An audit of the informed consent process at the surgical department of Korle Bu teaching hospital, Accra

Background: Surgeons carry out procedures on patients daily, many of which are invasive and may be associated with some risks and complications. The concept of informed consent in surgical practice was introduced after certain legal issues arose. Today patients are entitled to know and be accorded the right to determine what happens to their bodies. This study set out to determine if there had been any improvement in the informed consent process over the years, taking a closer look at the various aspects of the information given :This was a cross-sectional study carried out at the Department of Surgery, Korle Bu Teaching Hospital. One hundred consecutive post-operative patients were recruited and interviewed on information discussed at various stages during the preoperative period and on the administration of the consent form. Results: Thirty seven (66.0%) out of 56 elective cases felt they had been given enough information to their understanding to enable them give informed consent. Thirty (68.1%) out of 44 emergencies also felt they had been given enough information. Forty (71.4%) of elective cases were able tell what their diagnosis was but only 23 (41.0%) knew what procedure had been done. Similarly 32 (72.2%) emergency cases were able to tell what their diagnosis was but only 16 (36.3%) knew what procedure had been done. Conclusion: Informed consent in the Department of Surgery of the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital is unsatisfactory and needs to be improved

Ownership of mobile phones and willingness to receive childhood immunisation reminder messages among caregivers of infants in Ondo State, south-western Nigeria

Background. The timely completion of the childhood immunisation schedule for children under the age of 1 year by caregivers is key to reducing the high morbidity and mortality of vaccine-preventable diseases among infantsglobally.Objective. To determine the ownership of mobile phones among caregivers of children under the age of 1 year, their knowledge about immunisation service delivery and willingness to receive childhood immunisation schedule reminder messages in Ondo State, south-western Nigeria.Method. A descriptive cross-sectional study using semi-structured interviewer-administered questionnaires was conducted with 615 caregivers of infants, who brought their children to clinics conducting immunisation in 24 health facilities in rural, semi-urban and urban settlements in Ondo State in December 2014.Results. The mean (standard deviation, SD) age of respondents was 28.49 (6.01) years, 76.7% were Yoruba, 91.4% were married and living with their spouses and 4.2% were single. Mobile phone ownership was 74.5% among rural-based respondents, and 95.8% among urbanbased.Forty-six percent of the respondents had good knowledge of immunisation, vaccine-preventable diseases and vaccination schedules,while 27.5% had poor knowledge. The majority of the respondents (99.7%) were willing to receive childhood immunisation reminder messages on their mobile phones. About 50% of the respondents preferred to receive reminder messages at any time, rather than specific times. The most preferred language for reminders was English (54.5%). Residing in an urban area and having post-secondary education were predictors of mobile phone ownership.Conclusion. The high mobile phone ownership level, and the willingness of caregivers of infants in this study area to receive immunisation schedule reminder messages, is encouraging, and should be optimised to improve routine immunisation uptake. However, caregivers of infants in rural areas need to be provided with mobile phone support, and trained in their usage in order to benefit from such an intervention in childhood immunisation