Validation of Wound-QoL Questionnaire among Patients with Acute Wounds in Enugu, South-east Nigeria

Globally, health related quality of life (HRQoL) has become an essential wound outcome measure in evaluating holistic care, clinical practice and research. In Nigeria, there is a dearth of validated studies on standardised instruments to assess quality-of-life in patients with acute wounds. This study validated the Wound-QoL questionnaire in Nigeria. It was a single-blinded randomized controlled study, carried out amongst 42 participants using simple blocked randomization to assign patients to different groups (Biodress, honey and povidone-iodine). Wound-QoL was used for data collection with due ethical consideration and data analysis. The median age of the participants was 32.5 years, with a slight male preponderance (52.4%). The global score was above 0.7 at both times tested with the subscale scores ranging from 0.420 to 0.754. The mean values for both Wound-QoL global scores (T0: 0.83, T1: 0.79) and two subscale scores (body: T0: 1.28, T1: 1.17, everyday life: T0: 0.61, T1: 0.58) decreased over time while the psyche subscale remained unchanged (T0: 0.53, T1: 0.53). On item selectivity, the global score was significantly correlated to each of the items and the subscales. This result showed that acute wounds affect patients’ quality of life. It also indicates that the Wound-QoL questionnaire has positive psychometric properties. The Wound-QoL is a valid and reliable tool in assessing quality of life of people with acute wounds in Nigeria. A large-scale study in different regions of the country is recommended bearing in mind the cultural differences

Cancer Patients’ Perceived Need for Information and Education on Sexuality Challenges in a Regional Oncology Center in South-Eastern Nigeria

Background: Cancer patients in low and middle-income countries (LMIC) experience sexuality concerns most often un-disclosed by patients and unaddressed by oncologists. This study investigated adult cancer patients’ need for information and education on perceived sexuality challenges in Nigeria.Materials and Methods: This descriptive, cross-sectional study enlisted 298 adult cancer survivors. A pre-tested researcher-developed questionnaire was used for data collection and analysis done with IBM SPSS, version 19.0 using descriptive and inferential statistics (at p<0.05).Results: Findings showed that only 5.4% have tried discussing sexuality concerns with caregivers, (282=94.6%) had never even when the majority felt anxious about the sickness (3.66±1.12) and depressed about the loss of a body part (3.13±1.41); females had difficulties performing roles as mothers/wives (3.45±1.47), men reported having difficulties performing roles as fathers/husbands (3.53±1.52). The majority considered discussions on sexuality as important (4.17±1.36) and desired to a very high extent discussion/information on the impact of cancer and cancer treatment on sexuality and sexual life/behaviour (4.36±0.88) with nurses (67.1%) than doctors.Conclusion: Cancer patients need information on cancer and sexuality. Health care providers should include such discussions during patient assessment and treatment. Sexuality discuss, although appreciated is a sensitive issue that requires skills and ongoing training for cancer care professionals

Health-related Quality of Life (HRQOL) of Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus and People without Diabetes at a Tertiary Hospital in Port-Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria

Background: Health-related quality of life (HRQOL), a patient-sensitive outcome globally, has become the clinician’s primary goal of care. Evidence suggests that diabetes mellitus (DM) and its treatment/care impair patients’ HRQOL, which varies depending on the patient population/factors. Diabetics’ HRQOL in South-South Nigeria is largely unknown. Objectives: This study assessed and compared the HRQOL of patients with type 2 diabetes attending the outpatient diabetic clinic at a tertiary hospital in Port-Harcourt, Rivers State, South-South Nigeria with age-/gender-matched nondiabetics living within the same environment. Materials and Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional comparative study recruited 200 respondents, respectively those with type 2 diabetes (cases) and nondiabetics (controls). Data were collected by using the World Health Organization Quality of Life–BREF (WHOQOL-BREF) questionnaire and analyzed by using descriptive and inferential statistics at P≤ 0.05 level of significance. Results: The two groups (200 each) had no significant differences (P = 0.35 - P = 0.98) in terms of their demographic variables. The diabetic group's mean scores were significantly (P = 0.00) lower than that of the non-diabetics in terms of WHOQOL-BREF overall, health satisfaction, physical, psychological, and social domains. Diabetics with tertiary education (58%) had a significantly higher mean score (P = 0.012) in terms of overall WHOQOL-BREF than those with secondary and primary education (42%). Ninety-two patients (46%) with diabetes had comorbidities that increased significantly with age (P = 0.00) and expressed less satisfaction with their health (P = 0.04). Conclusion: Patients with diabetes had lower HRQOL scores than nondiabetics, implying the negative impact of diabetes and its treatment/care on their life. Diabetics’ HRQOL should be routinely evaluated and enhanced by empowering diabetic self-care activities that aid diabetes control and retard complications

Sample Delivery Techniques for Serial Crystallography

In serial femtosecond crystallography (SFX), protein microcrystals and nanocrystals are introduced into the focus of an X-ray free electron laser (FEL) beam ideally one-by-one in a serial fashion. The high photon density in each pulse is the double-edged sword that necessitates the serial nature of the experiments. The high photon count focused spatially and temporally leads to a diffraction-before-destruction snapshot, but this single snapshot is not enough for a high-resolution three-dimensional structural reconstruction. To recover the structure, more snapshots are required to sample all of reciprocal space from randomly oriented crystal diffraction, and in practice, some redundancy is necessary in these measurements. This chapter explores the different sample delivery techniques developed over the years to help enable serial crystallography experiments