Résumé
Introduction: Safe and adequate blood donation is critical in saving millions of lives annually. In many developing including Nigeria, there is paucity of blood donors. Aim: In this study, we assessed the blood donation practices of tertiary level students in Imo State, South East Nigeria as well as its prevalence and determinants. Methodology: Multistage sampling technique was used. Stage one involved the stratification of the institutions into universities and non-universities. In stage two, one university and one non -university was selected using simple random method. Stage three involved the selection of study participants from the student registry using systematic sampling method. Self-administered questionnaire was the study instrument. Data analysis was with Statistical Package for Social Sciences (IBM � SPSS) version 20. Results: Six hundred (600) undergraduates participated in the study. The mean age of the respondents was 21.3 � 5.0 years. The one year prevalence of blood donation in this study was 13.8% and 63.1% of the non-donors were willing to donate. Respondents aged 15 � 29 years more willing to donate blood compared to those aged 30 � 44 years (OR = 3.03, p = 0.0003), those that were single were 4 times more willing to donate in comparison to those that were married/divorced (OR = 4.02, p < 0.0001). Respondents that were of Catholic faith were also more willing to donate compared to those that were of Pentecostal/Orthodox denomination (OR = 2.72, p = <0.0001). Class distribution and residence were not independent predictors of willingness to donate blood. Conclusion: From the findings in this study, it was obvious that the willingness to donate blood is far greater than the actual act of donating blood. There is need to continue to reach out to those willing to donate but do not know how to go about it.
Résumé
In our area, there is dearth of accurate sex education that could equip adolescents in making informed decisions on sexual issues. This scenario has been linked to a high prevalence of sexual risk behaviors, consequences and poor choices with regard to solutions. Objective: To determine the awareness, gender variations, consequences of sexual risk behavior, and adopted solutions among senior secondary school adolescents in Owerri, Nigeria. Methodology: This was a cross sectional survey of 384 in-school adolescents in Owerri, Nigeria, selected using a multistage sampling technique. Data were collected using pretested self-administered semi- structured questionnaires. Data were analyzed using SPSS v.22 (p<0.05). Results: The majority of adolescents, i.e. 306 (82.5%), were aware of sexual risk behaviors, 340 (91.6%) had received some sex education, and 296 (79.8%) were aware of contraceptives. Key sources of information on sexuality were schools and parents. In total, 54 (14.1%) participants were sexually active, 12 (22.2%) reported ever having an STI, and 9 (75%) had been treated in hospital. Also, 8 (14.8%) of the 54 had dealt with a pregnancy; 7 (87.5%) had undergone an abortion, 3 (42.9%) in a hospital. Sexual risk behaviors among males were associated with age (p=0.002), school type (p=0.002), and alcohol intake (p=0.000), while the residence of the parents had a stronger influence among females (p=0.014). Conclusions: This study found high awareness of sexual issues, mainly sourced from schools and parents. Associations were made between sexual risk behaviors and gender differences (age, school type, and alcohol intake in males, parental residence among females). The consequences of sexual risk behaviors were early pregnancy and STIs, with poor solutions adopted.