Policies on Employment and Age Declaration Scam: A Case Study of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence CORPS (NSCDC) and United Bank for Africa (UBA)

The ceiling placed on age by government and non-governmental agencies when it comes to employment opportunities in Nigeria which is usually between 20 and 30 years has made a lot of applicants outsiders bracketing them out of consideration in the job selection process thereby pushing them to have their ages falsely declared in court The problem is even more prominent in Nigeria where applicants can take up to a decade or more looking for jobs by which time they get older For example in a 2016 2017 recruitment exercise by the Nigerian Police a candidate applying for the post of a Cadet Assistant Superintendent of Police must be between 23 and 28 years of age Also in an advert by Fidelity Bank Plc in 2015 for jobs one of its key requirements was an applicant must be between 20 and 28 year

Do breast cancer survivors benefit from mammography screening?:A population-based study

Background: Mammography screening reduces breast cancer mortality by approximately 25 % in the general population and might therefore also benefit breast cancer survivors. However, its impact on mortality rates in this group remains unstudied. We aimed to estimate the effect of mammography screening on breast cancer mortality in this population. Methods: We used data from invitations to the regional mammography screening program in Funen, Denmark (1993–2007), before the nationwide program's rollout in 2008. Breast cancer mortality among invited survivors (study group) was compared to survivors of similar age in counties without screening programs (control group). Results: The study and control groups comprised 2109 invited breast cancer survivors and 15,417 non-invited breast cancer survivors. Of those, 406 (19 %) and 3385 (22 %) died from breast cancer within the follow-up period. The relative risk for invited versus not invited at 22 years of follow-up was 0.88 (95 %CI: 0.81–0.97). The relative risk for participants compared to a similar group in the control group of non-invited breast cancer survivors was 0.62 (95 %CI: 0.51–0.76). Conclusions: Mammography screening might reduce breast cancer mortality less among breast cancer survivors than among the general population. However, this is most likely due to a lower participation rate among breast cancer survivors.</p

Screening participants with inflammatory bowel disease or high colorectal cancer risk in Denmark:a cohort study

Individuals with inflammatory bowel disease (IBC) and high-risk individuals are advised to discuss participation with their doctor and not to participate in colorectal cancer (CRC) screening. Yet a substantial proportion still participate in the Danish faecal immunochemical test (FIT) screening and have a higher positive FIT rate than the average-risk population. We estimated the risk of false-positive screening among individuals with inflammatory bowel disease and high-risk individuals to improve recommendations regarding screening participation. We included 71,871 FIT-positive participants (2014–2017) who had a subsequent colonoscopy within 3 months. Screening outcome within 180 days was established by using registers. We determined that 26,591 of the included participants had a false-positive screening. Participants with IBC or high CRC risk had a significantly higher risk of getting a false-positive screening than the average risk population, resulting in too many screening-related colonoscopies being performed among these individuals, indicating a need to update the screening protocols.</p

The association of demographic and socioeconomic variables with cancer screening participation:A national cross-sectional study of three cancer screening programs in Denmark

Objective: To analyze the demographic and socioeconomic determinants of non-participation in cervical, colorectal and breast cancer screening programs in Denmark. Study design and setting: We conducted a cross-sectional study involving all women aged 53–65 years residing in Denmark on March 31, 2018, utilizing comprehensive individual data from population registries. Logistic regression models were employed to assess associations between demographic and socioeconomic factors and non-participation compared with participating in one, two, and three cancer screening programs, presenting odds ratios (ORs) with 95 % confidence intervals (CIs). Both unadjusted and adjusted models were applied for each level of screening participation. Results: Significant associations with non-participation in the three cancer screening programs were observed across all demographic and socioeconomic covariates considered. Women with low incomes demonstrated the highest likelihood of non-participation (none vs. three programs attended, OR: 2.95, 95 % CI: 2.82–3.08). Similarly, increased odds of non-participation were noted among immigrants (Western immigrants: OR: 2.08, 95 % CI: 1.96–2.21; non-Western immigrants OR 1.26 95 % CI: 1.20–1.32), women living alone (OR: 2.08, 95 % CI: 2.02–2.14), women outside the labor force (OR: 1.92, 95 % CI: 1.86–1.99), and women with lower educational levels (OR: 1.44, 95 % CI: 1.39–1.50) in the model comparing non-participation to participating in three screening programs. A progressive intensification of the association with non-participation was noted with each incremental increase in screening participation (from one to two to three programs). Conclusions: Demographic and socioeconomic variables are significantly associated with non-participation in all three Danish cancer screening programs, particularly affecting women from vulnerable demographic and socioeconomic backgrounds. Future research should prioritize strategies to enhance participation within this subgroup, aiming to alleviate social inequities in cancer screening.</p

The association between health literacy and cancer screening participation:A cross-sectional study across three organised screening programmes in Denmark

Objective: Health literacy may be related to non-participation in cancer screening, but there is limited understanding of its association with participation across all cancer screening programmes. This study aims to explore the associations between health literacy and advancing in participation in cancer screening programmes. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study involving women aged 53–65 years residing in Denmark on 31 March 2018. Data utilised was from population registries and self-reported health literacy (HLS-EU-Q16) collected autumn 2017. Uni- and multivariate ordinal logistic regression models were employed to assess associations between health literacy levels and the likelihood of increased attendance in cancer screening programmes. Results were presented as odds ratios (ORs) with 95 % confidence intervals (CIs). Results: Of the women included, 2668 (69.8 %) responded to the health literacy questionnaire. Among these, 53.3 % demonstrated adequate health literacy, 34.4 % had problematic, and 12.3 % inadequate. In total, 71.2 % attended three screening programmes, 20.1 % attended two, 6.2 % attended one, and 2.5 % attended none. There were no differences in the ORs for advancing in screening attendance when comparing problematic (OR = 1.18, 95 % CI: 0.97–1.42) or inadequate (OR = 0.96, 95 % CI: 0.74–1.26) health literacy levels with an adequate level. Conclusions: Our study suggests that health literacy does not significantly influence cancer screening participation among the studied population in Denmark. Therefore, interventions aimed at increasing screening participation in this group should not only target health literacy but also focus on other aspects of non-participation.</p

Variations in pathways and resource use in follow-up after abnormal mammography screening:a nationwide register-based study

Purpose: Mammography screening reduces breast cancer mortality, but a successful screening programme depends on both high participation and a sufficient follow-up of abnormalities. This study investigated patterns of follow-up after abnormal screening mammography in Denmark, and whether the variation was associated with health care resource use. Methods: We included 19,458 women aged 50–69 years with an abnormal screening mammography during a 3-year period of 2014–2016. Women were followed until the end of 2018. Their follow-up pathway was categorized in terms of the timeliness, appropriateness (i.e. whether all recommended diagnostic tests were utilized), and the ratio of benign vs. malignant surgeries. Further, we estimated health care resource use including post-diagnostic imaging and surgery procedures. Results: Ninety-seven percent of women had a diagnostic follow-up test within 6 months and 94% of those had diagnostic procedures in accordance with the recommendations. The proportion with timely follow-up (i.e. within 1 month) was 83%, but varied significantly between administrative regions (p &lt; 0.001), and also between women with a screen-detected cancer and those with a false-positive mammogram (87% vs. 81%, p &lt; 0.001). The ratio between having a benign versus a malignant surgery was 1:8, but it varied depending on which tests were used for diagnosis. The average number of procedures was, generally, in accordance with the recommendations. Conclusion: In most cases, follow-up after abnormal screening mammography followed national recommendations. We nevertheless found that this was not always the case in certain subgroups and administrative regions.</p

Adherence to follow-up and resource use after abnormal FIT-screening:Evaluation of the Danish colorectal cancer screening program

Background and study aims The effectiveness of colorectal cancer screening programs depends on adherence to surveillance protocols for screening-positive individuals. We evaluated adherence in the Danish population-based screening program and estimated the volume of diagnostic resources required to achieve this adherence. Patients and methods In this register- and population-based study, we included individuals with a positive fecal immunochemical test (FIT) screening from 2014 to 2017 and followed them until mid-2022. All endoscopic, imaging, and surgical procedures performed at public and private hospitals were identified. Adherence to national protocols was reported in terms of proportions and timeliness. Use of diagnostic and surveillance procedures was estimated during a 4-year post-screening period. Results Among 82,221 individuals with a positive FIT test, 84% had a baseline colonoscopy within 1 month. After removal of intermediate or high-risk adenomas, 12% and 6%, respectively, did not have any follow-up. Only ~50% had timely surveillance. Approximately 10% to 20%, depending on their referral diagnosis, did not have a second surveillance colonoscopy. In addition, 12% with a negative colonoscopy had a second colonoscopy within 4 years. Conclusions High adherence to baseline colonoscopy after positive FIT-screening is followed by lower adherence throughout the adenoma surveillance program. Better adherence to the guidelines could potentially improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the screening program. </p