Ministry of Health

A modified Delphi study of expert consensus on mental health service access and digital strategies for adolescents and young people living with HIV in Zambia

Adolescents and young people living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), hereafter AYPLHIV, experience depression, anxiety, behavioural difficulties, and psychosocial distress that may undermine antiretroviral therapy (ART) adherence and long-term HIV outcomes. In Zambia, men...

A multi-facility data quality assessment of electronic health records for trustworthy AI in HIV public health in Zambia

Artificial intelligence (AI) holds promise for HIV disease surveillance and clinical decision support in sub-Saharan Africa, yet AI reliability and fairness depend fundamentally on data quality, a dimension rarely assessed before model development. This study presents a systemati...

Raising the bar: translating global guidelines to achieve local policy on cholera elimination in Zambia—a qualitative case study

Abstract Background The global roadmap to eliminating cholera by 2030 relies on early detection and response, vaccination in hotspots and effective partnerships. In sub-Saharan Africa, where 60% of the 2.8 million annual cases occur, cholera elimination requires a multisectoral r...

Validation of a National Pediatric HIV Risk Screening Tool at 31 Health Facilities in Zambia

BACKGROUND: To improve testing efficiency, Zambia introduced a national pediatric human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) Risk Screening Tool (HRST) in 2019. However, concerns about its sensitivity led to its suspension in 2021 pending formal evaluation. We therefore undertook a forma...

Household catastrophic out-of-pocket expenditure and the socioeconomic burden of paediatric surgery: a cross-sectional study at the highest tertiary hospital in Zambia

Globally, about 81 million people per year are driven to financial catastrophe from the costs of surgery and other related nonmedical costs, with low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) bearing the greatest burden. This study determined the catastrophic out-of-pocket (OOP) healt...

Sodium supplementation strategies in preterm infants: effects on growth, electrolyte balance, and exploratory evidence on neurodevelopment — a systematic review and meta-analysis

This study evaluated the effects of sodium supplementation on growth, electrolyte balance, and neurodevelopmental outcomes in preterm infants. A systematic review and meta-analysis of published studies were conducted using data from PubMed, Embase, Scopus, and Google Scholar, inc...

“My heart is at peace because I know that I am protected:” understanding the factors that facilitate adolescent girls and young women’s uptake of long-acting injectable PrEP in Zambia

Adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) in EASTERN AND SOUTHERN Africa face a disproportionate risk of HIV acquisition. While effective, uptake of daily oral pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for HIV prevention among this population has remained inadequate. Hypothetical preference...

Factors associated with anxiety disorders among adolescents and young adults with substance use disorders at a tertiary hospital in Zambia: a retrospective chart review

Anxiety disorders are highly prevalent among individuals with substance use disorders (SUDs), yet factors associated with anxiety in this population remain poorly understood. This study aimed to identify demographic, clinical, and substance-related factors associated with anxiety...