to the USSR, for 22.5% after 1-3 months, for 20% after 4-6 months, for 2% after > 1 year, and for 0.6% after > 2 years. For 13 patients the clinical manifestations of malaria appeared 3 years after returning from Afghanistan (up to 38 months). Nearly 69% of the patients did not take malaria prophylaxis at all while they were in Afghanistan, and 19% took chloroquine irregularly. Only 12.5% of the patients received a full course of prophylactic treatment with primaquine before leaving Afghanistan. A total of 56% of the cases were detected during the period most favourable for malaria transmission in the USSR (May-September) and of these, half were imported into formerly malarious areas of the country. Activation of a surveillance system greatly reduced the consequences of the massive importation of malaria, to which the local vectors were susceptible.

Afghanistan↗
PubMed2005

Drug use and harm reduction in Afghanistan.

Opium has been cultivated in Afghanistan since 1100 A.D., although production has steadily increased since 1979. Currently, Afghanistan produces three-quarters of the global opium supply, with injection drug use and HIV currently following the opium trade route through Central Asia. Although systematic studies are lacking, heroin use appears to be on the rise in Afghanistan. The purpose of this paper is to briefly provide historical background and current statistics for drug production and use in Afghanistan, to discuss the new government's policies towards problem drug use and available rehabilitation programs, and to assess Afghan harm reduction needs with consideration of regional trends.

Journal Article↗