Pubertal Communication Between School Nurses and Adolescent Girls in Ile-Ife, Nigeria.

We examined information on pubertal changes provided by school nurses to adolescent girls, the methods, and media of communication. We also examined the challenges faced by the nurses in the course of communication. The study setting was five private high schools located in Ile-Ife, Nigeria. Participants were 10 school nurses and 420 school adolescent girls. Cross-sectional descriptive design was employed using quantitative and qualitative data collection methods. Results showed school nurses paid more attention to physical body changes, menarche, and menstrual hygiene as contents of pubertal communication rather than contraception, prevention of sexually transmitted infection, and teenage pregnancy prevention. Materials for communication were reportedly lacking in many of the schools while the school management censors pubertal information. Efforts should be tailored at equipping the school clinic with audiovisual aids and school nurses should be encouraged to give comprehensive pubertal education irrespective of their values and beliefs.

Correlates of Self-Report of Rape Among Male School Adolescents in Ile-Ife, Nigeria.

This study examined male adolescents' self-report of rape of adolescent girls and the socio-demographic variables that correlated with self-report of rape. Descriptive-correlational design was used and the study was conducted in five public senior secondary schools in Ile-Ife, Nigeria. Three hundred and thirty-eight male adolescents participated in the study. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data. Findings from the study revealed the mean age of the adolescent males to be 16 years, with the majority (73%) of them in the middle adolescent stage. Six percent of the adolescent males reported they had raped an adolescent girl in the past. Among the boys who reported rape, 55% reported they had raped their sexual partners, and 55% reported they had perpetrated gang rape. Smoking (p = .0001), alcohol consumption (p = .001), and birth order (p = .006) predicted self-report of rape. The coefficient of birth order showed that odds of self-report of rape by first-born male increases by 6 times compared with other children. Study findings also provided evidence that adolescent males are moving from lone rape to gang rape in intimate partner relationships. Male adolescents are important group to target in rape prevention programs.

Student nurses' perceived use of NANDA-I nursing diagnoses in the community setting.

PURPOSE: Study explored knowledge and perception of student nurses on the use of NANDA-I nursing diagnoses in the community setting. METHODS: Study adopted cross-sectional design. Convenient sampling method was used to select 290 nursing students. Data analysis was by descriptive and inferential statistics. RESULTS: A majority (81.3%) of the participants considered NANDA-I nursing diagnoses to be useful in the community. Significant association existed in the perception and level of education of the students (χ(2) = 8.257, d.f. = 1, p= .04). CONCLUSIONS: Knowledge and perception of the participants about the use of NANDA-I nursing diagnoses in the community is satisfactory. IMPLICATION FOR NURSING PRACTICE: Use of NANDA-I nursing diagnoses should be encouraged among community health nurses.

Impact of a school-based sexual abuse prevention education program on the knowledge and attitude of high school girls.

Sexual abuse has been considered a public health issue because of the various health implications resulting from it. The school nurse has a responsibility in assisting the high school girl to prevent victimization. This study adopted a quasi-experimental design in which a sexual abuse prevention education package was developed and used to educate high school girls in a selected school in Nigeria. Evaluation of the impact of the package revealed a significant increase in the knowledge mean scores of the girls at first postintervention stage and this increase was maintained at second postintervention stage. No significant shift was observed for the attitude of the girls. Education is a significant tool that could be used in improving the knowledge of sexual abuse prevention among high school girls, but attitude supporting sexual abuse prevention can only be improved when myths of sexual abuse are corrected in the larger society.

Management of primary dysmenorrhea by school adolescents in ILE-IFE, Nigeria.

Dysmenorrhea is a problem that girls and women face and often manage themselves with or without support from health professionals. A cross-sectional, descriptive study was conducted among adolescents with dysmenorrhea (N = 150) in Ile-Ife, Nigeria. The aims of the study were to determine their knowledge of menstruation and primary dysmenorrhea, assess the severity of pain they experienced during an episode of primary dysmenorrhea, and determine the management strategies they adopted. A pre-tested semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect data. Findings revealed the adolescents had a knowledge deficit regarding menstruation and dysmenorrhea, 58% of respondents reported pain between face 4 and face 10 on the Faces Pain Scale and the majority used inappropriate methods to manage primary dysmenorrhea. School nurses are able to assist adolescents and their mothers in proper management of primary dysmenorrhea.