Acceptance of the Advocacy Core Group approach in promoting integrated social and behaviour change for MNCH+N in Nigeria: a qualitative study.

OBJECTIVE: This paper examines the acceptance of the Advocacy Core Group (ACG) programme, a social and behaviour change intervention addressing maternal, newborn, child health and nutrition (MNCH+N) in Bauchi and Sokoto states, with an additional focus on the perceived endorsement of health behaviours by social networks as a potential factor influencing acceptance. DESIGN: This study used the qualitative social network analysis approach and used in-depth interviews to collect data from 36 participants across Bauchi and Sokoto states. SETTING: This study was conducted in selected communities across Bauchi and Sokoto states. PARTICIPANTS: A purposive sample of 36 participants comprised of men and women aged 15-49 years who have been exposed to the ACG programme. RESULTS: Programme beneficiaries actively engaged in various ACG-related activities, including health messaging delivered through religious houses, social gatherings, home visits, community meetings and the media. As a result, they reported a perceived change in behaviour regarding exclusive breast feeding, antenatal care visits, family planning and malaria prevention. Our findings indicated consistent discussions on health behaviours between programme beneficiaries and their network partners (NPs), with a perceived endorsement of these behaviours by the NPs. However, a potential negative factor emerged, whereby NPs exhibited perceived disapproval of key behaviours, which poses a threat to behaviour adoption and, consequently, the success of the ACG model. CONCLUSIONS: While findings suggest the successful implementation and acceptance of the model, it is important to address possible barriers and to further explore the socially determined acceptance of MNCH+N behaviours by NPs. Interventions such as the ACG model should mobilise the networks of programme participants, particularly those with decision-making power, to improve the uptake of health behaviours.

"Like a broom tied together": A qualitative exploration of social cohesion and its role in community capacity strengthening to support integrated health in Nigeria.

Social cohesion, broadly understood as the degree of connectedness, solidarity, and trust across various community groups and between individuals, is critical for community capacity. This paper examines social cohesion and its role in community capacity strengthening for sustaining integrated health gains in Nigeria. This study took place in the context of a mid-course qualitative evaluation of a Community Capacity Strengthening approach that focuses on engaging Ward Development Committees (WDC) to increase community agency, coordinate and support the ward-level health ecosystem and ensure sustained community-level activities supporting behaviour change for improved health outcomes. This qualitative study was conducted in four selected wards per state in Bauchi and Sokoto states, targeting WDC members, Village Development Committee members, Community Volunteers, local government officials, traditional leaders, and Community Capacity Strengthening project staff. Thematic content analysis findings show that recognition and legitimacy were operationalized through the election of members into committees which in turn gave them a sense of identity and credibility. At the community level, WDCs leveraged the influence of social networks in the community to achieve their goal. Trust was also identified as a prerequisite to the acceptance and accomplishment of social and behaviour change programming. At the institutional level, our findings revealed strong conflict management skills and high collective efficacy of committee members for programme implementation. This study found high cohesion among committee members, promoting a sense of belonging and agency, and facilitating social and behavior change activities for improved health outcomes. However, we found clear limits to the extent to which high social cohesion can contribute to community capacity to sustain health implementation and improvements. While cohesive community organizations present a good opportunity for health programmes, there is a need for more investment of resources to address funding, logistics, and service delivery limitations.

Factors associated with direct use of laptop on the lap among male university undergraduates in Southwestern Nigeria.

Laptop use comes with potential reproductive health risks for men. This study assessed the knowledge of reproductive health hazards and factors associated with direct use of laptop on the lap among male undergraduates of the University of Ibadan, Nigeria. A cross-sectional study conducted among 444 male undergraduates using multi-stage sampling and data collected through a validated questionnaire. Mean age was 21.0 years ± 2.6. Knowledge and perception of reproductive health hazards associated with direct laptop use were fairly good but practice was high. The knowledge of reproductive health hazards associated with direct laptop use on the lap was not associated with use (p = 0.08) and factors influencing use include; influence by colleagues (67.6%), non-availability of laptop cooling pads (42.6%), high cost of cooling pads (39.9%), perception of convenience (41.7%). Interventions on laptop ergonomics awareness and provision of affordable laptop ergonomic products for university students are recommended.