Vasconcelos, Alexandra
Sousa, Swasilanne
Bandeira, Nelson
Alves, Marta
Papoila, Ana Luísa
Pereira, Filomena
Machado, Maria Céu
Funding for this research was provided by:
Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (SFRH/BD/117037/2016)
Article History
Received: 9 May 2022
Accepted: 30 May 2023
First Online: 16 June 2023
Declarations
:
: The study was approved and consented to by the Ministry of Health of Sao Tome & Principe and by the main board of Hospital Dr. Ayres de Menezes, since at the time the study protocol was submitted there were no ethics committees in Sao Tome & Principe. Only recently has the country National Ethics Committee been appointed. Previously, study analysis and approval were done by the Ministry of Health and the institution where the study was to be performed, which is what we have done. All methods were performed in accordance with the relevant guidelines and regulations in practice. Written informed consent was obtained from all participants (or their parent or legal guardian in the case of adolescents under 16) after the purpose of the research was explained orally by the main investigator. Additionally, if the mother was illiterate and unable to write, oral consent was given in the presence of at least one witness, usually the ward nurse´s complementarity to the mother´s fingerprint mark in the consent form. Participation in the survey was voluntary, as participants could decline to participate at any time during the study. The anonymity and safety of participants were ensured.
: Not applicable.
: The authors declare no competing interests.