Background:Morbidity and mortality of women and children associated with pre-eclampsia present major global health problems in low and middle income countries. The prevalence of pre-eclampsia in Nigeria ranges from 2% to 16.7%, with approximately 37,000 women dying from preeclampsia annually. This study examines knowledge, perception and management of preeclampsia among healthcare providers in a major maternity hospital in Lagos, southwest Nigeria.Methods:In this descriptive cross-sectional study, 110 health care providers comprising of 75 Nurses, 9 Consultant Physicians, and 26 General Medical Practitioners with varying years of service were selected using purposive sampling technique. Data were collected using a self-administered 36-item semi-structured questionnaire. Data were analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences to generate descriptive and inferential statistics with level of significance set at 0.05.Results:Health care providers in the study had an average knowledge of pre-eclampsia with a mean score of 16.69±3.53. There was generally a good perception of pre-eclampsia with a mean sore of 28.31±3.71. The most-prevalent clinical management practices were emergency cesarean section (16%), magnesium sulphate infusion (29%), and fluid/electrolyte management (9%). Knowledge of pre-eclampsia and years of practice were significantly associated (F=3.31; p= 0.023).Conclusion and Global Health Implications:Gaps in the knowledge of causes, diagnoses, and treatment of pre-eclampsia may be attributable to lack of refresher trainings and absence of written practice guidelines on pre-eclampsia management. Health care providers at this hospital may benefit from training courses that include current nationally and internationally-approved management of pre-eclampsia.

Background: Malaria infection is one of the leading causes of mortality in Sub-Saharan Africa. It pose great health risks especially in pregnant women by increasing the risk of stillbirth, low birth weight and miscarriage. Aims: The study sought to assess the level of use and the barriers to utilization of Insecticides Treated Nets (ITN) among pregnant women attending ante-natal clinics at Ikenne and Sagamu Local Government Area in Ogun State, Nigeria. Methodology: The study employed a facility-based cross sectional design where five (5) ante-natal clinics in Ikenne and Sagamu Local Government Areas of Ogun State were visited between January and March, 2015. Three hundred and eighteen (318) pregnant women were selected through a multistage sample technique. The respondents were randomly selected on their antenatal clinic days. Data instrument was a self-administered questionnaire and verbal consent was sought from each respondent before administration. Upon retrieval of questionnaires, the data was coded, entered and analyzed with the use of the IBM SPSS version 21. Results: Study revealed that 86.2% (274) of the respondents had used the ITN before but only 71.5% (196) of that population were currently using one. Bivariate analysis between use of ITN and marital status was statistically significant (p = 0.036). Reported barriers to use included "net too hot" (P = .024); "net not comfortable" (P = .017) and "stressful to spread before bed" (P = .190).

Risky sexual behaviour increases the vulnerability of an adolescents to reproductive health problems like sexually transmitted infections (STIs), unintended pregnancy and abortion. This study therefore investigated the prevalence and personal predictors of risky sexual behaviour among in-school adolescents in the Ikenne Local Government Area, of Ogun State, Nigeria. The study employed a descriptive cross-sectional design. A multi-stage sampling technique was used to select 716 participants for the study. A validated semi-structured questionnaire with a Cronbach’s alpha score of 0.78 was used to collect data. Frequency and logistic regression analysis were conducted to give statistical responses to the research question and hypotheses using SPSS version 23. The mean age of the participants was 15.2 ± 1.4 years and 57.3% of the respondents were female. Above a quarter (35.5%) of the respondents were in senior secondary one (SS1) in high school. More than half (53.1%) of the respondents had a good level of knowledge about risky sexual behaviour and 54% of the respondents had a fair perception of it. The respondents’ attitudes towards risky sexual behaviour was moderately high (61.2%). The respondents had moderately high (63.7%) self-esteem. The prevalence of risky sexual behaviour was 19.2%. The personal predictors of risky sexual behaviour are age [odds ratio (OR) = 3.21; p < 0.05); gender [OR = 1.86; confidence interval (CI): 1.26–2.69; p < 0.05]; perception (OR = 2.58; CI: 1.55–4.30; p < 0.05); attitude (OR = 4.58; CI: 1.61–13.05; p < 0.05); self-esteem (OR = 7.39; p < 0.05). In conclusion, the respondents’ risky sexual behaviours are predicted by age, gender, attitude, perception and self-esteem. The study therefore recommends that educational materials about the negative effects of the risky sexual behaviours should be included in the curriculum of secondary schools.

Objective: This study examined the perception and practices relating to Hepatitis B infection among In-school adolescents in Ogun State, Nigeria. Methods:  A cross-sectional study of 300 in-school adolescents selected by a multi-stage sampling method. Data were elicited using a pretested self-administered questionnaire which included questions relating to respondents' risky practices, and a 35-point Hepatitis B perception scale. Descriptive statistics, as well as Chi-square statistics, were generated using IBM SPSS Version 23, and the significance level was set at 0.05. Results: The mean age of the respondents was 14.31 ± 1.73years and slightly over half (51.7%) were females. Less than half (45%) of the adolescents perceived themselves to be susceptible to Hepatitis B infection, while 31% perceived Hepatitis B infection to be a serious disease. Almost half (49%) of the adolescents had unfavorable perceptions. The most common risky practices among the respondents were sharing skin-piercing instruments with their family members (79%) and friends (68.7%). There are significant associations between sex (gender) and risky practices such as the practices of unsafe sex (X2= 9.11; p=0.10); having multiple sexual partners (X2= 12.08; p =0.02); and sharing skin-piercing instruments (X2= 5.52; p=0.01) with more males reporting the above practices than females. Conclusion/Recommendation: To minimize the identified risky practices and unfavorable perception, educational intervention programs aimed at promoting Hepatitis B virus preventive behaviors and increasing the level of perception of vulnerability and seriousness of HBV infection among in-school adolescents should be conducted.