International Journal of Public Health and Safety

It is estimated that 80% of the global population uses alternative or traditional medicine. In resource poor countries, traditional health practitioners are the primary and often the only providers of health care to the majority of the population including people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWA). Globally, there are approximately 36.9 million people living with HIV and nearly 70% of these are in Sub-Saharan Africa. PLWA often use African Traditional Medicines either alone or in combination with western medicines including antiretroviral therapy. The purpose of this review is to consider from available literature, the current trends in traditional medicine use amongst PLWA in Sub-Saharan Africa. This review also evaluates the existing research literature on the collaboration efforts between traditional health practitioners and orthodox medical practitioners in HIV/AIDS interventions. The commonly used traditional medicines in the management of HIV/AIDS as well as safety and potential Drug-herb interactions will also be considered in detail.

Water is essential for human life. In Japan, average daily water use is about 500 L. We conducted a survey of the cleanliness of publicly used drinking facilities. The water faucets in some public facilities (such as parks, public baths) in Japan are used by many people in quick need of water. It is accepted that such faucets are beneficial in preventing disease and for general health. These faucets are regularly cleaned. However, since they are partly installed outdoors and have many users, there are doubts over their actual cleanliness. It is therefore necessary for the sake of public health to examine the safety of such facilities. In this study, we examined contamination by general bacteria and coliforms in tap water as well as on the faucet handles and intake ports using instrumental analysis and simple tests. The measured factors were total coliforms, general bacteria, residual chlorine, ammonia, nitrite, chemical oxygen demand, and pH. We detected bacteria in some drinking and bathing water samples. We believed the cause to be inadequate addition of chlorine or reduction due to consumption. We consider it necessary to introduce counter measures to prevent infection.

Objectives: To examine the level of perceived stigma experienced by people with mental illnesses and its relation to patient's age, gender, marital status, employment status, psychiatric diagnosis, and education level. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study conducted among patients attending Psychiatric Clinic at Sultan Qaboos University Hospital. Perceived stigma was assessed using the modified version of the 42 patients’ stigma scale. Data were analyzed using statistical package for the social sciences (SPSS) version 19. Results: A total of 197 patients participated in the study (49% males and 52% females). Disclosure and discrimination of mental illness subscales were highest factor of self- or perceived stigma compared to the positive aspects. The impact of demographic factors and psychiatric diagnosis on the perception of stigma was not statistically significant. Conclusion: This study showed that attendees of the Psychiatry Clinic at Sultan Qaboos University Hospital were less likely to disclose their mental illness and experienced more discrimination of mental illness than the positive aspects.

Corporal punishment (CP) is the use of physical force with the intention of causing a child to experience pain, but not injury, for purposes of Correcting or controlling the child’s behavior. Across decades of researches, corporal punishment has been implicated in the etiology of criminal and antisocial behaviors by both children and adults. Aim of the study: The aim of the study was to assess corporal punishment from the children’s point of view. Methodology: Descriptive design was used. Non-probability “Quota” sampling was used in order to obtain a representative sample (300 children) from the 3 levels in two intermediate schools. A questionnaire was developed by the researchers after reviewing of literature. Results: Three hundred children participated in the research equally presented by gender and three intermediate educational levels. Fifty-two percent of the participants reported that they experienced corporal punishment; 60.2% of them did not remember the last time while corporal punishment was reported today by 12.8% and last week by 18% of them. About half of the participants were punished by their fathers and around 48.1% of the participants were punished by hands followed by use of stick (43%). Misbehavior, incomplete homework, missing prayer and bad school performance were the reasons for corporal punishment (39.1%, 15.4%, 9% and 7.7% respectively). No statistical significant differences were found in relation to the use of corporal punishment and family size, father’s employment or parent’s health status. Most of the participants reported that they will not use CP in future with their children. Conclusion: The study revealed that 52% of the participants experienced corporal punishment; about half of the participants were punished by their fathers and around 48.1% of the participants were punished by hands followed by stick (43%).