BackgroundCervical cancer is a disease of public health importance affecting many women and contributing to avoidably high levels of cancer deaths in Nigeria. In spite of the relative ease of prevention, the incidence is on the increase. This study aimed to determine the effect of health education on the awareness, knowledge and perception of cervical cancer and screening among women in rural Nigerian communities.MethodsThe study design was quasi-experimental. The study was carried out among adult women in Odogbolu (intervention) and Ikenne (control) local government areas (LGA) of Ogun state. Three hundred and fifty (350) women were selected per group by multistage random sampling technique. Data was collected by semi structured interviews with the aid of questionnaire. The intervention consisted of structured health education based on a movie.ResultThe intervention raised the level of awareness of cervical cancer and screening to 100% (p < 0.0001). The proportion of women with very good knowledge of cervical cancer and screening rose from 2% to 70.5% (χ2 = 503.7, p < 0.0001) while the proportion of those with good perception rose from 5.1% to 95.1% (p < 0.0001). The mean knowledge and mean perception scores were also increased (p < 0.0001). There was increase in the proportion of women who had undertaken cervical screening from 4.3% to 8.3% (p = 0.038). The major reason stated by the women for not having had cervical screening done was lack of awareness about cervical cancer and screening. There was statistically significant difference between the intervention and control groups concerning their knowledge attitude and practice towards cervical and screening (p < 0.05) after the intervention.ConclusionMultiple media health education based on a movie is effective in creating awareness for and improving the knowledge and perception of adult women about cervical cancer and screening. It also improves the uptake of cervical cancer screening. The creation of awareness is very crucial to the success of a cervical cancer prevention programme.

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Vaccine acceptance among a large population of people can determine the successful control of the COVID-19 pandemic. We aimed to assess the COVID-19 vaccine acceptance rate and to identify the predicting factors to the non-acceptance of the vaccine in Nigeria up to date. In line with this, PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, and Embase databases were searched for relevant articles between January 2020 and November 2021 in this rapid review. Ten articles with 9,287 individuals met the inclusion criteria and formed the basis for the final COVID-19 acceptance estimates. A total of ten peer-reviewed articles were reviewed. The vaccine acceptance rate ranged from 20.0% to 58.2% among adults across the six geopolitical zones of the country. Non-acceptance of the vaccine was found to be a result of propaganda, adverse effect concerns, and conspiracy theories. National, community, and individual-level interventions need to be developed to improve the COVID-19 vaccine acceptance rate in the country. Greater efforts could be put in place to address the issues of concern leading to the unwillingness of the people to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. Also, as the pandemic is unfolding, emerging evidence needs to be synthesized and updated.

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Cervical screening is effective in mitigating the morbidity and mortality of cervical cancer. However, the uptake of cervical screening is still unsatisfactory in many countries. The aim of this study was to assess the knowledge and perception of rural Nigerian women about cervical cancer and screening. The study also investigated the predictors of cervical screening. A survey with interviewer administered questionnaires was conducted on 800 Nigerian women recruited from households in Ogun State by a multi-staged sampling method. Participants were aged 25 to 64 years. Proportion of respondents with very poor knowledge and poor perception about cervical cancer were 93.9 and 94%, respectively. Hence, it is not surprising that the uptake of cervical screening is abysmally low (3.9%). Age, knowledge and perception about cervical cancer were related to uptake of cervical screening; however, only perception about cervical cancer was found to predict the uptake of cervical screening. There is a need for deliberate multi strategy program to enhance cervical screening. The strategy must include creation of awareness, health promotion and education about cervical cancer and screening. The strategies should target improving the perception of women about cervical cancer and screening.

Purpose The burden of hypertension is rising both globally and in Africa specifically. We determined the prevalence of hypertension and the risk factors for clinical hypertension in a population of new university intakes over a 4-year period. Methods We analyzed retrospectively, the records of 6980 older adolescents (15–19 years). We used population-specific metrics to categorize blood pressure (BP) based on the 2017 Clinical Practice Guidelines by the American Academy of Pediatrics. Results The overall prevalence of high BP in our study was 25.1% [95% confidence interval (CI) 24.1–26.2] for elevated BP, 19.8% (95% CI 18.9–20.8) for stage 1 hypertension, and 5.5% (95% CI 5.0–6.1) for stage 2 hypertension. The prevalence of stage 2 hypertension was 8.7% (7.5–9.5) among the male participants and 3.2% (95% CI 2.7–3.2) among the female participants (p < 0.001). The multivariate analyses demonstrated an increased risk of high levels of BP (p < 0.001) with age (1.21: 95% CI 1.16–1.26), waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) (1.05: 95% CI 1.04–1.05), z-score for body mass index (BMI) (1.47: 95% CI 1.41–1.54), and hemoglobin concentration (1.10: 95% CI 1.09–1.12). It demonstrated a reduced risk of high levels of BP (p < 0.001) being female (0.35: 95% CI 0.32–0.39). Conclusions Hypertension, its risk factors and the risk of cardiovascular diseases in later life are prevalent in our Nigerian adolescent population. There is, therefore, a need for the development, evaluation and implementation of context-appropriate strategies and interventions to mitigate the risk of hypertension among adolescents, and cardiovascular diseases later in life.

Background: Obesity is a global epidemic and is on the rise. Obesity is defined as a body mass index (BMI) which is equal to or more than 30kg/m 2. It is one of the modifiable risk factors of type 2 diabetes. This study was undertaken to assess the relationship between BMI, WHR, RBS and BP. Method: This cross-sectional study included 776 apparently healthy adult individuals who met the inclusion criteria. Random blood samples were collected to measure RBS using glucometers. Data on BMI, waist and hip circumference and blood pressure were collected from apparently healthy individuals. Result: The mean BMI was in the overweight range, 25.49±5.15 kg/m 2 and was higher in females. About two-thirds (62.8%) of the participants had abnormally elevated WHR. RBS, SBP and DBP increased significantly with increasing BMI status (p=0.000, p=0.000 and p=0.007 respectively) and were significantly higher with abnormally elevated WHR than in participants with normal WHR (p=0.000, p=0.000 and p=0.000 respectively). However, overweight individuals tended to have a higher RBS than the obese. There was a significant correlation between BMI and RBS (0.083, p=0.020), SBP (0.206, p=0.000) and DBP (0.152, p=0.000). There was a slightly stronger correlation between WHR and RBS (0.093, p=0.009), SBP (0.273, p=0.000) and DBP (0.217, p=0.000). Conclusion: BMI and WHR are positively correlated with RBS and blood pressure in Nigeria. The Nigerian population is therefore at risk of Obesity and its related conditions (hyperglycemia and hypertension).