General and tuberculosis-specific service readiness in two states in Nigeria.

BACKGROUND: Tuberculosis is the world's deadliest infectious disease and a leading cause of death in Nigeria. The availability of a functional healthcare system is critical for effective TB service delivery and attainment of national and global targets. This study was designed to assess readiness for TB service delivery in Oyo and Anambra states of Nigeria. METHODS: This was a facility-based study with a mixed-methods convergent parallel design. A multi-stage sampling technique was used to select 42 primary, secondary, and tertiary healthcare facilities in two TB high burden states. Data were collected using key informant interviews, a semi-structured instrument adapted from the WHO Service Availability and Readiness Assessment tool and facility observation using a checklist. Quantitative data were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics while qualitative data were transcribed and analysed thematically. Data from both sources were integrated to generate conclusions. RESULTS: The domain score for basic amenities in both states was 48.8%; 47.0% in Anambra and 50.8% in Oyo state with 95% confidence interval [- 15.29, 7.56]. In Oyo, only half of the facilities (50%) had access to constant power supply compared to 72.7% in Anambra state. The overall general service readiness index for both states was 69.2% with Oyo state having a higher value (73.3%) compared to Anambra with 65.4% (p = 0.56). The domain score for availability of staff and TB guidelines was 57.1% for both states with 95% confidence interval [- 13.8, 14.4]. Indicators of this domain with very low values were staff training for the management of HIV and TB co-infection and training on MDR -TB. Almost half (47.6%) of the facilities experienced a stock out of TB drugs in the 3 months preceding the study. The overall tuberculosis-specific service readiness index for both states was 75%; this was higher in Oyo (76.5%) than Anambra state (73.6%) (p = 0.14). Qualitative data revealed areas of deficiencies for TB service delivery such as inadequate infrastructure, poor staffing, and gaps with continuing education on TB management. CONCLUSIONS: The weak health system remains a challenge and there must be concerted actions and funding by the government and donors to improve the TB healthcare systems.

Development of the African Digital Health Library (ADHL): Experience at the Medical Library, University of Ibadan, Nigeria

The African Digital Health Library, (ADHL) is a collaborative project involving five African institutions namely Bamako University of Science and Technology, Kenya Methodist University, Universities of Ibadan, Nairobi, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. The University of Ibadan Nigeria component of the ADHL (ADHL-UI) is described in this paper. Funded by the Office of Global AIDS Coordinator of the United States Department of State, the goal of ADHL-UI is to store, preserve, make accessible through an institutional repository, theses and dissertations by postgraduate students of the institution's College of Medicine. The ADHL-UI has over 1000 theses and dissertations accessible on the internet. Creation of the ADHL-UI, a repository of theses and dissertations in the Medical Library, University of Ibadan, is a major contribution to research development and preservation of institutional scholarly heritage. Effective use by students and faculty will help in reducing duplication of research efforts and create visibility for the authors and the institution.

Awareness and use of reference managers by resident doctors in Nigeria

Reference manager (RM) also known as reference management software (RMS) are tools used by researchers to organize and manage bibliographic references. They are citation tools that enable researchers to track the scientific papers they have read, sources consulted, cited and used to generate a reference list or bibliography. This study investigated the awareness and pattern of use of RM tools by Resident Doctors (RDs) in Nigeria. Cross-sectional survey design was adopted for the study and semi-structured questionnaire was used for the data collection. Respondents' age was 35.9 ± 5.0, (53.8%) were males. Most of the respondents (92.9%) had heard of RM, 49.1% had ever used any RM with Mendeley topping the list (49.1%). However, many of the respondents (42.8%) did not use RM due to lack of requisite skills, while only (35.1%) respondents had ever received formal training on use of RM. Based on the findings of the study, it was recommended that awareness should be regularly created to encourage resident doctors to apply their knowledge of the tools in the management of their references while training should be conducted for those who do not use the tools.

Teaching high school students to use online consumer health resources on mobile phones: outcome of a pilot project in Oyo State, Nigeria.

OBJECTIVE: This project evaluated the outcomes of training high school students to deliver consumer health information to their peers. METHODS: A total of 120 students selected from 7 high schools in Oyo state, Nigeria, received 8 hours of training on consumer health literacy and peer education, which is a process of training volunteers to deliver health information to their peers. The training included hands-on activities using the students' own mobile phones. After the training, peer educators distributed leaflets, showed consumer health information (CHI) websites to others, counseled and referred fellow students, and submitted forms describing these activities. All peer educators completed pre- and post-tests, and 10 were interviewed 4 months after training. RESULTS: After the training, the authors found improvement in the trainees' knowledge of CHI resources and understanding of their roles as peer educators. Most peer educators (72.5%) delivered CHI to their peers after the training, primarily through sharing websites on teen health and other CHI resources. In the interviews, all peer educators reported direct benefits from participating in the project, and many stated that they knew where to find reliable health information. CONCLUSION: Volunteer high school students can be trained to deliver CHI to their peers using mobile phones.

Knowledge and utilization of the United States National Library of Medicine's biomedical information products and services among African health sciences librarians.

The United States National Library of Medicine (NLM) has the largest collection of biomedical information products and services in the world. Little is known of the extent to which librarians in sub-Saharan Africa are aware of and use these resources. The study's aim was to assess knowledge and frequency of use of NLM's biomedical information products and services among African librarians. Forty-three of the 50 delegates at the 11th biannual Congress of the Association of Health Information and Libraries in Africa (AHILA) participated in the study. The findings showed that participants' knowledge of NLM information products and services was low and that there is a need for increased awareness and training in the use of NLM's information products and services in order for users on the African continent to effectively benefit from them.

The level of Internet access and ICT training for health information professionals in sub-Saharan Africa.

BACKGROUND: Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) are important tools for development. Despite its significant growth on a global scale, Internet access is limited in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Few studies have explored Internet access, use of electronic resources and ICT training among health information professionals in Africa. OBJECTIVE: The study assessed Internet access, use of electronic resources and ICT training among health information professionals in SSA. METHODS: A 26-item self-administered questionnaire in English and French was used for data collection. The questionnaire was completed by health information professionals from five Listservs and delegates at the 10th biannual Congress of the Association of Health Information and Libraries in Africa (AHILA). RESULTS: A total of 121 respondents participated in the study and, of those, 68% lived in their countries' capital. The majority (85.1%) had Internet access at work and 40.8% used cybercafes as alternative access points. Slightly less than two-thirds (61.2%) first learned to use ICT through self-teaching, whilst 70.2% had not received any formal training in the previous year. Eighty-eight per cent of respondents required further ICT training. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS: In SSA, freely available digital information resources are underutilized by health information professionals. ICT training is recommended to optimize use of digital resources. To harness these resources, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations must play a key role.

Computer and internet use by first year clinical and nursing students in a Nigerian teaching hospital.

BACKGROUND: The internet is an important source of up-to-date medical information. Although several studies in different countries have explored the extent to which health science students use the computer and the internet, few researches are available on this subject in Nigeria. The aim of this study was to assess the uptake of computer and internet by health science students studying in the country. METHODS: One hundred and eighty three first year medical and nursing students of the University College Hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria, completed a-25 item questionnaire during routine Library Orientation Program in the medical library. The EPI-Info software was used for data analysis. RESULTS: The mean ages for medical students and the student nurses were 22 and 24.6 years respectively. Overall, 42.6% of the entire sample could use the computer, 57.4% could not. While more than half (58%) of the medical students are computer literate, majority (75.9%) of the student nurses are not. Slightly more than two thirds (60.7%) of the entire students had ever used the internet, 33. 9% had not. E-mail was the most popular of internet services used by the students (76.4%) and the cyber café was the common place where students had accessed these services. The students' mean scores on a 15-point perceived self-efficacy scale for internet-related tasks was 3.8 for medical and 0.7 for nursing students (p = 0.00). Students who are computer literate had superior mean scores (4.8) than those without (0.6) (p = 0.000). CONCLUSION: First year clinical and nursing students in Ibadan Nigeria have not fully utilised the opportunity that the use of computer and internet offer for medical education. Improved efforts such as inclusion of computer education in medical and nursing curricular and establishment of computer laboratories are required to increase the student's access to computers and internet.