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Higher education has often been targeted for criticism with regard to its lack of relevance when seeking to address the harsh realities of poor health, poverty and conflict in African countries. African universities have been seen as producing Western-influenced graduates who become an elite out of touch with their own indigenous worldview. In order to maintain the connection between higher education in Africa and the African worldview and philosophy, thus enhancing the relevance of university education, this paper argues that there is a need to promote the revisiting of our African identities in the courses on offer. By way of illustration, the paper examines an aspect of medical tertiary education at the University of Malawi, College of Medicine: in particular, how the course entitled "Social and Behavioral Dynamics" has evolved over the past 10 years in an effort to embrace an African worldview and philosophy in the undergraduate medical program, with the goal of producing graduates sensitized to the worldviews of the indigenous populations they will serve, and able to enrich the global context by bringing to it uniquely African perspectives.

African social workers and psychologists have called for the utility of ubuntu philosophy in the fields of social work and psychology. Ubuntu is an African philosophy that is based on humanness, kindness, communality, socio-structural issues such as social justice, and human rights. This paper explores the philosophy of ubuntu guided by the seven modalities of the multimodal approach, which are behaviour, effect, sensation, imagery, cognition, interpersonal relationships and drugs/biology. The article suggests that ubuntu as an African philosophy has potential to contribute two modalities in addition to the seven modalities in the multimodal approach by the South African psychologist Arnold Lazarus. It argues that ubuntu contributes two domains in assessments and these are as follows: the person-physical environment relationship and the spiritual relationship. Given the emphasis on eco-spiritually informed social work, this paper calls for the adoption of these two modalities for the assessment and intervention plans in social work practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Web 2.0 technology not only offers the opportunity of massively parallel interconnected networks that support the provision of information and communication anytime and anywhere but also offers immense opportunities for collaboration and sharing of user-generated content. This information-rich environment may support both formal and informal learning. The increasing use of mobile technology affords additional opportunities to utilise this learning potential from any location and even when on the move. In this paper, we identify five important psychological challenges learners may encounter when using mobile devices for mobile learning. We argue that mobile learning theorists, practitioners and developers alike must be aware of the five challenges and aim to address them to maximise the potential of mobile learning.

Background: Up to 1.45 billion people currently suffer from soil transmitted helminth infection, with the largest burden occurring in Africa and Asia. Safe and cost effective deworming treatment exists, but there is a debate about mass distribution of this treatment in high prevalence settings. While the World Health Organization recommends mass administration of anthelmintic drugs for preschool and school-aged children in high (>20%) prevalence settings, and several long run follow up studies of an influential trial have suggested large benefits that persist over time, recent systematic reviews have called this recommendation into question. Methods and findings: This paper analyzes the long-term impact of a cluster-randomized trial in eastern Uganda that provided mass deworming treatment to preschool aged children from 2000 to 2003 on the numeracy and literacy skills of children and young adults living in those villages in 2010-2015. This study uses numeracy and literacy data collected seven to twelve years after the end of the deworming trial in a randomly selected subset of communities from the original trial, by an education-focused survey that had no relationship to the deworming study. Building on an earlier working paper which used data from 2010 and 2011 survey rounds, this paper uses an additional four years of numeracy and literacy data (2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015). Aggregating data from all survey rounds, the difference between numeracy scores in treatment versus control communities is 0.07 standard deviations (SD) (95% CI -0.10, 0.24, p = 0.40), the difference in literacy scores is 0.05 SD (95% CI -0.16, 0.27, p = 0.62), and the difference in total scores is 0.07 SD (95% CI -0.11, 0.25, p = 0.44). There are significant differences in program impact by gender, with numeracy and literacy differentially positively affected for girls, and by age, with treatment effects larger for the primary school aged subsample. There are also significant treatment interactions for those living in households with more treatment-eligible children. There is no evidence of differential treatment effects on age at program eligibility or number of years of program eligibility. Conclusions: Mass deworming of preschool aged children in high prevalence communities in Uganda resulted in no statistically significant gains in numeracy or literacy 7-12 years after program completion. Point estimates were positive but imprecise; the study lacked sufficient power to rule out substantial positive effects or more modest negative effects. However, there is suggestive evidence that deworming was relatively more beneficial for girls, primary school aged children, and children living in households with other treated children. Research approval: As this analysis was conducted on secondary data which is publicly available, no research approval was sought or received. All individual records were anonymized by the data provider prior to public release. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we will present a reflection on reviewed literature on African indigenous understanding of spirituality, highlighting the influence of this concept on notions of the self, motivation and well-being. The indigenous understanding of spirituality is central to the understanding of the self as distinct, but positioned within the relational-collective self. This African indigenous perception of the self is grounded within the autonomous experience of the tenets of spirituality, which is explored in this paper through the lens of self-determination theory. The experience of autonomy, which is represented in this paper as choice and consent, competence and relatedness within spirituality, is considered as an intrinsic motivation factor for African indigenous communities to achieve well-being. Hence, we argue for the relevance of identifying and exploring ways that an understanding of the African indigenous spiritual belief systems, and the various ways that this understanding impacts on well-being for African indigenous communities, can be unearthed and scrutinized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives Our paper highlights areas of interest to psychologists studying aging in Africa and what has already been learned about aspects of psychological aging from studies done in the African context. We also considered whether there are issues that are unique about aging in the African context that might challenge how aging is typically considered in psychology research. Methods We reviewed articles recently published in major gerontology journals focusing on African older adults, with the goal of identifying key themes of current geropsychology in Africa. Results We identified a number of dominant themes including: subjective aging, psychosocial impact of widowhood at old age, aging in place, stress and caregiving, cognitive aging, interrelations between HIV and aging, and successful aging. Discussion The themes of psychological aging research identified as especially relevant in Africa provide a starting point for psychological aging researchers in general to engage with the African context. Many African countries may be facing common challenges, but the existing studies are not fully representative of the aging population in the continent. Creating a framework for organizing and coordinating funding will help to address the limited research on geropsychology in Africa. Collaborative research projects/programs, joint classrooms, and fellowships that support African geropsychology scholars will be helpful. Geropsychology will benefit from more engagement with the African context by applying innovative approaches such as the adoption of longitudinal designs, mixed-method research, Experience Sampling Methods, translation of measures into indigenous languages, involvement of rural samples, and implementation science and community-engaged research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The objective of this paper is to verify if traits and symptoms defined as pathological and maladjusted in certain contexts may produce adaptive effects in other contexts, especially if they occur in sub-threshold forms., Methods: A historical examination of how the symptoms of depression have changed in front of great social changes and an analysis of Sardinian migrants' thymic profiles toward several metropolises., Results and Conclusions: Mood disorders have been increasing since the "English malady" in the 17th century, and we suppose that some forms of mood disorders might have an adaptive advantage. Otherwise, the increase of such an epidemic would have been self-limited. From a sociobiological point of view, it is highly probable that the environment of a rapidly evolving society can select people who are explorers and able to support accelerated biorhythms and that the condition of social change stimulates psychological and psychopathologic changes. It is also possible that hyperthymic persons modulate and create the new environment. If this model can explain the epidemic of mood disorders, its verification should guide future research., (Copyright © 2019 L'Encéphale, Paris. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)

The recent welcome inclusion of the study of African psychology within the psychology degree curriculum of some forward-thinking African universities has been lauded as a great positive drive in the right direction. In the past, the practices that prevailed were those of mainstream Western psychology imported to Africa. This awkward situation originated during the period of colonialism and the emergence of missionary Christianity in Africa. This article proposes that if the current positive attitude toward African psychology is to last and bear fruit, there is a need to formally inaugurate a new order or tradition (referred to in this paper as the Madiban tradition) that would anchor and open up the study of psychology in African universities towards a new future: a future in which the progressive arm of both Western and African approaches to psychology would coexist and enjoy enduring mutual respect and equitable participatory presence in these programmes. This paper highlights the theoretical framework undergirding this vision and the challenges to be faced and new shifts to be made in implementing such a vision. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction is provided in which the author discusses articles in the issue on topics including counseling in Africa, prediction of academic success in southwestern Nigeria, and the experiences of college students from Ghana who are studying in Great Britain.

Guidelines on psychosocial interventions in postconflict areas commonly mention that interventions should be based on local needs and be built on culture-specific expertise. This paper is based on a dissociative cult, the Kiyang-yang (KYY), in Guinea Bissau. In a previous article, we used a refined definition of the concept of idiom of distress to analyze the dissociative behavior displayed in KYY as a symbolic language addressing politically dangerous truths. This paper uses the concept of “collective trauma processing” to analyze how the idiom offered the local population a pathway to mitigate the consequences of protracted and widespread political violence. The paper first argues that the field of psychotraumatology lacks a comprehensive ecological theory on trauma. Moreover, within clinical psychology and psychiatry, little attention is paid to local cultural healing mechanisms addressing traumatic stress. This paper is an effort to study such mechanisms in their own right. To compare trauma processing mechanisms across the globe, we propose to analyze trauma processing mechanisms with the help of a comprehensive model discerning five ontological dimensions that are considered to be involved in suffering and are addressed in healing approaches. Our paper describes similarities and differences between psychological healing traditions and collective trauma processing within the West African context of Guinea Bissau. We will illustrate how the KYY movement uses the idiom of dissociation as both a collective expression of distress and as a vehicle to process social suffering and traumatic stress as a circular phenomenon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the decolonisation and #feesmustfall movements in higher education going mainstream it is essential that the voices of students continue to be heard and that they occupy a prominent role in the decolonial project. Additionally, it is crucial to understand how their voices have been portrayed, analysed, and framed within scholarly work. This paper presents a scoping review of literature on the voices of students about the decolonisation of the social sciences that may inform the transformation of the research in psychology curriculum. Of the reviewed literature, only 12 articles were identified as relevant, and these generated four themes: complex reactions towards decolonisation, decolonial content, and ways of teaching; the importance of critical engagement and reflections on decolonisation; challenges with disrupting whiteness within higher education; and demographic change at universities. The findings revealed useful insights that could assist in guiding conversations with students about decolonising psychology in the classroom, such as creating safe spaces where students feel comfortable taking social and psychological risks when expressing their uniqueness. Published work on students and academics co-creating a transformed curriculum is lacking, and further studies on decolonisation in higher education in the global South are needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We argue in this paper that the urban environmental planning and management literature has paid insufficient attention to the nexus of risk and human psychology in urban dynamics, particularly for the rapidly urbanizing areas of the Global South. We then draw on two household surveys in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania to present two empirical examples that incorporate these dimensions, using solid waste management as a contemporary urban environmental challenge. These examples illustrate the sensitivity of behavioral preferences to the framing of risks, and the influence of risk preferences on solid waste behavior. Incorporating such concepts into environmental planning and management research offers the potential to increase understanding of urban dynamics and to improve the environmental quality of life in urban Africa and elsewhere in both developing and developed country settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: HIV-related mHealth interventions have demonstrable efficacy in supporting treatment adherence, although the evidence base for promoting HIV testing is inconclusive. Progress is constrained by a limited understanding of processes used to develop interventions and weak theoretical underpinnings. This paper describes a research project that informed the development of a theory-based mHealth intervention to promote HIV testing amongst city-dwelling African communities in the conditions.Methods: A community-based participatory social marketing design was adopted. Six focus groups (48 participants in total) were undertaken and analysed using a thematic framework approach, guided by constructs from the Health Belief Model. Key themes were incorporated into a set of text messages, which were pre-tested and refined.Results: The focus groups identified a relatively low perception of HIV risk, especially amongst men, and a range of social and structural barriers to HIV testing. In terms of self-efficacy around HIV testing, respondents highlighted a need for communities and professionals to work together to build a context of trust through co-location in, and co-involvement of, local communities which would in turn enhance confidence in, and support for, HIV testing activities of health professionals. Findings suggested that messages should: avoid an exclusive focus on HIV, be tailored and personalised, come from a trusted source, allay fears and focus on support and health benefits.Conclusions: HIV remains a stigmatized and de-prioritized issue within African migrant communities in the UK, posing barriers to HIV testing initiatives. A community-based participatory social marketing design can be successfully used to develop a culturally appropriate text messaging HIV intervention. Key challenges involved turning community research recommendations into brief text messages of only 160 characters. The intervention needs to be evaluated in a randomized control trial. Future research should explore the application of the processes and methodologies described in this paper within other communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Positive Psychology rapidly developed into an influential field of study and intervention, initially situated in Psychology, and later becoming multidisciplinary. Research interest in the study of (psychological) well-being has gained global popularity, with increasing salience in Africa. Although the global trends of these developments are relatively well-known, a bibliometric analysis of positive psychology research in Africa was necessary to shed light on the present hotspots and trends and future trajectories in this region of the world. The data source of the present bibliometric analysis study was Scopus, from which Positive Psychology and well-being research literature from Africa between 1983 and 2023 were searched. Using biblioshiny and VOSviewer, the 622 extracted articles were analysed, from which findings about the current condition, research hotspots, and thematic developmental patterns could be made. Africa experienced an initial slow growth period from 1983 until 2005, after which a rapid growth in research productivity, relevance and impact was experienced. In this regard, the results show that the focal point of scientific productivity is South Africa, with the dominance of South African institutions, particularly the North-West University, from where most positive psychology research is produced and cited. Even with potential access to international journal, African researchers seem to prefer to place their publications in the regional journals such as Journal of Psychology in Africa and South African Journal of Psychology. The research reviewed tends to be characterised by more dominant thematic clusters of positive psychology, psychological well-being, and subjective wellbeing, with a focus on human individuals. An increasing concern for contextual factors and potential antecedents and dynamics of well-being is also observed. The findings provide a good map from which identification of future research priorities can be deduced. As such, we speculate that future positive psychology research in Africa ought to be concerned with the following: greater distribution and intercountry collaborations across the continent, questions of conceptual clarity of terms, better understanding of contextual factors which influence well-being, and well-being research embracing the complexity of bio-psychosocial- ecological well-being, and science concerned with health-promotion interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concept of Botho / Ubuntu emerges as a balancing paradigm poised to drive cognitive justice in psychological discourses. A paradigm is a universally recognized scientific model that represents a worldview of the nature of the world. There are enduring concerns about the privileging of Western European paradigms, ontologies, epistemologies, and axiologies over their African counterparts. In this article, we present the Botho / Ubuntu paradigm as a strong contender for the promotion, and humanization of epistemologies in psychology. The 59th annual conference of the Comparative and International Education Society (CIES) in Washington, DC in 2015, whose theme was " Ubuntu ! Imagining a Humanist Education Globally," as well as the World Council of Comparative Education Societies' (WCCES) recent book, Comparative Education for Global Citizenship, Peace and Shared Living through Ubuntu, are examples through which Ubuntu began to emerge as a paradigm poised to deliver cognitive and epistemic justice in the area such as psychology. We use Critical African Psychology as a lens through which we interrogate cognitive injustice. We conclude by demonstrating that Botho/Ubuntu paradigm might serve as a driver of cognitive justice in psychology and makes inroads into major discourses driven by African scholars. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: A community’s cultural beliefs, attitudes and discourse can affect their responses in surveys. Knowledge of these cultural factors and how to comply with them or adjust for them during data collection can improve data quality. Objective: This study describes implications of features of Gambian culture related to women’s reproductive health, and mortality, when collecting data in surveys. Methods: 13 in-depth interviews of female interviewers and a focus group discussion among male interviewers were conducted in two rural health and demographic surveillance systems as well as three key informant interviews in three regions in The Gambia. Results: From the fieldworker’s viewpoint, questions relating to reproduction were best asked by women as culturally pregnancies should be concealed, and menstruation is considered a sensitive topic. Gambians were reluctant to speak about decedents and the Fula did not like to be counted, potentially affecting estimation of mortality. Asking about siblings proved problematic among the Fula and Serahule communities. Proposals made to overcome these challenges were that culturally-appropriate metaphors and symbols should be used to discuss sensitive matters and to enumerating births/deaths singly instead of collecting summary totals, which had threatening connotations. This was as opposed to training interviewers to ask standardised and precise verbatim questions. Contribution: This paper presents indigenous Gambian solutions by fieldworkers to culturally sensitive topics when collecting pregnancy outcomes and mortality data in demographic and health surveys. For researchers collecting maternal mortality data, it highlights the potential shortcomings of the sibling history methodology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Modeling contributes to health program planning by allowing users to estimate future outcomes that are otherwise difficult to evaluate. However, modeling results are often not easily translated into practical policies. This paper examines the barriers and enabling factors that can allow models to better inform health decision-making. Description: The Decision Makers’ Program Planning Tool (DMPPT) and its successor, DMPPT 2, are illustrative examples of modeling tools that have been used to inform health policy. Their use underpinned Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision (VMMC) scale-up for HIV prevention in southern and eastern Africa. Both examine the impact and cost-effectiveness of VMMC scale-up, with DMPPT used initially in global advocacy and DMPPT 2 then providing VMMC coverage estimates by client age and subnational region for use in country-specific program planning. Their application involved three essential steps: identifying and engaging a wide array of stakeholders from the outset, reaching consensus on key assumptions and analysis plans, and convening data validation meetings with critical stakeholders. The subsequent DMPPT 2 Online is a user-friendly tool for in-country modeling analyses and continuous program planning and monitoring. Lessons learned: Through three iterations of the DMPPT applied to VMMC, a comprehensive framework with six steps was identified: (1) identify a champion, (2) engage stakeholders early and often, (3) encourage consensus, (4) customize analyses, (5), build capacity, and (6) establish a plan for sustainability. This framework could be successfully adapted to other HIV prevention programs to translate modeling results to policy and programming. Conclusions: Models can be used to mobilize support, strategically plan, and monitor key programmatic elements, but they can also help inform policy environments in which programs are conceptualized and implemented to achieve results. The ways in which modeling has informed VMMC programs and policy may be applicable to an array of other health interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The world is undergoing a rapid health transition, with an ageing population and disease burden increasingly defined by disability. In Sub-Saharan Africa the next 40 years are predicted to see reduced mortality, signalling a surge in the impact of chronic diseases. We modelled these epidemiological changes and associated mental health workforce requirements. Years lived with a disability (YLD) predictions for mental and substance use disorders for each decade from 2010 to 2050 for four Sub-Saharan African regions were calculated using Global Burden of Disease 2010 study (GBD 2010) data and UN population forecasts. Predicted mental health workforce requirements for 2010 and 2050, by region and for selected countries, were modelled using GBD 2010 prevalence estimates and recommended packages of care and staffing ratios for low- and middle-income countries, and compared to current staffing from the WHO Mental Health Atlas. Significant population growth and ageing will result in an estimated 130% increase in the burden of mental and substance use disorders in Sub-Saharan Africa by 2050, to 45 million YLDs. As a result, the required mental health workforce will increase by 216,600 full time equivalent staff from 2010 to 2050, and far more compared to the existing workforce. The growth in mental and substance use disorders by 2050 is likely to significantly affect health and productivity in Sub-Saharan Africa. To reduce this burden, packages of care for key mental disorders should be provided through increasing the mental health workforce towards targets outlined in this paper. This requires a shift from current practice in most African countries, involving substantial investment in the training of primary care practitioners, supported by district based mental health specialist teams using a task sharing model that mobilises local community resources, with the expansion of inpatient psychiatric units based in district and regional general hospitals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The population of Ghana is increasingly becoming urbanized with about 70% of the estimated 27 million people living in urban and peri-urban areas. Nonetheless, eight out of the ten regions in Ghana remain predominantly rural where only 32% of the national health sector workforce works. Moreover, the rural-urban disparities in the density of health tutors (staff responsible for pre-service training of health professionals) are enormous. This paper explores perceived needs of health tutors in rural and urban health training institutions in Ghana. Methods: This is a descriptive qualitative study conducted in the Greater Accra and Northern regions of Ghana. The Study used the deductive thematic and sub-thematic analysis approaches. Five health training institutions were randomly sampled, and 72 tutors engaged in separate focus group discussions with an average size of 14 participants per group in each training institution. Results: Perceived rural-urban disparities among health tutors were found in the payment of extra duty allowances; school infrastructure including libraries and internet connectivity; staff accommodation; and opportunities for scholarships and higher education. Health tutors in rural areas generally expressed more frustration with these work conditions than those in urban areas. Conclusions: There is the need to initiate and sustain work incentives that promote motivation of rural health tutors to control ongoing rural-urban migration of qualified staff. It is recommended the following incentives be prioritized to promote retention of qualified health tutors in rural health training schools: payment of research, book and rural allowances; early promotion of rural staff; prioritizing rural tutors for scholarships, and introduction of national best health tutor awards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper develops a conceptual model of sustainable employee motivation and enterprise performance (based on job characteristics) through the juxtaposition of the internal marketing, job characteristics, uncertainty and in/equity theories. It reasons that job characteristics and their effect on motivation and performance in African small- and medium-sized enterprises depends on the degree to which uncertainty in the business environment, perceived inequity and job insecurity resulting from migrant competition can be minimized. Theoretical, managerial and policy implications are elaborated. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

HIV/AIDS, more than any other public health problem, challenges dominant models of the role of psychology in health promotion and prevention. This paper focuses on poverty and resulting food insecurity as a structural risk factor for HIV infection. The paper considers the role of health psychology in global health concerns and argues that, while individual-based interventions are important, health psychology needs to shift to playing a proper role in broader level initiatives. Health psychology, in thinking about global health concerns such as HIV, needs to view an understanding of health, education and nutrition delivery programmes in low resourced contexts as at the core of the discipline. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Introduction: Life history is a research tool which has been used primarily in sociology and anthropology to document experiences of marginalized individuals and communities. It has been less explored in relation to health system research. In this paper, we examine our experience of using life histories to explore health system trajectories coming out of conflict through the eyes of health workers.Methods: Life histories were used in four inter-related projects looking at health worker incentives, the impact of Ebola on health workers, deployment policies, and gender and leadership in the health sector. In total 244 health workers of various cadres were interviewed in Uganda, Sierra Leone, Zimbabwe and Cambodia. The life histories were one element within mixed methods research.Results: We examine the challenges faced and how these were managed. They arose in relation to gaining access, data gathering, and analysing and presenting findings from life histories. Access challenges included lack of familiarity with the method, reluctance to expose very personal information and sentiments, lack of trust in confidentiality, particularly given the traumatized contexts, and, in some cases, cynicism about research and its potential to improve working lives. In relation to data gathering, there was variable willingness to draw lifelines, and some reluctance to broach sensitive topics, particularly in contexts where policy-related issues and legitimacy are commonly still contested. Presentation of lifeline data without compromising confidentiality is also an ethical challenge.Conclusion: We discuss how these challenges were (to a large extent) surmounted and conclude that life histories with health staff can be a very powerful tool, particularly in contexts where routine data sources are absent or weak, and where health workers constitute a marginalized community (as is often the case for mid-level cadres, those serving in remote areas, and staff who have lived through conflict and crisis). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, I discuss the parallels between responses to syphilis in nineteenth century Britain and HIV/AIDS in contemporary Africa. In each case, an incurable disease connected with sexual behaviour aroused fear, stigmatisation and moralistic responses, as well as a desperate scramble to find an effective means of control. In both cases, circumcision of adult males, and then of children or infants, was proposed as the key tactic. In the ensuing debates over the effectiveness and propriety of this approach, three questions occupied health authorities in both Victorian Britain and the contemporary world: (1) Were circumcised men at significantly lower risk of these diseases? (2) If there was evidence pointing to an affirmative answer, was it altered anatomy or different behaviour that explained the difference? (3) Given that circumcision was a surgical procedure with attendant risks of infection, was it possible that circumcision spread syphilis or HIV? I show that in both situations the answers to these questions were inconclusive, argue that circumcision played little or no role in the eventual control of syphilis and suggest that attention to nineteenth century debates may assist contemporary policy-makers to avoid the treatment dead-ends and ethical transgressions that marked the war on syphilis. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article will examine a fundamental drive that indirectly supported Italian expansionist lust in Eritrea, Ethiopia and Somalia between the late-nineteenth century and the Second World War. These colonies in Africa provided Italian men with sexual excess, a place outside the boundaries and mores regulating sexuality in the metropolis. Native girls were considered to be 'full grown' by the age of eleven, bigamy was rampant, rape and homosexuality tolerated, and slavery overlooked. One ex-soldier remembered that in Africa women 'reeked of booty', others filled their memoirs with accounts of the purchase of women. The conquest of Somalia did not offer the Italian State more than a strategic position on the Indian Ocean but well into the 1960s it remained in the common imagination, as the land inhabited by the 'black female Vikings', the 'most beautiful women in the world'. This paper will also analyze changes in the regulation of sexuality in the period of consolidation of the Italian Empire with the Fascist 'Laws for the Defence of the Race', 11 November 1938, while documenting the hard to die practises and fantasies of colonial desire. The tension between desire and the asymmetrical power to realise it, will illustrate a one-sided dream, ultimately a colonial nightmare. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on a two-sided ethnographic study in Accra, this paper analyses Chinese–Ghanaian employment relations from the perspectives of psychological contract, cross-cultural equity expectations and foreignness. Reaching beyond racially framed allegations of each other that are informed partly by politicized media discourses, structural analysis shows that mutually contradictory, culturally grounded expectations regarding their employment relationship are central to the understanding of conflict between Chinese employers and Ghanaian employees. Central to the frictions of mutual equity expectations is the feeling of existential vulnerability that – although particular for each group – is shared by both Chinese migrant employers taking high financial risks in an unfamiliar and potentially hostile environment and their local employees recruited almost exclusively from economically marginalized groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global health has become an increasingly prominent component of foreign policy in the last decade. The term health diplomacy has been used to describe this growing interface between foreign policy and global health, and it encompasses both the concept of using health to further foreign policy objectives as well as the idea that diplomatic tools can be helpful for attaining public health goals. The Chinese presence in Africa has grown in the last 15 years, generating increased interest in Sino-African relations. While much has been written in recent years about the Chinese presence in Africa, the growing numbers of Africans in China have attracted considerably less attention. Many are small-scale traders and might be expected to face many of the health challenges common among foreign migrants, but their health needs have been largely unrecognised. In this paper, we consider how a health diplomacy approach could be applied to African migrants in China, and the potential advantages and limitations of this strategy. We identify areas of overlap between public health, trade and foreign policy goals that can be emphasised to generate support for improved services for African migrants in China and to engage partners from a diversity of sectors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to report on a qualitative exploratory study conducted in Wales to explore what dignity and care mean from the perspectives of men and women aged 50 years and older who self-identified as being either African-Caribbean/West Indian, or Black Welsh (third- or fourth-generation, with links to Africa or the Caribbean). Design/methodology/approach – Twenty-one semi-structured interviews were undertaken, allowing for the collection of data on the participants' understanding of dignity (what it is, and what it "looks and feels like") and of care. Findings – Dignity and respect for older people are revealed to be key aspects of the participants' personal value systems. The notion of care is understood as "caring about" and is seen to be a key indicator of dignity. Moreover, both care and dignity were understood and, for many of the participants, were both conceptualised on a personal basis and shaped by a sense of identity that was, in part and to varying extents, communally mediated and rooted in a cultural collectivistic value orientation. The findings also reveal the intersections of care and minority ethnicity, and how – to varying extents – these intersections shape the participants' perceptions of how they are recognised and acknowledged in encounters where dignity is especially important, such as in the receiving of care. With these perceptions come various levels of engagement, avoidance or acceptance of the need for extra care or support. Originality/value – Exploratory in nature, this study investigates the importance of paying attention to the impact that cultural and ethnic identity (and accompanying belief systems) may have on how notions of dignity and of care (both personal and communally mediated) are understood. It seeks to contribute to the body of evidence on ways of working with "seldom-heard" groups and the importance of building trust and establishing long-term, community-based research networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We propose a novel laboratory experiment to document the pressure to share income within social networks in Africa. We find that the redistributive pressure exerted via the possibility of receiving a claim increases altruism, while the possibility of hiding from such claim reduces it. Our results indicate that sharing norms are crucial drivers of giving to other members of the network. We also find that pressure to share has a detrimental effect on the undertaking of profitable but risky investments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

HIV transmission in sub Saharan Africa has been consistently reported to be heterosexual. The existence of Men who have Sex with Men (MSM) has been denied and the epidemic among them ignored although homosexuality in the continent has been documented. Consequently, limited research has been conducted among Africa's MSM. Homophobia has been reported as one of the key forces driving Africa's epidemic because stigma and discrimination may make MSM a hard-to-reach group for HIV prevention and early treatment services. We conducted searches in journals, newspapers, UNAIDS and MSM web sites to read laws, abuse, and discrimination of MSM. We reviewed literature on entertainment education and its success in addressing social, political, and health issues worldwide in order to propose a solution to the issue. Fifty-five percent of African countries have laws against sex between men. Penalties range from fines, imprisonment, or death. Official harassments, state sponsored homophobia and threats against MSM have been documented. Stigmatization can create barriers to testing, restrict utilization of prevention programs, condom use, and failure to disclose HIV status to sexual partners. This paper suggests a communication strategy such as entertainment education to raise awareness and tolerance and to promote action in the fight against HIV/AIDS epidemic and related stigmatization among Africa's MSM. Entertainment Education which derives from various theories can be disseminated through radio or TV and can bring behavior and social change by offering the audience an opportunity for social learning. It has been effective worldwide and examples include Grey's Anatomy, ER, Philadelphia, Soul City, Eastenders, and the telenovela Simplemente Maria and can pave way for HIV prevention and treatment in a vulnerable population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Background: Perinatal mental health disorders are recognised as an important public health issue in low-income countries as well as in developed countries. This paper reviews evidence on the prevalence and risk factors of maternal mental health disorders in African women living in Africa. Methods: A systematic review of the literature was conducted. Studies were mainly located through computerised databases, and additionally through hand searching references of identified articles and reviews. Thirty-five studies, with a total of 10,880 participants, were identified that reported prevalence rates of maternal psychological health in eight African countries. Results: Depression was the most commonly assessed disorder with a weighted mean prevalence of 11.3% (95% CI 9.5%–13.1%) during pregnancy and 18.3% (95% CI 17.6%–19.1%) after birth. Only a small number of studies assessed other psychological disorders. Prevalence rates of pre- and postnatal anxiety were 14.8% (95% CI 12.3%–17.4%) and 14.0% (95% CI 12.9%–15.2%), respectively; and one study reported the prevalence of PTSD as 5.9% (95% CI 4.4%–7.4%) following childbirth. Lack of support and marital/family conflict were associated with poorer mental health. Evidence relating sociodemographic and obstetric variables to mental health was inconclusive. Limitations: Most studies included in this review were cross-sectional and measures of mental health varied considerably. Conclusions: This paper demonstrates that maternal mental health disorders are prevalent in African women, and highlights the importance of maternal mental health care being integrated into future maternal and infant health policies in African countries. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

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This paper is the account of a clinical psychology research on psychical traumata and trauma psychotherapies in the African region of the Great Lakes, a place that was the scene of fratricidal wars that gave origin to genocide-like acts some years ago. The paper studies psychical traumata related to war crimes, sexual violence and abuse, mistreatment of women and children, relocation of settlements, social neglect, torture, and many other circumstances that pose extreme problems to survival. A case example is a 17-years-old young Burundian woman called Flora, who showed reminiscences of a horrible incident she suffered when being 8 years old, and could not translate into words, by no kind of thinking, that traumatic experience which left her literally mute. She only survived but didn't really live. This woman's search for the impossible word is traced in the paper. Through her integration to a "word group", the research space became a holding clinical framework where the group played the role of a third person. Some hypotheses are formulated on the etiology of the disorders that gave origin to her current situation, and on the procedures to remedy them. The proposed prescription for doing clinical work on the trauma generated a movement that permitted to restore thinking and to produce a discourse, elaborating affects and demands. This prescription was thus a first step for some further work, that could eventually be an individual therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Leadership is crucial in disease outbreak management to ensure successfulness of control and prevention programme. Leadership theories explain the rational of management action during an outbreak. This paper aims to examine various applications in diseases outbreak management. Materials and Methods: Adopting a scoping review method, articles were identified using four databases namely Scopus, Google Scholar, PubMed and Science Direct through the keywords "leadership" and "outbreak management". Only articles written and published in English within the last 15 years were included. 20 articles were reviewed after the filtering process. Result: Four Participative Leadership Theory themes with various examples were identified. These include "Encouragement to the staff" by hospital administration to control SARS outbreak in Taiwan, "Partnership" between international agency in managing polio outbreak in Africans, "Communication with external factor" between health authorities and external general practitioners in controlling meningococcal outbreak in England and "Collaboration between government agencies" between local hospital and clinic in conducting tuberculosis screening. Three Contingency Theory themes that emerged include "Positional power" "Leader-member relation", "Task-structure" in various outbreak management scenario comprising of various leadership skills. For Transformational Theory, three themes recognised include "Inspirational Motivation" involving a hospital CEO in Taiwan managing the SARS crisis, "Idealized Influence" among the health leaders in Papua New Guinea during a Cholera outbreak and "Individualized Consideration" seen through the management of Ebola outbreak in Liberia. Conclusion: The participative leadership theory, contingency theory and transformational leadership theory is identified as equally prominent leadership theories in effective management of diseases outbreak. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Migration has been hypothesised to be selective on health but this healthy migrant hypothesis has generally been tested at destinations, and for only one type of flow, from deprived to better-off areas. The circulatory nature of migration is rarely accounted for. This study examines the relationship between different types of internal migration and adult mortality in Health and Demographic Surveillance System (HDSS) populations in West, East, and Southern Africa, and asks how the processes of selection, adaptation and propagation explain the migration-mortality relationship experienced in these contexts. The paper uses longitudinal data representing approximately 900 000 adults living in nine sub-Saharan African HDSS sites of the INDEPTH Network. Event History Analysis techniques are employed to examine the relationship between all-cause mortality and migration status, over periods ranging from 3 to 14 years for a total of nearly 4.5 million person-years. The study confirms the importance of migration in explaining variation in mortality, and the diversity of the migration-mortality relationship over a range of rural and urban local areas in the three African regions. The results confirm that the pattern of migration-mortality relationship is not exclusively explained by selection but also by propagation and adaptation. Consequences for public health policy are drawn. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines how the profile of undernutrition among children in two African countries (Ethiopia and Nigeria) changed over the period of the 2007/08 food, fuel and financial crisis. Using the Composite Index of Anthropometric Failure (CIAF), an indicator which allows for a comprehensive assessment of undernutrition in young children, we examine what changes occurred in the composition of undernutrition, and how these changes were distributed amongst children in different socio-economic groups. This is important as certain combinations of anthropometric failure (AF), especially the experience of multiple failures (dual and triple combinations of AF) are associated with higher morbidity and mortality risks, and are also related to poverty. Our hypothesis is that increases in food prices during the crisis contributed to an increase in inequality, which may have resulted in concurrent increases in the prevalence of more damaging forms of undernutrition amongst poorer children. While both countries witnessed large increases in food prices, the effects were quite different. Ethiopia managed reduce the prevalence of multiple anthropometric failure between 2005 and 2011 across most groups and regions. By contrast, in Nigeria prevalence increased between 2008 and 2013, and particularly so in the poorer, northern states. The countries studied applied quite different policies in response to food price increases, with the results from Ethiopia demonstrating that protectionist public health and nutrition interventions can mitigate the impacts of price increases on poor children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Rastafari movement has been described as one of the loudest voices on issues related to African freedom. To this extent Rastafari has emerged in this time as a principal activists and teachers of freedom and empowerment for the oppressed. Through an engagement of the ideas surround the process of 'mental liberation' for the post-colonial African, this paper explores the thinking within Rastafari on the business of the mutilation of the Black self. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper attempts to address the invisibility of Africana psychological theory, research, and methodology in Africology by synthesizing the competing definitions, schools of thought, and research agendas in Black Psychology. Attention will be given to the various ways in which Black psychologists have attempted to deconstruct and reconstruct traditional psychological thought as well as construct new definitions, theories, measurements, and conceptual frameworks for understanding and interpreting the psychological experiences of people of African descent. Although psychology was identified by Karenga as one of the core components in the emerging discipline of African-American Studies, very few of the existing institutes, programs, and departments of African-American Studies include psychology as a major part of their curriculum. As a psycho-historical endeavor, a primary concern of Africana Psychology is with understanding how the historical experiences of being an African in America have impacted African-American psyches. Thus, it is argued that if the discipline of Africology is attempting to fully understand Africana experiences, Africology must reexamine the importance of psychology and its role in aiding Africana scholars interpret and understand the experiences of people of African descent in the Americas and throughout the diaspora. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Having children is part of most people's expectations of life. Failing to have them, or failing to have them when planned, causes emotional distress and a (sometimes painful) reordering of life's priorities. This article reviews selected studies of the experience of infertility and its treatment and related advances in Western and some underdeveloped countries, and focuses on the psychological, social and cultural limitations identified. Stressful as infertility is for those in developed countries, it is generally acknowledged that it is worse, particularly for women, in many developing countries where limited treatment options are available and fewer opportunities for personal fulfilment outside the family exist. New reproductive technologies may have increased the chances of infertile men and women in developed countries having children, but they are not without limitations. In the context of stark differences in the availability of treatment and reproductive opportunities between the UK and sub-Saharan Africa, this paper highlights: the areas of common experience; the largely unacknowledged limitations of treatment failure and access to existing fertility treatment and its technological developments; and cultural expectations that place limitations on the possibilities for childless couples who are at the mercy of societal opinion and policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper suggests that current tactics in the ‘war on terror’ are predictably counterproductive, and that these ‘failing’ tactics actually serve a range of political, economic and psychological functions for diverse actors who make up the ‘war on terror’ coalition. It compares the ‘war on terror’ to civil wars, especially in Africa, where experience shows that predictably counterproductive tactics are common and the aim is not necessarily to win. Current violent responses to terror—which represent ‘magical thinking’ in important ways—are based on the fallacy of a finite group of evil people who can be physically eliminated; more productive would be a genuine attempt to understand the processes that lead people to embrace violence and an attempt to engage with processes of exclusion, humiliation and discrimination. This is something that needs to be built into any developmental initiative; otherwise, we are left with a vast pool of anger and a counter-terror reflex that only exacerbates the problem. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose — This study examined factors associated with depression in 125 informal caregivers to adults living with HIV/AIDS in Lomé, Togo. Methodology — Each caregiver completed a questionnaire that assessed primary and secondary stressors, social support and depression. Most of the participants were women (78 per cent), married (53 per cent), and had been giving care to nuclear family members (63 per cent) for about 11 months. OLS regression was used to examine the association of primary and secondary stressors with self- reported depression. Findings — The analysis showed that caregiving demand, role captivity, and job conflict were positively associated with self-reported depression. This suggests that work-related strains and role strains were associated with depression levels among caregivers in our sample. Research limitations/implications — The study is based on a small convenience sample of volunteers and this may limit the generalisability of the results. Practical implications — This knowledge can benefit HIV/AIDS service providers in counselling caregivers who need to maintain a healthy quality of life and well-being for their difficult and challenging task. Originality/value — This paper contributes to knowledge on caregiving role to people with chronic illnesses by incorporating an understudied population into the knowledge base. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gender diversity is known to have a positive effect on innovation in developed countries. However, it is unclear whether the benefits of gender diversity for innovation also apply to the particular context of developing countries, which is characterized by diverse and lower levels of gender equality. We propose that gender diversity positively impacts innovation in the developing countries participating in our study. In addition, we expect that this effect is moderated by country-specific levels of gender equality. In a cross-country study covering 18,547 firms in 15 developing countries, we find that gender diversity among a firm’s owners and workforce as well as having a female top manager benefit innovation in developing countries. Yet, contradictory to our expectations, gender equality does not significantly moderate this relationship. As such, our results underline the importance of enabling and fostering gender diversity and have critical implications for firms and policy makers alike. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the functions of psychological science is to develop concepts for thinking about people and their well-being. Since its establishment as a scientific discipline in the late 19th century, psychology has developed concepts that are essentially rooted in the specific spatio-temporal context of Western, Educated, Industrial, Rich, and Democratic (WEIRD) countries. There is a growing ontological and epistemological awareness that psychological science and practices from WEIRD cultural spaces cannot be exclusively representative of the African experience. I draw from interpersonal violence research to discuss the concepts of personhood, agency, and morality from an African perspective and highlight their theoretical and practical utility for psychological science. Based on African communalism, I argue that an understanding of personhood, agency, and morality as culturally contextualised and socially intentioned phenomena is foundational to the advancement of heterogeneous practices of knowledge production in diverse contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Some studies in developing countries have shown that infant mortality is highly associated with maternal education, implying that maternal education might play an important role in the reduction of infant mortality. However, other research has shown that lower levels of maternal education does not have any significant contribution to infant survival. In this systematic review, we focus on the effect of different levels of maternal education on infant mortality in Ethiopia. Methods: MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, Scopus, and Maternity and Infant Care databases were searched between November 15, 2017 and February 20, 2018. All articles published until February 20, 2018 were included in the study. The data extraction was conducted in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA 2009) guidelines. An I2 test was used to assess heterogeneity and a funnel plot was used to check publication bias. Findings: We retrieved 441 records after removing duplications. During screening, 31 articles were fully accessed for data extraction. Finally, five articles were included for analysis. The overall pooled estimate indicated that attending primary education was associated with a 28% reduction in the odds of infant mortality compared to those infants born to mothers who were illiterate, OR: 0.72 (95% CI = 0.66, 0.78). Another pooled estimate indicated that attending secondary education and above was associated with a 45% reduction in the odds of infant mortality compared to those infants born to mothers who were illiterate, OR: 0.55 (95% CI = 0.47, 0.64). Conclusion: From this study, understanding the long-term impact of maternal education may contribute to reduce infant mortality. Therefore, policy makers should give more attention in promoting the role of women through removing institutional and cultural barriers, which hinder women from access to education in order to reduce infant mortality in Ethiopia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Research on contraceptive behaviour changes over time in Uganda is scarce, yet it has among the highest fertility and maternal mortality rates of any country in the East African region. Understanding temporal patterns of contraceptive use for both women and men is vital in evaluating the effectiveness of family planning interventions and strategies, and identifying those with the most unmet need. Using repeated nationally representative cross-sectional samples, this study charts the changes in Uganda’s population-based contraceptive use over recent years. Methods: Five Demographic and Health Survey datasets for Uganda over 21 years, from 1995 to 2016, were sourced and interrogated. Eligible participants included all women aged 15–49 years and men aged 15–54 years. Responses to questions on modern and any (modern or traditional) contraceptive use were analysed. Stratified by gender, weighted regression analyses were employed to detect change over time. The patterns associated with key demographic variables were also investigated. Results: Overall, 50,027 women and 14,092 men were included within the study. In 2016, 30.3% of women and 39.9% of men were using any contraceptive method, a significant non-linear increase from 13.4% of women and 20.3% of men in 1995. Furthermore, 27.3% of women and 35.9% of men were using modern contraceptive methods in 2016, an increase from 7.4% of women and 10.4% of men in 1995. All considered demographic variables were significantly associated with contraceptive use for both women and men (all P<0.001); and for women, all variables differentially changed over time (all P<0.001). Conclusion: This study showed a significant increase and dynamism across key demographic variables in contraceptive uptake by both women and men. Sustained family planning programs and interventions have successfully resulted in behaviour change across the Ugandan population. However, continued efforts are needed to further reduce Uganda’s relatively high fertility and associated maternal mortality rates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]