Psychiatric morbidity in two urban communities in Nigeria

Background: There is a welter of evidence for an inverse relationship between socio-economic status (SES) and mental health. The relationship is grossly under researched in the developing countries. Objective: To ascertain rates of gross psychiatric morbidity and some demographic correlations in two communities with different socio-economic standards. Design: A cross-sectional community based study. Subjects: Random samples of two socio-economically dissimilar communities (N1 = 189, N2 = 148) were assessed for psychiatric morbidity. Results: Rates of psychiatric morbidity obtained for the lower status community (Ajegunle) and the higher status community (Victoria Island/Ikoyi) on the GH Q-12 were 26.5 and 14.2 respectively and the corresponding figures on the SRQ (non-psychosis) were 41.8 and 18.2 and on the SRQ (psychosis) 61.5 and 31.7. A large number of positive socio-demographic correlations between cases and non-cases were obtained on SRQ and GHQ-12 in both communities. Family history of psychiatric illness significantly differentiates cases from non-cases on all measures of morbidity. Conclusion: The socio-economic inequality demonstrated should be minimised by evolving a social welfare policy in Nigeria and other developing countries that is responsive to the survival needs of the populace and ensures equitable distribution of resources across socio-economic strata. There is dire need for further research into the complex bearings of the link between social status and psychological wellness in the developing world.East African Medical Journal Vol. 85 (8) 2008: pp. 368-37

Bank Consolidation and Bank Risk Taking Behaviour: A Panel Study of Commercial Banks in Nigeria

This paper investigates the impact of bank recapitalization on the risk taking attitude of commercial banks in Nigeria. We employed panel data model in the analyses and the results show that increase in bank capital promotes bank stability. The results also reveal that excessive provisions for bad loans may be an indication that a large part of bank credit is nonperforming and this affects bank’s stability adversely. The results further indicate that growth in size is an important determinant of credit risk alongside large capital, although growth in size of banks has a nonlinear effect on bank stability. We found that the consolidation period was followed by abnormal increases in bank lending, indicating the existence of moral hazard problem.  Our findings suggest that increase in capital base should also be matched with effective regulations to prevent moral hazard problem from dampening the positive effect of capital reforms on bank stability. Keywords: recapitalisation, merger, consolidation, reforms, risk-takin

Effects of injectable contraceptives on intraocular pressure among women of child bearing age

Background: The presence of female sex hormones has been linked to variation in intraocular pressure. Numerous studies have revealed that these hormones exert neuroprotective effect and a vascular effect on intraocular pressure regulation. This study was to determine the effect of injectable contraceptives on intraocular pressure in women of child bearing age.Methods: It was a cross-sectional study, carried out at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital involving 85 healthy Nigerian women of child bearing age (20-50 years). The women were divided into two groups 20-35 years (Mean age was 29.66±3.43) and 36-50 years (Mean age 40.66±4.41). A brief case history was conducted to gain information on their personal data, oculo-visual history and general health. Intraocular pressure (IOP) was measured at baseline and two months after injectable contraceptive.Results: There was no statistical significant difference in the IOP reading at baseline and after injectable contraceptives among women in group 20-35 (p=0.819), whereas women in group 36-50 years showed a Statistical significant difference in their IOP at baseline and after injectable contraceptives (p=0.049).Conclusions: Injectable contraceptives have significant effect on IOP of healthy women of childbearing age. Further studies involving a larger sample should be conducted over a long duration in order to achieve a better generalization of the findings on this subject matter

Perceptions of patient-centered care among veterans with gastroesophageal reflux disease on proton pump inhibitor therapy

The aim of this study was to explore perceptions of patient-centered care (PCC) among Veterans with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) on proton pump inhibitor (PPI) therapy using patient-reported outcome (PRO) measures. We used three validated surveys to measure PCC concepts in a national sample of Veterans with GERD on PPI therapy. The Combined Outcome Measure for Risk Communication and Treatment Decision Making Effectiveness (COMRADE) measures patient experiences with risk communication and decision-making. The Patient Activation Measure (PAM) evaluates confidence and knowledge needed for self-management. The Patient Assessment of Care for Chronic Conditions (PACIC) assesses views of chronic care received. We used descriptive statistics to describe patient characteristics and PCC outcomes. Respondents (n=444) were mostly male (95.1%) with a mean age of 67.7 years. The mean COMRADE score measuring patient experiences with risk communication was 55.3 (SD=19.0). The mean PAM score was 56.1 (SD=19.2); 47.8% of respondents were considered disengaged patients lacking confidence and knowledge for self-management. The mean PACIC summary score was 3.03 (SD=1.2), with highest scores in the Delivery System Design/Decision Support (3.38, SD=1.2) subscale, and lowest scores in the Follow-up/Coordination subscale (2.58, SD=1.3). Veterans with GERD reported that care was well-organized and supportive in enhancing decision-making. Potential gaps in patient experiences may exist in delivering follow-up care, enhancing patient activation, and informing patients about risks of available GERD treatments. This is the first study to evaluate patient perceptions of PCC in a national sample of Veterans with GERD on PPI therapy. Findings can inform further investigation and development of targeted interventions to enhance the experience of PCC for individuals with GERD

Challenges Associated with Midwifery Practice and Education in Northern Nigeria:Way Forward

Midwifery practice has continued to gain recognition as a result of its influence on the health of mothers and newborns. However, the practice of midwifery in Nigeria is associated with numerous challenges leading to negative health indicators in the region. This paper examined the challenges associated with midwifery practice and education in Northern Nigeria with a view of exploring the way forward. Relevant literatures of stakeholders ’ reports and studies conducted globally and locally were searched and reviewed. Findings from the reviewed literatures showed that midwifery workforce is short of the ideal number required globally and specifically in Northern Nigeria. This shortage of midwives could be linked to the poor performance of Nigeria in achieving MDGs and now SDGs leading to outrageous Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR) in Northern Nigeria. Other highlighted challenges affecting midwifery practice and education in the region include; usurping of midwives’ roles/duties by doctors lack of comprehensive data on midwives, poor attitude of midwives, poor remuneration, negative patient’ s perception of midwives, feminization of midwifery profession and lack of resources and equipment. The paper therefore recommends that there should be continuous training of midwives as well as a need to review of the curriculum, code of ethics, scheme of service and entry qualification for midwives

Understanding Golf Country Club Members’ Loyalty: Factors Affecting Membership Renewal Decisions

Many private country clubs across the United States have experienced a declining or flat membership and smaller waitlists of members wanting to join. The objective of this study was to investigate whether member involvement, service quality, and perceived value, influence member satisfaction and intention to renew membership for members of private country clubs. An online survey instrument customized for the country club industry was distributed to members of two country clubs in northeast Ohio. Results indicate that involvement level of members and perceived value impact country club members’ satisfaction and intention to renew their membership. Managerial implications are discussed

Impact of Climate Variability on Irrigation Water Needs and Irrigation Schedules of Maize and Cucumber in Aba, Abia State

In an attempt to address the discrepancies in the food production and population growth rates in Nigeria, this study estimated the irrigation water requirements of maize and cucumber in Aba, Abia State. Meteorological parameters (rainfall, minimum and maximum temperature, relative humidity, wind speed, sunshine hours) were collected from NiMet Abuja for 20 years (2000 to 2020). CROPWAT version 8.0 was applied to determine the Crop ETo and irrigation schedule of maize and cucumber. The hypothesis: Impact of climate variability does not influence irrigation of maize and cucumber was tested using Pearson correlation coefficient. The result shows that during the early and late planting season of maize, the crop water used are 338.6mm and 276.6mm, effective rainfall 478.8mm and 782.8mm and the total rainfall 740.0mm and 1028.6mm. For cucumber, the water used by the crop is 334.9mm and 285.8mm, and effective rainfall 332.6mm and 663.9mm. There was no irrigation schedule for maize and cucumber during the early and late plating seasons. It shows that water requirement for maize and cucumber was enough during the seasons. The highest crop ETo and temperature was in the month of March (4.57mm/day) and January (33.7°C). The study also reveals that the impact of climate change on irrigation water need at 0.05 significant level is IR=192.811-0.089(TR). The result shows a negative slope (-0.089), which means a negative relationship between Irrigation required and total rainfall over the 20 years period. This indicates that as rainfall increases, irrigation required decreases. The study therefore, suggests that maize and cucumber should be planted in Aba all year round; since there is enough rainfall for the crop

Developing Supply Chain Strategies for Enhancing the Productivity in Financial Sector: Evidence from Nigeria

This paper presents the impact of applying the supply chain strategies on the financial sector to optimize productivity and decreasing cost which will have a direct impact on the net income of the organization. The global economic situation in the last decade has left stakeholders in Nigerian financial sector struggling to meet up with profits/returns expected from them by their investors. The Nigerian financial sector has put in place a lot of mechanism to achieve their goals and one of such is reduction of employees running cost without taking into consideration the outcome of such decision at the long run. So this study proposes the effects of supply chain on the overall staff productivity in the financial sector, precisely the deposit money banks in Nigeria. The study set to test two hypotheses by means of SPSS and Spearman’s Rank Order Correlation coefficient for processing and analyzing of data collected using responses from 244 questionnaires distributed across the selected financial institutions in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria and within acceptable Cronbach Alpha value of 0.7, results were interpreted and presented. The result of the analysis showed that there is a strong significant relationship between supply chain and staff productivity. The study found that there exist a great gap between the remunerations of casual and permanent employees thus leading to job dissatisfaction and lower productivity. The study recommends that government and management should develop supports toward employees input that will promote personal well-being and proletariat productivity while protecting them from exploitation by their employers in the financial institutions

Determinants of contraceptive methods use after voluntary induced abortion at the Yaounde Central Hospital, Cameroon

Background: Abortion is the termination of pregnancy with expulsion of the product of conception before the age of fetal viability- 28 weeks. In Africa, 96% of abortions are unsafe and there is an estimated 1 death for 150 abortions. Few data are available in Cameroon on the determinants of contraception after a voluntary termination of pregnancy. The objective of this study to investigate the determinants of the use of contraceptive methods after a voluntary termination of pregnancy.Methods: The study was descriptive cross-sectional lasting 09 months in the gynecology and obstetrics unit of the Yaounde Central Hospital. We included women admitted to this unit who have already had at least one abortion. All women who did not give their consent were excluded. The data were entered and analyzed using the Epi-info software version 7.2.2.6. The tools used to express our results were the Student's and Whitney's test, the Wald test and the Odd ratios (OR) with their 95% confidence interval. The significance level was 5%.Results: Out of 139 participants, 86 (61.87%) had already used a modern contraceptive method after voluntary termination of pregnancy. The mean age was 27.13±6.16 years with extremes of 16 and 42 years. Being single and having unwanted pregnancies independently increased contraceptive method use after abortions.Conclusions: An intensification of campaigns for behaviour change and men's involvement would further improve the use of contraceptive methods after abortion

Spécificité de la transformation sarcomateuse de la maladie de Recklinghaussen : a propos de deux cas et revue de la littérature

5 à 10% des patients atteints de neurofibromatose de type 1 (NF1) développent des tumeurs malignes des gaines des nerfs périphériques  (Malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor: MPNST) contre 0.001% dans la population générale. A travers deux observations et une revue de la littérature nous discuterons la spécificité de la transformation sarcomateuse au cours de la neurofibromatose de type 1.Key words: Maladie de Recklinghausen, transformation sarcomateuse, neurofibromatose de type