ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Poor health literacy has been associated with poorer physical and mental health function, and higher emergency department and hospital utilizations. The study was conducted to measure the prevalence of health literacy and its determinants among Lagos State residents. METHODS: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in three local government areas in Lagos State. Health literacy was assessed using the Brief Health Literacy Screening tool (BHLS), a three-item tool with possible scores ranging between 3 and 15. Health literacy was classified as inadequate (≤ 9) or adequate (>9). RESULTS: A total of 1831 respondents participated in the study, among whom, 952 (52%) were women. The mean age of respondents was 31.7 (±10.5) years. Three-quarters (74.8%) of respondents had adequate health literacy. Adequate levels of health literacy were associated with being female (OR, 1.35; 95% CI, 1.07-1.71), frequent use of the broad cast media as source of information (OR, 1.33; 95% CI, 1.03-1.70), frequent use of the internet as source of information (OR, 1.49; 95% CI, 1.13-1.96). Adequate health literacy was also associated with having knowledge of a frequently prescribed antibiotic (OR, 1.67; 95% CI, 1.32-2.12) and being more comfortable with the use of the English language (OR, 1.71; 95% CI, 1.32-2.22). CONCLUSION: Gender, the use of broadcast media and the internet are predictive of adequate health literacy and should be taken into consideration in planning health interventions.
Subject(s)
Health Literacy , Adult , Female , Humans , Male , Nigeria , PrevalenceABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Cervical ectropion (also known as cervical erosion) is a common finding on routine pelvic examination during the fertile years. The decision to treat or not remains controversial. According to studies in support of routine treatment of cervical erosion, there is a possible relationship between squamous metaplasia and squamous cell carcinoma of the cervix. To determine the prevalence of cervical ectropion and associated risk factors among clients with intra-uterine contraceptive devices (IUCDs) attending a family planning clinic of a tertiary health institution in Lagos, Nigeria. METHODS: A 5-year retrospective study was conducted by assessing existing clinic records from years 2007-2011. Clients with IUCDs undergo routine pelvic examination during check-up visits. A total of 628 clients' records were seen within the stated time frame. This study was approved by the ethical committee of the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) and the collected data were analyzed using SPSS version 19.0. RESULTS: The mean age of the IUCD users was 34.7±6.52 years, while 517 (82.3%) had secondary education. On routine pelvic examination, seventy-nine clients (12.6%) had cervical ectropion. Thirty-nine (6.2%) clients had presented with a history of abnormal vaginal bleeding while 12.1% had vaginal discharge. Treatments offered to cases of cervical ectropion include cervical painting with gentian violet (89.9%) and antibiotics prescription (58.2%). On bivariate analysis, previous hormonal contraceptive use (P=0.041) and vaginal discharge (P<0.001) were significantly associated with developing cervical ectropion. Clients with ectropion were significantly more likely to receive prescriptions for antibiotics (P<0.001). CONCLUSION: Less than one fifth of the clients had cervical erosion. However, routine pelvic examination could aid the detection and control of latent reproductive health problems such as cervical ectropion which may require further investigations for example, pap smears, to exclude potentially lethal conditions and to determine appropriate treatment modality.
