Background:  Birth Preparedness and Complication Readiness is a strategy to enhance  the timely use of skilled maternal and neonatal care, especially during childbirth, based on the theory that preparing for childbirth and  readiness for complications reduces delays in obtaining this care and reducing possible  pregnancy risk.  Sustainable Development Goal 3 has as one of its targets  to reduce the global maternal mortality ratio to less than 70 per 100,000 births, with no country having a maternal mortality rate of more than twice the global average. Following the intensity of the problem, it is necessary to investigate ways to curb marternal mortality which is an essential component which should begin with awareness, and practice of birth preparedness readiness and complications and inturn vital in the management and development of intervention measures. Objective: of this study was to investigate the awareness and practice of birth preparedness and complication readiness among pregnant women in Fako Division. Methods: This was a community -based cross sectional study carried out in the Fako division of the South West Region, Cameroon. 163 pregnant women of ≥28 weeks gestational ages seen at the antenatal consultation units were selected using convenient sampling method. Data collected was analysed with SPSS version 25.0 and Microsoft excel 2010. Results: Of the 163 pregnant women included in this study, 129 (79.1%) were aware of birth preparedness and complication readiness. 136 (83.4%) had knowledge in recognising danger signs in pregnancy and Vaginal bleeding was the most frequent mentioned danger sign (72.4%). 80(49.1%) had excellent knowledge on danger signs, 59(36.2%) had good knowledge while 24(14.7%) had poor knowledge on key danger sign in pregnancy. The practice of birth preparedness and complication readiness, 47.9% had optimal practice, 37.4% had standard practice while 14.7% had poor practice. Conclusion: The findings of this study revealed that the awareness of birth preparedness and complication readiness was high. Few pregnant women lacked adequate preparations as required by the BPCR plan. The findings also indicated that the knowledge on danger signs in pregnancy among pregnant women in the BHD are high. Women’s knowledge of danger signs during pregnancy positively influenced their decisions regarding when to seek medical care and when to take appropriate action.

Introduction: The practice of auto-medication is on the rise in most sub-Saharan countries. The effects of these may be associated with increased drug resistance in the future, complication of the course of a disease, adverse drug interactions etc. Auto-medication is of course a global public health concern, which requires appropriate attention to evade future undesirable effects. Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate the knowledge, prevalence and associated determinants of auto-medication in the Limbe municipality. Method: This was a community-based cross-sectional study, conducted among 284 enrolled participants in Limbe Health District between January to August 2021. A structured questionnaire-based interview was used to collect data from each study subject. Then, data were categorised and analysed using SPSS version 20 software. Results: Majority of 213 (75%) of the participants practised auto-medication. The most frequently reported auto-medication symptoms were fever and headache 202 (71.1%). 95 (15.6%) practised auto-medication because they believed it saved time, meanwhile 5 (0.8%) had the belief that health personnel are too busy in the hospital with lots of patients to serve. Concerning knowledge, 68.9%, 13.1% and 18.2% had grading as Good, Poor and uncertain respectively. 58.

BackgroundThe outbreak of the COVID-19 Pandemic led to the implementation of preventive measures to curb the spread of the virus. The fear of contracting the virus and some infection prevention and control measures have been associated with poor mental and brain health outcomes .We therefore assessed the health care- seeking behaviours and the impact of COVID-19 preventive measures on depression and anxiety among survivors of COVID-19 at the Buea Regional Hospital. Materials and MethodsThe study design was an unmatched case control study. Cases were identified from health facility records and the controls were patients who are inhabitants of same community. Data was collected using an online google questionnaire and a physical questionnaire which was self-administered .We used the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale to assess anxiety and depression. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 25.0 and a P-value of <0.05 was considered to be statistically significant.ResultsWe recruited 245 participants with the mean age for our participants being 32.89±13.17years. With regards to Health care -seeking behaviours 78.9 vs 75.1% (OR 1.24, CI: 0.65-2.38) sought care from the hospital among the cases and controls respectively. Survivors of COVID-19 were about 12 times more likely to seek for conventional medication as a treatment for their disease (OR 11.96, 95% CI: 6.25-22.90, p=0.000) compared to the controls. Survivors of COVID-19 presented with higher mean scores for depression and anxiety compared to the controls respectively (7.74±3.93 vs. 4.01±4.48, p=0.000), (6.84±3.87 vs. 3.10±3.75, p=0.000). Participants who wore face mask were 3 times more likely to be anxious and depressed than those who did not. Factors associated with adverse mental health outcomes were losing a love one due to COVID-19, quarantine and social isolation among the casesConclusions Health care seeking behaviour was more appropriate in the cases than the controls. COVID-19 preventive measures were associated with a negative psychosocial impact among COVID-19 survivors; thus public health officials should implement measures targeting psychosocial support of the population