Health

The days of using pen and paper to keep track of menstrual cycles are past. Apps for period tracking have proliferated for both iPhone and Android. Some of these apps are simple calendars; others have space for tracking cervical mucus and body temperature to help women estimate when they are …

Washington, United States | AFP |  Donald Trump suffered a bitter defeat Friday in his first major legislative challenge, as the president’s effort to repeal Obamacare was shot down by rebel Republican lawmakers. Barely two months into his term, Trump was forced to withdraw an embattled Republican health care bill, …

Washington, United States | AFP | Donald Trump on Friday asked House Speaker Paul Ryan to withdraw an embattled Republican health care bill, moments before a vote, signaling a major political defeat for the US president. “The speaker talked to the president at three o’clock today and the president asked the …

Television programmes can influence the perceptions and behaviours of adolescents either negatively or positively. But if unregulated they can cause harm. The Conversation Africa’s Health and Medicine Editor Joy Wanja Muraya spoke to Sammy Yaah Baya about its impact. How is television viewing likely to influence the sexual behaviour of …

  No country for old men: Japan’s elderly inmates prefer jail Tokyo, Japan | AFP | Every day is the same. He wakes at 6:45 am, eats breakfast 20 minutes later and reports for work at eight o’clock sharp. But this isn’t your typical Japanese salaryman. This man is in …

Wilson Kutegeka is the CEO of ClinicMaster International, the developers of a healthcare information management and medical billing software that automates patients’ transactions in health centres across East Africa.  He spoke to The Independent’s Agnes E Nantaba about automation of patient’s health records. What are the key elements in your …

Washington, United States | AFP | A new cholesterol-slashing drug that has shown promise for high-risk patients does not impair brain function, according to a study out Saturday. Previous research had raised the possibility that evolocumab, sold under the brand name Repatha by Amgen, may have a damaging effect on memory …

Washington, United States | AFP | People who received regular lifestyle counseling online were able to lower their blood pressure as much as a medication would, researchers said Saturday. Their study involved 264 people with high blood pressure and an average age of 58. The subjects’ average blood pressure began at …

Dar es Salaam, Tanzania | AFP | Tanzania on Saturday agreed to send 500 doctors to Kenya after a 100-day doctors’ strike that paralyzed health services in the neighbouring country. President John Magufuli announced the decision after meeting a Kenyan delegation in Dar es Salaam headed by health minister Cleopa Mailu. …

Uganda’s Ministry of Health has embarked on a comprehensive program aimed at reducing the burden of the sickle cell disease in the country. While presenting a statement before parliament on the burden of the disease in the country, Minister Dr.Jane Ruth Aceng said the program will involve testing of new born …