Mshana G, Peter E, Malibwa D, Aloyce D, Kapiga S, Stöckl H
ScienceDirect,2021 Nov 26
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2021.114606
PMID: 34861570
Adolescent health series Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drug Use among Adolescents in Sub-Saharan Africa: a Narrative Review.
Morojele NK, Ramsoomar L, Dumbili EW, Kapiga S.
Trop Med Int Health. 2021 Oct 12.
DOI:10.1111/tmi.13687
PMID: 34637175
Today, both for-profit and non-profit organisations have recognised the value of collaborations. Collaboration among researchers ensures that their knowledge, skills, and techniques are shared, and this could benefit people who participate in the research. The more researchers collaborate, the greater are the chances for success in finding solutions for major global health problems.
In line with its mandate, MITU collaborates closely with a number of local, regional and internationally leading research and academic institutions. The most recent collaboration is with Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (LMU) Munich in Germany. This collaboration was initiated by Prof Heidi Stöckl who recently moved to LMU, together with her ongoing collaborative research projects with MITU, after twelve years of service at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM).
This move has created an opportunity for MITU to collaborate with LMU in an ongoing longitudinal study on intimate partner violence in Mwanza, Tanzania. Prof Stöckl and Dr Gerry Mshana at MITU are leading this research. Prof Stöckl said this research ‘’is one of the few longitudinal studies that can investigate change in intimate partner violence and its risk and protective factors over time, therefore providing crucial information on how to prevent this form of violence against women in low and middle income countries. At the same time, our cross-sectional survey of young men is quite crucial in this field, where little is known about young men and the reasons for perpetrating violence or experiencing violence themselves’’.
While this new collaboration is currently focused on completing the ongoing research study, more collaborative opportunities between the two institutions are expected in the future
Women’s understanding of economic abuse in North-Western Tanzania.
Serpa Pimentel A, Mshana G, Aloyce D, Peter E, Mchome Z, Malibwa D, Dwarumpudi A, Kapiga S, Stöckl H.
Womens Health (Lond). 2021 Jan-Dec;17:17455065211042180.
DOI: 10.1177/17455065211042180.
PMID: 34494913;
PMCID: PMC8436308.
Studies have shown that high blood pressure (BP) among children and adolescents is relatively common, although only a few have been conducted in Africa. Scientists from the Mwanza Intervention Trials Unit (MITU) recently published a report in the journal of Scientific Report – Nature which shows that adolescents with high BP in Tanzania can be identified in school settings and linked to routine health care services. This study was conducted in 2018 among 500 students aged between 11-15 years from three public secondary schools within Mwanza city.
The report published was based on the study aimed to describe the procedures which could be used to accurately measure BP among adolescents and to determine the burden of high BP in this population. The study involved taking BP measurements using an automatic digital BP machine at three different occasions spaced at an interval of more than a month. Participants with sustained high BP had their BP status confirmed using a portable BP machine programmed to automatically record BP measurements every 15 minutes over 24 hours.Dr Mussa Kelvin Nsanya – a researcher at MITU and the study lead author – said that, “Adolescents with high BP in Africa can be identified using multiple BP measurements taken at multiple steps in a span of days to months followed by a 24-hour BP monitoring for confirmation. In addition, schools could save as an effective platform for screening of high BP and raising awareness to cardiovascular diseases”.
Findings from this study showed that 50 out of 500 adolescents (10%) had sustained high BP on repeating BP measurements at three different occasions. Using BP measurements taken over 24 hours, investigators of this study confirmed that 13 (2.6%) adolescents had high BP. MITU scientists are continuing to follow-up participants enrolled in this study in order to identify those with high BP and examine factors related to long-term changes in BP measurements.
The health of adolescents in sub-Saharan Africa: Challenges and opportunities.
Ross DA, Mshana G, Guthold R.
Trop Med Int Health. 2021 Jul 16.
DOI: 10.1111/tmi.13655.
PMID: 34270838.
A cluster randomised controlled trial to evaluate the impact of a gender transformative intervention on intimate partner violence against women in newly formed neighbourhood groups in Tanzania.
Harvey S, Abramsky T, Mshana G, Hansen CH, Mtolela GJ, Madaha F, Hashim R, Kapinga I, Watts C, Lees S, Kapiga S.
BMJ Glob Health. 2021 Jul;6(7):e004555.
DOI: 10.1136/bmjgh-2020-004555.
PMID: 34301673
Religious Leaders as Trusted Messengers in Combatting Hypertension in Rural Tanzanian Communities.
Lambert VJ, Kisigo GA, Nzali A, Laizer E, Paul N, Walshe L, Kalokola F, Okello ES, Sundararajan R, Mwakisole AH, Downs JA, Peck RN.
Am J Hypertens. 2021 May 22:hpab080.
DOI: 10.1093/ajh/hpab080
PMID: 34022044.
Bullington BW, Klemperer K, Mages K, Chalem A, Mazigo HD, Changalucha J, Kapiga S, Wright PF, Yazdanbakhsh MM, Downs JA.
PLoS Pathog. 2021 May; 17(5): e1009555. Published online 2021 May 20.
DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1009555.
PMCID: PMC8172021
MITU is carrying out research with young men to understand intimate partner violence in Mwanza city.
MITU in collaboration with the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, Germany has received funding from the European Research Council to conduct a study among 1,000 young men aged 18-24 years in Mwanza city, Tanzania. The purpose of this study is to investigate the patterns and factors that cause intimate partner violence in the study population.
Between June and December 2021, young men from 24 streets across the city will be invited to take part in the study and those who agree to participate will be interviewed. A team of 9 researchers is carrying out the survey in the streets located in 6 wards in Nyamagana and Ilemela districts of Mwanza city. The interviews cover a range of topics about the lives of these young men and their views and understanding of the different forms of intimate partner violence, its causes and possible ways for preventing it.
The interviews are carried out using hand held computer tablets – a modern data collection technique. In some parts of the interviews, the young men are given the tablets and head phones to listen to the questions and enter the responses by themselves. This ensures that they are part of the research process and safeguards the confidentiality of their responses.
Dr. Gerry Mshana, a senior researcher at MITU and lead scientist for this study said: “Intimate partner violence is a major problem hindering the health, wellbeing and development of children, young people and adults in Tanzania and other parts of the world. We are very pleased for the opportunity to carry out this important and unique study to generate evidence from young men in Mwanza on the magnitude of the problem and their views about it. The results will increase our understanding of the problem and help in designing appropriate interventions and policies in Tanzania and in other similar low-income countries.”