Pattern of health seeking behaviour of mothers for common childhood illnesses in Enugu metropolis south east zone Nigeria

TheObjective of the study is to assess the Health Seeking Behaviour ofmotherswhen their children presentwith the common aliments and their preferred treatment options. A cross sectional survey of 300 women that brought their children for routine immunization and growthmonitoring to three health institutions in Enugumetropolis was carried out using an interviewer administered structured questionnaire. Majority of the mothers, 208(69.3%) used self treatment for their children at home when they presented with common illnesses.Atotal of 146(48.7%) made use of government health institutions, 117(39. 0%) attended private health institutions while 21(7.0%) consulted an elder woman and 9 (.0%) patronized prayer house.Only 3(1%) respondents sought the help of traditional healers. In this study, the greater percentage of mothers used self medication for treatment of common childhood illnesses.The implication of this is that themajority of themothersmay not know the right treatment to institute at any point in time. This situation could lead to more complications of the illnesses or even loss of life.As a result,mothers should be educated on how best to take care of their sick children athome and be able to recognizewhen to seek appropriate help.Keywords: Health SeekingBehavior,Mothers,CommonChildhood Illnesse

The global burden of cancer attributable to risk factors, 2010–19: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019

BACKGROUND: Understanding the magnitude of cancer burden attributable to potentially modifiable risk factors is crucial for development of effective prevention and mitigation strategies. We analysed results from the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2019 to inform cancer control planning efforts globally. METHODS: The GBD 2019 comparative risk assessment framework was used to estimate cancer burden attributable to behavioural, environmental and occupational, and metabolic risk factors. A total of 82 risk–outcome pairs were included on the basis of the World Cancer Research Fund criteria. Estimated cancer deaths and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) in 2019 and change in these measures between 2010 and 2019 are presented. FINDINGS: Globally, in 2019, the risk factors included in this analysis accounted for 4·45 million (95% uncertainty interval 4·01–4·94) deaths and 105 million (95·0–116) DALYs for both sexes combined, representing 44·4% (41·3–48·4) of all cancer deaths and 42·0% (39·1–45·6) of all DALYs. There were 2·88 million (2·60–3·18) risk-attributable cancer deaths in males (50·6% [47·8–54·1] of all male cancer deaths) and 1·58 million (1·36–1·84) risk-attributable cancer deaths in females (36·3% [32·5–41·3] of all female cancer deaths). The leading risk factors at the most detailed level globally for risk-attributable cancer deaths and DALYs in 2019 for both sexes combined were smoking, followed by alcohol use and high BMI. Risk-attributable cancer burden varied by world region and Socio-demographic Index (SDI), with smoking, unsafe sex, and alcohol use being the three leading risk factors for risk-attributable cancer DALYs in low SDI locations in 2019, whereas DALYs in high SDI locations mirrored the top three global risk factor rankings. From 2010 to 2019, global risk-attributable cancer deaths increased by 20·4% (12·6–28·4) and DALYs by 16·8% (8·8–25·0), with the greatest percentage increase in metabolic risks (34·7% [27·9–42·8] and 33·3% [25·8–42·0]). INTERPRETATION: The leading risk factors contributing to global cancer burden in 2019 were behavioural, whereas metabolic risk factors saw the largest increases between 2010 and 2019. Reducing exposure to these modifiable risk factors would decrease cancer mortality and DALY rates worldwide, and policies should be tailored appropriately to local cancer risk factor burden

Occupational Stress in Dental Practice amongst Government-employed and Private Dental Practitioners in Eastern Nigeria: A comparative survey

Objectives: The aim of this study is to compare the level of occupational stress amongst government-employed and private dental practitioners in eastern Nigeria. Materials and methods: A total of 62 questionnaires were randomly distributed among government-employed and private practicing dental surgeons with five years and above working experience in eastern Nigeria. The information collected included: years of practice; mode of remuneration; causes of stress during clinical practice; signs of onset of stress; reactions of individual practitioner during stress condition; and patient’s management during practitioner’s stressful moment. Fifty-seven questionnaires were returned anonymously representing 92% response rate, these were used in the data analysis. Results: Forty-two (73.3%) out of the 57 respondents were government employed dental practitioners while 15 (26.7%) were in full private practice. Thirty-three (78.5%) government-employed respondents, indicated patients’ management and type of clinical procedures as the main cause of their stress. Staff and practice management were the main cause of stress amongst all 15 respondents in full private practice. It was also observed that most dental surgeons (73.3%) in full private practice were affected by time pressure and environmental factor. Irritability and impatience was high (69%) among government-employed practitioners compared to (26.7%) among private practitioners. Conclusion: Our findings showed that private dental practitioners experience more stress in dental practice than government-dental practitioners in our environment. This could be explained in terms of time pressure, environmental factor and remunerations. This calls for an establishment of more government owned dental centers, government employment and good remuneration for dental surgeons to reduce the level of occupational stress in our daily dental practice. Keywords: Occupational stress; Dental practice; Government-employed and Private dental practitioners; Eastern Nigeri

Feasibility Study and Analysis of a Micro-Grid Scheme for Federal University of Technology, Owerri, Imo State, Nigeria

The need for reliable, robust, clean and secure electrical energy has led to developments in distributed off-grid solutions. This work considers various distributed generation sources such as; hydro, solar and wind, within the specified environment. Its aim is to ascertain the most feasible micro-grid solution for the specified campus environment. The work evaluates various micro-grid models to ascertain the most suitable model for the campus environment. HOMER micro-grid optimization software was used to aid the analysis. The micro hydropower plant at Otamiri River was found to be a good source with the power output of 586kW, and cost of energy per kWh of $0.284. Consequently, the model of the micro-grid was further analyzed in MATLAB/Simulink to determine the behavior of the system. The effect of load variation and short circuit fault was observed, and it shows the performance of the system to be stable