Religious and cultural interpretations of artificial insemination in South-West Nigeria.

BACKGROUND: In a constantly changing and increasingly globalized world, religion and cultural practices still play a significant role in influencing people's behaviour towards assisted reproductive technologies. PURPOSE: This study examined the religious, cultural and personal interpretations of artificial insemination. METHODS: The research methodology was triangulated using qualitative and quantitative methods of data collection. A stratified and simple random sampling technique was used to select the study participants for quantitative data, while, Key Informant Interviews (KIIs) respondents were purposively sampled. RESULTS: The findings showed that the majority of the respondents were aware of artificial insemination, 75.3% of the respondents had adequate knowledge of artificial insemination. About 54.2% of the respondents agreed that their religious denominations supported any form of artificial insemination, For instance, in contrast to the 61.1% of Roman Catholic respondents' who acknowledged that their religious denomination did not support artificial insemination, 75% of Shia Muslims, and 65.0% of Pentecostal respondents' acknowledged religious support for artificial insemination. For 32.8% of the respondents, the process of artificial insemination by a donor negates the will of God, while 32.8% of the respondents, posited that artificial insemination is a deviation from cultural norms. The study also revealed that 57.0% of respondents personally perceived artificial insemination to be a very good medical breakthrough. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: Regardless of the technological or educational prowess leading to artificial insemination, certain religious denominations and cultural practices do not support artificial insemination. Medical ethics should take cognizance of the religious and cultural ideas and principles of the society in which they are practiced.

Perception among NHIS-HMO Enrolees of the Attitudes of Medical Personnel during Outpatient Care in Lagos Hospitals.

The quality of healthcare services depends on the interactions between administrators, customers, and healthcare providers. This study seeks to examine how National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS)-Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) enrolees perceive the attitudes of medical personnel while receiving outpatient care in Lagos hospitals. Mixed methods were used, i.e., distributing questionnaires and in-depth interviews with participants. Quantitative data were analysed using Statistical Product and Service Solutions (SPSS) version 20, and approaches that involved frequency statistics, factor analysis, contingency chi-square and correlation analysis were applied. The results indicate that the variables "humane" and "empathetic" have a direct impact on enrolees' perception and an indirect impact on motivation to adhere to medical advice among enrolees. This research has practical implications, especially in light of new initiatives of NHIS collaboration with HMO to deliver quality healthcare services to enrolees.

Psychosocial predictors of emotional labour among employees of merged and acquired banks in Ibadan, South-West, Nigeria.

Mergers and acquisitions (M&As) are common among financial institutions. This process often exerts immense pressure on employees of these institutions. Hence, this study touches on the significant but neglected human angle aspect of M&A. Therefore, the study examined psychosocial predictors of emotional labour among employees of merged and acquired banks in Ibadan. The study design is cross-sectional, which involves using a quantitative data collection method to elicit responses from the participants. Furthermore, the convenience sampling method was used and selected four hundred, and twenty-two employees acquired or merged during the consolidation and post-consolidation eras in South-Western Nigeria. A structured questionnaire that measured job satisfaction, acculturation, attitude to M&A and emotional labour was used to collect data from the respondents. Data analysis was done using SPSS software window 10.0. The mean age of respondents was 32 years, with a standard deviation of 7.31. The results showed that attitude towards M&A (ß = 0.39; p < .05) and acculturation (ß = 0.36; p < .05) were significant independent predictors of emotional labour. Furthermore, attitude towards M&A (ß = 0.32; P < .05) and acculturation (ß = 0.28; p < .05) were also significant independent predictors of emotional labour per se, personal efficacy, and for false face, respectively. Therefore, it was concluded that employees' emotions and job satisfaction should be factored into the management's strategic plan during M&A because the success or failure of this undertaking rests on them. Therefore, it was recommended that bank managers pay adequate attention to acculturation and the attitude of employees during a major organisational change to enhance emotional labour performance.

Primary healthcare services and maternal mortality in Ugep.

This paper focusses on pregnancy related deaths which is a contemporary issue in modern day Nigeria. Maternal Mortality is more pronounced in Ugep, Cross River State with the maternal mortality ratio of l200/100,000 which is higher than the national figure of 1100/100,000 (Nigerian Partnership for Safe Motherhood, 2018). In Nigeria, about 75 % of women die as a result of these complications either during the course of giving birth or the week preceding delivery (Choudhry, 2012). Recent statistics shows that Maternal deaths account for 32% of all deaths among women age 15-49 in Nigeria. The maternal mortality rate for the seven-year period preceding NDHS 2013 survey was 1.05 maternal deaths per 1000 women. The maternal mortality ratio was 576 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births. The lifetime risk of maternal death indicates that out of every 30 women in Nigeria, one will have a death related to pregnancy or childbearing (NDHS, 2013). Statistics further revealed that pregnancy complications in 2012 led to the death of over 52,000 women in Nigeria (Dada, 2016). Maternal Mortality in the seven years preceding the National Demographic Health Survey in 2013 records the figure of live births to be 575 per 100,000, which implies that for one single pregnancy complications resulting to death, more than 20 others are confronted with disabilities which may last a life time, (NDHS, 2013). The theoretical application combines aspects of the Environmental Precedence Theory, Rational Choice Theory and the Health Belief Model (HBM) to explain core variables of the relationship between maternal health practices and pregnancy outcomes. Several conclusions were inferred from the application of sociological theories to the chosen contemporary issue.

Roman Catholicism and fertility among the Mbaise, Southeast, Nigeria.

There is a prevalence of high fertility among the Mbaise of Imo State, Nigeria. This is linked to the perceptions, beliefs and practices of the people. The voluntaristic social action theory by Talcott Parsons and Proximate determinants of fertility framework by Bongaarts were utilized to highlight the links between Catholicism and fertility, as well as socio-cultural variables and fertility behaviour by showing strength of their separate and combined relationships. Data were gathered through survey questionnaire and in-depth interview. The findings from the study show that the factors affecting fertility among the Mbaise include communal and individual norms and practices, and their persistent influence signal a need to investigate their separate and combined influences on fertility behaviour. Specific findings were that: (1) Roman Catholicism is a factor responsible for the perceived high fertility among Mbaise people, (2) Roman Catholic fertility practices conform to the socio-cultural environment in the area (3) knowledge of contraceptives use is significantly low among the people of Mbaise. The negligible proportion that has used family planning methods did so for child spacing rather than for limiting fertility.

Perception of domestic violence among rural women in Kuje.

Domestic violence has become a global social problem affecting women and girls across different socio-demographics and culture. Often times a greater attention is paid to the experiences of urban women and girls to the detriment of their counter parts in rural areas who constituted major victims. The study explored the experiences, awareness and perception of domestic violence among rural women in Kuje, Nigeria. A total of 130 respondents were selected using stratified and simple random sampling technique. In-depth interview was conducted on 13 women and market leaders across Kuje. The findings revealed that 43.8% of the respondents fall within 30 years and above age bracket, 26.9% had non-formal education, 67.7% were Christians, while 56.2 % were married A total of 97.7% of the respondents were aware of domestic violence, while 43.8% linked domestic violence to early marriage. There is a significant relationship between level of education and perception of what constituted domestic violence among the respondents. Qualitative data revealed that culture and family affected expectations and treatment of women in rural Nigeria. The study concluded that domestic violence affects women and girl child negatively, and recommended that a more vigorous advocacy campaign against it should be intensified through mass media, family, community and religious leaders. Government should intensify efforts on free and compulsory education to empower the populace and reduce poverty among families.

Community participation in crime prevention and control in rural Nigeria.

The rural areas in Nigeria have become notorious with all kinds of crime. Inadequate amenities such as good roads and communication infrastructure in rural areas in Nigeria have made it difficult for the Nigeria Police to effectively detect and prevent crimes in rural Nigeria. It is consequent on these escalations of criminal activities that rural communities in Nigeria have evolved community policing to protect their neighbourhoods. This article presents the benefits of using qualitative and quantitative methods of data collection to unravel the potentials inherent in informal crime prevention and control in rural localities in Nigeria. The social capital theory was used to bring out the benefits of community participation in crime control in rural Nigeria. Findings from the study indicated high theft cases as common crime in rural Nigeria. Youths were observed to constitute greater percentage of suspects at police stations for crime. Unemployment and poverty among the rural populace especially youths were responsible for these criminalities. The absence of social infrastructure, inadequate police presence and government support to unemployed youths made the crime situations worse in rural areas. There was low level of community interactions with the police in crime prevention and control in rural Nigeria. The study recommended increased police-public partnership in crime prevention and control in rural Nigeria.