Towards Reducing Cancer Death: An Exploratory Study Of Physicians Knowledge On Cancer Basic Facts

Objective: To explore the knowledge of basic facts on common female cancers amongst Physicians in active practice. Materials and Methods: A descriptive study among 160 doctors working in a Nigerian Teaching Hospital. Results: Majority of the physicians surveyed (86.2%) were in full time academic practice with 13.8% in combined academic and private practice. The experience (years in practice) of the Physicians varied from 1-22 years, with a majority (57.9%) in category A (1-5 years ), while 40.3% were in category D (>15 years). A large proportion of the Physicians had poor knowledge on basic cancer facts with regards to the prevalence (47.2%), mortality rate (54.1%), available screening tests (65.4%), and association between HPV and cancers of the anogenital region (56.6%). The type of practice did not significantly influence Physicians knowledge on basic cancer facts (P values > 0.05) More Physicians in full academic practice had good knowledge about human papilloma virus compared to those in combined practice (23.3% vs. 5%; fulltime academics vs. combine practice). There was no significant difference in the knowledge of the Physicians on the prevalence, available screening tests and mortality rate of the cancers based on their experience (P values > 0.05) Conclusion: Physicians in active practice have poor knowledge of basic cancer facts irrespective of their number of years in practice. These portend serious setback for health education, policy formulation on prevention and reduction of Cancer related morbidity and mortality. Keywords: Cancer, Human papilloma Virus (HPV), Knowledge, counsellin

Non-consensual sex in Benin

Objective: The objective of the study is to investigate the prevalence and risk factors of non-consensual sex/rape in Benin.Materials and Methods: We surveyed 580 females in the University Community of Benin, 414 questionnaires were sufficiently completed for analysis.Results: Seventy-six (18.4%) respondents reported that they had been victims of non-consensual sex (NCS), 36 in their current relationship. The unmarried single respondents had the lowest mean age at NCS experience of 18 years, while the divorced victims had the highest mean age of 32.5 (P = 0.000). There was a major exposure peak age at 19 years with a smaller peak at 25. The majority of sex offenders were their present partners and next the husbands (22.2%). The father was the perpetrator on one (2.78%) occasion, while armed robbers raped two of the victims. Eighteen of the seventy-six respondents made a formal report. Cumulatively, 95.4% of the respondents felt it was futile reporting, four (5.3%) felt it was not all a bad experience. The risk of being infected with the HIV/AIDS virus was the worst fear. Ninety-five of four hundred and fourteen respondents want the public and parents to be educated, 64 would like the penal code to be tougher and better implemented, while 64 (14.0%) crave for a dress code for the University community.Conclusions: The self-reported incidence of NCS is high, majority were not formally reported as most of the sex offenders were the (ex)partners of the victims. There was a major exposure peak age at 19 with a smaller peak at 25 years. There was a condoned sense of futility and frustration in reporting

Delivery rate in Benin City, Nigeria: Are there seasonal variations?

Objective: To determine if there are monthly variations in the rate of deliveries in Benin City, Nigeria.Materials and Methods: A retrospective descriptive study carried out in the three major obstetric centers in Benin City, Nigeria. We extracted the total number of deliveries from the hospitals’ records for over a five-year period and analyzed the figures for monthly variation in delivery rates. This was repeated for a standardized 30-day month and the findings noted.Results: There were 28,686 deliveries during the study period with an average monthly delivery of 2,390. The monthly distribution showed a sinusoidal pattern with peak delivery rates in April—May and October and lowest rates in July–August and December. The months of April, May, and October had delivery rates that were significantly higher than the monthly average delivery rate, while the converse was true for July, August, and December at the 99% confidence interval.Conclusions: There exists a significant monthly variation in delivery rates in Benin City. This finding will prove valuable in health system planning and in the interpretation of seasonal variations in other reproductive parameters

Health and the millennium development goals. The Nigerian perspective

No Abstrac

Five Year Review Of Complicated Induced Abortions In University Of Benin Teaching Hospital, Benin City

This is a retrospective study of 104 cases of complicated induced abortion, seen at the University of Benin over a 5 year period. One hundred and four cases constituting 3.93% of gynaecological admissions were studied. This represents 27.4 cases per 1000 live births. The mean age of patients was 21.37 ± 5.7 years with almost 80% being between 16 and 25 years. About 90% of patients were nulliparae, unmarried and had at the most a secondary school education. Over 70% of the patients had at least a previous abortion. The mean gestational age at abortion was 11.8 ± 4.7 weeks with almost two-thirds of the women having procured the abortion in the first trimester. Greater than 70% had dilatation and curettage or suction evacuation as the mode of abortion. A ‘doctor’ was the attending abortionist in a majority of the cases. The major presenting features were vaginal bleeding, lower abdominal pain and vaginal discharge. The major indications for admission included incomplete abortion and post abortal sepsis. Close to a tenth of cases had abdominal visceral involvement. All the patients had antibiotic therapy, half had evacuation of retained products of conception, a fifth had laparotomy while about a sixth had blood transfusion. Over 90% of the patients were discharged in stable condition. The case fatality rate was 4%. The major causes of death were sepsis with visceral injury and acute renal failure

The use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine in pregnancy: Data from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC)

Objectives - To report the frequency of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) use by a population of pregnant women in the UK. Design - Four postal self-completion questionnaires completed at 8, 12, 18 and 32 weeks’ gestation provided the source of CAMs used. Questions asked for written descriptions about the use of any treatments, pills, medicines, ointments, homeopathic medicines, herbal medicines, supplements, drinks and herbal teas. Setting - An observational, population-based, cohort study of parents and children of 14,541 pregnant women residing within the former county of Avon in south-west England. Data was available for 14,115 women. Results - Over a quarter (26.7%; n = 3774) of women had used a CAM at least once in pregnancy, the use rising from 6% in the 1st trimester to 12.4% in the 2nd to 26.3% in the 3rd. Herbal teas were the most commonly reported CAM at any time in pregnancy (17.7%; n = 2499) followed by homeopathic medicine (14.4%; n = 2038) and then herbal medicine (5.8%; n = 813). The most commonly used herbal product was chamomile used by 14.6% of women, the most commonly used homeopathic product was Arnica used by 3.1% of women. Other CAMs (osteopathy, aromatherapy, acupuncture/acupressure, Chinese herbal medicine, chiropractic, cranial sacral therapy, hypnosis, non-specific massage and reflexology) accounted for less than 1% of users. Conclusions - CAM use in pregnancy, where a wide range of CAMs has been assessed, has not been widely reported. Studies that have been conducted report varying results to this study (26.7%) by between 13.3% and 87% of pregnant women. Survey results will be affected by a number of factors namely the inclusion/exclusion of vitamins and minerals, the timing of data collection, the country of source, the number of women surveyed, and the different selection criteria of either recruiting women to the study or of categorising and identifying a CAM treatment or product

A combined case of amelia and phocomelia in a neonate, at JFK Maternity Center, Liberia

We report a case of spontaneous rare birth deformity. A case of Amelia and Phocomelia in a neonate. Amelia is a rare congenital disorder, even more so, is the combined amelia and phocomelia in a neonate. True Phocomelia was defined as the total absence of the intermediate segments of the limb. With the hand or foot (normal, almost normal, or malformed), directly attached to the trunk. The common aetiological association with phocomelia is from the use of thalidomide and genetic inheritance, as an autosomal recessive trait, involving chromosome 8. Isolated amelia is not generally considered to be of genetic origin. We present a neonate delivered by a 28-years multipara in Liberia, in West Africa Sub-Region, with amelia involving the two upper limbs, right lower limb and a Phocomelia involving the left lower limb (absence of tibia and fibula and feet with three toes). Africa is the only continent not included in the International Clearinghouse for Birth Defects Surveillance and Research. It is hoped that case reports of congenital limb deformities from Africa, will contribute to the formation of a database for birth defects shortly

Obstetric fistula in low‐income countries

ObjectiveTo identify, survey, and systematically review the current knowledge regarding obstetric fistula as a public health problem in low‐income countries from the peer‐reviewed literature.MethodsThe Medline and Science Citation Index databases were searched to identify public health articles on obstetric fistula in low‐income countries. Quantitative evidence‐based papers were reviewed.ResultsThirty‐three articles met the criteria for inclusion: 18 hospital‐based reviews; 6 on risk factors/prevention; 4 on prevalence/incidence measurement; 3 on consequences of obstetric fistula; and 2 on community‐based assessments.ConclusionObstetric fistula has received increased international attention as a public health problem, but reliable research on the burden of disease and interventions is lacking.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/135537/1/ijgo85.pd

Awareness of HPV and cervical cancer prevention among Cameroonian healthcare workers

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Cervical cancer, although largely preventable, remains the most common cause of cancer mortality among women in low-resource countries.</p> <p>The objective of this study was to assess knowledge and awareness of cervical cancer prevention among Cameroonian healthcare workers.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A cross-sectional self-administered questionnaire in 5 parts with 46 items regarding cervical cancer etiology and prevention was addressed to healthcare workers in six hospitals of Yaoundé, Cameroon. The investigators enlisted heads of nursing and midwifery to distribute questionnaires to their staff, recruited doctors individually, in hospitals and during conferences and distributed questionnaires to students in Yaoundé University Hospital and Medical School. Eight hundred and fifty questionnaires were distributed, 401 collected. Data were analyzed with SPSS version 16.0. Chi-square tests were used and P-values < 0.05 were considered significant.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Mean age of respondents was 38 years (range 20-71 years). Most participants were aware that cervical cancer is a major public health concern (86%), were able to identify the most important etiological factors (58%) and believed that screening may prevent cervical cancer (90%) and may be performed by Pap test (84%). However, less than half considered VIA or HPV tests screening tests (38 and 47%, respectively). Knowledge about cancer etiology and screening was lowest among nurse/midwives.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Knowledge of cervical cancer and prevention by screening showed several gaps and important misconceptions regarding screening methods.</p> <p>Creating awareness among healthcare workers on risk factors and current methods for cervical cancer screening is a necessary step towards implementing effective prevention programs.</p