Investigation of the prevalence and factors influencing tobacco and alcohol use among adolescents in Nigeria: A systematic literature review.

The increase in tobacco and alcohol prevalence among Nigerian teenagers necessitates the need to understand the factors influencing use. The aim of this systematic literature review was to synthesis evidence from studies on tobacco and alcohol use among Nigerian adolescents and young adults in order to determine factors influencing tobacco and alcohol use. Six databases MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, PsycINFO, PubMed, ScienceDirect, and Google Scholar were used to search for peer-reviewed articles reporting the prevalence and predictors of tobacco and alcohol use among adolescents/youths published between 2010 and 2022. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guided this review. From our search, twelve articles from the 6 geopolitical zones within Nigeria were included. The high prevalence of tobacco and alcohol use among Nigerian adolescents necessitates the need to understand the factors influencing use. A high prevalence rate was recorded among the male gender. Gender, age, and curiosity appear to place adolescents at extra risk for tobacco and alcohol use. Lack of parental monitoring, peer influence, low socio-economic status, low education level, stressful life events, advertisements, availability, and accessibility are factors identified to influence adolescents' alcohol and tobacco use. Alcohol and tobacco use remains a major public health issue as it continues to contribute largely to the growing occurence of diseases globally. Our review showed that adolescents' alcohol and tobacco use behaviour is triggered by various factors on the personal, interpersonal, organisational, community, and policy levels, and these factors are understood to predict or protect against alcohol and tobacco use.

An international exploration of blended learning use in pre-registration nursing and midwifery education.

AIM: To explore international experiences of using blended learning in preparing nursing and midwifery students for initial professional registration to inform future education policy. BACKGROUND: The global nursing and midwifery skills shortage and need for an expanded nursing workforce that is fit for contemporary care delivery is widely acknowledged. The immense pressure the profession was already under because of austerity, staff shortages and increasingly complex healthcare needs has been worsened by the Covid-19 pandemic. The UK is extending and evaluating the use of blended learning programmes for pre-registration nursing and midwifery students to help address these issues. This study sought to explore relevant nursing and midwifery experiences from outside the UK to help inform future health professional education policy here and elsewhere. DESIGN: Cross-sectional, sequential, mixed methods study PARTICIPANTS/SETTINGS: Nursing/nurse education leaders from across International Council of Nurses regions METHODS: Exploratory online survey (n = 32) and three follow-up case studies (March-May 2021). Participants' knowledge and experiences of blended learning were examined along with any perceived benefits for workforce development and successful strategies for addressing the challenges blended learning presents in this context. Case studies were developed inductively from survey responses and follow up telephone calls to provide more detailed information about reported successes. RESULTS: Participants reported flexibility, cost effectiveness, increased student/tutor and student/student communication and interaction as benefits of blended learning. Challenges included the design and use of interactive learning resources, appropriate preparation and support for staff and students, the potential of blended learning to exacerbate otherwise hidden disadvantage and the need for multi-stakeholder cost/benefit evaluation. CONCLUSIONS: Blended learning is used globally in the pre-registration education of nurses, midwives and other healthcare professionals. These results broadly mirror the literature regarding the benefits blended learning offers healthcare students, staff and organisations and the strategies employed to mitigate risk. As the deployment of blended learning nursing and midwifery programmes expands, further work is needed to address gaps in the current evidence base regarding the practice and impact of this approach. These concern adequate preparation and support of students and staff, ensuring access to appropriate equipment and connectivity, exploration of student perceptions that online learning is of lesser value and comprehensive multi-stakeholder, exploratory evaluation to uncover any hidden factors and impact. TWEETABLE ABSTRACT: Blended learning plays an effective part in the education of pre-registration nursing and midwifery students to help tackle global workforce shortages, but further work is needed to address gaps in the current evidence base regarding the practice and impact of this approach.

Exploring the risk factors of child malnutrition in Sub-Sahara Africa: A scoping review.

Background: Malnutrition prevents children from reaching their full physical and mental potential. Health and physical consequences of prolonged states of malnourishment among children are: delay in their physical growth and motor development; lower intellectual quotient (IQ), greater behavioural problems and deficient social skills; susceptibility to contracting diseases. According to the 2015 Millennium development goal (MDG) report, sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) accounts for one third of all undernourished children globally, highlighting that malnutrition still remains a major health concern for children under 5 years in the sub-region, thus buttressing the need for urgent intervention. Aim: The aim of this study is to explore the risk factors of child malnutrition in sub-Saharan Africa through a scoping review. Methods: The scoping review was conducted using the following specific subject databases: EBSCOhost, google scholar, Pub med, demographic research and research gate. Attention was paid to keywords during navigation to ensure consistency of searches in each database. Two limiters were applied in all five databases. These included the use of the English language and articles published on child malnutrition in sub Saharan Africa. Results: The researchers identified eight themes for inclusion in the findings. The themes fell into four major categories being maternal related, family related, child related as well as context related factors. These themes reflect factors associated with child malnutrition. Conclusion: This scoping review revealed that there are quite a number of risk factors that lead to child malnutrition. Therefore, there is an urgency for strategic interventions aimed at improving child nutrition through female education if the 2030 end malnutrition SDG 2.2 are to be achieved.

The role of distance and transportation in decision making to seek emergency obstetric care among women of reproductive age in south-South Nigeria: A mixed methods study.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the role of transportation in seeking emergency obstetric care among women with obstetric complications. METHODS: A mixed-methods design. The study population comprised women aged 15-49 years who had experience direct obstetric complications and were attending the health facility for care at the time of this study. A total of 318 women completed the questionnaires, and in-depth interviews were held for six women who were purposively selected from the 318 respondents. Both questionnaire and semi-structured interviews were used in collecting data for this study. Quantitative data were analyzed using SPSS using both inferential and bivariate analysis, and a qualitative content analysis was carried out on the qualitative data. RESULTS: Of the 318 respondents, 290 (91.2%) accessed health facilities by motorized transport with 28 (8.8%) on foot. Mode of transportation was related to regularity at prenatal care (P = 0.003), with those who came on foot being regular attenders compared with those that came on motorized transport. CONCLUSION: An efficient and suitable transport system as well as distance are key factors influencing women's role in decision making to seek care.

Triggers of mental health problems among frontline healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in private care homes and domiciliary care agencies: Lived experiences of care workers in the Midlands region, UK.

COVID-19 was first reported in China and later spread across the world causing panic because there is no cure for it. The pandemic has adversely affected frontline health workers and patients, owing to poor preparedness. The study explored the triggers of mental health problems among frontline healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. An exploratory qualitative approach was utilised in the study. Forty individual semi-structured interviews were held with frontline healthcare workers. A thematic approach underpinned by some aspects of interpretive phenomenological analysis (IPA) and the Silences Framework (SF) was utilised. The research found that triggers of mental health problems among frontline health workers in private care homes and domiciliary care agencies are fear of infection and infecting others, lack of recognition/disparity between National Health Service (NHS) and social care, lack of guidance, unsafe hospital discharge, death and loss of professionals and residents, unreliable testing and delayed results and shortage of staff. It is important to support frontline workers in private care homes and domiciliary care agencies.

Exploring the challenges of women taking antiretroviral treatment during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown in peri-urban Harare, Zimbabwe.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the challenges of women taking antiretroviral treatment (ART) during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown in a peri-urban area. METHODS: An exploratory qualitative study approach was used. Semi-structured questions were devised and used to elicit data on the impact of the COVID-19 lockdown on women accessing treatment for HIV. Twenty women were interviewed through contacts from community and faith organizations in peri-urban Harare. All interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim and entered into NVivo to make analysis easy. The data were thematically analyzed, underpinned by the four phases of data analysis in the Silences Framework. RESULTS: The study discovered that transport problems, confusing COVID-19 restrictions, abuse by police and soldiers at roadblocks, a shortage of medication, lack of health check-up routines, involuntary default of ART, and a shortage of personal protective equipment affected HIV-positive women accessing ART during the COVID-19 lockdown. CONCLUSION: People living with HIV need a robust supporting environment and a functioning health system. In response to COVID-19 all services were halted to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Pandemic preparedness is important in keeping an adequate supply of ART and responding to the needs of individuals on HIV treatment.