Seven year review of retention in HIV care and treatment in federal medical centre Ido-Ekiti

Introduction: Poor retention of patients in care is a major driver of poor performance and increased  morbidity and mortality in HIV/AIDS programme despite the expansion and advancement Anti-retroviral Therapy (ART). The objective of this study is to assess retention rates and possible determining factors in People Living with HIV (PLHIV) on ART. Methods: This is a descriptive, cross-sectional study conducted in Federal Medical Center, Ido-Ekiti, Nigeria. Medical records of clients who were enrolled in ART Care and support unit (HIV Clinic) of the health facility from 2005 to 2012 were reviewed and analyzed using SPSS version 16. A total of 621 client records were reviewed for basic demographic information, CD4 count, WHO stage, number of follow-up visit, client ART status and client retention status (defined as client attending at least one clinic visit in 2012. Results: A total of 347(63%) patients were retained in care and 208(37%) were not retained over the seven year review period. Retention was statistically significant with age (P-value 0.031), ART status (P-value 0.000) baseline CD4 (P-value 0.004), year of diagnosis and ART initiation (P-value= 0.027). Poor retention was associated decreasing age, pre-ART client, HIV stage 1&IV client and baseline CD4 above 400cell/mm3. Conclusion: Retention in care of PLHIV is a minimum necessary condition for maintaining or restoring health in the long run. The strategies to sustain and improve retention rate should be adopted to maximize ART benefits. A follow-up study on other factors affecting retention from diagnosis to long term retention ART programme is recommended.Key words: AIDS, antiretroviral, CD4, HIV, retentio

PERCEPTION AND WILLINGNESS TO THE UPTAKE OF COVID-19 VACCINE AMONG HOUSEHOLD-HEADS IN A RURAL COMMUNITY OF SOUTH-WESTERN NIGERIA

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic and its vaccine have been met with varying perceptions that may have both negative and positive effects on the willingness to uptake the COVID-19 vaccine. The study is set to determine the perception and willingness of the household heads to the uptake of COVID-19 vaccine in a rural community in Southwestern, Nigeria. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out among 409 household heads selected through a multistage sampling technique. The instrument of data collection was a semi-structured interviewer-administered questionnaire using the Health Belief model constructs. Data were analyzed with IBM SPSS version 21.0 and Pearson's Chi-square test was used to determine the association between perception and willingness to uptake vaccine. P<0.05 was taken as significant at 95% confidence interval. Results: The majority of the unvaccinated respondents in the study were not willing to take the COVID-19 vaccine (60.1%). There was a poor perception of the susceptibility/severity of unvaccinated respondents to COVID-19 infection and a poor perception of the benefit/barrier to the uptake of the COVID-19 vaccine. Perception of susceptibility and severity of COVID-19 infection were statistically related to the willingness to uptake the COVID-19 vaccine. Conclusion: There should be an increase in awareness campaigns to change the perception of people positively to COVID-19 infection and uptake of the COVID-19 vaccine

Prevalence, Awareness, and Factors Associated with Noise‑induced Hearing Loss in Occupational Motorcyclists in Southwestern Nigeria

Background: There is generally a lack of awareness among professional motorcycle riders on the risk of noise-induced hearing loss; due to a variety of factors, they are exposed to by the nature of their job. This study, therefore, aimed to determine the prevalence, awareness, and factors associated with noise-induced hearing loss among motorcycle riders in Ido-Ekiti, Ekiti State, Nigeria. Methodology: A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted between February and March 2019 among 420 motorcycle riders in Ido-Ekiti, Ekiti State, Southwestern Nigeria. Data analyses were performed using the SPSS software version 20. P≤ 0.05 was considered as statistically significant. Three hundred and sixty of the total of 420 consented for pure-tone audiometry which was done to assess their hearing thresholds. Results: Majority of the respondents had at least a secondary level of education. About 14.5% of the total study population had hearing loss, among which 15% also reported an accompanying ear discharge. All of the respondents did not have any history of hearing loss before they started the occupation. More than half of the study population was aware of noise-induced hearing loss and was able to link it to their profession. None of the study participants used a hearing aid, but 17.9% reported using ear mufflers and 16.2% used earphones while riding. Conclusion: Majority of our respondents had secondary school education and 14.5% of the total study population reported hearing loss, among which 15% also reported an accompanying ear discharge. Furthermore, more than half of the study population was aware of noise-induced hearing loss and was able to link it to their profession, whereas 50% agreed that their occupation placed them at risk of hearing loss

Health-seeking behavioural practices of the elderly in rural community of Ekiti State, Southwestern Nigeria

Background: The aging process increases the risks of contracting a disease among elderly people. Health-seeking behaviour is poor among the aged in sub-Saharan countries like Nigeria, escalating the burden of noncommunicable diseases and the cost of health care which further impact the utilisation of orthodox medicine. Aim: This study aims to assess the health-care-seeking behavioural practices and associated factors among elderly people in Ido-Ekiti. Materials and Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among 420 elderly respondents in Ido-Ekiti. An interviewer-administered semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect information. The data collected were analyzed using SPSS version 25 and results were presented in the form of tables and bar charts. Chi-square tests were used to test for associations. All data analysis was done at a 5% level of significance. Results: The age range of respondents was between 65 and 95 years, with a mean age of 73.88 ± 6.84 years and 64.0% within the age range of 65–75 years. About 63.3% of the respondents have had an episode of illness in the last year preceding the study and only 35.3% consulted a doctor for treatment (good health-seeking behaviour); however, 57.9% of the respondents admitted utilising any of the following: self-medication, consult spiritualist, and use of herbal medicine (poor health-seeking behaviour). The factors statistically significantly associated with respondents' health-seeking behavioural practices are employment status (P < 0.001), educational level (P < 0.002), cost of health care, access to the health facility, length of time before consultation, beliefs, and lack of support from relations (P < 001). Conclusion: This study shows that the majority of the elderly had poor health-seeking behaviour due to educational and economic factors. Making the free or subsidized cost of health care for the elderly in rural communities and the provision of monthly financial support to the aged by the government will promote and encourage good health-seeking behaviour of old people

Perception and willingness to the uptake of covid-19 vaccine among household-heads in a rural community of south-western Nigeria

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic and its vaccine have been met with varying perceptions that may have both negative and positive effects on the willingness to uptake the COVID-19 vaccine. The study is set to determine the perception and willingness of the household heads to the uptake of COVID-19 vaccine in a rural community in Southwestern, Nigeria. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out among 409 household heads selected through a multistage sampling technique. The instrument of data collection was a semi-structured interviewer-administered questionnaire using the Health Belief model constructs. Data were analyzed with IBM SPSS version 21.0 and Pearson's Chi-square test was used to determine the association between perception and willingness to uptake vaccine. P<0.05 was taken as significant at 95% confidence interval. Results: The majority of the unvaccinated respondents in the study were not willing to take the COVID-19 vaccine (60.1%). There was a poor perception of the susceptibility/severity of unvaccinated respondents to COVID-19 infection and a poor perception of the benefit/barrier to the uptake of the COVID-19 vaccine. Perception of susceptibility and severity of COVID-19 infection were statistically related to the willingness to uptake the COVID-19 vaccine. Conclusion: There should be an increase in awareness campaigns to change the perception of people positively to COVID-19 infection and uptake of the COVID-19 vaccine