Background: Text neck syndrome and early cervical spondylosis are increasingly prevalent among young adults due to prolonged electronic device usage and inadequate postural practices. This study examined the burden of text neck syndrome and its association with digital device use, posture, and neurological symptoms among young Sudanese people. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional hospital-based study was conducted at the Neurology Clinic of Prince Digna Referral Hospital, Sudan, between November 2024 and January 2025. A total of 174 participants aged 17–63 years were recruited using convenience sampling. Data were collected using a structured interviewer-administered questionnaire and clinical assessment. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS version 26. Results: The median age of participants was 34 years (IQR: 28-42 years), and 50.6% were females. Prolonged screen exposure exceeding 6 hours/day was reported by 69.5%, while 96.6% adopted forward head posture during device use. Neck pain and neck stiffness were reported by 99.4% and 97.1% of participants, respectively. Neurological symptoms included upper-limb numbness (43.7%) and weakness (24.1%). Daily screen time demonstrated a weak positive correlation with neck pain severity (rs=0.23, p=0.002). Prolonged screen exposure independently predicted severe cervical symptoms (AOR=4.21, 95% CI: 2.01-8.83, p<0.001). Receiver operating characteristic analysis demonstrated good predictive performance for screen exposure duration (AUC=0.81). Conclusions: Text neck syndrome symptoms and manifestations suggestive of early cervical spondylosis represent a substantial clinical burden among Sudanese adults and are associated with prolonged screen exposure, forward head posture, and poor ergonomic awareness.
Health systems continue to experience many shocks and emergencies with devastating consequences on populations health. Shocks/Emergencies include, among others, pandemics, state fragility, wars, and natural disasters. Although recovery from emergencies was examined in the literature, there is limited knowledge in the context of health systems including the optimal recovery approaches, or their impact on health systems. To fill this knowledge gap, a literature search was conducted on Scopus, PubMed, Web of Science, and websites of major organizations working in global health. A narrative summary was done with presenting the main findings into themes when applicable. This review concluded that recovery is a great opportunity to build the health system back better, increase system resilience, and feed into sustainable development. Interventions across the health system building blocks is a good choice including governance and leadership with local government’s stewardship; development and implementation of Human resources for health policies and reforms, and health financing policies; and delivering essential health services. The review also reported the following enablers for recovery: government’s commitment and political will, effective coordination, national recovery strategies and plans, and phasing in Interventions. Furthermore, a framework was developed for health systems recovery which can be used to inform the design of future recovery programmes.
Objectives: Cholera is a serious public health threat, especially in fragile conflict-affected areas. Reactive oral cholera vaccine (rOCV) during outbreaks is a key response strategy recommended by the World Health Organization. Sudan implemented a large-scale reactive campaign during 2024 cholera outbreak in Kassala State. Methods: This unmatched case-control study was conducted between 6 and 26 October 2024 in Kassala locality, targeted by the national rOCV campaign using Euvichol-Plus. Data were collected through structured interviews using a pre-tested questionnaire, and analyzed in Epi Info 7 with logistic regression to estimate vaccine effectiveness and identify predictors of infection. Results: The mean age was significantly lower in cases (30.6 years, standard deviation = 20.8, P < 0.001). Cases had bigger households and multiple families per household (P < 0.001). Only 42.5% of cases used soap after defecation vs 97.5% of controls (odds ratio [OR] = 0.018), while 57% used only water (OR = 52.9). Street food consumption (OR = 4.04), funeral exposure (OR = 13.3), and family history (OR = 124.4) were strong predictors. OCV reduced infection odds by 93% (adjusted OR = 0.07, 95% confidence interval: 0.037-0.13, P < 0.001). Conclusions: Findings reaffirm OCV effectiveness, but emphasize the need for sustainable investment in water sanitation, and hygiene (WASH), hygiene promotion, and risk communication in fragile settings.
Purpose: The prevalence of hypertension has escalated globally, affecting approximately 1.39 billion people worldwide out of an estimated global population of 8 billion, with two-thirds residing in low- and middle-income countries. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of hypertension among adults in Sudan, assess hypertension control, determine the frequency of undiagnosed hypertension, and identify associated risk factors. Method: A cross-sectional facility-based study was conducted at Primary Health Care centers in Karrari Locality, Khartoum State, Sudan, between April 2022 and January 2023, using a multistage sampling method. Two primary methods for data collection are direct interviews and anthropometric measurements. A P-value equal to or less than 0.05 was considered indicative of statistical significance, where the level of confidence was 95%. Findings: The study involved 385 participants, with 48.6% diagnosed with hypertension, 58.2% having controlled blood pressure, 41.8% uncontrolled, and 6.5% undiagnosed, resulting in a total HTN prevalence of 55.1%. Notably, 44.4% of those with diagnosed HTN were non-smokers, and 37.9% reported never exercising. Central obesity was more prevalent among those diagnosed (63.3%). Increasing age (B = 0.030, p = 0.002) and male sex (B = 0.087, p = 0.029), higher waist circumference (B= 0.132, p= 0.002), were significant risk factors, while exercise frequency (B = -0.172, p = 0.001) and lower salt intake (B = 0.327, p = 0.001) were linked with reduced risk. Overall, the findings highlight a significant burden of HTN and its risk factors in the population studied. Conclusion: This study underlines the high prevalence of hypertension in Khartoum, Sudan, with age, male sex, and central obesity as important risk factors, urging the need for improved measures.
BACKGROUND:Diabetic foot complications are a major cause of lower limb amputation, with delayed risk identification and inconsistent documentation contributing to poor outcomes, particularly in resource-limited settings. This clinical audit aimed to improve early identification and documentation of high-risk diabetic foot complications at Almanagil Teaching Hospital. METHODS:A closed-loop clinical audit was conducted over two cycles at Almanagil Teaching Hospital. Fifty consecutive medical records of patients with diabetes presenting with diabetic foot ulcers or suspected infection were reviewed in each cycle. Following a baseline assessment, a targeted quality improvement intervention was implemented, including staff education and the introduction of a standardized diabetic foot risk assessment and scoring tool. Documentation practices before and after the intervention were compared using descriptive and inferential statistics. RESULTS:At baseline, documentation was incomplete across most domains, with patient identifiers recorded in 22%-60% of records and key clinical assessments such as neuropathy, peripheral arterial disease, and infection documented in only 8%-18%. Following the intervention, documentation of patient and clinician identification reached 100%, while neuropathy and peripheral arterial disease assessments increased to 98% and 96%, respectively. Infection and skin integrity assessment improved from 8% to 94%, and objective risk stratification using total risk score calculation increased from 2% to 92%. Documentation of follow-up or clinical intervention rose from 22% at baseline to 96% post-intervention. All improvements between Cycle 1 and Cycle 2 were statistically significant (χ² tests, p < 0.001). CONCLUSION:Implementation of a structured diabetic foot risk assessment tool supported by focused education was associated with marked improvements in documentation and early risk identification. These findings highlight the effectiveness of audit-driven quality improvement strategies in strengthening diabetic foot care processes and support their wider adoption in similar healthcare settings.
