Mary Mwanyika‐Sando
Biographic Data
| ID | 7047259 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Mary Mwanyika‐Sando |
| GIVEN NAMES | Mary |
| FAMILY NAME | Mwanyika‐Sando |
| SIGNATURE | SANDO M M |
| AFFILIATIONS | Africa Academy for Public Health |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-8079-5960 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 22 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 0 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 22 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2021 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 0 |
Prevalence and factors associated with anaemia among adolescents in Sub-Saharan Africa and India
Anaemia remains a major global health concern among adolescents. While regional and national studies report varying prevalence, cross-continental evidence is limited. This study examines anaemia prevalence and its determinants among adolescents in Sub-Saharan Africa and India. We analyzed cross-sectional data from 9,820 adolescents (10–19 years) in Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Ghana, India, Nigeria, Tanzania, and Uganda . Hemoglobin levels were measur…
Leveraging connections between family planning and nutrition to improve the health of women
The global burden of malnutrition and unmet need for family planning (FP) among women of reproductive age remains high. Leveraging the epidemiological and programmatic links between FP and nutrition could help improve outcomes in both domains for women, with wider benefits to health and well-being. Here, we draw on findings from our recently concluded Family Planning and Nutrition Project, which synthesised epidemiological and programmatic linkag…
Predictors of anaemia incidence and remission among adolescents
Background: Anaemia remains a major public health challenge among adolescents in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). However, longitudinal evidence on its incidence and remission during this critical period is limited. Most existing studies assess anaemia cross-sectionally, providing limited insight into its progression or potential reversibility. We aimed to examine the dynamics of anaemia during adolescence, estimating incidence and remis…
Perceptions and predictors of Covid-19 vaccine hesitancy among healthcare providers across five countries in sub-Saharan Africa
The African continent has some of the world’s lowest COVID-19 vaccination rates. While the limited availability of vaccines is a contributing factor, COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among healthcare providers (HCP) is another factor that could adversely affect efforts to control infections on the continent. We sought to understand the extent of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among HCP, and its contributing factors in Africa. We evaluated COVID-19 vaccine …
Efficacy and acceptability of a blended intervention for emotion regulation (Maisha) among young people in Kenya
Adolescence is a crucial developmental period characterized by increased challenges in emotion regulation, a key mechanism linked to mental health. In Kenya, one in every two adolescents and youth faces a mental health challenge, highlighting a need for early interventions targeting emotion regulation. This study will evaluate the efficacy and acceptability of MAISHA, a blended indicated mental health intervention co-designed with young people to…
Effects of engaging fathers and bundling parenting and nutrition interventions on early child development and maternal and paternal parenting in Mara, Tanzania
BACKGROUND: Multicomponent interventions are needed to address the various co-occurring risks that compromise early child nutrition and development. We compared the independent and combined effects of engaging fathers and bundling parenting components into a nutrition intervention on early child development (ECD) and parenting outcomes. METHODS: We conducted a 2×2 factorial cluster-randomized controlled trial across 80 villages in Mara Region, Ta…
Experiences, acceptability and barriers to calcium supplementation during pregnancy in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
Calcium supplementation in pregnancy is recommended in contexts with low dietary calcium intake to reduce the risk of pre-eclampsia and its complications. The World Health Organisation suggested high-dose calcium supplementation (1500-2000 mg/day), divided into three doses and taken at different times from daily iron-folic supplements. We conducted a mixed methods evaluation study to assess experiences, acceptability and barriers to high-dose cal…
School health and nutrition environments
Schools are increasingly regarded as a key setting for promoting the health, well-being, and development of children and adolescents. In this multicountry cross-sectional survey, we describe the health, nutrition, and food environments of public primary schools in five urban settings in Africa region: Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso; Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Durban; South Africa, Khartoum, Sudan; and, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. We evaluated the school heal…
Estimated timing of the first menstrual period and dietary and nutritional correlates of menarche among urban school‐going adolescents in four sub‐Saharan African sites
Characterizing the timing of menarche and the factors that are associated with it is important for understanding a population's reproductive health needs and long-term health trajectories. We estimated the age at the menstrual onset among adolescent girls and the association between dietary and nutritional factors and menarche in four sub-Saharan African urban sites. We used cross-sectional school-based data from 2307 female adolescents aged 10-1…
Determinants of Covid-19 vaccine readiness and hesitancy among adults in sub-Saharan Africa
There is very limited data on the extent and determinants of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among adults living in sub-Saharan Africa since the global roll-out of vaccines began in 2021. This multi-country survey sought to investigate COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy and other predictors of readiness to get vaccinated. We conducted surveys among adults residing in nine urban and rural areas in Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Ghana, Nigeria, and Tanzania in late 20…
Dietary intake and quality for young adolescents in sub‐Saharan Africa
Adolescents face the risk of the triple burden of malnutrition-the co-existence of micronutrient deficiencies, underweight and overweight and obesity and related noncommunicable diseases. Poor-quality diets are a modifiable risk factor for all forms of malnutrition in adolescents. However, there is limited knowledge about diet quality for African adolescents. We analyzed data from 4609 school-going adolescents aged 10-15 years in Burkina Faso, Et…
Adolescent health and well‐being in sub‐Saharan Africa
In Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), adolescents make up around one-quarter of the population who are growing up in a rapidly urbanizing environment, with its associated risks and benefits, including impacts on health, psychosocial development, nutrition, and education. However, research on adolescents' health and well-being in SSA is limited. The ARISE (African Research, Implementation Science and Education) Network's Adolescent Health and Nutrition Stu…
Correlates of internalizing and externalizing problems among school‐going young adolescents in Sub‐Saharan Africa
Mental health in adolescence is important for health and well-being throughout the life course, but evidence from Sub-Saharan Africa is sparse. This study aimed to assess the correlates of internalizing, externalizing and cumulative problems among early adolescents. This study used cross-sectional survey data from 3516 school-going adolescents in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso; Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. We used a 25-item Stren…
Access to digital media and devices among adolescents in sub‐Saharan Africa
Digital technologies provide unprecedented opportunities for health and nutrition interventions among adolescents. The use of digital media and devices among young adolescents across diverse settings in sub-Saharan Africa is unclear. This cross-sectional study aimed to assess the use of digital media and devices and the socioeconomic determinants of use among young adolescents in Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, South Africa, Sudan and Tanzania. The study…
Burden and determinants of anaemia among in‐school young adolescents in Ethiopia, Sudan and Tanzania
Anaemia among adolescents is a global health problem. However, evidence regarding its burden and risk factors, particularly for younger adolescents and in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), remains scarce. We aimed to assess the prevalence and potential determinants of anaemia among urban and semi-urban in-school young adolescents in Ethiopia, Sudan and Tanzania. We conducted a school-based survey among 3558 adolescents aged 10-14 years. A capillary blood…
Factors associated with anemia among school-going adolescents aged 10–17 years in Zanzibar, Tanzania
NCT05104554, registered 03/11/2021
The impact of a community health worker intervention on uptake of antenatal care
The provision of high-quality antenatal care (ANC) is important for preventing maternal and newborn mortality and morbidity, but only around half of pregnant women in Tanzania attended four or more ANC visits in 2019. Although there is emerging evidence on the benefit of community health worker (CHW) interventions on ANC uptake, few large-scale pragmatic trials have been conducted. This pragmatic cluster-randomized trial, implemented directly thr…
Covid-19 vaccine hesitancy and its determinants among sub-Saharan African adolescents
COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among adolescents poses a challenge to the global effort to control the pandemic. This multi-country survey aimed to assess the prevalence and determinants of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among adolescents in sub-Saharan Africa between July and December 2021. The survey was conducted using computer-assisted telephone interviewing among adolescents in five sub-Saharan African countries, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Ghana, Niger…
Continued disruptions in health care services and mental health among health care providers during the Covid-19 pandemic in five sub-Saharan African countries
Background: Continuous monitoring of the pandemic's impact on health service provision and mental health, COVID-19 perceptions, and compliance with prevention measures among health care providers (HCPs) can help with mitigating the pandemic's negative effects. Methods: A computer-assisted telephone interviewing (CATI) survey was conducted among 1499 HCPs in Burkina Faso (Ouagadougou), Ethiopia (Addis Ababa), Nigeria (Lagos and Ibadan), Tanzania (…
Exploring drivers of food choice among PLHIV and their families in a peri-urban Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
The use of this expanded framework that included a family perspective on PLHIV food choice illuminated the various households decision-making dynamics that took place in this low resource community. Family members of PLHIV tried to buffer the limitations imposed by the external food environment, especially as the disease progressed. In the context of HIV status disclosure, integrating a family perspective into HIV nutrition interventions and prog…
Maternal and paternal perspectives on parenting stress in rural Tanzania
Parents across the world are faced with many challenges that can increase their levels of stress. Only a handful of studies have examined parenting stress in sub-Saharan African contexts, and most have focused only on mothers or at-risk populations. There is therefore a significant gap in our understanding of the factors that contribute to parenting stress in mothers and fathers in the general population across sub-Saharan Africa and how parents …
Health priority-setting for official development assistance in low-income and middle-income countries
Priority setting process can be further strengthened through better use of analytical tools, such as the one described in our study, to enhance local ownership of priority setting for ODA and improve aid effectiveness
No prominent works on this page.
Maternal and paternal perspectives on parenting stress in rural Tanzania
Parents across the world are faced with many challenges that can increase their levels of stress. Only a handful of studies have examined parenting stress in sub-Saharan African contexts, and most have focused only on mothers or at-risk populations. There is therefore a significant gap in our understanding of the factors that contribute to parenting stress in mothers and fathers in the general population across sub-Saharan Africa and how parents …
Health priority-setting for official development assistance in low-income and middle-income countries
Priority setting process can be further strengthened through better use of analytical tools, such as the one described in our study, to enhance local ownership of priority setting for ODA and improve aid effectiveness
Covid-19 vaccine hesitancy and its determinants among sub-Saharan African adolescents
COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among adolescents poses a challenge to the global effort to control the pandemic. This multi-country survey aimed to assess the prevalence and determinants of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among adolescents in sub-Saharan Africa between July and December 2021. The survey was conducted using computer-assisted telephone interviewing among adolescents in five sub-Saharan African countries, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Ghana, Niger…
Continued disruptions in health care services and mental health among health care providers during the Covid-19 pandemic in five sub-Saharan African countries
Background: Continuous monitoring of the pandemic's impact on health service provision and mental health, COVID-19 perceptions, and compliance with prevention measures among health care providers (HCPs) can help with mitigating the pandemic's negative effects. Methods: A computer-assisted telephone interviewing (CATI) survey was conducted among 1499 HCPs in Burkina Faso (Ouagadougou), Ethiopia (Addis Ababa), Nigeria (Lagos and Ibadan), Tanzania (…
Exploring drivers of food choice among PLHIV and their families in a peri-urban Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
The use of this expanded framework that included a family perspective on PLHIV food choice illuminated the various households decision-making dynamics that took place in this low resource community. Family members of PLHIV tried to buffer the limitations imposed by the external food environment, especially as the disease progressed. In the context of HIV status disclosure, integrating a family perspective into HIV nutrition interventions and prog…
Determinants of Covid-19 vaccine readiness and hesitancy among adults in sub-Saharan Africa
There is very limited data on the extent and determinants of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among adults living in sub-Saharan Africa since the global roll-out of vaccines began in 2021. This multi-country survey sought to investigate COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy and other predictors of readiness to get vaccinated. We conducted surveys among adults residing in nine urban and rural areas in Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Ghana, Nigeria, and Tanzania in late 20…
Dietary intake and quality for young adolescents in sub‐Saharan Africa
Adolescents face the risk of the triple burden of malnutrition-the co-existence of micronutrient deficiencies, underweight and overweight and obesity and related noncommunicable diseases. Poor-quality diets are a modifiable risk factor for all forms of malnutrition in adolescents. However, there is limited knowledge about diet quality for African adolescents. We analyzed data from 4609 school-going adolescents aged 10-15 years in Burkina Faso, Et…
Adolescent health and well‐being in sub‐Saharan Africa
In Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), adolescents make up around one-quarter of the population who are growing up in a rapidly urbanizing environment, with its associated risks and benefits, including impacts on health, psychosocial development, nutrition, and education. However, research on adolescents' health and well-being in SSA is limited. The ARISE (African Research, Implementation Science and Education) Network's Adolescent Health and Nutrition Stu…
Correlates of internalizing and externalizing problems among school‐going young adolescents in Sub‐Saharan Africa
Mental health in adolescence is important for health and well-being throughout the life course, but evidence from Sub-Saharan Africa is sparse. This study aimed to assess the correlates of internalizing, externalizing and cumulative problems among early adolescents. This study used cross-sectional survey data from 3516 school-going adolescents in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso; Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. We used a 25-item Stren…
Access to digital media and devices among adolescents in sub‐Saharan Africa
Digital technologies provide unprecedented opportunities for health and nutrition interventions among adolescents. The use of digital media and devices among young adolescents across diverse settings in sub-Saharan Africa is unclear. This cross-sectional study aimed to assess the use of digital media and devices and the socioeconomic determinants of use among young adolescents in Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, South Africa, Sudan and Tanzania. The study…
Burden and determinants of anaemia among in‐school young adolescents in Ethiopia, Sudan and Tanzania
Anaemia among adolescents is a global health problem. However, evidence regarding its burden and risk factors, particularly for younger adolescents and in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), remains scarce. We aimed to assess the prevalence and potential determinants of anaemia among urban and semi-urban in-school young adolescents in Ethiopia, Sudan and Tanzania. We conducted a school-based survey among 3558 adolescents aged 10-14 years. A capillary blood…
Factors associated with anemia among school-going adolescents aged 10–17 years in Zanzibar, Tanzania
NCT05104554, registered 03/11/2021
The impact of a community health worker intervention on uptake of antenatal care
The provision of high-quality antenatal care (ANC) is important for preventing maternal and newborn mortality and morbidity, but only around half of pregnant women in Tanzania attended four or more ANC visits in 2019. Although there is emerging evidence on the benefit of community health worker (CHW) interventions on ANC uptake, few large-scale pragmatic trials have been conducted. This pragmatic cluster-randomized trial, implemented directly thr…
Effects of engaging fathers and bundling parenting and nutrition interventions on early child development and maternal and paternal parenting in Mara, Tanzania
BACKGROUND: Multicomponent interventions are needed to address the various co-occurring risks that compromise early child nutrition and development. We compared the independent and combined effects of engaging fathers and bundling parenting components into a nutrition intervention on early child development (ECD) and parenting outcomes. METHODS: We conducted a 2×2 factorial cluster-randomized controlled trial across 80 villages in Mara Region, Ta…
Experiences, acceptability and barriers to calcium supplementation during pregnancy in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
Calcium supplementation in pregnancy is recommended in contexts with low dietary calcium intake to reduce the risk of pre-eclampsia and its complications. The World Health Organisation suggested high-dose calcium supplementation (1500-2000 mg/day), divided into three doses and taken at different times from daily iron-folic supplements. We conducted a mixed methods evaluation study to assess experiences, acceptability and barriers to high-dose cal…
School health and nutrition environments
Schools are increasingly regarded as a key setting for promoting the health, well-being, and development of children and adolescents. In this multicountry cross-sectional survey, we describe the health, nutrition, and food environments of public primary schools in five urban settings in Africa region: Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso; Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Durban; South Africa, Khartoum, Sudan; and, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. We evaluated the school heal…
Estimated timing of the first menstrual period and dietary and nutritional correlates of menarche among urban school‐going adolescents in four sub‐Saharan African sites
Characterizing the timing of menarche and the factors that are associated with it is important for understanding a population's reproductive health needs and long-term health trajectories. We estimated the age at the menstrual onset among adolescent girls and the association between dietary and nutritional factors and menarche in four sub-Saharan African urban sites. We used cross-sectional school-based data from 2307 female adolescents aged 10-1…
Perceptions and predictors of Covid-19 vaccine hesitancy among healthcare providers across five countries in sub-Saharan Africa
The African continent has some of the world’s lowest COVID-19 vaccination rates. While the limited availability of vaccines is a contributing factor, COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among healthcare providers (HCP) is another factor that could adversely affect efforts to control infections on the continent. We sought to understand the extent of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among HCP, and its contributing factors in Africa. We evaluated COVID-19 vaccine …
Efficacy and acceptability of a blended intervention for emotion regulation (Maisha) among young people in Kenya
Adolescence is a crucial developmental period characterized by increased challenges in emotion regulation, a key mechanism linked to mental health. In Kenya, one in every two adolescents and youth faces a mental health challenge, highlighting a need for early interventions targeting emotion regulation. This study will evaluate the efficacy and acceptability of MAISHA, a blended indicated mental health intervention co-designed with young people to…
Prevalence and factors associated with anaemia among adolescents in Sub-Saharan Africa and India
Anaemia remains a major global health concern among adolescents. While regional and national studies report varying prevalence, cross-continental evidence is limited. This study examines anaemia prevalence and its determinants among adolescents in Sub-Saharan Africa and India. We analyzed cross-sectional data from 9,820 adolescents (10–19 years) in Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Ghana, India, Nigeria, Tanzania, and Uganda . Hemoglobin levels were measur…
Leveraging connections between family planning and nutrition to improve the health of women
The global burden of malnutrition and unmet need for family planning (FP) among women of reproductive age remains high. Leveraging the epidemiological and programmatic links between FP and nutrition could help improve outcomes in both domains for women, with wider benefits to health and well-being. Here, we draw on findings from our recently concluded Family Planning and Nutrition Project, which synthesised epidemiological and programmatic linkag…
Predictors of anaemia incidence and remission among adolescents
Background: Anaemia remains a major public health challenge among adolescents in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). However, longitudinal evidence on its incidence and remission during this critical period is limited. Most existing studies assess anaemia cross-sectionally, providing limited insight into its progression or potential reversibility. We aimed to examine the dynamics of anaemia during adolescence, estimating incidence and remis…
Medicine (18 works) · Tanzania (18 works) · Environmental health (17 works) · Child Nutrition and Water Access (11 works) · Demography (9 works) · Population (9 works) · Nursing (8 works) · Socioeconomics (8 works) · Public health (7 works) · Confidence interval (6 works)