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Access status: Open Access ,
The Influence of fate control, perceived health risk, and privacy concerns on the acceptance of human papillomavirus (HPV) screening digital advertising: the moderating role of digital literacy
(BUSE, 2026-10-07) Chitsamba , Alec
The increasing global adoption of digital communication technologies has created new opportunities for public health promotion while on the contrary the acceptance of Human Papillomavirus (HPV) screening digital advertising has remained inconsistent across many cultural contexts especially in developing nations. This study examined the influence of fate control, perceived health risk, and data privacy concerns on the acceptance of HPV screening digital advertising among Zimbabwean women aged 18 to 49 years. Digital literacy was assessed as a moderating variable. The research borrows from the Biopsychosocial (BPS) Model, Protection Motivation Theory (PMT), and the Digital Health Literacy Competence (DHLC) Framework to generate a new integrated framework that addresses the acceptance of digital communications in HPV screening. A cross-sectional, quantitative research design was employed using a structured questionnaire distributed to a sample of 760 urban and peri-urban women in Zimbabwe through both an online and offline distribution. 670 valid responses were analysed using Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) in AMOS. The results revealed that fate control had a significant negative effect on the acceptance of HPV screening digital advertising. Perceived health risk had a significant positive effect on the acceptance of HPV screening digital advertising. Data privacy concerns did not exhibit a significant negative relationship with the acceptance of HPV screening digital advertising as previously guessed. This is an indication that institutional trust and perceived health benefits are likely to outweigh privacy apprehensions among women in the age 18 to 49 years. The moderation analysis showed that digital literacy can intensify both the negative impact of fate control and the positive impact of perceived health risk. On the contrary, digital literacy significantly failed to moderate the influence of privacy concerns on the acceptance of HPV screening digital advertising. The study findings therefore confirm that sociocultural and cognitive beliefs remain powerful determinants of digital health behaviour, even in technologically advanced societies. Health authorities should be now encouraged to design digital advertisements that align health messages with local cultural values, personalized risk communications, and compliment digital competence to generate trust among the public in Zimbabwe and in the region.
Access status: Open Access ,
The role of foreign direct investment (FDI) on economic growth in Sub-Saharan Africa: does governance matter
(BUSE, 2026-10-07) Taedzerwa, Godfrey Tapiwa
This study investigates the relationship between Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), governance, and economic growth in Sub-Saharan Africa, employing an econometric model based on panel data from 38 Sub-Saharan countries spanning the period 2000-2023. The study incorporated key Gross Fixed Capital Formation (GFCF), population growth, exports, imports, and government effectiveness to answer the research questions. Diagnostic results, including unit root tests for stationarity, Johansen cointegration tests for long-run relationships, confirmed the robustness of the data and the selected methodology. The study finds that the interaction of governance and FDI demonstrates a statistically significant negative impact on GDP growth, attributed to governance challenges and institutional inefficiencies. In contrast, population growth and exports positively influence economic performance, while imports show a detrimental effect. The study recommends that policymakers in the region strengthen governance frameworks and diversify FDI to maximize developmental outcomes.
Access status: Open Access ,
Public health expenditure and child health outcomes in Sub-Saharan Africa
(BUSE, 2026-10-07) Ndemera, Vongaishe P
Child mortality is disproportionately high in sub-Saharan Africa. The allocation of public health resources has always been considered a key policy measure to tackle this. But, the results of the empirical testing of the relationship between health spending and the reduction in child mortality are mixed, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa. The impact of public health expenditure on child health outcomes measured by under-five mortality rate is analyzed in this study using a balanced panel of 45 countries in Sub Saharan Africa for the period 1995 to 2018.To account for endogeneity and unobserved country-specific heterogeneity, a log-linear model is estimated using fixed effects and system generalised method of moments (GMM) estimation techniques, following Grossman's production function of health (Grossman, 1972). Among the factors used, GDP per capita, female literacy rate, and access to clean drinking water are considered to be control variables. Secondary data were obtained from World Development Indicators (World Bank, 2023), UNICEF Child Mortality Database, and the African Development Bank Statistics Database (African Development Bank, 2022). The results of fixed effects show that for the 10 percent rise in public health spending per capita, under-5 mortality rate drops by around 1.28 per cent. Estimation of the GMM system confirms the negative relationship is statistically significant and condenses to an elasticity of -0.087, which accounts for the possibility of reverse causality. Also, child mortality is negatively affected by GDP per capita, female education, and clean water access. The robustness of the estimates is confirmed by the diagnostic tests such as Hausman test (Hausman, 1978), Arellano-Bond AR (2) test (Arellano and Bond, 1991) and Hansen test of instrument validity (Hansen, 1982). The study finds that public health spending is required, but not sufficient to achieve child health gains in Sub-Saharan Africa. It is highly dependent on investments in water systems and education. The policy recommendations highlight financing of primary healthcare, public financial management reforms and integrated development of sectors. The results add to the literature in the field of health economics and can inform the policies of governments and development partners working in the context of Sustainable Development Goal 3 (United Nations, 2015).
Access status: Open Access ,
Evaluating the impact of global sourcing on the triple bottom line sustainability of FMCG manufacturers in Harare, Zimbabwe
(BUSE, 2026-10-07) Chimedza,Stanely
The main objective of this research was to evaluate the impact of global sourcing strategies on the Triple Bottom Line sustainability of Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) manufacturing firms in Harare, Zimbabwe. A descriptive research design was adopted, and data were gathered from a validated sample size of 145 manufacturing firms using questionnaires and key-informant interviews. Quantitative data were analyzed through Ordinary Least Squares linear regression modeling to evaluate the economic, environmental, and social dimensions of sustainability. The major findings revealed that global sourcing strategies exert a strong, positive, and statistically significant impact on economic sustainability by driving unit-cost efficiencies and securing critical raw inputs. However, the regression models also confirmed that intensive global sourcing has a significant positive relationship with negative environmental impacts, heavily degrading environmental sustainability through high transport emissions along landlocked road corridors and an influx of non-biodegradable packaging waste. Furthermore, the strategy demonstrated a positive but modest relationship with social sustainability, where benefits from technical skills transfer are offset by the hollowing out of domestic upstream supply networks and reduced local employment. The study concludes that while global sourcing is an operational necessity that supports commercial survival, it forces a severe operational trade-off across the environmental and social pillars of the Triple Bottom Line. The primary recommendations are that manufacturing managers transition to hybrid sourcing models by implementing local outgrower schemes to reduce currency risk, and adopt multi-modal rail logistics to mitigate carbon footprints. Additionally, industrial policymakers should introduce targeted import substitution incentives to rebuild local supplier capacity and enforce extended producer responsibility regulations to manage manufacturing waste.
Access status: Open Access ,
Efficacy of black soldier fly-derived chitosan coatings in managing post-harvest decay of blueberries
(BUSE, 2026-06) Milazi, Rodney Abraham
Post-harvest decay and moisture loss reduce the marketable life of blueberries and can cause substantial losses where fruit are held under ambient conditions. This study evaluated black soldier fly-derived chitosan coatings for managing post-harvest deterioration of 'Azra Blue' blueberries. A Completely Randomised Design was used with four treatments: distilled-water control (T1), 0.5% chitosan (T2), 1.0% chitosan (T3) and 1.5% chitosan (T4). Each treatment comprised three Petri-dish replicates containing nine berries, giving 108 fruits in total. Following artificial inoculation with grey-mould propagules collected from symptomatic blueberry fruit, the fruits were coated and stored under ambient winter laboratory conditions in Bindura for 15 days. Weight loss and berry diameter were assessed on Days 0, 5, 10 and 15, while disease incidence and severity were assessed on Days 5, 10 and 15. Fruit-juice pH was estimated descriptively using universal indicator strips. One-way analysis of variance and Fisher's Least Significant Difference test were applied at P ≤ 0.05. Weight loss increased with storage duration but was significantly reduced by chitosan. At Day 15, the control recorded 10.70% weight loss compared with 8.23%, 6.60% and 5.40% for T2, T3 and T4, respectively. Mean berry diameter at Day 15 was lowest in the control (17.51 mm) and highest in T4 (18.53 mm). Disease incidence reached 70.4% in the control, compared with 44.4%, 37.0% and 33.3% in T2, T3 and T4. The Day 15 Disease Severity Index was 37.0% in the control and 11.1%, 10.2% and 8.3% in T2, T3 and T4. Grey mould in coated fruit generally remained localised around the stem scar, whereas the control showed more extensive sporulation. Approximate pH was 4 in the control and 3 in the coated fruit at Day 15. The findings indicate that black soldier fly-derived chitosan reduced moisture loss, maintained berry size and suppressed presumptive grey mould development, with 1.5% chitosan providing the strongest overall protection under the conditions of the study. Further validation under controlled cold-chain and commercial handling conditions is recommended.