Comparative assessment of birth preparedness and complication readiness among couples in rural and urban communities of Ekiti State, Southwestern Nigeria.

Objectives: To assess and compare the level of Birth Preparedness and Complications Readiness (BPCR) and determine the predicting effect of socio-demographic factors on it among couples in rural and urban communities of Ekiti State. Design: A community-based comparative cross-sectional study. Setting: The study was conducted in twelve rural and twelve urban communities in Ekiti State. Participants: Couples from rural and urban communities. Female partners were women of reproductive age group (15-49 years) who gave birth within twelve months before the survey. Main outcome measures: Proportion of couples that were well prepared for birth and obstetric emergencies, and its socio-demographic determinants. Results: The proportion of couples that were well prepared for birth and its complications was significantly higher in urban (60.5%) than rural (48.4%) communities. The study also revealed that living above poverty line (95% CI=1.01-3.79), parity and spousal age difference less than five years (95% CI=1.09 - 2.40) were positive predictors of BPCR among respondents. Conclusions: Urban residents were better prepared than their rural counterparts. Living above poverty line, parity, and spousal age difference less than five years were positive predictors of BPCR. There is a need to emphasize on educating couples on the importance of identifying blood donors as a vital component of BPCR. Funding: None declared.

Sexual exposure, awareness, and knowledge of long-acting reversible contraceptives among female university students in Ekiti State, Nigeria.

Unplanned and unintended pregnancies have become major medical, social and public health issues worldwide. The objective of this study was to determine sexual exposure, awareness and knowledge of long active reversible contraceptives (LARC) among female undergraduate students in public and private universities in Ekiti State, Southwest Nigeria. A comparative cross-sectional study was carried out among 428 female university undergraduates in Ekiti State (208 students in public and 210 students in private) using a multi-stage sampling technique. Data were obtained using a semi-structured questionnaire and analyzed using IBM SPSS version 23. P-value <0.05 was taken as significant. The mean age of respondents was 21.1±2.5years in public and 19.3±2.1years in private university. 53% of public university students and 30% of private university students have had sexual intercourse. While 41.3% of public university students were aware of LARC, 37.1% of the private university students were aware. The knowledge of LARC among the public university students was lower (23.6%) as compared to those in private university (33.3%). We conclude that while sexual exposure is higher among public university students than in private, the awareness of LARC was higher in public than private universities. Continuous campaign programmes to university students on the benefit of LARC is recommended.

Prevalence of haemoglobin A1c based dysglycaemia among adult community dwellers in selected states in Nigeria: a descriptive cross-sectional study.

Background: Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a disease of public health importance globally with an increasing burden of undiagnosed pre-diabetes and diabetes in low- and middle-income countries, Nigeria in particular. Pre-diabetes and diabetes are established risk factors for cardiovascular complications. However, data are scanty on the current prevalence of these conditions in Nigeria, based on haemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) diagnosis as recommended by the WHO in 2009. We aimed to determine the prevalence of pre-diabetes, diabetes, and undiagnosed diabetes among the adult population of Nigeria using HbA1c. Methodology: A cross-sectional, multi-site population study was carried out in selected states in Nigeria (namely, Ekiti, Lagos, Osun, Oyo, and Kwara states) involving 2,708 adults (≥18 years) in rural and urban community dwellers, without prior diagnosis of pre-diabetes or diabetes. Participants with ongoing acute or debilitating illnesses were excluded. Data were collected using an interviewer-administered pretested, semi-structured questionnaire. Socio-demographic, clinical (weight, height, blood pressure, etc.), and laboratory characteristics of participants including HbA1c were obtained. Data were analysed using STATA version 16. Results: The mean age of participants was 48.1 ± 15.8 years, and 65.5% were female. The overall prevalence of pre-diabetes and undiagnosed diabetes was 40.5% and 10.7%, respectively, while the prevalence of high blood pressure was 36.7%. The prevalence of pre-diabetes was the highest in Lagos (48.1%) and the lowest in Ekiti (36.7%), while the prevalence of diabetes was the highest in Kwara (14.2%) and the lowest in Ekiti (10%). There was a significant association between age of the participants (p< 0.001), gender (p = 0.009), educational status (p = 0.008), occupation (p< 0.001), tribe (p = 0.004), marital status (p< 0.001), blood pressure (p< 0.001), and their diabetic or pre-diabetic status. Independent predictors of diabetes and pre-diabetes include excess weight gain, sedentary living, and ageing. Participants within the age group 45-54 years had the highest total prevalence (26.6%) of pre-diabetes and diabetes. Conclusion: Over half of the respondents had pre-diabetes and diabetes, with a high prevalence of undiagnosed diabetes. A nationwide screening campaign will promote early detection of pre-diabetes and undiagnosed diabetes among adult Nigerians. Health education campaigns could be an effective tool in community settings to improve knowledge of the risk factors for diabetes to reduce the prevalence of dysglycaemia.

Sexual Debut, Sexual Education, Abortion, Awareness and Prevalence of Contraceptive Among Female Undergraduates Students in Public and Private Universities in Ekiti State, Nigeria.

Introduction Of the 182 million annual pregnancies in developing countries, 76 million are unintended and 66% of these are among non-users of contraception. Unintended pregnancy is a risk factor for abortion, disruption of education, future unemployment, and poor socio-economic status. This study aimed to determine the age of sexual debut, sexual education, abortion, awareness, and prevalence of contraceptives among female undergraduate students in public and private universities in Ekiti State. Methods A comparative cross-sectional study was carried out among 418 [public (208) and private (210)] female university undergraduate students in Ekiti State using a multi-stage sampling technique. Data was gathered using a semi-structured questionnaire and analyzed using SPSS (IBM Corp. Released 2015. IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 23.0. Armonk, NY: IBM Corp). Chi-square was used to assess the association between dependent and independent variables at the bivariate level of analysis. P-value<0.05 was taken as significant. Results The mean age of respondents was 21.1±2.5 years in the public univeristy and 19.3±2.1 years in the private university. About 53.8% of students in the public university have been engaged in sexual intercourse as against 30% of students in the private university. The mean age at first sexual debut was lower in the public university (14.2±4.1 years) than in the private university (16.9±3.3 years) while more public university students (87.5%) had access to sexual education than their counterparts at the private university (79.0%). Of those who had ever been pregnant in public university (18.8%), about four-fifth (81.1%) of them had an abortion while all those who ever got pregnant (15.9%) in private university had an abortion. All the respondents in both universities were aware of contraception with the majority getting to know through social media. The prevalence of contraceptive use was lower among public university students (39.3%) than those in the private university (60.3%). Conclusion Mean age at sexual debut and rate of abortion were lower in public university students than in private. While access to sexual education was higher in the public university than in the private university, the prevalence of contraceptive use was lower in the public university. Therefore it is recommended that the government and other relevant stakeholders need to institute continuous awareness campaign programs to increase contraception uptake and reduce the prevalence and effect of unwanted pregnancy as a result of unprotected sexual activities.

Factors Driving the Acquisition of University Postgraduate Degrees among Resident Doctors in Nigeria.

The study examined the characteristics and factors driving the acquisition of postgraduate academic degrees among resident doctors in Nigeria. About 10% of the respondents had a form of university postgraduate degree with majority being master's degree. Having more than seven years of professional practice was the only factor predicting the acquisition of postgraduate academic degrees amongst the respondents [AOR: 0.243 (95% CI: 0.069,0.856; p = 0.028)]. The acquisition of postgraduate degree is not common among the surveyed resident doctors; and those that will acquire it do so in the later part of their career.

Assessment of patients waiting and service times in the ophthalmology clinic of a public tertiary hospital in Nigeria.

INTRODUCTION: Long waiting time in the out-patient clinic is a major cause of dissatisfaction in Eye care services. This study aimed to assess patients' waiting and service times in the out-patient Ophthalmology clinic of UITH. METHODS: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study conducted in March and April 2019. A multi-staged sampling technique was used. A timing chart was used to record the time in and out of each service station. An experiencebased exit survey form was used to assess patients' experience at the clinic. The frequency and mean of variables were generated. Student t-test and Pearson's correlation were used to establish the association and relationship between the total clinic, service, waiting, and clinic arrival times. Ethical approval was granted by the Ethical Review Board of the UITH. RESULT: Two hundred and twenty-six patients were sampled. The mean total waiting time was 180.3± 84.3 minutes, while the mean total service time was 63.3±52.0 minutes. Patient's average total clinic time was 243.7±93.6 minutes. Patients' total clinic time was determined by the patients' clinic status and clinic arrival time. Majority of the patients (46.5%) described the time spent in the clinic as long but more than half (53.0%) expressed satisfaction at the total time spent at the clinic. CONCLUSION: Patients' clinic and waiting times were long, however, patients expressed satisfaction with the clinic times. FUNDING: Self-funded.

Barriers to Contraceptive Uptake among Women of Reproductive Age in a Semi-Urban Community of Ekiti State, Southwest Nigeria.

BACKGROUND: Globally, unplanned pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) persist as a significant threat to women's reproductive health. In Nigeria, despite huge resources committed to family planning programs by stakeholders, contraceptive use has been very low. This study aimed at unraveling the barriers to the use of modern contraceptives among women of reproductive age (15-49 years) in Ise-Ekiti community, Ekiti State, Southwest Nigeria. METHODS: This study was a cross sectional study among women aged 15-49 years. A multi-stage sampling technique was used in the recruitment of respondents from the community. An interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to collect data. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 15. RESULTS: Although contraceptive awareness among respondents was high 496(98.6%), only 254 of the 503 respondents were using modern contraceptive methods giving a Contraceptive Prevalence Rate (CPR) of 50.5%. Among those not using any form of contraceptives, some identifiable barriers to contraceptive use includes desire for more children, 62(39.5%), partner disapproval, 40(25.5%), and fear of side-effects, 23(14.6%). Factors associated with contraceptive uptake include marital status (p=0.028), educational level (p=0.041) and religion (p=0.043) with traditional worshippers having the least uptake. CONCLUSION: This study showed that awareness to modern forms of contraceptives does translate into use. The identified barriers to contraceptive uptake suggest the need to improve uptake of contraceptives through a community-based and culturally acceptable intervention as doing this will go a long way in addressing some of these barriers.

Prevalence of antibody to hepatitis B core antigen among hepatitis B surface antigen-negative blood donors in Ilorin, Nigeria: A cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Post-transfusion hepatitis occurs even with stringent donor selection criteria and screening for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg). The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of antibody to hepatitis B core antigen (anti-HBc) in HBsAg-negative blood donors. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study in which 200 HBsAg-negative blood donors were recruited. Screening for viral markers was done using both a rapid test kit and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for anti-HBc IgM. Quantitative and qualitative analysis of anti-HBc IgM was done by "capture" enzyme immunoassay using DIA.PRO HBc IgM test kits. The other viral markers were investigated using one step cassette style HBV tests. SPSS version 16 was used for data analysis. A P-value of 0.05 or less was considered significant. RESULTS: There were 190 male (95%) and 10 female (5%) blood donors, with a mean age of 31.7 ± 7.9 years. The prevalence of anti-HBc IgM was 4%. The other viral markers (HBeAg, anti-HBeAg, anti-HBs and total anti-HBc) had a prevalence of 1.5%, 23%, 2.5%, and 32.5%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of anti-HBc IgM in this study was high, and this supports the fact that screening blood donors for HBsAg alone is not sufficient to prevent transmission of HBV.

Condom use among people living with HIV/AIDS attending Abejukolo General Hospital in Kogi State, North Central Nigeria.

BACKGROUND: Condom programming is an integral component in a range of HIV/AIDS prevention strategies and with repeated sexual contact among HIV-discordant couples, 98-100% of those who used latex condoms correctly and consistently did not become infected. The objective of this study is to determine condom use among people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA). METHODS: This is a cross-sectional survey carried out among 231 PLWHA and receiving care and treatment at General Hospital Abejukolo in Kogi State, Nigeria. The research instrument was interviewer-administered questionnaire. The data obtained were analysed using EPI-INFO version 3.4.1 software and P-value of < 0.05 was significant for the study. RESULTS: About three-quarters (70.6%) of the respondents had ever used condom. Reasons given by respondents who did not use condom were: Desire for children (39.7%), and reduction of sexual pleasure (17.7%) and partner preference. More than half (56.0%) of the respondents with multiple partners did not use condom. About half 119 (51.5%) have used condom in the last sexual encounter. Gender, literacy level and disclosure of HIV status to partners significantly influence condom use during sexual intercourse. CONCLUSION: The poor uptake of condom among PLWHA underscores the need for government and other stakeholders in the management of HIV/AIDS to provide more enlightenment opportunities to address the gaps in condom use and disclosure of HIV status to partners.