The rate of teenage pregnancy remains unacceptably high in most developing countries. In Rwanda, studies show a rapid increase over the past two decades despite the political achievements of women's empowerment, and efforts to curtail child sexual abuse. Unfortunately, the current knowledge of the household determinants of teenage pregnancies in Rwanda is limited, as recent studies have focused on providing numbers with little analysis of proximate causal factors or focused on the individual determinants. The study uses secondary data from the recent Rwanda Demographic and Health Survey (RDHS: 2014–2015) to analyse household factors associated with teenage pregnancies in Rwanda. In addition to descriptive analysis, we ran logistic regression models to determine the level of association between teenage pregnancy and household socioeconomic characteristics. Results indicate that marital status and age of household head, household size, number of bedrooms given the size of the household, and the educational level of the household-head are significantly associated with teenage pregnancy (p < 0.01). Teen girls from small households are more likely to get pregnant than those from large families, while financial, social and educational empowerment of parents, and harmonious household contexts contribute to lessening the cases of teenage pregnancy. It indicates that social and economic support to teen girls which include parental supervision, guidance, and financial care are essential aspects to consider in order to reduce teenage pregnancy rates. The study suggests that in addition to efforts directed to teens themselves, strategies for reducing teen pregnancies should focus on a range of household-level contexts that form two broad categories: empowering parents and maintaining parents' harmonious decisions on teen girls.

Background: About 150 million people worldwide are diagnosed with urinary tract infection (UTI) every year and more than half of women get UTI at least once in their lifetimes. Overuse and misuse of antibiotics have contributed to the growing problem of resistance amongst uropathogenic bacteria making it hard to treat. Aims and Objectives: This study aimed to determine bacteria causing UTIs and their antibiotic resistance profile among patients attending Nemba District Hospital in Rwanda. Materials and Methods: A retrospective study design was used and 267 patient’s data with positive urine culture were reviewed from microbiology laboratory logbooks. Results: In this study, UTI was more frequent in female 180(67.4%) than male 87(32.6%). The most frequently isolated bacteria to cause UTI were Escherichia coli (56.93%) followed by Staphylococcus aureus (28.46%), Proteus spp. (4.49%), Klebsiella spp. (3.75%), Morganella morganii (1.87%), Coagulase Negative Staphylococcus (1.50%), Neisseria gonorrhea (1.12%), Enterobacter spp. (1.12%) and Citrobacter spp. (0.7%). There was a high antimicrobial resistance profile among bacterial isolates. The most commonly used antimicrobial agents including third-generation cephalosporin were resistant to bacterial isolates at a higher rate. Conclusion: These findings suggest continued antimicrobial resistance surveillance and special precautions should be taken for empirical treatment referring to local antimicrobial resistance.

Background Regular screening for microalbuminuria among type 2 diabetes patients is less common in most low-income countries while it is an early marker of diabetic nephropathy and cardiovascular complications. Objective This study aims to assess the need for regular screening for microalbuminuria among type 2 diabetes patients. Methodology  with cross-sectional approach, 124 diabetic patients were recruited at Muhimbili National Hospital, in Tanzania; their age, gender, body mass index, fasting blood sugar levels (by Accu Chek Active Glucometer), random urine albumin levels (by Microalbumin 2-1 Combo Test Strips), and the duration of diabetes were recorded. Results The study indicated that 62.1% of the participants were microalbuminuric while 2.4% were macroalbuminuric. The risk of microalbuminuria was 4.55 higher in patients aged 60-69 years (95% CI: 1.32-16.51), and 17.4 times higher in patients aged 70 and above (95% CI: 1.49-202.86) compared to individuals aged below 50 years. Patients with high blood sugar level had a risk of 8.09 times higher compared to those with normal blood sugar (CI: 2.53-25.86). Also, the odds were 7.89 higher in patients who lived with diabetes for 10-14 years compared to those lived with the disease less than 5 years (95% CI:1.33-45.59). Conclusion The odds of microalbuminuria increased significantly as the patient gets older, with high blood sugar, and the duration of diabetes. Health policies need to establish programs that enhance care at the diabetic clinic through regular screening for microalbuminuria to reduce the risk of developing kidney and cardiovascular complications. Rwanda J Med Health Sci 2021;4(1):84-97