INTRODUCTION Men are the key decision makers in the family and play a crucial role in the reproductive health of partners, in Nigeria. This study assessed adult male involvement in maternity care in Enugu south local government area, Enugu State, Nigeria. METHODS This community-based study was conducted using a cross-sectional survey design. A total of 145 respondents were selected through multi-stage sampling and data were collected using a structured questionnaire developed by the researchers. Data generated were statistically analyzed based on the research objectives using descriptive statistics. RESULTS Major findings revealed that the respondents had moderate knowledge on the expected role of males in maternity care with the majority, assessed using a 4-point Likert scale, having a moderate (2.99) level of involvement in maternity care. Lack of facilities that encourage male participation in maternity care, work schedule of the male partner, and lack of knowledge on the role of the male partners during maternity care were identified as major barriers to male involvement in maternity care with means of 3.80, 3.58 and 3.48, respectively. CONCLUSIONS Involvement in maternity care among the respondents in this study was moderate. However, men may be restricted by some cultural beliefs such as maternity care being regarded as exclusively a woman's matter. Thus, men should be educated on the importance of their role as partners in maternity care and on the need to participate actively, regardless of existing cultural norms. Hospitals should also promote policies that encourage male presence during birth and delivery rooms need to be designed to allow bonding of partners during birth.

INTRODUCTION Compliance to routine antenatal medications increases a woman’s chances of achieving a normal pregnancy and having a healthy baby. However, non-compliance is a commonly encountered problem in developing countries including Nigeria. This study investigated compliance to routine antenatal medications as reported by pregnant women receiving antenatal care in a tertiary hospital in Enugu State, Nigeria. METHODS A cross-sectional descriptive survey research design was adopted for the study while simple random sampling technique was used to select the 354 pregnant women at Enugu state teaching hospital. A validated structured questionnaire (α=0.72) was utilized for data collection. Analysis of data involved descriptive and inferential statistics. RESULTS Only 32% of pregnant women had a good compliance to their routine antenatal drugs while forgetfulness (27.2%) and vomiting as a side effect of the drug (25.7%) were the major barriers to compliance with routine drugs. Furthermore, there was a statistically significant association between respondents’ compliance with antenatal drugs and number of children as well as level of income (p<0.001). No statistically significant association was found between education level and compliance. CONCLUSIONS Nurses and other health workers should support pregnant women to set reminders for taking their medications and prescribe alternative dosage forms or products that will not induce vomiting. In addition, antenatal education should emphasize the benefits of adherence to routine taking of medications at every stage of pregnancy and the possible negative consequences of non-compliance.

A diagnosis of cancer is overly devastating to patients and their significant others, creating a tsunami of emotions, pain and suffering, with oncology nurses as focal point in the cancer tragedy. With the increasing burden of cancer, nurses in the field of oncology witness profound suffering while providing compassionate care. Providing compassionate care is satisfying but a point reaches where nurses’ may experience a diminution in compassionate ability, a state referred to as compassion fatigue. A state which has consequences not only for nurses themselves, but also for patient care and organizations’ productivity.  While individual nurses should pay attention to self-care in order to protect themselves from compassion fatigue; nurse managers and hospital administrators should support them by creating a favourable workplace. Institutional strategies to prevent compassion fatigue include acknowledgement of existence of the phenomenon, education on coping strategies, on-site counselling services and fostering peer support.

Purpose Human right is a phenomenon universal to all but greatly significant for disadvantaged groups like people with mental illness who due to the limitations of their illness cannot assert their rights. This study aims to assess the knowledge and attitude of nursing students regarding the human rights of people with mental illness. Design/methodology/approach A descriptive study was conducted among 72 nursing students purposively selected from two nursing schools in Enugu, Nigeria. Data were collected using a 38 item literature-based questionnaire developed by the researchers. The reliability of the instrument was established using Cronbach’s alpha model with 0.812 coefficients. Findings Participants 32 (44.4%) demonstrated moderate knowledge regarding the human rights of people with mental illness. The attitude of nursing students towards the right of people with mental illness was positive (2.81). There is no significant difference in knowledge between students of the two schools, p = 0.199 (>0.05). However, the study showed that students from basic nursing school had a more favourable attitude towards the rights of people with mental illness compared to the post-basic nursing students, p = 0.050 (<0.05). Originality/value The rising incidence of human right violation in mental health practice indicates the need to assess the knowledge and attitude of the future workforce who play a critical role in the care and management of people with mental illness. The nursing curriculum should provide nursing students in their various institutions of training, sufficient information on the human rights of people with mental illness. Also, a legal structure in Nigeria for people with mental illness is imperative to protect them from gross human rights violations.

BACKGROUND:Pelvic floor exercise is beneficial to every antenatal and postnatal woman as it helps to strengthen the pelvic floor muscle and prevent pelvic floor complications. Although the knowledge, practice, and benefits of pelvic floor muscle exercises (PFMEs) are fairly known among healthcare professionals, there seems to be a deficit in knowledge and practice of PFMEs among antenatal and postnatal women in the study location.OBJECTIVES:This study assessed the knowledge and practice of PFMEs among women attending antenatal and postnatal clinics in a secondary health center, in Southeast, Nigeria.METHODS:Using a descriptive cross-sectional design, a convenience sampling technique was used to select 143 pregnant and postpartum women at a secondary health center. A researcher-designed questionnaire was used to collect information on their demographics, knowledge, and the practice of pelvic floor exercises. Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics in Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 25 at 5% alpha level.RESULTS:The findings showed that a small proportion (28.5%) had good knowledge; however, 54 (54.7%) practiced PFMEs. There was a significant relationship between knowledge and practice of pelvic floor exercises (p< .001).CONCLUSION:Limited knowledge and practice of PFMEs exist among the study population; therefore, good clinical practice guidelines should be developed to train and guide health providers on the best way to utilize antenatal classes to inform and train the antenatal and postnatal women properly on PFMEs.