ABSTRACT
This prospective study is designed to assess the level of fear of radiotherapy in Oncology Patients attending a tertiary health facility. Two hundred and thirteen (213) Oncology patients reported to the University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH) for Radiotherapy from March 1, 2013 to December 22, 2013 were recruited for this study. Descriptive statistics (Frequency and percentage) as well as inferential statistics (Ï2) test was used in analyzing the data. The dataset were entered and analysed using IBM Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 24.0 for windows. The level of significance was set at p<0.05. The result showed that more than half (70.4%) of the Oncology patients reported high level of fear. Age of oncology patients, educational level and site of tumour were significantly (p<0.0001) associated with high level of fear of RT. This study reported very high proportion of fear of radiotherapy among Oncology patients which may be due to lack of awareness of the mechanism of operation of the procedure and the positive outcome as against the negative fears they have. Therefore, there is the need for awareness/teachings to patients prior to therapy to help ameliorate their fears; also special attention should be paid to provide adequate psychological or psychiatric support to patients with high level of fear of Radiotherapy
Subject(s)
Health Facilities , Tertiary HealthcareABSTRACT
Background: Health Risk behavior is a major concern in the society, especially among young people. Aims: This study evaluated the influence of self-image; socio-demographic factors and low parental supervision on pornography consumption and substance use among Nigerian adolescents. Methods: This was a cross-sectional observational study. Adolescents’ self-image was measured with Rosenberg Self-Esteem (RSE) scale. Multivariate analysis was used to explore the relationship among demographic variables, self-image, pornography consumption and substance use. A 2-sided p-value < 0.05 was considered significant. Results: Altogether, 883 street youths participated in the study. The mean ages (years) were 17.6±2.5 and 16.8±2.3 for boys and girls respectively. The overall prevalence of pornography viewing and substance use were 54.5% and 21.5% respectively. Specific prevalence for substance use was highest for Cannabis (10.5%). Self-image significantly influenced both vices, p<0.001. Stepwise logistic regression identified predictors of substance use as follows: male gender, OR = 3.65 (2.44 – 5.47); secondary education: OR = 2.50 (1.51 – 4.13) and living with relatives, OR = 2.77 (1.17-6.52). Conclusion: Self-image and modifiable demographic features influence pornography viewing and substance use among young people. Adolescent Preventive Services should be made readily available to this high risk group.