RESUMO
This study aims to investigate the types and indications of amulets, bands and traditional applications among pediatric emergencies and neonatal admissions into the Federal Medical Centre, Bida, Nigeria. This was a cross-sectional study conducted between January and July, 2008. Children admitted into the emergency and neonatal units of the institution with traditional applications were recruited. Information on demography, time the application was introduced, the reason, cost implication and belief about the efficacy were obtained using a semi-structured questionnaire. Socio-Economic Class was defined using the Oyedeji Classification. The study was based at Federal Medical Centre, Bida and consisted of 666 children admitted into the hospital via the Emergency pediatric and the Neonatal Unit, with a seven-month period prevalence of 11.4% [76 patients]. Of the 76 cases screened for the use traditional applications, only 64 [84.2%] were recruited, the remaining did not agree to participate in the study. The mean age was 493.1 +/- 528.5 days. The study group included 37 males and 27 females [sex ratio 1.4:1] aged 11 days to 2920 days. The applications used included neck band [54.7%], ankle band [15.6%] and head paste [15.6%]. Reasons for the applications included prevention of childhood illnesses [17.2%], sutures closure [15.6%], as well as warding off evil spirits and convulsions [12.5%]. The socio-economic classification was I [1.6%], II [7.8%], III [15.6%], IV [45.3%], and V [29.7%]. Sixty [93.0%] parents believed the applications cannot be used with conventional medicine, while 53.1% of the participants, obtained them free of charge. The use of traditional applications, often for preventive purposes, is common among pediatric patients, especially of low socio-economic classifications. The majority of users considered them incompatible with simultaneous conventional medical care. This has adverse implications for time to presentation for conventional care and treatment outcomes. Promotive and preventive healthcare interventions are needed to reverse this trend. Future broad-based research is warranted
RESUMO
Measles is a highly infectious immunizable disease with potential for eradication but is still responsible for high mortality among children, particularly in developing nations like Nigeria. This study aims to determine the hospital based prevalence of measles, describe the vaccination status of children managed for measles at the Federal Medical Centre, Bida, Niger state and to identify the parental disposition to measles vaccination. This is a cross-section study carried out over a period of 18 months beginning from July 2007. All children with a diagnosis of measles made clinically and reinforced with serological test in the WHO Measles, Rubella and Yellow Fever laboratory in Maitama District Hospital, Abuja were recruited. Informed consent was obtained from the parents/ care givers. Structured questionnaire was used to obtain information and data analysis was by SPSS version 15. One hundred and nine children were managed for measles, constituting 8% of total admission over the study period. The male to female ratio was 1.2:1. Of the 109 children with measles, 90 [82%] did not receive measles vaccination. Eighty-eight [80%] of the parents or guardian felt vaccination was bad for various reasons. Of the 23 [21.1%] children whose parents or guardians were positively disposed to vaccination, one death was recorded while the remaining seven deaths were recorded among children whose parents were negatively disposed to vaccination. All the deaths were in the non-vaccinated group below 2 years of age. Measles is still a major health burden in our community. The majority of affected children were not vaccinated due to negative parental disposition. Continuous health education is required for change the disposition of the parents/ guardian and improve vaccination coverage to minimize measles associated morbidity and mortality