Treatment Outcomes and Associated Factors of Tuberculosis Patients on Directly Observed Treatment (Short Course) in a Tertiary Hospital in Port Harcourt, Nigeria

Introduction: Although concerted efforts have been implemented to achieve tuberculosis (TB) prevention and control, varying  outcomes have been reported in several quarters, despite the implementation of the directly observed treatment short-course (DOTS) strategy in virtually all parts of the world. It was considered necessary to assess the treatment outcomes of TB patients on DOTS strategy and the associated factors against the World Health Organization (WHO) target at the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital (UPTH) Port Harcourt, to stimulate improvements in efforts toward patients care in the hospital and elsewhere. Methods: Ahealth facility‑based review of patients’ records(January 1, 2014–December 31, 2018) at the TB Clinic of UPTH was carried out using a validated data record sheet. Patients undergoing treatment were excluded. Data were analyzed with the SPSS software version 20. Outcome frequencies were summarized, and the Pearson’s Chi‑square test was used to determine the association between the outcome and independent variables at P ≤ 0.05 statistical significance level. Results: Overall, 174 (25.7%) had completed treatment, 181 (26.7%) were cured, 95 (14.0%) died, 70 (10.3%) transferred out, 45 (6.6%) defaulted, 49 (7.2%) were not evaluated, 44 (6.5%) were lost to follow‑up, and 8 (1.2%) failed treatment. There was a 17.6% decline in the proportion of patients that completed treatment from 35.9% in 2014 to 18.3% in 2018. On the contrary, there was an increase in the proportion of patients that were cured, from 14.1% in 2014% to 26.1% in 2018. Conclusions: The treatment success rate for TB in the hospital was below the WHO benchmark of 85% cure rate throughout the period under review. Basic reforms in the service delivery processes that specifically targets groups at risk (male patients, sputum  smear‑negative TB patients, and patients with human immunodeficiency virus/TB co-infection) with drug adherence counselling, defaulter tracing arrangements, and emphasis on drug‑susceptibility testing are recommended to improve treatment outcomes. Keywords: Directly observed treatment short-course, Nigeria, Rivers State, tuberculosis treatment, tuberculosis outcome

Review of COVID‑19 Vaccine

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‑19) accounts for over 92 million confirmed cases worldwide, with over 2.06 million deaths. In the past year, more than 290 candidate vaccines have been tested; COVID‑19 vaccine  development was sped up, with shortened timeline, due to the urgent global need in the face of the pandemic. In addition, people with the highest risk of contracting the disease, such as health workers with a high risk of exposure, elderlies, and people with underlying comorbidities, were prioritized with vaccination rollout. The article narratively reviewed original and review articles available on PubMed and Google Scholar related to the theme to provide up‑to‑date information. The different templates developed and studied for COVID‑19 vaccines include the whole‑virus vaccine, viral vector vaccine, nucleic acid (deoxyribonucleic acid and ribonucleic acid), and protein subunit vaccine. Myths impede vaccine uptake in this part of the globe. Adopting these myths leads to sharing and spreading, which negatively impacts the prevention of COVID‑19 and vaccine uptake. Adverse event following immunizations (AEFIs) is classified based on severity, from minor to severe. The minor ones are common events that pose no potential health risks to the receiver of the vaccine. The type determines the safety profile, severity, and frequency of AEFIs observed with the vaccine administration. Overall, this pandemichas heightened the global level of threat awareness; it has also provided motivation to prepare for future  pandemics by developing new vaccines

Accessibility and Utilization of Family Planning Services in Nigeria during the Coronavirus Disease‑2019 Pandemic

Background: Family planning services are an important aspect of reproductive health as it helps in the improvement of maternal health. During the coronavirus disease‑2019 (COVID‑19) pandemic, several measures were taken by the Nigerian government to control the virus, which included restriction of movements including curfews and lockdown. Aim: This article is a review of the impact of the COVID‑19 pandemic on the accessibility of family planning services in Nigeria. Materials and Methods: This is a narrative review of articles related to the accessibility of family planning services during the COVID‑19 pandemic. The literature search was done using Medline, Google Scholar, and PubMed. The keywords used for searching for the literature were COVID‑19 and family planning services in Nigeria. The literature search review was done from June 2020 to November 2021. Results: The study found both supply‑ and demand‑side service disruptions. There was a disruption in the supply chain management system, affecting the production and distribution of family planning commodities. The demand‑side issues were because of the lockdown measures on health seeking behaviour, absence, and increased cost of transportation. Conclusion: Accessing and utilizing various contraceptive methods were disrupted by the COVID‑19 pandemic. This is due to several factors including the restriction of movements put in place by the Nigerian government to control the pandemic. The improvement of the use of various pregnancy preventive strategies has the potential to reduce poverty. It is imperative to develop adaptive systems to provide ongoing contraceptive services, by implementing innovations to sustain demand and supply of family planning services during pandemics

Risk and protective factors influencing multiple sexual partners among adolescents in Rivers State

Introduction: The period of adolescence is characterised by changes and experimentations such as early sexual debut and multiple sexual partners (MSP). That might create issues with sexual and reproductive health that persist throughout one's life such as sexually transmitted infections plus HIV, unsafe abortion, and death. To inform contextualised and culturally appropriate preventive strategies, this study identified the forecasters of MSP among pubescents/adolescents in Rivers State. Materials and Methods: Using a cross-sectional research design, and multistaged sampling technique, 671 adolescents were interviewed with structured interviewer-administered questionnaires. Data were analysed using IBM SPSS version 26. Chi-square test analysis was performed to test for association in proportions between explanatory (sociodemographic variables, factors at the individual, peer, family, community, and national domains) and outcome (MSP) variables. The proportion of sexually experienced respondents with MSP was determined and adjusted odd ratios of predictors derived from multivariate logistic regression models. Results: Out of the 671 adolescents (10–19 years) surveyed, 53.1% were female, and 29 (4.3%) are married. The median age and the interquartile range were 18.0 years. Nearly half 313 (46.6%) of the respondents were sexually experienced, of which 148 (47.3%) had MSP. After adjusting for covariates, religion, sex, employment, father's education, individual perceptions, peer, family, and community norms predicted MSP (P < 0.05). Specifically, respondents with religious affiliations were less likely (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] =0.43, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.22–0.87, P = 0.019) than nonreligious/catholic respondents to have several sexual partners. Similarly, female adolescents were less likely to have MSP (aOR = 0.57, 95% CI: 0.33–0.98, P = 0.042). Relative to those whose fathers have no formal education, respondents whose fathers have secondary (crude odds ratio = 0.48, 95% CI: 0.26–0.83, P = 0.001) and tertiary education have lower odds of having MSP. Respondents with higher individual, peer, and community domain scores had at least a threefold raised likelihood of having MSP. Conclusion: A large proportion of sexually experienced adolescents have MSP; religious affiliations were shown to be protective and should be encouraged. Employed adolescents and males are more at risk. Gender-appropriate reproductive health actions for adolescents need to be contextualised at different levels

Awareness and Utilization of Community-based health insurance schemes among residents of Rumuokwurusi, Obio/Akpor LGA, Rivers State

Community-based health insurance (CBHI) in a developing country such as ours aims at achieving universal health coverage, especially for those not financially capable of footing out-of-pocket medical bills. CBHI schemes can help communities manage healthcare costs and provide access to basic healthcare for rural settlers. This study aimed at assessing the awareness and utilisation of CBHI schemes in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area (LGA), Rivers State, Nigeria.This was a descriptive cross-sectional study, employing the multistage probability sampling technique to select participants for the study. Semi-structured interview-er-administered questionnaires were de-signed for obtaining information from 250 respondents on the title. Data were analyzed on Excel spreadsheets, having been extrapolated from Google Forms, and results presented in frequency tables. The p-value was set at &lt;0.05 where Chi-square was necessary.Of the 250 respondents, 114 (45.6%) were aware of community-based health insurance, but only 86 (34.4%) were acquainted with the existence of Community-based health insurance schemes in Obio/Akpor LGA. Only 26 (10.4%) utilized Community-based Health Insurance Schemes.Awareness and utilization of CBHI schemes in our study area are very low. Recommended strategies need to be addressed urgently to improve equity in access to health care services as well as effective financial risk protection