Background: Umbilical cord care is the handling of the umbilical stump of new-born after delivery. Hygienic umbilical cord care is important for the well-being of the newborn infant. The study was to assess the knowledge, practice and techniques of umbilical cord care among mothers in Primary Health Care centre in Nwezenyi, Ebonyi State, Nigeria .
Methodology: The study was cross-sectional descriptive in design. Systematic sampling method was used to select 222 participants. Data were collected with semi-structured interviewer administered questionnaire and analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 22.
Results: The study showed high (83.3%) awareness of umbilical cord care and low (11.7%) knowledge of proper material (chlorhexidine) for umbilical cord care, poor (8.1%) practice of the use of correct material. Factors influencing the choice of material used are cost (16.7%), availability (17.1%), convenience (10.4%), “works faster” (20.7%) and “type respondent is aware of” (35.1%).
Conclusion: High awareness of umbilical cord care management in this study did not commensurately translate to use of correct materials for its care. Thus, there was high risk of neonatal infection including neonatal tetanus. Focused health education to mothers will help improve their knowledge, practice and the use of correct material in umbilical cord care to reduce neonatal morbidity and mortality.
IntroductionHealth workers have increasingly become victims of workplace violence. However, negligible action has been given to developing workplace violence (WPV) prevention programs in hospital settings in low-middle-income countries. An effective workplace violence prevention program is crucial for preventing violence and managing the consequences of incidents. This study assessed management staff perspectives on intervention strategies for workplace violence prevention in a tertiary health facility in Nigeria.MethodsA qualitative study design was employed to explore the intervention strategies for preventing and managing workplace violence at a tertiary health facility in southeast Nigeria. Six focus group discussions were conducted with thirty-eight management-level staff. The interview transcripts were manually coded according to six predefined constructs of workplace violence: creating interdisciplinary harmony and WPV experiences, causes, prevention, program/policy contents, and implementation strategies. A manual thematic analysis approach was adopted, and the results were presented as narratives.ResultsThe findings revealed recognition, welfare, administrative control, and security as vital strategies for the WPV prevention program. The participants agreed that unanimity among staff could be promoted through respect for all cadres of staff and for people’s perspectives (creating interdisciplinary harmony). Assaults and staff intimidation/victimization (experiences), attributed to unethical/poor health workers’ behaviour and ethnic discrimination (causes), were viewed as preventable by ensuring patients’/caregivers’ welfare through respectful and timely care and staff’s welfare through incentives/remunerations and discouraging intimidation (prevention strategies). Furthermore, the staff expressed that the WPV program should employ administrative controls, including instituting WPV policy/unit, codes of ethics, and standard operating procedures across all workplace facets (program/policy contents), which should be implemented through awareness creation, enforcement of sanctions, and provision of appropriate and adequate security presence in the hospital (policy implementation strategies).ConclusionRespect, patient/staff welfare, administrative control, and security are strong mechanisms to prevent workplace violence in tertiary hospitals. Hospital management should institutionalize workplace violence prevention programs/policies and ensure compliance.
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