Exploring the dietary practices and perceptions of African immigrants in Illinois- a qualitative study of immigrants from Nigeria and Congo.

OBJECTIVE: Previous studies suggest an increased prevalence of diet-related chronic diseases among African immigrants with increased length of stay in the U.S. The objective of the current study is to understand the dietary practices and perceptions of recent African immigrant families. DESIGN: Focus group sessions were conducted with Nigerian and Congolese immigrant parents residing in Illinois. Participants were recruited using convenience sampling methods and focus group sessions were conducted via videoconference. Participants discussed dietary practices, meal preparation, and family mealtimes for their families. They also discussed experiences with eating different kinds of foods since arrival in the U.S. Verbatim transcription of focus group sessions were completed and deductive thematic analysis of transcribed data was conducted using NVivo (QSR International Pty Ltd. [2020] NVivo [version 12]). RESULTS: Twenty African immigrant parents (Mean age: 42 years, Female: 95%) residing in Northern and Central Illinois participated in a total of five focus group sessions. Seven themes were derived from the analysis. Participants had a positive attitude toward healthy diet and had a high level of interest in receiving educational resources to make healthier food choices. Participants preferred and mostly consumed foods they were familiar with before migration. A majority of the participants perceived 'American foods' as unhealthy, characterizing them as containing a high amount of sugar and salt. Parents reported that their school-aged children often preferred a western diet over traditional African meals. CONCLUSION: This study helps to understand unique diet-related practices and perceptions of recent Nigerian and Congolese African immigrants in Illinois. Findings could help to inform cultural adaptation of evidence-based nutrition education programs for these groups of African immigrants.

Prevalence and Correlates of Self-Medication Practices for Prevention and Treatment of COVID-19: A Systematic Review.

It has been suggested that the COVID-19 pandemic led to an increase in self-medication practices across the world. Yet, there is no up-to-date synthesized evidence on the prevalence of self-medication that is attributable to the pandemic. This study aimed to conduct a systematic literature review on the prevalence and correlates of self-medication for the prevention and treatment of COVID-19 globally. The review was registered with the PROSPERO database. Searches were conducted following PRISMA guidelines, and relevant articles published between 1 April 2020 and 31 March 2022 were included. Pooled prevalence rate was conducted using the Meta package in R. A total of 14 studies from 14 countries, which represented 15,154 participants, were included. The prevalence of COVID-19-related self-medication ranged from 3.4-96%. The pooled prevalence of self-medication for this purpose was 44.9% (95% CI: 23.8%, 68.1%). Medications reported by studies for self-medication were antibiotics (79%), vitamins (64%), antimalarials (50%), herbal and natural products (50%), analgesics and antipyretics (43%), minerals and supplements (43%), cold and allergy preparations (29%), corticosteroids (14%), and antivirals (7%). The prevalence of self-medication with antibiotics is concerning. More public health education about responsible self-medication amidst the COVID-19 pandemic and future pandemics is required to mitigate the rising threat of antimicrobial resistance.