Comparative Study of Knowledge on Team Building Between Healthcare Workers in Two Federal Tertiary Health Facilities in Different Geo-political Zones of Nigeria

Introduction: Team building has been found to improve effectiveness and efficiency of workforce in the healthcare system generally.The objective of this study was to compare knowledge of team building between healthcare workers in two federal tertiary health facilities in South-South and South-East geopolitical zones of Nigeria. Materials and Methods: This was a descriptive cross sectional study carried out using multistage sampling technique to select a total of 242 subjects from ten categories of health professionals working in South-East(SE) geopolitical zone (Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital, NAUTH Nnewi) and South-South(SS) geopolitical zone (Federal Medical Centre , FMC Asaba) with 121 subjects in each geopolitical zone. Respondents participated in the study using same self-administered questionnaire for both geopolitical zones. Results: A total of 242 respondents participated, 121 each from the two different geopolitical zones. Majority were in the age group of 41-50 years and 21-30 years for SE and SS zones respectively. Majority were female and had first degree education for SE and SS zones respectively. Seven variables of knowledge of team building were collected and analysed with SPSS version 22 with results for SE and SS zones respectively with statistical significance set at p< 0.01 . This consisted of respondents that heard of team in healthcare 74.4 % and 91.0% (p<0.01), those that heard of inter-professional team composition in healthcare 65.9% and 78.7% (p>0.01), those that defined correctly team building 75.6% and 91.0% (p< 0.01), those that defined correctly inter-professional team building to involve different professionals 73.5% and 81.4% (p>0.01), those with sources of information on team building in health healthcare 57.3%(mainly health publication) 65.1% (mainly lectures/conferences) (p <0.01), those that defined correctly a team 70.4% and 88.4% (p< 0.01), those that had good knowledge of competencies to possess to be an effective team member 65.9% and 69.6% (p>0.01). Conclusion and recommendations: Proportion of respondents for the seven variables were higher for the South-South geopolitical zone tertiary health facility than the South-East geopolitical zone tertiary health facility though with no statistical significant difference across all seven variables. It is ,therefore, recommended that needs assessment for team building knowledge be done for healthcare workers in health facilities located in different geopolitical zones before team building training and re-training institutionalization building in order to persistently improve their knowledge of team building as a mechanism to reduce inter-professional conflicts and ultimately improve health outcomes in line with the National Health Policy 2016 of the Federal Government of Nigeria. More research is needful to assess intra- and inter-departmental/ and -professional level of knowledge on team building among healthcare workers  in any health facility in a geopolitical zone. Keywords: Team building, Knowledge, Health facilities, Healthcare workers, Geo-political zones, Nigeri

Histopathologic profile of bone and joint lesions in a tertiary health institution in Southeast Nigeria: A nine-year review

Background: The human skeletal system is composed of all the bones, joints, cartilage, ligaments, and tendons. The lesions of this system were thought to be uncommon in our environment and like lesions in any other part of the body are better managed when early presentations and correct diagnosis are made. The paucity of research on these lesions has prompted the need to study the topic. Aims: We aimed to study the bone and joint lesions, with a view to determining the most common types, the most involved sites of the body, the sex, and the age of presentations. Materials and Methods: This was a retrospective study carried out at the Histopathology Department of Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital, Nnewi, Nigeria, from 2011 to 2019. Results: Eighty-four cases of bone and joint lesions were diagnosed in the study period, and they had a slight male preponderance with a M: F ratio of 1.4:1 and a mean age of 38.7 ± 22.0 years. Nonneoplastic lesions were more common 58.3% (49/84) than neoplastic tumours 41.7% (35/84). Benign tumours were however more common 27.4% (23/84) than malignant tumours 14.3% (12/84). Nonneoplastic lesions and benign tumours were seen in the first and second decades of life while malignant tumours occurred in the third and fourth decades. Of the 84 lesions, 47 cases were bone lesions while 37 were joint lesions. Osteomyelitis was the most common nonneoplastic bone lesion (7/47; 14.9%) while osteochondroma and giant cell tumours were the most common and only benign bone tumours seen and accounted for 14.9% (7/47) of cases each. Metastatic bone diseases (5/47; 10.6%) and osteosarcoma (4/47; 8.5%) were the most common malignant bone tumours, with osteosarcoma being the most common primary bone malignant tumours (4/7; 57.1%). Ganglion cysts were the most common lesions in all accounting for 23.8% (20/84) and the most common nonneoplastic (20/49; 40.8%) and joint lesions (20/37; 54.1%). Nodular tenosynovitis was the most common benign joint tumour and accounted for 10.8% (4/37) of cases; there is no malignant joint tumour. Skull was the most common anatomic site for bone lesions while the humerus was the most common anatomic site for bone tumours whereas wrist was the most common site for joint lesions. Conclusion: Nonneoplastic bone and joint lesions were more common than neoplastic lesions in our environment, with ganglion cysts being the most common joint lesions while osteomyelitis, osteochondroma, and giant cell tumours were the most common bone lesions. There is no malignant joint tumour observed in this study

The Impact of WhatsApp as a Health Education Tool in Albinism: Interventional Study

BackgroundOculocutaneous albinism is a congenital disorder that causes hypopigmentation of the skin, hair, and eyes due to a lack of melanin. People with albinism are at increased risk of developing skin complications, such as solar keratosis and skin cancers, leading to higher morbidity. As education is crucial in managing albinism, leveraging information technology, such as WhatsApp, can provide an effective intervention for digital health education. ObjectiveThis study aims to assess the impact of WhatsApp as a tool for providing health education among people with albinism. MethodsThe design of the study was interventional. The intervention consisted of weekly health education sessions conducted in a WhatsApp group for the duration of 4 weeks. The topics discussed were knowledge of albinism, sun protection practices, the use of sunscreen, and myths about albinism. They were all covered in 4 WhatsApp sessions held in 4 separate days. A web-based questionnaire was filled out before and after the intervention by the participants. Mann-Whitney U test was used to compare the pre- and postknowledge scores. Spearman correlation was used to correlate data. ResultsThe mean age of the study participants was 28.28 (SD 11.57) years. The number of participants was 140 in the preintervention period and 66 in the postintervention period. A statistically significant increase in overall knowledge (P=.01), knowledge of sunscreen (P=.01), and knowledge of sun protection (P<.01) was observed following the intervention. Before the intervention, a positive correlation was observed between age (r=0.17; P=.03) and education level (r=0.19; P=.02) with participants’ overall knowledge. However, after the intervention, there was no significant correlation between knowledge and age or education level. A percentage increase of 5.23% was observed in the overall knowledge scores following the intervention. ConclusionsWhatsApp is an effective tool for educating people with albinism and can act as an alternative to the conventional methods of health education. It shows promising outcomes irrespective of the health literacy level of people with albinism. This educational intervention can positively impact behavior change and translate to consistent sun protection practices. The limitations of this study include the possibility of social desirability bias and data security

Assessment of Immunity against Hepatitis B Virus among Children Aged 2-17 Years in Nnewi, Anambra State, South-East Nigeria: A Pilot Study

Background: Nigeria is one of the hyper-endemic countries for hepatitis B with national prevalence rate of 11%. No study has been done in Nigeria to the best of authors’ knowledge to assess the level of immunity among children vaccinated against HBV. Objective: To assess prevalence of Hepatitis B surface antigen, determine the presence of antibodies to hepatitis B surface antigen (anti-HBs) and determine the titre levels of anti-HBs among those who have anti-HBs. Design: This was a pilot and a cross-sectional study. Methods: Consecutive children aged between 2 and 17 years seen at the outpatient clinic of NAUTH, Nnewi, Nigeria were recruited. Questionnaire was interviewer-administered. Venous blood was collected from each participant, analyzed for HBV serological markers and anti-HBs titre. Results: A total of sixty children were recruited. There was equal male and female distribution. 36.7% were aged 10-14 years. One child did not receive HBV vaccine. There was no incidental finding of HbsAg positivity. 15% of respondents had their immunity assessed after completing vaccination. There was presence of antibodies to HBsAg in19 children, and the anti-HBs titre was protective in 78.9% of those who had antibodies. Conclusion: After 18 years of introduction of the HBV vaccine into the NPI and routine infant immunization against hepatitis B virus in Nigeria, this pilot study has shown immunity against hepatitis B is not usually assessed after immunization and a significant proportion of children who were adequately immunized are not adequately protected against HBV. A large-scale study would be desirable for confirmation