Effect of health education on long lasting insecticidal nets utilization among mothers of under five children in yamaltu deba lga, Gombe state, Nigeria

Malaria remains a major global public health challenge. It is the leading cause ofdeath among children below the age of five years and constitutes 10% of the continent's disease burden. The objective of this study was to determine effect of health education on utilization of long lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs) among mothers of under five children in Yamaltu Deba LGA of Gombe state: Objective: This study was aimed at determining the effect of health education on LLINs utilization among mothers of under five children in Yamaltu Deba LGA of Gombe State. Method: The study was a community-based quasi-experimental intervention where 240 mothers of under five children were selected from two communities using a multi stage sampling technique. Health education was given in the study community and withheld in the control community. Data was collected from both communities before and after the intervention using an interviewer administered structured questionnaire. Data was analyzed using EPI-INFO 3.7.1 and Micro soft Excel software. Result obtained was presented using proportion, Chi-square test was used to assess the relationship between categorical variables and decision taken at p<0.05. Results: The mean ages of respondents in study and control communities were 28.9±6.2 and 27.9±6.7 years respectively. At pre-intervention, LLIN ownership was found to be 86.6% and 76.3% while its utilization was 45.4% and 38.1% in both communities. After health education intervention, (LLINs) improved significantly in study community from 42.9% to 89.9% compared with control community which increased from 33.9% to 60.9% and the difference was statistically significant (P=0.0001). Conclusion: This study concludes that health education significantly improved utilization. We recommendedcontinuous health education on LLINs utilization in communities especially among mothers of under five children

Socio-demographic and clinical factors predicting time to presentation for children with pneumonia in Ilorin, Nigeria

Background: Pneumonia is a major contributor to morbidity and mortality in children, and the time to presentation is a recognized contributor towards disease severity and outcome.Objectives: The current study aimed to explore the influence of some socio-demographic and clinical factors in children with pneumonia on the time to presentation at a health facility in Ilorin, North Central Nigeria.Materials and method: A prospective cross-sectional study of 167 children with pneumonia was done. The duration of the various symptoms and first presentation to a health facility was obtained. Time to presentation was categorized as 0–2 days (early), 3–5 days (intermediate) and greater than five days (late). Multinomial logistic regression analysis was used to identify significant predictors of either early or intermediate presentation compared with late presentation. A p-value of less than 0.05 was considered significant.Results: Fifty-one (30.5%) children with pneumonia had an early presentation, 73 (43.7%) had intermediate presentation and 43 (25.7%) were late in presentation. Predictors of early presentation were younger age (OR 0.96, 95%CI 0.93–0.99), higher respiratory rates (OR 1.03, 95%CI 1.01–1.06) and bronchopneumonia (OR 6.93, 95%CI 1.52–31.63). Predictors of intermediate presentation were families with few number of children (OR 0.73, 95%CI 0.57–0.92) and bronchopneumonia (OR 3.41, 95%C.I. 1.02–11.38).Conclusion: Infancy and families with few children are socio-demographic features that are likely to determine early-to-intermediate presentation of children with pneumonia while high respiratory rates and bronchopneumonia are disease related factors that predict early presentation.Keywords: Socio-demographic, Children, Pneumonia, Time to presentation, Nigeri

How effective are trained role model caregivers in prompt presumptive treatment of malaria of under 5 children in Kaduna state, North western Nigeria?

Objective: Malaria is Africa's leading cause of under 5 mortality, constituting 10% of the overall disease burden. A major strategy for reducing the burden of malaria is prompt access to effective antimalarials. Community Case Management of malaria (CCMm) can be used to achieve the 80% treatment target of uncomplicated malaria within 24 hours of onset of symptoms. CCMm aims to train selected community members to recognize symptoms of malaria and give appropriate early and prompt treatment. We conducted this study to assess CCMm in trained Role Model caregivers (RMCs) of under fives in Kaduna state, Nigeria. Methods: We conducted a descriptive cross sectional survey in Kaduna state. A sample of 308 RMCs were selected by multistage sampling and interviewed using a standardized questionnaire. The questionnaire had questions on sociodemographic characteristics, malaria transmission and treatment. Results: Mean age (SD) of RMCs was 35.34 years (±8.67). Females were 294(95.5%) and 285(92.5%) were literate. Out of 308, 294 (95.5%) correctly identified that malaria was transmitted by mosquitoes. Two hundred and sixty three (85.4 %) RMCs had treated a child under five years for presumptive malaria in the two weeks preceding the survey. Out of 267 children, 232 (88.2%) received the correct dose of antimalarials and 220 (84.3%) were treated within 24 hours of onset of symptoms. Level of education was significantly found to affect receiving the correct dose of antimalarials.(

Knowledge, practice and acceptability of HPV vaccine by mothers of adolescent girls in Ilorin, Nigeria

Background: Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) is a sexually transmitted cause of carcinoma of the cervix. An important determinant of the success of a primary preventive strategy like HPV vaccination is the knowledge and willingness of parents to vaccinate adolescents before sexual debut. Materials and methods of study: A cross sectional descriptive survey of mothers of girls in 8 secondary schools in Ilorin was carried out from February to April 2015. Schools were selected using multi staged sampling. Descriptive and inferential statistics were performed with Chi Square and ANOVA. Results: There were 470 questionnaires returned for analysis out of 600, giving a response rate of 78.3%. One hundred and sixty-one (34.3%) knew HPV to be sexually transmitted infection and 40.4% knew it was the cause of cervical cancer. While 35.1% were aware of HPV vaccine, only 1.9% had ever vaccinated their children.Less than half (44.9%) were willing to vaccinate their children. Women with good knowledge of HPV and cervical cancer were more willing to vaccinate their children than women with poor knowledge (P <0.001). Conclusion: There is poor knowledge of HPV and practice of vaccination among mothers in llorin. Willingness of mothers to vaccinate their daughters is suboptimal. Mother’s knowledge is an important determinant of HPV vaccination of adolescents

Community-based health insurance scheme in a rural community of North west Nigeria: a roadmap to achieving universal health coverage.

Community Based Health Insurance (CBHI) scheme is aimed at reducing out of pocket spending on health care services, ensuring final risk protection to all, especially the poor and the most vulnerable, improvement of quality of health care services, access and utilization as well as the promotion of equity. Objective: This research was aimed at determining willingness to participate in a community-based health insurance scheme among rural households in Katsina State. Method: A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted in December 2016 among households of Batagarawa LGA, Katsina State. We used a pre-tested, electronic, semi-structured interviewer-administered questionnaire to obtain data from households that were selected using a multistage sampling technique and we analyzed the data using STATA version 13. Results: Most, (28.5%) of the respondents were in the age range of 30-39 years with a mean age of 35.5 years. Males were the dominant household heads (93%). Most were married (90%). Most, (90.5%) of households were willing to pay for a community-based health insurance scheme with a median premium of 100 Naira per household member per month. Conclusions: The high proportion of households willing to pay for the scheme should inform the decision of policy makers to design and maintain Community Based Health Insurance Scheme to improve access to and utilization of quality health care services

Educational status and other socio-demographic correlates of current use of psychoactive substance among Nigerian adolescents

Background: The spate of psychoactive substance use is unprecedented. The determination of associated factors will be critical to tackling this  menace. However, most studies were conducted in school which would have excluded the population of out-ofschool children. Thus, this studyassessed the correlates of adolescents’ psychoactive substance use at the community level.Methods: A cross-sectional study conducted among 500 adolescents (258 male and 242 female) in  Ilorin West LGA between December 2016 and October 2017. A stratified multistage sampling technique was used for subject selection and a pretested WHO substance use questionnaire wasused to collect data. Descriptive, bivariate and multivariate logistic regressions were employed to identify the predictors of substance use.Results: The lifetime prevalence of psychoactive substance use is 43.4% while the prevalence of current use is 31.2%. The most commonly used substances were stimulants (caffeine); 14.4%, codeine- containing cough syrup; 10.4% and alcohol; 10.2%. Socioeconomic class and the use of substances by friends were predictors of current use. The current use of alcohol and opiates is significantly higher among in-school subjects (p = 0.001, 0.042). Current use of cannabis, alcohol, hallucinogen, cocaine, correlated positively with educational status of respondents in school.Conclusions: The current use rate of psychoactive substance is high among the adolescents with socioeconomic class, use of substance by friends and educational status as its predictors. Urgent multipronged measures are therefore, crucial to curb this trend. Keywords: Psychoactive substances, Adolescents, current use, lifetime use, educational statu

Household cost of antenatal care and delivery services in a rural community of Kaduna state, northwestern Nigeria

Background: Maternal mortality remains a leading cause of death among women of reproductive age. While Nigeria has only two percent of the global population, it contributes 10% to the global maternal mortality burden. Antenatal care (ANC) reduces the incidence of maternal mortality. However, financial capability affects access to antenatal care. Thus, the rural poor are at a higher risk of maternal mortality. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study involving 135 women (pregnant women and those who are 6 weeks postpartum). Structured interviewer-administered questionnaires were used for data collection. Data analysis was carried out using statistical package for social sciences software (version 17). Results: The average amount spent on booking and initial laboratory investigations were N77 (half a dollar) and N316 ($2), respectively. Per ANC visit, average amount spent on drugs and transportation were N229 ($1.5) and N139 ($0.9) respectively. For delivery, the average amount spent was N1500 ($9.6). On an average, ANC plus delivery cost about N3,365.00 ($22). There was a statistically significant association between husband′s income and ANC attendance (X 2 = 2.451, df = 2, P = 0.048). Conclusion: Cost of Antenatal care and delivery services were not catastrophic but were a barrier to accessing antenatal care and facility-based delivery services in the study area. ANC attendance was associated with the income of household heads. Pro-poor policies and actions are needed to address this problem, as it will go a long way in reducing maternal mortality in this part of the country