Determinants of Full Vaccination Status in Children Attending Immunization Clinic in a Tertiary Hospital in Benin City, Nigeria

Immunization is a cost-effective approach aimed at improving child survival. Coverage is an indicator to monitor the progress towards achieving child survival and the strategy to reduce childhood morbidity and mortality. The study was a descriptive cross-sectional study among 300 mothers /caregivers attending a tertiary institution clinic for immunization of the children using immunization card and verbal response of the mother. Findings from the study showed that 220 (73.3%) of the index children were fully vaccinated for age while 80 (26.7%) were not. BCG was the commonest vaccine received by the respondents as 280 (93.3%) received it, followed by OPV, 261 (87.0%) and Pentavalent vaccine, 246 (82.0%). Majority of the index children were vaccinated for age with high BCG, OPV and Pentavalent vaccine coverage rates. Socio-demographic factors that influenced the utilization of immunization included the mothers\u2019 level of education, occupation, reception of antenatal care. A better understanding of the immunization schedule is important in the design and implementation of immunization programmes. Educating mothers about vaccines and vaccine preventable diseases are recommended

Assessment of Knowledge and Practice of Childhood Routine Immunization among Mothers/Caregivers attending Primary Health Care Centres in Benin City, Edo State, Nigeria

The ultimate goal of immunization is to reduce the incidence of vaccine preventable diseases by attaining high levels of routine immunization coverage with potent vaccines administered at the appropriate ages and at the right intervals. This study assessed the knowledge and practice of childhood routine immunization among mothers/caregivers attending Primary Health Care Centers in Benin City, Edo State. A descriptive cross-sectional study involving 640 females whose wards were receiving immunization in 35 PHCs in Benin City was carried out. Mothers who met the inclusion criteria were recruited using a pre-tested interviewer administered structured questionnaires using a multistage sampling technique. Relationship between dependent and independent variables was determined using logistic regression analysis, at 95% confidence interval and p-values level less than 0.05 were considered significant. Results shows that all the caregivers were aware of immunization. 498(77.8%) with the media being as source of information. A higher proportion of respondent (44.8%) had good knowledge while (38.6% and 12.6%), fair and poor knowledge of immunization respectively. BCG and OPV were the most known vaccines (89.1%), followed by HBV (77.8%), DPT and PENTA were known by 70.6% and 66.1% of respondents respectively. This study revealed good knowledge of immunization amongst the caregivers and good practice with regards to the actual purpose of immunization

Level of Practice of Safety Precautions against COVID 19 among Pregnant Women Attending Antenatal clinics in Central Hospital Benin, Benin City in Nigeria

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID\u201019) has assumed a global health concern since the first case was recorded in Wuhan community China in December 2019. The objective of this paper is to report the level of practice of safety precautions against COVID 19 among pregnant women attending Antenatal Clinics in Central Hospital Benin, Benin City in Nigeria. A self- administered questionnaire on the level of practice of safety precautions against covid19 infection was administered to a total of 420 pregnant women attending antenatal clinics in central Hospital Benin City for Data collection. The results showed that two hundred and four (48.6%) of the respondents reported that they have recently avoided crowded places. Three hundred and seventy two (88.6%) reported recently wearing mask whenever they left home. Three hundred and twenty four (77.1%) of the respondents had good practice of safety precautions against COVID19. The study showed a good practice of safety precautions against COVID19 and this was influenced by the women\u2019s level of education, occupation and knowledge of COVID-19. However, there is still the need to improve the knowledge of the women attending antenatal clinic regarding COVID-19 through health education seminars. Also up scaling the practice of safety precautions could be done through such health education seminars

Breastfeeding in the community—how can partners/fathers help? A systematic review

Support from partners/fathers and families can play a significant role in a mother’s decision to initiate, continue or cease breastfeeding postnatally. This study systematically reviewed published studies to determine the impact of specific types of partner support on breastfeeding initiation, duration and exclusivity. We used the 2015 Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guidelines for the review. Seven computerized bibliographic databases (Embase, ProQuest Central, Scopus, PsycINFO, Web of Science, MEDLINE/PubMed and CINAHL) were searched. Of a total of 695 articles retrieved from the databases, seven studies met the inclusion criteria and reported on breastfeeding initiation, duration and exclusivity. Four of the seven studies found that partner support in the form of verbal encouragement to new mothers increased breastfeeding duration and exclusivity. Other types of partner supportive actions that led to improved breastfeeding behavior included sensitivity of the partner to the nursing mother’s needs, assistance in preventing and managing breastfeeding difficulties, and helping with household and child care duties. This review showed that specific supportive actions of partners/fathers in the community positively improved breastfeeding practices. To maximise the impact of breastfeeding policies and interventions among new mothers, breastfeeding programmes should consider the involvement of partners/fathers and their specific roles

Prevalence, trends, and drivers of the utilization of unskilled birth attendants during democratic governance in Nigeria from 1999 to 2018

Comprehensive epidemiological data on prevalence, trends, and determinants of the use of unskilled birth attendants (traditional birth attendants (TBAs) and other unskilled birth attendants) are essential to policy decision-makers and health practitioners, to guide efforts and resource allocation. This study investigated the prevalence, trends, and drivers of the utilization of unskilled birth attendants during democratic governance in Nigeria from 1999 to 2018. The study used the Nigeria Demographic and Health Surveys data for the years 1999 (n = 3552), 2003 (n = 6029), 2008 (n = 28,647), 2013 (n = 31,482), and 2018 (34,193). Multivariate multinomial logistic regression was used to investigate the association between socioeconomic, demographic, health-service, and community-level factors with the utilization of TBAs and other unskilled birth attendants in Nigeria. Between 1999 and 2018, the study showed that the prevalence of TBA-assisted delivery remained unchanged (20.7%; 95% CI: 18.0–23.7% in 1999 and 20.5%; 95% CI: 18.9–22.1% in 2018). The prevalence of other-unskilled-birth-attendant use declined significantly from 45.5% (95% CI: 41.1–49.7%) in 2003 to 36.2% (95% CI: 34.5–38.0%) in 2018. Higher parental education, maternal employment, belonging to rich households, higher maternal age (35–49 years), frequent antenatal care (ANC) (≥4) visits, the proximity of health facilities, and female autonomy in households were associated with lower odds of unskilled birth attendants’ utilization. Rural residence, geopolitical region, lower maternal age (15–24 years), and higher birth interval (≥2 years) were associated with higher odds of unskilled-birth-attendant-assisted deliveries. Reducing births assisted by unskilled birth attendants in Nigeria would require prioritized and scaled-up maternal health efforts that target all women, especially those from low socioeconomic backgrounds, those who do not attend antenatal care, and/or those who reside in rural areas

Knowledge and Practice of Injection Safety in Routine Immunization among Health Care Workers in Primary Health Care Centres in South West Nigeria

Background and objective of the study: The recent increase of immunization services, including the elimination and controlcampaigns, offered an opportunity for improvement and made it imperative that injections are safe for people the objective of thestudy was to assess the knowledge and practice of injection safety among healthcare providers in primary health care centresMaterials and Methods: A descriptive cross sectional study was utilised. A semi structured interviewer administeredquestionnaire with open and closed ended questions was used to collect information on knowledge and practice of injection safety among health workers. The questionnaire was adapted and modified from the WHO revised tool for injection safety among 270 primary health care workers.Results: The mean age of the respondents was =41.4±8.7 years. The Majority had good knowledge of injection safety but 162 (60.0%) had fair practice.Conclusion: The Majority had good knowledge of injection safety but the practice was fair

Level of Practice of Safety Precautions against COVID 19 among Pregnant Women Attending Antenatal clinics in Central Hospital Benin, Benin City in Nigeria

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) has assumed a global health concern since the first case was recorded in Wuhan community China in December 2019. The objective of this paper is to report the level of practice of safety precautions against COVID 19 among pregnant women attending Antenatal Clinics in Central Hospital Benin, Benin City in Nigeria. A self- administered questionnaire on the level of practice of safety precautions against covid19 infection was administered to a total of 420 pregnant women attending antenatal clinics in central Hospital Benin City for Data collection. The results showed that two hundred and four (48.6%) of the respondents reported that they have recently avoided crowded places. Three hundred and seventy two (88.6%) reported recently wearing mask whenever they left home. Three hundred and twenty four (77.1%) of the respondents had good practice of safety precautions against COVID19. The study showed a good practice of safety precautions against COVID19 and this was influenced by the women’s level of education, occupation and knowledge of COVID-19. However, there is still the need to improve the knowledge of the women attending antenatal clinic regarding COVID-19 through health education seminars. Also up scaling the practice of safety precautions could be done through such health education seminars. Keywords: Pregnant women, Practice, Safety precaution, covid-1