Book Chapters (Health)

Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12280/251

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The impact of COVID-19 on mental health of frontline health workers in Ghana and Uganda
(Science Direct-Elsevier, 2021-06-18) Katongole, Simon Peter; Yaro, Peter; Bukuluki, Paul
The COVID-19 pandemic has had devastating effects on health systems at global, national, and subnational levels. During disease outbreaks, the human resources for health are among the most affected building blocks of the healthcare system. However, there is limited data on the experiences of frontline health workers during the COVID-19 pandemic and their implications for their psychosocial wellbeing. We conducted in-depth interviews with health workers in two hospitals in Uganda and Ghana that have been at the helm of treating people who are being treated for COVID-19. This chapter discusses how COVID-19 has impacted the mental health and psychosocial wellbeing of health workers in two African countries, Uganda and Ghana. It also discusses the mechanisms employed by health workers to cope with COVID-19 and its consequences. In addition, we also discuss existing strategies the health systems of these countries have developed and implemented to promote the mental health and psychosocial wellbeing of health workers managing the COVID-19 pandemic in hospitals in Uganda and Ghana. We conclude by calling upon governments and the international community to invest in promoting the mental and psychosocial wellbeing of health workers as well as people who are being treated for COVID-19 affected by outbreaks particularly COVID-19.
Virtual Employee Management: Mitigating the Impact of COVID-19 at the Workplace
(Springer, Cham, 2021-07-13) Kyagaba, Frank Robert; Byansi, Kayiira Peter
Toward the end of 2019, a global catastrophe befell the world, ostensibly originating from Wuhan, China. This was the novel coronavirus which causes a disease called COVID-19. This would eventually become one of the most impactful, universal distractions of the world during current times. In a period of 4 months, the virus had traversed the globe, resulting into millions of infections, some of which turned fatal triggering one of the sharpest economic declines of modern times. These were partly caused by inevitable continued work absenteeism arising out of the total and partial lockdowns imposed by different governments. The continued absenteeism if not put under control could end up producing adverse effects to the economies of the concerned organizations and countries at large (De Blasio et al. 2012). In order not to be swallowed up by the catastrophe, institutions sought means of remaining competitive and relevant during this period. A number of challenges emerged, such as fragile economies, instability of different currencies’ exchange rates, and the demands for change in addressing the disruptions, put the working space settings in a critical condition. It called for transformation which if not embarked on would threaten institutional stability. The transformation resulted into an emergence of complex working conditions that required innovativeness to address the ensuing dynamisms (Winasis et al. 2020). Interestingly, institutions had capital, equipment, time, and marketing resources in abundance but lacked the critical resource, i.e., human capital since most of it was locked up in homes in fear of contracting COVID-19. The most logical solution was to turn to institutional human resources management (HR) departments to create strategies to neutralize the catastrophe. Scholars including Snell et al. (2002) and Ulrich et al. (2017) have argued the importance of a strategic HR approach during such challenging times as essential in ensuring institutional competitiveness. Accordingly, institutions turned their attention to virtual employee management (VEM) as an alternative to the traditional system of employment management. According to Henderson et al. (2016), at such a time, the adoption of VEM becomes mandatory so as to facilitate collaboration across isolated employees and stake holders. These are defined as codependent groups of persons living in different places and relying on communication technology to undertake institutional tasks. Wherever they may be located, VEM permits employees to execute responsibilities together in order to reduce travel and other related expenses, time, stress, and the spread of contagious diseases as is the case with COVID-19 today. It became necessary for institutions to adopt this method since it had been in existence since the times of the industrial revolution.
Vaginal delivery
(Intech Open, 2021) Omona, Kizito
Vaginal delivery refers to the birth of offspring in mammals or babies in humans, through the vagina, also known as the “birth canal”. It is the natural method of birth for most mammals excluding those which lay eggs. For women who deliver vaginally, childbirth progresses in three stages: labor, delivery of the baby and delivery of the placenta. There are two types of vaginal delivery: Unassisted vaginal delivery and assisted vaginal delivery. In the later, this assistance can vary from use of medicines to emergency delivery procedures. The following types of vaginal delivery have been noted; (a) Spontaneous vaginal delivery (SVD) (b) Assisted vaginal delivery (AVD), also called instrumental vaginal delivery (c) Induced vaginal delivery and (d) Normal vaginal delivery (NVD), usually used in statistics or studies to contrast with a delivery by cesarean section. Delivery of a full-term newborn occurs at a gestational age of 37–42 weeks, usually determined by the last menstrual period or ultrasonographic dating and evaluation. Nearly 80% of newborns are delivered at full term while approximately 10% of singleton pregnancies are delivered preterm and 10% of all deliveries are post-term.
Bleeding
(IntechOpen, 2020-12) kizito, Omona
Fibroid, also called leiomyomas, is common tumor of the uterus. Usually, women of reproductive age are at risk of getting it. However, majority of these women develop fibroid (s) by the age of 50 years. This condition usually causespainful and unpleasant symptoms such as; heavy bleeding, prolonged periods, inter-menstrual bleeding, abdominal pain and cramps, anemia, pelvic pain and pain during sexual intercourse, among others. Abnormal bleeding, such as bleeding that occurs with fibroids and heavy periods, often lasts more than 10 days per month. This fibroid symptom involves persistent bleeding between cycles, which can severely impact one’s quality of life. Abnormal bleeding, especially in fibroids, can be taken as missing three or more periods in a woman who had been having regular monthly period, or periods that last less than 21 days or more than 35 days apart from each other. Another indication of an abnormal period is bleeding through multiple pads and tampons in a short amount of time.

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