Knowledge and attitude toward smoke-free legislation and second-hand smoking exposure among workers in indoor bars, beer parlors and discotheques in Osun State of Nigeria

Background: One of the requirements of the Osun State smoke-free legislation is to ensure smoke-free enclosed and partially enclosed workplaces. This survey was conducted to assess the knowledge and attitude of workers in indoor bars, beer parlors and discotheques to smoke-free legislation in general and the Osun State smoke-free law in particular. Methods: A convenience sampling of 36 hospitality centers was conducted. Interviewer-administered questionnaires were used to elicit responses about the objectives from non-smoking workers. The questionnaires had sections on knowledge of the Osun State smoke-free law, attitude toward the law and smoke-free legislation in general and exposure to second-hand tobacco smoke by the workers. Questions were also asked about the second- hand tobacco smoking status of these workers. The data were analyzed using SPSS version 15.0. Results: We had 154 participants recruited into the study. There were 75 males (48.0%) and 79 females (52.0%). On the overall, respondents had a good knowledge of the effects of second-hand smoke on health (70.2%) with 75.0% of them being aware of the general smoke-free law and 67.3% being aware of the Osun State smoke-free law although none of them had ever seen a copy of the law. A high proportion (60.0%) was in support of the Osun smoke-free law although all of them think that the implementation of the law could reduce patronage and jeopardize their income. Attitude toward second-hand smoking was generally positive with 72.0% of them having no tolerance for second-hand tobacco smoke in their homes. Most participants (95.5%) had been exposed to tobacco smoke in the workplace within the past week. Conclusion: Despite the high level of awareness of the respondents about the dangers of second hand smoke and their positive attitude to smoke-free laws, nearly all were constantly being exposed to second hand smoke at work. This calls for policy level interventions to improve the implementation of the smoke-free law

Exploring cigarette use among male migrant workers in Nigeria

Background: There is limited knowledge about the use of cigarettes by blacks outside the United States (U.S). Nigeria creates an opportunity to explore smoking behaviours, smoking cessation (nicotine dependence) and use of cigarettes in a country that has a large black population outside the U.S. Methods: We conducted three Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) involving twenty-four male migrant workers who reported that they were current cigarette smokers. Interviews were audio-taped and transcribed. Results: Four major themes namely: reasons for initiating and continuing to smoke cigarettes, factors affecting brand choice, barriers to quitting, effect of smoking mentholated cigarette brands were identified. Conclusion: This study provides insight into the use of mentholated and non-mentholated cigarettes and suggests the need for further studies to explore smoking behavior among Nigerian

Knowledge and Attitude toward Smoke-Free Legislation and Second-Hand Smoking Exposure among Workers in Indoor Bars, Beer Parlors and Discotheques in Osun State of Nigeria

Background: One of the requirements of the Osun State smoke-free legislation is to ensure smoke-free enclosed and partially enclosed workplaces. This survey was conducted to assess the knowledge and attitude of workers in indoor bars, beer parlors and discotheques to smoke-free legislation in general and the Osun State smoke-free law in particular. Methods:A convenience sampling of 36 hospitality centers was conducted. Interviewer-administered questionnaires were used to elicit responses about the objectives from non-smoking workers. The questionnaires had sections on knowledge of the Osun State smoke-free law, attitude toward the law and smoke-free legislation in general and exposure to second-hand tobacco smoke by the workers. Questions were also asked about the secondhand tobacco smoking status of these workers. The data were analyzed using SPSS version 15.0. Results:We had 154 participants recruited into the study. There were 75 males (48.0%) and 79 females (52.0%). On the overall, respondents had a good knowledge of the effects of second-hand smoke on health (70.2%) with 75.0% of them being aware of the general smoke-free law and 67.3% being aware of the Osun State smoke-free law although none of them had ever seen a copy of the law. A high proportion (60.0%) was in support of the Osun smoke-free law although all of them think that the implementation of the law could reduce patronage and jeopardize their income. Attitude toward second-hand smoking was generally positive with 72.0% of them having no tolerance for second-hand tobacco smoke in their homes. Most participants (95.5%) had been exposed to tobacco smoke in the workplace within the past week. Conclusion:Despite the high level of awareness of the respondents about the dangers of second hand smoke and their positive attitude to smoke-free laws, nearly all were constantly being exposed to second hand smoke at work. This calls for policy level interventions to improve the implementation of the smoke-free law

Exploring Cigarette Use among Male Migrant Workers in Nigeria

Background: There is limited knowledge about the use of cigarettes by blacks outside the United States (U.S). Nigeria creates an opportunity to explore smoking behaviours, smoking cessation (nicotine dependence) and use of cigarettes in a country that has a large black population outside the U.S. Methods: We conducted three Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) involving twenty-four male migrant workers who reported that they were current cigarette smokers. Interviews were audio-taped and transcribed. Results:Four major themes namely: reasons for initiating and continuing to smoke cigarettes, factors affecting brand choice, barriers to quitting, effect of smoking mentholated cigarette brands were identified. Conclusion:This study provides insight into the use of mentholated and non-mentholated cigarettes and suggests the need for further studies to explore smoking behavior among Nigerians

Doctors’ Attitude and Willingness to Use Electronic Medical Records at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Lagos, Nigeria.

ABSTRACTBackground: There have been few studies conducted on Electronic Medical Records (EMR) among medical doctors who practice in resource limited settings. This study aimed to assess the attitude to and willingness of medical doctors at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital to use EMR and to identify the factors that are associated with the willingness to use EMR.Methods: A stratified sampling method was used to select medical doctors to participate in the study according to their experience and professional cadre. A pretested self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data which were entered and analyzed using the Epi-info version 7 software. Statistically significant associations were tested using the chi-square and fishers exact tests.Results: There were 202 participants in the study. All (100%) had good attitude towards EMR. Nearly all of them (96.54%) were willing to use EMR. There was no significant association between age, gender and willingness to use EMR. However, there was a statistically significant association with work duration and IT skills (p< 0.05).Conclusion: Work duration and IT skills are significant factors in determining the willingness to use EMR. There is therefore a need to include IT skills acquisition in medical training so as to increase the chance of use of EMR

mHealth: Knowledge and use among doctors and nurses in public secondary health-care facilities of Lagos, Nigeria

Objectives: Mobile health (mHealth) is gaining importance worldwide, changing and improving the way healthcare and services are provided, but its role is just emerging in Nigeria. This study aimed to assess the knowledge and use of mHealth among health workers and the provisions for its use in public secondary health-care facilities of Lagos State, Nigeria. Methods: The study was a descriptive cross-sectional study carried out among 65 doctors and 135 nurses selected using a two-staged sampling method. Data were collected with pretested self-administered questionnaires and analyzed with EpiInfo™ 7. Results: Majority (doctors 84.6%, nurses 91.1%) had not heard of the term “mHealth,” but most (doctors 96.9%, nurses 87.4%) were aware of the use of mobile phones in health-care delivery. Only three (27.3%) (health call centers/health-care telephone helpline, appointment reminders, and mobile telemedicine) out of 11 mHealth components listed were mostly known. Most doctors simply used patient monitoring/surveillance and mobile telemedicine, while nurses mainly used treatment compliance and appointment reminder services. Majority were willing to use more mHealth services if available in their hospital. All the doctors and 97% of nurses had mobile phones. However, only about one-quarter (27.5%) had smartphones with applications used for mHealth purposes. Conclusions: Knowledge, awareness, and use of mHealth services were low. Doctors and nurses should be enlightened and trained on ways to use mHealth services to improve health-care delivery, mHealth services should be made available in the hospitals, and use of smartphones encouraged as they portend better adaptability for mHealth use

Uptake of hepatitis B vaccination among staff of an accident and emergency facility in Lagos, southwest Nigeria

Background: Hepatitis B vaccine has been available since 1982; it is safe and 95% effective in the prevention of chronic infection in adults and children. People with reasonable exposure to blood and blood products (health workers and those in accident and emergency facilities) ought to be vaccinated against Hepatitis B. Materials and Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out among the staff of an accident and emergency facility in Lagos, southwest Nigeria. A pretested, structured, and self-administered questionnaire was used for collection of data on the sociodemographic characteristics and the uptake of hepatitis B vaccination among the respondents. The uptake was based on whether the respondents had received the vaccine, the number of doses received (i.e., whether complete or not), and whether they were undergoing a postvaccination test. The responses on the uptake of hepatitis B vaccination was scored and graded as good (≥50%) and poor (<50%). Results: A total of 84 respondents participated in the study. The majority of them (84.5%) had poor uptake of hepatitis B vaccination and the mean uptake score (%) was 24.2 ± 25.0. Among the respondents, 47 (56.0%) had received at least a dose of the hepatitis B vaccine, 11 (13.1%) received the three complete doses, while only 7 (9.9%) did a postvaccination test to check immune status. Among the 37 respondents who did not receive any dose of the vaccine before the study was carried out, a majority of them (67.6%) cited nonavailability of the vaccine as the reason for this while four (10.8%) cited cost as the reason. Conclusion: The uptake of hepatitis B vaccination among the staff of the accident and emergency facility was poor mainly due to nonavailability of the vaccine. There is, therefore, a need for the government to provide this vaccine and make it available at an affordable cost for workers. In addition, an immunization policy should be put in place at the facility, and implementation and monitoring should be done to ensure that the staff are immunized and protected against the hepatitis B virus (HBV)

The Reference Group includes:

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