Health In Africa Research Articles

Africa's health.

Africa's health.

State of Africa's health

State of Africa's health

International migration of health manpower in Sub-Saharan Africa

This paper concerns itself with a few questions related to the impact of the emigration of health manpower on the health status of individuals and economic development of Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). The paper evaluates the harmfulness of the migration from Sub-Saharan Africa. The analysis leads to some observations about the effect of the quality of the migration on Africa's health care system development and the appropriateness of some of Africa's policies for controlling the migration.

Problem-oriented approach to hypertensive patient education: Step-method applied to treatment plan: Betty L. Stadler, Comprehensive Health Services, Eurma Hayes Center, Carbondale, Illinois

Epilepsy is a public health issue in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) where many people with the condition receive no treatment. Health-care services for epilepsy in this region have not been comprehensively assessed. We examined key features of epilepsy health services provided in SSA.This was a scoping review conducted using pre-specified protocols. We implemented an electronic search strategy to identify relevant citations using PUBMED, EMBASE, Web of Science, Scopus, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), African Index Medicus (AIM), Open Grey, Cochrane database, and Google Scholar. Articles eligible for full-text review were screened and data of interest were reported.The search identified 81 eligible articles, forty-nine from East Africa, 19 from West Africa, 8 from South Africa, and 5 from Central Africa. A variety of care services were identified, with reporting of rural epilepsy care in 75% of retrieved articles mainly from East and South African countries. The majority of the rural epilepsy clinics were health worker- or nurse-led, reporting good seizure control in about two-thirds of patients using phenobarbital as the most commonly prescribed antiepileptic drug. Funding for rural epilepsy care came mainly from external donor agencies.We attempted to provide a ‘snapshot’ of epilepsy care services in SSA. The successes achieved in some of the centers are due to the use of existing primary health-care systems and employing non-physician health-care personnel. The true picture of epilepsy care coverage is not apparent due to the lack of data and proper health system structure in most parts of SSA. As more individuals begin to receive care, the long-term funding for epilepsy care in African countries will depend on the commitment of their respective governments.

Health as a Factor in African Development

T HERE are many problems facing the awakening people of Africa today, but one of the most acute and universal is that of public health. Perhaps more than any other factor, health provides the key to the history of the continent and to the present condition of her people. It may even be safe to say that a solution to Africa's health problems, the current political crisis notwithstanding, is basic to any renascence there. At any rate too little attention has been given to health as a factor in African development, and this paper is, among other things, a call for further research into the matter.