Marital Satisfaction, Age And Alcohol Use During Pregnancy: An Empirical Study Of Pregnant Women In Uyo Metropolis, Nigeria

A convenient sampling technique was used to draw a sample of 110 pregnant women reporting for antenatal clinical checks in both private and public medical facilities in Uyo, Nigeria to investigate marital satisfaction and age as predictors of alcohol use during pregnancy. Kansas Marital Satisfaction Scale was used in dichotomizing respondents into satisfied and dissatisfied pregnant women in marriage, while an item in Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test (AUDIT) delineated our cohorts into users and non-users of alcohol. A 2x2 factorial design was adopted as regards the plan of the study while a 2-way analysis of variance was used for the analysis of data collected. Results confirmed the first hypothesis which predicted that pregnant women who are satisfied in their marriages would report less alcohol use than their dissatisfied counterparts {F (1, 104) = 4.70; p < .05}. Findings also confirmed our second hypothesis which stated that pregnant women who are younger would report more alcohol use than their elderly counterparts {F (5, 104) = 11.833; p, <.05}. Discussion of findings centered on the theories of learning which formed the nucleus of this paper and it was recommended that intervention would benefit from effective and affordable psychological counseling and treatment services for women exposed to harmful and/or hazardous alcohol use predicated by marital distress, violence, depression as well as those with limited coping skills

Prioritizing public health responses in Nigerian drug control policy

Nigeria’s drug control policy, a throwback to colonial dangerous drugs control legislations, is remarkable for its reliance on severe sanctions to curb drug offences. The establishment of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) in 1990 took drug control in Nigeria to a crescendo. The agency amalgamates the functions of supply control and demand reduction in a highly-centralized bureaucracy. Although it has been successful in the seizure of drugs and arrest and punishment of offenders, its impact on drug use and related problems is negligible. the success is tainted by rampant corruption and the cost of law enforcement. The development of a comprehensive drug policy which prioritizes demand reduction through public health measures such as prevention and treatment is hampered by the bureaucracy of drug law enforcement, whose direction cannot be changed without altering the structure of the organization. The devolution of functions through the creation of a new agency on drug demand reduction is a step in the right direction.Keywords: drugs, policy, public health, law enforcement, Nigeri

Commercial tricycle riders’ perceptions of psychoactive drug use and the risk of road traffic accidents in Uyo, Nigeria

This article reports qualitative interview study on commercial tricycle riders’ perceptions of psychoactive drug use and the risk of road traffic accidents in Nigeria. A purposive sampling method was used to recruit ninety-four (n=94) commercial tricycle riders in Uyo, Nigeria. Data were collected through in-depth, individual interviews. Inductive and thematic analyses were undertaken on the interview transcripts. The tricycle riders reported frequently consuming significant quantities of licit and illicit drugs, including alcohol, cannabis, cocaine and heroin. They attributed drug use to occupational hazards such as stress, fatigue and exhaustion. They recognized the effects of psychoactive drug use on tricycle riding, including impairment of vision, coordination and navigational abilities, and how these increase the risk of traffic accidents. Education, routine screening for drug use, curbing bribery and corruption among road safety officials, and curtailing availability of psychoactive drugs were recommended as measures for preventing drug use and road traffic accidents. Findings indicate significant overlap between lay and expert views on the risk factors for traffic accidents and counter-measures, highlighting the need to integrate lay perspectives into policy and action on road safety to improve outcomes.Keywords: Commercial tricycle riders, psychoactive drugs, road traffic accident