The effect of a short anti-smoking awareness programme on the knowledge, attitude and practice of cigarette smoking among secondary school students in Lagos state, Nigeria.

UNLABELLED: This study aimed to assess the effect of a short school-based anti-smoking program on the knowledge, attitude and practice of cigarette smoking among students in secondary schools in Lagos State. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: A non-randomized, controlled intervention study was done among respondents selected using multi-stage sampling. Baseline data was collected using self-administered questionnaires. An anti-smoking awareness programme was carried out among students in the intervention group using health talks, information leaflets and posters. Post-intervention data collection took place three months later. RESULTS: There were significant increments in the mean knowledge and attitude scores after the intervention. There was however no statistically significant change in the current smoking habits of respondents (4% vs. 3%; p=0.41)in the intervention group. Nevertheless, in the intervention group, the number of never- smokers who reported that they were likely to initiate cigarette smoking within the next year significantly reduced. There was also a significant increase in the proportion of current smokers who desired to quit smoking. CONCLUSION: Even brief anti-smoking programs of this nature are effective at improving the knowledge and modifying the attitude of the respondents but do not improve smoking habits. It however motivated the desire to quit among current smokers. Health education sessions and periodic anti-smoking programmes should be introduced into the secondary school curriculum. More intensive approaches may be needed to influence the smoking behaviour of adolescent smokers.

Evaluation of a health resources management course for Nigerian doctors.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to evaluate the March 2010 edition of the regular biannual two-week course on health resources management organised by the National Postgraduate Medical College of Nigeria. The main objectives were to assess participants' perception of the course and to measure change in their knowledge brought about by the course. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: This is a primarily cross-sectional study but with a before and after component. The study population comprised all participants who attended the course. Data were collected using pre-tested structured self- administered questionnaires. Data analysis was done with Epi Info 3.5.1. Student's T-test was used to compare mean scores at pre-test and post-test and the p-value of <0.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: Majority (95.8%) of the participants were senior registrars from teaching hospitals and most of them (70.5%) claimed the course met their needs a great deal/to a large extent. The participants were satisfied to a varying degree with different aspects of the course but overall 50.9% claimed they got value for their money. There was a statistically significant difference in the knowledge score at pre- and post-test (t = 3.19, p = 0.002). CONCLUSION: The course met the needs of the participants largely and was able to improve their knowledge of health resources management as intended. A behaviour evaluation is recommended in order to assess the usefulness of the course to participants' practice.

Rational use of medicines: assessing progress using primary health centres in Shomolu local government area of Lagos, Nigeria.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVE: Medicines (drugs) are a critical component in the prevention and treatment of diseases. Their rational use is important to maximize their benefits and prevent undesirable effects. This study was conducted to assess progress with rational use of medicines at primary care level using recommended indicators. METHODS: The cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted in four primary health centres in Somolu Local Government Area (LGA) of Lagos State, Nigeria. It employed retrospective and prospective data collection methods. From the four centres, prescription notes of 600 clinical encounters spanning one year were analyzed for prescribing indicators and a checklist was administered for facility indicators. RESULTS: For the 600 clinical encounters studied, 2802 drugs were prescribed. The mean number of drugs per encounter was 4.7 ± 2.1; 75.6% of drugs were prescribed by generic name; prescriptions containing at least an antibiotic averaged 48.5%, while those with at least an injection prescribed were 21%. Of all the drugs prescribed, 83.2% were from the National Essential Drugs List (NEDL). On the average, 86.5% of key essential drugs were available in the health centres but none of the centres had a copy of the NEDL or drug formulary. There were wide variations in some of the indicators across the four facilities. CONCLUSION: The study showed progress in some indicators when compared with previous studies but gaps still exist. We recommend training on rational use of medicines for health workers in the facilities and distribution of copies of NEDL to all the facilities.