Maternal education and diarrhea among children aged 0-24 months in Nigeria

Childhood diarrhea remains a problem in countries like Nigeria where access to potable water, good hygiene and sanitation are lacking. Maternal education is an important determinant of health status of under-five children. Very few studies have investigated the relationship between maternal education and diarrhea in children in Nigeria. Therefore, this study was implemented to fill the gap. The study design was cross-sectional and 2013 National Survey was used. Children aged 0-24 months were investigated and the dependent variable was diarrhea status of the index child in the last two weeks prior the survey. The main independent variable was maternal education. Data were analyzed using Chi-square and Logistic regression models (α=0.05). Diarrhea prevalence was 13.7% and higher (15.5%) among children of women who have no formal education, and mothers living in the North East region of Nigeria experienced the highest prevalence (26.4%). Children whose mothers had no formal education were 2.69(CI= 1.800-4.015, p<0.001) more likely to have diarrhea as compared to those who had higher education. Maternal education is an important predictor of diarrhea among children aged 0-24 months in Nigeria. Policies to reduce diarrhea among children in Nigeria should target children of the illiterate, less educated mothers and those living in the North-West.Keywords: Maternal Education, Childhood diarrhea, Nigeri

Social Network Analysis of the Schistosomiasis control program in two local government areas in Oyo state, Nigeria: Insights for NTD elimination plans.

BackgroundSchistosomiasis is one of the neglected tropical diseases targeted for elimination by 2030. Achieving disease elimination requires collaboration between stakeholders, country ownership and the involvement of community-level stakeholders. The state of stakeholder relationship determines the ease and timeliness of meeting disease elimination targets. Mapping stakeholder relationships is critical for assessing gaps in the schistosomiasis control program implementation, and providing a roadmap for improved stakeholder cohesion. The study aimed to measure the cohesiveness of the contact, collaboration and resource-sharing networks, across 2 local government areas in Oyo state, Nigeria.Materials and methodsThis study used a Network Representative design for Social Network Analysis (SNA). The study was conducted within Oyo state, Nigeria using 2 Local Government Areas (LGAs): Ibadan North (urban) and Akinyele (rural). Stakeholders were identified using a link-tracing approach. Data was collected using Qualtrics software from stakeholders across the state, local government, healthcare, academia, and non-governmental organizations. Data was analysed using Gephi software for network cohesion across the three networks.ResultsThe social network analysis revealed high clustering and low density across the three networks implying low cohesion across multiple stakeholder categories. The contact and collaborative networks were the most active with the lowest level of cohesion seen in the resource-sharing network. Stakeholders were more active in the rural LGA than the urban, and stakeholders within the organized governance and public health system were the dominant actors in the schistosomiasis control program.ConclusionThe low cohesion, high clustering and low network density among stakeholders within the schistosomiasis control program should be addressed in other to drive innovation and meet the WHO schistosomiasis elimination target

Towards Inclusive Diagnostics for Neglected Tropical Diseases:: User Experience of a New Digital Diagnostic Device in Low-Income Settings

Designing new and inclusive diagnostic tools to detect Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) to achieve rational disease control requires a co-design process where end-users’ input is important. Failure to involve all potential end-users in new diagnostics for NTDs can result in low use and adoption failure, leading to persistent infection hot spots and ineffective disease control. There are different categories of potential end-users of new diagnostic tools for NTD control, and it is unclear if there are differences between the user efficiency, effectiveness, perception, and acceptability across these end-user categories. This study evaluated the usability, user perception, contextual factors affecting the user’s experience, and acceptability of a new digital optical diagnostic device for NTDs across three types of potential end users. A total of 21 participants were tested. Laboratory scientists, technicians, and Community Health Extension Workers (CHEWs) in training achieved similar scores on the usability and user perception questionnaires with no statistically significant difference between end-user categories. All participants also have high scores for the user perception domains which strongly correlate with the acceptability of the AiDx NTDx Assist device. This study indicates that, by providing digital diagnostic tools in combination with minimal training and support, CHEWs undergoing training and, by extension, CHEWs post-training, can be involved in the diagnoses of NTDs, potentially enhancing a community’s capabilities to diagnose, treat, and control NTDs

A Review of the Literature on Food Values and Their Potential Implications for Consumers’ Food Decision Processes

This article offers a semi-systematic literature review on the concept of food values. Specifically, 36 relevant research articles were analyzed. The results underscore the novelty and rapid popularity of this concept in different professional, scientific, and academic fields. Among the findings, the article highlights how the concept of food values has evolved to accommodate the features and behaviors of specific markets. Nonetheless, one can group food values into three distinct clusters. This article expands our understanding on the evolution of food values along different dimensions (various clusters and segments related to geographic regions and social classes). It also identifies several research gaps and translates them into different research proposals

Stakeholders’ Perspectives on the Application of New Diagnostic Devices for Urinary Schistosomiasis in Oyo State, Nigeria: A Q-Methodology Approach

Urinary schistosomiasis is a waterborne parasitic infection caused by Schistosoma haematobium that affects approximately 30 million people annually in Nigeria. Treatment and eradication of this infection require effective diagnostics. However, current diagnostic tests have critical shortcomings and consequently are of limited value to stakeholders throughout the health care system who are involved in targeting the diagnosis and subsequent control of schistosomiasis. New diagnostic devices that fit the local health care infrastructure and support the different stakeholder diagnostic strategies remain a critical need. This study focuses on understanding, by means of Q-methodology, the context of use and application of a new diagnostic device that is needed to effectively diagnose urinary schistosomiasis in Oyo State, Nigeria. Q-methodology is a technique that investigates subjectivity by exploring how stakeholders rank-order opinion statements about a phenomenon. In this study, 40 statements were administered to evaluate stakeholder perspectives on the context of use and application of potential new diagnostic devices and how these perspectives or viewpoints are shared with other stakeholders. Potential new diagnostic devices will need to be deployable to remote or distant communities, be affordable, identify and confirm infection status before treatment in patients whose diagnosis of urinary schistosomiasis is based on self-reporting, and equip health care facilities with diagnostic devices optimized for the local setting while requiring local minimal infrastructural settings. Similarly, the context of use and application of a potential new diagnostic device for urinary schistosomiasis is primarily associated with the tasks stakeholders throughout the health care system perform or procedures employed. These findings will guide the development of new diagnostic devices for schistosomiasis that match the contextual landscape and diagnostic strategies in Oyo.Design for SustainabilityWater Resource

Influence of the WHO framework convention on tobacco control on tobacco legislation and policies in sub-Saharan Africa

Background The World Health Organization’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, enforced in 2005, was a watershed international treaty that stipulated requirements for signatories to govern the production, sale, distribution, advertisement, and taxation of tobacco to reduce its impact on health. This paper describes the timelines, context, key actors, and strategies in the development and implementation of the treaty and describes how six sub-Saharan countries responded to its call for action on tobacco control. Methods A multi-country policy review using case study design was conducted in Cameroon, Kenya, Nigeria, Malawi, South Africa, and Togo. All documents related to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control and individual country implementation of tobacco policies were reviewed, and key informant interviews related to the countries’ development and implementation of tobacco policies were conducted. Results Multiple stakeholders, including academics and activists, led a concerted effort for more than 10 years to push the WHO treaty forward despite counter-marketing from the tobacco industry. Once the treaty was enacted, Cameroon, Kenya, Nigeria, Malawi, South Africa, and Togo responded in unique ways to implement tobacco policies, with differences associated with the country’s socio-economic context, priorities of country leaders, industry presence, and choice of strategies. All the study countries except Malawi have acceded to and ratified the WHO tobacco treaty and implemented tobacco control policy. Conclusions The WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control provided an unprecedented opportunity for global action against the public health effects of tobacco including non-communicable diseases. Reviewing how six sub-Saharan countries responded to the treaty to mobilize resources and implement tobacco control policies has provided insight for how to utilise international regulations and commitments to accelerate policy impact on the prevention of non-communicable diseases