ABSTRACT
Online education spreads even in the medical field where traditional method of learning is more convenient. This study was designed to evaluate the experiences of nursing and radiography undergraduate students of online learning in Nigerian universities during the COVID-19 pandemic. This was a cross-sectional questionnaire-based study, which included 540 nursing and radiography students. The completed questionnaires were retrieved by the researchers. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were used for statistical analysis with significance level set at p < .05. Large numbers, 41.3% (n = 223) of the respondents perceived the online learning to be slightly stressful, and the least, 7.4% (n = 40) perceived the online learning to be extremely stressful. The challenges were financial constraints (29.6%, n = 160), no internet access (22.2%, n = 120), lack of technical know-how (14.8%, n = 80), and poor communication with lectures and peers (5.6%, n = 30). This study revealed good and positive attitudes of the students toward the online learning method during the COVID-19. Most of them perceived online learning method to be beneficial to their educational progress. The challenges encountered by the students as revealed in this study included the following: financial constraints, internet access, unstable/slow internet access, lack of mobile data, poor communication with lecturers and peers, and no access to computer device.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Traumatic head injury has a high mortality and morbidity in low- and middle-income countries. Brain injury following trauma is the cause of death in about one-third of patients that die after trauma. The aim of the study was to assess the pattern of computed tomography (CT) findings in head trauma at the tertiary health institutions serving the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The CT scans of the head of 310 consecutive patients referred specifically for evaluation of head injury were prospectively reviewed. The images acquired were analyzed by the radiologists. The radiological features and anatomical distribution of the lesions on the CT Images were assessed and documented. Patients with congenital abnormalities of the head and those whose fall or injury were secondary to stroke were excluded from the study. The Ethical Committee of our institutions gave approval for the study. RESULTS: There were 225 (72.58%) males and 85 (27.42%) females. About 44.84% of the patients were in the third and fourth decades of life. The major causes of head injury were road traffic accidents in 67.74%, falls in 14.84%, and assaults in 7.42%. Most of the patients 102 (33.0%) presented within the 1st week of injury. Cranial fractures were found in 87 (28.06%) patients. In this series, 111 (35.81%) had normal CT findings while 199 (64.19%) had abnormal CT findings. Intra-axial lesions were the most common, constituting 131 (42.26%) cases. CONCLUSION: This study had demonstrated that majority of head trauma evaluated by CT were associated with cranial and brain injuries. Intra-axial injuries are more prevalent. Poor health facilities and bad road networks in addition to being risk factors for head injury also hamper the management of head-injured patients as shown by the long duration of injury before health facilities are accessed.
