Background In many low-and middle-income countries, data on the prevalence of surgical diseases have been derived primarily from hospital-based studies, which may lead to an underestimation of disease burden within the community. Community-based prevalence studies may provide better estimates of surgical need to enable proper resource allocation and prioritization of needs. This study aims to assess the prevalence of common surgical conditions among children in a diverse rural and urban population in Nigeria. Methods Descriptive cross-sectional, community-based study to determine the prevalence of congenital and acquired surgical conditions among children in a diverse rural-urban area of

Background:Healthcare workers, especially nurses, are at a high risk of infection. By complying with infection control measures, a lot of infections can be prevented. This study examined the effects of a training program on knowledge, perception, and risk reduction regarding infection control among nurses.Materials and Methods:This study adopted a pretest–posttest quasi-experimental design. The samples consisted of 87 participants comprising 42 nurses in the experimental group and 45 nurses in the control group. The instruments used for data collection were a questionnaire on knowledge about infection control and a questionnaire on perception about infection control.Results:Findings showed that the mean (SD) age in the experimental group was 34.92 (8.99) whereas that of the control group was 47.43 (6.60). The mean (SD) years of experience in the experimental group was 10.42 (9.95) years whereas in the control group it was 21.89 (8.72) years. Findings further revealed that 26 participants (62.90%) in the postintervention group had high knowledge level compared to the preintervention where none had high knowledge. A significant difference was observed between the mean perception score on infection control in the experimental and control groups (t = 17.12; p = 0.001).Conclusions:This study has shown that a training program is very effective and that all nurses should be exposed to infection control training to equip them with the necessary knowledge and skills with which to fight against the spread of infection in the healthcare setting.

Objectives: During pregnancy, the fetus requires iron for blood formation so does the mother, this increases the iron requirement which is higher than that of non-pregnant women. This study assessed the level of awareness and prevention of anemia among pregnant women attending the antenatal clinic at Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Lagos, Nigeria. Material and Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among 182 pregnant women attending the antenatal clinic at LUTH in Lagos, Nigeria. A balloting system was done to select the respondents in the clinic that runs 4 times a week, with an estimated number of 70 pregnant women per clinic. Data were collected using a structured self-administered questionnaire and analyzed with the Statistical Package of the Social Sciences version 22. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used for analysis, Chi-square test was done for the association between the variables at P < 0.05 level of significance. Ethical approval was obtained from the Human Research Ethical Committee of LUTH with approval number (ADM/DCST/HREC/APP/2589). Informed consent was taken and respondents were reassured of the privacy and confidentiality of the information obtained. Results: The highest percentage (33.3%) of the respondents was within the range of 26–30 years with a mean age of 28.18 ± 0.84 years. Majority of the women had a good level of awareness of anemia (68.89%) and good overall practices (73.89%) of prevention of anemia in pregnancy. There was no significant relationship between the respondents’ level of awareness of anemia and its prevention (χ2 = 1.533, P = 0.216). Conclusion: The study has shown that even though awareness and prevention practices were good, there is a need to create more awareness among pregnant women and also to give adequate health education on prevention of anemia to produce favorable outcome in pregnancy for both the child and mother.

Background: The rising burden of chronic diseases has attracted the attention of public health researchers and policymakers worldwide. Objectives: To assess the demographic, morbidity and outcome patterns of chronic illness among the older patients at Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospitals Complex, Ile-Ife, Nigeria. Design: Retrospective study Setting: Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospitals Complex, Ile-Ife, Nigeria. Participants: Seven hundred and eighty-eight (788) adults (60 years and over) hospitalized between 2010 and 2014 in the hospital. Interventions: None Results: The age of the selected study population ranged from 60 to 99 years with a mean of 76.08(±10.42). More than half (53.0%) were between 60–69 years, with a subsequent decline. Male patients accounted for 64.0%, but females were more frequent among patients 80 years and older. The most common health conditions were heart diseases (22.5%), neoplasm (13.2%), cerebrovascular accident (12.4%), and gastrointestinal diseases (14.5%). The records showed that 14.9% were referred to other institution for various reasons (including further management, lack of space, industrial action by workers, discharged against medical advice or dead). Conclusion: Heart diseases were the major chronic illnesses among the older adults followed by neoplasm conditions, while musculoskeletal conditions were the least. It also found that there was a poor outcome of conditions amongolder adults in this setting. Therefore, efforts should be made towards the prevention and reduction of chronic illnesses, as well as improving the outcome of care. Keywords: chronic diseases, older adults, health care, retrospective, demographic Funding: Doctoral Fellowship from Consortium for Advanced Research Training in Africa

Prevalence of chronic kidney disease (CKD) in Nigeria is on the increase and it is associated with increasing caregiving burden for both the professionals and informal caregivers. This study evaluated the burden experienced by nurses caring for CKD patients, identified the procedures causing the caregiving burden and factors associated with burden in two hospitals in Ondo State, Nigeria. Two hundred and forty nurses caring for renal patients were selected from two health institutions in Ondo State. Information on sociodemographic data was obtained using a self-administered questionnaire. The burden of care was evaluated using the Zarith Burden of Life Instrument (ZBI), with aggregate score ranged from 0-88. A score of 21-40 indicates mild-to-moderate burden while a score >40 indicates high burden. The mean age of the respondents was 33.7 ± 7.5 years (age range: 20-67 years). Forty percent experienced no burden, 48.3% experienced mild-to-moderate burden, 10.4% experienced severe burden while only 1.3% experienced very severe burden. Dialysis procedure (65.5%) was identified as posing the greatest caregiving burden. Factors identified as responsible for caregiving burden were shortage of staff (68%), followed by lack of funds on the part of the patients (67.1%). Caregiving burden was not associated with age, gender, or years of experience. Prevalence of caregiving burden was very high among the respondents and dialysis was identified as causing greatest burden. Government should fund and improve staffing of dialysis units to reduce caregiving burden.