mHealth guideline training for non-communicable diseases in primary care facilities in Nigeria: a mixed methods pilot study

From BMJ via Jisc Publications RouterHistory: received 2021-12-19, accepted 2022-07-12, ppub 2022-08, epub 2022-08-26Publication status: PublishedFunder: UK National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) [NIHR Global Health Research programme /NIHR Research Unit on Health in Situations of Fragility].; Grant(s): 16/136/100Objective: To pilot the use of a scalable innovative mobile health (mHealth) non-communicable diseases (NCDs) training application for nurses at the primary care level. Design: Mixed methods pilot of mHealth training on NCD care for nurses at primary healthcare (PHC) facilities. We provide a descriptive analysis of mHealth training test scores, with trend analysis of blood pressure (BP) control using paired t-test for quantitative data and thematic analysis for qualitative data. Setting: PHC facilities in rural and urban communities in Cross River State, south eastern Nigeria. NCDs were not part of routine training previously. As in most low-and-middle-income settings, funding for scale-up using conventional classroom in-service training for NCDs is not available in Nigeria, and onsite supervision poses challenges. Participants: Twenty-four health workers in 19 PHC facilities. Intervention: A self-paced mHealth training module on an NCD desk guide was adapted to be applicable within the Nigerian context in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Health. The training which focused on hypertension, diabetes and sickle cell disease was delivered via Android tablet devices, supplemented by quarterly onsite supervision and group support via WhatsApp. The training was evaluated with pre/post-course tests, structured observations and focus group discussions. This was an implementation pilot assessing the feasibility and potential effectiveness of mHealth training on NCD in primary care delivery. Results: Nurses who received mHealth training recorded a statistically significant difference (p<0.001) in average pretest and post-test training scores of 65.2 (±12.2) and 86.5 (±7.9), respectively. Recordings on treatment cards indicated appropriate diagnosis and follow-up of patients with hypertension with significant improvements in systolic BP (t=5.09, p<0.001) and diastolic BP (t=5.07, p<0.001). The mHealth nurse training and WhatsApp support groups were perceived as valuable experiences and obviated the need for face-to-face training. Increased workload, non-availability of medications, facility-level conflicts and poor task shifting were identified challenges. Conclusions: This initiative provides evidence of the feasibility of implementing an NCD care package supported by mHealth training for health workers in PHCs and the strong possibility of successful scale-up nationally

Current prevalence pattern of tobacco smoking in Nigeria: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Background National smoking cessation strategies in Nigeria are hindered by lack of up-to-date epidemiologic data. We aimed to estimate prevalence of tobacco smoking in Nigeria to guide relevant interventions. Methods We conducted systematic search of publicly available evidence from 1990 through 2018. A random-effects meta-analysis and meta-regression epidemiologic model were employed to determine prevalence and number of smokers in Nigeria in 1995 and 2015. Results Across 64 studies (n = 54,755), the pooled crude prevalence of current smokers in Nigeria was 10.4% (9.0–11.7) and 17.7% (15.2–20.2) for ever smokers. This was higher among men compared to women in both groups. There was considerable variation across geopolitical zones, ranging from 5.4% (North-west) to 32.1% (North-east) for current smokers, and 10.5% (South-east) to 43.6% (North-east) for ever smokers. Urban and rural dwellers had relatively similar rates of current smokers (10.7 and 9.1%), and ever smokers (18.1 and 17.0%). Estimated median age at initiation of smoking was 16.8 years (IQR: 13.5–18.0). From 1995 to 2015, we estimated an increase in number of current smokers from 8 to 11 million (or a decline from 13 to 10.6% of the population). The pooled mean cigarettes consumption per person per day was 10.1 (6.1–14.2), accounting for 110 million cigarettes per day and over 40 billion cigarettes consumed in Nigeria in 2015. Conclusions While the prevalence of smokers may be declining in Nigeria, one out of ten Nigerians still smokes daily. There is need for comprehensive measures and strict anti-tobacco laws targeting tobacco production and marketing

Estimating the prevalence of overweight and obesity in Nigeria in 2020: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Background Targeted public health response to obesity in Nigeria is relatively low due to limited epidemiologic understanding. We aimed to estimate nationwide and sub-national prevalence of overweight and obesity in the adult Nigerian population. Methods MEDLINE, EMBASE, Global Health, and Africa Journals Online were systematically searched for relevant epidemiologic studies in Nigeria published on or after 01 January 1990. We assessed quality of studies and conducted a random-effects meta-analysis on extracted crude prevalence rates. Using a meta-regression model, we estimated the number of overweight and obese persons in Nigeria in the year 2020. Results From 35 studies (n = 52,816), the pooled crude prevalence rates of overweight and obesity in Nigeria were 25.0% (95% confidence interval, CI: 20.4–29.6) and 14.3% (95% CI: 12.0–15.5), respectively. The prevalence in women was higher compared to men at 25.5% (95% CI: 17.1–34.0) versus 25.2% (95% CI: 18.0–32.4) for overweight, and 19.8% (95% CI: 3.9–25.6) versus 12.9% (95% CI: 9.1–16.7) for obesity, respectively. The pooled mean body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference were 25.6 kg/m2 and 86.5 cm, respectively. We estimated that there were 21 million and 12 million overweight and obese persons in the Nigerian population aged 15 years or more in 2020, accounting for an age-adjusted prevalence of 20.3% and 11.6%, respectively. The prevalence rates of overweight and obesity were consistently higher among urban dwellers (27.2% and 14.4%) compared to rural dwellers (16.4% and 12.1%). Conclusions Our findings suggest a high prevalence of overweight and obesity in Nigeria. This is marked in urban Nigeria and among women, which may in part be due to widespread sedentary lifestyles and a surge in processed food outlets, largely reflective of a trend across many African settings