The role and place of medicinal plants in the strategies for disease prevention

Medicinal plants have been used in healthcare since time immemorial. Studies have been carried out globally to verify their efficacy and some of the findings have led to the production of plant-based medicines. The global market value of medicinal plant products exceeds $100 billion per annum. This paper discusses the role, contributions and usefulness of medicinal plants in tackling the diseases of public health importance, with particular emphasis on the current strategic approaches to disease prevention. A comparison is drawn between the ‘whole population’ and ‘high-risk’ strategies. The usefulness of the common-factor approach as a method of engaging other health promoters in propagating the ideals of medicinal plants is highlighted. The place of medicinal plants in preventing common diseases is further examined under the five core principles of the Primary Health Care (PHC) approach. Medicinal plants play vital roles in disease prevention and their promotion and use fit into all existing prevention strategies. However, conscious efforts need to be made to properly identify, recognise and position medicinal plants in the design and implementation of these strategies. These approaches present interesting and emerging perspectives in the field of medicinal plants. Recommendations are proposed for strategising the future role and place for medicinal plants in disease prevention.Keywords: Medicinal Plants, Prevention, Strategy, Primary Health Car

An assessment of the role of government health related policies in improving the oral health status of Nigerians

Achieving good oral health is now considered an important component of good health for any population and the inclusion of an oral health component in national health policies is a good strategy for promoting oral health. This paper sought to examine the existing health-related policies of the Nigerian government in order to determine the position accorded oral health within the policy framework and to determine the role of these policies in improving the oral health status of Nigerians. A detailed search of electronic sources and Nigerian government documents to identify the major health related policies of the government in the last decade was conducted. The policies identified and analysed were the Millennium Development Goals (MDG’s), Vision 20:2020, National Economic Empowerment and Development strategy (NEEDS), the seven point agenda and the primary health care policy. The analysis from this report indicates an exclusion of oral health from the framework of most of the policies designed by the Nigerian government. The most important barrier identified for excluding oral health is the inability of the oral health workforce to influence the policy process in Nigeria since policymaking is largely a political issue. Oral healthcare professionals in Nigeria need to be actively engaged in the politics of policymaking in order to promote the inclusion of oral health in the health related policies of government. This should stimulate positive action concerning oral health in the Nigerian polity

Taxation as a Source of Revenue Generation in Local Governments, Nigeria

This paper examined Taxation as Source of Revenue Generation in Local Governments, Nigeria which covers a period of 5years (2013-2017). The researchers’ adopted a descriptive and empirical case study approach using secondary data. Findings revealed that some of the potential sources of revenue are completely neglected by the local government authority and also finds out that civil servants constitute the highest source of tax revenue in form of PAYE to the local government. Also, it shows that taxation in no doubt have impacted the economic development of Nigeria in general. Based on this study, it is recommended that periodical training of tax officials should be introduce by the government to maintain high generation of tax revenue and the system deserves autonomy that will enable it to hire the right quality of staff and equipment that it deserves to make it function effectively. Keywords: Revenue, Taxation, Voluntary Assets and Income Declaration Scheme (VAIDS) DOI: 10.7176/RJFA/10-6-04 Publication date:March 31st 201

Utilization of Open Access Journals by Library and Information Science Undergraduates in Delta State University, Abraka, Nigeria

The study examined the utilization of open access journals by Library and Information Science (LIS) undergraduate at Delta State University, Abraka. Two research questions and one hypothesis guided the study. A descriptive survey design was used by the researchers. The population of the study comprised 477 LIS undergraduates, and a simple random sampling technique was used to determine the sample size which is 217 students, representing 45% of the total population. The questionnaire was the instrument used for data collection. The questionnaire was validated by two experts and the Cronbach Alpha was used to establish the reliability of the instrument which yielded 0.75. Data were analysed with frequency count, simple percentages, and Statistical Product and Service Solutions (SPSS) version 23 was used to generate the mean, and standard deviation while Pearson\u27s product-moment correlation coefficient was used to test the hypothesis at 0.05 significant levels. The findings revealed that the students had a high level of awareness and a high level of usage of open access journals. From the test of the hypothesis, the study discovered that there is a significant relationship between the level of awareness and the use of open access journals. Hence, the student\u27s level of awareness positively influenced the use of open access journals. Based on the findings, the researchers recommended that the library management and lecturers should continue to promote the use of open access journals generally among the students to sustain its use

Oral health treatment needs of HIV/AIDS patients in Ife-Ijesa zone, Nigeria

The objective of this study was to determine the oral health status and needs of people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) in Ife-Ijesa zone, Nigeria. Materials and methods: An anonymous, administered questionnaire survey among 209 PLWHA who provided informed, written consent was conducted. Information on socio-demographics, perceived oral health status and professional care obtained. Clinical oral examinations were conducted using a dental explorer and mirror in natural daylight. The oral examinations were carried out to determine, presence of oral HIV lesions, normative needs-oral hygiene and periodontal status, restorative and surgical needs. Results: There was a statistically significant relationship between the presence of an oral HIV lesion and perceived oral health status. Patients that reported the need for oral health care are more than those of medical needs (

Gender differences among oral health care workers in caring for HIV/AIDS patients in Osun state, Nigeria

The study investigated the relationship between gender and knowledge, attitude and practice of infection control among oral health care workers in the management of patients with HIV/AIDS in Osun State of Nigeria. It was a cross-sectional survey using 85 oral Health care workers (OHCWs) enlisted in the public dental health clinics. A self-administered questionnaire was designed and used for data collection. A total of 85 questionnaires were distributed. The response rate was 93%; 42 (53%) were males and 37 (47%) females. The majority of the respondents were in the 25-40 year old age group and the mean age was 37.3 years. This study found significant differences in gender and ability to identify HIV/AIDS oral manifestations (

Dental sealant knowledge, opinion, values and practice of Spanish dentists

[Background] Multiple guidelines and systematic reviews recommend sealant use to reduce caries risk. Yet, multiple reports also indicate that sealants are significantly underutilized. This study examined the knowledge, opinions, values, and practice (KOVP) of dentists concerning sealant use in the southwest region of Andalusia, Spain. This is a prelude to the generation of a regional plan for improving children’s oral health in Andalusia.[Methods] The survey’s target population was dentists working in western Andalusia, equally distributed in the provinces of Seville, Cadiz, and Huelva (N=2,047). A convenience sample of meeting participants and meeting participant email lists (N=400) were solicited from the annual course on Community and Pediatric Dentistry. This course is required for all public health sector dentists, and is open to all private sector dentists. Information on the dentist’s KOVP of sealants was collected using four-part questionnaire with 31, 5-point Likert-scaled questions.[Results] The survey population demographics included 190 men (48%) and 206 women (52%) with an average clinical experience of 10.6 (± 8.4) years and 9.3 (± 7.5) years, respectively. A significant sex difference was observed in the distribution of place of work (urban/suburb) (p=0.001), but no sex differences between working sector (public/private). The mean ± SD values for each of the four KOVP sections for pit and fissure sealants were: knowledge = 3.57 ± 0.47; opinion = 2.48 ± 0.47; value = 2.74 ± 0.52; and practice = 3.48 ± 0.50. No sex differences were found in KOVP (all p >0.4). Independent of sex: knowledge statistically differed by years of experience and place of work; opinion statistically differed by years of experience and sector; and practice statistically differed by years of experience and sector. Less experienced dentists tended to have slightly higher scores (~0.25 on a Likert 1–5 scale). Statistically significant correlations were found between knowledge and practice (r=0.44, p=0.00) and between opinion and value (r=0.35, p=0.00).[Conclusions] The results suggest that, similar to other countries, Andalusian dentists know that sealants are effective, have neutral to positive attitudes toward sealants; though, based on epidemiological studies, underuse sealants. Therefore, methods other than classical behavior change (eg: financial or legal mechanisms) will be required to change practice patterns aimed at improving children's oral health.We acknowledge the following sources for invaluable financial support NIMHD 1 R34 DE022272 (NIH2385) and NIDCR 1 U24 MD006964

Information Needs and Use of Non-Academic Staff in University of Africa, Bayelsa State, Nigeria

The paper examined the information needs and use of non-academic staff in University of Africa, Bayelsa State, Nigeria. The researchers adopted descriptive survey design. The population of the study comprised of 100 non-academic staff out of which 57 were randomly selected. Four (4) research questions guided this study. Data was collected using the questionnaire. Data was analyzed with descriptive statistics such as frequency count and simple percentage. The findings revealed that non-academic staff had diverse information needs based on their work roles and they consult multiple information sources to meet their information needs. Regarding the purpose for using information, it was established that they sought information mainly for decision making, job performance and for general awareness/updating knowledge. Inadequate information retrieval skills, poor time management, lack of awareness about information resources in the library etc were some of the challenges encountered by the non-academic staff during information seeking and use. Based on the findings, the researchers wish to recommend that since universities have significant number of non-teaching staff, the library should provide regular training program on information literacy skills, provide awareness services and encourage them to make regular use of the multiple information sources available in the library. Libraries should also provide services targeted at this growing and influential component of staff