Textile dye workers are subject to occupational hazards on a daily basis due to exposure to precarious conditions in the workplace. This study aimed to assess the knowledge, attitude and safety practices and its determinants among textile dye workers in Sokoto metropolis, Nigeria. This is a descriptive cross-sectional study conducted among 200 textile dye workers and the respondents were selected by multi stage sampling technique. Data was collected using an interviewer administered questionnaire. Data was processed using SPSS IBM version 20 and analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Majority of the respondents (74.0%) had good knowledge of workplace hazards; (81.0%) had positive attitude and only 20% observed all the safety practices. Formal education (P=0.047); working less than 5 days a week (P=0.001) and permanent employment (P=0.013) were found to be determinants of respondents’ knowledge and attitude towards workplace hazards. Although the respondents had good knowledge and positive attitude, their lack of observance of safety practices brings to fore the need for direct safety instruction and training and retraining of textile dye workers on workplace hazards and safety practices.

Cervical cancer is the most common female genital tract carcinoma worldwide. It is increasingly becoming the leading carcinoma seen among women in the developing world. The aim of our study was to showcase the effect of educational intervention on the knowledge of cervical cancer and subsequently the uptake of Pap smear test amongst market women in Niger state, Nigeria. The state has a rich network of markets in all the local government areas because of the fishing activities, bountiful agricultural produce yearly and its situation to the North of the national capital, Abuja. This was a quasi-experimental study conducted in two groups with pre and post intervention data collection. Sample size was determined based on a previous similar study done in Nigeria. Multi stage sampling technique was used for recruiting the study participants. SPSS statistical software was used for data entry, editing and analysis. Respondents’ knowledge of cervical cancer were comparable at pre-intervention but were statistically significantly better (P<0.0001) at post-intervention in the intervention group compared to the control group for every variable measured. However, there was only a (Fisher’s exact, P=0.621) compared to the control group. This study showed an increase in knowledge about cervical cancer and Pap smear test however the uptake of Pap smear test remained low even after intervention. This underscores the need for sustained intervention programs to eventually translate knowledge acquired to habitual practice.

Aims: This study aims to assess the knowledge, attitude, and practices related to coronavirus pandemic among health care workers in Sokoto metropolis of Sokoto State, Nigeria.  Study Design: A cross-sectional study Place and Duration of Study: The study was conducted in Sokoto metropolis, northwest Nigeria between July and October 2020 Methodology: Four hundred and twenty-seven respondents were selected using a multi-stage sampling technique. Data were collected manually using a self-administered questionnaire entered into the computer for analysis using IBM SPSS version 25 for statistical analysis. Descriptive statistics, chi-square tests, and frequencies of the various variables were tabulated. Results: The mean age was 35.16+- 9.25 years, with those aged 30-39 years constituting 38% of the respondents. There were 53.2% males, 47.3% nurses, and 27.2% doctors, and 71.6% of the respondents were from tertiary health institutions, out of which 42% had 1-5 years of work experience. Up to 99% were aware of coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19), and overall, 78.2% had good knowledge, and 91% of all the respondents had positive attitudes towards the pandemic (p-value 0.001). Overall, 68.4% of the health workforce had appropriate practices towards preventing COVID-19, and 83% were willing to be posted to isolation centers with adequate personal protective equipment (PPE). Conclusion: The study demonstrated significant awareness and knowledge of COVID-19 amongst the health workforce in Sokoto with significant positive attitudes towards the pandemic and appropriate practices towards preventing the pandemic and willingness to work in isolation centers to support the prevention of the pandemic.

IntroductionWhen breast milk alone is no longer sufficient to meet a child's nutritional needs, foods other than breast milk are introduced gradually into the baby's diet, first to complement breast feeding and progressively to replace it and get the child used to adult diet. This study aimed to assess the factors influencing complementary and weaning practices among women in rural communities of Sokoto state, Nigeria.MethodsIt was a cross-sectional study. Using a multi-staged sampling technique, 296 mothers of children 6-24 months were recruited. Data was collected using a pretested structured questionnaire and analyzed using IBM SPSS version 20. Chi square test was used to test associations between categorical variables. Binary logistic and multinomial regression was used to compute the determinants of complementary and weaning practices. The level of significance was set at p < 0.05. Ethical approval was obtained from the State Ethical Committee.ResultsTimely introduction of complementary feeds was commenced in 54% of the children. Only 6.2% weaned their children at 6 months; 90.5% weaned their children gradually and 63.5% bottle fed. Factors influencing complementary and weaning practices was found to be child's age; maternal age and family setting.ConclusionThe respect of World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations on complementary and weaning practices was suboptimal. It was also evident from this study that complementary and weaning practices were influenced by maternal and house-hold factors. It is therefore important to develop interventions aimed at bridging the gap between these practices in rural settings and WHO recommendations.

BackgroundNigeria reports high rates of mortality linked with recurring meningococcal meningitis outbreaks within the African meningitis belt. Few studies have thoroughly described the response to these outbreaks to provide strong and actionable public health messages. We describe how time delays affected the response to the 2016/2017 meningococcal meningitis outbreak in Nigeria.MethodsUsing data from Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), World Health Organisation (WHO), and situation reports of rapid response teams, we calculated attack and death rates of reported suspected meningococcal meningitis cases per week in Zamfara, Sokoto and Yobe states respectively, between epidemiological week 49 in 2016 and epidemiological week 25 in 2017. We identified when alert and epidemic thresholds were crossed and determined when the outbreak was detected and notified in each state. We examined response activities to the outbreak.ResultsThere were 12,535 suspected meningococcal meningitis cases and 877 deaths (CFR: 7.0%) in the three states. It took an average time of three weeks before the outbreaks were detected and notified to NCDC. Four weeks after receiving notification, an integrated response coordinating centre was set up by NCDC and requests for vaccines were sent to International Coordinating Group (ICG) on vaccine provision. While it took ICG one week to approve the requests, it took an average of two weeks for approximately 41% of requested vaccines to arrive. On the average, it took nine weeks from the date the epidemic threshold was crossed to commencement of reactive vaccination in the three states.ConclusionThere were delays in detection and notification of the outbreak, in coordinating response activities, in requesting for vaccines and their arrival from ICG, and in initiating reactive vaccination. Reducing these delays in future outbreaks could help decrease the morbidity and mortality linked with meningococcal meningitis outbreaks.