Taking the First Step towards Entrenching Mental Health in the Workplace: Insights from a Pilot Study Among HR Personnel in Nigeria

BACKGROUND: The continued relevance of optimal employee mental  health to sustainable human capital development in the workplace  underscores the need to start harnessing all resources that can be  mobilized to promote the entrenchment of workplace mental health. The strategic place of workplace Human Resource (HR) units in formulating and implementing workplace welfare schemes makes them potential partners. To actualize this, it is important to initially assess the preparedness of HR personnel for, and the possible barriers to entrenching mental health in the workplace. To suggest the initial course of action and to serve as a  template for a robust large-scale study, we conduct a pilot assessment of the experience with, attitudes towards, and level of prioritization of mental health in the workplace among a cohort of HR personnel in Nigeria.METHODS: Participants were recruited in the course of a seminar/workshop and questionnaires were developed by authors to assess variables of interest. Attitudes were examined using an adapted form of the Link's Discrimination-Devaluation (LD-D) scale.RESULTS:A total of 90 human-resource personnel completed the  questionnaires. Only 16% of the participants reported having handled the case of an employee with a suspected mental health problem in the preceding 2 years. Attitudes toward employees and prospective employees with mental illness were largely poor. For instance, more than 70% werelikely to consider for employment someone with a pre-existing physical disability than for someone with a history of mental illness. In terms of workplace health promotion priorities, physical health seminars took wide precedence over mental health seminars.CONCLUSION: The preliminary findings of this pilot study justify a need to conduct a large scale study. Significant challenges encountered in the course of this pilot study were highlighted while insights were drawn for the conduct of the main study/project.KEY WORDS: mental health, occupational health, workplace, HR personnel, attitude

Omentalisation as adjunctive treatment of an infected femoral nonunion fracture: a case report

A three-year-old male working border collie with an infected femoral nonunion fracture was managed in a two-stage procedure involving debridement and omentalisation, followed by stabilisation with a bone plate and an autogenous cancellous bone graft. Osseous union was documented radiographically 16 weeks after surgery. Telephone follow-up one year later revealed the dog had returned to full working function without evidence of lameness. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first clinical case described in the veterinary literature using omentalisation as an adjunct to the management of an infected, biologically inactive nonunion fracture

The role of men in early detection of their spouses' breast lump(s)/cancer

Husbands influence their wives' health behavior. Yet, their role in helping to detect their spouses' breast lumps is hardly considered. We aim to determine whether men can be of help in the early detection of lumps in their spouses' breast. 230 questionnaires were administered to married men. The responses were accepted as “yes” or “no. 217 men (94.35%) responded. 195 (89.86%) were aware of breast cancer. 212 ( 97.7%) were either Christians or Muslims. 64. (29.54%) had tertiary education. 192 ( 88.4%) (p <0.0001) signified willingness to examine their wives' breasts and a similar percentage supported breast self-examination (BSE) (p <0.0001). 193( 89%) of respondents supported clinical breast examination (CBE) (p <0.0001).We concluded married men are aware of breast cancer and BSE as practiced by their spouses. They welcome the idea of examining their wife's breast to detect lump(s). We suggest their inclusion in the bid for the early detection of their spouses' breast lump(s)Keywords: female breast cancer, men's role, early detection

Opracowanie i wstępne badania nad przyjaznym kulturowo narzędziem do oszacowania bólu u dzieci − Skala Bólu wg Wizerunków Płaczących Twarzy (Crying Faces Pain Scale)

Having a universal tool for assessing pain in children is hamstrung by cultural sensitivity. This study aimed to develop and validate a culturally-friendly pain assessment tool (i.e. Crying Faces Pain Scale (CFPS)) among Nigerian Children. This study employed criterion-standard design. The study was in three phases, namely: (1) development of CFPS, (2) cross-validity and (3) validation of the CFPS. 70 children (39 (55.7%) males and 31 (44.3%) females) within the age range of 4-13 years who had post-surgical pain, orthopaedic pain, stomach pain or headache were involved in the validation phase. Psychometric properties and preferences for the CFPS compared with the Wong-Baker FACES Pain Rating Scale (FACES) were examined. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze the data. Alpha level was set at p<0.05. The median score of the CFPS was 4.60 compared to FACES median score of 4.49. There was weak correlation between FACES and CFPS (r=0.325; p=0.006). Preference score as a culturally friendly tool for CFPS and FACES was 6.07±1.23 and 3.67±1.09 respectively, based on a modified 0-10 numerical pain scale. Conclusions: The crying faces pain scale has fair psychometric properties for assessing pain in children. However, CFPS was preferred to FACES as a culturally friendly tool for assessing pain among Nigerian children. Implications: The CFPS is more culturally friendly and so might be better suited as a pain scale in Africa. However, due to its fair psychometric properties, further studies may be needed to improve upon this scale.Podstawy i cele: Posiadanie uniwersalnego narzędzia do oceny bólu u dzieci jest utrudnione przez wrażliwość kulturową. Badanie to miało na celu opracowanie i walidację przyjaznego kulturowo narzędzia do oceny bólu u dzieci tj. Skali Bólu wg Wizerunków Płaczących Twarzy (Crying Faces Pain Scale, CFPS) wśród nigeryjskich dzieci. Metody: W badaniu tym zastosowano standard wzorcowy. Badanie odbyło się w 3 fazach, mianowicie: 1) opracowanie CFPS, 2) walidacja krzyżowa oraz 3) walidacja CFPS. W fazie walidacji wzięło udział 70 dzieci, (39 (55.7%) chłopców i 31 (44.3%) dziewcząt) w przedziale wiekowym 4-13 lat, cierpiących na ból pooperacyjny, ból ortopedyczny, ból brzucha czy ból głowy. Zbadano właściwości psychometryczne i preferencje dla CFPS, w porównaniu z Graficzną Skalą Oceny Bólu Wonga-Bakera (FACES, Wong-Baker Faces Pain Rating Scale). Do analizy danych wykorzystano statystyki opisowe i inferencyjne. Poziom Alpha ustawiono na p<0.05. Wyniki: Średni wynik dla CFPS wyniósł 4,60, w porównaniu do średniego wyniku FACES wynoszącego 4,49. Wystąpiła słaba korelacja pomiędzy FACES a CFPS (r=0,325; p=0,.006). Preferowany wynik dla kulturowo przyjaznego narzędzia dla CFPS i FACES wyniósł odpowiednio 6,07 ±1,23 i 3,67 ±1,09, na podstawie zmodyfikowanej liczbowej skali bólu 0-10. Wnioski: Skala CFPS ma wystarczające właściwości psychometryczne do szacowania bólu u dzieci. Jednak preferowano bardziej CFPS niż FACES, jako bardziej przyjazne kulturowo narzędzie do oceny bólu wśród dzieci w Nigerii. Implikacje: CFPS jest bardziej przyjazny kulturowo i dlatego mógłby być bardziej odpowiedni, jako skala bólu w Afryce. Jednak, ze względu na swoje właściwości psychometryczne, potrzebne będą dalsze badania w celu poprawy tej skali