Patrick K Kayembe

• MD, MPH, PhD
• Head of Department at University of Kinshasa

Objectives: To estimate age-specific abortion incidence and unintended pregnancy in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo and compare care experiences between adolescents (15-19 years) and older women (20-49 years). Design: We used the age-specific variant of the Abortion Incidence Complications Method to estimate abortion and unintended pregna...

Background Women who start using contraception (“adopters”) are a key population for family planning goals, but little is known about characteristics that predict the adoption of contraception as opposed to current use. We used prospective data from women and facilities for five countries, (Democratic Republic of Congo, India, Kenya, Nigeria, and B...

Abstract Background: Women who start using contraception ("adopters") are a key population for family planning goals, but little is known about characteristics that predict the adoption of contraception as opposed to current use. We used prospective data from women and facilities for five countries, (Democratic Republic of Congo, India, Kenya, Nige...

Introduction The objective of this study is to assess change over time in the modern contraceptive prevalence rate (MCPR) and related variables among married women of reproductive age (15–49 years) in the military population in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, compared to women in the non-military population, based on cross-sectional surveys...

Objectives To what extent is DMPA-SC reaching new users versus encouraging method switching among existing users? Though increasingly-popular, little is known about characteristics of women using DMPA-SC in SSA. We compared characteristics of women using DMPA-SC with those of other modern methods, and identified the extent to which women using DMPA...

INTRODUCTION: We assessed determinants of serum hs-CRP level in pilots and air traffic controllers (ATCs) and its impact on their atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) risk. METHODS: We obtained serum hs-CRP measurements, evaluated traditional cardiovascular risk factors and assessed global ASCVD risk based on 2018 ESH/ESC guidelines. Elev...

The Performance Monitoring and Accountability 2020 (PMA2020) project implemented a multi-country sub-project called PMA Agile, a system of continuous data collection for a probability sample of urban public and private health facilities and their clients that began November 2017 and concluded December 2019. The objective was to monitor the supply,...

Expanding access to family planning (FP) is a principal objective of global family planning efforts and has been a driving force of national family planning programs in recent years. Many country programs are working alongside with the international family planning community to expand access to modern contraceptives. However, there is a challenging...

Background Sexually transmitted infections (STI) and HIV co-infection are common in countries where resources are limited constituting a leading public health issue. The negative impact of HIV transmission and acquisition are known. The aim of this study was to determine whether HIV-l-syphilis co-infection is associated with high HIV-l viral load (...

Undiagnosed and uncontrolled hypertension are responsible for several cardiovascular complications, particularly in countries with limited resources. The objective of this study was to assess the extent of undiagnosed hypertension in the adult hypertensive in Boma.

Background Kinshasa is Africa's third largest city and one of the continent’s most rapidly growing urban areas. PMA2020 data showed that Kinshasa has a modern contraceptive prevalence of 26.5% among married women in 2018. In Kinshasa’s method mix, the contraceptive implant recently became the dominant method among contraceptive users married and in...

Purpose To assess the extent to which adolescents aged 10–14 have communicated about sexual relationships, pregnancy, and contraception and how agency in the form of voice and decision-making along with an enabling socioecological environment are associated with sexual and reproductive health (SRH) communication. Methods Using data from the Global...

The Performance Monitoring and Accountability 2020 (PMA2020) project implemented a multi-country sub-project called PMA Agile, a system of continuous data collection for a probability sample of urban public and private health facilities and their clients that began November 2017 and concluded December 2019. The objective was to monitor the supply,...

Objective: To assess the prevalence of left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) and linked cardiovascular risk factors in civilian aircrew.Methods: Cardiovascular risk factors were assessed among flight and cabin crew undergoing routine clinical and biological evaluation for initial or renewal of aeromedical license. The evaluation also included a standa...

Background Complex mosaic structures of HIV-1 were found in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Currently, there is limited information on the circulating HIV-1 strains, the distribution of these strains and antiretroviral (ART) resistant viruses in different regions of the country, and the HIV-1 strains harbored by the high-risk groups like fe...

Background: Blackwater fever (BWF), one of the most severe and life-threatening forms of falciparum malaria, is characterized by acute massive intravascular haemolysis, often leading to acute renal failure. Thus far, the genetics of the underlying susceptibility to develop BWF is not fully elucidated. Deficiency in the MBL protein, an important co...

Objectives: Subcutaneous depot medroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPA-SC) is seen as a valuable innovation in family planning, but little is known about trends in DMPA-SC use or characteristics of users. Using data from Burkina Faso, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Uganda, we measured trends in DMPA-SC and identified characteristics associat...

Introduction: Spirometric reference values cannot be extrapolated in the populations, being subject to many environmental and human variables; hence the interest of local studies in this field. Methods: This study aims to determine the reference values among healthy adults in Kinshasa. We conducted a cross-sectional study including 7443 subjects...

This paper reports the development and baseline data of a vignettes-based measure of gender equality. Methods: Vignettes were developed through 3-day long focus groups. After piloting in 13 sites and repiloting a revised version in 6 countries, responses were categorized by the construct tapped and a scoring system developed. Finalized vignettes we...

Background: The Family Planning 2020 (FP2020) initiative, launched at the 2012 London Summit on Family Planning, aims to enable 120 million additional women to use modern contraceptive methods by 2020 in the world's 69 poorest countries. It will require almost doubling the pre-2012 annual growth rate of modern contraceptive prevalence rates from a...

Background The ultimate goal of asthma treatment is long-term control. Uncontrolled asthma is a major public health problem worldwide, but there is a lack of data on asthma control and its causes in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Objective To determine the socio-demographic, environmental, clinical, and biological factors and comorbiditie...

This is the correlation between level of education and socioeconomic status. (DOCX)

This is the data used for this article. (DTA)

Background: For countries with limited resources such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the diagnosis of Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) is still insufficient. The MDR-TB identification is done primarily among at-risk groups. The knowledge of the true extent of the MDR-TB remains a major challenge. This study tries to determi...

For several years, the Democratic Republic of Congo has been the scene of strikes by the country’s doctors. The strikers’ demands are essentially financial and statutory and are intended to put pressure on the government. In this country, as is the case almost everywhere in the world, medical strikes are allowed. Every worker has the right to denou...

Background: Despite the high prevalence of the HIV/AIDS, few studies focused on the prevalence of lipodystrophy in pediatric HIV patients on antiretroviral therapy (ARV) in sub-Saharan African countries. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence and to identify the risk factors of metabolic disorders related to ARV therapy in this populat...

Background: Vitamin D deficiency is common in general population and is thought to be involved in the natural history of several chronic lung diseases such as asthma. However, the magnitude of the association has not yet been reported in asthmatic adults in Sub-Saharan Africa. The aim of this study was to determine serum vitamin D levels in adult p...

p> Introduction: HIV-Associated Nephropathy may shorten the life expectancy of affected patients. Its early detection is beneficial for the indication of treatment and hence prevention of progression to the end-stage of renal failure. The final diagnosis requires renal biopsy which may be difficult in some African area; clinical and ultrasound crit...

Objectives The typical approach of survey data collection is to use interviewers who are not from the study site and do not know the participants, yet the implications of this approach on data quality have seldom been investigated. We examine the relationship between interviewer–respondent familiarity and selected family planning outcomes, and whet...

Objectives: To examine family planning outcomes among women living in military camps in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, and compare these outcomes with a representative sample of non-military women in Kinshasa. Participants: Women of reproductive ages, 15 to 49. We compare two populations: women living in military camps and the general (n...

Context - Diagnosis and early treatment of MDR-TB in contact cases is a major challenge in hope to reduce the burden of morbidity and mortality due to this condition. Objectives - The objective was to assess the prevalence of drug-resistant TB and to compare the phenotypic and genotypic profile of the contact case with that of the index. Material a...

Context and objective. Although, DR Congo remains a high burden country for tuberculosis, the accurate TB incidence is unknown. The present study aimed to describe the trends in the estimated incidence of confirmed pulmonary TB patients, new patients and previously treated; as well as their therapeutic outcomes. Methods In this descriptive and an...

Context. Atopy is a common feature of asthma, involving near 80% of patients. Allergen sensitization shows environmental and geographical variability worldwide. Objective. To determine the common allergen sensitization profile of adult asthmatics in Kinshasa. Methods. From June 2017 to February 2018, 216 asthmatics aged 18 and over, of both sexes,...

In regions marked by socio-economic turmoil, the task of teaching bioethics to health professionals and researchers can be more challenging than elsewhere. To demonstrate this, in this article we describe some of our teaching experiences in the Democratic Republic of Congo over the past decade. A first difficulty is linguistic. Anglo-Saxon language...

Background: This paper aims to identify factors that influence the capacity of women to voice their concerns regarding maternal health services at the local level. Methods: A secondary analysis was conducted of the data from three studies carried out between 2013 and 2015 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) in the context of a WOTRO in...

Background Social accountability (SA) comprises a set of mechanisms aiming to, on the one hand, enable users to raise their concerns about the health services provided to them (voice), and to hold health providers (HPs) accountable for actions and decisions related to the health service provision. On the other hand, they aim to facilitate HPs to ta...

Performance Monitoring and Accountability 2020 (PMA2020) is a population-based and facility-based survey program conducted in 11 countries to track contraceptive use dynamics and the supply environment. Annual data collection provides trend data unavailable from any other source. Two-stage cluster sampling was used to select 58 enumeration areas in...

Background In the Democratic Republic of Congo, the penal code prohibits the provision of abortion. In practice, however, it is widely accepted that the procedure can be performed to save the life of a pregnant woman. Although abortion is highly restricted, anecdotal evidence indicates that women often resort to clandestine abortions, many of which...

Calculation of the multiplier. (DOCX)

Introduction Le débit de filtration glomérulaire (DFG) est le meilleur indicateur de la fonction rénale. La mesure de DFG par une méthode de référence reste cruciale, mais d’usage limité en routine. En clinique, le DFG est estimé avec différentes équations à partir de biomarqueurs sanguins, notamment la créatinine et la cystatine C. À ce jour, il n...

Background Epidemiological data on asthma among adults in sub-Saharan Africa are sparse. Objective To determine the prevalence of and factors associated with asthma among adults in Kinshasa. Methods A previously validated asthma questionnaire was administered to an adult population aged ≥18 years in urban and peri-urban suburbs of Kinshasa. A ran...

This is the adult questionnaire. "Questionnaire membre du menage adulte.docx". (DOCX)

This is the sources of outdoor and indoor pollution of respondents included in the study. (DOCX)

This is the household questionnaire. "Questionnaire enquete menage.docx". (DOCX)

This is the housing and lifestyle of respondents included in the study. (DOCX)

This is the general characteristics and prevalence of asthma. (DOCX)

This is the prevalence of asthma-ever and sources of pollution. (DOCX)

Background The study aimed to identify the impact of non-disclosure of HIV status on the loss to follow-up (LTFU) of patients receiving anti-retroviral therapy. Methodology A historic cohort of HIV patients from 2 major hospitals in Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo was followed from 2004 to 2012. LTFU was defined as not taking an ART refill for...

Outcomes of patients included in the study. (DOCX)

Introduction: To participate effectively in the fight against tuberculosis (TB), mothers need to have a good knowledge of TB and its prevention. The objective of this study was to evaluate the knowledge of mothers about TB and Bacillus Calmette Guerin (BCG). Methods: This was a cross-sectional survey performed from September to December 2015 in 4 h...

Background: Reduced kidney function in blacks is associated with an increased frequency of left ventricular hypertrophy. Given the unavailability of echocardiography in most developing countries, the diagnostic performance of current ECG indexes needs to be evaluated. Objective: To compare the diagnostic performance of 3 commonly used ECG indexes (...

Background: Resistants alcalo acido bacilli met during the follow-up of patients are declared as fail in the second or third month of treatment. However, the Ziehl used doesn't distinguish the dead bacilli from those which are alive. Objective: To show the FDA pertinence in the patients monitoring under antituberculosis sufferer treatment. Methods:...

Background: Uncontrolled hypertension remains an important issue in daily clinical practice worldwide. Although the majority of patients are treated in primary care, most of the data on blood pressure control originate from population-based studies or secondary healthcare. Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the frequency of uncontr...

Background Social accountability has to be configured according to the context in which it operates. This paper aimed to identify local contextual factors in two health zones in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and discuss their possible influences on shaping, implementing and running social accountability initiatives. Methods Data on local soc...

Purpose: Considering the increased risk of HIV among alcohol users, we explored the role of individual alcohol expectancies in risk behaviors among youth in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Methods: We surveyed 1,396 adolescents (ages 15-19) and young adults (ages 20-24) on alcohol and sexual behaviors in May, 2010. We assessed expectancies...

Objective: To assess the prevalence of food insecurity and its impact on nutritional status among HIV infected patients on antiretroviral therapy in a conflict and post conflict setting. Design: Cross-sectional study. Setting: This Goma multicenter cross-sectional study was carried out from February 1 st to March 3 rd , 2016. Subjects: Data on nutr...

Background: The study explored the association between the depressive symptoms, loss of appetite and under nutrition among treated HIV patients in Goma, a post conflict setting. Methodology: This was a cross-sectional survey carried out from February 1st to March 3rd, 2016. The prevalence of depressive symptoms and loss of appetite were estimated....

Using a matched case-control design, we sought to determine whether the odds of konzo, a distinct spastic paraparesis associated with food (cassava) cyanogenic exposure in the tropics, were associated with lower cyanide detoxification rates (CDR) and malnutrition. Children with konzo (N = 122, 5-17 years of age) were age- and sex-matched with presu...

While geographic information systems (GIS) are frequently used to research accessibility issues for healthcare services around the world, sophisticated spatial analysis protocols and outputs often prove inappropriate and unsustainable to support evidence-based programme strategies in resource-constrained environments. This article examines how simp...

Setting: The epidemiology of tuberculosis (TB) among children in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is not well known. Objective: This study aimed to describe the trends in TB epidemiology among children in the DRC and to compare these trends in children and adults. Design: Data from the National TB program, the WHO Global TB Report, and a demo...

Background: Hypertension-related complications have become more diagnosed at secondary and tertiary care levels, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), probably indicative of poor management of hypertensive patients at primary health care level. This study aimed to assess the management of hypertension in primary health care settings by us...

Background: Modern contraceptive prevalence was 14.1% in 2007 in Kinshasa, the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Yet virtually nothing was known about the family planning supply environment. Methods: Three surveys of health facilities were conducted in 2012, 2013, and 2014 to determine the number, spatial distribution, an...

Background The Democratic Republic of the Congo is one of the countries in Sub-Saharan Africa with the highest maternal mortality ratio estimated at 846 deaths per 100,000 live births. Innovative strategies such as social accountability are needed to improve both health service delivery and utilization. Indeed, social accountability is a form of ci...

Background: Anaemia is associated with adverse outcomes including early death in the first year of antiretroviral therapy (ART). This study reports on the factors associated with persistent anaemia among HIV-infected patients initiating ART in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo). Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study and ana...

Hypertension remains a public health challenge worldwide. In the Democratic Republic of Congo, its prevalence has increased in the past three decades. Higher prevalence of poor blood pressure control and an increasing number of reported cases of complications due to hypertension have also been observed. It is well established that non-adherence to...

The decision to initiate the antiretroviral therapy in HIV-infected children living in poor countries is compromised by lack of resources. The objective of this study is to identify simple clinical and biological markers other than CD4+ count and viral load measurement that could help the decision to introduce antiretroviral treatment and to monito...

Objective The aim of this study was to evaluate the determinants of chronic kidney disease (CKD) with special emphasis on sickle cell trait (SCT). Methods Three hundred and fifty-nine patients (171 men and 188 women), aged 18 years or older, with reduced kidney function (eGFR < 90 ml/min/1.73 m²) and seen at secondary and tertiary healthcare in Ki...

We assessed the relationship between key trace elements and neurocognitive and motor impairments observed in konzo, a motor neuron disease associated with cassava cyanogenic exposure in nutritionally challenged African children. Serum concentrations of iron, copper, zinc, selenium, and neurotoxic lead, mercury, manganese, cadmium, and cobalt were m...

HCV genotype 4 is prevalent in many African countries, yet little is known about the genotype׳s epidemic history on the continent. We present a comprehensive study of the molecular epidemiology of genotype 4. To address the deficit of data from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) we PCR amplified 60 new HCV isolates from the DRC, resulting i...

1) Purpose: The aim of this project is to use mobile devices to collect a representative sample of data from households in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, which will be used to estimate contraceptive prevalence and related indicators. This survey was the second in the PMA2020 survey initiative being conducted in selected countries worldwide...

Background. Kinshasa, DRC is a sprawling city of 10 million people with a modern contraceptive prevalence rate (MCPR) of 18%. Prior to 2012, there was no central listing of family planning services and little coordination among the few organizations working in FP in Kinshasa. Research methods: the Kinshasa School of Public Health conducted a base...

Background. The Kinshasa Family Planning Coalition set the goal of increasing the percentage of family planning (FP) service delivery sites from 42% in 2012 to the aspirational goal of 80% by late 2013. This follow-up survey was conducted of all health facilities providing contraceptive services in Kinshasa to determine the extent of change. Meth...

Background. With a Maternal Mortality ratio estimated at 549 deaths per 100,000 live births, DRC is considered as one of the countries with a high MMR in Sub-Saharan Africa. Innovative strategies are needed, such as social accountability to improve service delivery. Social Accountability concerns the mobilization of communities to voice their conce...

Background: In the Democratic Republic of Congo, it was reported in 1995 that the routine coverage for BCG was as low as 47%, and that it was 27% for DPT3, 28% for OPV3 and 39% for measles vaccine. The trend also was declining unevenly. This study aimed to determine the reasons for such low coverage, examining the socio-demographic characteristics...

Background: As teenagers have easy access to both radio programs and cell phones, the current study used these tools so that young people could anonymously identify questions about sex and other related concerns in the urban environment of the Democratic Republic of Congo. The purpose of this healthcare intervention was to identify and address con...

L’éducation sexuelle par les médias de masse contribue positivement à la prévention des infections sexuellement transmissibles (IST)/VIH et des grossesses précoces auprès des jeunes. L’objectifs de cette étude sont d’appréhender le niveau d’intégration de l’éducation sexuelle dans les émissions de santé à Kinshasa en République Démocratique du Cong...