BackgroundCaregivers play an important role in informal patient management. Identification of the support types and the challenges faced by caregivers will provide information on strategies to ease this burden. This study aimed to describe the support types and financial burden among caregivers in a tertiary hospital in North Central Nigeria.MethodsThis was a cross-sectional study conducted among caregivers of in-patients admitted in a tertiary hospital in North Central Nigeria. Data was collected using a pre-tested interviewer-administered questionnaire. Data was analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences package version 23. Results were reported in frequencies and proportions, and presented in prose, tables and charts.ResultsA total of 400 caregivers were recruited. Mean age was 38.32 ± 12.82 years and most (66.0%) were females. Caregivers supported their patients by running errands (96.3%) and 85.3% reported caregiving as stressful. The reported errands were purchase of medications (92.3%), supply of non-medical needs (63.3%), submission of laboratory samples and collection of results (52.3%) and service payment (47.5%). About two thirds (63.2%) reported loss of income while caregiving and about half (50.8%) provided financial support to the patients.ConclusionThis study suggests that majority of caregivers experience significant physical and financial burden while caregiving. This burden can be eased off by the simplification of payment and laboratory processes, and employment of more staff to support patients admitted in the wards. The financial burden experienced by caregivers reinforces the need to encourage more Nigerians to enrol in a health insurance scheme.

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There is unacceptably high maternal mortality with about 800 women dying from pregnancy or delivery complications around the world daily. The study assessed the utilization of Maternal Health Services and its determinants among mothers attending primary health care clinics in Ilorin Metropolis,

Background Globally, the possession of medicines stored at home is increasing. However, little is known about the determinants of possessing medicines, their usage according to clinical purpose, which we term ‘correct drug match’, and the role of health insurance. Methods This study uses data from a 2013 survey evaluating a health insurance program in Kwara State, Nigeria, which upgraded health facilities and subsidized insurance premiums. The final dataset includes 1,090 households and 4,641 individuals. Multilevel mixed-effects logistic regressions were conducted at both the individual level and at the level of the medicines kept in respondents’ homes to understand the determinants of medicine possession and correct drug match, respectively, and to investigate the effect of health insurance on both. Results A total of 9,266 medicines were classified with 61.2% correct match according to self-reported use, 11.9% incorrect match and 26.9% indeterminate. Most medicines (73.0%) were obtained from patent proprietary medicine vendors (PPMVs). At 36.6%, analgesics were the most common medicine held at home, while anti-malarial use had the highest correct match at 96.1%. Antihistamines, vitamins and minerals, expectorants, and antibiotics were most likely to have an incorrect match at respectively 35.8%, 33.6%, 31.9%, and 26.6%. Medicines were less likely to have a correct match when found with the uneducated and obtained from public facilities. Enrolment in the insurance program increased correct matches for specific medicines, notably antihypertensives and antibiotics (odds ratio: 25.15 and 3.60, respectively). Conclusion Since PPMVs serve as both the most popular and better channel compared to the public sector to obtain medicines, we recommend that policymakers strengthen their focus on these vendors to educate communities on medicine types and their correct use. Health insurance programs that provide affordable access to improved-quality health facilities represent another important avenue for reducing the burden of incorrect drug use. This appears increasingly important in view of the global rise in antimicrobial resistance.