Methods Employed in the Prevention and Treatment of Malaria among Pregnant Women in a Riverine Community in Bayelsa State; Nigeria

Background: Malaria remains a major public health problem in Nigeria and is the most common cause of hospital attendance in all age groups of which children and pregnant women are the major risk groups; therefore this study was designed to explore various methods of prevention and treatment of malaria among pregnant women in riverine community in Bayelsa State.Method: A descriptive survey with a sample size of 120 respondents. Data were collected using questionnaire and SPSS version 20 was used for data analysis.Results: The finding of the study revealed that majority of the respondents were within 16-25; with a minimum age of 16; maximum age of 45 and a mean of 30. More than half of the respondents agreed that malaria can be transmitted to the fetus and can lead to intrauterine fetal death. Majority uses insecticide treated nets (ITNs); snapper; insecticide spray; window and door net in preventing malaria; while a good number of the respondent claimed to use drug when they have malaria; most of which were prescribed.Conclusion: Majority of the respondents employed good practices in the prevention and treatment of malaria. However; some of the respondents still use crude methods that are detrimental to health. Therefore; it was recommended that community awareness and enlightenment programmes should be put in place in order to eradicate the crude methods that are harmful; as well as promote the good methods used in the prevention and treatment of malaria

Attitude of nurses towards the care of elderly patients in selected health centres in Ilorin Metropolis, Kwara State, Nigeria

Ageing is one of the national phenomena common to all races globally. Elderly individuals are always seen as giving increased burden on families and societies because most of them are incapable of performing their activities of daily living independently. This study investigates the attitude of nurses towards the care of the elderly patients either at home and work environments and especially in a selected health centres in Ilorin Metropolis; Kwara State; Nigeria. Sixty nurses were conveniently sampled for the study and the result showed differences in the nurses' attitudes in the care of the elderly; these differences were premised on their knowledge; gender; religion; age and experience in the profession. It is therefore recommended that there is an urgent need for Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria to introduce and design a curriculum for Gerontological nursing as a specialty course in Nursing Education to better the knowledge and care of the aged by the nurses

Prevalence of Schizophrenia among Patients Admitted into Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital

This study; a retrospective one that was conducted to assess the prevalence of schizophrenia among patients admitted into Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital; Rumuigbo; Port-Harcourt; Rivers State; Nigeria between January 2005 and December 2009. The method used to collect the required data was assessing all the case files of the patients at the Medical Records Department with the assistance of the Chief Medical Records Officer-in-charge. The prevalence was investigated in relation to gender; age range; level of education; occupation and marital status. The study revealed that on the average 58.19 of the patients admitted between the study period were Schizophrenic patients. It is therefore recommended that urgent national survey be conducted to determine the prevalence of all psychiatric disorders as the results will guide both the health policy makers and providers in effective and efficient planning and administration of health of the country either in the prevention; early detection and management of mental disorders in Nigeria as high prevalence is a grave threat to the dividend of our democracy