Evaluation of Primary School Health Environment in Ido/Osi Local Government Area, Ekiti State, Nigeria.

BACKGROUND: School environment entails the sum total of the physical, biological, social, and emotional environment within which members of the school community operate. It is essential to make the school environment healthy to promote and protect the health of school pupils as well as their safety. This study aimed at finding the level of implementation of a Healthy School Environment (HSE) in Ido/Osi Local Government Area (LGA) of Ekiti State. METHODOLOGY: A cross-sectional descriptive study carried out among 48 private and 19 public primary schools using a standardised checklist and direct observation. RESULTS: The teacher-to-pupil ratio was 1:16 in public schools and 1:10 in private schools. The leading source of water in 47.8% of the schools was well water. Most, 97%, of the schools practiced open dumping of refuse. Private schools had more school buildings with strong walls and good roofs with doors and windows which provided adequate ventilation compared to the public schools (p- 0.001). No school was located close to an industrial area, however, none had a safety patrol team. Only 34.3% of schools had a fence and 31.3% had terrains prone to flooding. Only 3% of the schools, all private schools, attained the minimum acceptable score on the school environment. CONCLUSION: The status of school environment was poor in the study location and school ownership did not make any much impact as there was no difference in the situations of school environment between public and private schools.

CONTEXTE: L'environnement scolaire est l'ensemble des conditions physiques, biologiques, sociales et émotionnelles dans lesquelles évoluent les membres de la communauté scolaire. Il est essentiel de rendre l'environnement scolaire sain afin de promouvoir et de protéger la santé des élèves ainsi que leur sécurité. Cette étude visait à déterminer le niveau de mise en œuvre de l'environnement scolaire sain (HSE) dans la zone de gouvernement local (LGA) d'Ido/Osi de l'État d'Ekiti. MÉTHODOLOGIE: Une étude descriptive transversale a été menée dans 48 écoles primaires privées et 19 écoles primaires publiques à l'aide d'une liste de contrôle standardisée et d'une observation directe. RÉSULTATS: Le ratio enseignant/élèves était de 1:16 dans les écoles publiques et de 1:10 dans les écoles privées. La principale source d'eau dans 47,8 % des écoles était l'eau de puits. La plupart des écoles (97%) pratiquaient le dépôt d'ordures à l'air libre. Les écoles privées avaient plus de bâtiments scolaires avec des murs solides et de bons toits avec des portes et des fenêtres qui fournissaient une ventilation adéquate par rapport aux écoles publiques (p- 0.001). Aucune école n'était située à proximité d'une zone industrielle, mais aucune ne disposait d'une équipe de patrouille de sécurité. Seules 34,3 % des écoles disposaient d'une clôture et 31,3 % étaient situées sur des terrains inondables. Seules 3 % des écoles, toutes privées, ont atteint le score minimum acceptable en matière d'environnement scolaire. CONCLUSION: L'état de l'environnement scolaire était médiocre dans la région étudiée et la propriété de l'école n'avait pas beaucoup d'impact car il n'y avait pas de différence dans la situation de l'environnement scolaire entre les écoles publiques et les écoles privées. Mots-clés: État d'Ekiti, Environnement sain, Gouvernement Local, Nigeria, École Primaire, Environnement Scolaire.

An assessment of school-based health instruction among primary schools in Ido/Osi local government area Southwest, Nigeria.

Background: School Health Instruction (SHI) comprises of series of formal, well-planned, and organized learning whereby information concerning knowledge, habits, attitudes, practices, and conducts are given pertaining to the health of an individual or members of the school community. A well-structured and implemented SHI forms the basis for a healthy health promotion. Aim: The study aimed at assessing the implementation of SHI among primary schools in a Local Government Area, Southwest, Nigeria. Subjects and Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was carried out among 67 private and public schools in a Local Government Area of Ekiti State using a standardized checklist and direct observation. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 25. Results: The ratio of teachers to pupils was 1:16 in public schools and 1:10 in private schools. More public-school teachers (93.8%) compared to private school teachers (28.9) had education-related qualifications (P < 0.0001). All public schools adhered to the recommended three periods per week on health education while the frequency of adherence varied in private schools. About half of the private school teachers and 60.4% of the public school teachers have had in-service training on general health and health promotion. Direct teaching by a subject teacher was carried out by 11.9% of the schools while 49.3% had supplemental teaching aids. The scope of health education was uniform among all the schools. Only 46.3% of the schools attained the recommended minimum acceptable score on SHI. Conclusion: School health instruction was poorly implemented in the study location. There is a need to scale up SHI and monitor its implementation in the study location. These efforts should be supported by all stakeholders and backed with adequate oversight function by regulatory authorities, provision of in-service training, and teaching aids for teachers.

Evaluation of sociodemographic, clinical, and laboratory markers of sickle leg ulcers among young nigerians at a tertiary health institution.

BACKGROUND: Sickle leg ulcer (SLU) is a chronic and debilitating complication of sickle cell disease (SCD) associated with huge physical and psychosocial discomfort. The occurrence of SLU has remained steady despite successful preventive strategies and advances in SCD care. Although multifactorial factors have been implicated in SLU, these are not fully understood, and data on how these relate to young Nigerian SCD patients are scanty. AIMS: This study aims to evaluate the sociodemographic, clinical, and laboratory markers of SLU in a young Nigerian SCD cohort. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This study involved 109 young SCD patients and 67 healthy peers. The sociodemographic and laboratory parameters of the participants were examined in addition to the evaluation of the SCD cohort for SLU. RESULTS: Only the HbSS patients had SLU. This was found in six of them giving a prevalence of 5.9% (6/101). Their median age was 17, range 14-21 years. There was a preceding history of trauma in 4 (66.7%), and this included a case of traditional scarifications for local therapeutic purposes. Two of the three (66.7%) males with SLU also had priapism (P = 0.0132). Patients with SLU were older, had less frequent bone pain crises, and significantly belonged to the low socioeconomic class (P < 0.05). Although patients with SLU had relatively higher lactate dehydrogenase, platelet count, aspartate transaminase, bilirubin, white blood cell, and lower Hb concentration and HbF, these did not attain statistical significance (P > 0.05). CONCLUSION: This study confirms that SLU is common among young SCD patients with HbSS genotype, low socioeconomic background, and older age. It also suggests that SLU could be more related to hemolysis-associated SCD phenotypes among the patients.

Effects of lime juice on malaria parasite clearance.

One hundred and twenty children with acute uncomplicated malaria who were managed at the children's outpatient department of the Wesley Guild Hospital, Ilesa (a unit of Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospitals' Complex, Ile-Ife, Osun state, Nigeria) were recruited into the study to determine the effects of lime juice on malaria parasite clearance. These children were randomized into treatment with World Health Organization recommended antimalarials (artemisinin combination therapy, ACT) either alone or with lime juice. Nine of them were lost to follow-up, four were in the group that were managed with ACT and lime, and five in the group that were managed on ACT alone. The average (SD) time to achieve >75% reduction in parasite load was significantly lower in patients on ACT and lime; 30.5 ± 2.4 h against 38.6 ± 3.3 h for those on ACT alone (p < 0.001). Also, while a significantly higher proportion of children on antimalarial drugs and lime juice achieved complete parasite clearance by 72 h of therapy (p = 0.007), ten (18.2%) patients without lime had early treatment failure (p = 0.003). There were no side effects with the use of lime juice. It may therefore be inferred, from this preliminary work, that lime juice when used with the appropriate antimalarial may enhance malaria parasite clearance especially in those with uncomplicated malaria.