Effect of food hygiene training on food handlers' knowledge in Sokoto Metropolis: a quasi-experimental study.

INTRODUCTION: training intervention for food handlers is necessary to increase their knowledge and awareness about food hygiene. Research in this area has been given low attention in Nigeria, especially in the Northern part of the country. Therefore, we assessed the effect of food hygiene training on the knowledge of food hygiene among food handlers in Sokoto metropolis. METHODS: we conducted a quasi-experimental study between January and July 2019. We used a multistage sampling technique to select 360 food handlers randomized into intervention and control groups. We conducted a training intervention after the baseline data collection. Post-intervention data collection was conducted six months after the intervention. We estimated the proportion of respondents with good knowledge at baseline and post-intervention. We assessed the difference in pre-and post-intervention proportions using McNemars Marginal Homogeneity test at 5% level of significance. RESULTS: in the intervention and control groups, 19 (10.6%) and 18 (10.0%) had primary education respectively, p = 0.231. At baseline, 23 (12.8%) and 22 (12.2%) in intervention and control groups respectively had good knowledge, p= 0.515. At post-intervention, the proportion of those with good knowledge in the intervention group increased to 56.7%, p < 0.001; while in the control group, there was no significant difference in the proportion of those with good knowledge, p = 0.248. CONCLUSION: the training intervention has significantly improved the knowledge of the food handlers. We recommend that the National Food and Drug Agency, in collaboration with restaurant owners, ensure regular on-the-job training of food handlers.

Knowledge of health effects and determinants of psychoactive substance use among secondary school students in Sokoto Metropolis, Nigeria.

INTRODUCTION: psychoactive substance use (PSU) is a patterned use of a drug in which the user consumes the substance in amounts or methods which are harmful to themselves or others. Psychoactive substance use takes a considerable toll on financial status, academic achievement and health status of addicts. In Nigeria, PSU is on the increase, one of the most disturbing health-related problems and a leading cause of premature death among school aged population worldwide. We therefore, determined the knowledge of health effects and determinants of psychoactive substance use among secondary school students in Sokoto Metropolis, Nigeria. METHODS: we conducted a cross-sectional study among 430 secondary school students that were selected using multistage sampling in Sokoto, Northwestern, Nigeria from April to May 2019. We collected data using a semi-structured, interviewer-administered questionnaire. We calculated proportions and adjusted odds ratios (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) in a binary logistic regression model. RESULTS: knowledge of health effects of PSU was good in 38.1% of the respondents with a mean score of 19.6 ± 10.0. The overall prevalence of PSU was high among current users (16.3%), male participants (78.6%) and those aged 17-years or more (68.6%). Independent predictors of current use of psychoactive substances were poor knowledge of health effects (aOR: 4.1, 95% CI: 1.7-10.0) and father´s use of psychoactive substances (aOR: 10.3, 95% CI= 1.9-57.1). CONCLUSION: knowledge of health effects of psychoactive substances was generally poor among the participants with an associated high prevalence among current users. Poor knowledge of its health effects determines the use of psychoactive substances. We conducted awareness campaigns and health talk on health effects of PSU to secondary school students in the State. The Federal Ministry of Education should ensure that PSU-related topics are incorporated in the secondary school curriculum.

Predictors of bullying perpetration among adolescents attending secondary schools in Sokoto Metropolis, Nigeria, 2019.

INTRODUCTION: bullying affects up to 85% of in-school adolescents in Nigeria. It presents a potentially serious threat to healthy adolescent development. Bullying has not been extensively studied in Nigeria and more so in northern Nigeria. Therefore, we investigated the types and predictors of bullying perpetration among adolescents in secondary schools. METHODS: we conducted a cross-sectional study between January and March 2019. Using a multistage sampling technique, we recruited 390 adolescents. We estimated the prevalence and types of bullying perpetration, and we examined the predictors of bullying among the participants using chi-square and binary logistic regression at a 5% level of significance. RESULTS: the mean age of adolescents was 15.2 ± 1.9 years. Majority of the participants 234 (60.0%) were in late adolescence (15-19 years), and 205 (52.6%) were males. The most prevalent type of bullying perpetrated was verbal [69.7%; 95% CI = 64.9-74.3%]. Overall, 307 [78.7%; 95% CI = 74.3-82.6%] had perpetrated at least one type of bullying. Male gender (adjusted Odds Ratio (aOR): 2.70; 95%CI = 1.43 - 5.10), attending a boarding school (aOR: 7.93, 95% CI = 2.91 - 21.58) and frequent parental conflicts (aOR: 5.23, 95% CI = 2.15 - 12.71) were independent predictors of bullying perpetration. CONCLUSION: there is a high prevalence of bullying perpetration among adolescents in Sokoto metropolis, especially among males, those in boarding schools and those who experience frequent parental conflicts. We recommend that school principals should pay close attention to this behaviour and parents should be sensitized on the consequences of their domestic actions on their children.

Evaluation of acute flaccid paralysis surveillance indicators in Sokoto state, Nigeria, 2012-2019: a secondary data analysis.

BACKGROUND: Nigeria, the last endemic country in the WHO African Region, was certified free of Wild Polio Virus (WPV) in 2020. However, due to low immunity in some communities in Sokoto, outbreaks of the circulating Vaccine Derived Polio Virus (cVDPV) occur. The aim of this study is to evaluate the Acute Flaccid Paralysis (AFP) surveillance indicators in Sokoto state, Nigeria. METHODS: This retrospective study was an analysis of routinely collected AFP surveillance data between 2012 and 2019 by the Sokoto state surveillance network. We assessed the Sokoto state AFP surveillance system using the AFP surveillance performance indicators. We performed all analyses using Microsoft Excel 2019. RESULTS: Cumulatively, 3001 Acute Flaccid Paralysis (AFP) cases were reported over the evaluation period, out of which 1692 (56.4%) were males, and 2478 (82.4%) were below five years. More than half, 1773 (59.1%), had a fever at the beginning of the disease, and 1911 (63.7%) had asymmetric paralysis. The non-polio AFP rate (9.1 to 23.5% per 100,000 children < 15 years old) and stool adequacy rate (92.5 to 100%) indicate high sensitivity. The proportion of cases that had stool samples collected early, timely transported to the laboratory and arrived at the laboratory in optimal condition were all above the World Health Organization (WHO) minimum standard of 80%. There was inadequate profile documentation of some suspected cases. CONCLUSIONS: Sokoto State has exceeded the WHO minimum standards in most of the AFP surveillance indicators. The performance of the system is sufficient enough to detect any reintroduction of WPV into the state. However, there is a need for improvement in data quality.