Suchergebnisse

Adolescents are considered vulnerable due to their ability to venture into Health Risk Behaviours (HRBs) that may have a long-term detrimental effect on their total wellbeing. The major focus of previous adolescents' studies in Nigeria has been on parent-adolescent communication and the relationship it has with their academic performance and sexual behaviour; none has explored the association of social connectedness and HRBs among in-school adolescents. Thus, the aim of this study is to assess and compare social connectedness and HRBs among in-school adolescents in urban and rural areas of Oyo State. A school-based comparative cross-sectional design was employed wherein 2071 in-school adolescents were selected via a multistage cluster sampling in Ibarapa Central and Ibadan North Local Government Areas (LGAs) of Oyo State. The independent variables were socio-demographic characteristics, family characteristics and social connectedness while the dependent variable was HRBs. The data was analysed using descriptive statistics, chi square, t-test, ANOVA and logistic regression with level of statistical significance set at 5%. Overall, slightly over one-half of the respondents (51.9%) were from the urban LGA and 54.2% were females. The mean age of respondents was 13.7 ± 2.1 years and 46.7% were early adolescents aged 10-13 years. The prevalence of HRBs among in-school adolescents was high (91.8%) and the mean score of social connectedness among in-school adolescents was high, with a slightly higher mean in rural area (131.71 ± 16.43) compared to (131.04 ± 14.47) in urban area. However, this was not statistically significant (p = 0.322). The mean scores of the domains of religious connectedness (p = 0.176), school connectedness (p < 0.001), peer connectedness (p < 0.001) and social-media connectedness (p = 0.003) were higher in the rural areas. However, the mean score of family connectedness among respondents was higher in the urban area (p < 0.001). The odds of having engaged in HRBs were significantly 1.57 ...

BACKGROUND: The low utilisation of modern contraceptives in many low- and middle-income countries remains a challenge. Patent medicine vendors (PMVs) that operate in the informal health sector, have the potential to address this challenge. Between 2015 and 2018, the Population Council, in collaboration with the Federal and State Ministries of Health and the Pharmacy Council of Nigeria, trained PMVs in six states to deliver injectable contraceptive services. Outcome evaluation demonstrated increased client uptake of injectable contraceptive services; however, there is limited information on how and why the intervention influenced outcomes. This study was conducted to elucidate the processes and mechanism through which the previous intervention influenced women's utilisation of injectable contraceptive services. METHODS: The study utilised a mixed methods, convergent parallel design guided by the UK Medical Research Council framework. Quantitative data were obtained from 140 trained PMVs and 145 of their clients in three states and 27 in-depth interviews were conducted among relevant stakeholders. The quantitative data were analysed descriptively, while the qualitative data were analysed thematically. RESULTS: The results revealed that even after the completion of the PMV study which had a time-bound government waiver for injectable contraceptive service provision by PMVs, they continued to stock and provide injectables in response to the needs of their clients contrary to the current legislation which prohibits this. The causal mechanism that influenced women's utilisation of injectable contraceptives were the initial training that the PMV received; the favourable regulatory environment as demonstrated in the approval provided by government for PMVs to provide injectable contraceptives for the duration of the study; and the satisfaction and the confidence the female clients had developed in the ability of the PMVs to serve them. However, there were gaps with regards to the consistent supply of quality injectable ...