Aleong809

I am a junior at Rice University pursuing a Cognitive Sciences major (neuroscience concentration) and a Poverty, Justice, and Human Capabilities minor. ​​​I am interested in looking at child well-being holistically, with a focus on health and education. In particular, I would like to understand how toxic stress can impact children and their future.

I am thinking of expanding one of the following two Wikipedia articles for the Spring 2019 semester:

- Health in Eswatini

Although it has been updated recently, I believe there are several more facets to health that could be included in the article. Information on health in Eswatini/Swaziland also seems to be rather sparse. Specifically, I would like to expand the three sections that are already on the current article: Mental Illness, HIV/AIDS, and Healthcare. There seems to be a whole page on HIV/AIDS in Eswatini, so I will focus the majority of my efforts on expanding the Mental Illness and Healthcare/Health Access sections for this page. I would also like to add more sections, including the following: Eswatini’s Ministry of Health (and the National Health Sector Strategic Plan), Health Policy, Health Spending, Healthcare Inequality, Nutrient Deficiencies/Stunting/Wasting (also I am considering linking this to the broader topic of food security), Malaria, Tuberculosis, Sexual and Reproductive Health (I am also considering incorporating the HIV/AIDS section in the current article under the umbrella of Reproductive Health), Child Mortality, Infant Mortality, Maternal Mortality, Immunizations, and Interventions.

References:

Acevedo, P., García Esteban, M. T., Lopez-Ejeda, N., Gómez, A., & Marrodán, M. D. (2017). Influence of malnutrition upon all-cause mortality among children in Swaziland. Endocrinología, Diabetes y Nutrición, 64(4), 204–210. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.endinu.2017.01.008

Gupta, S., Granich, R., Date, A., Lepere, P., Hersh, B., Gouws, E., & Samb, B. (2014). Review of policy and status of implementation of collaborative HIV-TB activities in 23 high-burden countries. The International Journal of Tuberculosis and Lung Disease: The Official Journal of the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease, 18(10), 1149–1158. https://doi.org/10.5588/ijtld.13.0889

Kunene, S., Phillips, A. A., Gosling, R. D., Kandula, D., & Novotny, J. M. (2011). A national policy for malaria elimination in Swaziland: a first for sub-Saharan Africa. Malaria Journal, 10(1), 313. https://doi.org/10.1186/1475-2875-10-313

Machisa, M., Wichmann, J., & Nyasulu, P. S. (2013). Biomass fuel use for household cooking in Swaziland: is there an association with anaemia and stunting in children aged 6–36 months? Transactions of The Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, 107(9), 535–544. https://doi.org/10.1093/trstmh/trt055

Mandalakas, A. M., et al. (2017). BUTIMBA: Intensifying the Hunt for Child TB in Swaziland through Household Contact Tracing. PLOS ONE, 12(1), e0169769. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0169769

Masuku-Maseko, S., & Owaga, E. E. (2012). Child malnutrition and mortality in Swaziland: Situation analysis of the immediate, underlying and basic causes. African Journal of Food, Agriculture, Nutrition and Development, 12(2), 5994-6006–6006.

Ministry of Health. (2016). Swaziland Comprehensive Drought Health and Nutrition Assessment Report. Eswatini.

Mngadi, P. T., Faxelid, E., Zwane, I. T., Höjer, B., & Ransjo‐Arvidson, A.-B. (2008). Health providers’ perceptions of adolescent sexual and reproductive health care in Swaziland. International Nursing Review, 55(2), 148–155. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1466-7657.2007.00625.x

Mngadi, P. T., Thembi, I. T., Ransjö‐Arvidson, A.-B., & Ahlberg, B. M. (2002). Quality of maternity care for adolescent mothers in Mbabane, Swaziland. International Nursing Review, 49(1), 38–46. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1466-7657.2002.00092.x

Petlele, R. (2012). Impact of maternal employment on childhood mortality in Swaziland. (Thesis). Retrieved from http://wiredspace.wits.ac.za/handle/10539/11661

Reza, A., et al. (2009). Sexual violence and its health consequences for female children in Swaziland: a cluster survey study. The Lancet, 373(9679), 1966–1972. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(09)60247-6

Tevera, D., Simelane, N., Peter, G., & Salam, A. (2012). No. 15: The State of Food Security in Manzini, Swaziland. African Food Security Urban Network. Retrieved from https://scholars.wlu.ca/afsun/17

Tsawe, M., Moto, A., Netshivhera, T., Ralesego, L., Nyathi, C., & Susuman, A. S. (2015). Factors influencing the use of maternal healthcare services and childhood immunization in Swaziland. International Journal for Equity in Health, 14(1), 32. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12939-015-0162-2

United Nations Children’s Fund. (2017). Kingdom of Eswatini Health Budget Brief 2018/2019. Eswatini. Retrieved from https://www.unicef.org/esaro/UNICEF-Eswatini-2018-Health-Budget-Brief.pdf

Weiser, S. D., et al. (2007). Food Insufficiency Is Associated with High-Risk Sexual Behavior among Women in Botswana and Swaziland. PLOS Medicine, 4(10), e260. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.0040260

Wojcicki, J., & Elwan, D. (2014). Primary School Nutrition and Tuck Shops in Hhoho, Swaziland. Journal of Child Nutrition & Management, 38(1).

Wright, J., Walley, J., Philip, A., Petros, H., & Ford, H. (2010). Research into practice: 10 years of international public health partnership between the UK and Swaziland. Journal of Public Health, 32(2), 277–282. https://doi.org/10.1093/pubmed/fdp129

Zwane, E., & Masango, S. (2012). Factors influencing neonatal mortality: an analysis using the Swaziland Demographic Health Survey 2007. Journal of Public Health in Africa, e18–e18. https://doi.org/10.4081/jphia.2012.e18

- HIV/AIDS in Eswatini

Another option I am considering is to focus on expanding the current “HIV/AIDS in Eswatini” page in Wikipedia, given the high prevalence of HIV/AIDS (Eswatini has one of the highest HIV prevalence rates in the world), the high incidence of tuberculosis, and the high tuberculosis-HIV coinfection rate in Eswatini. There are structural and resource, legal, and cultural (as already noted in the current article; could be further elaborated) barriers facing HIV-affected populations in Eswatini. HIV/AIDS has had and continues to have a devastating impact on Eswatini. As a low-middle income country, Eswatini does not currently have sufficient resources to thoroughly address such a multifaceted and multigenerational disease alone. For this Wikipedia project, I would like to focus on particular populations affected by HIV/AIDS, including women (and within that, sex workers; I also want to highlight the stigma and cultural/gender barriers that many HIV-affected women face), children who are living with HIV as well as children who have HIV-affected family members and are left unsupported, and men having sex with men (I would like to highlight the stigma and legal barriers that this particular population faces). I would also like to research further about the current interventions available to people in Eswatini, particularly ones that focus on nutrition. This is because like HIV, malnutrition suppresses the immune system.

References:

Andersson, N., & Cockcroft, A. (2012). Male circumcision, attitudes to HIV prevention and HIV status: a cross-sectional study in Botswana, Namibia and Swaziland. AIDS Care, 24(3), 301–309. https://doi.org/10.1080/09540121.2011.608793

Baral, S. D., et al. (2013). A cross-sectional assessment of the burden of HIV and associated individual- and structural-level characteristics among men who have sex with men in Swaziland. Journal of the International AIDS Society, 16(4S3), 18768. https://doi.org/10.7448/IAS.16.4.18768

Buseh, A. G., Glass, L. K., & McElmurry, B. J. (2002). Cultural and Gender Issues Related to HIV/AIDS Prevention in Rural Swaziland: A Focus Group Analysis. Health Care for Women International, 23(2), 173–184. https://doi.org/10.1080/073993302753429040

de Vries, D. H., Galvin, S., Mhlanga, M., Cindzi, B., & Dlamini, T. (2011). “Othering” the health worker: self-stigmatization of HIV/AIDS care among health workers in Swaziland. Journal of the International AIDS Society, 14(1), 60. https://doi.org/10.1186/1758-2652-14-60

Fonner, V. A., Kerrigan, D., Mnisi, Z., Ketende, S., Kennedy, C. E., & Baral, S. (2014). Social Cohesion, Social Participation, and HIV Related Risk among Female Sex Workers in Swaziland. PLOS ONE, 9(1), e87527. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0087527

Kabue, M. M., et al. (2012). Mortality and Clinical Outcomes in HIV-Infected Children on Antiretroviral Therapy in Malawi, Lesotho, and Swaziland. Pediatrics, 130(3), e591–e599. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2011-1187

Kamiru, H. N., Ross, M. W., Bartholomew, L. K., McCurdy, S. A., & Kline, M. W. (2009). Effectiveness of a training program to increase the capacity of health care providers to provide HIV/AIDS care and treatment in Swaziland. AIDS Care, 21(11), 1463–1470. https://doi.org/10.1080/09540120902883093

Kennedy, C. E., et al. (2013). “They are human beings, they are Swazi”: intersecting stigmas and the positive health, dignity and prevention needs of HIV-positive men who have sex with men in Swaziland. Journal of the International AIDS Society, 16(4S3), 18749. https://doi.org/10.7448/IAS.16.4.18749

Kliner, M., Knight, A., Mamvura, C., Wright, J., & Walley, J. (2013). Using no-cost mobile phone reminders to improve attendance for HIV test results: a pilot study in rural Swaziland. Infectious Diseases of Poverty, 2(1), 12. https://doi.org/10.1186/2049-9957-2-12

Mak, J., et al. (2013). Need, demand and missed opportunities for integrated reproductive health–HIV care in Kenya and Swaziland: evidence from household surveys. AIDS, 27, S55. https://doi.org/10.1097/QAD.0000000000000046

Masuku, S. K. S., & Lan, S.-J. J. (2014). Nutritional Knowledge, Attitude, and Practices among Pregnant and Lactating Women Living with HIV in the Manzini Region of Swaziland. Journal of Health, Population, and Nutrition, 32(2), 261–269.

Mchunu, G., et al. (2016). High mortality in tuberculosis patients despite HIV interventions in Swaziland. Public Health Action, 6(2), 105–110. https://doi.org/10.5588/pha.15.0081

Risher, K., et al. (2013). Sexual stigma and discrimination as barriers to seeking appropriate healthcare among men who have sex with men in Swaziland. Journal of the International AIDS Society, 16(3S2), 18715. https://doi.org/10.7448/IAS.16.3.18715

Root, R., & Whiteside, A. (2013). A qualitative study of community home-based care and antiretroviral adherence in Swaziland. Journal of the International AIDS Society, 16(1), 17978. https://doi.org/10.7448/IAS.16.1.17978

Shannon, K., et al. (2012). Gender Inequity Norms Are Associated with Increased Male-Perpetrated Rape and Sexual Risks for HIV Infection in Botswana and Swaziland. PLOS ONE, 7(1), e28739. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0028739

Warren, C. E., Abuya, T., & Askew, I. (2013). Family planning practices and pregnancy intentions among HIV-positive and HIV-negative postpartum women in Swaziland: a cross sectional survey. BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth, 13(1), 150. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2393-13-150

van Schalkwyk, C., Mndzebele, S., Hlophe, T., Calleja, J. M. G., Korenromp, E. L., Stoneburner, R., & Pervilhac, C. (2013). Outcomes and Impact of HIV Prevention, ART and TB Programs in Swaziland – Early Evidence from Public Health Triangulation. PLOS ONE, 8(7), e69437. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0069437

Yousafzai, A. K., Dlamini, P. J., Groce, N., & Wirz, S. (2004). Knowledge, personal risk and experiences of HIV/AIDS among people with disabilities in Swaziland. International Journal of Rehabilitation Research, 27(3), 247.