Traditional/Alternative Medicine: An Investigation into Identification, Knowledge and Consumption Practices of Herbal Medicine among Students with Hearing Impairment in Ibadan, South-Western Nigeria

The use of traditional medicine as alternative or complimentary therapy is gaining prominence in primary health care worldwide. This is because of the efficacy in the management of mild, chronic seemingly incurable ailments/diseases. Though the publicity is on the increase from country to country in the world, however, one cannot conclude that the information has reached all classes of people. This study therefore investigated identification, knowledge and consumption practice of herbal medicine among the hearing-impaired. The study adopted survey research design. A total of 50 students with hearing impairment were selected from different locations in Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria. Traditional medicinal inventory was used to collect data with reliabilities of 0.72, 0.80 and 0.67 respectively based on perception, knowledge and consumption practices. Two research questions were answered and two hypotheses tested. Result revealed wrong perception and low knowledge of traditional/alternative therapy. Also, there was no significant difference in the identification and consumption practice and no significant influence of religion on consumption practice among the respondents. Based on the results, it is recommended that proper education should be given to students with hearing impairment about traditional medicine. Keywords: Alternative medicine, Students, Hearing-impaired, Cultural belief, Nigeri

Determinants of Cost of Treating Water-Borne Diseases Among Rural Households in South West Nigeria

This study determined the factors that influence the economic burden of water-borne diseases and the associated financial cost for rural households in southwestern Nigeria. A multi-stage random sampling method was used to select four hundred and thirty-seven rural households from whom data were collected for the study. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and cost of illness approach. The results revealed that an average household had six members with an average quarterly income of N80,717.52 (N160.00 = 1US dollar, at time of study). The sum of N28,571.36 was incurred as economic cost of water-borne diseases per household per quarter in the study area. Gender (p\u3c0.05), access to safe water (P\u3c0.1), cholera epidemic (p\u3c0.01), diarrhoea infection (p\u3c0.1), access to improved toilet (p\u3c0.1) and State dummy (p\u3c0.01) were the significant factors affecting economic burden of water-borne diseases in the study area. The study therefore recommends that rural households should consume quality water or water from improved sources (borehole and well water) so as to combat water-borne diseases. They should also seek medical attention when they fall ill. In the same vein, the three tiers of government (federal, state and local) should give more priority to sensitizing rural households on water-borne diseases control programs in order to prevent economic losses resulting from loss of income and shortage of food supply

Technical, Economic and Allocative Efficiencies of Pepper Production in South-West Nigeria: A Stochastic Frontier Approach

Despite increases in the cultivation of pepper among farmers in South-West Nigeria, massive transportation of pepper from the Northern parts of the country and seasonal fluctuation in prices are still very common. Given a good knowledge of the efficiency levels of various production units (farms), output can be increased in the short-term by improving production efficiency. This study examined technical, allocative and economic efficiencies in pepper production in south-west Nigeria. Data were collected from three hundred pepper farmers who were sampled through a multi-stage sampling procedure. Data were analyzed using the stochastic frontier approach. The results revealed average technical, allocative and economic efficiencies of 0.737, 0.893 and 0.658 respectively. These imply that given the present efficiencies levels, there is room for the average farmer to increase pepper output or save costs without the need to change existing technology. Extension contact, gender, indigeneship status, age and household size have significant effect on technical inefficiency. The study recommended among others, intensive extension services which focus more on native, older and female farmers and are geared towards raising technical knowledge of pepper farmers in order to improve output significantly

Corruption, Government Effectiveness and Human Development in Sub-Saharan Africa

Aside economic factors causing low human development which have been extensively studied in literature, the implications of high level of corruption and weak governance prevalent in sub- Saharan African (SSA) countries have not been explored. The study assessed the effects of corruption, government effectiveness and their joint effect on human development in SSA. Data collected on thirty-seven (37) countries within the period of 2005 to 2018 were analyzed using system Generalized Method of Moment which was most suitable for the dataset. Results indicated that lagged human development index (P\u3c0.01), government effectiveness (P\u3c0.05), economic growth rate (P\u3c0.1) and government health spending (P\u3c0.1) had significant positive effect on human development while corruption and its interaction with government effectiveness did not. The results of Arrelano-Bond test of first order autocorrelation and second order autocorrelation of error term as well as the Sargan test and Hansen J test for validity of instrumental variables confirmed the validity of the model. The robustness of the estimation was established as the coefficient of the lagged dependent variable fell between the values in the fixed effect and pooled ordinary least square regression. The study recommended retraining and reorientation of government employees towards the mindset of effective service delivery and strong political will to achieve it, diversification of SSA economies alongside other growth stimulating policies such as reduced lending interest rate on loans meant for the real sector, improvement in the ease of doing business, improved funding of the health sector and proper monitoring of activities in the public service by concerned agencies to curb corruption where it is present

Coronary artery occlusion following low-power catheter ablation

Myocardial infarction (MI) is an unusual but potentially serious complication of catheter ablation procedures. This case describes the occurrence of acute myocardial infarction following low-power ablation in a young patient and highlights the importance of maintaining high index of suspicion following catheter ablation irrespective of the ablation power used. A 22-year-old patient had low-power ablation of the right posteroseptal accessory pathway in the ostium of the coronary sinus on account of persistently symptomatic WPW syndrome with orthodromic re-entrant tachycardia. Two hours after the procedure, she developed moderately severe chest pain. Electrocardiogram showed ST elevation in the inferior leads. Coronary angiography showed 100% stenosis of the right coronary artery just beyond the posterior descending artery. She failed balloon angioplasty and a drug eluting stent was placed in the posterolateral branch of the right coronary artery. The symptoms resolved and follow up echocardiogram showed normal left ventricular systolic and diastolic functions with no regional wall motion abnormality. This case demonstrates the occurrence of MI following low-power catheter ablation. Patients should be monitored for this complication irrespective of the ablation power used

Determinants of Cost of Treating Water-Borne Diseases Among Rural Households in South West Nigeria

This study determined the factors that influence the economic burden of water-borne diseases and the associated financial cost for rural households in southwestern Nigeria. A multi-stage random sampling method was used to select four hundred and thirty-seven rural households from whom data were collected for the study. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and cost of illness approach. The results revealed that an average household had six members with an average quarterly income of N80,717.52 (N160.00 = 1US dollar, at time of study). The sum of N28,571.36 was incurred as economic cost of water-borne diseases per household per quarter in the study area. Gender (p\u3c0.05), access to safe water (P\u3c0.1), cholera epidemic (p\u3c0.01), diarrhoea infection (p\u3c0.1), access to improved toilet (p\u3c0.1) and State dummy (p\u3c0.01) were the significant factors affecting economic burden of water-borne diseases in the study area. The study therefore recommends that rural households should consume quality water or water from improved sources (borehole and well water) so as to combat water-borne diseases. They should also seek medical attention when they fall ill. In the same vein, the three tiers of government (federal, state and local) should give more priority to sensitizing rural households on water-borne diseases control programs in order to prevent economic losses resulting from loss of income and shortage of food supply