Utilization of insecticide treated nets among pregnant women in Enugu, South Eastern Nigeria.

BACKGROUND: The goal of roll back malaria partnership is to achieve universal coverage for all populations at risk using appropriate interventions for prevention and case management. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study is to determine the use of insecticide treated nets (ITNs) and other anti-vector measures among pregnant women in an area hyper-endemic for malaria. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Questionnaires were administered to a cross-section of 832 consecutive pregnant women attending antenatal care in three hospitals in Enugu, Nigeria that have high client flow for maternity services. Data collected were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics by means of the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 16. P-value of less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: The mean age of the women was 33.2 ± 2.9 (range: 15-45) years. Three hundred and fifty nine (43.1%) women owned insecticide treated nets (ITNs), however 325(90.5%) slept under the nets during the index pregnancies; equivalent to 39.1% utilization rate among the 832 women studied. Out of the 325 (39.1%) women that used ITNs; 236 (28.4%) used it singly, while 89 (10.7%) used it in combination with other anti-vector measures. Educational status and social class of the women had strong association with the use of ITNs (P < 0.0001). Women who used ITNs were significantly less likely to have acute malaria, anaemia and babies with low birth weight than women who did not use ITNs (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: The use of ITNs is poor among pregnant women in Enugu, but associated with favorable maternal and feto-neonatal outcome. Future measures to increase its use should consider improvement in educational level and social class of our women.

Acceptability of human papilloma virus vaccine and cervical cancer screening among female health-care workers in Enugu, Southeast Nigeria.

BACKGROUND: Cervical cancer, a leading cause of cancer deaths in women in developing countries can be prevented primarily by vaccinating adolescent girls and women against infection by the human papillomavirus (HPV) before their first sexual exposure, and secondarily through screening and treatment of identified precancerous lesions. AIM: To determine the awareness and acceptability of the HPV vaccine and screening for cervical cancer among female health-care workers in Enugu, southeastern Nigeria. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Questionnaires were administered to a cross-section of 177 female health-care workers selected systematically from the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH), Enugu, Nigeria. Statistical analysis was both descriptive and inferential at 95% confidence level using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) computer software version 16. A P value of less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: The awareness of screening for cervical cancer (91%) was significantly higher than that of the HPV vaccine (62.7%) [odds ratio (OR): 0.17; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.09-0.30]. However, the acceptability rate of the HPV vaccine (91.0%) was significantly higher than that of cervical screening (71.4%) (OR: 4.04;95% CI: 1.94-8.42)]. Only 25 (14.1%) of the health-care workers had done cervical screening, but 30 (49.2%) of the 61 respondents with adolescent daughters had immunized their daughters with the HPV vaccine. Although no reason was given for the low participation in cervical screening, cost and availability of HPV vaccine was a major deterrent for the latter. CONCLUSION: With more public enlightenment, available and affordable HPV vaccine appears to hold the key for prevention of cervical cancer in developing countries where the burden is high.

Acceptability of Human Papilloma Vrus Vaccine and Cervical Cancer Screening among Female Health-Care Workers in Enugu; Southeast Nigeria

Background: Cervical cancer; a leading cause of cancer deaths in women in developing countries can be prevented primarily by vaccinating adolescent girls and women against infection by the human papillomavirus (HPV) before their first sexual exposure; and secondarily through screening and treatment of identified precancerous lesions. Aim: To determine the awareness and acceptability of the HPV vaccine and screening for cervical cancer among female health-care workers in Enugu; southeastern Nigeria. Materials and Methods: Questionnaires were administered to a cross-section of 177 female health-care workers selected systematically from the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH); Enugu; Nigeria. Statistical analysis was both descriptive and inferential at 95confidence level using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) computer software version 16. A P value of less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: The awareness of screening for cervical cancer (91) was significantly higher than that of the HPV vaccine (62.7) [odds ratio (OR): 0.17; 95 confidence interval (CI): 0.09-0.30]. However; the acceptability rate of the HPV vaccine (91.0) was significantly higher than that of cervical screening (71.4) (OR: 4.04;95 CI: 1.94-8.42)]. Only 25 (14.1) of the health-care workers had done cervical screening; but 30 (49.2) of the 61respondents with adolescent daughters had immunized their daughters with the HPV vaccine. Although no reason was given for the low participation in cervical screening; cost and availability of HPV vaccine was a major deterrent for the latter. Conclusion: With more public enlightenment; available and affordable HPV vaccine appears to hold the key for prevention of cervical cancer in developing countries where the burden is high