Cervical Cancer: Assessment of Its Knowledge, Utilization of Services and Its Determinant Among Female Undergraduate Students in a Low Resource Setting.

BACKGROUND: Cervical cancer is a preventable disease that contributes significantly to the death of women. This study is aimed at determining the level of knowledge and utilization of cervical cancer screening and its determinants among female undergraduates of Ebonyi State University. METHODS: A structured questionnaire was used for a cross-sectional survey of the study population between January 1 and March 3, 2018. The data were analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics version 20. Data were represented with frequency table, simple percentage, mode, range, Chi square and pie chart. The level of significance is at P-value < 0.05. RESULTS: Majority (74.8%) of the respondents were aware of cervical cancer and it could be prevented (70.8%). More than three-fifths (68.30%) were informed via health workers, and 86.8% were aware that post-coital vaginal bleeding is a symptom. Less than half (49.8%) knew that HPV is the primary cause, and only 32.9% were aware of the HPV vaccine. One-quarter of the respondent were aware that early coitarche is a risk factor for cervical cancer. Only 41.8% of the women were aware of Pap smear, 9.2% had undergone screening, and 97.6% were willing to be screened. Marital status was the significant determinant of being screened while class level did not significantly influence uptake of cervical cancer screening. The most common reason (20.6%) for not being screened was lack of awareness of the test. CONCLUSION: Our study population had a good knowledge of cervical cancer, but utilization of cervical cancer screening was poor. Awareness creation through the mass media and provision of affordable screening services can promote the use of cervical cancer screening in the study area.

Burden of Intimate Partner Violence among Nurses and Nursing Students in a Tertiary Hospital in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State, Nigeria.

INTRODUCTION: Nurses are the largest healthcare workforce and are not immune to intimate partner violence (IPV) and its consequences. OBJECTIVE: This study is aimed at determining the prevalence, types of IPV, and its determinants among female nurses and nursing students in a tertiary teaching hospital in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State, Nigeria. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was done in a teaching hospital in Abakaliki between 1st March 2018 and 31st May 2018 to evaluate the prevalence of IPV in the past 12 months among 460 female nursing students and 460 nurses in the facility. Data were obtained with a structured questionnaire and a Composite Abuse Scale. The data were analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics version 20 and represented using frequency table, percentages, and odds ratios. The level of significance is at P-value < 0.05. RESULTS: The prevalence of IPV was 48.2% for the nursing student and 58.7% for the nurses. The most common form of IPV among nursing students was Emotional and/or Harassment abuse (27.1%) while it was Severe combined abuse (23.9%) among the nurses. The significant determinants of IPV among nursing students were age [OR = 0.61(95%CI0.41-0.92)] and year of study [OR = 0.67 (95%CI 0.51-0.89)]. Male partner being unemployed was associated with increased odds of a female partner experiencing violence. Nurses' marital status and being in the low socioeconomic class were associated with increased odds of a nurse witnessing IPV. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of IPV in the studied group is unacceptably high. Efforts are therefore needed to prevent IPV in the study groups. Health care managers in the study area should make policies to support nurses/nursing students who have experienced IPV.

Birth Preparedness and Complication Readiness among Pregnant Women in a Secondary Health Facility in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State, Nigeria.

BACKGROUND: Birth preparedness and complication readiness (BP/CR) concept is based on the premise that preparing for birth and being ready for complications reduce all three phases of delay to a bad obstetric outcome. OBJECTIVES: To determine the knowledge of BP/CR with its determinants and BP/CR index among pregnant women in Abakaliki, southeast Nigeria. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was done between 1st March 2019 and 31st July 2019 among 450 randomly selected antenatal attendees at Mile Four Hospital, Abakaliki, Nigeria. The data were obtained using a pretested interviewer-administered structured questionnaire adapted from the maternal and neonatal health program handbook of the Johns Hopkins Program for International Education in Gynaecology and Obstetrics (JHPIEGO). The data obtained were analyzed using percentages, chi-square, and odds ratios. The level of significance is at P value < 0.05. RESULTS: The birth preparedness and complication readiness index was 41.9%. Only 44.9% and 36.9% of the study population had adequate knowledge of birth preparedness (BP) and complication readiness (CR), respectively. Upper social class, lower educational level, urban residence, and less than 30 years of age were associated with increased odds of respondents having adequate knowledge of BP and CR (P > 0.05). However, only booking in the 1st or 2nd trimester was a significant determinant of the respondent's adequate knowledge of BP (AOR = 0.63, 95% CI 0.40-0.98) and CR (AOR = 0.62, 95% CI 0.39-0.97). Identification of transport and saving of money was the commonest birth plan while the commonest danger sign known to the participants was bleeding. CONCLUSION: This study revealed that knowledge of BP/CR is suboptimal. The determinant of this knowledge is antenatal booking. It is recommended that women should have adequate antenatal care education to improve their knowledge of BP/CR. This will help to increase the low BP/CR index seen in our study.

Long-Lasting Insecticide-Treated Nets: Assessment of the Awareness and Utilization of Them among Antenatal Clinic Attendees in Abakaliki, Southeast Nigeria.

BACKGROUND: The use of long-lasting insecticide-treated nets (LLITNs) is one of the effective strategies for the prevention of malaria, especially among pregnant women. AIM: This study is aimed at assessing the awareness and utilization of LLITNs during pregnancy among antenatal clinic attendees at the Alex Ekwueme Federal University Teaching Hospital Abakaliki. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study among antenatal attendees at the Alex Ekwueme Federal University Teaching Hospital Abakaliki, Ebonyi State. A semistructured questionnaire was used to obtain relevant information from the participants. Data analysis was done using SPSS version 20. RESULTS: The mean age of the women was 26.05 ± 5.76 years. About one-third (30%) of the respondents were nulliparous. Most of the respondents had at least a secondary education. More than ninety percent of the respondents had a good knowledge of malaria with 95.8% being aware of LLITNs. The main source of information was from hospitals (54.5%). The rate of utilization of LLITNs was 37.5%; however, consistent use was only reported by about a third of this proportion. The major reasons for not utilizing the nets include discomfort/heat and fear of the chemical content. Women with tertiary education were more likely to utilize mosquito nets during pregnancy compared with women with secondary or primary education. Women who live in rural areas (OR = 0.393 95% CI 0.602-0.073) were less likely to use LLITNs during pregnancy, while those who are aware of the aetiology of malaria (OR = 4.38 95% CI 0.983-19.591) were more likely to utilize LLITNs in pregnancy. CONCLUSION: The level of awareness of LLITNs is high; however, its utilization was discouragingly low. Rural dwellers and those without appropriate knowledge of the aetiology of malaria were less likely to use LLITNs in pregnancy.