Introduction: Poor access of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people to healthcare providers with clinical and cultural competency contributes to health inequalities between heterosexual/cisgender and LGBT people. This systematic review assesses the effect of educational curricula and training for healthcare students and professionals on LGBT healthcare issues.Methods: Systematic review; the search terms, strategy and process as well as eligibility criteria were predefined and registered prospectively on PROSPERO. A systematic search of electronic databases was undertaken. Screening for eligible studies and data extraction were done in duplicate. All the eligible studies were assessed for risk of bias. The outcome of interest was a change in participants’ knowledge, attitude and or practice.Results: Out of 1171 papers identified, 16 publications reporting 15 studies were included in the review. Three were non-randomized controlled studies and 12 had a pre/post-design; two had qualitative components. Bias was reported in the selection of participants and confounding. Risk reported was moderate/mild. Most studies were from the USA, the topics revolved around key terms and terminology, stigma and discrimination, sexuality and sexual dysfunction, sexual history taking, LGBT-specific health and health disparities. Time allotted for training ranged from 1 to 42 hours, the involvement of LGBT people was minimal. The only intervention in sub-Saharan Africa focused exclusively on men who have sex with men. All the studies reported statistically significant improvement in knowledge, attitude and/or practice post-training. Two main themes were identified from the qualitative studies: the process of changing values and attitudes to be more LGBT inclusive, and the constraints to the application of new values in practice.Conclusions: Training of healthcare providers will provide information and improve skills of healthcare providers which may lead to improved quality of healthcare for LGBT people. This review reports short-term improvement in knowledge, attitudes and practice of healthcare students and professionals with regards to sexual and LGBT-specific healthcare. However, a unified conceptual model for training in-terms of duration, content and training methodology was lacking.

Introduction HIV self‐testing (HIVST) offers an alternative to facility‐based HIV testing services, particularly for populations such as men who have sex with men (MSM) who may fear accessing testing due to stigma, discrimination and criminalization. Innovative HIV testing approaches are needed to meet the goal of 90% of people living with HIV being diagnosed. This study piloted an intervention to distribute oral HIVST kits to MSM through key opinion leaders (KOLs) in Lagos, Nigeria and assessed the feasibility, acceptability, uptake of HIVST and linkage to HIV treatment.MethodsA cohort study was conducted (May through September 2017) with 319 participants who were recruited by 12 KOLs through their networks. A baseline survey was conducted at the time of the oral HIVST kit (OraQuick® HIV antibody test) distribution to eligible MSM followed by a 3‐month follow‐up survey to assess usage of and experience with the HIVST kits. Each participant was given two kits.ResultsThe median age of the participants was 25 years, 88.7% were literate and 17.9% were first‐time testers. Of the 257 participants (80.7% retention) who completed the three‐month follow‐up interview, 97.7% reported using the HIVST kit and 14 (5.6%) self‐reported an HIV positive result. A quarter (22.7%) tested themselves the same day they received the kit, and 49.4% tested within one week. Almost all participants reported that the HIVST kit instructions were easy or somewhat easy to understand (99.6%) and perform the test (98.0%). The most common reasons they liked the test were ease of use (87.3%), confidentiality/privacy (82.1%), convenience (74.1%) and absence of needle pricks (64.9%). All 14 participants who tested positive had sought confirmatory testing and initiated HIV treatment by the time of the three‐month survey.ConclusionsHIVST distribution through KOLs was feasible and oral self‐testing was highly acceptable among this urban MSM population. Despite concerns about linkage to treatment when implementing self‐testing, this study showed that linkage to treatment can be achieved with active follow‐up and access to a trusted MSM‐friendly community clinic that offers HIV treatment. HIVST should be considered as an additional option to standard HIV testing models for MSM.

No abstract

Background The presence of COVID-19 has led to the disruption of health systems globally, including essential reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health (RMNCH) services. This study aimed to assess the challenges faced by women who used RMNCH services in Nigeria’s epicentre, their satisfaction with care received during the COVID-19 pandemic and the factors associated with their satisfaction. Methods This cross-sectional survey was conducted in Lagos, southwest Nigeria among 1,241 women of reproductive age who had just received RMNCH services at one of twenty-two health facilities across the primary, secondary and tertiary tiers of health care. The respondents were selected via multi-stage sampling and face to face exit interviews were conducted by trained interviewers. Client satisfaction was assessed across four sub-scales: health care delivery, health facility, interpersonal aspects of care and access to services. Bivariate and multivariate analyses were used to assess the relationship between personal characteristics and client satisfaction. Results About 43.51% of respondents had at least one challenge in accessing RMNCH services since the COVID-19 outbreak. Close to a third (31.91%) could not access service because they could not leave their houses during the lockdown and 18.13% could not access service because there was no transportation. The mean clients’ satisfaction score among the respondents was 43.25 (SD: 6.28) out of a possible score of 57. Satisfaction scores for the interpersonal aspects of care were statistically significantly lower in the PHCs and general hospitals compared to teaching hospitals. Being over 30 years of age was significantly associated with an increased clients’ satisfaction score (ß = 1.80, 95%CI: 1.10–2.50). Conclusion The COVID-19 lockdown posed challenges to accessing RMNCH services for a significant proportion of women surveyed. Although overall satisfaction with care was fairly high, there is a need to provide tailored COVID-19 sensitive inter-personal care to clients at all levels of care.

Abstract. Nigeria has the world's 10th largest tuberculosis (TB) burden. Targeted community-based interventions can potentially help reduce TB incidence. We designed an intervention in a periurban community where 10 community volunteers were trained to provide community TB education and also detect and refer TB suspects to a nearby clinic. To determine the effect of the intervention on knowledge, attitude, and preventive practices of TB, we compared results from a pre-intervention survey with those of a post-intervention survey. Pre-intervention, respondents had a mean knowledge score of 10.6 ± 7.0 of a possible 34, a mean attitude score of 5.8 ± 3.3 of a possible 10, and a mean practice score of 5.3 ± 1.4 of a possible 7. The intervention significantly increased the mean knowledge score to 16 ± 5.4 (P 0.001) and mean attitude score to 7.0 ± 1.8 (P 0.001); however, there was no statistically significant difference in the mean practice score. Eight TB suspects were referred to the clinic, and one suspect was subsequently diagnosed with TB. The use of trained community volunteers to share information on TB improved the overall knowledge and attitudes of respondents. Continued empowerment of the community should be encouraged to promote TB prevention and care.

Introduction Nigeria is among six countries responsible for the majority of tuberculosis (TB) cases in the world. The Nigerian government has emphasized community-based case finding to increase detection of TB. This process requires efforts to improve knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) of TB, particularly in the poorest of communities. This study presents data from a KAP survey administered in two underserved Nigerian communities. Methods a structured survey was administered by trained interviewers among adult residents in two slum communities in Lagos, Nigeria. Participants were selected through multistage random sampling. KAP scores were computed and the predictors of higher scores were assessed. Results a total of 504 respondents were surveyed. The mean KAP scores were relatively low: 9.8 ± 7.1 for knowledge (out of a maximum 34), 5.3 ± 3.4 for attitude (maximum = 10), and 5.2 ± 1.5 for practice (maximum = 7). The predictors of good knowledge were increasing age, post secondary education and professional occupation. The predictors of positive attitude were post secondary education and good TB knowledge. Good knowledge was a predictor of good practice Conclusion our findings underscore the need to improve the education about TB in underserved communities. Improving KAP scores will ultimately lead to higher rates of TB detection and treatment.

BackgroundIn several African countries, men who have sex with men (MSM) are becoming visible, as a result of which they are now victims of human rights violations. This has a negative effect on their ability to access services targeted at human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) prevention and care. The main objective of this study was to document the experiences of social oppression among MSM in Lagos State, Nigeria.MethodsSimple random sampling was used to select three of the seven local government areas in Lagos State that had community centers. Snowball sampling was used to recruit 291 participants. The survey instrument was a pretested questionnaire. The results were presented as means and percentages. Univariate, bivariate, and multivariate analysis was carried out at P<0.05.ResultsThe mean age of the participants was 25.3±4.6 years, and the majority (66.0%) were currently single and not in a steady relationship. Half of the men self-identified as gay and about 48% as bisexual. Alcohol use occurred in 56.7% of the respondents, about a quarter (25.8%) smoked cigarettes, and 11.0% reported using hard drugs. The commonest acts of human rights violation and or violence reported were aggression 35.7%, alienation 29.9%, verbal abuse 19.2%, physical abuse 17.9%, rape by a man 16.8%, and psychological abuse 20.3%. The predictors of human rights violation were level of education (adjusted odds ratio 2.6, P=0.019), marital status (adjusted odds ratio 2.3, P=0.005), and sexual orientation (adjusted odds ratio 1.9, P=0.017). For physical and sexual abuse, MSM who consumed alcohol and were homosexual/transgender were at risk.ConclusionThis study showed that a high proportion of MSM had experienced various forms of human rights violation and abuse as a result of their sexual orientation/identity. There is a need to document and quantify these happenings, which can serve as an advocacy tool for reform.

BackgroundPeople living with HIV and AIDS (PLWHA) experience some form of stigma which could lead to poor medication adherence.ObjectivesThis study assessed the various domains of stigma experienced by PLWHAs attending an HIV clinic at General Hospital, Lagos Island, their medication adherence patterns and their coping mechanisms for ensuring adherence to antiretroviral therapy.MethodA cross-sectional study design with a sample size of 200 was used. Respondents were selected using systematic random sampling. Interviewers administered structured questionnaires were used to collect information on the domains of stigma. Data was analysed using EPI info©. This was followed by a focus group discussion (FGD) with seven participants at the clinic using an interview guide with open-ended questions.ResultsOverall, stigma was experienced by 35% of the respondents. Within this group, 6.6%, 37.1%, 43.1% and 98.0% of the respondents reported experiencing negative self image stigma, personalised stigma, disclosure stigma and public attitude stigma respectively. Almost 90% of the respondents were adherent. The FGD revealed that disclosure was usually confined to family members and the coping mechanism for achieving adherence was to put antiretroviral (ARVs) in unlabelled pill boxes.ConclusionThis study found that stigma was low and that the most common domain of stigma experienced was public attitude stigma. Medication adherence of respondents was good as a result of the coping mechanism, which involves putting ARVs in unlabelled pill boxes.