Papers by Lumbani Tshotetsi
South African Medical Journal
Background. In Malawi, only 1 072 229 people out of a national target population of 13 546 324 ha... more Background. In Malawi, only 1 072 229 people out of a national target population of 13 546 324 had received at least one dose ofthe AstraZeneca COVID‑19 vaccine by 26 December 2021, and only 672 819 people were classified as fully vaccinated. PhalombeDistrict in Malawi had particularly low COVID‑19 vaccine uptake, with only 4% (n=8 538) of 225 219 people being fully vaccinated by26 December.Objectives. To explore reasons for vaccine hesitancy and refusal among people living in Phalombe District.Methods. This cross-sectional qualitative study employed six focus group discussions (FGDs) and 19 in-depth interviews (IDIs) to collect data. We purposefully selected two traditional authorities (TAs), Nazombe and Nkhumba, as study areas, and conducted FGDs and IDIs in 6 randomly selected villages in these two TAs. Participants were religious leaders, traditional leaders, youths, traditional healers and ordinary community members. We explored reasons for vaccine refusal and hesitancy, how co...
<p>Description of 1073 mothers who delivered at four Tshwane hospitals in 2014.</p
<p>Comparison of means for continuous variables for 1073 mothers who delivered in four Tshw... more <p>Comparison of means for continuous variables for 1073 mothers who delivered in four Tshwane hospitals, Gauteng, South Africa in 2014.</p
<p>Crude odds ratios for low birthweight by prenatal Factors for 1073 mothers who delivered... more <p>Crude odds ratios for low birthweight by prenatal Factors for 1073 mothers who delivered in four Tshwane hospitals, Gauteng, South Africa, 2014.</p
<p>Crude odds ratios for low birthweight by socio-demographic characteristics for 1073 moth... more <p>Crude odds ratios for low birthweight by socio-demographic characteristics for 1073 mothers delivering in four Tshwane hospitals, Gauteng, South Africa in 2014.</p
<p>Crude odds ratios for low birth weight by obstetrical complications of current pregnancy... more <p>Crude odds ratios for low birth weight by obstetrical complications of current pregnancy for 1073 mothers who delivered in four Tshwane hospitals, Gauteng, South Africa in 2014.</p
The Journal for Transdisciplinary Research in Southern Africa
Background: The study was conducted to the background of a qualification in medical clinical prac... more Background: The study was conducted to the background of a qualification in medical clinical practice offered at a Faculty of Health Sciences at a university in South Africa.Aim: The aim of the study was to determine how the theory of Whole Brain® thinking informed our professionalism and its relevance to transforming self and practice.Setting: The study was conducted in the context of a higher education institution, the University of Pretoria. The focus is specifically on the Bachelor of Clinical Medical Practice (BCMP). It has been offered since 2009.Methods: Participatory action research was the design of choice. The participatory part culminated in working as a collective in a scholarly community of practice. What is reported is the use of the Herrmann Brain Dominance Instrument® (HBDI®) as a research instrument. It was used to determine the thinking preferences of the lecturers. Each lecturer obtained their brain profile that served as baseline data for self-study in the future...
2021 6th International Conference on Nanotechnology for Instrumentation and Measurement (NanofIM), 2021
Non-invasive glucose testing is one of the novel methods for monitoring glucose in people living ... more Non-invasive glucose testing is one of the novel methods for monitoring glucose in people living with diabetes mellitus. We researched how breathe acetone derived glucose levels compare to serum glucose and capillary glucose measure on two commercial glucose meters in diabetes mellitus patients at Steve Biko Academic Hospital. Breath acetone samples were collected in 127 patients from a diabetes clinic which was compared to lab analysed glucose and other 2 commercial glucose meters in a cross-sectional study. 69% $\boldsymbol{(\mathrm{n}=87)}$ of participants had type 1 diabetes. The majority of the diabetes patients were African 49 (58.34%). The mean acetone derived glucose level was $\boldsymbol{9.3\pm 4.3}$ mm whereas laboratory glucose mean was $\boldsymbol{9.5\pm 5.3}$ mmol/l, Accu-Chek meter mean was $\boldsymbol{10\pm 4.3}$ mmol/L and On Call Plus meter mean was $\boldsymbol{9.8\pm 5}$ mmol/L. After adjusting for body mass index, sex, race, age and other variables, there was no difference between breath acetone and laboratory glucose measurements (coefficient 0.20, confidence interval-0.41 to 0.81 and P-value 0.511). Our study reports that breath acetone glucose is comparable to laboratory glucose measurement and the 2 glucometers used for monitoring in diabetes mellitus. Therefore, the device could be of clinical importance in the monitoring of glucose in diabetics. Further exploration of its use on screening for elevated glucose or criticalcare is suggested.
PLOS ONE, 2019
Background Low birth weight continues to be a main cause of child morbidity and mortality. Low bi... more Background Low birth weight continues to be a main cause of child morbidity and mortality. Low birth weight can cause complications in adult life, and is therefore a public health concern. In this study, we determined the maternal factors that contribute to low birth weight (LBW) deliveries in Tshwane District, South Africa. Methods We conducted a case control study of 1073 randomly selected mothers who delivered babies in four hospitals in the district. We reviewed antenatal and maternity registers to obtain information about the mothers and their offspring. We fitted a multiple logistic regression to examine relationships between possible factors associated with LBW. Results From the total sample of mothers (n = 1073), 77% (n = 824) were adult women, aged 20 to 35 years. Of the adult mothers, 38.54% (n = 412) delivered low birth weight (LBW) infants. The mean gestational age and weight of all infants at birth was 37.16 weeks (SD 2.92) and 2675.48 grams (SD 616.16) respectively. LBW was associated with prematurity, odds ratio (OR) 7.15, 95% confidence interval (CI) 5.18 to 9.89; premature rupture of membranes OR 7.33, 95% CI 2.43 to 22.12 and attending fewer than five antenatal care (ANC) visits OR 1.30, 95% CI 1.06 to 1.61. Male infants were less likely to be LBW, in this population. Conclusion Women who attended fewer than five ANC visits were predisposed to give birth to low birth weight babies. Mothers should be encouraged to attend ANC visits to detect adverse events like premature rupture of membranes and premature labour timeously.
PLOS ONE, May 3, 2022
Background Low uptake of family planning services by adolescent girls remains a public health con... more Background Low uptake of family planning services by adolescent girls remains a public health concern. An estimated 120 out of every 1,000 girls aged 15 to 19 years are having unplanned pregnancies in the sub-Saharan region. Between January and June 2020, the Phalombe District of Malawi reported 3,030 adolescent pregnancies. At this stage, most Malawian schools were closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The high rate of adolescent pregnancies prompted the Ministry of Health to provide emergency contraceptives to reduce the number of unplanned pregnancies among adolescents. The provision of emergency contraceptives would be effective if girls were willing and able to access these family planning services. We thus explored the views of school-going adolescent girls regarding their preferences for modern family planning methods including emergency contraceptives in Phalombe, Malawi. Methods This was a cross-sectional, descriptive study, where quantitative data were collected using a structured questionnaire. Participants included randomly sampled school-going adolescent girls from eight purposively selected secondary schools and eight randomly selected primary schools. All the schools were sampled from three purposively selected Traditional Authorities namely Nkhulambe, Jenala and Nkhumba which had reported high numbers of adolescent pregnancies. We analyzed the GeoPoints for schools and health facilities using ArcGIS, while adolescent girls' views were analyzed using STATA. Results Participants included 388 adolescent girls, ranging in age from 10 to 19 years (median age = 15.5 years, SD = 1.9 years). Participants were hesitant to use contraceptives because they were afraid of being stigmatized and embarrassed, had to travel long distances to reach the
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Papers by Lumbani Tshotetsi