Impact of Integrated Home-Based Care Programme on Antiretroviral Medication Adherence among Plwha: A Quasi-Experimental Study.

Background: Suboptimal Anti-Retroviral adherence is an advancing global issue.  Methodology: One-Group Pre- and Post-Test Integrated Home-Based Care intervention program with control was adopted. The validated questionnaire was used to gather information from 60 PLWHA following ethical approval and informed consent. Descriptive statistics and frequency distributions are employed in data analysis. One-tailed independent sample T-test was used to determine the impact of the intervention using percentage-change and Cohen’s Effect Size with a 5% level of significance. Validity and reliability of Instrument tested with Cronbach Alpha, 0.795. Results:  Respondents mean age was 35.38 ± 9.061, married (37.61%), females (66%) and self –employed (41.1%). Mumuye ethnic group (28.3%), Christians, 71.7% with lower educational attainments (56.6%). Control group reported predisposing factors in HIV treatment (137-point scale),  = 82.17(2.18) ±11.92 and  = 86.50(1.69) ±9.23; Reinforcing factors on 15-points scale, scored  = 9.00(0.65) ±3.65 and  = 8.87(0.69) ±3.78; Enabling factors on 15-points scale,  = 8.23(0.46) ±2.50 and  = 8.00 (0.51) ±2.77 and Self-Reported Adherence on 24-points scale,  = 16.23(0.82) ±4.49 and  = 17.87(0.91) ±4.99 at baseline and post intervention respectively for each group and adherence prevalence rate of 60.  Experimental group at baseline reported predisposing factors on 137-points scale,  = 80.90(2.77) ±15.15 and  = 97.13(8.12) ±1.48; Reinforcing factors on 15-points scale,  = 8.87(0.47) ±2.50 and  = 9.33(0.48) ±2.60; Enabling factors on 15-points scale,  = 7.23(0.41) ±2.24and  = 7.40(0.41) ±2.25 and Self-reported Adherence on 24-points scale,  = 15.98(0.57) ±4.39 and  = 23.13(0.43) ±2.37 at baseline and post intervention respectively for each group and adherence prevalence rate of 96%.  Conclusion: An integrated Home-Based Care intervention program will be more effective than the usual clinic-based program for HIV/ AIDS management. Recommendation:  An integrated Home-Based Care intervention program should be adopted for all HIV interventions

Correlates and perceived risk of harm from tobacco products use in brunei darussalam: A secondary analysis of adult tobacco survey

Background: Smoking is a modifiable risk factor for cancer and heart disease, and it has been related to a shorter life expectancy in people who continue to smoke. Aim: We measured the perceived risk of harm from tobacco product use and predicted factors among adult Bruneians.  Methodology: A secondary analysis of the 1295 adult population using a record of adult tobacco survey conducted in December 2014- January 2015 in Brunei Darussalam Results: Out of the 92% of respondents who do not consider a smoke-free environment as important or not at all important, only 13.7% of them were smokers. Of the 89% of respondents with a good perceived risk of harm from tobacco product use, 12.8% of them were smokers and 76.1% were non-smokers, and 87.4% of respondents with good knowledge of tobacco health-related issues, 12.2% were current tobacco smokers against 75% non- smokers.  Conclusion:  The age of respondents and their level of education was associated with the perceived risk of harm.  Recommendation:  A regulatory system is needed in reducing exposure to tobacco smoke

Behavioural risk-factors associated with the use of Facemask during Covid-19 pandemic lockdown period in Nigeria: online-based survey

Background:  The Coronavirus disease has rapidly become a public health challenge, with many countries adopting the usage of facemasks as one of the protective strategies against the virus. This study aimed to assess the behavioral risk factors associated with the use of facemasks during the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown period in Nigeria.  Methods:  The study recruited 500 participants in an online-based survey through a cloud-based platform called Google Forms. The main scales; facemask usage and behavioral risk factors were measured on a 0-27 and 0-24 point rating scale respectively, while the subscales are utilization, prevention, and perceived threats were measured on a 0-16, 0-19, and 0-5 point rating scale. Result: The usage of facemasks accounts for 32.8% (daily), 12.2% (weekly), 38.2% (monthly basis), and 16.8% use facemasks out of necessity. More than half (55.6%) use facemasks because of fear of punishment by the task force while challenges associated with the usage of facemasks include: difficulty breathing (47%) and suffocation (24%). A significant association was found between the use of facemasks and the prevention of COVID-19 (b= 0.029, 95% CI =0.055 - 0.114, p-value 0.049, r2=11.1%).  Conclusion:  The use of facemasks has become a norm and passed into law in Nigeria, however not a pleasant practice for most people Recommendation:  Therefore there is a need for mass awareness and education to improve the use of facemasks in Nigeria