Aim: Globally, there were over 250 000 new HIV infections among adolescents in 2017, with a higher proportion of these in sub-Saharan Africa. In Cameroon, UNICEF estimated over 4 200 new HIV infect...

INTRODUCTION: There are controversies surrounding the practice of abortion especially in developing countries of Africa. Cameroon is not an exception to this and hence this study aims at assessing knowledge on the awareness of abortion laws, the factors that determine abortion and people?s perceptions on the legality of abortion in Cameroon. METHODS: The study is cross-sectional in its design. A total of 224 women were randomly sampled. Data for the study were collected through the use of questionnaires from the sampled women of child bearing age. These were used to assess knowledge on the awareness of abortion laws and the determinants of abortion. The data were analysed using STATA 15. RESULTS: The prevalence of induced abortion was 21%. The major determinants of abortion among these women were; desire to stay in school (28%), fear of parents (24%) and shame of being pregnant out of wedlock (26%). Furthermore, many women are not aware of the situations where abortion is allowed and hence some still undertake illegal abortions even when they find themselves in situations deserving a legal abortion. CONCLUSION: Induced abortion is still common in Buea, Cameroon despite the fact that it is illegal. Cameroon?s legal and health system needs to work in harmony in order to lessen the legal processes of having a legal abortion.

Introduction: adherence to ARV medications has been shown to improve treatment outcomes in HIV positive patients. Given that ARV treatment is lifelong, adherence has become a critical issue as it may reduce over time. Measuring adherence is therefore imperative in programming. There are different methods of measuring adherence each with its advantages and disadvantages, depending on the context and the time. This study therefore compares two widely used adherence measurement scales in Cameroon, namely, the self report and the medication possession ration (MPR) methods. Methods: the study was done in some selected health facilities of the North West and South West regions of Cameroon among adolescents on ARV. The study was designed as an analytical cross-sectional study with a record review component and systematic random sampling was used to select the participants. Adherence was measured through self-report and the medication possession ratio. Adolescents with adherence levels of at least 95% were considered adherent. Viral load suppression was considered as having the most recent viral load suppression results of less than 1000 copies per ml. The kappa statistics of inter-rate agreement was used to ascertain the difference between adherence as measured by self-report and MPR. The difference in adherence between the two scales was also compared using Fischer acute accent s exact test and p-values were reported. Results: the study shows that adherence level using the self-report technique is 82.9% while that of MPR was 73.4%. When compared using the using Kappa statistics, there was substantial agreement between the two scales of 66% (p=0.54). The results of both self-report adherence and MPR were also compared with viral load suppression and the difference between viral load suppression and MPR was significant (p<0.01). The difference in adherence between viral load suppression and the self-report measure also showed to be significant (p<0.01). Conclusion: adherence from the self-report measure was higher than from MPR, but there was substantial agreement between the scales. Although there is no gold standard for adherence measurement, self-report or medication possession ratio could be used and complemented with laboratory markers like viral load counts.

ObjectiveAdherence to ARV medications has been shown to improve treatment outcomes in HIV positive patients. Given that ARV treatment is lifelong, adherence has become a critical issue as it may reduce over time. Measuring adherence is therefore imperative in programming. There are different methods of measuring adherence each with its advantages and disadvantages, depending on the context and the time. This study therefore compares two widely used adherence measurement scales in Cameroon, namely, the self-report and the Medication Possession Ration (MPR) methods.ResultsThe study shows that adherence level using the self-report technique is 82.9% while that of MPR was 73.4%. When compared using the using Kappa statistics, there was substantial agreement between the two scales of 66% (p=0.54). The results of both self-report adherence and MPR were also compared with viral load suppression and the difference between viral load suppression and MPR was significant (p<0.01). The difference in adherence between viral load suppression and the self-report measure also showed to be significant (p<0.01).

Introduction: tuberculosis (TB) remains a major public health challenge globally, with sub-Saharan Africa bearing a disproportionate burden, and control efforts in the North-West Region of Cameroon have been severely disrupted by prolonged socio-political instability. The objective of this study aimed to assess tuberculosis knowledge, describe health-seeking behavior, and identify predictors of treatment adherence among tuberculosis patients receiving treatment in the North-West Region of Cameroon. Methods: a facility-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 274 adult TB patients receiving treatment in eight high-volume diagnostic and treatment centres in the North-West Region between March 2024 and March 2025. Data was collected using a semi-structured questionnaire covering sociodemographic characteristics, tuberculosis knowledge, health-seeking behaviour, treatment adherence, and patient experiences during treatment. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize the data. Associations between variables and treatment adherence were examined using chi-square tests, while multivariable logistic regression was used to identify independent predictors of adherence. Results: overall, 48.4% of respondents demonstrated adequate knowledge of tuberculosis. Male gender (p<0.001) and higher education level (p=0.003) were significantly associated with better TB knowledge. Prior to seeking formal care, 88% of participants reported self-medication. Treatment adherence was reported by 70.1% of participants. Secondary education (AOR = 2.03; 95% CI: 1.08-3.84; p=0.028) and employment status (AOR = 1.78; 95% CI: 1.04-3.03; p=0.035) were identified as independent predictors of adherence. Drug shortages, difficulties accessing treatment centres, and financial constraints were commonly reported barriers to adherence. Conclusion: tuberculosis knowledge among patients in the North-West Region of Cameroon remains suboptimal, and treatment adherence is influenced by socioeconomic and health system barriers. Strengthening patient education and ensuring uninterrupted access to treatment are critical for improving TB control in conflict-affected settings.

Objective Adherence to ARV medications has been shown to improve treatment outcomes in HIV positive patients. Given that treatment to ARV is lifelong, adherence has become a critical issue as it may reduce over time. Measuring adherence is therefore imperative in programming. There are different methods of measuring adherence with advantages and disadvantages depending on the context and the time. This study therefore compares two adherence measurement scales; Medication Possession Ration (MPR) and self-report adherence in Cameroon.Results The self-report adherence was 82.9% while adherence from the MPR was 73.4%. The two measures were compared using kappa statistics. There was substantial agreement between the two scales of 66% (p=0.54). The results of both self-report adherence and MPR were also compared with viral load suppression and the difference between viral load suppression and MPR was significant (p<0.01). The difference in adherence between viral load suppression and the self-report measure was also shown to be significant (p<0.01).