Cervical Cancer Screening by Female Workers in South East Nigeria

Cervical cancer is one of the commonest female cancers especially in developing countries. Efforts towards its prevention worldwide have focused on screening women at risk of disease using Pap smears and treating pre-cancerous lesions. A good knowledge and understanding of the level of practice of cervical cancer screening among female workers in south east Nigeria will help in creating population-specific healthcare programs and interventions aimed at improving women’s health. OBJECTIVES: To determine the perception and practice of cervical cancer screening among female workers in south east Nigeria as well as ascertain the influence of age, educational status and marital status on the practice of cervical cancer screening among this group. METHOD: A cross-sectional descriptive study carried out among female workers in Nnewi who were selected using multi-stage approach between December 2007 and January 2008. Tests of statistical significance were done using chi square test at 95% confidence interval. RESULTS A total of 172 females responded. The mean age was 29.7 ± 8.8 years and the ages ranged from 15 to 65 years. One hundred and twenty-three respondents (71.5%) knew about cervical cancer screening. Only 12 (9.8%) of the respondents who were aware of Pap smear had done the test, of which 9 (75.0%) had disease detected. There was no statistically significant association between educational level, age andmarital status respectively and the practice of cervical cancer screening. CONCLUSION: There is avery lowlevel of practice of cervical cancer screening in this group. Educational level, age and marital status were found not to affect the practice of cervical cancer screening. Key Words: Cervical cancer, workers, practice, Nigeri

A Review of Stroke Cases in a Military Hospital in Nigeria

BACKGROUND: CVA (Stroke) remains one of the most common neurological illnesses in the country, accounting for a greater percentage of morbidity and morality. Its increasing prevalence is a source of worry to most health personnel. OBJECTIVES: The aim of the study is to review the patient characteristic, risk factors, clinical features and prognostic factors among the patients with CVA who were admitted within the period under review; with a view to reinforcing measure to address this factor. METHOD: This is a retrospective study of all new patient managed for stroke in the medical ward of Military hospital, Port Harcourt from January 1, 2012 to October 31, 2012. RESULT: A total of 37 patients were admitted with stroke during the period under review. The males were 19 (51.3%) and females, 18 (48.7%). Hypertension (81.1%), Deranged lipid profile (45.9%) and diabetics (24.3%) were the commonest risk factors for stroke. HIV accounted for 10.8% of the patients, and it was also the risk factor in all the patients less than 50yrs. Sixteen (43.2%) patients had left hemparesis, 14(37.8%) right hemiparesis, while global was 7 (18.9%). A total of 7 deaths were recorded in the first 72hrs of admission. CONCLUSION: Stroke still contributes significantly to the increasing mortality and morbidity among patients admitted in our hospitals. Modifiable risk factors should be aggressively addressed to reduce the burden of stroke in our society. Keywords: Stroke, Military Hospital, Nigeria

Weekend versus weekday hospital deaths: Analysis of in‑patient data in a Nigerian tertiary healthcare center

Aim: This study aims at comparing weekday deaths to weekend deaths of in‑patients of a tertiary hospital in Nigeria.Materials and Methods: This is a 10‑year retrospective survey conducted at the Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital in which the death records of the hospital were accessed from the various wards and health records department to extract relevant data pertaining to the time of hospital death. Tests of statistical significance were done using Chi‑square test at 95% confidence intervals.Results: A total of 3934 deaths were recorded during the period of study. The ages ranged from a few hours to 94 years with a mean age of 38.5 years. The male to female ratio was 1.2:1. An average of 547 weekend deaths and 568 weekday deaths were recorded, giving a ratio of 0.96:1. A ratio of weekend to weekday death rate of 0.99:1 and 0.93:1 for the males and females, respectively was noted. The labor ward, followed by the intensive care unit (ICU) had the highest weekend to weekday death ratio of 1.72:1 (P = 0.0461) and 1.41:1 (P = 0.1440), respectively. Weekend deaths were less in the other wards, with the gynaecological ward having the least ratio of 0.63:1 (P = 0.7360).Conclusion: The rate of hospital deaths was generally found not to vary significantly over the weekends and weekdays in the hospital except for the labor ward which had significantly higher weekend to weekday death rates of 1.72:1. There is therefore need for confidential enquiry into the causes of hospital deaths, especially in the labor ward, in order to identify and prevent avoidable deaths.Keywords: Hospital deaths, in‑patients, weekend deathsNigerian Journal of Clinical Practice • Oct-Dec 2013 • Vol 16 • Issue

Perception and Practice of Periodic Medical Checkup by Traders in South East Nigeria

BACKGROUND Periodic medical checkup helps improve life expectancy. Traders are a major economically active population in south eastern Nigeria and are expected to benefit from periodic medical checkup. A good knowledge and understanding of the prevailing health knowledge, attitude and preventive health behaviour of these traders is essential for creating population-specific health programs. OBJECTIVES To determine the knowledge, attitude and practice of periodic medical checkup by traders in South east Nigeria, as well as the influence of age, gender and educational status on its practice in this group. METHODS: A questionnaire- based descriptive study carried out among traders in Nnewi, South east Nigeria, who were selected randomly between September and October 2010. A total of 323 traders responded, 252 males (78.0%) and 71(22.0%)females. Themeanagewas 31.9± 10 years and the ages ranged from15 to 65 years withmajority(49.2%) between 20-29 years. Majority (61.0%) had secondary school education and 1.2% had post secondary school education. About 74.9% were aware of periodic medical checkup; all females and 67.9% of males. Major source of information was through friends (61.2%), then mass media(18.2%). The commonest known type of medical checkup was general examination (60.7%), then blood pressure measurement (55.4%). About 63.8% feel everybody needs medical checkup. Most (85.5%) feel medical checkups can improve their work efficiency. Only 29.4% of males and 39.4% of females practice periodic medical checkup. Age, gender and educational status were found not to affect practice of periodic medical checkup significantly. CONCLUSION: This study revealed a high level of awareness of periodic medical checkup, but a very low level of practice among this group. Effort should be made by health agencies to educate traders on the various types of medical check up, their indications and benefits as well as its practice encouraged. Keywords: Periodic medical checkup, traders,Nigeria

Assessment of an oil palm population from Nigerian Institute for Oil Palm Research (NIFOR) for simple sequence repeat (SSR) marker application

Oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.), a monocotyledonous plant belonging to the Arecaceae family, is one of the most important oil crops in the world. In Nigeria, oil palm has benefited immensely from conventional breeding efforts resulting in high yields that have been achieved with this breeding material. However, oil palm breeding is slow and time-consuming due to a breeding cycle of about 10 years. In addition, the process of outcrossing leads to high variation in yield components and vegetative traits. Although DNA marker technologies offer great possibilities for plant breeding through marker-assisted selection, there are so far no reports of its application to oil palm breeding in Nigeria. In this study, 32 SSR markers were used for the assessment of marker application in an oil palm breeding population coming from the extensive breeding program at the Nigerian Institute for Oil Palm Research (NIFOR). Seven SSR markers out of the 32 tested (22%) segregated in the progeny 12 (tenera x Deli dura). SSR markers mEgCIR0059, mEgCIR1917, mEgCIR3260, mEgCIR3275, mEgCIR3533 and mEgCIR3557 proved to be fully informative markers following a segregation ratio of 1:1:1:1, while marker mEgCIR0074 segregated in a 1:1 ratio.Keywords: Oil palm, microsatellite marker, marker-assisted selection, NIFORAfrican Journal of Biotechnology, Vol 13(14), 1529-154

Knowledge of Cervical Cancer and its Screening Amongst Female Workers In Nnewi, Nigeria

Background: Cervical cancer is an important women's reproductive health problem, especially in developing countries. Efforts towards its prevention worldwide have focused on screening women at risk of disease using Pap smears and treating pre-cancerous lesions. A good knowledge and understanding of the level of awareness of cervical cancer and its screening among female workers in Nnewi will help in creating population-specific health programs. Objectives: This is to determine the awareness of cervical cancer screening among female workers in Nnewi as well as ascertain the influence of age, educational status and marital status on the awareness of cervical cancer screening among this group. Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study carried out among female workers in Nnewi who were selected using multi-stage approach between December, 2007 and January, 2008. Results: A total of 172 females responded. The mean age was 29.7 ± 8.8 years and the ages ranged from 15 to 65 years. A total of 146 respondents (84.9%) were aware of cervical cancer. One hundred and twenty-three respondents (71.5%) knew about the Pap smear screening test. Educational level was found to significantly affect the awareness of cervical cancer and Pap smear screening test. Age and marital status were found not to affect awareness of cervical cancer and Pap smear screening test. Conclusion: There is relatively high level of awareness of cervical cancer and Pap smear test among this group. Educational status was found to significantly influence the level of awareness of cervical cancer and its screening. Key words: cervical cancer, knowledge, screening. Afrimedic Journal 2010; 1(1): 31-3

Monitoring and evaluation of policies, programmes and projects

BookThe need for results delivery in private and public sector organisations has increased, with stakeholders putting substantial pressure on organisations to demonstrate good performance in an environment with limited operational resources. In effect, organisations are being expected to deliver better results with fewer resources. By employing the appropriate tools and techniques of monitoring and evaluation, organisations can be better equipped to ensure that "what is planned" becomes "what is achieved". Monitoring and evaluation of policies, programmes and projects explains key concepts and practices involved in performance tracking and assessment. Monitoring and evaluation of policies, programmes and projects has drawn from the diverse experiences and expertise of the authors in public and private sector management of organisations, as well as practical insights gained from practitioners and students at various training courses, nationally and internationally. The balance between the more abstract, theoretical underpinnings of the subject and its practical aspects makes it easy to follow and incorporate. Contents include the following: Conceptual models of the policy process; the fundamentals and practical steps of policy monitoring and evaluation; the result-based management approach; tools and techniques for monitoring and evaluation; the use of research of policies, programmes and projects

Insecticidal net distribution channel that is rural women-friendly, in abia south, Nigeria

Background: Government channel for distributing free insecticidal nets stop at the health centers. About 70% of rural women who do not access this health facility fail to collect the free nets. Alternative channel for reaching these women is hereby advocated. Materials and Methods: An interventional study was carried out in eight randomly selected villages of Abia South. Experimental and control groups were assigned four villages each. Sample size for each group was 200 households systematically selected. Questionnaire and interview guide were instruments for data collection. Data were analyzed quantitatively.  Chi-square statistic was used in testing for statistical significance.Results: Before intervention, ownership and utilization of treated nets inexperimental group were 36.5% and 28.8%, respectively, while in the control group, it was 38% and 30.0%, respectively. Ownership and  utilization of treated nets in experimental group increased by 54.5% and 46.5%, respectively, after intervention. In the control group, where there were no interventional activities carried out, ownership and utilization of treated nets showed no significant increase.Conclusion: Health promotion intervention, fixed-install mental  payment-basis for net cost, and home-based net distribution channel scaled up net ownership and utilization by 54.5% and 46.5%, respectively, in the study area.Key words: Abia South, Net distribution channel, Nigeria, Rural women-friendl