Nursing under a different sky. Swaziland
Berg-Moe, G.
Journalen Sykepleien 80(12): 19
1992
ISSN/ISBN: 0802-9776 PMID: 1463629 Document Number: 325785
Swaziland is a kingdom with 800,000 inhabitants bordering on Mozambique and South Africa with about 50% of the population under 15 years of age. The experience of a nurse in a small clinic in the course of several years is recounted. Swaziland ranks 3rd in the world in alcohol abuse which often leads to wounds requiring suturing. Penicillin is given prophylactically with a paracetamol preparation for analgesia. As a rule, every injured person will get a .5 ml tetanus injection for prophylaxis. The most serious conditions of polyclinic patients are hepatitis, bilharzia, diarrhea, pellagra, pneumonia, and malnutrition. A great number of patients have sexually transmitted diseases, and the rate of AIDS infection is not known. According to 1 study 60-80% of the population in reproductive age will die of AIDS in the course of a 5-year period. The majority of people are impervious to counseling about their sexual behavior in spite of educational programs on the radio, in schools, and in work places. Condoms are not popular, since they are not considered manly. Pregnant women receive iron and multivitamin tablets in the course of pregnancy. Many pregnant women are anemic, and 70% give birth at home, the rest in a hospital or clinic. During delivery they get no analgesia, and there are few complications. The average weight of the newborn is 3.5 kg, although none of the women are under 150 cm. A little after birth all children are vaccinated with bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) and polio, later with diphtheria-pertussis-tetanus (DPT) and measles.