Određuju li vršnjački i obiteljski čimbenici zlouporabu droga? Glasovi adolescenata liječenih na psihijatrijskom odjelu u Lagosu, Nigerija

Background: Although studies on drug abuse among adolescent are abound, there is however limited works on the life experiences of drug abusers, undergoing treatment in a psychiatric ward in Lagos, Nigeria. This study explored the experiences of drug abusers on whether family and peer influences are factors of predispositions and consequences of drug abuse in Lagos, Nigeria. Methods: Using purposive sampling, 20 adolescents receiving medical attention for at least 6 months in a psychiatric ward of a teaching hospital participated in the in-depth interviews which were audio-recorded. Data were content-analysed using exploratory design. Results: Participants ranged in age from 14 to 18 years old, and all were receiving psychiatric treatment in a hospital ward. Findings indicated that participants’ were pressured into drug use by peers, to enhance performance, parental neglect and relatives using or abusing a substance. Participants abused illicit drugs and over the counter drugs among others. Consequently, they got addicted, and their behaviours were negatively impacted. All participants reported they were taken to the psychiatric ward because of their addiction to a certain psycho-active drug that affected their cognitive behaviour. Conclusion: There is a need for a continuous sensitization about the harmful effects of drug abuse to all the citizens. Parents should also be educated on the need to discharge their responsibility of caring for their wards. These findings have implication to the breaking of the cycle of drug addiction, and how to prevent future problems from drug abuse among adolescents.Iako postoji mnogo studija o zlouporabi droga među adolescentima, postoje ograničeni radovi o životnim iskustvima ovisnika o drogama, podvrgnuti liječenju na psihijatrijskim odjelima u Lagosu, Nigerija. Ova studija istražila je iskustva ovisnika o drogama na to jesu li obitelji i vršnjaci faktori predispozicije i posljedica zlouporabe droga u Lagosu, Nigerija. Metode: koristeći svrhovito uzorkovanje, 20 adolescenata koji su primali medicinsku pomoć najmanje 6 mjeseci na psihijatrijskom odjelu nastavne bolnice sudjelovali su u dubinskim intervjuima koji su snimljeni audio zapisom. Podaci su sadržajno analizirani pomoću istraživačkog dizajna. Rezultati: Sudionici su bili u dobi od 14 do 18 godina, i svi su bili na psihijatrijskom liječenju u bolničkom odjelu. Otkrića su pokazala da su sudionici pod pritiskom vršnjaka uzeli drogu radi poboljšanja performansi, zanemarivanja roditelja i rodbine koji koriste ili zloupotrebljavaju neku supstancu. Sudionici su između ostalog zloupotrebljavali ilegalne droge. Posljedično, postali su ovisni, što je negativno utjecalo na njihovo ponašanje. Svi sudionici izvijestili su da su odvedeni na psihijatrijski odjel zbog ovisnosti o određenoj psihoaktivnoj drogi koja je utjecala na njihovo kognitivno ponašanje. Zaključak: Postoji potreba za kontinuiranom senzibiliziranjem svih građana o štetnim učincima zlouporabe droga. Roditelje bi također trebalo educirati o potrebi postojanja odgovornosti za brigu o njihovim štićenicima. Ovi nalazi imaju posljedice na prekid ciklusa ovisnosti o drogama i kako spriječiti buduće probleme zbog zlouporabe droga među adolescentima

Single Motherhood: Experiences of Never Married Women in Lagos, Nigeria

Despite the benefits of marriage, there has been a rise in the number of single parent families, especially never married single mothers globally. This may bring about serious social problems as the consequences of children raised by single mother have been documented. Yet, little research has been conducted to find out why there is increase in the number of never married single mothers. Therefore, this study investigated and described the experiences of women who were never married but are bearing children and raising those children as single mothers. The study adopted the qualitative research method, utilizing in-depth interviews to collect data from consenting participants. The study location was Iwaya, Lagos, Nigeria, and the participants were selected using snowball sampling technique. Forty never-married single mothers were sampled and interviewed using an in-depth interview guide. The data were transcribed and content analysed. Some of the perceived reasons for the rise in the number of never married single mother identified include family background, sexual abuse, age, careless sexual behaviour and non-use of contraceptives, personal preference and perceived economic benefits. There is the need to educate women on how to prevent sexual abuse and also on proper use of contraceptive for those who may want to engage in sexual intercourse, but may not be ready to get married

Computed Tomography Dose for Adult Head Scan in Anambra State of Nigeria

Background: Computed tomography is associated with relatively high radiation doses and could cause serious health risks. Globally, it is reported that many physicians do not to have adequate knowledge about CT dose. Furthermore, although dose records are available from developed countries, there is a paucity of literature in Nigeria. Dose outputs in our locality are also scarce in the literature. Objective: To review adult head CT dose in the four largest centres in Anambra State. Methodology: A 6-month retrospective retrieval of dose summary from the control console. Digital folders of subjects ≥ 18 years were sampled purposively and sequentially, out of the 2015 population of CT examinations. The CTDIvol and DLP for each case were recorded in a pro forma. The mean dose in each centre as well as the combined mean for all centres were calculated. The results were compared with the recommendations of the European Commission and similar studies from Nigeria. Results: The digital folders of 200 subjects made up of 104 (52.0 %) males and 96 (48.0%) females with an age range of 18 – 93 years were involved in the study. Cranium (n = 164; 82 %) dominated the CT requests. The mean CTDIvol and DLP in the four centres was 58 mGy and 1112 mGy.cm. The mean CTDIvol (73 mGy) and DLP (1613 mGy-cm) in one of the centres was extreme. When excluded, the mean CTDIvol and DLP for the remaining three centres were 52 mGy and 945 mGy.cm, respectively. Conclusion: Dose output in Anambra State was comparable to the recommendation of the European Commission but varied significantly from other local studies. The establishment of diagnostic reference levels for CT procedure in the locality is imperative

Exploration of factors that influence divorce: Voices of divorcees in Lagos, Nigeria

Globally, studies have identified different ideologies in explaining the risk factors for divorce. However, few studies have examined health-related factors in the termination of marital union. This study explored how health-related factors- of Sexual Transmitted Diseases (STDs), lack of sexual desires, genotype and domestic violence influence divorce in Lagos, Nigeria. The study was conducted in Lagos Island, Lagos. Data were collected from 30 consenting divorcees comprising males and females through in-depth interviews. Participants’ selection was achieved through a purposive sampling technique. Findings revealed that domestic violence, infertility and other health related factors, such as incompatible genotype, sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and lack of sexual desires, are potential causes of divorce. Therefore, intending couples need to ascertain the compatibility of their genotype with their spouses through medical screening. Couples battling with any health challenge in their marital union should seek help from licensed health professionals to help mitigate the potential impact the challenge may have on their marital union as well as engage the services of social workers in finding solution to the problem of domestic violence

Composition and Distribution of Mosquito Vectors in a Peri-Urban Community Surrounding an Institution of Learning in Lafia Metropolis, Nasarawa State, Central Nigeria

Vector surveillance is very key in solving mosquito-borne health problems in Nigeria. To this end, the composition and distribution of mosquito vectors in a peri-urban community surrounding an institution of learning in Lafia metropolis, Nasarawa State, Central Nigeria was carried out between December 2016 and June 2017. The Prokopack Aspirator was used to collect indoor resting mosquitoes between 6:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m. from 30 randomly selected houses. Mosquitoes collected were knocked down and transferred into a well labelled petri-dish and taken to the laboratory for processing. A total of 664 mosquitoes were collected which spread across Culex quinquefasciatus 572 (86.14%), Anopheles gambiae 88 (13.25%) and Aedes aegypti 4 (0.60%). The abundance of mosquitoes in relation to seasons, species, sex, abdominal conditions as well as transmission indices across seasons significantly varied (P 0.05). The inhabitants of the area should ensure that all drainages flow through so as to reduce mosquito breeding grounds. Also, members of the community should always protect themselves by sleeping under insecticide treated bed nets

Places Nigerians visited during COVID-19 government stay-home policy: evidence from secondary analysis of data collected during the lockdown

Introduction. Compliance with the Government’s lockdown policy is required to curtail community transmission of Covid-19 infection. The objective of this research was to identify places Nigerians visited during the lockdown to help prepare for a response towards future infectious diseases of public health importance similar to Covid-19 Methods. This was a secondary analysis of unconventional data collected using Google Forms and online social media platforms during the COVID-19 lockdown between April and June 2020 in Nigeria. Two datasets from: i) partnership for evidence-based response to COVID-19 (PERC) wave-1 and ii) College of Medicine, University of Lagos perception of and compliance with physical distancing survey (PCSH) were used. Data on places that people visited during the lockdown were extracted and compared with the sociodemographic characteristics of the respondents. Descriptive statistics were calculated for all independent variables and focused on frequencies and percentages. Chi-squared test was used to determine the significance between sociodemographic variables and places visited during the lockdown. Statistical significance was determined by P<0.05. All statistical analyses were carried out using SPSS version 22. Results. There were 1304 and 879 participants in the PERC wave-1 and PCSH datasets, respectively. The mean age of PERC wave-1 and PCSH survey respondents was 31.8 [standard deviation (SD)=8.5] and 33.1 (SD=8.3) years, respectively. In the PCSH survey, 55.9% and 44.1% of respondents lived in locations with partial and complete covid-19 lockdowns, respectively. Irrespective of the type of lockdown, the most common place visited during the lockdown was the market (shopping); reported by 73% of respondents in states with partial lockdown and by 68% of respondents in states with the complete lockdown. Visits to families and friends happened more in states with complete (16.1%) than in states with partial (8.4%) lockdowns. Conclusions. Markets (shopping) were the main places visited during the lockdown compared to visiting friends/family, places of worship, gyms, and workplaces. It is important in the future for the Government to plan how citizens can safely access markets and get other household items during lockdowns for better adherence to stay-at-home directives for future infectious disease epidemics

Diabetes Knowledge, Health Belief, and Diabetes Management Among the Igala, Nigeria

The study examined the association and influence of diabetes knowledge and health beliefs on diabetes management among the Igala, Nigeria. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire administered to 152 respondents living with diabetes. The data were analyzed using SPSS. Almost half of the respondents had low diabetes knowledge. Significant relationship existed between level of diabetes knowledge and diabetes management (1, N = 152) = 8.456, p = .004. There was a significant positive relationship between perceived severity (0.549, p = .000), perceived benefits (12.383, p = .000), and diabetes management. The regression result showed that diabetes knowledge influenced diabetes management (β = .262, t = 3.328, p = .001) and health beliefs affected diabetes management (β = .07865, t = 2.439, p < .016). Although diabetes knowledge and health belief are cognitive factors in diabetes management, they should not be considered in isolation of other social factors