Assessment of a treatment guideline to improve home management of malaria in children in rural south-west Nigeria

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Many Nigerian children with malaria are treated at home. Treatments are mostly incorrect, due to caregivers' poor knowledge of appropriate and correct dose of drugs. A comparative study was carried out in two rural health districts in southwest Nigeria to determine the effectiveness of a guideline targeted at caregivers, in the treatment of febrile children using chloroquine.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Baseline and post intervention knowledge, attitude and practice household surveys were conducted. The intervention strategy consisted of training a core group of mothers ("mother trainers") in selected communities on the correct treatment of malaria and distributing a newly developed treatment guideline to each household. "Mother trainers" disseminated the educational messages about malaria and the use of the guideline to their communities.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Knowledge of cause, prevention and treatment of malaria increased with the one-year intervention. Many, (70.4%) of the respondents stated that they used the guideline each time a child was treated for malaria. There was a significant increase in the correct use of chloroquine from 2.6% at baseline to 52.3% after intervention among those who treated children at home in the intervention arm compared with 4.2% to 12.7% in the control arm. The correctness of use was significantly associated with use of the guideline. The timeliness of commencing treatment was significantly earlier in those who treated febrile children at home using chloroquine than those who took their children to the chemist or health facility (p < 0.005). Mothers considered the guideline to be explicit and useful. Mother trainers were also considered to be effective and acceptable.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The use of the guideline with adequate training significantly improved correctness of malaria treatment with chloroquine at home. Adoption of this mode of intervention is recommended to improve compliance with drug use at home. The applicability for deploying artemisinin-based combination therapy at the community level needs to be investigated.</p

A systematic review of school-based sexual health interventions to prevent STI/HIV in sub-Saharan Africa

Background The HIV/AIDS epidemic remains of global significance and there is a need to target (a) the adolescent age-groups in which most new infections occur; and (b) sub-Saharan Africa where the greatest burden of the epidemic lies. A focused systematic review of school-based sexual health interventions in sub-Saharan Africa to prevent HIV/AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Infections (STI) in this age group was therefore conducted. Methods Searches were conducted in Medline, Embase, Cinahl and PsychINFO according to agreed a priori criteria for studies published between 1986 and 2006. Further searches were conducted in UNAIDS and WHO (World Health Organization) websites, and 'Google'. Relevant journals were hand-searched and references cited in identified articles were followed up. Data extraction and quality assessment was carried out on studies selected for full text appraisal, and results were analysed and presented in narrative format. Results Some 1,020 possible titles and abstracts were found, 23 full text articles were critically appraised, and 12 articles (10 studies) reviewed, reflecting the paucity of published studies conducted relative to the magnitude of the HIV epidemic in sub-Saharan Africa. Knowledge and attitude-related outcomes were the most associated with statistically significant change. Behavioural intentions were more difficult to change and actual behaviour change was least likely to occur. Behaviour change in favour of abstinence and condom use appeared to be greatly influenced by pre-intervention sexual history. Conclusion There is a great need in sub-Saharan Africa for well-evaluated and effective school-based sexual health interventions

Sexual behavior and experience of sexual coercion among secondary school students in three states in North Eastern Nigeria

BACKGROUND: Interest in the reproductive health of adolescents continues to grow throughout the world. Few studies had explored the reproductive health knowledge, sexual behavior and experience of sexual coercion among secondary school students in North Eastern states of Nigeria. The objectives of this descriptive survey were to collect data to plan appropriate interventions that meet the reproductive health knowledge, service and skills needs of students in Bauchi, Borno and Gombe states. METHODS: Face-to-face interviews were conducted for 624 consenting students who were randomly selected from eighteen secondary schools using an 83-item structured questionnaire. Data were collected on demographic profile, reproductive health knowledge, sexual behavior and experience of sexual coercion. RESULTS: The mean age of the respondents was 16.5 years. There were slightly more males (52%) than females (48%). Students' knowledge about reproductive health was generally low even though girls had better knowledge than boys. Thirteen percent of the entire students had had sexual experience; significantly more males (19%) than females (6%) had done so (p < 0.001). Among boys the age at sexual debut ranged from 10–26 with a mean of 15.7 and median of 16. By contrast, the age at first sex among girls ranged from 10 to 18 years with a mean and median of 16.1 and 17 years respectively. Only 24% of those who were sexually active used a condom during their last sexual encounter. Overall 11% of the students reported that they had been tricked into having sex, 9% had experienced unwanted touch of breast and backside, and 5% reported rape. CONCLUSION: Students low reproductive health knowledge and involvement in risky sexual activities predispose them to undesirable reproductive health outcomes

Perceived effectiveness of Agricultural Information Channels (AIC) in marketing of poultry eggs in Ijebu North-East local government area of Ogun State

The productivity of the poultry industry like any other industry is hinged on adequate dissemination of information through appropriate channels. This study assessed the perceived effectiveness of agricultural information channels in marketing of poultry eggs in Ijebu North East local government area of Ogun state. Fifty four randomly selected poultry farmers and an equal number of purposively selected marketers were administered with questionnaires. Data on socioeconomic characteristics, availability and extent of use of AIC as well as perceived effectiveness of the channels were collected and analysed. Results showed that more of the farmers were male (81.7%) compared to the marketers, majority of the respondents had formal education (91.7%) and had over five years of experience in their trades (94.4 and 90.7%). Mobile phone was the most readily available and utilised AIC (97.2% and x = 1.46) while the presence of extension agents was not very pronounced (62.0% and x = 0.73). Inconsistent power supply (x =1.52) was the most limiting constraint to the use of the AIC. There was significant difference in the perceived effectiveness of AIC among poultry farmers and marketers (t=3.833, p.0.005). Sustained use of preferred channels of information was thus advocated while extension agents were urged to step up their activities.Keywords: egg marketing, extent of use, information channel

Can we use young people’s knowledge to develop teachers and HIV-related education?

Despite recent progress in meeting the goals of the Education for All agenda, certain groups of young people are particularly vulnerable to exclusion and underachievement, including children with HIV/AIDS, children living in poverty, and children with disabilities. HIV/AIDS has reduced many young people’s rights to access education, to live a full and healthy life, and to have a life as a child. This article focuses on attempts to continue to empower young people to protect themselves from HIV by exploring the dynamics around HIV-related education in schools, in particular by examining the role that young people’s knowledge can play in improving curricula and thus reducing HIV/AIDS rates. The authors draw on qualitative research in a total of eight schools in Kenya, Tanzania, and South Africa. Preliminary findings suggest that pupil consultation and dialogue can be used to inform thinking on the curriculum for HIV education