20 research outputs found
Rubella and the devastating effects of congenital rubella syndrome
Get PDFRubella virus is a vaccine preventable disease that is endemic in many countries worldwide. We appraised the prevalence and risk factors for rubella and considered the effects of congenital rubella syndrome (CRS) in children. A systematic review of relevant literature was carried out according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA). Articles were searched for through PubMed, Medline, EMBASE, Scopus, Google Scholar, web of Science, and Index Medicus. Rubella and CRS are endemic in African as well as the South-East Asian region. The current global vaccination coverage of rubella was estimated to be 70%. However, many countries in African and South-East Asia are yet to include rubella vaccination in their national immunization schedules. Mauritius and Seychelles are exceptions in Africa, while Sri Lanka and Maldives in the South-East Asian region have implemented this regimen. Globally, only the Americas has successfully eradicated rubella. It is still endemic in many African countries with devastating effects among infants and pregnant women. Cases are unabated and several children continue to suffer the consequences of CRS. Concerted efforts are needed to create awareness and galvanize support to control the incidence of rubella and CR
20-24Public Awareness and Perception on Care for the Elderly among Funtua Residents in Katsina State
No full textAbstract The population of the elderly is rapidly increasing globally and there is need to meet up with the special needs and requirements that are unique to them. This study aimed at evaluating public awareness and perception towards care for the elderly. A cross-sectional descriptive survey design was used to administred questionaire to the participants. Cluster method was used to select 3 out of the 5 wards and 150 participants were recruited for the study using purposive and convenience sampling techniques. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data. Data obtained were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) Version 20. Descriptive analysis was computed on dependent and independent variables. The result shows that majority of the participants (90%) have relatively good knowledge of the basic care of the elderly, with high positive attitudinal predisposition towards and preference to care for their aged people in their (participants') homes rather than to be nursed in institutions such as nursing homes (92%). Despite the relatively good knowledge and positive attitudes expressed by the participants toward the care for older people, significant efforts are required to health educate the public about the activities of daily living and needs and other specific ways of caring for elderly people, especially those with chronic illness
Dermatological Malignancies at a University Teaching Hospital in north-western Tanzania: A Retrospective Review of 154 Cases
Get PDFDermatological malignancies are among the most common form of cancers and the global incidence has been increasing at an alarming rate. A retrospective study was conducted to determine the prevalence, histopathological pattern, anatomical distribution and treatment outcome of dermatological malignancies at Bugando Medical Centre in North-western Tanzania. Data were collected from patients’ files kept in the Medical record department; the surgical wards, operating theatre and histopathology laboratory and analyzed using Statistical package for social sciences system. A total of 154 patients with a histopathological diagnosis of dermatological malignancy were studied. Generally, males outnumbered females by a ratio of 1.4:1. The majority of patients were in the 5th and 6th decades of life. Malignant melanoma was the most common dermatological malignancy (67.5%) followed by Kaposi’s sarcoma (10.4%), Squamous cell carcinoma (8.4%) and Basal cell carcinoma(7.8%). The lower limbs were the most frequent site accounting for 55.8%. Wide local excision was the most common surgical procedure performed in 79.2% of cases. Post-operative wound infection was the most common complication in 58.3% of patients. Mortality rate was 3.8%. Dermatological malignancies are more prevalent in our setting. A high index of suspicion is needed to avoid labelling malignancies “chronic ulcers” and all suspected lesions should be biopse
Occurrence, Pattern and Effects of Nonconventional Use of Substances among Youth in North-Central, Nigeria
No full textAbstract Background: use of substances among Nigerian youth for nonconventional purpose and cocktails of illicit substances have become a source of concern at various levels of the society. These substances include whitish end of lizard dung, hydrogen sulphide gas (sewer gas), seed of Zakami, Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), rubber solutions, nail polish cleaners, pawpaw leave and seed, Moringa (Zogale) leave, tear gas, gun powder, Mandara (Kafra) gutter from toilet. The use or abuse of such substances has devastating consequences on the individual health, family and society. Objective: To evaluate occurrence, pattern and effects of nonconventional substance use among youth in North-central, Nigeria. Methods: A cross-sectional research design was used to recruit eligible participants for this study with purposive and snowball sampling techniques. Data were collected with the help of research assistants (locators) using a structured questionnaire. Statistical software SPSS V20.0 (2010) was used to analyze both descriptive and inferential statistics. Results: The results of the study reveal that most of the nonconventional substance users were young unmarried male students of tertiary institutions with a mean age of 23 ± 4 years. Most of them were living with both parents and from monogamy family background. Additionally, a good number of the participants were into daily usage of these substances, were into either smoking or drinking of alcohol before they went into the use of these other substances. They have been into nonconventional substance use for past five years or more. The use of whitish end of Lizard dung, Moringa (Zogale) leave, Seed of Zakami, pawpaw leave, rubber solutions, premium motor spirit (PMS) and hydrogen sulfide gas (Gas from pit toilet) are the most used substances. Reasons for nonconventional substance abuse include peer pressure/influence, societal influence, poor parental monitoring and for relaxation or coping with stress. The effects include accidents, loss and damage to property, had unprotected sex, hospitalization and sudden difficulty in breathing. Participants' age and level of education correlate significantly with occurrence of nonconventional substance use/abuse. Conclusion: Findings from this study suggest that youths aged between 18 and 30 years were into nonconventional substance use/abuse. This result reinforces the importance of calling for more strategies to curtail the new trends in the use of nonconventional substances among youth and improvement on the available legislation on drugs and substances laws Background Fundamentally, use of substance is a social act, common human behaviour Use of different mood-changing substances has been reported to be prevalent among Nigerian youth. Studies Lately, non-medical consumption of cough syrups in Northern Nigeria has become a subject of public concern, World Journal of Preventive Medicine 13 largely due to its potential danger to the society. Abuse of substances, licit or illicit, is so prevalent in our present societal context that we might as well ask, why some adolescents abstain from substance use, rather than why most do not Nonconventional substance use among Nigerian youth has become alarming at different levels of the society. Globally, it has been estimated that 90% of population aged 12 years or older are classified with dependency on psychoactive substances According to UNODC reports [9] on the use of illicit substances, there was an increase usage rate throughout the world in recent years. Similarly, the World Health Organization Ifabumuyi A comparative study by Festus [14] on the patterns of substance used in two selected Nigerian cities among prison inmates in Uyo and Kiru revealed that, participants highlights various reasons for using alcohol and other psychoactive substances. Those seen as, (easy to get) readily availabile alone accounts for more than 25% of the reasons in both cities, while influence from others, enhanced performance, unemployment and unidentified reasons were responsible for 24%, 22%, 18% and 10% respectively. The study further established that alcohol was the commonly used substance in Uyo while, inhalants such as glue, petrol, formalin and shoe polish were the substances consumed in large quantities at Kiru. Prevalence and patterns of substance used are strongly related to a range of factors, including age and sex, and these patterns vary for different types of drugs The use of nonconventional substances such as whitish end of lizard dung, hydrogen sulphide gas (sewer gas), seed of Zakami In developing countries, urbanization and globalization were reported to have significantly influenced on the pattern of substances usage In spite of several efforts put in place to curtail the menace of substance usage, peer influence has been a major factor connected with adolescent substance use [29,30,31], delinquency [32] and sexual behaviours, family conflict, poor parental monitoring, parental substance use and academic problems Despite the dangerous trend in view of the associated health hazards arising from widespread use of alcohol and other psychoactive substances, recent development in Nigeria has shown that the increasing incidence of youth restiveness and social vices may have been influenced by the use of substances Use of substances such as khat leaves has been associated with physical illness, injuries, under nutrition, mental distress, sleep disorders, problem drinking and heavy smoking Objective of the Study Youths play an important role in the growth and progress of any society and no nation could move up the ladder of development without involving its youth in the decision-making processes. However, the epidemic of nonconventional use of substance among the youth is on the increase. Therefore, this study sought to evaluate the occurrence, pattern and effects of nonconventional use of substances among youth in North-central, Nigeria In addition to the strategic locations, Bida town has more than three tertiary institutions, public and private secondary and primary schools. Bida is not only occupied by northerners, it is also a town with vast tribes from other regions of the country like Gbagyis, Igbo, Yoruba, Hausa, Igala, Urhobo, Calabar and other tribes inclusive [41, Methods Study Setting Study Design A cross-sectional research design was used to recruit eligible participants for this study. Study Population The target participants for this study were all the substance users/abusers within Bida town, Bida Local Government Area between October -December 2015. Data Collection Tools Structured questionnaire developed by the authors from review of relevant literature was used to collect data from the participants who consented to participate in the study. The participants were located and the questionnaires were administered to them at their "joints" by the two trained research assistants. The literate participants filled the questionnaire themselves and those who are non-literates were structurally interview using the same questionnaire to elicit the same responses from the participants. Sampling Technique Bida was purposively selected for this study because of the rapid popularization of the town and observed cases of substance use/abuse among the population. Participants were recruited with the use of snowball sampling technique. This sampling technique allowed the investigators to hand-pick, recruit and train the first cases (locators) or population considered to be typical or possess the desired set of information or characteristics for inclusion in the study Data Analysis and Management The statistical software SPSS V20.0 (2010) was used to analyze the data. Categorical data were expressed as proportions and percentages while continuous variables were expressed as mean± standard deviation. Association between categorical variables was expressed using Chi square (χ2), degree of freedom and test of statistical significance (p-value) was set at p=0.05
Health Education Intervention on Knowledge and Accessibility of Pregnant Women to Antenatal Care Services in Edu, Kwara State, Nigeria
No full textThe perceived effect of sleep pattern on the academic achievement among University of Ilorin nursing students, Nigeria
Get PDFThis study used correlation-descriptive design to examine perceived effect of sleep pattern on the academic achievement among University of Ilorin Nursing students, Nigeria. A total number of 255 nursing students was selected using proportionate sampling technique from 200 to 500 levels. The instrument for data collection was a researchers-designed questionnaire. The validity of the instrument was ascertained by study objectives and the reliability was determined by test retest involving 20% equivalent of the total students in a different institution with similar characteristics prior to the main study, given 0.78 reliability index. The questionnaire was administered and retrieved from 210 students and analyzed using SPSS computer software version 22. Descriptive statistics was used to analyze research questions while inferential statistics was used to test hypothesis. Results were presented using descriptive table of frequency and percentages. The study revealed 97.2% of nursing students affirmed inadequate sleep has negative effect on their academic achievement, and 91.4% agreed that a person must sleep at least 6 hours for healthy living. This study further identified academic stress (53.3%) and poor accommodation (56.2%) as factors influencing sleep pattern among nursing students in University of Ilorin. This study concluded that there is significant relationship between nursing student sleep pattern and academic achievement with p-value=0.001 < 0.05. Based on conclusion, the authors recommended that students must cultivate the habit of having sufficient daily sleep, fixed bed time and waking time to improve their sleep pattern which will further improve their academic achievements and general physical and psychological wellbeing
Availability and Utilization of Digital Health Technology for Improved Patients Care: A Cross-Sectional Study of Nurses’ Perspectives at a State General Hospital in North-Central Nigeria
No full textDigital health technology (DHT), the application and implementation of the digital transformation strategy in the healthcare system, entails incorporating both software and hardware services to facilitate different health needs. In Nigeria's healthcare system, the utilization of digital health technology has not been fully explored resulting in the lagging behind the delivery of healthcare for digitalized, improved patient care, and nursing practice. This research study was designed to assess knowledge, availability and utilization of digital health technology by nurses at a North-Central Hospital, in Kwara state. A descriptive cross-sectional research design was adopted. The researcher used a Self-developed administered questionnaire to elicit responses from a convenient sample of 125 nurses. The data collected were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics (with a 0.05 level of significance). The study revealed that the majority of the nurses had good knowledge (n= 92; 73.6%) and positive perception (n=90; 72%) about digital health technology with fair adequate utilization (n=74; 59.2%) of the few available digital health technology devices. A significant association was found between the knowledge of nurses about digital health technology and their highest academic qualification with a p-value of 0.022, which is less than a 0.05 level of significance. Also, a significant association was found between the knowledge of nurses and the utilization of digital health technology with a P value of 0.005. In conclusion, digital health technology knowledge among nurses was good and positive respectiviely and the level of utilization of digital health technology was adequate. Therefore, hospital administration and nurses need to advocate for improved provision of adequate digital health technologies for health care and practices especially for nursing care. Hospital administration should continue to improve the knowledge of the health workers and continually enhanced digital health technology utilisation for improved patient care.
Résumé: La technologie de la santé numérique (DHT) est l'application et la mise en œuvre de la stratégie de transformation numérique dans le système de santé, qui implique l'incorporation de services logiciels et matériels pour faciliter les différents besoins en matière de santé. Dans le système de santé nigérian, l'utilisation de la technologie de santé numérique n'a pas été pleinement explorée, ce qui entraîne un retard dans la fourniture de soins de santé numérisés, l'amélioration des soins aux patients et la pratique des soins infirmiers. Cette étude a été conçue pour évaluer les connaissances, la disponibilité et l'utilisation des technologies numériques de santé par les infirmières d'un hôpital du centre-nord de l'État de Kwara. Un modèle de recherche transversale descriptive a été adopté. Le chercheur a utilisé un questionnaire auto-élaboré pour obtenir des réponses d'un échantillon de 125 infirmières. Les données recueillies ont été analysées à l'aide de statistiques descriptives et inférentielles (avec un niveau de signification de 0,05). L'étude a révélé que la majorité des infirmières avaient une bonne connaissance (n=92 ; 73,6%) et une perception positive (n=90 ; 72%) de la technologie de santé numérique avec une utilisation adéquate (n=74 ; 59,2%) des quelques dispositifs de technologie de santé numérique disponibles. Une association significative a été trouvée entre les connaissances des infirmières sur les technologies numériques de santé et leur qualification académique la plus élevée avec une valeur p de 0,022, ce qui est inférieur au niveau de signification de 0,05. De même, une association significative a été trouvée entre les connaissances des infirmières et l'utilisation des technologies numériques de santé avec une valeur P de 0,005. En conclusion, les connaissances des infirmières en matière de technologies numériques de santé étaient bonnes et positives respectivement, et le niveau d'utilisation des
technologies numériques de santé était adéquat. Par conséquent, l'administration de l'hôpital et les infirmières doivent plaider en faveur d'une meilleure fourniture de technologies numériques de santé adéquates pour les soins de santé et les pratiques, en particulier pour les soins infirmiers. L'administration de l'hôpital devrait continuer à améliorer les connaissances des travailleurs de la santé en améliorant continuellement l'utilisation des technologies numériques de santé pour améliorer les soins aux patients.
Mots-clés : Connaissance, disponibilité, DHT, utilisation, soins de santé, amélioration des soins aux patients.
Zika Virus in Malaria-Endemic Populations: A Climate Change-Driven Syndemic in the Sudan Savannah, Nigeria
No full textZika and malaria are important vector-borne febrile illnesses in humans. In this study, we determined the circulation of Zika virus and malaria infections, their hotspots, and their predominant clinical features. A cross-sectional study was carried out in six Local Government Areas (LGAs) in Kaduna State, Nigeria, from September 2018 to May 2019. Four hundred and twenty sera were screened for Zika virus (ZV) IgM and IgG, and Plasmodium falciparum antigen using ELISA and immunochromatographic test, respectively. Overall, a seroprevalence of 14.5% was found for Zika, and 9.3% for malaria. Nineteen (4.5%) and thirty-five (8.3%) patients were seropositive for ZV IgM and IgG, respectively. Co-infection rates for Zika (ZV IgM) and malaria (0.5%: 2/420), and for ZV IgG and malaria (0.7%: 3/420) were observed. Lere (10%: 7/70 for ZV IgM), Kachia (14.3%: 10/70 for ZV IgG) and Zaria (18.6%: 13/70 for malaria) LGAs were identified as hotspots for Zika and malaria. Age was significantly associated with malaria (p = 0.008) and ZV IgG (p = 0.004). Patients aged 1–10 years had the highest malaria seroprevalence (18.4%), while those aged 21–30 years had the highest ZV IgM prevalence (6.1%: 7/114). Out of the pregnant patients (56/420) tested, 5.37% (3/56) had antibodies to both recent and past ZV infection. A significant association was found between maculopapular rash (p = 0.021) and Zika, as well as between duration of the fever and recent Zika infection (p = 0.041). We highlight that malaria is endemic in Kaduna and that ZV is silently circulating, providing baseline data for further molecular epidemiological studies
Perceived work-related stress and associated factors among the surgical workforce in a Nigerian tertiary health facility: A cross-sectional study
No full textEffect of nursing intervention on women’s knowledge about pregnancy problems and utilization of obstetrics care services in Edu, Kwara State, Nigeria
No full textPurpose: This study assesses the effect of nursing intervention on the knowledge of women about pregnancy-related problems and utilization of obstetrics care services in Edu, Nigeria. Methods: Pre-test post-test control of quasi-experimental design was adopted for the study. Researchers-designed questionnaire was used for data collection and a split-half test was used to determine the reliability of the instrument. One hundred and twenty women were exposed to ten weeks of community-based nursing education intervention sessions, (sixty experimental groups and sixty control groups). Pre-tests administered to sampled women before nursing health education intervention sessions and followed by Post-test. The results were analyzed using mean and standard deviation while the t-test was used to test the hypothesis at an Alpha level of 0.05. Results: The findings showed the positive effect of a nursing health education intervention on the knowledge of women about pregnancy problems with pre-intervention on experimental group mean of 63.33, and post-intervention mean of 72.22 with t-value of 1.26 less than the table value of 1.96. The study further showed a mean score of 35.97 experimental group and 28.33 for the control group with a t-value of 1.64, which shows little effect of intervention on the willingness of women to utilize obstetrics care services in Edu, Nigeria. Conclusion: The study concluded that the nursing health education intervention programme in this study on pregnancy-related problems programmes had a positive effect on the knowledge of women but had no effect on the utilization of OCS by women in Edu Local Government Areas. We recommended that health education programmes should be intensified to improve the knowledge level of women and encourage the use of obstetric care services in the community
