To determine if undertaking regular Formative Assessment (FA) in the setting of our medical schoo... more To determine if undertaking regular Formative Assessment (FA) in the setting of our medical school enhanced the students' learning experience. An FA intervention was designed and implemented with clinical students during their clerkship in the academic year 2003/04. FA was administered as structured verbal comments on daily clinical case presentations. Evaluation of the intervention included pre- and post-surveys exploring the perceptions of students and teachers on the quality of the learning experience. Focus group discussions with students and with teachers were held at the start and conclusion of the intervention to identify strengths and weaknesses of FA. All participating teachers perceived that students were interested in learning before the intervention. Teachers who perceived that students achieved the set learning objectives increased from 0% before to 28% after the intervention. Most teachers (71%) and students (86%) perceived FA to enrich students' learning experience. Students appreciated the positive change in teachers' attitudes during the FA intervention. Both students and teachers recommended that FA become a regular and routine activity. Students and teachers viewed FA as a positive, feasible intervention. They thought it enriched the learning process and recommended it be a routine learning activity.
To determine if undertaking regular Formative Assessment (FA) in the setting of our medical schoo... more To determine if undertaking regular Formative Assessment (FA) in the setting of our medical school enhanced the students' learning experience. An FA intervention was designed and implemented with clinical students during their clerkship in the academic year 2003/04. FA was administered as structured verbal comments on daily clinical case presentations. Evaluation of the intervention included pre- and post-surveys exploring the perceptions of students and teachers on the quality of the learning experience. Focus group discussions with students and with teachers were held at the start and conclusion of the intervention to identify strengths and weaknesses of FA. All participating teachers perceived that students were interested in learning before the intervention. Teachers who perceived that students achieved the set learning objectives increased from 0% before to 28% after the intervention. Most teachers (71%) and students (86%) perceived FA to enrich students' learning experience. Students appreciated the positive change in teachers' attitudes during the FA intervention. Both students and teachers recommended that FA become a regular and routine activity. Students and teachers viewed FA as a positive, feasible intervention. They thought it enriched the learning process and recommended it be a routine learning activity.
In order to facilitate the detection of integrated HIV-1 proviral DNA from African as well as Eur... more In order to facilitate the detection of integrated HIV-1 proviral DNA from African as well as European patients, four new primer pairs for use in the polymerase chain reaction (PCR), localised in the gag, pol, vif and env genes of HIV-1, were constructed. The primer pairs were compared to all accessible HIV-1 sequences from African and European isolates and to some of the earlier published and most commonly used primer pairs. HIV-1 DNA was detected in blood drawn from 13 out of 13 individuals infected in Africa, in three out of three Tanzanian HIV-1 isolates and in three out of three asymptomatic Swedes infected in Europe. The new selection of primer pairs can be used as an alternative to enhance the detection of HIV-1 of different origins.
Background: Respiratory infections such as pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) and pneumonia are signifi... more Background: Respiratory infections such as pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) and pneumonia are significant causes of morbidity and mortality in HIV infection. Recent studies have shown an increase in Pneumocystis jerovecii pneumonia (PCP) in Sub-Saharan Africa. This study determines the prevalence of PCP and other pulmonary infections among HIV patients at HIV clinics in Tanzania. Methods: HIV infected patients with cough were enrolled between May and November 2006. Sputum induction was done and examined for PCP using Toluidine blue stain and Polymerase chain reaction. Ziehl-Neelsen stain was also done for PTB. Results: Nine of the 125 (7.2%) had smear positive PTB. PCP was diagnosed in 10.4% (13/125) by Toluidine blue, while PCR was positive in 3.6% (3/88). Low CD4+ cell counts were associated with increased risk to both PCP and PTB. Conclusion: PCP is still low in Tanzania. PTB remains the major respiratory problem in HIV patients with cough. Toluidine blue staining is not reliable for PCP diagnosis
To determine if undertaking regular Formative Assessment (FA) in the setting of our medical schoo... more To determine if undertaking regular Formative Assessment (FA) in the setting of our medical school enhanced the students' learning experience. An FA intervention was designed and implemented with clinical students during their clerkship in the academic year 2003/04. FA was administered as structured verbal comments on daily clinical case presentations. Evaluation of the intervention included pre- and post-surveys exploring the perceptions of students and teachers on the quality of the learning experience. Focus group discussions with students and with teachers were held at the start and conclusion of the intervention to identify strengths and weaknesses of FA. All participating teachers perceived that students were interested in learning before the intervention. Teachers who perceived that students achieved the set learning objectives increased from 0% before to 28% after the intervention. Most teachers (71%) and students (86%) perceived FA to enrich students' learning experience. Students appreciated the positive change in teachers' attitudes during the FA intervention. Both students and teachers recommended that FA become a regular and routine activity. Students and teachers viewed FA as a positive, feasible intervention. They thought it enriched the learning process and recommended it be a routine learning activity.
To determine if undertaking regular Formative Assessment (FA) in the setting of our medical schoo... more To determine if undertaking regular Formative Assessment (FA) in the setting of our medical school enhanced the students' learning experience. An FA intervention was designed and implemented with clinical students during their clerkship in the academic year 2003/04. FA was administered as structured verbal comments on daily clinical case presentations. Evaluation of the intervention included pre- and post-surveys exploring the perceptions of students and teachers on the quality of the learning experience. Focus group discussions with students and with teachers were held at the start and conclusion of the intervention to identify strengths and weaknesses of FA. All participating teachers perceived that students were interested in learning before the intervention. Teachers who perceived that students achieved the set learning objectives increased from 0% before to 28% after the intervention. Most teachers (71%) and students (86%) perceived FA to enrich students' learning experience. Students appreciated the positive change in teachers' attitudes during the FA intervention. Both students and teachers recommended that FA become a regular and routine activity. Students and teachers viewed FA as a positive, feasible intervention. They thought it enriched the learning process and recommended it be a routine learning activity.
In order to facilitate the detection of integrated HIV-1 proviral DNA from African as well as Eur... more In order to facilitate the detection of integrated HIV-1 proviral DNA from African as well as European patients, four new primer pairs for use in the polymerase chain reaction (PCR), localised in the gag, pol, vif and env genes of HIV-1, were constructed. The primer pairs were compared to all accessible HIV-1 sequences from African and European isolates and to some of the earlier published and most commonly used primer pairs. HIV-1 DNA was detected in blood drawn from 13 out of 13 individuals infected in Africa, in three out of three Tanzanian HIV-1 isolates and in three out of three asymptomatic Swedes infected in Europe. The new selection of primer pairs can be used as an alternative to enhance the detection of HIV-1 of different origins.
Background: Respiratory infections such as pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) and pneumonia are signifi... more Background: Respiratory infections such as pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) and pneumonia are significant causes of morbidity and mortality in HIV infection. Recent studies have shown an increase in Pneumocystis jerovecii pneumonia (PCP) in Sub-Saharan Africa. This study determines the prevalence of PCP and other pulmonary infections among HIV patients at HIV clinics in Tanzania. Methods: HIV infected patients with cough were enrolled between May and November 2006. Sputum induction was done and examined for PCP using Toluidine blue stain and Polymerase chain reaction. Ziehl-Neelsen stain was also done for PTB. Results: Nine of the 125 (7.2%) had smear positive PTB. PCP was diagnosed in 10.4% (13/125) by Toluidine blue, while PCR was positive in 3.6% (3/88). Low CD4+ cell counts were associated with increased risk to both PCP and PTB. Conclusion: PCP is still low in Tanzania. PTB remains the major respiratory problem in HIV patients with cough. Toluidine blue staining is not reliable for PCP diagnosis
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