Management of perceived mental health problems by spiritual

Objective: Anecdotal reports and research findings have suggested that religious healers are widely consulted by many Nigerians in time of mental health crisis.The study aimed at examining the knowledge, attitude and practice of mental health care among a syncretic Church's healers, and their readiness to cooperate with Psychiatrists. Method: A modified, pilot-tested, selfcompleted questionnaire was used to obtain information from consenting spiritual healers who satisfy the inclusion criteria. Focus group discussions (FGDs), Participatory Observation (PO) and Key Informant Interviews (KII) were used to corroborate or refute the findings. Results: The respondents' knowledge of mental disorders was limited to psychotic disorders; their explanatory model was similar to beliefs of the populace. In practice, they combined some modern medical approach, some native methodology and some eclectic religious practices such as prophecy, trance and dream. Only 6% of them ever referred their clients to medical practitioners. Conclusion: Religious healers still constitute an important route to access mental health care providers to some Nigerians. Keywords: Mental health, Spirituality, NigeriaAfrican Journal of Psychiatry Vol. 11 (2) 2008 pp. 113-11

Antimalarial use and the associated factors in rural nigeria following implementation of affordable medicines facility-malaria (amfm) price subsidy

Purpose: This study was set out to find out the pattern of antimalarial drug use in a Nigerian rural community following the aggressive price subsidy of Artemisinin Combination Therapy(ACT) recently embarked upon by Roll Back Malaria partners through Affordable Medicines Facility-malaria (AMFm).Methods: Questioners were administered to 310 adult members of the community with the most recent malaria episodes so as to find out about the drugs used and some of the factors associated with the choice of the drug.Result: Although the overall use of ACT (13.55%) in this community was about 4 times higher than what it used to be, Chloroquine 123(39.62%) and sulphadozine/pyrimathamine 120(38.71%) were the mostly used antimalarial agents. Choice of drug used was significantly associated with perception of efficacy and price among other factors. Respondents liked the price of ACT (33.3%) most, CQ was the drug most liked in terms of efficacy (44.2%) while SP was the drug most liked in terms of lack of side effect (38.9%), taste (61.6%) and convenience (35.7%).( P= 0.001)Conclusion: In addition to sustaining the current price control, there is a need to continuously monitor and effectively regulate the quality of the ACTs in circulation so as to gain the confidence of both the prescribers and the end users regarding efficacy and adherence to ACTs. This will help to safeguard the huge investment in ACT subsidy by the Roll Back Malaria partners.Key words: ACT, Subsidy, Affordable Medicines Facility-malari

Prevalence of hypertension in the rural adult population of Osun State, southwestern Nigeria

EO Asekun-Olarinmoye,1 PO Akinwusi,2 WO Adebimpe,1 MA Isawumi,3 MB Hassan,3 OA Olowe,4 OB Makanjuola,4 CO Alebiosu,2 TA Adewole51Department of Community Medicine, 2Department of Medicine, 3Department of Surgery, 4Department of Microbiology, 5Department of Chemical Pathology, College of Health Sciences, Osun State University, Osogbo, Osun State, NigeriaBackground: The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of hypertension in two rural communities of Osun State, Nigeria.Methods: A consenting adult population of the Alajue and Obokun rural communities in southwestern Nigeria that presented for the screening exercise participated in this community-based cross-sectional descriptive study. Two hundred and fifty-nine respondents aged older than 18 years completed a standardized, pretested, structured questionnaire as part of activities celebrating World Kidney Day and World Glaucoma Day in 2011. Anthropometric data and blood pressure were recorded, and the data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 17.Results: The mean age of the respondents was 49.7 &plusmn; 1.6 years, 100 (38.6%) were males, 84 (32.4%) were farmers, and 111 (42.9%) were traders. The prevalence of hypertension was 13.16% (present in 34 respondents). Seventeen (6.6%) had isolated systolic hypertension, while 11 (4.2%) had isolated diastolic hypertension. Two hundred and thirty-six (91.1%) undertook daily exercise lasting at least 30 minutes and 48 (18.5%) had ever taken antihypertensive drugs on a regular basis. Four respondents (1.6%) claimed a family history of hypertension. The average body mass index (BMI) among respondents was 23.4 &plusmn; 4.9 kg/m2, 51 (19.6%) had a BMI of 25.0&ndash;29.9, and 30 (11.5%) had a BMI &ge; 30. A significant association existed between age older than 40 years and having hypertension (P < 0.05), while no relationship existed between age and BMI or between gender and hypertension (P > 0.05). Rates of older age and high BMI were significantly higher among hypertensives than among normotensives. Respondents with BMI < 25 had at least a three times greater likelihood of developing hypertension than those with BMI < 25 (odds ratio 2.9, 95% confidence interval 0.007&ndash;0.056, P = 0.011).Conclusion: The prevalence of hypertension is high in this study population and we recommend scaling up primary prevention efforts to reduce this in Nigerian communities.Keywords: prevalence, hypertension, anthropometry, body mass index, rural communit

Sexual dimorphism and age - related changes in components of stature of healthy Nigerian children: A case study of some primary and secondary schools in Ilorin

No Abstract.Tropical Journal of Health Sciences Vol. 14 (1) 2007: pp.53-5

Asymptomatic bacteriuria among elderly and middle-aged rural community-dwellers in South-Western Nigeria

OA Olowe,1 OB Makanjuola,1 KO Olabiyi,1 PO Akinwusi,2 CO Alebiosu,2 MA Isawumi,3 MB Hassan,3 EO Asekun-Olarinmoye,4 WO Adebimpe,4 TA Adewole5 1Department of Medical Microbiology and Parasitology, 2Department of Medicine, 3Department of Ophthalmology, 4Department of Community Medicine, 5Department of Biochemistry, College of Health Sciences, Osun State University, Osogbo, Osun State, Nigeria Abstract: Asymptomatic bacteriuria in elderly individuals has been well described in institutionalized settings, but to a lesser extent in the community. The purpose of this study was to determine the pathogens responsible for asymptomatic bacteriuria in elderly and middle-aged individuals in Alajue-Ede, South-Western Nigeria, and to identify any associated factors. Mid-stream urine samples were collected from apparently healthy elderly and middle-aged volunteers who were participating in community health screening. Samples were processed and bacterial isolates were identified following standard procedures. In total, 128 volunteers (48 men, 76 women) participated in the study. Twenty-eight (22.6%) urinary pathogens were isolated, comprising Klebsiella species in five (17.9%), Pseudomonas aeruginosa in one (3.6%), Escherichia coli in 19 (67.9%), and Proteus species in three (10.7%) cases. Women were identified as being at higher risk of asymptomatic bacteriuria, and the prevalence also increased with increasing age in men. The elderly in this community have a high prevalence of asymptomatic bacteriuria, and screening for comorbid medical conditions may be of benefit. Keywords: asymptomatic bacteriuria, urinary pathogens, elderly, urinary tract infectio