Fruit and Vegetable Consumption Patterns and Risk of Chronic Diseases of Lifestyle among University Students in Kenya.

This study assesses the fruit and vegetable consumption patterns and risk factors for chronic diseases of lifestyle (CDL) among young adults attending Kenyatta University, Kenya. Four hundred and twenty-three young adults aged 19-30 years participated in the cross-sectional study. Males were 75.0% less likely to be overweight than females (OR = 0.25; 0.13-0.47). The mean overall consumption of fruit and/or vegetables amounted to 3.6 servings in a typical day. Eight in ten participants consumed lower amounts of fruits and vegetables than recommended by the WHO. At least one combined risk factor of CDL was observed among 91.3% of the young adults. About 8.7% of the participants were classified as low risk for CDL (having none of the five risk factors), 48.9% had one risk factor, 32.9% had two risk factors, 8.5% had three risk factors, while 0.9% had four risk factors. A significant relationship between daily fruit consumption and waist circumference was observed. These findings show the dire need to develop public health nutrition activities aimed at increasing the intake of fruit and vegetables and sensitizing young adults, and the general population, to the risk factors of CDL.

Implementing essential diagnostics-learning from essential medicines: A scoping review.

The World Health Organization (WHO) model list of Essential In vitro Diagnostic (EDL) introduced in 2018 complements the established Essential Medicines List (EML) and improves its impact on advancing universal health coverage and better health outcomes. We conducted a scoping review of the literature on implementing the WHO essential lists in Africa to inform the implementation of the recently introduced EDL. We searched eight electronic databases for studies reporting on implementing the WHO EDL and EML in Africa. Two authors independently conducted study selection and data extraction, with disagreements resolved through discussion. We used the Supporting the Use of Research Evidence (SURE) framework to extract themes and synthesised findings using thematic content analysis. We used the Mixed Method Appraisal Tool (MMAT) version 2018 to assess the quality of included studies. We included 172 studies reporting on EDL and EML after screening 3,813 articles titles and abstracts and 1,545 full-text papers. Most (75%, n = 129) studies were purely quantitative in design, comprising descriptive cross-sectional designs (60%, n = 104), 15% (n = 26) were purely qualitative, and 10% (n = 17) had mixed-methods approaches. There were no qualitative or randomised experimental studies about EDL. The main barrier facing the EML and EDL was poorly equipped health facilities-including unavailability or stock-outs of essential in vitro diagnostics and medicines. Financial and non-financial incentives to health facilities and workers were key enablers in implementing the EML; however, their impact differed from one context to another. Only fifty-six (33%) of the included studies were of high quality. Poorly equipped and stocked health facilities remain an implementation barrier to essential diagnostics and medicines. Health system interventions such as financial and non-financial incentives to improve their availability can be applied in different contexts. More implementation study designs, such as experimental and qualitative studies, are required to evaluate the effectiveness of essential lists.