Preferences, Utilization and Factors affecting Use of Contraceptives amongWomen attending Primary Health Care Facilities in Delta State,Southern Nigeria

Contraceptive use has numerous benefits for thefamily and the nation that can be maximized with its consistent use.However, many women have preferences for certain contraceptiveswith implications for continued use.OBJECTIVE: To determine the contraceptive preferences of women,their utilization pattern and factors affecting utilization of the preferredcontraceptive choices.METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted among 426women of reproductive age selected from 32 primary health facilitiesusing multistage sampling technique. Data was collected using a semi-structured interviewer-administered questionnaire. Descriptive andinferential analysis of data collected was carried out using IBM SPSSversion 22 software. P-value was set at 0.05.RESULTS: Close to half of the respondents 211 (49.5%) preferredinjectable contraceptives, 79 (18.6%) selected implants and 27 (6.3%)chose condoms. The majority 212 (49.8%) of respondents usedinjectable contraceptives, followed by implants 66 (15.5%), condoms33 (7.7%), IUCD 54 (12.7%) and OCP 61 (14.3%). Age (p<0.001),number of children (p<0.001), clients' employment status (p<0.001),husband support (p<0.021) and desire for more children (p<0.001)were all statistically associated with the utilization of preferredcontraceptives.CONCLUSION: Even though respondents preferred the injectablecontraceptives, implants and IUCD in that order, their utilizationpattern followed the order of Injectable, implants and OCP. Severalfactors were identified to be statistically associated with the utilizationof preferred contraceptives. Health education on contraceptive useamong women, spousal support and health workers training tohighlight those factors influencing women's contraceptive preferencesand utilization are recommended

Health Survey of Primary School Children: Outcome and Implication for Strengthening School Health Inspection in Abraka; Delta State; Nigeria

Background: Health inspection involves physical observation of the general appearance; mouth and teeth; nose and throat; skin; ears; eyes; scalp and hair; and behavior of children at play. The objective of this study was therefore to conduct a health survey of primary school children with a view to providing relevant information with policy implication for strengthening school health inspection in Abraka; Delta State; Nigeria. Method: This is a school based cross-sectional descriptive study conducted from September 2009 to February 2010 among primary school children in Abraka selected by multistage sampling technique. The studyinstrument was a pro-forma with twenty items subdivided into two sections.Results : The outcome of health inspection of the children revealed that over half (57.1) of them had dirty nails; while 45.0; 29.8; 21.2; 18.6and 1.8of them had dirty uniform; dental caries; skin infections; dirty hair and ear discharge respectively. The association between the occurrence of dirty nails; dirty uniform; dirty hair and dental caries with the type of primary school (private or public) were statistically significant (P0.05); while the association between the occurrence of ear discharge and skin infection with the type of primary school were not statistically significant (P0.05). Conclusion: This study has revealed the poor state of affairs as regards school health inspection of primary school children in Abraka

Radiological features of pulmonary tuberculosis in HIV-positive and HIV-negative adult patients in south-eastern Nigeria

Pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) is the most common clinical presentation of tuberculosis. This study was carried out to appraise the radiological features of PTB in adult HIV-positive and HIV-negative pa-tients. The chest radiographs of the patients were evaluated in the tuberculosis, leprosy, and endemic disease (TBL) clinic, Ebonyi State University Teach-ing Hospital (EBSUTH), Abakaliki, south-eastern Nigeria, from April 2004 to June 2006. Of the total of 117 individuals studied, 68 (58.1) were males and 49 (41.8%) females, indicating a male preponderance of 1.4:1. Up to 49.6% of the subjects had PTB/HIV co-infection. The highest prevalence of PTB/HIV co-infection was recorded among males aged 31­40 (12.8%), and females aged 21­30 (11.1%). The com-monest radiological features observed were cavitory lesions (64.1%), patchy opacities (44.4%), and hilar opacities (38.5%). Bilateral cavitory lesions, patchy opacities and hilar opacities were more prominent than the right-sided or left-sided ones and appeared more frequently among individuals with PTB/HIV co-infection. Perihilar patchy opacities, consolidation and pleural effusion were seen in 19.6%, 6.0%, and 4.3% of all cases, respectively. There was no statisti-cally significant difference in the association between the radiological features and patient category (χ2 = 17.74, df = 18, p = 0.47). The chest radiography re-mains an important tool in the diagnosis of PTB and will continue to provide essential information for the management and follow-up of patients