FAMILY PLANNING SERVICE UPTAKE IN HOSPITALS IN RIVERS STATE, NIGERIA.

Introduction: Family planning refers to a couple's ability to have the number of children they want by spacing out their children appropriately or a person's ability to avoid unintended pregnancies by using various contraceptive methods and infertility treatment. All hospitals in Rivers State, Nigeria, that provide primary care, offer family planning services. Aim: To describe the pattern of family planning service uptake in the hospitals in Rivers State. Methodology: An 8-year retrospective review of data collection from the District Health Information System 2 (DHIS 2) platform in the Health Management Information System in Rivers State was conducted. Data from 387 health facilities were collated and keyed into the DHIS2 platform. Data was analysed using SPSS version 21 and represented as frequencies, percentages and charts. Results: During the period under review, the Family Planning clinics counselled a total of 931,774 individuals, of whom 421,785 (45.3%) accepted family planning services. Condoms (65.3%) were the most widely utilized contraceptive, whereas bilateral tubal ligation (0.1%) was the least utilized. Other methods were injectable, implant, oral contraceptive pills and intrauterine contraceptive devices accounting for 16.1%, 9.4%, 7.8%, and 1.3%, respectively. A significant increase was observed in the trend of use of condoms, injectables and oral contraceptive pills between 2016-2021. Conclusion: The findings were that there was an increasing trend in the yearly utilization of family planning services among women of childbearing age in the State from 2014 - 2021. Condom being the most utilized indicates that it is the most accepted and approved by clients in family planning clinics in Rivers State. The knowledge of contraceptive utilization trends can be used to monitor and appraise the acceptance and approval of each method and family planning program over a period.

FEAR OF FALLING AND ITS RELATIONSHIP WITH QUALITY OF LIFE IN THE ELDERLY ATTENDING A FAMILY MEDICINE CLINIC IN SOUTH-SOUTH NIGERIA.

Introduction: Aging is linked to increased morbidity, higher fear of falling (FOF), and decreased activity, with attendant hampered of quality of life (QOL) in the elderly. Therefore, this study determined the relationship between Fear of falling and Quality of life among the elderly attending a tertiary hospital in Port Harcourt, Rivers State. Method: This was a hospital-based cross-sectional study where 292 participants were recruited by a systematic sampling method and the data was collected using an interviewer-administered questionnaire (which includes age and gender, the Modified Fall Efficacy scale to assess FOL and the 12-item short health survey form [SF-12] to asses QOL). The SPSS version 26.0 was used to perform the data analysis. Results: The mean age of the respondents was 68.5 years ±6.6 years. More of the participants were females and they were more likely than males to be very fearful of falling (37.7% vs 11.1%, respectively). Females aged 60-69 (36.3%) were most likely to express a fear of falling. The PCS-12 correlated with fear of falling as the scores were very low indicating that respondents had some level of loss of physical function. MCS did not correlate with Fear of falling as the scores were fair in both those with a FOF (MFES< 7.99) and those without a FOF (MFES>8). Conclusion: The observed correlation between FOF and QOL domain scores suggests that Fear of falling should be routinely investigated among the elderly irrespective of reason(s) for encounter.

PREVALENCE AND FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH FEAR OF FALLING IN THE ELDERLY ATTENDING A TERTIARY HOSPITAL IN SOUTH-SOUTH NIGERIA.

Introduction: Fear of falling is a loss of confidence in balance which affects the quality of life of the elderly. Falls in older people can result in disability, death, financial stress on the family, and higher medical expenses and a significant proportion of those who fall are said to be afraid of falling. Objective: To determine the prevalence and the factors associated with Fear of falling in the elderly attending the Rivers State University Teaching Hospital, Port Harcourt. Methodology: A cross-sectional study of patients, 60 years and older, attending the Family Medicine clinic. A questionnaire (which included the Modified Fall Efficacy scale) was used to collect data on the socio-demographic characteristics and fear of falling. The functional assessment of the respondents was done using the Timed Up-and-Go test (TUG). Descriptive analysis and logistic regression were done to determine the factors associated with the fear of falling. Results: Of the 292 respondents, fear of falling was prevalent in 58 (19.9%) of them. The female gender was found to have 50% lower odds of having a fear of falling than their male counterparts (O.R.=0.541, 95% C.I=0.327-0.896). An association was found between fear of falling and TUG as those with a fear of falling took a longer time to complete the TUG test. Conclusion: The study suggests that healthcare professionals should routinely investigate the fear of falling in geriatric care to devise preventive and intervention strategies to combat the Fear of falling among the elderly.