Role Duality among School-age Children Participating in Farming in Some Villages in Kwara State, Nigeria

The paper examines rural children’s role duality as school pupils and farm participants. Multi-stage cluster random sampling was used to elicit data from 229 respondents aged between five and sixteen years. It was found that 44 per cent of the respondents were simultaneously schooling and farming, while the remaining were only either in school or farming. Using eight common farm activities, a coefficient of farm participation (cfp) was computed, while another eight agricultural innovations were used to compute agricultural innovation awareness index (awi) for each respondent. It was found that no significant difference existed in farm participation levels of respondents attending school and those that were not, while a significant difference in innovation awareness (awi) existed in favour of respondents in school. Parental influence, peer group and school farms were also found to be significantly related to respondents’ participation in agriculture. It is thus imperative to keep rural children in school even as they are engaged in farming activities

Factors affecting farmers’ participation in irrigation schemes of the lower Niger River Basin and rural development authority, Kwara State, Nigeria

In Nigeria the performances of many governments owned irrigation schemes have fallen short of expectation. Management issues and steps required to ensure sustainable growth in irrigated agriculture were not given proper attention. This study therefore examined those factors affecting farmers’ participation in irrigated agriculture at the Lower Niger River Basin Development Authority (LNRBDA) in Kwara State, Nigeria. One hundred and sixty (160) respondents were selected from communities around LNRBDA site at Oke Oyi for this study through a two-stage sampling procedures. Data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics and logistic regression model. The result showed that majority of respondents were farmers within the economic active age and relatively literate. They identified factors affecting farmers’ participation in the scheme to include poor knowledge of irrigation techniques(78.3%), Insufficient water for irrigation during the dry season (80.5%), high cost of labour (75.8%), Lack of access to credit facility (76.6%), poor response to farmers’ needs by the Authority (85.2%), Irregular pumping of water (86.7),. Consequently, the study recommended encouragement of participatory irrigation scheme (PIM) in which farmers would take charge of daily allocation of water while the authority serves as supervisory body and stepping up of extension activities within the surrounding villages.Keywords: Irrigation, Water, Participatory Irrigation Management, LNRBD

Maternal mortality audit in a tertiary health institution in Nigeria: Lessons from direct causes and its drivers

Introduction: Nigeria has the second highest number of maternal deaths in the world.The study aimed at determining the causes of and non-obstetric contributors to maternal mortality at a tertiary referral hospital.Materials and Methods: It was a prospective audit of all consecutive maternal deaths in the hospital over a three-year period. Immediately after the death,information was retrieved via a data collection form.Data were analysed with SPSS-20.Results: Seventy deaths were examined over the study period. Maternal mortality ratio was 1,265/100,000 live births.The annual ratio decreased steadily over the study period.Most of the deaths were of multiparous women who had not received any antenatal care,and were mostly postpartum, within 24 hours of delivery.Most of them were critically ill on admission to the hospital. Major causes of death were haemorrhage (36%), sepsis (17%) and hypertensive disorders (16%).Delays were identified in 34.3% of cases;most (70.1%) were Phase III delays.Discussion: Direct causes of maternal mortality are consistent with those found in literature. Steps which the centre has been taken to counter direct and non-obstetric causes are discussed. Possible strategies to improve health financing and referral system are proffered.Keywords: Maternal mortality,delay

Assessment of the contribution of mushroom production on the livelihood of farmers in Oyo State, Nigeria

The study was carried out to investigate the contributions of mushroom production on the livelihood of farmers in Oyo State. The study was carried out in Ido LGA, Surulere LGA and Akinyele LGA to investigate the contributions of mushroom production on the livelihood of farmers in Oyo State. A total of 202 respondents were selected using Multi – stage sampling design. Data were collected using a set of questionnaire analysis of the data obtained from the questionnaire was carried out through the use of 5 likert scale, descriptive and regression analysis were used for data analysis. The result shows that majority (83.2%) of the respondents affirmed that cultivation of mushroom can improve farmers’ livelihood, majority (74.3%) of the respondents did not agree that engaging in mushroom production will likely take most of their time. The perceived benefits derived from mushroom shows that strong bone formation was ranked 1st while increase in income ranked 6th. Regression analysis reveals that age (1%), marital status (1%), educational qualification (5%), other source of income (5%), years of experience (1%), and species of mushroom (1%), were all significant. Keywords: Assessment, contribution, mushroom production, livelihoo

Epidemiological Factors in Prevalence of Malaria Parasites in Primary Health Facilities Attendees, Ogun State, Nigeria

Malaria caused by Plasmodium species is often observed in areas where malaria is endemic. Malaria prevalence in metropolitan Abeokuta of Ogun State, Nigeria was studied between October, 2012 and January 2013. Oral interviews were used to get personal data of participants. Blood samples were obtained from 384 consented participants from the seven primary health centers. Blood film examination using Giemsa staining techniques was used to detect malaria parasites in the blood. From the 384 participants examined 273 (71.1%) were positive with malaria parasites. Species detected included Plasmodium falciparum (95.6%), Plasmodium malariae (3.3%), P. ovale (0.7%) and P. vivax (0.4%). The age-group 1-11 years had the highest malaria prevalence 94 (81%) while 51-60 had the least 6(54.5%). The malaria prevalence in relation to age was significant (p=0.011, p<0.05). The males 110 (73.8%) were slightly more affected than the females 163 (69.4%), but not statistically significant (p=0.347, p>0.05). Malaria prevalence was significantly higher among those with no formal education 80 (81.6%) and least among post-secondary educational. Prevalence among occupational groups showed significant difference, where the unemployed group were more infected and the retiree group had the least infection (p=0.014, p<0.05). The singles (56.4%) were more infected than the married (43.6%). The prevalence in relation to age was significant (p=0.000, p<0.05). The study has revealed that malaria disease can affect all age groups and both males and females’ sexes irrespective of their educational and occupational cadre. Public enlightenment efforts need to be intensified towards the prevention of malaria

Evaluation of Rapid Methods in Malaria Diagnosis from Persons attending Primary Health Facilities, Ogun State, Nigeria

Malaria in Nigeria is treated blindly in most cases and where diagnostic measures exist, efficacies of several are still in doubt. This study evaluated performance of microscopy and rapid (RDT) methods in confirming prevalence of malaria parasites (MP),parasite species and percent parasitized red blood cells in 384 persons systematically selected from seven primary healthcare facilities in Ogun State, Nigeria from October to December 2012. Giemsa thin and thick film techniques and RDT (SD Bioline Ag P.f/Pan kit) were employed on the blood samples. Data were analysed using SPSS version 16. Demographic results showed that females were 61% and males 39%,but of varying age groups. Seventy-one percent of the blood samples were positive for MP by microscopic blood films, and only 24% samples were positive by RDT. Paired sample T-test showed a significant difference (P=0.000)between microscopy and RDT methods. Of the 273 positive blood samples,95.6%were P. falciparum,3.3% were P. malariae, 0.7% was P. ovale and P. vivax (0.4%). For RDT, P. falciparum was 74% while mixed infections were 26%. Prevalence in risk groups 0–10 and 11–20 age groups was observed to be higher with significant differences (p=0.011, p=0.023) for both microscopy and RDT respectively. RDT sensitivity and specificity were 23.4% and 74.7% compared to microscopy. Positive Predictive Value and Negative Predictive Value were 69.6% and 28.4%. The efficiency of the RDT was 38.3%. The low sensitivity of RDT observed means that malaria diagnosis by microscopy method remains the gold standar

Medical causes of admissions to hospital among adults in Africa: a systematic review.

BACKGROUND: Despite the publication of several studies on the subject, there is significant uncertainty regarding the burden of disease among adults in sub-Saharan Africa (sSA). OBJECTIVES: To describe the breadth of available data regarding causes of admission to hospital, to systematically analyze the methodological quality of these studies, and to provide recommendations for future research. DESIGN: We performed a systematic online and hand-based search for articles describing patterns of medical illnesses in patients admitted to hospitals in sSA between 1950 and 2010. Diseases were grouped into bodily systems using International Classification of Disease (ICD) guidelines. We compared the proportions of admissions and deaths by diagnostic category using χ2. RESULTS: Thirty articles, describing 86,307 admissions and 9,695 deaths, met the inclusion criteria. The leading causes of admission were infectious and parasitic diseases (19.8%, 95% confidence interval [CI] 19.6-20.1), respiratory (16.2%, 95% CI 16.0-16.5) and circulatory (11.3%, 95% CI 11.1-11.5) illnesses. The leading causes of death were infectious and parasitic (17.1%, 95% CI 16.4-17.9), circulatory (16%, 95% CI 15.3-16.8) and digestive (16.2%, 95% CI 15.4-16.9). Circulatory diseases increased from 3.9% of all admissions in 1950-59 to 19.9% in 2000-2010 (RR 5.1, 95% CI 4.5-5.8, test for trend p<0.00005). The most prevalent methodological deficiencies, present in two-thirds of studies, were failures to use standardized case definitions and ICD guidelines for classifying illnesses. CONCLUSIONS: Cardiovascular and infectious diseases are currently the leading causes of admissions and in-hospital deaths in sSA. Methodological deficiencies have limited the usefulness of previous studies in defining national patterns of disease in adults. As African countries pass through demographic and health transition, they need to significantly invest in clinical research capacity to provide an accurate description of the disease burden among adults for public health policy

Sexual behavior and experience of sexual coercion among secondary school students in three states in North Eastern Nigeria

BACKGROUND: Interest in the reproductive health of adolescents continues to grow throughout the world. Few studies had explored the reproductive health knowledge, sexual behavior and experience of sexual coercion among secondary school students in North Eastern states of Nigeria. The objectives of this descriptive survey were to collect data to plan appropriate interventions that meet the reproductive health knowledge, service and skills needs of students in Bauchi, Borno and Gombe states. METHODS: Face-to-face interviews were conducted for 624 consenting students who were randomly selected from eighteen secondary schools using an 83-item structured questionnaire. Data were collected on demographic profile, reproductive health knowledge, sexual behavior and experience of sexual coercion. RESULTS: The mean age of the respondents was 16.5 years. There were slightly more males (52%) than females (48%). Students' knowledge about reproductive health was generally low even though girls had better knowledge than boys. Thirteen percent of the entire students had had sexual experience; significantly more males (19%) than females (6%) had done so (p < 0.001). Among boys the age at sexual debut ranged from 10–26 with a mean of 15.7 and median of 16. By contrast, the age at first sex among girls ranged from 10 to 18 years with a mean and median of 16.1 and 17 years respectively. Only 24% of those who were sexually active used a condom during their last sexual encounter. Overall 11% of the students reported that they had been tricked into having sex, 9% had experienced unwanted touch of breast and backside, and 5% reported rape. CONCLUSION: Students low reproductive health knowledge and involvement in risky sexual activities predispose them to undesirable reproductive health outcomes

Small-scale farmers indigenous approach to soil fertility in some villages of Oyo State, Nigeria.

This study is an attempt to highlight the indigenous approach used by farmers to determine the level of fertility of a soil. It was found that soil colour, certain grasses, shrubs, trees, weeds and worm casts were dominant criteria used by majority (87%) of the respondents. Similarly without visiting a farm plot, farmers assess the fertility of a soil sample by using colour, decaying plant (debris), soil texture, stickiness and weight of the soil as common approach. It is suggested that further research should be conducted to determine the contribution of grasses such as corn grass, Gamba grass, spear grass, shrubs such as broom weed and weeds such as Afranomum scaptum to soil nutrient enhancement. This could give greater insight to improving the indigenous approach of these small - scale farmers.Keywords: Indigenous approach, soil fertility assessment, small - scale farmers, Nigeria