Prevalence of Substance Abuse, Assessment of Socio-economic and Demo-graphic Determinants of Commercial Motorcyclists in Katsina State Nigeria

Background: Substance abuse has been reported to have adversely affected socio-economic determinants of states and nations. Substance abuse is the use of tobacco, alcohol, illegal or prescription drugs and other substances in ways contrary to the overall health of the individual. It has been grossly under-reported and undermined in Katsina State, Nigeria. Identification and early intervention of associated risk factors had greater impact than later intervention by changing individual’s life pathway from problems and towards positive behaviors. Objectives: To determine the prevalence of substance abuse amongst motorcyclists and associated socio-economic characteristics in Katsina State, Nigeria, a cross sectional study approach was commissioned. Methodology:  Convenient sampling using a mobile Open Data collection tool (ODK) application was used to collect and collate field data. Data was analyzed using SPSS®. Strength of significance within categorical variables were reported and accepted at P≤0.05. Results:Kola nut (53%) and Marijuana (1%) were identified to have the highest and lowest prevalence respectively (P>0.05) across Jibia and Katsina Local Government Areas the (2 LGAs) in Nigeria where the study was carried out. Almost all types of psychoactive substances were available in Nigeria due to their spill over into the streets from drug traffickers who use Nigeria as a conduit to transport drugs from South East-Asia (the  Golden,South America to Europe and North America [12]. Conclusion: With an overall substance abuse prevalence of 19%, it was concluded that substance abuse was endemic in the state and hence public health education must be used to check this societal ill Keywords: Abuse, Katsina, Prevalence, Socio-economic, Substanc

International survey for assessing COVID-19’s impact on fear and health: study protocol

Introduction COVID-19, caused by the SARS-CoV-2, has been one of the most highly contagious and rapidly spreading virus outbreak. The pandemic not only has catastrophic impacts on physical health and economy around the world, but also the psychological well-being of individuals, communities and society. The psychological and social impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic internationally have not been well described. There is a lack of international study assessing health-related impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, especially on the degree to which individuals are fearful of the pandemic. Therefore, this study aims to (1) assess the health-related impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in community-dwelling individuals around the world; (2) determine the extent various communities are fearful of COVID-19 and (3) identify perceived needs of the population to prepare for potential future pandemics.Methods and analysis This global study involves 30 countries. For each country, we target at least 500 subjects aged 18 years or above. The questionnaires will be available online and in local languages. The questionnaires include assessment of the health impacts of COVID-19, perceived importance of future preparation for the pandemic, fear, lifestyles, sociodemographics, COVID-19-related knowledge, e-health literacy, out-of-control scale and the Patient Health Questionnaire-4. Descriptive statistics will be used to describe participants’ characteristics, perceptions on the health-related impacts of COVID-19, fear, anxiety and depression, lifestyles, COVID-19 knowledge, e-health literacy and other measures. Univariable and multivariable regression models will be used to assess the associations of covariates on the outcomes.Ethics and dissemination The study has been reviewed and approved by the local ethics committees in participating countries, where local ethics approval is needed. The results will be actively disseminated. This study aims to map an international perspective and comparison for future preparation in a pandemic