A comparison between the approaches to unfair discrimination in employment in South Africa and Nigeria

Issues concerning employment are some of the most serious issues of our time. But it is in the last two decades or so that these started receiving consideration. For instance, South Africa has experienced changes in the landscape of employment relations in organisations in the last decades. And no area of South Africa law is more critical than the prohibition of unfair discrimination, especially in the workpalce. The enactment of the Constitution brought about the need to eradicate unfair discrimination in the workpalce. Section 9 of the Constitution states that no person may unfairly discriminate directly or indirectly against anyone and that national legislation must be enacted to prevent or prohibit unfair discrimination. To enforce this, certain legislations like the Labour Law Act, Employment Act, Promotion of Equality and Prohibition of Unfair Discrimination Act (Equality Act), were enacted to give effect to the equality provision of the Constitution. In a similar vein, in Nigeria, workplace discrimination which is at the top of human rights violation perpetrated by employers of labour is of paramount concern to legislators and the government. Sex , age, ethinicty, religion, trade union membership and political opinion are some of the grounds upon which workers may not be discriminated against in Nigeria. Section 17 of the Constitution states that the State social order is founded on the ideals of freedom, equality and justice. It goes on to provide that every citizen shall have equality of rights, obligations and opportunities before the law. More specifically, the section stipilates that the State shall ensure that all citizens, without discrimination of any group whatsoever, have the opportunity of livehood as well as adequate opportunity to secure suitable employment and that there is equal pay for equal work without discrimination on account of sex, or any ground. Hence, there are The Nigerian Labour Act, the Federal Character Commission, etc that are saddled with the responsibility of addressing unfair discrimination and giving force to the provision of the Constitution. Despite the anti-discrimination laws and provisions made available in both countries, it is still alarming to see that unfair discrimination in the workplace is still on the increase. This, as will be discussed later, is probably due to factors such as lack of communication, long-stading patterns of educational inequalities that have resulted in inequalities in manpower, differences in drive, motivation, cultural disposition and geographical opportunities, racial difference and ethnicity, domination of one group by the other, etc. This research will briefly focus on the comparison between the approaches to unfair discrimination in employment between South Africa and Nigeria. It will discuss the development of unfair discrimination, grounds on which it is perpetrated, defences relating to unfair discrimination, and anti-discrimination laws put in place by the two jurisdictions to curb discrimination, as well as suggest on how to forestall unfair discrimination

An assessment of the attitudes influencing employees' intention to quit in two Port Elizabeth public sector hospitals

Research problem: The Port Elizabeth hospital complex is faced with many staff-related challenges including the difficulty of retaining staff. Factors such as salaries, work environment, work injury, work related stress, personal growth and development opportunities, advancement and promotion opportunities, relationships with supervisor(s), are among the issues that contribute and have been found to be some of the factors affecting employees’ perceptions and attitudes towards their work and ultimately to their intentions to stay or leave. Research objectives: To address the research problem, research objectives and questions were established. The main objective of the research was to investigate the perceptions and attitudes influencing the employees’ intention to quit their jobs within the hospital complex. The key perceptions and attitudes that were measured were; job satisfaction, perceived organisational support and organisational commitment. The secondary objective of the study was to determine, from a list of predetermined factors, which were related to job satisfaction, perceived organisational support and organisational commitment and the intention to quit. Research questions: Four research questions were established and these were: What are the employee perceptions and attitudes towards the organisation and their work in the organisation? In particular how satisfied are the employees with their jobs (job satisfaction), how committed are they to the organisation (organisational commitment), how do they perceive the support within the organisation (perceived organisational support) and do they intend to remain with the organisation (intention to quit measured as the intention to stay). What are the most important factors contributing to job satisfaction, perceived organisational support, organisational commitment and intention to quit? (Measured as the intention to stay). What is the relationship between the sub-groups, identified as gender, race, nationality, occupational level, age, hospital, and length of tenure and job satisfaction, perceived organisational support and organisational commitment? What is the relationship between the sub-groups, identified as gender, race, nationality, occupational level, age, hospital, and length of tenure and intention to quit (measured as the intention to stay)? Research design: The nature of this research was a descriptive study collecting quantitative data. A self-administered survey questionnaire was used to collect information regarding employee perceptions and attitudes towards various aspects of their working conditions, their perceptions and attitudes towards the organisation and their intention to remain with the organisation. Major findings: The result of the survey showed that organisational commitment and positive organizational support are practically significantly positively correlated with the intention to stay. However, it was discovered that job satisfaction was statistically significantly positively correlated to intention to stay. The nine factors that were measured were found to be antecedents for all the three constructs of job satisfaction, organizational commitment and perceived organizational support. However, the factors that were also correlated with the intention to stay were promotion opportunities, nature of the work, communication and leader-member exchange

An assessment of the attitudes influencing employees' intention to quit in two Port Elizabeth public sector hospitals

Research problem: The Port Elizabeth hospital complex is faced with many staff-related challenges including the difficulty of retaining staff. Factors such as salaries, work environment, work injury, work related stress, personal growth and development opportunities, advancement and promotion opportunities, relationships with supervisor(s), are among the issues that contribute and have been found to be some of the factors affecting employees’ perceptions and attitudes towards their work and ultimately to their intentions to stay or leave. Research objectives: To address the research problem, research objectives and questions were established. The main objective of the research was to investigate the perceptions and attitudes influencing the employees’ intention to quit their jobs within the hospital complex. The key perceptions and attitudes that were measured were; job satisfaction, perceived organisational support and organisational commitment. The secondary objective of the study was to determine, from a list of predetermined factors, which were related to job satisfaction, perceived organisational support and organisational commitment and the intention to quit. Research questions: Four research questions were established and these were: What are the employee perceptions and attitudes towards the organisation and their work in the organisation? In particular how satisfied are the employees with their jobs (job satisfaction), how committed are they to the organisation (organisational commitment), how do they perceive the support within the organisation (perceived organisational support) and do they intend to remain with the organisation (intention to quit measured as the intention to stay). What are the most important factors contributing to job satisfaction, perceived organisational support, organisational commitment and intention to quit? (Measured as the intention to stay). What is the relationship between the sub-groups, identified as gender, race, nationality, occupational level, age, hospital, and length of tenure and job satisfaction, perceived organisational support and organisational commitment? What is the relationship between the sub-groups, identified as gender, race, nationality, occupational level, age, hospital, and length of tenure and intention to quit (measured as the intention to stay)? Research design: The nature of this research was a descriptive study collecting quantitative data. A self-administered survey questionnaire was used to collect information regarding employee perceptions and attitudes towards various aspects of their working conditions, their perceptions and attitudes towards the organisation and their intention to remain with the organisation. Major findings: The result of the survey showed that organisational commitment and positive organizational support are practically significantly positively correlated with the intention to stay. However, it was discovered that job satisfaction was statistically significantly positively correlated to intention to stay. The nine factors that were measured were found to be antecedents for all the three constructs of job satisfaction, organizational commitment and perceived organizational support. However, the factors that were also correlated with the intention to stay were promotion opportunities, nature of the work, communication and leader-member exchange

Serum levels of monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 has no correlation with gender and age in polytrauma

Background: Trauma is one of the commonest causes of death among young people with significant increase in morbidity and mortality. Following injuries to tissues, the body responds in an attempt to cause repair of the damaged tissue. Although its significance depends on the interplay of various factors involving neurohormonal and immune responses. Monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) is a pro-inflammatory chemoattractant produced by the monocyte and causes the further release of chemokines and cytokines needed at the site of tissue injury. It therefore plays a critical role in tissue healing.Methods: This was a prospective hospital-based study carried out at University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan. Polytrauma patients admitted through the accident and emergency department that met a defined criteria were recruited and had their blood samples taken into an endotoxin free test tube at 48±2 hours after trauma. MCP-1 levels in the serum were estimated though the human MCP-1 enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kit. This process was carried out using the ELISA technique based on the producer’s guide.Results: 110 patients were recruited for the study. There was no significant difference in gender variations in MCP-1 level (t=-0.935, p=0.351). For the male and female variations in MCP-1 levels, it ranges from 10 to 2841 and 22 to 2687 respectively. Likewise, there was no significant relationship in age variations in MCP-1 values (f=0.959, p>0.05).Conclusions: This study demonstrated no correlation between serum level of monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 with age and gender in polytraumatized patient according to age and gender

Evaluation of patients with suspected obstructive sleep apnea in a low-middle income country: Lagos experience

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a common chronic disorder that decreases the quality of life of patients. It is an underdiagnosed medical condition in Nigeria. This study aimed to describe the clinical presentations and validate the sleep apnea screening questionnaires with a home sleep study for the diagnosis of patients with suspected OSA seen in Lagos. This was a descriptive cross sectional study carried out on adult patients with suspicion of OSA referred to the Respiratory Clinic of Lagos State University Teaching Hospital. A proforma was used to obtain information and also data from home polysomnography was obtained for each patient. We selected 22 patients. The commonest presentations include snoring (20 or 90.9%), daytime somnolence (16 or 72.7%) and choking while sleeping (12 or 54.5%). The commonest comorbidities were hypertension (16 or 72.7%) and obesity (6 or 27.3%). The STOP-Bang  score identified more patients with a high clinical probability for OSA than the Epworth score (20 and 12 patients respectively). Polysomnography showed evidence of sleep apnea in most suspected patients with severity ranging from mild, to moderate to severe disease (3 or 13.6%, 3 or 13.6%, and 10 or 45.5% respectively). The use of combined Epworth and STOP-Bang questionnaires combination is great tool in identifying patients with suspected cases of OSA based on clinical presentations that will eventually benefit in a resource-limited environment like Lagos. There should be increased awareness of the use of this readily available and cheap questionnaire among physicians in Lagos for ease of OSAS diagnosis for many patients

Knowledge, Attitude, and Practices Towards Preventive Strategies Against COVID-19 Pandemic Among Nigerian Young Adults: A Cross-Sectional Survey

Background: Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, efforts have been aimed at promoting preventive measures towards curtailing the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The effectiveness of measures put in place by the government are mostly determined by the Knowledge, Attitude, and Practices (KAP) of the citizenry. We sought to determine the KAP of young Nigerian adults towards preventive strategies against COVID-19. Methods: An online survey was prepared using an 18-question questionnaire to assess the KAP of each participant that satisfied predefined criteria. Data obtained were screened for error and analyzed with SPSS version 23. The level of significance was set at p<0.05. Results: A total of 925 valid responses were received with a 96.25% response rate. Females made up 52.4% of the respondents, 62.4% were aged between 21-24, and 88.4% were from South-western Nigeria. The mean knowledge score was 9.02 (SD 1.18) with a maximum possible knowledge score of 13. Most of the participants (91.7%) agreed that COVID-19 will eventually be successfully controlled. Only 31.1% however had been wearing masks when leaving home. The confidence of winning the battle against COVID-19 differed significantly across the ethnic groups (p<0.01). Ages between 15 and 24 were more likely to visit crowded places (p<0.01). Conclusion: This study revealed a good knowledge level and an optimistic attitude towards the control of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, much more work is needed by government and health officials to translate these to better practices towards prevention and control as the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic continues

Cardiovascular health implications of worsening economic indices in Nigeria: A narrative review

Poor economic indices are implicated in adverse health outcomes. Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death globally with more impact in low- and middle-income countries. Despite some documented associations between worsening economic indices and cardiovascular health, there is however knowledge gap on this topic in this environment. We conducted a narrative review to provide an overview of the impact of dwindling economy and cardiovascular health in Nigeria. A comprehensive search of electronic databases including PubMed, Scopus, and Google Scholar was conducted. The search terms were cardiovascular health, economic indices, and Nigeria. Inclusion criteria were studies published in English language between 2010 and 2021. There is limited knowledge on the association between worsening economic indices and cardiovascular health in Nigeria. The Nigerian government's spending on health care was less than the recommended 15% of the budget. There was a decline in gross domestic product from 5.31% in 2011 to 3.65% in 2021 and a rise in the inflation rate and unemployment rate from 10.84% and 3.77% to 16.95% and 9.79%, respectively, over this period. The prevalence of hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and dyslipidemia, which are the leading causes of cardiovascular morbidity, increased in the period of study. The exchange rate of naira to other global currencies worsened with attendant rise in the cost of health-care and cardiovascular medications. There is a huge knowledge gap on the impact of worsening economic indices and cardiovascular health. However, the existing evidence showed that the Nigerian government's spending on health is low and poor economic indices may be related to the worsening cardiovascular health in Nigeria. There is a need for more research to assess the impact of these indices on cardiovascular health