Environmental and psychosocial predictors of breast cancer screening among women in Gwagwalada Area Council, Abuja, North Central, Nigeria

Introduction: Breast cancer (BC) is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality among women. Although screening is a known cost-effective strategy for reducing its burden, uptake remains sub-optimal. This study was designed to determine environmental and psychosocial predictors to uptake of screening services among women in Gwagwalada area council, Federal Capital Territory (FCT). Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted, and 514 women aged ≥25 years were interviewed using a semi-structured interviewer administered questionnaire. Data on socio-demography, knowledge, practice, and environmental/psychosocial barriers to screening was collected. Data analysis was done using IBM Statistical Packages for Social Sciences version 23. Results: The mean age of respondents was 38.36±11.6years. 275(53.5%) had good knowledge while 239(46.5%) had poor knowledge about BC. Assessment of utilization of screening method showed that 115(22%) of respondents had ever conducted a Breast Self-Examination while 1(0.2%) had conducted a mammography. Poor access routes (aOR:0.29 (95% CI: 0.118-0.701)), high cost of screening (aOR:0.29 (95% CI: 0.133-0.620)) and long waiting hours (aOR:0.25 (95% CI: 0.107-0.567)) were identified environmental predictors. Fear of positive diagnosis (aOR:11.41 (95% CI: 3.157-41.270)), fear of being tagged promiscuous (aOR:0.07 (95% CI: 0.007-0.810)), deficiency in awareness programs (aOR:0.39 (95% CI: 0.160-0.960)) and not aware of screening age (aOR:0.29 (95% CI: 0.102 – 0.809)), were found to be psychosocial predictors of screening. Conclusion: Screening for breast cancer among women in Gwagwalada area council was influenced by environmental and psychosocial factors. Findings from this study points to a great need in increasing sensitization programs, screening sites and subsidizing cost of screening services

Community perception and acceptability of COVID-19 vaccine in south-west Nigeria: an online cross-sectional study

Background: The development of COVID-19 vaccines holds great potential for controlling the spread of SARS COV 2. Vaccines, irrespective of the disease are generally fraught with hesitancy, and Nigeria has a history of vaccine hesitancy. Objective: This study aimed at determining the perception of community members about the COVID-19 vaccine and their readiness to accept the vaccine in South West, Nigeria. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study design was employed to collect data from consenting adults using a structured online questionnaire for a period of three weeks. Data were subjected to a Chi-square test and logistic regression for bivariate and multivariate analysis, respectively. Results: A total of 807 respondents participated in the survey with 57.7% males and 42.3% females. Forty-five respondents (5.6%) had previously been diagnosed with COVID-19 while 11.5% of the respondents had co-morbidity. The overall perception of COVID-19 vaccines was good. Fifty–nine (59%) percent of the respondents were willing to accept the vaccine and will also encourage their family members to take the vaccine. Vaccine origin and cost were determinants of vaccine acceptability. Non-acceptability of the vaccine (61.6%) was based on possible adverse effects of the vaccine and mistrust of the government. Educational level, skill status, type of employment and sector of employment were associated (p < 0.001) with the acceptability of the COVID-19 vaccine. Conclusions: Citizens were willing to take COVID-19 vaccines, however, lack of trust in government programs might undermine the vaccine campaign. Hence, the government needs to rebuild trust with the citizens towards achieving a high vaccination rate for COVID-19

Sexual knowledge, risk behavior, and access to reproductive health services among orphaned adolescents in Southwest Nigeria: implications for institutionalized care

IntroductionAn orphan has been defined as a child under 18 years of age who has lost one or both parents to any cause. It has been reported that for every 10 Nigerian children, 1 is likely to be an orphan. Adolescents are faced with a serious challenge in meeting their reproductive health need, which oftentimes becomes overwhelming especially when they are orphaned.ObjectivesWe compared institutionalized and non-institutionalized orphaned adolescents for their knowledge of sexuality, risky sexual practice, and access to reproductive health services.MethodsThe study adopted a cross-sectional descriptive study design conducted via structured, pretested, and interviewer-administered questionnaires among 205 orphaned adolescents (140 institutionalized and 65 non-institutionalized). Data were analyzed using the Statistical Product and Service Solution (SPSS version 25.0) and summarized using frequency, mean and percentages, and inferential statistics. All analyses were done at a 95% confidence interval and at a p &lt; 0.05 level of significance.ResultsThe knowledge levels of a majority of non-institutionalized respondents (73.8%) were good when compared with those in institutions (56.4%) (χ2 = 5.713, p = 0.017). Institutionalized orphans displayed better sexual behavior (80.7%) than non-institutionalized respondents (64.6%) (χ2 = 6.239, p = 0.011). Access to reproductive health services was found to be slightly higher among institutionalized respondents (66.4%) than among their non-institutionalized counterparts (64.6%).ConclusionInstitutionalized and non-institutionalized orphans differed in terms of their knowledge of sexuality, sexual behavior, and risky practices, including access to reproductive health services. This study demonstrated the effectiveness of institutionalized care of orphans toward improved access to reproductive health services and good sexual practices. In the light of this, the government and relevant stakeholders should advocate the need for providing better sexuality education and understanding, make sure that access barriers for orphans are removed and orphans utilize the facilities for reproductive health that are available, and also make sure that adolescent health policies are implemented effectively

International health regulations and pre-travel health practices of international travelers at Nigerian airport: a cross-sectional study

Abstract Background International Health Regulations (IHR) were developed by the World Health Organization (WHO) to curb the trans-border spread of epidemics. To our knowledge, no airport-based studies have assessed travelers’ health practices against a combination of diseases subject to IHR 2005. Therefore, we aimed to generate and describe the baseline travelers’ pre-travel health practices towards Cholera, Yellow Fever (YF), and Plague at Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) in Nigeria. Methods A cross-sectional study was employed to collect data from 486 international travelers using a multistage sampling technique. Pre-travel health practices (a combination of pre-travel consultation, pre-travel vaccination, and preventive measures against insect bites) were assessed using an interviewer-administered questionnaire. Logistic regression models were used to estimates the association between selected variables and pre-travel health practices. Statistical significance level was set at 5%. Results A total of 479 complete questionnaires were analyzed. The median age of respondents was 34.0 years Interquartile range (IQR) = 28.0, 44.0). Of the total respondents, 311 (64.3%) were aware of pre-travel health consultation and sources of information, amongst others, including friends/relatives in 180 (37.6%) travelers, social media/internet in 155 (32.4%) travelers, and health professionals in 102 (21.3%) travelers. Two hundred and seventy-one (56.6%) had pre-travel consultation, 156 (32.6%) had YF vaccination, and 226 (47.2%) were prepared to use preventive measures against insect bites. Only 10.6% had good pre-travel practices against the diseases subject to 2 International Health Regulations (IHR). Travelers with bachelor/college degrees, when compared to those with secondary/high education, had 2.91 times higher odds of having good practices when adjusting for other factors (95% C.I: 1.10, 7.70; p < 0.03). Also, those traveling to destinations endemic for YF infection, when compared to those who are not traveling to endemic countries/areas, had 48% lower odds of having good practices after adjusting for other factors (95% C.I: 1.41, 7.77; p < 0.01). Conclusions Our study revealed a low prevalence of good pre-travel health practices among participants. Educational level and endemicity of YF at the destination were predictors of pre-travel health practices. Introducing topics on travelers’ health into schools’ curriculums may have a ripple positive effect on health practices among international travelers. Also, there is a need for public enlightenment programs on pre-travel health practices using social media platforms