Late reporting of disease outbreaks and other health related events of public health significance have been linked to poor implementation of the Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response (IDSR). As such strengthening the capacity of health workers involved in IDSR implementation is required. The main objective of this study was to assess the factors affecting the implementation of the IDSR in public health care facilities in Rufunsa District, Zambia.A cross-sectional facility based descriptive study design as well as observation was done in which 34 study subjects were conveniently sampled from the 9 health facilities in the district. Data collection was done using a pretested semi structured questionnaire and an institutional-tailored observational checklist. Analyses were done using SPSS version18.The study revealed that factors that affected the implementation of the IDSR were low knowledge levels among Health Workers about IDSR as only 36.3% of them received training in IDSR in the last 12 months at the time of this study. Other factors that created gaps in the implementation of IDSR were negative attitudes of the health workers as 9.0% of them were of the opinion that the IDSR system wasted much of their time, as its implementation interfered with their clinical work and about 51.5% were demoralised as they felt that support from the managers at the District, Province and Ministry of Health Headquarters was inadequate. Poor practices of health workers towards IDSR was also identified as a factor affecting IDSR Implementation. For instance, it was revealed that about 27.3% of the health workers either infrequently or never reported a disease which required mandatory reporting in the last 12 months as they stated that the process of reporting was cumbersome as the forms were too many and complicated. They further echoed that IDSR implementation lacked prompt feedback from the Managers at the District. Resource-wise, all facilities in the district lacked adequate resources for IDSR implementation. For example between 11.1 to 44.4% of the health facilities lacked one or more types of reporting forms. Other resources lacking were electricity, and good network connectivity since about 51.5% relied on mobile phones for sending reports which required prompt feedback. Therefore, to ensure effective IDSR implementation, adequate funding directed to the strengthening of IDSR activities should be deliberately put in the budget's yellow book. Regular IDSR trainings are to be offered to health workers which should be followed by mentorship and supervision by the District and Provincial Health Offices as well as the Ministry of Health. Keywords: Integrated disease surveillance and response; Implementation; Disease reportingKey points of what the paper will add to the topic:1. Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response(IDSR) as a strategy by the World Health African Regional Office (WHO-ARO), helps in keeping the countries alert about notifiable diseases occurences.2. It promotes generation of quality data abo...

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Background: One of the neglected issues in our society today, is effective communication between parents and adolescents on matters of Sex and Reproductive Health. This problem has saliently exposed the adolescents to the risk of contracting Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) and teenage pregnancies as well as engaging in drug and substance abuse. As such, this study aimed at assessing the extent of parent-adolescents communication on Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) matters among the Lecturers at Evelyn Hone College and their children. Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive survey study design was used in which 85 respondents were conveniently recruited into the study. Data collection was through pre-tested semi structured questionnaires. Analysis of data was done using SPSS version18 and graphs were generated using Microsoft Excel. Results: The study revealed that parents were not very much willing to offer SRH education to their adolescent children. They preferred having their children being taught SRH education by non-family members rather than themselves. Additionally, it was further shown that parents were initiators of SRH discussions in a home and not children. Further, it was also revealed that adolescents who had ever received SRH education from their parents were less likely to be promiscuous as compared to those who lacked such education. It was however noted that most female lecturers spent much of their time educating their children in SRH than their male counterparts. Conclusion: The findings suggested that parenthood and gender play key roles in the communication of SRH matters between parents and adolescent children. As it was seen that female Lecturers spent much time communicating with their adolescent children on SRH issues than the male Lecturers. However, there is need to create avenues other than a home where adolescents will be able to openly discuss and share experiences about SRH especially with the guidance of a parent.

Background Contamination of cow milk with uranium (U) is attracting global attention owing to U’s radio-toxicity and chemical toxicity in humans and animals. Concentrations of U in 223 cow milk samples from indigenous breeds reared in the proximity of a U mine in Zambia were measured using the inductively coupled mass spectrometry, and the human health risks from exposure to U through milk consumption were assessed. Results Milk from cattle reared in the U-mining area showed a significantly higher U-mean concentration (0.83 ± 0.64 µg/L; t = 9.95; tα = 0.05, p > 0.05) than milk from cattle reared in the non-mining area (0.08 µg/L ± 0.05). Among the residents of the U-mining area, the mean estimated daily intake (EDI), the target hazard quotients (THQs) and the target carcinogenic risks (TCRs) were all significantly (p < 0.05) elevated than among the residents of the non-mining area. Conclusions Since the EDIs, THQs and TCRs and the U level in the cow milk were all within the World Health Organization’s and the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s permissible limits of 0.6 µg/kg-bw/day, < 1, < 10–4 and 30 µg/L, respectively. The current study, therefore, has insufficient evidence to implicate U exposure through consumption of cow milk in any non-carcinogenic or carcinogenic human health complications that are currently prevailing in the study area. Graphic abstract