BackgroundEarly adolescent sexual activity remains a recurring problem with negative psychosocial and health outcomes. The age at sexual debut varies from place to place and among different individuals and is associated with varying factors. The aim was to determine the prevalence and risk factors of early sexual debut among secondary school students in Ido-Ekiti, South-West Nigeria.MethodologyThis was a cross-sectional study. The respondents were selected using multi-stage sampling technique. Pre-tested, semi-structured, self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 15.ResultsMore than two-thirds, 40(67.8%), had early sexual debut. The prevalence of early sexual debut was about 11%. The mean age of sexual debut was 13.10±2.82; the mean age for early sexual debutants was 11.68±1.98. The mean number of sexual partners was 2.44±1.99. Male gender, having friends who engaged in sexual activities had association with early sexual exposure (p<0.05). Alcohol intake had the strongest strength of association for early sexual debut among the students.ConclusionThe high prevalence of early sexual exposure among the students calls for urgent interventions to stem the trend. This will help to reduce the devastating negative psycho-social and health sequels.

Introduction:Welding is associated with workplace hazards that can affect the health of those who engaged in it as they are exposed to harmful dust.Subjects and Methods:This was a health education intervention study carried out among self-employed electric arc welder. Data were collected using an interviewer administered questionnaire and health education intervention was carried out between the preintervention and postintervention stages. Epi-info version 3.5.1 software package was used for data analysis and Chi-square analysis was used to determine the statistical significance of observed differences between the study and control groups before the intervention and after intervention. Level of significance was set at a P < 0.05.Results:At the preintervention phase, 285 respondents were interviewed in each of the study and control groups, while 280 study respondents and 275 control respondents were available for the postintervention phase of the study. Before the intervention, 279 (97.9%) of the respondents in the study group were aware of eye goggles as a means of protection, 20 (7%) were aware of welding helmet, 206 (72.3%) were aware of hand gloves and 4 (1.4%) were aware of face mask. All showed a significant increase in awareness postintervention (P < 0.05) while there was no significant increase in awareness in the control group.Conclusion:Health education brought about a significant increase in awareness and use of personal protective equipment among the welders. There is a need for proper education of welders on workplace hazards, the types and use of different protective devices in other to safeguard their health.

Background: There is generally a lack of good health-seeking practices among health professionals due to a variety of factors, including the intensity of the medical practice itself. Doctors and nurses are perceived to have a good knowledge of ideal health-seeking behaviors and as such, it is important to determine the level of their awareness and estimate whether this knowledge is put into practice. This study, therefore, aimed to determine the level of awareness and practices of proper health-seeking behavior and to identify the factors responsible for self-medication among doctors and nurses in a tertiary hospital in Nigeria. Methodology: A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted between April and may 2018 among 106 doctors and 164 nurses in a tertiary health facility in Ido-Ekiti, Ekiti State, Southwestern Nigeria. A simple random sampling technique by balloting was performed from the list of doctors and nurses in the hospital to select doctors and nurses that participated in the study. A pretested semi-structured self-administered questionnaire was designed and used to collect data. The data were entered into the computer software and analyzed using SPSS version 20. P ≤ 0.05 was taken as significant. Result: Out of 106 doctors and 164 nurses recruited, only 102 doctors and 143 nurses filled the questionnaire completely and returned for analysis. One hundred and four respondents (42.4%) fall within the ages of 31-40 years with a male to female ratio of 1:1.

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Introduction: Adolescent street hawkers working in the informal sector in Nigeria are becoming increasingly exposed to the risk of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection. The objective of this study is to determine the sexual characteristics and knowledge of hawkers concerning HIV/AIDS. Methodology: This study is a descriptive cross -sectional survey carried out in Ilorin among adolescent hawkers aged 11 -19 years. All adolescent hawkers in six selected auto-parks and markets in Ilorin were recruited until the desired sample size of 312 respondents was obtained. The sample size was determined using Fischer's Formula.Semi-structured, pre-tested interviewer -administered questionnaire was used for data collection and entered into Epi-Info computer software for analysis. Frequency tables and cross-tabulation of variables were done and P-value <0.05 was used to determine statistical significance. Result: All the respondents have heard about HIV/AIDS. About half of the hawkers (48.8%) knew the causative agents of HIV/AIDs while 83.4% demonstrated correct knowledge in ways of contracting the infection. Almost all the hawkers 309 (97%) had not gone for HIV/AIDS test. Hawkers that have ever had sexual intercourse were 31.9%. Of those that had sexual intercourse, 24.5% ever used condom. Of those that used condom, 24.0% used it always while 76.0% do not use it always. Conclusion & Recommendations: Unprotected adolescent sexual intercourse is high among hawkers, with a background low HIV screening status. There is need for a societal re-orientation on the hazards of hawking as it relates to sexual hazards. There is need to carry out health education intervention on the causes and ways to prevent HIV/AIDS among the hawkers to bridge the knowledge gap.