Crime Control in Traditional African Societies: A Review of Crime Control in Nigeria

Abstract: This review dealt with the traditional methods most African countries utilize in dealing with issues of crimes considered to be very serious, which seriously affect the traditional societies in those African countries. Although there has been modern introductions, but these methods are still being practiced and very effective in most of the rural areas

Socio-Cultural Factors Associated With Wife Beating In Nigeria: A Review of Key Issues

Abstract: This review is based on the issues connected with wife beating in Nigeria which are reflections in so many other developing countries in Africa and Asia. Wife beating is one of the many dimensions of gender issues that threatens social freedom of women and increases mental and health burdens among victims, and indirectly affects their children, family members and the society at large. Yet there is a great degree of social acceptance of the issue as a form of chastisement of wives and socio-cultural norm in most of the African countries, especially in the rural areas

Enhancing the Capacity of Policy-Makers to Develop Evidence-Informed Policy Brief on Infectious Diseases of Poverty in Nigeria

Background: The lack of effective use of research evidence in policy-making is a major challenge in most low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). There is need to package research data into effective policy tools that will help policy-makers to make evidence-informed policy regarding infectious diseases of poverty (IDP). The objective of this study was to assess the usefulness of training workshops and mentoring to enhance the capacity of Nigerian health policy-makers to develop evidence-informed policy brief on the control of IDP. Methods: A modified “before and after” intervention study design was used in which outcomes were measured on the target participants both before the intervention is implemented and after. A 4-point Likert scale according to the degree of adequacy; 1 = “grossly inadequate,” 4 = “very adequate” was employed. The main parameter measured was participants’ perceptions of their own knowledge/understanding. This study was conducted at subnational level and the participants were the career health policy-makers drawn from Ebonyi State in the South-Eastern Nigeria. A one- day evidence-to-policy workshop was organized to enhance the participants’ capacity to develop evidence-informed policy brief on IDP in Ebonyi State. Topics covered included collaborative initiative; preparation and use of policy briefs; policy dialogue; ethics in health policy-making; and health policy and politics. Results: The preworkshop mean of knowledge and capacity ranged from 2.49-3.03, while the postworkshop mean ranged from 3.42–3.78 on 4-point scale. The percentage increase in mean of knowledge and capacity at the end of the workshop ranged from 20.10%–45%. Participants were divided into 3 IDP mentorship groups (malaria, schistosomiasis, lymphatic filariasis [LF]) and were mentored to identify potential policy options/recommendations for control of the diseases for the policy briefs. These policy options were subjected to research evidence synthesis by each group to identify the options that have the support of research evidence (mostly systematic reviews) from PubMed, Cochrane database and Google Scholar. After the evidence synthesis, five policy options were selected out of 13 for malaria, 3 out of 10 for schistosomiasis and 5 out of 11 for LF. Conclusion: The outcome suggests that an evidence-to-policy capacity enhancement workshop combined with a mentorship programme can improve policy-makers’ capacity for evidence-informed policy-making (EIP

Non-Pharmaceutical Interventions against COVID-19 Pandemic: Review of Contact Tracing and Social Distancing Technologies, Protocols, Apps, Security and Open Research Directions

The COVID-19 Pandemic has punched a devastating blow on the majority of the world’s population. Millions of people have been infected while hundreds of thousands have died of the disease throwing many families into mourning and other psychological torments. It has also crippled the economy of many countries of the world leading to job losses, high inflation, and dwindling Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The duo of social distancing and contact tracing are the major technological-based non-pharmaceutical public health intervention strategies adopted for combating the dreaded disease. These technologies have been deployed by different countries around the world to achieve effective and efficient means of maintaining appropriate distance and tracking the transmission pattern of the diseases or identifying those at high risk of infecting others. This paper aims to synthesize the research efforts on contact tracing and social distancing to minimize the spread of COVID-19. The paper critically and comprehensively reviews contact tracing technologies, protocols, and mobile applications (apps) that were recently developed and deployed against the coronavirus disease. Furthermore, the paper discusses social distancing technologies, appropriate methods to maintain distances, regulations, isolation/quarantine, and interaction strategies. In addition, the paper highlights different security/privacy vulnerabilities identified in contact tracing and social distancing technologies and solutions against these vulnerabilities. We also x-rayed the strengths and weaknesses of the various technologies concerning their application in contact tracing and social distancing. Finally, the paper proposed insightful recommendations and open research directions in contact tracing and social distancing that could assist researchers, developers, and governments in implementing new technological methods to combat the menace of COVID-19

Enhancing the Capacity of Policy-Makers to Develop Evidence-Informed Policy Brief on Infectious Diseases of Poverty in Nigeria

Background: The lack of effective use of research evidence in policy-making is a major challenge in most low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). There is need to package research data into effective policy tools that will help policy-makers to make evidence-informed policy regarding infectious diseases of poverty (IDP). The objective of this study was to assess the usefulness of training workshops and mentoring to enhance the capacity of Nigerian health policy-makers to develop evidence-informed policy brief on the control of IDP. Methods:A modified “before and after” intervention study design was used in which outcomes were measured on the target participants both before the intervention is implemented and after. A 4-point Likert scale according to the degree of adequacy; 1 = “grossly inadequate,” 4 = “very adequate” was employed. The main parameter measured was participants’ perceptions of their own knowledge/understanding. This study was conducted at subnational level and the participants were the career health policy-makers drawn from Ebonyi State in the South-Eastern Nigeria. A oneday evidence-to-policy workshop was organized to enhance the participants’ capacity to develop evidence-informed policy brief on IDP in Ebonyi State. Topics covered included collaborative initiative; preparation and use of policy briefs; policy dialogue; ethics in health policy-making; and health policy and politics. Results: The preworkshop mean of knowledge and capacity ranged from 2.49-3.03, while the postworkshop mean ranged from 3.42–3.78 on 4-point scale. The percentage increase in mean of knowledge and capacity at the end of the workshop ranged from 20.10%–45%. Participants were divided into 3 IDP mentorship groups (malaria, schistosomiasis, lymphatic filariasis [LF]) and were mentored to identify potential policy options/recommendations for control of the diseases for the policy briefs. These policy options were subjected to research evidence synthesis by each group to identify the options that have the support of research evidence (mostly systematic reviews) from PubMed, Cochrane database and Google Scholar. After the evidence synthesis, five policy options were selected out of 13 for malaria, 3 out of 10 for schistosomiasis and 5 out of 11 for LF. Conclusion:The outcome suggests that an evidence-to-policy capacity enhancement workshop combined with a mentorship programme can improve policy-makers’ capacity for evidence-informed policy-making (EIP)

Enhancing health policymakers’ information literacy capacity for policymaking on control of infectious diseases of poverty in Nigeria

Background: In Nigeria, one of the major challenges associated with evidence-to-policy link in the control of infectious diseases of poverty (IDP), is the deficient information literacy capacity among policymakers.  There is need for policymakers to develop capacity to discover relevant information, accurately evaluate retrieved information and to apply it correctly.Objectives: To use information literacy tool of International Network for Availability of Scientific Publications (INASP) to enhance policymakers’ capacity for policymaking on control of IDP in Nigeria.Methods: Modified “before and after” intervention study design was used in which outcomes were measured on target participants both before the intervention is implemented and after. This study was conducted in Ebonyi State, south-eastern Nigeria and participants were career health policy makers. A two-day health-policy information literacy training workshop was organized to enhance participants’ information literacy capacity.  Topics covered included: introduction to information literacy; defining information problem; searching for information online; evaluating information; science information; knowledge sharing interviews; and training skills. Results: A total of 52 policymakers attended the workshop. The pre-workshop mean of knowledge and capacity for information literacy ranged from 2.15-2.97, while the post-workshop mean ranged from 3.34-3.64 on 4point scale. The percentage increase in mean of knowledge and capacity at the end of the workshop ranged from 22.6%-55.3%.Conclusion: The results of this study suggest that through information literacy training workshop policy makers can acquire the capacity to identify, capture and share the right kind of information in the right contexts to influence relevant action or a policy decision.Key Words: Policymakers, information literacy, capacity, infectious diseases of poverty, worksho

Enhancing health policymakers’ information literacy capacity for policymaking on control of infectious diseases of poverty in Nigeria

Background: In Nigeria, one of the major challenges associated with evidence-to-policy link in the control of infectious diseases of poverty (IDP), is the deficient information literacy capacity among policymakers.  There is need for policymakers to develop capacity to discover relevant information, accurately evaluate retrieved information and to apply it correctly.Objectives: To use information literacy tool of International Network for Availability of Scientific Publications (INASP) to enhance policymakers’ capacity for policymaking on control of IDP in Nigeria.Methods: Modified “before and after” intervention study design was used in which outcomes were measured on target participants both before the intervention is implemented and after. This study was conducted in Ebonyi State, south-eastern Nigeria and participants were career health policy makers. A two-day health-policy information literacy training workshop was organized to enhance participants’ information literacy capacity.  Topics covered included: introduction to information literacy; defining information problem; searching for information online; evaluating information; science information; knowledge sharing interviews; and training skills. Results: A total of 52 policymakers attended the workshop. The pre-workshop mean of knowledge and capacity for information literacy ranged from 2.15-2.97, while the post-workshop mean ranged from 3.34-3.64 on 4point scale. The percentage increase in mean of knowledge and capacity at the end of the workshop ranged from 22.6%-55.3%.Conclusion: The results of this study suggest that through information literacy training workshop policy makers can acquire the capacity to identify, capture and share the right kind of information in the right contexts to influence relevant action or a policy decision.Key Words: Policymakers, information literacy, capacity, infectious diseases of poverty, worksho

National School Health Policy in Nigeria; Survey of teachers’ perception and implementation in public schools in Ebonyi State

Background: The National School Health Policy (NSHP) was enacted and adopted in Nigeria in 2006 as a guide to the implementation of the School Health Programme (SHP) for the maintenance and improvement of the health of children in school.Objectives: We decided to undertake a survey of the implementation of this policy in public schools in Ebonyi state, southeast Nigeria by assessing the Head teachers' perceptions, attitude, and practice and to determine possible challenges, if any, in the policy implementation.Method: A descriptive crosssectional study was carried out on 788 public primary and secondary schools in Ebonyi state using pretested structured questionnaires administered to their head teachers. Information on school demographics, school health services; school environment, skill-based health instructions in schools and, perceived enablers or barriers toschool health implementation were retrieved.Results: About 65% of participants were unaware of the existence of the NSHP document. None of the schools reported pre-entry medical examination of students, 49.6% had no latrines, 42.1% had no source of water at school, and 45.1% had no teacher trained in Health education. Some of their perceived challenges were low awareness and commitment of school managers, the absence of health workers in school, and lack of teachers training on School Health Programme.Conclusion: Poor knowledge and understanding of the NSHP amongst the teachers, lack of basic human and material resources for health-promotion in schools may have contributed to the seemingly low attitude and practice of the NSHP in public schools of Ebonyi State, Nigeria