Suchergebnisse

BACKGROUND: Smoke-free policies are increasingly being enacted in several countries. In 2014, Lagos State, the commercial capital of Nigeria, enacted a statewide smoke-free policy; however, university campuses were excluded from the list of public places where smoking would be disallowed. This study aimed to assess students' support for smoke-free campus policies, their attitudes, and exposure toward secondhand smoke (SHS). METHODS: This cross-sectional descriptive study was carried out among 421 university undergraduates in two premier universities in the state. Respondents were selected using a multistage sampling method, and the data were collected using a pretested self-administered questionnaire. RESULTS: Many (55.4%) of the respondents agreed that students who are non-smokers have the right to inhale smoke-free air on campuses and expressed feelings of irritation (57.1%) or anger (17.1%) when exposed to SHS on campus. Majority (80.1%) of the respondents were in support of a smoke-free policy on their campus and in favor of a ban on smoking in enclosed spaces on campus (79.6%). Exposure to SHS on campus was high, as one in five respondents were exposed to SHS in their hostel rooms (19.9%) and 44.9% were exposed in outdoor campus spaces in the preceding week. There was a statistically significant association between respondents' age, gender, smoking status, and attitudes toward SHS and support for a smoke-free campus policy. CONCLUSION: Although the majority of the students were non-smokers, significant exposure to SHS on campuses still exists. There is a huge support for smoke-free campus policies. The state government should consider including campuses on the list of smoke-free public spaces in the review of the statewide smoking law.

BACKGROUND: In Nigeria, contraceptive use has remained low, 12% for any modern method, despite the huge resources committed to family planning programs by stakeholders. This study was carried out to assess the knowledge and utilization of family planning and determine predictors of utilization of family planning among postpartum women attending primary health care centers (PHCs) in a selected rural area of Lagos State, southwest Nigeria. METHODS: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study conducted among 325 postpartum women attending PHCs in Ibeju-Lekki local government area of Lagos State selected using a multi-stage sampling technique. A pretested, interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to collate data which was analyzed using the IBM SPSS Statistics version 23. RESULT: The mean age was 29.94 ± 5.14 years. All the respondents (100%) had heard of contraceptive methods, however only 38 (11.7%) had good knowledge of family planning. About 38.5% of the respondents used modern family planning methods during the postpartum period. The most commonly used methods were male condoms (26.3%) and implants (17.0%). The significant predictors of postpartum family planning (PPFP) were non-intention to have more children [AOR = 1.88 (95% CI: 1.14–3.11)], and good knowledge of family [AOR = 2.31 (95% CI: 1.11–4.81)]. CONCLUSION: It is recommended that interventions be designed to educate and advocate for the use of family planning methods not only to stop childbearing but also to space pregnancies. Education about family planning should also be intensified to improve knowledge of family planning, and thus practice.

BACKGROUND: The World Health Organization defines health as a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of infirmity and disease. Researchers and clinicians have mainly focused on health outcomes that are physically or laboratory measured. These, however, do not reflect how the affected individual feels and functions in daily life. This study assessed the psychological and stigma profiles of patients attending HIV clinics in a North-central State of Nigeria. METHODS: The study design was descriptive cross-sectional. A total of 384 HIV-positive patients who were systematically recruited at 5 public service delivery sites in Ilorin, Kwara State, North-central Nigeria participated in the study. Data was analyzed using SPSS software version 20.0. Level of significance was pre-determined at P value < 0.05 at a confidence level of 95%. RESULTS: Fifty-nine percent of respondents reported being anxious about their condition and 25.5% felt depressed. Eighty-six percent received adherence counselling and 82.3% received psychological care from support groups. In the psychological domain, majority (74.5%) of the respondents had high health-related quality of life (HRQoL). There was a statistically significant association between employment status and psychological domain of HRQoL. As regards stigma, majority experienced high stereotype stigma (73.7%) and 67.2% experienced high stigma as pertains disclosure. CONCLUSION: Health workers should promote psychological support of HIV patients, for example, in form of support groups and adherence counseling. Efforts by government and corporate bodies should be geared towards employment empowerment of PLWHA which may help improve quality of life.

Abstract
Background
Dashboards are increasingly being used in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) to support health policymaking and governance. However, their use has been mostly limited to routine care, not emergency services like emergency obstetric care (EmOC). To ensure a fit-for-purpose dashboard, we conducted an online survey with policymakers and researchers to understand key considerations needed for developing a policy-ready dashboard of geospatial access to EmOC in SSA.

Methods
Questionnaires targeting both stakeholder groups were pre-tested and disseminated in English, French, and Portuguese across SSA. We collected data on participants' awareness of concern areas for geographic accessibility of EmOC and existing technological resources used for planning of EmOC services, the dynamic dashboard features preferences, and the dashboard's potential to tackle lack of geographic access to EmOC. Questions were asked as multiple-choice, Likert-scale, or open-ended. Descriptive statistics were used to summarise findings using frequencies or proportions. Free-text responses were recoded into themes where applicable.

Results
Among the 206 participants (88 policymakers and 118 researchers), 90% reported that rural areas and 23% that urban areas in their countries were affected by issues of geographic accessibility to EmOC. Five percent of policymakers and 38% of researchers were aware of the use of maps of EmOC facilities to guide planning of EmOC facility location. Regarding dashboard design, most visual components such as location of EmOC facilities had almost universal desirability; however, there were some exceptions. Nearly 70% of policymakers considered the socio-economic status of the population and households relevant to the dashboard. The desirability for a heatmap showing travel time to care was lower among policymakers (53%) than researchers (72%). Nearly 90% of participants considered three to four data updates per year or less frequent updates adequate for the dashboard. The potential usability of a dynamic dashboard was high amongst both policymakers (60%) and researchers (82%).

Conclusion
This study provides key considerations for developing a policy-ready dashboard for EmOC geographical accessibility in SSA. Efforts should now be targeted at establishing robust estimation of geographical accessibility metrics, integrated with existing health system data, and developing and maintaining the dashboard with up-to-date data to maximise impact in these settings.