Determinants of Adolescent Reproductive Health in West Java Indonesia: A Cross-Sectional Study.

The problem of adolescent reproductive health (ARH) in Indonesia is worrying, especially regarding the Triad Adolescent Reproductive Health (Triad ARH) behavior. Many factors influence ARH behavior. This cross-sectional study explores the association factors between demographic factors, knowledge, and attitudes toward ARH behavior. Six hundred and sixty-eight junior high school and senior high school students were randomly selected from five public schools in Bandung Regency, West Java, Indonesia. The questionnaire used in this study consisted of four parts, namely: (1) demographic data of respondents; (2) knowledge including 20 questions used multiple choice questions; (3) attitude with 12 questions measured using the Likert scale; and (4) behaviors with seven questions measured using Likert scale. Results showed that gender (p = 0.006), age (p = 0.031), and level of education (p = 0.006) were associated with behavior toward ARH behavior, but knowledge (p = 0.582), religion (p = 0.628), ethnic (p = 0.276), and attitude (p = 0.094) were not associated with ARH behavior. Multivariate analysis showed that only gender (p < 0.010) significantly contributed to ARH behavior. Multivariate analysis showed that gender (OR: 2.168, 95% (CI: 1.204-3.904)) significantly contributed to ARH behavior. Based on the results, it can be concluded that the gender factor influences adolescent reproductive health behavior. This study provides further evidence that to promote positive ARH behavior's among youth in West Java, Indonesia, gender should be put in place and be sustainable, using the media and the Internet and involving the collaboration of parents, teachers, and peers to improve adolescent reproductive health.

Seasonal distribution of anti-malarial drug resistance alleles on the island of Sumba, Indonesia.

BACKGROUND: Drug resistant malaria poses an increasing public health problem in Indonesia, especially eastern Indonesia, where malaria is highly endemic. Widespread chloroquine (CQ) resistance and increasing sulphadoxine-pyrimethamine (SP) resistance prompted Indonesia to adopt artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) as first-line therapy in 2004. To help develop a suitable malaria control programme in the district of West Sumba, the seasonal distribution of alleles known to be associated with resistance to CQ and SP among Plasmodium falciparum isolates from the region was investigated. METHODS: Plasmodium falciparum isolates were collected during malariometric surveys in the wet and dry seasons in 2007 using two-stage cluster sampling. Analysis of pfcrt, pfmdr1, pfmdr1 gene copy number, dhfr, and dhps genes were done using protocols described previously. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: The 76T allele of the pfcrt gene is nearing fixation in this population. Pfmdr1 mutant alleles occurred in 72.8% and 53.3%, predominantly as 1042D and 86Y alleles that are mutually exclusive. The prevalence of amplified pfmdr1 was found 41.9% and 42.8% of isolates in the wet and dry seasons, respectively. The frequency of dhfr mutant alleles was much lower, either as a single 108N mutation or paired with 59R. The 437G allele was the only mutant dhps allele detected and it was only found during dry season. CONCLUSION: The findings demonstrate a slighly higher distribution of drug-resistant alleles during the wet season and support the policy of replacing CQ with ACT in this area, but suggest that SP might still be effective either alone or in combination with other anti-malarials.

Seasonal prevalence of malaria in West Sumba district, Indonesia.

BACKGROUND: Accurate information about the burden of malaria infection at the district or provincial level is required both to plan and assess local malaria control efforts. Although many studies of malaria epidemiology, immunology, and drug resistance have been conducted at many sites in Indonesia, there is little published literature describing malaria prevalence at the district, provincial, or national level. METHODS: Two stage cluster sampling malaria prevalence surveys were conducted in the wet season and dry season across West Sumba, Nusa Tenggara Province, Indonesia. RESULTS: Eight thousand eight hundred seventy samples were collected from 45 sub-villages in the surveys. The overall prevalence of malaria infection in the West Sumba District was 6.83% (95% CI, 4.40, 9.26) in the wet season and 4.95% (95% CI, 3.01, 6.90) in the dry. In the wet season Plasmodium falciparum accounted for 70% of infections; in the dry season P. falciparum and Plasmodium vivax were present in equal proportion. Malaria prevalence varied substantially across the district; prevalences in individual sub-villages ranged from 0-34%. The greatest malaria prevalence was in children and teenagers; the geometric mean parasitaemia in infected individuals decreased with age. Malaria infection was clearly associated with decreased haemoglobin concentration in children under 10 years of age, but it is not clear whether this association is causal. CONCLUSION: Malaria is hypoendemic to mesoendemic in West Sumba, Indonesia. The age distribution of parasitaemia suggests that transmission has been stable enough to induce some clinical immunity. These prevalence data will aid the design of future malaria control efforts and will serve as a baseline against which the results of current and future control efforts can be assessed.