Perception and acceptability of malaria vaccine among maternal and child health clinic attendees at the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital, Calabar, Nigeria

Background: Ninety percent of the world's malaria cases occur in sub-Saharan Africa. Because of challenges with ongoing malaria control strategies there is need for newer strategies such as malaria vaccine. Nigeria's immunization program has suffered series of setback in recent times due to misperception that marred its acceptability. Malaria vaccine trials have already commenced in some countries. The aim of this study was to assess the perception and acceptability of malaria vaccines among maternal and child health clinic attendees.Methodology: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study. A semi-structured pre-tested interviewer-administered questionnaire was used for data collection from maternal and child health clinic attendees in Calabar, Nigeria. Respondents were selected using systematic random sampling. Data was collected on socio-demographic characteristics, sources of information regarding malaria vaccine and perception and acceptability of malaria vaccine.Results: Majority of respondents, 90.5%, were females, 93% were married and 77.5% were educated up to tertiary level. Civil servants constituted 35.1% of respondents. Majority, 157(60%) of respondents had heard about malaria vaccine prior to the study. Eighty –four percent of respondents indicated that they believe malaria vaccine is necessary for malaria control. Fifty- three percent of respondents agreed that they would allow their children to be volunteers for malaria vaccine trial. Eighty- six percent of respondents would recommend that malaria vaccine be made part of the country's National Programme on Immunization.Conclusion: Majority of respondents had good perception of malaria vaccine. However, there is need for more advocacy and health education so as to debunk all myths and misperceptions.Keywords: Malaria, Vaccine, Acceptability, Perception, Immunization, Nigeri

Sexuality, Contraception And Unintended Pregnancy Among Female Student Nurses In Calabar, Nigeria

Background – There has been increased concern on human sexuality, especially with respect to contraception and the control of sexually transmissible infections. There is need to identify the sociodemographic characteristics that influence sexual behaviour and contraceptive use among young women. Methods – A descriptive cross sectional study that focused on the socio-demographic characteristics, sexuality, knowledge and use of modern contraceptive technology as well as interventions taken in the event of inadvertent pregnancy was conducted. A structured, close- ended questionnaire was randomly administered to 195 female nursing students with 60, 65 and 70 of them in their first, second and third year respectively. Results – Majority (76.7%) of the students were in the age bracket of 20 – 24years. While 65.6% of them were sexually active, only 54.9% had knowledge of family planning. Condom was the commonest contraceptive used (37.4%) and the main reasons were that of effectiveness (31.8%) and safety (30.3%). There was a significant relationship between respondents with multiple sexual partners and incidence of unwanted pregnancies (p=0.003). The majority (51.2%) of those with unwanted pregnancies resorted to induced abortion. Conclusion – In view of the high prevalence of induced abortion among the respondents, current nursing training programmes need to be reviewed to meet the peculiar reproductive health needs of female student nurses. Key words – Sexuality, Contraception, unintended pregnancy, school of nursing

Pattern of alcohol use among drivers of commercial vehicles in Calabar, Nigeria

Objective: Hazardous use of alcohol is a public health problem which accounts for 4.0% of global burden of disease. We investigated the pattern and reasons for alcohol use among drivers of commercial vehicles in Calabar, Nigeria.Design: A cross-sectional descriptive study.Setting: The study was carried out in 18 of 32 clusters of motor parks in Calabar, Nigeria.Subjects: Three hundred and sixty drivers of commercial vehicles participated in the study.Result: The mean age of respondents was 38.5 ± 9.5 years. All respondents were male. More than four-fifth (84.4%) of respondents were alcohol users. About a quarter of respondents were hazardous alcohol users. Beer (76.6%) was the most patronised alcoholic beverage. Most (90.8%) alcohol users drank after work, usually (48.7%) in company of friends. The most commonly mentioned reason for alcohol use was forpleasure (59.2%).Conclusion: Market-related interventions and sport-friendly motor parks could be useful in alcohol control

Informed consent for surgery in Nigeria: Is the practice adequate?

To evaluate the adequacy of the use of informed consent in surgical practice from the patients’ perspective. The study was carried out in the department of Surgery, University of Calabar Teaching Hospital, Calabar, over a six-month period. A structured questionnaire was administered post operatively on patients, and parents/guardians of minors, who agreed to participate in the exercise. Data obtained included sociodemographic characteristics, description of surgery they had, whether surgical procedure was explained to them pre operatively or not, who gave the explanation, their level of understanding and their opinion on the process of obtaining the consent. Ninety one patients participated in the study. Male to female ratio was 3.8:1, with average age of 33.6 years (SD ± 13). Most of them (94.6%) had some level of formal education. Seventy nine patients (86.8%) knew the description of the surgical procedure. Pre operative explanation of the surgical procedure was given to 70.3% of the patients but 27.5% of these did not understand the explanation. A significant number of the patients (51.6%) were not satisfied with the explanation given. Even though all the patients had the consent form signed either by themselves or on their behalf by a close relative, 46.2% of them did not understand the content of the consent form and 67.1% did not understand the implication of what they had signed. The practice of informed consent for surgery is not adequate. Surgeons need to be further educated to improve their practice in this regard. The consent process needs to be simplified to enhance patients’ understanding and participation

Social determinants of alcohol use among drivers in Calabar

Objective: Hazardous use of alcohol is a public health problem which accounts for 4.0% of global disease burden. Although the prevalence of alcohol use among drivers of commercial vehicles in Nigeria has been documented, not much is known about its social determinants. This study was, therefore, aimed at assessing the social determinants of alcohol use among drivers of commercial vehicles in Calabar. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted among 360 male commercial drivers. A semistructured questionnaire, which included the World Health Organization Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test, was administered at interview. Binary and multinomial logistic regression analyses were used to identify social determinants of any and hazardous alcohol use. Results: Determinants of any alcohol use (binary logistic) were history of use by parents (adjusted odds ratios (AOR)=2.7; 95% CI=1.1–6.3), friends (AOR=3.2; 95% CI=1.3–7.8) and ready availability (AOR=4.1; 95% CI=1.9–8.8) while determinants of hazardous use (multinomial logistic) were history of use by parents (AOR=5.8; 95% CI=2.0–16.9), siblings (AOR=7.0; 95% CI=2.6–16.9), friends (AOR=6.6; 95% CI=1.8–24.4), hostile upbringing environment (AOR=3.8; 95% CI=1.3–11.1), use of other drugs (AOR=55.6, 95% CI=14.5–200), and respondents who had fathers with a maximum of primary or no formal education (AOR=4.6; 95% CI=1.8–11.8). Conclusion: Alcohol use was associated with family use, friends’ use, and use of other drugs. Multiple health education interventions are needed to tackle these challenges.Key words: Alcohol use, alcohol use disorders identification test, commercial vehicle driver