Patients' knowledge of health rights and satisfaction with outpatient services at the tertiary hospitals in Enugu State, Nigeria

Background: Patient satisfaction is a key indicator for measuring the success of the health system goals, delivery quality care that is safe, equitable, patient-centered, evidence-based, timely and efficient, through interprofessional collaborative team work. Equally, patient's knowledge of their health rights will enhance better provider-patients relationship, patient satisfaction, and effective care management.Objectives: The aim of this study was to compare patients' knowledge of health rights, satisfaction with the physicians' conducts and outpatient services across three tertiary hospitals in Enugu, Nigeria.Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study of 304 patients selected from the outpatient clinics of the University of Nigeria Teaching hospital (UNTH), National Orthopaedic Hospital (NOHE), and Enugu State University of Science and Technology Teaching Hospital (ESUTH), from October to December, 2015 was conducted. A four point Likert scale, dissatisfied (1), very dissatisfied (2), moderately satisfied (3), and very satisfied (4) was applied. Knowledge of health rights were scored as follows, 0-5 poor knowledge, 6-10 good knowledge, 11 and above very good knowledge. A minimum sample size of 91 patients was calculated for each of the study hospital, but increased to100 each, to enhance precision, reduce error margin, and to contend possible nonresponses and incompleteness. A multi-stage sampling technique was applied. The data were analyzed using SPSS version 16.0.Results: Knowledge of health rights was poor in 5.9%, 20.8%, and 14.9% of patients (X2=9.61, p=0.000), and very good in 70.6%, 46.5% and 59.4% patients (X2=12.14, p=0.000) from UNTH, NOHE, and ESUTH respectively. The mean knowledge scores were 10.50 ±3.240 for UNTH; 8.72±2.953 for NOHE; and 9.93±3.151 for the ESUTH. The overall mean knowledge scores of the patients across the three hospitals was not statistically significant (F=0.000, P =1.000). Patients' overall mean satisfaction with physicians' conduct and services was 3.63±0.525 for UNTH, 3.45±0.741 for NOHE, and 3.47±0.609 for ESUTH, with no statistically significant difference (F=0.000, P =1.000). Overall mean satisfaction scores for the general outpatient services were 3.19±0.728, 3.15±0.713, and 3.00±0.721 for UNTH, NOHE, and ESUT respectively. The observed differences in the overall mean satisfaction for the general services provisions across the hospitals was not statistically significant (F=0.000, P=1.000). Patients' mean knowledge scores were statistically (p=0.000) associated with mean satisfaction with the physicians' conduct and services provision across hospitals.Conclusion: Patients knowledge of health rights and satisfaction with physicians' conducts and outpatient services across the hospitals were generally good and satisfactory, but differed statistically in-between hospitals.Keywords: Health rights, conducts, satisfaction, patients, physician

Analysis of Online Reactions to the Proscription of IPOB as Terrorist Organization

The classification of the Indigenous People of Biafra IPOB as a terrorist organisation has been condemned by those who felt government went overboard The voice of these individuals and groups are so strident that it seemingly drowned the support accorded the proscription by those who believe that IPOB deserved to be so labelled These divergent positions of newsmakers were examined since as opinion moulders they greatly influence the thinking of the populace towards any particular subject The analysis was done within the framework of the democratic participant theory which posits that input of the people in public policy and decisions should matter Using Google filters the researcher x-rayed a sample of the reactions of newsmakers published online as news to answer four research questions yielding among other things that government s designation of IPOB as terrorist organization was not popular especially as a much more violent group Fulani militia recognized abroad as terrorist organization was not so classified locally Therefore this paper called on the authorities to be even handed when dealing with criminal groups irrespective of the part of Nigeria they come from and advocates that government should give every segment of society a sense of belongin

Modeling the Influence of Meteorological Variables on Runoff in a Tropical Watershed

Proper understanding of the historical annual runoff characteristics with respect to climate impacts is essential for effective planning as well as the management of water resources in river basins. In this study, the climate-flood model which connects the runoff and climate was developed for Adada River Nigeria. Thirty years records of climatic and runoff data were used to develop a multiple linear regression model. The coefficient of determination was evaluated for the developed model, and the hypothesis was equally tested with the aid of t-test and one-way analysis of variance. The multiple regression analysis indicated that the climate-flood model was statistically significant (p˂0.05) in predicting the annual runoff. The results also show that the climatic variables accounted for 66.1% of runoff variation due to the undisturbed gauging basin of the river. The wind speed and the duration of sunlight were not statistically significant predictors of runoff in the area. These results, obtained signify that climate has a major impact on runoff and it could help in understanding the availability of water within the catchment area. Doi: 10.28991/cej-2020-03091621 Full Text: PD

Social Media and Health Mobilization During Emergencies: The Case of Lassa Fever Outbreak in Ebonyi, Nigeria

Lassa fever is an existential threat to Ebonyi, one of Nigeria's 36 states, located in the southeastern region. Communication is a critical component of the integrated approach the government has adopted to combat the disease. This study examines the influence of social media in the management of the 2018 outbreak. Results from 426 respondents show that 74.47 percent received their first story on the outbreak via social media, while 72.30 percent visited social media platforms daily. Facebook was the dominant social media subscription - 87.56 percent. A significant 97.88 percent visited at least once a day. Findings also show that, after the visits, 74.08 percent took preventive actions from food infection. This figure accounts for a little more than half of the total preventive actions taken. Some 84.04 percent gave social media a pass mark for its impact, while 98.70 engaged in one form of health awareness creation or another through their social media contacts. Overall, 89.67 percent claimed that the information consumed on social media had some impact on them. One of the recommendations is that this impressive performance should be sustained

Impact of social media language on writings of the undergraduates of university of Nigeria, Nsukka

This paper investigated the impact of social media language on writings of the undergraduates of University of Nigeria, Nsukka. The aim of this paper was to identify the extent to which SMS language has influenced the writings of undergraduates. Also, to confirm or refute the arguments and counteraugments that had raised dust in the academics over the presupposed negative effects of this form of media discourse on students’ academic writings. This study draws insights from Corder’s Error Analysis. The corpus of this study was gotten from an eight-item-questionnaire and confirmatory essay test administered to forty students selected at random. Data elicited from the questionnaires were  analyzed quantitatively using the simple percentage and represented in bar charts and lines respectively; while the students’ essays were scanned for linguistic features of SMS. The findings revealed that students’ use of SMS is pervasive but it does not significantly impact writings negatively. The researchers, therefore, concluded that SMS language does not pose major threats to students’ formal writings. Thus, they suggested that users of SMS should try as much as they could to always check their works carefully in order to avoid committing errors in formal writings.Keywords: Error Analysis, impact, linguistic features, social media language, and writin

Environmental Determinants of Risky Sexual Behaviours among Secondary School Adolescents in Obollo-Afor Education Zone of Enugu State Nigeria

The study investigated environmental determinants of risky sexual behaviour among secondary school adolescents in Obollo-Afor Education Zone of Enugu State Nigeria. Three research questions and a hypothesis guided the study. The subject of the study was 150 adolescent secondary school boys and girls. The instrument for the study used in collecting data was questionnaire. Mean score and t-test statistics were used for data analysis. Results showed that what constitutes risky sexual behaviour among adolescents include watching pornographic films and pictures, indulging in sexual acts becauseothers are doing it, having unprotected sexual intercourse, among others. The result also revealed environmental factors such as excessive intake of alcohol, being friendly with those who indulge in risky sexual behaviours and watching bad films. The result also showed that there is no significant difference in the mean scores of male and female students as regards risky sexual behaviour. The implications of the findings were highlighted and recommendations made as well. Keywords: Environmental, Determinants, Risky, Sexual, Behaviours, Adolescent

Strategies for Enhancing Healthy Sexual Behaviour among Secondary School Adolescents in Nsukka Education Zone of Enugu State Nigeria

The study investigated strategies for enhancing health sexual behaviour among secondary school adolescents in Nsukka Education Zone of Enugu State. Two research questions and a hypothesis guided the study. The subjects of the study was 160 secondary school adolescent students. The instrument for data collection was questionnaire. Mean score and t-test statistics were used for data analysis. Results show that adolescents healthy sexual behaviours would be enhanced through emulating healthy sexual behaviours of parents, not watching pornographic films among others. The result of the study also implicated factors such as increase in the rate of abortions among adolescent girls, increase in the spread of sexual transmitted diseases among others as consequences of adolescents’ unhealthy sexual behaviours. The implications of the findings were highlighted and recommendations equally made. Keywords: Strategies, healthy, sexual behavior, adolescent

The Production and Perception of the Affricate /tʃ/ and the Fricative /ʃ/ by Igala ELS Users

A second language user is one who has his own language (L1) and probably mastered all there is to the sound system of his L1. The already existing language system makes second language learning difficult thereby resulting in what is called ‘errors’ as an effect of interference. Phonologically, it is a hard task learning a second language because each language has its unique phonology. This paper x-rayed the difficulties encountered by Igala L2 users with reference to the production and perception of the affricate /tʃ/ and the fricative /ʃ/. The study used carefully prepared sentences containing the two sounds under study to elicit data from the target population. The data were analyzed using frequency and percentage counts. From the analysis it was discovered that there exist production problems in the use of the affricate /tʃ/ and the fricative /ʃ/ by Igala users of English as a Second Language where /tʃ/ is substituted for /ʃ/ and vice versa.  Conclusion drawn from the result was the need for Igala users to aspire for competence in their use of English as a second language particularly the phonological aspects because being proficient in any language begins with good understanding and correct usage of the sound systems thereby bringing about intelligibility