Knowledge of COVID‑19 and Practice of Preventive Measures among Adult Residents during the Ease of Lockdown in Nigeria

Background: The governments of many countries have taken steps to avert the spread of COVID 19. The  gradual relaxation of the lockdown in Nigeria might be counter‑productive if not properly managed. The best means to reduce and stop transmission is for the public to be adequately informed about the disease and its preventive measures. This research assessed the knowledge of COVID‑19 and practice of preventive measuresalong with its predictors among Nigerian residents during the ease of the lockdown. Methodology: A cross‑sectional study was conducted among 1421 adult residents of Nigeria. Data were  collected between 6th and 20th September, 2020, using a semi-structured online questionnaire adapted from previous studies. IBM SPSS version 26 was used for data analysis. Pearson’s Chi‑square and logistic regression were used to determine the predictors of preventive practices. Results: The mean age of the respondents was 27.5 ± 9.1 years. Avery large proportion (98.8%) of the respondents had a good knowledge of the disease (score of ≥4 out of 6 variables) and the internet (70.1%) was the major source of their information. However, only 57.6% of them had good practice of preventive measures of the disease (score of ≥3 out of 4). Predictor of good practice of preventive measure included female sex (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 2.626; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 2.078–3.319), being married (AOR = 2.177; 95% CI = 1.568–3.023), and possessing tertiary and postgraduate level of education (AOR = 1.813; 95% CI = 1.082–3.036 and AOR = 2.102; 95% CI = 1.206–3.664, respectively). However, residents in local government headquarters and other villages as well as towns (AOR = 0.541; 95% CI = 0.388–0.756 and AOR = 0.587; 95% CI = 0.350–0.983, respectively) have less likelihood of engaging in good practice of preventive measures. Conclusion: Majority of the research participants had good knowledge of the disease, while about half take part in good preventive practices measures. Predictors of the practice measures included sex, level of education, place of residence, as well as marital status. Therefore, targeted interventions should be directed to the males, those who reside outside the Federal Capital Territory and state capitals, and other high‑risk groups as found by this study to reduce the risk of disease contraction during this period

Financial cost of hypertension in urban and rural tertiary health facilities in Southwest, Nigeria: A comparative cross-sectional study

Background: The financial cost of hypertension could result in serious economic hardship for patients, their households, and the community. To assess and compare the direct and indirect cost of care for hypertension in urban and rural tertiary health facilities. Material and Methods: A comparative cross-sectional study was carried out in two tertiary health facilities which are located in urban and rural communities of the southwest, Nigeria. Four hundred and six (204 urban, 202 rural) hypertensive patients were selected from the health facilities using a systematic sampling technique. A pretested semi-structured, interviewer-administered questionnaire adapted from that used in a previous study was used for data collection. Information on biodata, and direct and indirect costs was collected. Data entry and analysis were done using IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 22.0. Results: More than half of the respondents were females (urban, 54.4%; rural, 53.5%) and in their middle age (45-64 years) (urban, 50.5%; rural, 51.0%). The monthly cost of care for hypertension was significantly higher in urban than in rural tertiary health facilities (urban, ₦19,703.26 [$54.73]; rural, ₦18,448.58 [$51.25]) (P < 0.001). There was a significant difference in the direct cost (urban, ₦15,835.54 [$43.99]; rural, ₦14,531.68 [$40.37]) (P < 0.001), although the indirect cost (urban, ₦3,867.72 [$10.74]; rural, ₦3,916.91 [$10.88]) (P = 0.540) did not show much difference between the groups. The cost of drugs/consumables and investigations contributed more than half (urban, 56.8%; rural, 58.8%) of the cost in both health facilities. Conclusion: The financial cost of hypertension was higher in the urban tertiary health facility; therefore, more government support is needed in this health facility to close the financial gap

The Unspotted Impact of Global Inflation and Economic Crisis on The Nigerian Healthcare System

Inflation, the rise in prices of goods and services, has been on an exponential rise over the past few years globally. The excess inflation and the devaluation of the Nigerian currency has aggravated the problem of poor healthcare funding in the country. The overlooked influences that global inflation has had on the Nigerian healthcare system were highlighted in this work. Some of the influences included increased healthcare costs leading to demand-related problems, increased morbidity, reduced quality of healthcare delivery despite the increased cost, understaffing, the inefficiency of healthcare workers, medical brain drain as well as dwindling of research activities. In line with these consequences, it has become imperative for the government to take action to curb the growing menace of inflation and its impacts, through policy development and implementation as well as increasing resource allocation to the health sector