Impact of health education intervention on knowledge and perception of cervical cancer and cervical screening uptake among adult women in rural communities in Nigeria.

BACKGROUND: Cervical cancer is a disease of public health importance affecting many women and contributing to avoidably high levels of cancer deaths in Nigeria. In spite of the relative ease of prevention, the incidence is on the increase. This study aimed to determine the effect of health education on the awareness, knowledge and perception of cervical cancer and screening among women in rural Nigerian communities. METHODS: The study design was quasi-experimental. The study was carried out among adult women in Odogbolu (intervention) and Ikenne (control) local government areas (LGA) of Ogun state. Three hundred and fifty (350) women were selected per group by multistage random sampling technique. Data was collected by semi structured interviews with the aid of questionnaire. The intervention consisted of structured health education based on a movie. RESULT: The intervention raised the level of awareness of cervical cancer and screening to 100% (p < 0.0001). The proportion of women with very good knowledge of cervical cancer and screening rose from 2% to 70.5% (χ(2) = 503.7, p < 0.0001) while the proportion of those with good perception rose from 5.1% to 95.1% (p < 0.0001). The mean knowledge and mean perception scores were also increased (p < 0.0001). There was increase in the proportion of women who had undertaken cervical screening from 4.3% to 8.3% (p = 0.038). The major reason stated by the women for not having had cervical screening done was lack of awareness about cervical cancer and screening. There was statistically significant difference between the intervention and control groups concerning their knowledge attitude and practice towards cervical and screening (p < 0.05) after the intervention. CONCLUSION: Multiple media health education based on a movie is effective in creating awareness for and improving the knowledge and perception of adult women about cervical cancer and screening. It also improves the uptake of cervical cancer screening. The creation of awareness is very crucial to the success of a cervical cancer prevention programme.

A comparative analysis of teenagers and older pregnant women in the utilization of prevention of mother to child transmission [PMTCT] services in, Western Nigeria.

INTRODUCTION: Most HIV/AIDS infections in women occur at a younger age, during the first few years after sexual debut. This study was therefore designed to assess factors associated with the knowledge and utilization of the prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) services by the teenage pregnant women when compared to mature pregnant women in Ogun state, Nigeria. METHODS: This study is an analytical cross-sectional study. A total sample of all pregnant women [52 teenagers and 148 adults] attending the primary health care centres in Sagamu local government area, Ogun State, Nigeria within a 2 months period were recruited into the study. RESULTS: A total of 225 respondents were recruited into the study. The overall point prevalence of HIV/AIDS infection among those that had been tested and disclosed their result was 4 [2.8%]. The prevalence of HIV among the teenagers was 2 [7.4%] compared with 2 [1.8%] among older women. Only 85 [37.8%] of all respondents were tested through the Voluntary counseling and testing (VCCT) programme and 53 (23.7%) were aware of antiretroviral therapy while 35 (15.6%) have ever used the PMTCT services before.There was no statistically significant difference in the knowledge of the teenage pregnant women when compared with the older women about mother to child transmission (MTCT) [OR = 1.47, C.I = 0.57-3.95] and its prevention [OR = 0.83, C.I = 0.38-1.84]. The teenagers were 3 times less likely to use the services when compared with the older women. [OR = 0.34, C.I = 0.10-1.00]. Those from the low socio-economic background were about 6 times more likely to utilize PMTCT facilities when compared to those from high socioeconomic background [OR = 6.01, C.I = 1.91-19.19]. CONCLUSION: The study concludes that the teenage pregnant women who were more vulnerable to HIV/AIDS infection did not utilize PMTCT services as much as the older pregnant women. Special consideration should be given to teenagers and those from high socioeconomic group in the design of scale up programmes to improve the uptake of PMTCT services in Nigeria and other low income countries.

Detection of mental disorders with the Patient Health Questionnaire in primary care settings in Nigeria.

Mental disorders lead to difficulties in social, occupational and marital relations. Failure to detect mental disorder denies patients potentially effective treatment. This study aimed to assess the prevalence and nature of mental disorders at the primary care settings and the recognition of these disorders by the attending physicians. Over a period of eight weeks, consecutive and consenting patients who attended three randomly selected primary health care facilities in Sagamu Local Government Area of Ogun state were recruited and administered a questionnaire that included a socio-demographic section and Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ). A total of 412 subjects took part in the study. Subject age ranged from 18-90 years with a mean age of 52.50±21.08 years. One hundred and seventy-six (42.7%) of the subjects were males. A total of 120 (29.1%) of the subjects had depressive disorder, 100 (24.3%) had anxiety disorder, 196 (47.6%) somatoform disorder and 104 (25.2%) met the criteria for an alcohol related problem. The PHC physicians were only able to diagnose disorders relating to mental health in 52 (12.6%) of the subjects. Health and work situations accounted for more than three-quarters of the causes of stress experienced by the subjects. We conclude that there is a high prevalence of mental disorders among patients seen in primary care settings and that a significant proportion of them are not recognized by the primary care physicians. Stress relating to health, work and financial problems is common among primary health care attendees. Physicians in primary health care should be alert to the possibility and the impact of undetected psychiatric morbidity.