Health Seeking Behaviour among Adult Residents of Yenagoa City; Nigeria

Introduction: Health seeking behaviour and measures taken to promote health or prevent/treat ill-health among residents of Yenagoa; were investigated. This is against the backdrop of diversity in cause(s) of ill-health and a plethora of alternatives for restoring health among the populace. Materials and Method: Structured questionnaire consisting of two sections was administered to 300 residents aged above 18 years. Section A contains demographic information while Section B contains enquires into knowledge of health; causation/prevention of ill-health and actions taken to restore health. Seven prevalent diseases namely; malaria; typhoid; HIV/AIDS; hypertension; diabetes; hepatitis and sexual impotence were used as representative conditions to elicit behavioural responses from participants. The sampled diseases although not exhaustive of all diseases; are representative of commonly encountered diseases and cover an ideal spectrum in terms of prevalence and severity. Results and Discussion: Out of the 300 questionnaires administered; 262 (87.3) were retrieved. Of the respondents; 147 (56.0) were females while 115 (44.0) were males. On causal factors for ill-health; 110 (42.0) respondents highlighted religion/culture as important; 67 (25.6) respondents highlighted biogenic (medical/scientific) factors as important; 85 (32.4) respondents highlighted socio-economic factors as important. Over 90of the respondents wait for sickness cue(s) before seeking for help reflecting poor health-check habit. Only 40 (15.3will seek help immediately when ill/sick. One hundred and thirty (49.6) respondents utilise orthodox medicine gotten from traditional/herbal healers; 33 (13.0) respondents utilise unorthodox medicine gotten from hospitals; clinics and pharmacies while 99 (37.8) utilise spiritual means indicating tremendous religious influence on health seeking behaviour

Evaluation of Drug Use and Patient Care Practices in a Referral Health Facility in Yenagoa; Bayelsa State; Nigeria

Background: Evaluation of drug use and patient care practice is a very vital aspect of patient care. It also measures the quality of care provided by health practitioners for patients. Data from this study is very essential in healthcare management and planning. Objectives: To assess drug use and patient care practices at the outpatient section of a referral hospital in Yenagoa; south-south; Nigeria; using WHO drug use indictors. Methods: The study was conducted at Federal Medical Centre; Yenagoa; Bayelsa State. A total of 2450 prescriptions from the outpatient pharmacy were selected by systematic sampling and retrospectively studied. A prospective study of the patient care practices and health facility indicators; which include consultation and dispensing times; revenue time; Patient's knowledge of their medications and availability of key essential drugs; was also undertaken. Data collected was analyzed using WHO guideline for assessment of drug use in healthy facilities. Results: The average number of drugs prescribed per encounter was 3.4; Percentage of encounters with at least an antibiotic prescribed was 35.5. Injections were prescribed in 22of encounters. 62of drugs were prescribed by generic name while 87of drugs prescribed were from the essential drug list. The mean consultation and dispensing times were 11.5 and 3.5 minutes respectively. Two out of every three patients interviewed knew both the names and the duration of their medications while four out of every five knew the correct dosage of their medications. Conclusion: Many of the prescribing and patient care indicators assessed were found to be inappropriate and need to be improved upon. . There was high tendency of poly- pharmacy and over prescription of antibiotics. The patients' knowledge of vital aspects of medication management was found to be inadequate. The overall picture of drug use suggests that the indicators at this facility are not yet at the optimal level