Role of men in contraceptive use in Northern Nigeria: A cross sectional study

Background: Men take most or all important decisions in the home in most African societies and this includes contraception. It is therefore important that their role in this issue be investigated in our setting.Objectives: The objectives of this study are to directly determine the role of men in contraceptive use or non-use in the Zaria area of northern Nigeria, to indirectly increase the awareness of contraception amongst men and hopefully improve their contraceptive practice.Method: A descriptive cross-sectional study involving 900 men. Multistage sampling technique was used to select respondents. Trained male interviewers administered the questionnaires. Focus group discussions and an in-depth interview were also conducted.Results: Six hundred and seven (67.4%) of the men knew about contraception. Three hundred and thirty seven (37.4%) may use contraceptives if need be and 230 (25.6%) presently used contraception. If their wife/wives used contraceptives without their permission, 277 (30.8%) would scold her, 165 (18.3%) would beat her, 144 (16%) would divorce her, 128 (14.2%) would report to family members and 106 (11.8%) would do nothing. Focus group discussions and in-depth interview showed a high awareness rate and willingness to discuss contraception, but areluctance to practice it.Conclusion: There was a high level of awareness but a low level of contraceptive use amongst men in the environment. This has important implications for the success of contraceptive campaigns and programmes.Efforts need to be continued to encourage men in the setting to be more proactive towards contraception. Regular periodic surveys are necessary to help in the planning of educational and campaign programmes.Keywords: Contraception, men, role, awareness, practice, educatio

Mupirocin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in Africa: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Background Mupirocin is widely used for nasal decolonization of Staphylococcus aureus to prevent subsequent staphylococcal infection in patients and healthcare personnel. However, the prolonged and unrestricted use has led to the emergence of mupirocin-resistant (mupR) S. aureus. The aim of this systematic review was to investigate the prevalence, phenotypic and molecular characteristics, and geographic spread of mupR S. aureus in Africa. Methods We examined five electronic databases (EBSCOhost, Google Scholar, ISI Web of Science, MEDLINE, and Scopus) for relevant English articles on screening for mupR S. aureus from various samples in Africa. In addition, we performed random effects meta-analysis of proportions to determine the pooled prevalence of mupR S. aureus in Africa. The search was conducted until 3 August 2016. Results We identified 43 eligible studies of which 11 (26%) were obtained only through Google Scholar. Most of the eligible studies (28/43; 65%) were conducted in Nigeria (10/43; 23%), Egypt (7/43; 16%), South Africa (6/43; 14%) and Tunisia (5/43; 12%). Overall, screening for mupR S. aureus was described in only 12 of 54 (22%) African countries. The disk diffusion method was the widely used technique (67%; 29/43) for the detection of mupR S. aureus in Africa. The mupA-positive S. aureus isolates were identified in five studies conducted in Egypt (n = 2), South Africa (n = 2), and Nigeria (n = 1). Low-level resistance (LmupR) and high-level resistance (HmupR) were both reported in six human studies from South Africa (n = 3), Egypt (n = 2) and Libya (n = 1). Data on mupR-MRSA was available in 11 studies from five countries, including Egypt, Ghana, Libya, Nigeria and South Africa. The pooled prevalence (based on 11 human studies) of mupR S. aureus in Africa was 14% (95% CI =6.8 to 23.2%). The proportion of mupA-positive S. aureus in Africa ranged between 0.5 and 8%. Furthermore, the frequency of S. aureus isolates that exhibited LmupR, HmupR and mupR-MRSA in Africa were 4 and 47%, 0.5 and 38%, 5 and 50%, respectively. Conclusions The prevalence of mupR S. aureus in Africa (14%) is worrisome and there is a need for data on administration and use of mupirocin. The disk diffusion method which is widely utilized in Africa could be an important method for the screening and identification of mupR S. aureus. Moreover, we advocate for surveillance studies with appropriate guidelines for screening mupR S. aureus in Africa

Responses of leaf yield and chemical composition of Amaranthus cruentus L. and Celosia argentea L. to land use types and fertilizer regimes.

No Abstract.Nigerian Journal of Soil Sciences Vol. 16 (1) 2006: pp. 90-9

Pain relief in labor: a survey of awareness, attitude, and practice of health care providers in Zaria, Nigeria

E Ogboli-Nwasor1, SE Adaji2, SB Bature2, OS Shittu21Department of Anesthesia, 2Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, Zaria, NigeriaBackground: The purpose of this study was to assess the attitudes of maternal health care providers to pain relief during labor in Zaria, Nigeria.Methods: This was a multicenter, collaborative, cross-sectional pilot study of provider perspectives concerning pain relief during labor. A structured, self-administered, questionnaire was completed by 95 consenting maternal health care providers at three high-volume facilities in Zaria, an ancient northern Nigerian city. Descriptive statistics was performed on the data.Results: Most respondents (94.8%) agreed that pain relief is needed during labor. Only 2.1% of respondents were undecided about the provision of pain relief during labor and 3.2% were of the opinion that pain relief was not necessary during labor. Most respondents (93.7%) had attended a woman in labor in the 4 weeks preceding the survey. Of these, 56.8% had counseled a parturient in labor. Most of the counseling (42.1%) took place during labor. Less than half of the respondents (48.4%) had administered pain relief in labor in the preceding 4 weeks and systemic opioids was the most commonly form of pain relief. Among the respondents who did not offer pain relief agents in labor, the majority (54.5%) had no reason for not offering it. Unavailability of methods, inability to afford the cost of pain relief, lack of knowledge and skills, as well as lack of essential equipment to provide the procedure were also given by respondents as reasons for not offering pain relief.Conclusion: Even though maternal health care providers in this environment have a positive attitude to pain relief in labor, most women go through labor without the benefit of analgesia. There exists a gap between provider attitudes to pain relief in labor and practice of the same, with many providers having no genuine reason(s) for not offering pain relief to their clients during labor. Providers need to align their practice to their attitudes, and need to be helped to do this through training as well as enhancing their ability to think critically about their practice.Keywords: pain relief, providers, attitudes, practice, labor, conflic

Bothersome lower urinary symptoms during pregnancy: a preliminary study using the International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire

Background: During pregnancy, many women suffer from lower urinary tract symptoms which they hardly report to their care providers. Measuring the prevalence of these symptoms has been difficult because of lack of uniform nomenclature and standardized tool. The updated nomenclature and the new ICIQ-FLUTS questionnaire offer an opportunity for assessment of these symptoms especially in developing countries. Objective: This study aimed to establish the prevalence of bothersome lower urinary symptoms among pregnant women in Zaria, Nigeria. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study in which the International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire on Female Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms (ICIQ-FLUTS) was administered by trained interviewers to 204 consenting pregnant women aged 15 to 42 years who were attending Antenatal care (ANC) at a tertiary health facility in Zaria, Nigeria. Results: Storage phase symptoms (nocturia, urgency, daytime frequency and painful bladder) were common among respondents. Of these, nocturia was the commonest with 94.1% of the respondents reporting it. Voiding symptoms (hesitancy, straining to pass urine and interrupted stream) were also found. Interrupted stream was the commonest of these, occurring in 8.3% of respondents. Incontinence; stress (13.7%), urge (9.8%) and enuresis (1%) were found among the respondents. Conclusions: These findings show that diverse, bothersome forms of lower urinary tract symptoms are experienced by pregnant women in this environment and the ICIQ-FLUTS questionnaire is a helpful tool in identifying these symptoms

Ethnoveterinary practices among sheep rearers in Ona-Ara Local Government of Oyo state, Nigeria

A questionnaire-based survey was conducted to generate data on ethnoveterinary practices used for maintaining the health and curing diseases of sheep in Ona - Ara Local Government, Oyo State, Nigeria. Information was collected from fifty two indigenous sheep rearers using direct observation of household and interview with key informants with the aid of questionnaires. The data were analysed using simple descriptive statistics to generate frequencies and percentages. Demographic characteristics of the respondents show that 57.7% were males while 42.30% were females, 57.69% household sheep owners used extensive system of management while the rest used semi-intensive system. Major causes of losses were diseases and predation. About 7.69% used purely local concoction in solving the problem of ectoparasites and diseases and those who used local remedies claimed to have gained the knowledge through friends, family, radio, books, extension service and others. Data collected revealed that there is low documentation of ethnoveterinary knowledge among sheep owners in Ona-Ara Local Government and this has been responsible for the low patronage of this useful aspect of veterinary services in addressing challenges and complexities of health problems of the modern period.Keywords: Ethnoveterinary medicine, Ethnoveterinary knowledge, Nigeria, Oyo State, Shee