Nigeria contributes the highest to the global burden of HIV/AIDS and also accounts for the largest proportion of new vertically transmitted HIV infections among children. The Mentor Mothers program in the Nigerian Department of Defense was introduced in accordance with the World Health Organization and its implementing partner guidelines to curb the high incidence of vertically acquired HIV infections. Understanding the experiences of participants could serve as a gateway to evaluating the effectiveness of the program to better provide quality services within targeted health facilities. This qualitative study employed key informant interviews with six healthcare workers as well as two focus group discussions with six mentor mothers and six prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) patients in four selected hospitals in the Nigerian Department of Defense to explore their experiences of the Mentor Mothers program. A thematic analysis technique was used to analyze the collated data. As a result, four main themes emerged, with the program perceived by most participants as providing psychosocial support to the patients, a valuable educational resource for raising HIV awareness, a valuable resource for promoting exclusive breastfeeding and mitigating vertical transmission of the virus, and functioning as a link between patients and the healthcare system. The participants reported that the program had effectively decreased HIV infections in children, reduced child and maternal mortality, and supported the livelihood and development of women, families, and communities in and around the Nigerian Department of Defense health facilities.
Health systems responsiveness (HSR) measures the non-clinical aspects of health care in relation to the environment through which care is provided (Daneshkohan et al., 2020). It assesses the non-clinical aspects of health care (such as staffing, budgeting for health care, financing, short/long term strategic planning and all other functions involved in running a healthcare facility to ensure the success of the healthcare provider or system) according to the environment and how these are managed for patients' benefits.Thus, HSR describes non-clinical aspects of health care such as correspondence, self-sufficiency and patient autonomy. The World Health Organization (2000aOrganization ( , 2000b defines HSR as "the ability of the health system to meet the population's legitimate expectations regarding their interaction with the health system, apart from expectations for improvement in health or wealth" (World Health Organization, 2000a, 2000b. This is an indicator for assessing how well medical care frameworks respond to people's necessities, how the individuals are treated, and the environment within which the individuals receive care (Stewart Williams et al., 2020). This concept was developed in 2000 as part of WHO's comprehensive plan of ideas to facilitate the understanding of health systems and
Background : Nigeria has the second largest HIV epidemic in the world and one of the countries with the highest rates of new pediatric infections in sub-Saharan Africa. The country faces several challenges in the provision of healthcare services and coverage of Prevention of Mother to child transmission of HIV (PMTCT). Antiretroviral coverage is still low as research has shown that in 2019 only 32% of pregnant women living with HIV had access to antiretroviral drugs for PMTCT, with about 12% of HIV-exposed infants receiving testing for early diagnosis by age 2 months. To achieve optimal viral load suppression and reduce the risk of mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) of HIV, the World Health Organization in 2006 recommended “Task Shifting” as a means of initiating and managing more patients to meet the demand for antiretroviral therapy. In the Nigeria’s Department of Defense (DoD) this task redistribution necessitated utilizing Mentor Mothers to facilitate antiretroviral compliance and retention in care. This was to boost the health workforce and attain target achievement with PMTCT in the DoD. The aim of this study was explore those processes that guide implementation of the mentor mother program for PMTCT of HIV in some hospitals in the DoD in Nigeria as no research has been conducted in this area so far. Methods: The case study methodology, qualitative research approach was utilized and in-depth interviews were conducted with relevant stakeholders. Open coding for major themes and sub-themes was done and data analyzed using thematic analysis.Results: Foundational Factors; Leadership; Skill acquisition; and Service Characteristics emerged as processes guiding the implementation of the Mentor-Mothers program in the Nigeria DoD.Conclusion: The findings support the Mentor Mother (MM) Model, which empowers mothers living with HIV – through education and employment – to promote access to essential services and medical care to other women. Working with governments, local partners, and communities played a pivotal role in the formation, facilitation, and implementation of the MM model to effectively decrease HIV infections in children, reduce child and maternal mortality, and support the livelihood, development of women, families and communities.
Background Nigeria has the second largest HIV epidemic in the world and is one of the countries with the highest rates of new pediatric infections in sub-Saharan Africa. The country faces several challenges in the provision of healthcare services and coverage of Prevention of Mother to child transmission of HIV. In the Nigeria’s Department of Defense, prevention of vertically transmitted HIV infections has been given a boost by utilizing Mentor Mothers to facilitate antiretroviral compliance and retention in care. The aim of this study was to explore those processes and policies that guide the implementation of the Mentor Mothers program for PMTCT of HIV in the Department of Defense in Nigeria as no studies have examined this so far. Methods The descriptive, qualitative research approach was utilized. We conducted 7 key informants interviews with 7 purposively selected participants made up of 2 program Directors, 1 Doctor, 1 PMTCT focal Nurse, 1 PMTCT site coordinator, 1 Mentor Mother, and 1 patient from one each of the health facilities of the Army, Navy, Airforce and the Defence Headquarters Medical Centre. Open coding for major themes and sub-themes was done. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis. Results Findings revealed that the program in the Department of Defense had been modelled after the WHO and implementing partners’ guidelines. Foundational Factors; Leadership; Skill acquisition; and Service Characteristics emerged as processes guiding the implementation of the Mentor-Mothers program in the DoD. These findings supported the Mentor Mother Model, which empowers mothers living with HIV – through education and employment – to promote access to essential PMTCT services and medical care to HIV positive pregnant women. Conclusion We concluded that no definitive policy establishes the Mentor Mothers program in the DoD. Working with Doctors, Nurses, local & collaborating partners, and communities in which these hospitals are located, the Mentor Mothers play a pivotal role in the formation, facilitation, and implementation of the MM model to effectively decrease HIV infections in children and reduce child and maternal mortality in women and families they interact with.
Background There is an observable increase in food-borne diseases, food poisoning among the rural dwellers in the study setting which is perceived to be due to consumption of poorly handled food. This was a strong justification for this study. Objective This study aimed at assessing the environmental and storage system for unprocessed and processed food amongst identified eateries and to implement interventions based on observed wrong practices. Results At pre-intervention phase, apron use was 15 (39.5%) with 3 (7.9%) consistency; chef caps usage was 14 (36.8%) with 8 (21.1%) consistency but there was no observable use of facemasks. Twenty-three (60.0%) reported Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) burden. At the post-intervention phase, apron use was 37 (97.4%) with 35 (92.1%) consistency; chef cap use was 28 (73.7%) with 26 (68.4%) consistency; facemask use was 33 (86.8%) with 19 (50.0%) consistency. By implication, 36.8% wear it under the chin, and 13.2% still feel uncomfortable using it. Conclusion Interventions can influence the practice of good food handling practice among food handlers and consistency in the use of PPE to prevent food contamination via droplets.
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