Objective. To determine the awareness and knowledge of sexually transmitted infections among adolescents in Ado, South Western Nigeria. Methods. The study was a descriptive cross-sectional design. Five hundred and fifty adolescents selected from public and private secondary schools in Ado Local Government Area of Ekiti State were recruited using a multistage sampling technique. Results. Four hundred and ninety-nine (92.4%) respondents had heard about sexually transmitted infections before, the three most important sources of information being electronic media (68.7%); teachers (68.1%); and print media (44.9%). Eighty percent of the respondents knew only one STI and the two most commonly mentioned ones were HIV/AIDS (78.0%) and gonorrhea (23.0%). More than 75% of the respondents knew the modes of transmission of STIs while some of them equally had misconceptions. The most important symptoms mentioned were weight loss (77.4%), painful micturition (68.9%), and genital ulcer (54.1%). On the whole, only 6.9% of the respondents had good knowledge of STIs; the rest had fair and poor knowledge. Conclusion. Secondary school adolescents in Ado Local Government Area have only a fair knowledge of sexually transmitted diseases. STI studies should be inculcated into the school curriculum and media publicity/enlightenment campaigns about them should be intensified.
The prevalence of menstrual disorders among adolescents in the Osogbo LGA is high. Measures should be undertaken to educate the adolescents and their mothers about menstrual disorders and to mitigate their effects on the social and academic lives of these adolescents.
The prevalence of HIV infection among Nigerian youths has been persistently high and HIV Counselling and Testing (HCT) is a major intervention that can help to reduce the transmission of HIV. This study was carried out to determine the uptake of HCT and identify the factors affecting the uptake among National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members in Osun State, Nigeria. The study employed a cross-sectional analytical design. A pre-tested, self-administered, semi-structured questionnaire was used to elicit information from 1000 corps members who were recruited by systematic random sampling at the NYSC orientation camp Osun State. Factors affecting HCT uptake were evaluated using binary logistic regression analysis, confidence intervals and odd ratios. The results showed that 59.0% of the respondents had HCT while 41.0% had never accessed HCT before. The factors influencing uptake among the respondents were risk perception (p = 0.002) and partner's screening status (p < 0.001). HCT uptake among the respondents was fair. Personal and partner factors predicted HCT uptake. Health education to make people appreciate their risk of HIV and importance of HCT should be intensified.
Background and Aim:
Inadequate nutrition during fetal development resulting from poor dietary habits leads to reprogramming within fetal tissues and poses as a risk factor for non-communicable diseases in later life. This study was conducted to determine the dietary habits, diversity, and predictors among pregnant women in Lagos, Nigeria.
Methods:
A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted using a structured interviewer-administered questionnaire to obtain data from pregnant women attending primary health care centers in Lagos, Nigeria. A multistage sampling method was used to select 350 pregnant women. A food frequency questionnaire was used to assess the dietary habits while dietary diversity was measured using non-quantifiable 24-hour recall. Data were analyzed using Epi-Info version 7.2 computer software. Chi-square and
t
-test were used to test for associations and
P
value < 0.05 was considered to be statistically significant.
Results:
Only 16.7% of respondents consumed five servings of fruits and vegetables daily while the rice was the most frequent meal taken (45.4%). Meat was the commonest animal protein (20.3%) and only 30.8% had a high dietary diversity score (DDS). High DDS was significantly associated with parity of 1–3, living in a duplex or detached house, completion of at least secondary school education, and highly skilled professionals.
Conclusion:
Healthy dietary habits and high DDS were low and associated with low parity and higher socio-economic status. Nutrition intervention that encourages higher dietary diversity is needed especially among women of higher parity and lower socioeconomic status in Lagos.
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