Schistosomiasis remains a global health problem with an estimated 250 million people in 78 countries infected, of whom 85% live in Sub-Saharan Africa. Preventive chemotherapy remains the key public health strategy to combat schistosomiasis worldwide. Recently the WHO emphasized on the use of integrative approaches in the control and elimination of schistosomiasis. However, a detailed understanding of sociocultural factors that may influence the uptake of the intended health activities and services is vital. Thus, our study sought to understand the knowledge, attitudes, perceptions, beliefs and practices about schistosomiasis in various communities in Sub-Saharan Africa. A systematic search of literature for the period 2006–2016 was done on Medline, PubMed, CINAHL, Psych info and Google Scholar using the following key words “Schistosomiasis, S. mansoni, S. haematobium, knowledge, attitudes, perceptions, beliefs and practices in Sub-Saharan Africa” in combination with Bolean operators (OR, AND). In this context, we reviewed studies conducted among school children, community members and caregivers of preschool children. Thematic analysis was utilised for the overall synthesis of the selected studies. This was done after reading the articles in depth. Themes were identified and examined for similarities, differences and contradictions. Gaps in schistosomiasis related knowledge and sociocultural barriers towards the uptake of preventive and treatment services among communities in Sub-Saharan Africa were identified. In addition to limited knowledge and negative attitudes, risky water related practices among community members, school children and caregivers of preschool children were identified as key factors promoting transmission of the disease. The study concluded that a comprehensive health education programme using contextual and standardised training tools may improve peoples’ knowledge, attitudes and practices in relation to schistosomiasis prevention and control. Findings also highlight the significance of including caregivers in the planning and implementation schistosomiasis control programs targeting pre-school children.

Globally, most young people living with mental health conditions lack access to mental health care but have access to a mobile device. The growing access to mobile devices in South Africa has the potential to increase access to mental health care services through digital platforms. However, uptake of digital mental health interventions may be hampered by several factors, such as privacy, confidentiality, informed consent, and affordability. This study identified the prospects and challenges of implementing a mobile phone-based mental health intervention for young people in Ingwavuma area. Data were collected from 93 young people in three villages purposefully selected in Ingwavuma area. Participants included in the study were aged 16–24. Data were collected through a questionnaire. Thematic and descriptive analysis was performed on the qualitative and quantitative data, respectively. Mental health education was low, with only 22% of participants having received prior education on mental health. About 50% of the participants had come across a mental health app, but none of them had used any of these apps; 87% of participants had Internet access; 60% preferred to use social media to contact a health worker; and 92% suggested that use of digital apps would improve mental health literacy among young people. Barriers to access of digital mental health interventions were identified as the high cost of data, restrictive religious beliefs, limited privacy, lack of native languages on most digital platforms, low digital literacy, and complicated user interface. In uMkhanyakude, uptake of digital mental health apps among the young people was low. We recommend that, developers create context-specific digital applications catered for young people from different cultural backgrounds. Socio-economic issues such as affordability also need to be addressed in developing these tools.

Occupational hazards, injuries and diseases are a major concern among police officers, including in Sub-Saharan Africa. However, there is limited locally relevant literature for guiding policy for the South African Police Service (SAPS). The purpose of this review was to describe the occupational hazards, injuries and diseases affecting police officers worldwide, in order to benchmark policy implications for the SAPS. We conducted a systematic review of studies using Google Scholar, PubMed and Scopus. A total of 36 studies were included in this review. Six revealed that police officers’ exposure to accident hazards may lead to acute or chronic injuries such as sprains, fractures or even fatalities. These hazards may occur during driving, patrol or riot control. There were two studies, which confirmed physical hazards such as noise induced hearing loss (NIHL), due to exposure to high levels of noise. Three studies on chemical hazards revealed that exposure to high concentrations of carbon dioxide and general air pollution was associated with cancer, while physical exposure to other chemical substances was linked to dermatitis. Four studies on biological hazards demonstrated potential exposure to blood borne diseases from needle stick injuries (NSIs) or cuts from contaminated objects. One study on ergonomic hazards showed that musculoskeletal disorders can result from driving long distances and lifting heavy objects. There were 15 studies that indicated psychological hazards such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as well as stress. Moreover, four studies were conducted on organizational hazards including burnout, negative workplace exposure and other factors. This review outlined the global impact of occupational hazards, injuries and diseases in the police force. It served as a benchmark for understanding the policy implications for South Africa, where there is paucity of studies on occupational health and safety.

Schistosomiasis is a snail-borne disease endemic in sub-Saharan Africa transmitted by freshwater snails. The distribution of schistosomiasis coincides with that of the intermediate hosts as determined by climatic and environmental factors. The aim of this paper was to model the spatial and seasonal distribution of suitable habitats for Bulinus globosus and Biomphalaria pfeifferi snail species (intermediate hosts for Schistosoma haematobium and Schistosoma mansoni, respectively) in the Ndumo area of uMkhanyakude district, South Africa. Maximum Entropy (Maxent) modelling technique was used to predict the distribution of suitable habitats for B. globosus and B. pfeifferi using presence-only datasets with ≥ 5 and ≤ 12 sampling points in different seasons. Precipitation, maximum and minimum temperatures, Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Normalised Difference Water Index (NDWI), pH, slope and Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI) were the background variables in the Maxent models. The models were validated using the area under the curve (AUC) and omission rate. The predicted suitable habitats for intermediate snail hosts varied with seasons. The AUC for models in all seasons ranged from 0.71 to 1 and the prediction rates were between 0.8 and 0.9. Although B. globosus was found at more localities in the Ndumo area, there was also evidence of cohabiting with B. pfiefferi at some of the locations. NDWI had significant contribution to the models in all seasons. The Maxent model is robust in snail habitat suitability modelling even with small dataset of presence-only sampling sites. Application of the methods and design used in this study may be useful in developing a control and management programme for schistosomiasis in the Ndumo area.

Malaria is a public health problem in Zimbabwe. Although many studies have indicated that climate change may influence the distribution of malaria, there is paucity of information on its trends and association with climatic variables in Zimbabwe. To address this shortfall, the trends of malaria incidence and its interaction with climatic variables in rural Gwanda, Zimbabwe for the period January 2005 to April 2015 was assessed. Retrospective data analysis of reported cases of malaria in three selected Gwanda district rural wards (Buvuma, Ntalale and Selonga) was carried out. Data on malaria cases was collected from the district health information system and ward clinics while data on precipitation and temperature were obtained from the climate hazards group infrared precipitation with station data (CHIRPS) database and the moderate resolution imaging spectro-radiometer (MODIS) satellite data, respectively. Distributed lag non-linear models (DLNLM) were used to determine the temporal lagged association between monthly malaria incidence and monthly climatic variables. There were 246 confirmed malaria cases in the three wards with a mean incidence of 0.16/1000 population/month. The majority of malaria cases (95%) occurred in the > 5 years age category. The results showed no correlation between trends of clinical malaria (unconfirmed) and confirmed malaria cases in all the three study wards. There was a significant association between malaria incidence and the climatic variables in Buvuma and Selonga wards at specific lag periods. In Ntalale ward, only precipitation (1- and 3-month lag) and mean temperature (1- and 2-month lag) were significantly associated with incidence at specific lag periods (p < 0.05). DLNM results suggest a key risk period in current month, based on key climatic conditions in the 1–4 month period prior. As the period of high malaria risk is associated with precipitation and temperature at 1–4 month prior in a seasonal cycle, intensifying malaria control activities over this period will likely contribute to lowering the seasonal malaria incidence.

Climate change has been predicted to increase the global mean temperature and to alter the ecological interactions among organisms. These changes may play critical roles in influencing the life history traits of the intermediate hosts (IHs). This review focused on studies and disease models that evaluate the potential effect of temperature rise on the ecology of IH snails and the development of parasites within them. The main focus was on IH snails of schistosome parasites that cause schistosomiasis in humans. A literature search was conducted on Google Scholar, EBSCOhost and PubMed databases using predefined medical subject heading terms, Boolean operators and truncation symbols in combinations with direct key words. The final synthesis included nineteen published articles. The studies reviewed indicated that temperature rise may alter the distribution, optimal conditions for breeding, growth and survival of IH snails which may eventually increase the spread and/or transmission of schistosomiasis. The literature also confirmed that the life history traits of IH snails and their interaction with the schistosome parasites are affected by temperature and hence a change in climate may have profound outcomes on the population size of snails, parasite density and disease epidemiology. We concluded that understanding the impact of temperature on the growth, fecundity and survival of IH snails may broaden the knowledge on the possible effects of climate change and hence inform schistosomiasis control programmes.