HIV Knowledge and Risk Behaviours of Junior Staff of the University of Ibadan, Nigeria.

Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection remains a public health challenge and Nigerian universities are not immune to the effect of the epidemic. Despite the fact that non academic junior staff constitute a significant proportion of the workforce and are at risk due to their lower level of education and socio-economic status, few studies have focused on them. The broad aim of this study is to assess the HIV knowledge, risk perception and behaviours of junior staff of the University of Ibadan, Nigeria. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 700 junior staff of the University of Ibadan. Respondents were selected using multistage sampling technique and completed structured interviewer-administered questionnaires. The quantitative data was analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (version 17) to generate frequencies and cross tabulations of variables. The mean age of the respondents was 38.89.9 years, 74.6% were males, 76.4% were married and 51.6% had post secondary education. Majority identified blood transfusion 94.4% and sexual intercourse 97.3% as the main routes of transmission. The commonest methods of prevention known were condom use 79.6% and mutual fidelity 89.7%. Respondents aged 20-29 years, the single and those with post-secondary education (P=0.000) had higher HIV related knowledge. Only 10% of the respondents perceived that they were at risk of contracting the disease; 30.3% did not think People Living with HIV and AIDS (PLWHAs) should continue to work. Fifteen percent reported sexual intercourse with a non-regular partner in the previous 12 months and 30.8% of this group did not use a condom. Workplace health education programmes to reduce HIV risk behaviours and stigmatizing attitudes are recommended.

Morbidity pattern amongst elderly patients presenting at a primary care clinic in Nigeria

Background: The elderly comprise the fastest-expanding age group globally, with the greatest increase occurring in developing countries. Disease and deteriorating health are implicitly assumed to be associated with ageing, as chronic medical illnesses mostly present with increasing age. Objectives: To describe the morbidity pattern of elderly patients presenting at the General Outpatients Clinic of the University College Hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria. Method: This was a cross-sectional descriptive study of 500 elderly respondents who presented at the clinic between September 2004 and April 2005. They were interviewed according to the format of the electronic, second revision of the International Classification of Primary Care (ICPC-2-E) questionnaire. Main outcome measurements were the prevalence of various morbidities, self-reported health status and socio-demographic characteristics. Body mass index (BMI) was used to assess respondents' nutritional status. Results: Respondents were found to under-report their actual health problems. The mean ± s.d of self-reported health problems was 1.7 ± 0.9 (range 1­6), while the mean ± s.d of diagnosed morbidities was 2.7 ± 1.4 (range 1­8). The most prevalent morbidities were hypertension (40.0%), cataracts (39.4%) and osteoarthritis (26.8%). The prevalence of anaemia was 8.0%(females = 11.2%; males = 2.6%), and it was significantly associated with gender (p = 0.001). Nutritional status indicated a high prevalence of overweight and obesity (51.8%), which was significantly higher amongst the female respondents than the males (p = 0.001). Conclusion: The prevalence of chronic medical illnesses was high amongst the elderly in this setting. In addition, the elderly under-reported their actual health problems. The high prevalence of overweight and obesity amongst the elderly in this setting calls for public health action that advocates lifestyle changes to manage the health of the elderly