Undergraduate students' perception towards ward rounds as a clinical teaching strategy and perceived impact on academic performance in Zaria

Background: The primary aim of this study is to assess the undergraduate students’ perception on ward-round and clinical teaching activities and its perceived impact on their academic performance in Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, Shika-Zaria. A descriptive survey design was employed as a methodology for the study. The study population includes undergraduate students of Bachelor of Nursing Sciences (BNSc) in 400 & 500L, Bachelor of Pharmaceutical Sciences (B.Pharm) in 500L and Bachelor of Medicine; Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) in 400 & 500 Levels with a total number of 910.Materials and Methods: A cross sectional descriptive survey was employed as a study design. Structured questionnaire was used as instrument for data collection which was divided into five sections according to the objectives of the study. Results: The study population comprises of undergraduate students of Bachelor of Nursing Sciences (BNSc) in 400 & 500L, Bachelor of Pharmaceutical Sciences (B.Pharm) in 500L and Bachelor of Medicine; Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) in 400 & 500 Levels. A sample size of 276 was used. Thef indings of the study revealed that, BNSc and MBBS students demonstrated good perception toward the concept of ward-round as clinical teaching strategy; B.Pharm students had good perception toward ward round but their clinical role was not clearly defined because of limited period of posting. Most of the students enjoyed participating in ward-round and they always participate. Among the BNSc students, “Team work” was rated most as an impact of ward-round that strongly influence their performance, while among the MBBS students “Work-based teaching” got the highest rating and B. Pharm students rated “Improved motivation” as an impact of ward-round that strongly influence their performance. Conclusion: It was concluded that undergraduate students demonstrated good perception of the concept of ward-round and they enjoy participating in all activities during clinical teaching. Interventions such as supervision and guidance of students’ activities while in the clinical area by the clinical instructors, increasing the number of postings of B. pharm students to the ward are needed for effective integration of learning

Meningococcus serogroup C clonal complex ST-10217 outbreak in Zamfara State, Northern Nigeria.

After the successful roll out of MenAfriVac, Nigeria has experienced sequential meningitis outbreaks attributed to meningococcus serogroup C (NmC). Zamfara State in North-western Nigeria recently was at the epicentre of the largest NmC outbreak in the 21st Century with 7,140 suspected meningitis cases and 553 deaths reported between December 2016 and May 2017. The overall attack rate was 155 per 100,000 population and children 5-14 years accounted for 47% (3,369/7,140) of suspected cases. The case fatality rate (CFR) among children 5-9 years was 10%, double that reported among adults ≥ 30 years (5%). NmC and pneumococcus accounted for 94% (172/184) and 5% (9/184) of the laboratory-confirmed cases, respectively. The sequenced NmC belonged to the ST-10217 clonal complex (CC). All serotyped pneumococci were PCV10 serotypes. The emergence of NmC ST-10217 CC outbreaks threatens the public health gains made by MenAfriVac, which calls for an urgent strategic action against meningitis outbreaks

Global, regional, and national burden of disorders affecting the nervous system, 1990–2021: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021

BackgroundDisorders affecting the nervous system are diverse and include neurodevelopmental disorders, late-life neurodegeneration, and newly emergent conditions, such as cognitive impairment following COVID-19. Previous publications from the Global Burden of Disease, Injuries, and Risk Factor Study estimated the burden of 15 neurological conditions in 2015 and 2016, but these analyses did not include neurodevelopmental disorders, as defined by the International Classification of Diseases (ICD)-11, or a subset of cases of congenital, neonatal, and infectious conditions that cause neurological damage. Here, we estimate nervous system health loss caused by 37 unique conditions and their associated risk factors globally, regionally, and nationally from 1990 to 2021.MethodsWe estimated mortality, prevalence, years lived with disability (YLDs), years of life lost (YLLs), and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs), with corresponding 95% uncertainty intervals (UIs), by age and sex in 204 countries and territories, from 1990 to 2021. We included morbidity and deaths due to neurological conditions, for which health loss is directly due to damage to the CNS or peripheral nervous system. We also isolated neurological health loss from conditions for which nervous system morbidity is a consequence, but not the primary feature, including a subset of congenital conditions (ie, chromosomal anomalies and congenital birth defects), neonatal conditions (ie, jaundice, preterm birth, and sepsis), infectious diseases (ie, COVID-19, cystic echinococcosis, malaria, syphilis, and Zika virus disease), and diabetic neuropathy. By conducting a sequela-level analysis of the health outcomes for these conditions, only cases where nervous system damage occurred were included, and YLDs were recalculated to isolate the non-fatal burden directly attributable to nervous system health loss. A comorbidity correction was used to calculate total prevalence of all conditions that affect the nervous system combined.FindingsGlobally, the 37 conditions affecting the nervous system were collectively ranked as the leading group cause of DALYs in 2021 (443 million, 95% UI 378–521), affecting 3·40 billion (3·20–3·62) individuals (43·1%, 40·5–45·9 of the global population); global DALY counts attributed to these conditions increased by 18·2% (8·7–26·7) between 1990 and 2021. Age-standardised rates of deaths per 100 000 people attributed to these conditions decreased from 1990 to 2021 by 33·6% (27·6–38·8), and age-standardised rates of DALYs attributed to these conditions decreased by 27·0% (21·5–32·4). Age-standardised prevalence was almost stable, with a change of 1·5% (0·7–2·4). The ten conditions with the highest age-standardised DALYs in 2021 were stroke, neonatal encephalopathy, migraine, Alzheimer's disease and other dementias, diabetic neuropathy, meningitis, epilepsy, neurological complications due to preterm birth, autism spectrum disorder, and nervous system cancer.InterpretationAs the leading cause of overall disease burden in the world, with increasing global DALY counts, effective prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation strategies for disorders affecting the nervous system are needed

Education Management in Nigeria: Problems and Solutions

This paper discussed problems facing educational management in Nigeria. Secondary data were used in the paper. The secondary data were gathered from print materials and online publications. The paper concluded that poor funding, inadequate teachers, shortage of infrastructure facilities, instructional materials, appointment of non-professional educationalist, lack of current data, insecurity problem, weak manager, corruption, brand-drain and unstable policies are challenges facing educational management in Nigeria. The paper hereby recommended for increment of education budget, employment of more professional teachers, provision of more infrastructure facilities, instructional materials, current data, and adequate security in schools. The government should appoint competed school managers, deploy human and ICT resources to combat corruption, motivate teachers to prevent brain-drain and ensure stable educational policies