Knowledge, Attitude and Preventive Practices Against Lassa Fever Among Residents in a Rural Community in Southern Nigeria.

BACKGROUND: Lassa fever is of significant public health concern due to the high morbidity and mortality associated with the disease. There is need for the general public, especially those in the rural communities, to have adequate knowledge of Lassa fever as well as engage in proper measures that will prevent the occurrence of future outbreaks. OBJECTIVE: To assess the knowledge, attitude and preventive practices against Lassa fever of adult residents among a rural community in Edo State, Nigeria. METHODS: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study among adult residents of a rural community in Etsako Central LGA, Edo State. The participants were selected using multistage sampling technique. Data was collected using structured interviewer-administered questionnaires and data analysis was by IBM SPSS version 21.0. The level of significance was set at p < 0.05. RESULTS: Four hundred and sixty-five respondents with a mean age of 34.6 ± 14.7 years participated in the study. Majority (89.0%) had heard of Lassa fever and of these, 82.9% and 85.3% had poor knowledge of Lassa fever and positive attitude towards preventive measures against Lassa fever, respectively. Over half (59.1%) had poor preventive practices against Lassa fever. Knowledge, attitude and preventive practice was found to be better among educated respondents. CONCLUSION: The study showed a gap in knowledge of Lassa fever and preventive practices against the disease among the respondents. Adequate measures such as enforcing policies against bush burning should be put in place by all stakeholders to ensure that this gap observed is bridged.

Prevalence and comorbidities of childhood overweight and obesity among school aged children in an urban settlement in Benin City, Nigeria

Background: The prevalence of childhood overweight and obesity is rising worldwide and its impact spanning through adolescence to adulthood.Objectives: This study aimed to determine the prevalence of overweight and obesity and the occurrence of high blood pressure and elevated blood glucose among school aged children in an urban settlement in Benin City, Nigeria.Design: A cross-sectional, descriptive study was utilized.Subjects and setting: A total of 195 school aged children residing in households in the selected ward were recruited for the study carried out between 2014 and 2015.Outcome measures: Anthropometric measurements were recorded and used to determine the body mass indices (BMI) of the children. Also blood pressure measurements and random blood sugars of the respondents were determined to ascertain the blood pressure and glycaemic status of the children.Results: The proportion of overweight respondents was 7.7% and 3.1% for obesity giving a combined proportion of 10.8% while that for underweight was 11.8% amongst the study respondents. The females, 18 (16.6%) had a significantly higher proportion of overweight and obesity than the males, 3 (3.5%) [p = 0.003]. The prevalence of hypertension was 6 (3.1%) and elevated blood glucose was 4 (2.1%). Conclusion: The prevalence of overweight was 7.7% while that for obesity was 3.1%. Also, the prevalence of hypertension and elevated blood glucose was 3.1% and 2.1% respectively amongst the school aged children and females had a significantly higher proportion of overweight and obesity than males in the study. There is a need for public enlightenment towards promoting healthier lifestyle choices and screening of disease conditions early in childhood

Human pandemic influenza: an assessment of the knowledge, attitudes and prevention practices of doctors in a tertiary health facility in Southern Nigeria.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: The study assessed the knowledge level of doctors, their preparedness to respond to pandemic influenza and the preventive practices employed by them. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A descriptive cross-sectional survey of doctors from a tertiary-referral teaching hospital in Benin City, Nigeria was conducted between August and October, 2011. Interviewer administered structured questionnaires were distributed to 240 doctors in different departments in the University of Benin Teaching Hospital. RESULTS: In the study, 15.4% of participants had poor knowledge, 60.4% of respondents had fair knowledge and 24.2% of respondents had a good knowledge about pandemic human influenza. An analysis of attitudes showed that 46.2% of doctors have poor attitudes to work and only 10% had good attitude to work in the event of a pandemic human influenza emergency. CONCLUSION: Doctors had basic knowledge about how the virus is transmitted, symptoms and mode of spread of the human influenza infection, and about the preventive measures that should be taken. Most respondents had a poor attitude to work and did not consider themselves competent enough for role specific responsibilities during a pandemic. Up-to-date information and in-service training of health personnel will strengthen national preparedness and will delay international spread of novel influenza viruses.

Injection safety practices among resident doctors in a tertiary health facility in Benin City.

INTRODUCTION: Unsafe injections are a major source of infection with blood borne pathogens including hepatitis B virus, hepatitis C virus and human immunodeficiency virus. World Health Organization estimates the burden of disease associated with unsafe injection practices to be about 1.3 million early deaths, loss of about 26 million years of life and an annual burden of 535 million US dollars in direct medical costs. The present study was aimed at determining the prevalence of needle stick injury and the level of reporting among resident doctors in University of Benin Teaching Hospital, Benin. METHODOLOGY: A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out from September 2009 to March 2010 among 152 resident doctors in a tertiary health facility in Benin City. The study population was stratified based on their specialty of training. Proportional allocation was applied to obtain the number of participants to be selected from each stratum. Self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data and analysis was by Statistical Package for Scientific Solution (SPSS) version 16.0. (IBM SPSS solution for Education) RESULT: The prevalence of needle stick injury among the respondents was 61.8%. The most frequent reason for non-reporting was; the injury was due to a clean needle 68.9%. Awareness of reporting was 92.1% but the level of reporting was 14.9%. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of needle stick injury was high, awareness of reporting was high but the level of reporting was low. Behavior change communication models are required to bring about a positive change in the practice of reporting.