Knowledge, perceptions and practices of COVID19 among the came-roonian population.

COVID19 is an emerging infectious disease that has spread all over the world and became a pandemic. Cameroon is the 7th most affected country in Africa, with most of the cases in metropoles. The main objective was to assess the knowledge, perceptions and practices of the Cameroonian populations about COVID19 infection. A cross-sectional study was conducted from May 15th to July 15th, 2020; targeting all Cameroonians over 15 years old living in Cameroon. A standard Google Forms® questionnaire was submitted via social media (WhatsApp and Facebook particularly). The sampling was consecutive and not exhaustive. The data were processed on Excel 2016 and analyzed through EPI info 3.5. The questionnaire included knowledge, perceptions and practices about the disease's existence, its functional signs, prevention and control. Knowledge, perceptions and practices were considered good for a response score ≥75% and poor for a score ≤25%. Intermediate scores were considered average and insufficient. Univariate and multivariate analyzes were performed to identify the factors associated with a significance level (P#x003C;0.05). Of the 996 (507 males) participants, the median age was 26±8 years. Health workers represented 20.8% of participants. A large proportion of the population (78.6%) had good knowledge, while more than half (56.5%) had good perceptions, but only (23.1%) had good practices. Having reached higher education (P=0.007), and being a health worker (P=0.0008) were associated with a good level of knowledge. High school education (P=0.040) and being a health worker (P=0.049) were associated with positive perceptions. Being employed (P=0.003) and having secondary education level (P=0.033) were associated with good practices. Knowledge and perceptions were good among the study population, but the practice level is still insufficient to effectively fight the COVID19 pandemic. Educational level, being employed or being healthcare workers were associated with good knowledge, perceptions and practices.

Palliative and end-of-life care in COVID-19 management in sub-Saharan Africa: a matter of concern.

The COVID-19 pandemic has strained health care systems beyond capacity resulting in many people not having access to life-sustaining measures even in well-resourced countries. Palliative and end-of-life care are therefore essential to alleviate suffering and ensure a continuum of care for patients unlikely to survive. This is challenging in sub-Saharan Africa where lack of trained teams on basic palliative care and reduced access to opioids limit implementation of palliative and end-of-life care. At the same time, health care providers have to cope with local cultural conceptions of death and absence of advance care directives.

Geriatric syndromes in an urban elderly population in Cameroon: a focus on disability, sarcopenia and cognitive impairment.

INTRODUCTION: geriatric syndromes are multifactorial conditions that are associated with substantial disability, poor quality of life and mortality in the elderly. The patterns of these conditions are poorly described in sub-Saharan Africa. This study aimed to determine the prevalence and correlates of common geriatric syndromes in Cameroon. METHODS: we conducted a cross-sectional study in the geriatrics unit of a university hospital in Cameroon. All people aged ≥55 who attended a health promotion and screening campaign in September 2019 were included. Geriatric syndromes including functional decline, cognitive impairment and sarcopenia were assessed. We also examined sociodemographic characteristics and comorbidities. RESULTS: overall, 104 participants were enrolled with median age of 65 (IQR: 62.2 - 70.8). About 67% of participants presented at least one geriatric syndrome. Disability in activities of daily living and instrumental activities of daily living were present in 10% and 38% of participants respectively and associated factors were male gender (OR 4.7, p=0.005), age 75 and above (OR 5.7, p=0.027), osteoarthritis (OR 3.3, p=0.055) and polypharmacy (OR 7.7, p=0.012). Sarcopenia occurs in 26% with female gender (OR 3.1, p=0.029) and SARC-F ≥4 (OR 4.9, p=0.002) as associated factors. Cognitive impairment was present in 20% of participants and associated with illiteracy (p=0.008). CONCLUSION: our study shows a high prevalence of geriatric syndromes in older adults in an urban area. Geriatric principles and frailty awareness should be considered in clinical care of older adults in our setting.