Attitudes toward interprofessional practice among healthcare students in a Nigerian University.

This study assessed attitudes of undergraduate healthcare students in Nigeria toward interprofessional practice. A cross-sectional survey of a convenience sample of 489 dental, medical, medical laboratory science, nursing, physiotherapy, and radiography students from a public university was conducted. The 14-item Attitudes Toward Healthcare Teamwork Scale was used to assess the students' attitudes. Data were summarized using descriptive statistics while differences in attitudes based on students' age, gender, year of study, and course of study were identified using inferential statistics. The findings showed that there were more (n= 281; 57.5%) male respondents and mean age was 25 years. Mean attitude score was 53.75 (±7.41) out of 70 depicting an overall positive attitude. Year and course of study resulted in statistically significant (p< .001) differences in attitudes with students in the sixth year of study, and medical students having more positive attitudes than their colleagues in junior years and other courses respectively. Most students agreed that interprofessional practice facilitates optimal patient care but also agreed with statements that portray interprofessional practice as unnecessarily time consuming. Integration of interprofessional education into existing undergraduate healthcare professions curricula in Nigeria could help address misconceptions and reinforce positive attitudes toward interprofessional practice.

Leprosy Elimination: Progress and Challenges in Nigeria; Kaduna State TB and Leprosy Control Programme as a Case Study.

The study aims at describing the achievements and challenges of Leprosy control in Kaduna State using appropriate indicators. The study was a five year (2004-2008) retrospective review of the Leprosy records and annual reports of all the twenty three LGAs in Kaduna State. Various Leprosy indicators were calculated and presented in different graphic presentations. Focus group discussions were organised with the aim of identifying current challenges of Leprosy control in the State. There was a decline in the new Leprosy cases detected annually from 226 cases in 2004 to 140 cases in 2008. The prevalence rate ranged between 0.3-0.4 per 10,000 population within the five year period. The proportion of children among new cases dropped from 12% in 2004 to 5% in 2007 and increased to 9% in 2008. Grade 2 disability among new cases was very high (between 21%-27%) within the same period. Leprosy elimination target has been achieved in Kaduna State, but new cases with high proportion of children and WHO grade 2 disability were still been reported.

Leprosy elimination: progress and challenges in Nigeria, Kaduna State tb and leprosy control programme as case study

The study aims at describing the achievements and challenges of Leprosy control in Kaduna State using appropriate indicators. The study was a five year (2004-2008) retrospective review of the Leprosy records and annual reports of all the twenty three LGAs in Kaduna State. Various Leprosy indicators were calculated and presented in different graphic presentations. Focus group discussions were organised with the aim of identifying current challenges of Leprosy control in the State. There was a decline in the new Leprosy cases detected annually from 226 cases in 2004 to 140 cases in 2008. The prevalence rate ranged between 0.3-0.4 per 10;000 population within the five year period. The proportion of children among new cases dropped from 12 in 2004 to 5 in 2007 and increased to 9 in 2008. Grade 2 disability among new cases was very high (between 21-27) within the same period. Leprosy elimination target has been achieved in Kaduna State; but new cases with high proportion of children and WHO grade 2 disability were still been reported