Hassan et al., 122Low birth weight and its associated factors among deliveries in Malawi city, Minia, Egypt

Background: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a global health problem. Cirrhosis and end stage liver disease are considered main complications among adults and children. Epidemiologically, Egypt show higher level of anti HCV antibodies than other countries. The current study aimed to screen (HCV) infection among school children. Research design: A cross-sectional research design was used to achieve the aim of this study. Sample: Two randomly selected schools at Minia district (one urban and one rural) were included in the study, 750 students were included out of 862 with response rate 87%. Tools: A structured interviewing questionnaire that includes part one: demographic data related to studied group, part two: included risk factors associated with HCV infection such as history of taking any injectable medications drug use, history of blood transfusion, history of hospital operation... etc. while part three was a rapid HCV antibody test. Results: The mean age of the study sample was 15.18 ± 1.959 years, regarding to results of advanced quality rapid HCV antibody test, only 0.7% of school children were positive anti HCV. The most prevalent risk factors among studied school children were ear piercing, history of taking injectable medications from informal care provider, circumcision, scarification and history of dental procedure 99.3, 94.9, 88.8, 88.5, and 62.5% respectively. Regarding relation between risk factors and percentage of anti HCV among school children, blood transfusion, sharing shaving instruments and tooth brush are statistically significant. Conclusion: The study was concluded that the percentage of school children (aged 12-18) years old who are probably infected with HCV was 0.7% (5 out of 750) in Minia district. Recommendations: Future studies should focus on the screening of HCV and methods of prevention in some other nearby communities at Minia governorate to make early detection and provide proper treatment.

There are 1.7 million orphans in Egypt, and the Egyptian foster care sector is largely a non-governmental relying on private support with minimal government supervision. The transition from living at home to living in foster care is difficult for anyone at this age. Psychological distress is one of the health problems faced by foster youth. Social agencies have no more power than the legal rights to offer support to these youths. Therefore, the aim of the study was to investigate the relationship between psychological distresses and social support provided to the adolescents in foster care. Subjects and methods: Three tools were utilized to measure the variables of the study: Sociodemographic data, Depression, Anxiety, Stress scale (DASS 42) and Norbeck Social Support Questionnaire (NSSQ). Results revealed that, 58% of subjects were males and more than half of the foster care adolescents came from rural area, poverty and divorce were the major reasons for entering foster care. Concerning level of psychological distress among the foster care adolescents, 77% of adolescents had mild to moderate stress, 60% had mild to moderate depression while more than half of them (54%) suffered from severe to extreme anxiety. As regard social support; more than half of foster care adolescents (52%) received support from their friends and males were more socially supported than females. Conclusion: Broken families (divorces) and poverty were the major reasons for placing children in foster care. Most of foster care adolescents had various levels of psychological distress especially depression and anxiety. Friends represented the main social support source for the foster care adolescents. Adolescents who had not anxiety had higher mean scores of social support than others. There is no a statistically significant differences between social support and psychological distress. Recommendations; Focusing on alternative families from relatives and neighbors, especially to orphans, those who came from broken families, or suffer from some circumstances of illness or economic hardship than foster care. Introduction:

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