Childbearing Women’s Perception About the Use of mHealth for Maternal Health Information in Rural Communities, Ile-Ife, Nigeria

Background:    Poor access and utilisation of maternal health services among rural women is a major contributor to the high maternal mortality in Nigeria. Inadequate healthcare facilities and personnel in the rural communities are some of the major factors militating against women’s access and use of maternal health services. Harnessing mobile health (mHealth) in supporting health services delivery to widely-dispersed women will improve access to reproductive healthcare and reduce maternal mortality. This study aimed at assessing women’s perception about the use of mHealth for maternal health information in rural communities. Methods: This was a descriptive community-based cross-sectional study that involved 403 women of childbearing age (15 to 49 y) who gave birth within the five years prior to the study. Data were collected over two weeks using structured questionnaires. Results: The majority of the women possessed mobile phones, 91%, but only 48% currently used them for maternal health information and 87.3% had a positive perception about use of mHealth for maternal health information. Women who had positive perception had higher odds of accessing a health institution for delivery compared to those who had poor perception (OR=1.72, SE=0.6, CI=0.92-3.22). Conclusion: Women had positive perceptions about use of mHealth but current use of mobile phone for maternal health information was poor. Innovative methods like mHealth to strengthen maternal health services delivery for the hard to reach populations are urgently needed to support Nigeria efforts towards desirable global maternal and child health targets against year 2030

Job Satisfaction and Work Environment of Primary Health Care Nurses in Ekiti State, Nigeria: an Exploratory Study

Background: Job satisfaction, quality of work environment and morale of health practitioners is beginning to receive attention worldwide.Objectives: This study examined the nature of the work environment of community health nurses, and determined the level of job satisfaction among these nurses. It further explored the relationship between work environment and job satisfaction of these nurses, and perceived factors in the work environment that would increase their job satisfaction. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional design was employed. The study was conducted in public primary health care facilities in Ekiti State, Nigeria. All the 216 nurses in these facilities were recruited but only 161 nurses responded to the instrument administered. A 58- item semi-structured questionnaire was used to survey nurses currently practicing in the above health setting. Data analysis was done using descriptive and inferential statistics.Results: Findings from the study revealed the mean score of nurses’ perception of their work environment to be 64.65±19.77. Forty four percent (44%) of the nurses perceived their WE as of an average quality while 31% reported high quality WE. A majority (67.1%) of the nurses had low degree of job satisfaction while only few nurses (3.1%) reported high degree of satisfaction with job. A significant positive strong correlation was found between overall work environment and the general job satisfaction of the nurses(r = 0.55, p = < 0.01). “Provisions of modern equipment for work” and “increment/prompt payment of salary” were the most prominent factors in work environment that the nurses perceived as capable of increasing their job satisfaction (54.7% and 49.7% respectively). The least reported factor was “recommendation when one does a good job” (1.9%).Conclusion: The study concluded that a healthy work environment for nurses in the primary health care settings is an important factor in improving work satisfaction, reducing turnover intention and improving nursing care outcomes

Pedagogical and Technical Implication of Conversion from Face-to-Face to Blended Learning

Technology is changing our world. The advancement in science and technology has propelled a drastic change in nature and structure of the modern world. Events that look weird or impossible years back are part of ‘normal’ things in our contemporary world. Education has had its share of the paradigm shift in the anal of technological revolution. The paper discusses the adoption of open and distance education along the traditional face-to-face mode of educational delivery. The implication of this change in respect to curriculum development models, design and pedagogy and the role of instructors in open and distance education were analysed. The authors propose that blended learning should be viewed from transformational perspective of improving teaching and learning through designing of relevant curriculum and implementation of constructive based pedagogy

Changing the Landscape of Learning: Critical Factors in Open and Distance Learning

Technology is changing our world. The advancement in science and technology has propelled a drastic change in nature and structure of the modern world. Events that look weird or impossible years back are part of ‘normal’ things in our contemporary world. Education has had its share of the paradigm shift in the anal of technological revolution. The paper discusses the adoption of open and distance education along the traditional face-to-face mode of educational delivery. The implication of this change in respect to curriculum development models, design and pedagogy and the role of instructors in open and distance education which are considered critical factors were analysed. The author propose that open and distance learning should be viewed from transformational perspective of improving teaching and learning through designing of relevant curriculum and implementation of constructive based pedagogy

Perception knowledge and attitude of nursing students towards the care of older patients

The objectives of the study were to assess the perception, knowledge, and attitude of nursing students towards old age and care of the older adults and to examine personal characteristics that could predict their attitude.Two hundred and eighty students were systematically selected from learning institutions for nursing in Ile-Ife, Nigeria. Data on perception, knowledge, and attitude were collected with the aid of a validated self-administered questionnaire. Descriptive analysis and inferential statistics were done using Statistical Package for Social Sciences.Results showed that 66.1% and 71.8% of respondents had a positive perception and attitudes towards the care of older people, respectively. It further revealed that respondents believed that nurses should be patient, cheerful and sensitive (97.2%); as well as empathetic (91.4%) when caring for the older patients. The respondents also expressed that caring for the older patients goes beyond the basic nursing care (66.1%) and 90% supported the need for a geriatric unit in the hospital. Furthermore, 60% of respondents demonstrated good knowledge of essential clinical practice in the care of older patients. There was a statistically significant association between attitude and perception (OR = 1.11; p = 0.002) and age category 20â25 (OR = 0.45; p = 0.04). However, there was no significant association between the attitude of the respondents and knowledge (Ï2 = 4.16; df = 2; p = 0.125).The study concluded that the respondents have positive perception and attitude as well as good knowledge towards the care of the older adults. These should be reinforced to enhance a better clinical outcome in the care of the older adults. Keywords: Ageing, Attitude, Knowledge, Older adults, Perceptio

Correction: Experiences of doctoral students enrolled in a research fellowship program to support doctoral training in Africa (2014 to 2018): The Consortium for Advanced Research Training in Africa odyssey.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0252863.]