Menstruation: knowledge, attitude and practices of students in Ile-Ife, Nigeria.

This study investigated students' knowledge of, beliefs, attitude to and practices during menstruation. Data was collected from a sample of 200 students from Ile-Ife using the multi-stage sampling technique. Only 5% of respondents could correctly define menstruation. Materials used to manage menstruation include sanitary pad, pieces of cloths, toilet rolls, cotton wool, tampon and shoulder pad foam. Practices vary on menstruating and non-menstruating days with 11(39.3%) of the 28 practices classified as healthy, 6(21.43%) as potentially harmful and 11(39.3%) as uncertain. Three (21.43%) of the listed 14 beliefs and taboos are potentially health-promoting, 5(35.71%) are potentially not health-promoting while 6(42.86%) are potentially harmless. Menstruation is associated with restrictions in diet and social interaction with 8%, 20.5% and 5% seeing menstruation as abnormal, dirty and a disease respectively. Findings from this study would be helpful in planning educational programmes to correct misinformation and promote healthy practices among women during menstruation.

Comprehensive care for people living with HIV/AIDS: issues and problems of social integration in Nigeria.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) pandemic has become a major global public health problem with rising number of cases and associated deaths. Most of the present activities in developing countries, especially in Africa, are aimed at reducing the transmission of the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) that causes AIDS. Care for people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) is essential not only to mitigate the impacts of HIV/AIDS among PLWHA but is also an important component of prevention of the disease. There is now a general recognition that comprehensive care across the continuum should be provided to PLWHA through all the stages of infection, with a crucial role for community-home based care activities. In addition, AIDS orphans need to be supported Although, documented evidences abound on the utility of comprehensive care and community-home based care approaches outside Africa and in some African countries, there is little information on them in Nigeria. This paper therefore reviews the recent epidemiology of HIV infection, the many currently developed initiatives to deliver comprehensive care for PLWHA in the hospital, community and at home, and the issue of AIDS orphans. In addition, measures to effectively integrate them into the mainstream of societal activities are discussed.