Preferred approach to performance improvement among stakeholders in the health insurance industry in Southwest Region of Nigeria: Implications for Universal Health Coverage

Background: Population coverage of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) of Nigeria is low. This study aimed to assess the capacity gaps of personnel in the health insurance industry in southwest Nigeria as well determined the approach to improvement.Methods: This was a cross-sectional survey conducted in the health insurance industry in southwest Nigeria. Survey tool adapted was the World Health Organization adopted Hennessy-Hicks Training Needs Analysis Questionnaire with a set of 30 tasks which are important to the job performance of personnel in the health insurance industry. From the register made available by stakeholders, there were a total of 275 personnel in the industry in the zone. A total population of all available personnel in all the organizations were recruited into the study. Data analysis was done using the guideline provided in the Hennessy-Hicks Training Needs Analysis Questionnaire.Results: Only 32 (13.7%) reported having a training background in health-related degrees, 119 (50.9%) had work-related (actuarial science) training while 148 (63.3%) has had a form of on-the-job actuarial science and related training. The training course approach was generally preferred to organisational change in all items.Conclusion: This study showed that there were gaps in the capacity of personnel in the health insurance industry. Training course was the preferred approach to addressing these. While not neglecting organizational change, stakeholders in Nigeria and in similar settings are advised to pay more attention to personnel training to improve performance.Keywords: Performance; Improvement; Health insurance; Universal health coverage; Trainin

Evaluation of some quality parameters of cassava starch and soy protein isolate matrices during deep fat frying in soybean oil

Open Access Journal; Published online: 19 Dec 2018Snack industry is recently focused on the production of snacks with minimal oil content and enhanced quality attributes which prompted the need to study the changes in snack matrices produced from cassava starch processed from three varieties of cassava roots (TMS‐950289, TME‐419, and TMS‐30572) and soy protein isolate blends fried in soybean oil. Effect of frying temperature (170–180°C), frying time (2–4 min), soy protein isolate inclusion level (5%–15%) on proximate composition, color changes, expansion, texture, and sensory attributes of the snacks was investigated. Optimization of process variables was carried out based on a factorial design (2 level by 3 factor) in the Design Expert version 6.0.8, and models were generated showing the relationship between the independent variables and the responses. The desired goal for each constraint (processing conditions) was kept within 170–180°C for 2–4 min, while all responses, except chewiness, expansion, yellowness, and protein, were set at minimum. Evaluation of sensory attributes of the optimized sample was carried out to determine its level of desirability. The optimized frying conditions for matrices produced from starches of TMS‐950289 are 170°C/4 min/5% SPI with desirability value of 0.507; from TME‐419 are 180°C/2 min/5% SPI with desirability value of 0.475 while for those from TMS‐30572 are 170°C/4 min/15% SPI with desirability value of 0.459. At higher SPI level, the protein content was high at 170°C. At 4 min frying time for all the varieties, the moisture content reduces. The most desired optimized fried snack produced from starch of TMS‐30572 (containing 15% SPI) had higher crispness and lower oil content than other optimized fried snacks

Chemical and microbial stability of cowpea paste: influence of ingredient combination and whipping time

This paper reports the effect of pepper content (PC = 0.5-2.5%), salt content (SC = 0.5-3.0%), moisture content (MC=60-70%), whipping time (WT = 0-120 s) on the quality of cowpea paste (CP) held at ambient temperature for 24 h. The pH and lactic acid bacterial (LAB) and total plate counts of the CP and sensory acceptability of akara- a fried cowpea product were studied over 24 h of holding. Longer whipping time reduced LAB counts in freshly prepared CP. Increased pepper powder content significantly enhanced microbial counts (p<0.05). Increased salt content reduced souring rate (k.). Shorter WT enhanced sensory acceptability of akara. The optimum WT, MC, SC, PC predicted for maximum sensory acceptability and minimum souring rate and LAB growth were 28.02 s, 60%, 2.45%, 0.5%, respectively. Sensory acceptability scores of optimized CP reduced linearly with time (R2>0.97). The best before (BBT) and expiry times (ET) of the CP were 5.60 and 11.64 h, respectively.Keywords: Cowpea paste, ingredient combination, lactic fermentation, optimizatio

Chemical composition and pasting properties of iron fortified maize flour

The aim was to study the chemical composition and pasting properties of iron-fortified maize flour. The maize flour was mixed with different quantities (25, 35 and 45 mg/kg) of iron fortificants (iron EDTA, iron sulphate and iron fumarate). The flour samples were analyzed for proximate, mineral and heavy metal composition as well as pasting profile. There were significant differences (P<0.05) in the proximate composition of the fortified maize flour, except in moisture and fat contents. Fortification of maize flour significantly affected the mineral contents of the flours. Compared to unfortified samples, fortification increased the values of iron contents of the fortified flours from 16.1 to 29.7 mg/kg. The values of heavy metals in the fortified maize flour were very low to constitute a health hazard to the consumer. Addition of iron fortificants to maize flour significantly (P<0.05) affected its pasting parameters, except time to attain peak viscosity

Evaluation of some properties of wheat-brewers’ spent cassava flour blends

Brewers’ spent cassava mash, a by-product from brewing process using cassava as the main substrate for beer production. This study investigated the proximate, functional and nutritional properties of wheat-brewers’ spent cassava flour blends. The mash was dried at 70oC for 16 h and milled into flour. Blends from wheat flour (WF) and brewers’ spent cassava flour (BSCF) were prepared at ratios of 80:20 (WF: BSCF), 70:30 (WF: BSCF), 60:40 (WF: BSCF), 100% BSCF and 100 % WF. The proximate, functional properties, some minerals and vitamin composition of the blends were determined and data obtained were subjected to one way analysis of variance. There were significant (p &lt; 0.05) differences in the properties of the blends. Appreciable quantities of magnesium, phosphorus, potassium and thiamine were observed in BSCF. This study established the proximate, functional and pasting properties of wheat-brewers’ spent cassava flour blends and that it has a lot of potential in the food industry especially its use as thickener and binding agent in the food systems.Keywords: Brewers’ spent cassava flour, wheat flour, proximate, functional properties