Knowledge, Perception and Practice of Safety Measures Related to Workplace Hazards among Manual Stone Crushing Workers in Sokoto, Nigeria

Background: Although manual stone crushing activities provide income to families, the working conditions are often unhealthy and dangerous and employees are ignorantly exposed to different hazardous materials particularly dust particles. Objectives: To assess Knowledge, perception, and Practice of occupational safety measures related to workplace hazards among manual stone crushing workers. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among 156 informal small-scale quarries for construction materials workers in Sokoto metropolis. The respondents were selected using a simple random sampling technique and data collected using interviewer-administered questionnaires. Descriptive, bivariate and binary logistic regression analyses were performed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 23 and results presented in tables. Results: Respondents median age was 23 years, interquartile range: 18.3 – 28.0. Adolescents and young adults accounted for 54.4% of the workforce. All the respondents were males and 69.9% had no formal education. Only 25% had good knowledge of workplace hazard and as high as 63% have a low-risk perception of the hazards. Very few (7.7%) reported the use of personal protective equipment. Only awareness of disease risk (aOR =5.25, P <0.001) was the predictor of respondents’ knowledge of workplace hazards. Predictors for risk perception level of workplace hazards were respondents’ knowledge (aOR = 0.33, p˂0.01); Aware of risk of disease (aOR =2.92, P <0.01); and employment status (aOR = 0.31, p˂0.03). Conclusions: Poor knowledge and low-risk perception of workplace hazards are very prevalent among workers and very few reported use of personal protective equipment. Training and awareness creation on workplace hazards are highly recommended

Awareness, perception, and utilization of insecticides treated nets and intermittent preventive treatment of malaria among pregnant women in Sokoto, Nigeria

Background: Malaria during pregnancy is a major public health problem in Nigeria and other sub-Saharan African countries, and it is one of the leading contributors to the unacceptably high maternal mortality ratio in the developing countries. This study aimed to determine the awareness, perception, and utilization of insecticides treated nets (ITNs) and intermittent preventive treatment of malaria (IPTp) among pregnant women in Sokoto, Nigeria.Materials and Methods: This was a cross-sectional study among 307 pregnant women (selected by multi-stage sampling technique) attending the antenatal clinics of the health facilities in Sokoto State, Nigeria. A structured interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to collect data on the research variables. Data were analyzed using IBM SPSS version 20 statistical computer software package.Results: The mean age of respondents was 27 ± 5.6 years, and a majority of them (63.8%) were aged 20–29 years. Most, 264 (86.0%) of the 307 respondents were aware of ITNs, and a majority of them (60.6%) were also aware of IPTp. Whereas most of the respondents perceived the use of ITN to be safe in pregnancy (93.2%), and protects both mother and baby from malaria in pregnancy (91.5%), the reverse is true of IPTp. Only about half of respondents (52.8%) own an ITN, and barely a third of respondents use ITN (33.8%) and IPTp (37.5%).Conclusion: The findings of this study underscore the need for government to ensure universal access to ITNs, while healthcare workers should re-invigorate and sustain education of pregnant women on the benefits and safety of use of ITNs and IPTp

An Assessment of Ovarian Cancer Histotypes Across the African Diaspora

ObjectiveOvarian cancer in Black women is common in many West African countries but is relatively rare in North America. Black women have worse survival outcomes when compared to White women. Ovarian cancer histotype, diagnosis, and age at presentation are known prognostic factors for outcome. We sought to conduct a preliminary comparative assessment of these factors across the African diaspora. MethodsPatients diagnosed with ovarian cancer (all histologies) between June 2016-December 2019 in Departments of Pathology at 25 participating sites in Nigeria were identified. Comparative population-based data, inclusive of Caribbean-born Blacks (CBB) and US-born Blacks (USB), were additionally captured from the International Agency for Research on Cancer and Florida Cancer Data Systems. Histology, country of birth, and age at diagnosis data were collected and evaluated across the three subgroups: USB, CBB and Nigerians. Statistical analyses were done using chi-square and student's t-test with significance set at pResultsNigerians had the highest proportion of germ cell tumor (GCT, 11.5%) and sex-cord stromal (SCST, 16.2%) ovarian cancers relative to CBB and USB (p=0.001). CBB (79.4%) and USB (77.3%) women were diagnosed with a larger proportion of serous ovarian cancer than Nigerians (60.4%) (p<0.0001). Nigerians were diagnosed with epithelial ovarian cancers at the youngest age (51.7 +/- 12.8 years) relative to USB (58.9 +/- 15.0) and CBB (59.0 +/- 13.0,p<0.001). Black women [CBB (25.2 +/- 15.0), Nigerians (29.5 +/- 15.1), and USB (33.9 +/- 17.9)] were diagnosed with GCT younger than White women (35.4 +/- 20.5, p=0.011). Black women [Nigerians (47.5 +/- 15.9), USB (50.9 +/- 18.3) and CBB (50.9 +/- 18.3)] were also diagnosed with SCST younger than White women (55.6 +/- 16.5, p<0.01). ConclusionThere is significant variation in age of diagnosis and distribution of ovarian cancer histotype/diagnosis across the African diaspora. The etiology of these findings requires further investigation