Perceptions of Nigerian medical students regarding their preparedness for precision medicine: a cross-sectional survey in Lagos, Nigeria

Background Advances in precision medicine in Nigeria suggest improving genomics education and competency among healthcare practitioners to facilitate clinical translation. Due to the scarcity of research in this area, this study aimed to assess Nigerian medical students’ perceptions about their preparedness to integrate precision medicine into their future clinical practice. Methods This was an institution-based cross-sectional study of medicine and surgery students in their clinical years attending the two fully accredited colleges of medicine in Lagos, Nigeria, between April and October 2022 using an adapted tool administered via Google Forms. The survey assessed their awareness, perceptions about knowledge, ability, and attitudes toward precision medicine, ethical concerns, and perceptions about their education in precision medicine. Multivariate linear regression models were used to assess factors associated with students’ perceptions of their knowledge, ability, and attitudes. Results A total of 300 students completed the questionnaires with a response rate of 40%. Awareness of genomic medicine terminology was high (92.0%). Responses to knowledge and ability questions revealed notable gaps, however, respondents had positive attitude scores overall. Higher medical school year was independently associated with lower knowledge (ptrend = 0.003) and ability (ptrend = 0.005) scores, and knowledge score was independently associated with a higher ability score (β: 0.76 95%CI: 0.67, 0.84; p Conclusion Despite high awareness of precision medicine terminology and overall positive attitudes, our findings highlight gaps in knowledge and ability to integrate genomics into the care of patients and a need to improve precision medicine education among Nigerian medical students

Knowledge of HIV/AIDS and Sexual Behaviour of Adolescents in a Sub-Saharan Cosmopolitan City

HIV/AIDS is a pandemic which affects mainly the reproductive age group of the population. Adequate knowledge and safe sexual behavior among young people is key to the eventual elimination of the disease. The aim of this study was to identify adolescents' knowledge of HIV/AIDS and their sexual behavior, as they form a significant at-risk group. This was a descriptive study of in-school adolescents carried out in Lagos, Nigeria. The respondents were 247 students selected by a multi-stage sampling method from public Secondary Schools. Data was obtained by self-administered questionnaires. Adolescents have good knowledge (84.2%) of key basic concepts on HIV/AIDS. Among those who had ever had sex, many (54.5%) were sexually active and 57.6% used condom with their partner at last intercourse. Out of the sexually active females 3(11.5%) reported a history of unwanted pregnancy. The adolescents' knowledge of HIV/AIDS was not found to be a significant determinant of their sexual behavior. In-school adolescents fail to recognize the fact their unsafe sexual behavior put them at a great risk of acquiring STDs including HIV infection and also unwanted pregnancy. We recommend sex education/family life education, behavioural change and condom use campaign for adolescents.Keywords: Adolescents; Risky behavior; Sexually active; Sexual behaviorNigerian Medical Practitioner Vol. 63 No 1-2, 201

Knowledge and attitude towards Lassa fever and its prevention among adults in Kosofe Local Government Area, Lagos State

Background: Lassa fever is an acute viral illness endemic in parts of West Africa such as Sierra Leone, Liberia, Guinea and Nigeria. Estimates of Lassa fever infections per year in West Africa are about 100,000 to 300,000 with approximately 5,000 deaths.Objectives: This study was carried out to determine the knowledge and attitude towards Lassa fever and its prevention among adults in Kosofe Local Government Area, Lagos state, Nigeria.Methods: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study, a total of 240 respondents were recruited using multi-stage sampling technique. Interviewer-administered structured questionnaires were administered. Data was analyzed using EPI Info Version 7 statistical software.Results: Only 4.2% of the respondents had good knowledge of Lassa fever and 92.1% had positive attitude towards the prevention of the disease. Almost all (90.8%) of the respondents had rats/rodents move freely in and around their house. More than four-fifth of the respondents (81.3%) saw a rat in their house in the last 24 hours. However, most (79.2%) of the respondents had good prevention practices. Most of the respondents who had secondary and tertiary education had positive attitude towards Lassa fever (p=0.006).Conclusion: There is need for an educational intervention to help improve the community knowledge of Lassa fever and also their environmental hygiene, which may in turn prevent them from contracting the disease.Keywords: Attitude, Environmental Hygiene, Knowledge, Lassa Fever, Prevention Practice

Acceptability of child adoption in the management of infertility: A survey of women attending fertility clinics in the tertiary facilities in Lagos

Introduction: Infertility is a major social problem with public health relevance in developing countries, with prevalence levels up to 30%. In contrast, the available treatment options for infertile couples are limited. Most times, the cost of this treatment is far beyond the reach of the common man and the success rates recorded with these treatments are minimal. This study was carried out to determine the knowledge, attitude, and practice of child adoption among infertile women attending fertility clinics in the public health facilities in Lagos, and to identify factors that may influence the willingness to adopt among these women. Materials and Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in the three government-owned tertiary fertility clinics in Lagos (namely the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), and the Federal Medical Center (FMC) Ebute-Metta) among 355 infertile women attending these clinics. Results: The majority of the respondents (90.1%) had heard of child adoption before and 28.7% of them had a good knowledge of the processes and legalities involved in child adoption. Almost two-thirds (63.7%) expressed their willingness to adopt, while 58.6% of the respondents felt that an adopted child could never be compared to a biological child. Factors that were significantly associated with the attitude toward child adoption included the level of education of the respondent, their religion, marital status, knowledge of child adoption, and duration of infertility (P < 0.05). Discussion: The high level of willingness to adopt in contrast to the low level of practice among infertile women in Lagos indicates the scope for advocacy and public enlightenment to integrate adoption into the arsenal of management of infertility

Preference for private hospital-based maternity services in inner-city Lagos, Nigeria: An observational study

Objectives To determine factors associated with maternal preference for delivery in private hospitals in an urban community in sub-Saharan Africa.Methods A cross-sectional study of socio-demographic and obstetric characteristics of mothers and their newborns attending Bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) immunization clinics in inner-city Lagos, Nigeria. Factors associated with delivery in private hospitals were determined using multivariable logistic regression analyses.Results Of the 3296 mothers enlisted for this study 1659 (50.3%) delivered in private hospitals and 1637 (49.7%) in public hospitals. Government hospitals had a higher proportion of doctors at delivery. Use of private obstetric services was significantly associated with ethnicity, religion, social class and obstetric history. Infants delivered at private hospitals were significantly more likely to be undernourished and have severe hyperbilirubinemia but less likely to be preterm and at no greater risk of hearing loss.Conclusions Current global strategies to expand facility-based deliveries in order to reduce maternal and child mortality rates need to be complemented by improved regulatory/supervisory framework at country levels to better serve mothers and their offspring in urban areas who may opt for private hospitals usually lacking adequate obstetric and pediatric facilities against the backdrop of the rapid urban transition in Africa.Maternal health Urban health Health-seeking behavior Immunization clinics Developing country

Innovative Breast Cancer Awareness and Advocacy Campaign

Breast cancer is a major disease in Nigeria; in 2012, 27,304 new occurrences were diagnosed, and the number of mortalities was 13,960. Greater than 70% of patients present with advanced disease, which has a poor survival outcome. The mortality rates are high mainly because of a lack of awareness about breast health, screening guidelines, and treatment centers, and because of sociocultural barriers. In Nigeria, health care professionals remain the backbone for the provision of medical information to the public. This is a study of the innovative ways that breast health and cancer awareness were promoted across communities and institutions in Lagos State, Nigeria, in 2015. Several community awareness campaigns were carried out in the forms of health talks, breast cancer screenings, radio and television interviews, and campaigns on social media. Anomalies noticed during the screenings were promptly referred to appropriate hospitals for additional treatment. The campaign culminated in the #12KLLP, or 12,000 people light Lagos pink, which was a Guinness World Record attempt for the largest human awareness ribbon formed for breast cancer. There was a total reach of 28,774,812 people across platforms: 285,318 were on social media, 3,620 were in communities, 7,466,276 were on the website, 20 million were through media events, 12,000 were through publications, 7,598 were verified participants at the Guinness World Record, and approximately 1 million were through blogs. Eighty partnerships were made with various private and government institutions to facilitate different aspects of the campaign. The community members were able to learn about the need for early detection and awareness; volunteerism and corporate social responsibility were promoted among individuals and corporate institutions

Provider and patient perceptions of malaria rapid diagnostic test use in Nigeria: a cross-sectional evaluation

Abstract Background Nigeria commenced a phased programmatic deployment of rapid diagnostic tests (RDT) at the primary health care (PHC) facility levels since 2011. Despite various efforts, the national testing rate for malaria is still very low. The uptake of RDT has been variable. This study was undertaken to determine the provider and patient perceptions to RDT use at the PHC level in Nigeria with their implications for improving uptake and compliance. Methods A cross-sectional survey was conducted in 120 randomly selected PHCs across six states, across the six-geopolitical zones of Nigeria in January 2013. Health facility staff interviews were conducted to assess health workers (HW) perception, prescription practices and determinants of RDT use. Patient exit interviews were conducted to assess patient perception of RDT from ten patients/caregivers who met the eligibility criterion and were consecutively selected in each PHC, and to determine HW’s compliance with RDT test results indirectly. Community members, each selected by their ward development committees in each Local Government Area were recruited for focus group discussion on their perceptions to RDT use. Results Health workers would use RDT results because of confidence in RDT results (95.4%) and its reduction in irrational use of artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) (87.2%). However, in Enugu state, RDT was not used by health workers because of the pervasive notion RDT that results were inaccurate. Among the 1207 exit interviews conducted, 549 (45.5%) had received RDT test. Compliance rate (administering ACT to positive patients and withholding ACT from negative patients) from patient exit interviews was 90.2%. Among caregivers/patients who had RDT done, over 95% knew that RDT tested for malaria, felt it was necessary and liked the test. Age of patients less than 5 years (p = 0.04) and “high” educational status (p = 0.0006) were factors influencing HW’s prescription of ACT to RDT negative patients. Conclusion The study demonstrated positive perception to RDT use by HW and among community members with good compliance rate among health workers at the PHC level. This positive perception should be explored in improving the current low level of malaria testing in Nigeria while addressing the influence of age on HW administration of ACT to RDT negative cases