IntroductionHuman papillomavirus (HPV) is one of the most common sexually transmitted infections in sexually active adolescents and young women and has been implicated as a cause of the majority of cases of cervical cancer, which is the second most common cancer in women in Nigeria. HPV is preventable with the use of HPV vaccines.ObjectivesThe objective of this study was to assess mothers’ HPV knowledge and their willingness to vaccinate their adolescent daughters in Lagos, Nigeria.Materials and methodsThis study was a community-based, descriptive cross-sectional study carried out in July, 2012 in Shomolu Local Government Area (LGA) of Lagos State, Nigeria. Multistage sampling method was employed to select the 290 respondents who participated in the study. Structured, pretested, interviewer-administered questionnaires were used for data collection. Data was analyzed with Epi Info™ version 7.ResultsThe study revealed low awareness of HPV (27.9%) and HPV vaccines (19.7%) among the mothers that participated. There was a high awareness for cervical cancer but little knowledge of its link to HPV. Awareness and utilization of HPV vaccines increased with increasing educational level (P < 0.05). There was a high willingness and intention among the mothers to vaccinate their girls (88.9%) and to recommend the vaccine to others (91.0%). Accessibility and affordability of the HPV vaccines were found to be possible barriers to future utilization of the vaccines.ConclusionDespite low knowledge about HPV and HPV vaccines, mothers were willing to vaccinate their daughters. We recommend improving mothers’ knowledge by education and the possible inclusion of the vaccine in the national immunization schedule to eliminate the financial barrier.

Proper hand hygiene is an important means of preventing nosocomial infections. This study aimed to assess knowledge, attitude and hand hygiene practices among healthcare providers (HCPs) in

Background. Effective communication is imperative for the delivery and receipt of adequate health care services.Aim. To determine access to information technology and willingness to receive short message service (SMS) text message reminders for childhood immunisation services among mothers in Lagos, Nigeria. Method.In this descriptive cross-sectional study, interviews using structured questionnaires were conducted with 399 mothers of children aged <5 years who brought their children to attend the immuno-prophylaxis and child welfare clinic of Lagos University Teaching Hospital during July and August 2011.Results. The age of the respondents ranged from 16 to 51 years with a mean of 31.1±4.7 years. Almost all (98%) were current owners of mobile phones, 68% had computer access, 66% were current users of the Internet though most used it occasionally and 65% had e-mail addresses. About three-quarters (77%) were willing to receive future SMS reminders about childhood immunisations although 67% preferred telephonic reminders to SMS and only 53% were willing to pay for the reminders. Respondents who were currently married and had at least a post-secondary education were more willing to receive SMS reminders. Conclusion.The mothers had better access to mobile phones than the Internet and were willing to receive SMS immunisation reminders. Future intervention strategies should explore payment mechanisms for SMS reminders, as there is an unwillingness to bear the cost by the respondents.

months was significantly associated with lower parity (p=0.020) and higher maternal educational level. Those who had more than secondary education were 8 times more likely to practice EBF for 6 months than those with no formal education (OR 7.65,. Conclusion: Breastfeeding initiation and exclusivity for 6 months were inadequate. Promotion of good health-seeking behavior, maternal education and family planning are recommended in order to improve mothers' breastfeeding practices and infant nutrition.

BackgroundPostpartum hemorrhage (PPH) is a leading cause of maternal mortality in Nigeria and in most low- and middle-income countries. The World Health Organization (WHO) strongly recommends oxytocin as effective, affordable, and the safest drug of first choice in the prevention and treatment of PPH in the third stage of labor. However, there are concerns about its quality. Very high prevalence of poor-quality oxytocin, especially in Africa and Asia, has been reported in literature. Excessive and inappropriate use of oxytocin is also common in low-resource settings.ObjectiveTo assess clinical experiences with quality of oxytocin used by healthcare providers in Lagos State, Nigeria.MethodsThis was a descriptive cross-sectional study conducted in 2017, with 705 respondents (doctors and nurses) who use oxytocin for obstetrics and gynecological services recruited from 195 health facilities (public and registered private) across Lagos State. Data collection was quantitative, using a pretested self-administered questionnaire. Data analysis was performed with IBM SPSS version 21. Statistical significance was set at 5 percent (p<0.05). Ethical approval was obtained from Lagos University Teaching Hospital Health Research Ethics Committee.ResultsOnly 52 percent of the respondents knew oxytocin should be stored at 2°C to 8°C. About 80 percent of respondents used oxytocin for augmentation of labor, 68 percent for induction of labor, 51 percent for stimulation of labor, and 78 percent for management of PPH. Forty-one percent used 20IU and as much as 10% used 30IU to 60IU for management of PPH. About 13 percent of respondents reported believing they had used an ineffective brand of oxytocin in their practice. Just over a third (36%) had an available means of documenting or reporting perceived ineffectiveness of drugs in their facility; of these, only about 12 percent had pharmacovigilance forms in their facilities to report the ineffectiveness.ConclusionThe inappropriate and inconsistent use of oxytocin, especially overdosing, likely led to the high perception of medicine effectiveness among respondents. This is coupled with lack of suspicion of medicine ineffectiveness by clinicians as a possible root cause of poor treatment response or disease progression. Poor knowledge of oxytocin storage and consequent poor storage practices could have contributed to the ineffectiveness reported by some respondents. It is necessary to establish a unified protocol for oxytocin use that is strictly complied with. Continuous training of healthcare providers in medicine safety monitoring is advocated.