Integrating health intervention into existing program structure of the neglected tropical diseases: lessons learned from Yobe and Ebonyi states

BackgroundNigeria has a national policy on neglected tropical diseases (NTD) which is coordinated by the Federal Ministry of Health and integrated into the health system at all government levels. A network of grassroots mobilizers, named community drug distributors (CDDs), deliver NTD drugs and commodities to rural and hard-to-reach communities throughout Nigeria.MethodsInterviews with state and local government coordinators of Nigerian NTD programs and focus group discussions with CDDs in Yobe and Ebonyi states were conducted to understand the working modalities of NTD programs in Nigeria to identify the potential of leveraging the NTD structure for additional health interventions such as COVID-19 vaccine rollouts. Collected data was coded and managed on NVivo version 12 using content analysis.Results and discussionThe study found that the NTD committee had the following: a structured planning and coordination process, a community mobilization approach for the effective delivery of routine Mass Administration of Medication (MAM) activities. Challenges encountered included little or no incentives for the CDDs, insecurity, transportation and logistics, and lack of equipment and drug commodities. Nigerian NTD health structures have a wide reach, with a presence in all states and local government areas (LGAs), and this has previously been leveraged to deliver commodities and interventions to rural and hard-to-reach communities for non-NTD health programs and could thus be used similarly for COVID-19 vaccination programs. The enablers of integrating health interventions into the NTD structure are increased availability of finances and manpower, while lack of financial incentives and partners’ buy-in were identified as possible. challenges.ConclusionThe study suggests that integrating COVID-19 interventions into the NTD program in Nigeria would be a significant accomplishment, as the existing structure can support future interventions. The study also highlights the efficiency of the NTD program’s modalities and processes, indicating that an organized structural system for public health interventions can. increase the services of existing interventions while allowing for the integration of future interventions

Giant Solitary Anterior Cervical Canal Neurofibroma: Case Report and Surgical Technique

Giant solitary anterior cervical canal neurofibroma (GSACCN) is rarely reported in the literature. When the large lesion is ventrally located to the spinal cord, an anterolateral approach may not be ideal due to various technical challenges. In this report, we describe a case of intradural extramedullary GSACCN located at the cervical region extending from the axis to the sixth cervical vertebrae. Here we also describe a posterior technique successfully used to resect the tumour. Therefore, the posterior approach by En bloc decompressive laminectomy and laminoplasty might be used to adequately treat the lesion

The Bibliometric Commingling of Metaverse and Non-fungible Tokens in Marketing

Historically, business organisations are always looking for a new approach to marketing and advertising their products to reach their target customers. The introduction of the Internet helped businesses to reach more potential customers than it was before. Currently, the newest technologies that have become the centre of attraction in marketing are metaverse and non-fungible tokens (NFTs). Marketing practitioners and scholars continue to show interest in technological metaverse and NFTs as an up-and-coming platform for enhancing consumer satisfaction experience virtually the same as the experience in physical stores. The aim of this study is to examine the impact of commingling of metaverse and NFTs in marketing with the lens of bibliometric analysis through R Bibliometrix. This study contributes to the marketing and financial technology literature by showing academic work's impact, quantity, and quality on metaverse and NFTs. The study sectionalises methodology, results, and conclusions and gives future research insights

Death registration in Nigeria: a systematic literature review of its performance and challenges

Background Death registration provides an opportunity for the legal documentation of death of persons. Documentation of deaths has several implications including its use in the recovery of inheritance and insurance benefits. It is also an important input for construction of life tables which are crucial for national planning. However, the registration of deaths is poor in several countries including Nigeria. Objective This paper describes the performance of death registration in Nigeria and factors that may affect its performance. Methods We conducted a systematic literature review of death registration completeness in Nigeria to identify, characterize issues as well as challenges associated with realizing completeness in death registration. Results Only 13.5% of deaths in Nigeria were registered in 2007 which regressed to 10% in 2017. There was no data reported for Nigeria in the World Health Organization database between 2008 and 2017. The country scored less than 0.1 (out of a maximum of 1) on the Vital Statistics Performance Index. There are multiple institutions with parallel constitutional and legal responsibilities for death registration in Nigeria including the National Population Commission, National Identity Management Commission and Local Government Authorities, which may be contributing to its overall poor performance. Conclusions We offer proposals to substantially improve death registration completeness in Nigeria including the streamlining and merger of the National Population Commission and the National Identity Management Commission into one commission, the revision of the legal mandate of the new agency to mainly coordination and establishment of standards. We recommend that Local Government authorities maintain the local registries given their proximity to households. This arrangement will be enhanced by increased utilization of information and communications technology in Civil Registration and Vital Statistics processes that ensure records are properly archived

Addressing barriers to accessing family planning services using mobile technology intervention among internally displaced persons in Abuja, NigeriaAJOG Global Reports at a Glance

BACKGROUND: Inadequate access to sexual and reproductive health services is prevalent among women of reproductive age in internally displaced people's camps. To address this, we implemented a mobile technology intervention, known as the Linking Underserved Populations to Sexual and Reproductive Health Services, in the Wassa Internally Displaced People's camp, Abuja, Nigeria. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to assess the impact of the Linking Underserved Populations to Sexual and Reproductive Health Services Intervention in improving sexual and reproductive health services among women of reproductive age in Wassa Internally Displaced People's camp. STUDY DESIGN: A baseline survey was conducted among 105 women of reproductive age in the Wassa camp, followed by the deployment of the Linking Underserved Populations to Sexual and Reproductive Health Services intervention, which delivered family planning messages to camp residents between September 2020 and June 2021. This was followed by an endline survey. The FP utilization data in the camp health post were mined during the period of the intervention and were analyzed using Stata version 15 with a chi-square test performed at a significance level of 5%. RESULTS: Awareness of family planning among women of reproductive age in Wassa camp increased from 54.2% at baseline to 98% at endline. The major reason for refusal of family planning at baseline, which was a lack of spousal consent reduced from 29.5% to 7% at endline. Contraceptive prevalence rate increased from 18.1% at baseline to 26.2% at endline. In addition, 133 new family planning users were recorded at the endline. The uptake of family planning services recorded a strong association with family planning consultations (P<.05; χ2=6.41) and receipt of bulk short message service (P<.05; χ2=4.90). CONCLUSION: Mobile technology interventions are a recommended strategy that can increase family planning awareness and address barriers to family planning uptake

Adaptation of the Wound Healing Questionnaire universal-reporter outcome measure for use in global surgery trials (TALON-1 study): mixed-methods study and Rasch analysis

BackgroundThe Bluebelle Wound Healing Questionnaire (WHQ) is a universal-reporter outcome measure developed in the UK for remote detection of surgical-site infection after abdominal surgery. This study aimed to explore cross-cultural equivalence, acceptability, and content validity of the WHQ for use across low- and middle-income countries, and to make recommendations for its adaptation.MethodsThis was a mixed-methods study within a trial (SWAT) embedded in an international randomized trial, conducted according to best practice guidelines, and co-produced with community and patient partners (TALON-1). Structured interviews and focus groups were used to gather data regarding cross-cultural, cross-contextual equivalence of the individual items and scale, and conduct a translatability assessment. Translation was completed into five languages in accordance with Mapi recommendations. Next, data from a prospective cohort (SWAT) were interpreted using Rasch analysis to explore scaling and measurement properties of the WHQ. Finally, qualitative and quantitative data were triangulated using a modified, exploratory, instrumental design model.ResultsIn the qualitative phase, 10 structured interviews and six focus groups took place with a total of 47 investigators across six countries. Themes related to comprehension, response mapping, retrieval, and judgement were identified with rich cross-cultural insights. In the quantitative phase, an exploratory Rasch model was fitted to data from 537 patients (369 excluding extremes). Owing to the number of extreme (floor) values, the overall level of power was low. The single WHQ scale satisfied tests of unidimensionality, indicating validity of the ordinal total WHQ score. There was significant overall model misfit of five items (5, 9, 14, 15, 16) and local dependency in 11 item pairs. The person separation index was estimated as 0.48 suggesting weak discrimination between classes, whereas Cronbach's α was high at 0.86. Triangulation of qualitative data with the Rasch analysis supported recommendations for cross-cultural adaptation of the WHQ items 1 (redness), 3 (clear fluid), 7 (deep wound opening), 10 (pain), 11 (fever), 15 (antibiotics), 16 (debridement), 18 (drainage), and 19 (reoperation). Changes to three item response categories (1, not at all; 2, a little; 3, a lot) were adopted for symptom items 1 to 10, and two categories (0, no; 1, yes) for item 11 (fever).ConclusionThis study made recommendations for cross-cultural adaptation of the WHQ for use in global surgical research and practice, using co-produced mixed-methods data from three continents. Translations are now available for implementation into remote wound assessment pathways