Translational medical research in Nigeria:Challenges, prospects and recommendations for the future

In this review we discussed the challenges and prospects for translational medical research in Nigeria, a developing African country. We also provided some relevant recommendations on how to improve the future of translational medical research in the Nigeria

Palliative care awareness amongst religious leaders and seminarians: a Nigerian study

Introduction: There exists scanty literature on the awareness of Nigerians towards palliative care. This study was conducted to determine the level of awareness of religious leaders and seminarians in Ibadan, Nigeria, on palliative care. Methods: Data obtained from a cross-section of 302 religious leaders and seminarians in the metropolitan city of Ibadan, Nigeria, were used in this research. Study tool was a self-administered questionnaire which obtained information from the participants about their bio-data and knowledge of palliative care. Data analysis was done using the SPSS version 16 Software. Results: The mean age of the respondents was 28.99 years, with 55.6% of them being within the age range of 21 to 30 years. The majority (94%) were males, 68.5% were single and 79.8% were seminarians. Only 31.8% have heard of palliative care before, 12.6% knew a health facility where palliative care is rendered in Nigeria, while 21.9% knew that chaplains are members of the palliative care team. Conclusion: The level of awareness of palliative care among religious leaders and seminarians in Ibadan, Nigeria, is low. There exists the need to educate Nigerian religious leaders and seminarians on palliative care

Medical Ethics

Medical ethics is very important at this time of medicine due to the covid-19 pandemic which has caused a lot of mortality and morbidity world wide. Medical is important in guiding clinicians and other healthcare workers not to cause harm while caring out their duties. There are various aspects of medical ethics such as negligence, do not cause harm, beneficent and others. Not practicing medical ethics has caused some physicians to face litigation by their patients and clients and also face medical disciplinary boards. Some have even been suspended from medical practice for a number of months or years or even have their names struck off from the register of the licensing board of their country

Knowledge of senior secondary school students in Nigeria about Head and Neck Cancer:Implications on prevention strategies

BACKGROUND: The high prevalence of the risk factors of head and neck cancer (HNC) amongst senior secondary (high) school students in Nigeria is an issue of serious public health concern. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the knowledge of HNC among them. METHODS: This cross-sectional study surveyed 2,530 senior secondary school students in Nigeria, assessed their knowledge of HNC, using a self-administered questionnaire. Data collected were analyzed using the SPSS version 25 software. RESULTS: The mean (±SD) age of the respondents was 16.34 (±2.0) years. More than half (1418; 56.6%) of them were males, 530 (20.9%) were schooling in the north-central geopolitical zone of Nigeria, 1,860 (73.5%) were in public schools, 554 (21.9%) were boarding students, and 817 (33.5%) were in Senior Secondary (SS) 3 class. Only 789 (31.2%) respondents were aware of HNC, out of which: 69.2% of them had below-average scores in their overall assessment on HNC; 256 (32.4%) had ever received education on HNC and 81.2% indicated a positive interest in knowing more about HNC. The factors predicting above-average score on knowledge about HNC among the respondents were: being in SS3 class (OR=1.73; 95% CI=1.17 – 2.56), having been educated about HNC (OR=1.69; 95%CI=1.21 – 2.35) and having the interest to know more about HNC (OR=1.88; 95%CI=1.21 – 2.92). Bivariate analysis showed that these factors had statistically significant association (or relationship) with above-average score on knowledge about HNC (pvalues<0.05). CONCLUSION: Majority of the surveyed students were willing to know more about HNC. The use of a properly planned massive school-based HNC education programs may go a long way in educating this population group on HNC