Barriers to infection prevention and control implementation in selected healthcare facilities in Nigeria.

OBJECTIVE: While infection prevention and control are of paramount importance, up until recently an assessment of implementation challenges and performance gaps was lacking. This study explored the barriers to infection prevention and control implementation at selected healthcare facilities, the objective being to find ways to improve their programs. MATERIAL AND METHOD: A qualitative approach was applied. Purposive sampling was used to select thirty-three healthcare facilities in Ekiti State, Nigeria. They were globally assessed, and an Infection Prevention and Control team, represented by the Infection Prevention and Control referent in each of the selected facilities trained the participants. Data were collected using the Key Informant Interview Guide and analyzed by means of content and thematic analyses using Atlas.ti software. RESULTS: Inadequate infection prevention and control materials, poor waste management, non-compliance of patients with infection prevention and control protocols, and poor infrastructure were identified as major barriers to infection prevention and control implementation. CONCLUSION: The study concluded that a number of identified factors hindering infection prevention and control implementation in healthcare facilities in Ekiti State needed to be addressed.

Effects of school health nursing education interventions on HIV/AIDS-related attitudes of students in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria.

PURPOSE: One of the greatest challenges facing school nurses is that of identifying and using appropriate strategies to meet the health education needs of adolescents in regard to prevention of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). This study examined the effects of HIV/AIDS preventive health education with parental involvement on students' attitude toward HIV/AIDS prevention in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. METHODS: The study population comprised students from three of nine secondary schools in the study area. The three schools were randomly assigned as Intervention Group 1 (IG1), involving nurses only; Intervention Group 2 (IG2), involving both nurses and parents (IG2); and a control group. A pretest/post-test intervention design was used. A 29-item, validated questionnaire was the instrument for data collection. Sampling involved multistage and stratified random technique to select 120 subjects from each of the three selected schools, with a total of 360 subjects representing 8.3% of the study population. From this number, 339 (94.2%) provided sufficient data for analysis. Data analysis involved analysis of covariance and the Scheffé post hoc test determined at the .05 significance level. RESULTS: Results show significant effect of intervention on students attitudes toward preventive measures (F = 234.27, p < .001 *). The intervention that involved nurses only was found to be a more potent strategy in providing favorable attitudes toward HIV/AIDS prevention (IG1 mean, 20.59; IG2 mean, 19.20; control mean, 12.34). Attitudes were influenced by older age but not by gender. CONCLUSION: Health education efforts aimed at improving HIV/AIDS-related attitudes should not only focus on children but also on parents so that they in turn could assist to improve on health workers' efforts in educating the children.

Oral health and the elderly in Nigeria: a case for oral health promotion.

OBJECTIVES: To determine the prevalence of problems associated with chewing and the relationship with body mass index, the self-reported rating of oral health and normative oral hygiene assessment among the elderly. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This was a descriptive community based study carried out in three locations in Ife-Ijesa zone (south western Nigeria). Elderly persons of 55 years and above were recruited through the religious organisations. All elderly who volunteered were assisted in completing a questionnaire on their socio-demographic status, chewing ability, any quadrant associated with problems and self-rating of oral health. An oral examination under a natural daylight using sterile wooden spatulae and an upright chair was carried out. The Oral Hygiene Index of Greene and Vermillion [Journal of the American Dental Association (1964) 61, p. 172] was used to determine the oral hygiene status. RESULTS: The lower right quadrant had the highest frequency of complaint on difficulty with chewing (15.6%), and 44.1% of the subjects had problems with chewing. Twenty-nine per cent rated their oral health as poor or very poor. There was a statistically significant association between the rating of oral health and the presence of calculus (p = 0.022). This was also true for oral hygiene and having any problem with chewing (p = 0.001). The self-rating of oral health was not in agreement with that of the normative finding. CONCLUSION: Health promotion focusing on the oral health of the elderly is a significant requirement for the study population. Proper evaluation of the effectiveness of traditional dentifrices must be carried out and interventions designed to address the possibility of improper usage.