BackgroundNigeria still ranks second globally in the number of maternal deaths. Most maternal death reviews in Nigeria are isolated research based reports from a single health facility. This study determined causes and contributory factors of maternal mortality in Ogun statefollowing a periodic State-widematernal and perinatal deaths surveillance and response (MPDSR) review.MethodsWe carried out a retrospective analysis of cases of maternal deaths notified (n = 77) and reviewed (n = 45) in health facilities in Ogun State from 2015 to 2016selected using total sampling method. Using the national MPDSR structured and validated data collection tools or questionnaire, collected data was extracted from existing MPDSR data base, andanalyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software 20.0. We obtained approval from the State Ministry of Health for this study.ResultsAverage age at maternal death was 30.8 ± 5.7 years. Haemorrhageand pre-eclampsia or eclampsia account for 43.4 and 36.9% of causes respectively. Leading contributory factors ofmaternal deaths include inadequate human resource for health, delay in seeking care, inadequate equipment, lack of ambulance transportation, and delay in referrals services. 51.1%of the women had antenatal care while a significant proportion of the women were referred from Traditional Births Attendants (TBAs) and mission houses.ConclusionWe concluded that many of the contributory factors of maternal mortality could be avoided if preventive measures were taken and adequate care available. MPDSR provides a platform for critical evidence of where the main problems lie, and can provide valuable information on strategies which maternal mortality prevention programs should focus on. The implementation and institutionalization of MPDSR programme is on course in Ogun State. MPDSR is feasible and should be institutionalized in all states of Nigeria. A commitment to act upon the findings of MPDSR is a key prerequisite for success.

IntroductionThe influence of media portrayals of sexual attitudes and normative expectations of young people at a critical developmental stage is of public health concern.ObjectivesTo examine the role of mass media and Internet utilization in shaping the sexual health attitudes and behaviors of young undergraduates in Osogbo metropolis, Osun State, Nigeria.Materials and methodsIn a descriptive cross-sectional study, 400 undergraduates were selected using a multistage random sampling technique. Four hundred and fifty pretested, semistructured questionnaires were distributed; of these, 400 were returned properly filled. Data were analyzed using SPSS statistical software version 16.ResultsMean age of respondents ± standard deviation was 23.6±2.99 years. Most were aware of the various forms of mass media (>95%). Most (64.0%) respondents spent 1–5 hours watching television, daily, and most used the Internet often. About 38.3% and 24.2% of respondents used the Internet and radio/television, respectively, as sources of information on sexual issues. Most respondents used the Internet for school assignments (83.0%, n=332), electronic mail (89.0%, n=356), and for accessing sexually explicit materials (74.5%, n=298). Most of the respondents (73.5%) opined that the Internet has a bad influence on youths’ sexual behavior, although accessing the Internet for sexual material or movies was acceptable to 25.3% of them. Of the 226 respondents who had ever had sex, 226 (100%), 37 (16.4%), 31 (13.7%), and 10 (4.4%) practiced coitus, oral sex, masturbation, and anal sex, respectively; 122 (54.0%) always used condoms, whereas 90 (40.0%) never used condoms during sexual activity; 33 (14.6%) had had sex with commercial sex workers. Further analysis showed that those who were yet to marry (single) were less likely to be sexually experienced than those who were married (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] =0.075, 95% confidence interval [CI] =0.008–0.679), and those who said accessing the Internet for sexual material is not acceptable to them were also less likely to be sexually experienced than those to whom it was acceptable (AOR =0.043, 95% CI =0.016–0.122). Predictors of having multiple sexual partners include the sex of the respondent and the frequency of Internet use, with females (AOR =0.308, 95% CI =0.113–0.843) and those who rarely use the Internet less likely to have multiple sexual partners.ConclusionWe conclude that uncontrolled exposure to mass media and Internet could negatively influence the sexual patterns and behavior of youths.

Alternate medicine which has a long history has been relegated to the background by the evolution of modern medicine. In recent times, however, alternative medical therapy has been growing in popularity and getting increasing attention and interest. This study assessed the knowledge, attitude and use by urban dwellers of alternative medical therapies. This was a cross-sectional descriptive study which used a semi-structured questionnaire to gather information from 812 randomly selected urban respondents. Majority 734 (90.4%) of the respondents were aware of an alternative way of getting treatment for their ailments apart from the orthodox medicine. The forms of alternative medical therapy (AMT) respondents were aware of include: concoction (herbal preparations) 683 (94.2%); herbalists/traditionalists 616 (85.0%); traditional bone setters therapy 434 (59.9%); among others. The main source of information was through radio 439 (70.9%). About half 403 (54.9%) of the respondents were aware of side effects from AMT and these include diarrhea, abdominal pain and vomiting which accounts for 69.7%; 42.2% and 40.2% respectively. About 347 (47.3%) think AMT could be injurious to health. About a third 262 (35.7%) of the respondents who were aware of AMT prefers it to orthodox medicine. Reasons given for the preference were that: AMT is cheap 56 (21.4%); accessible 43 (16.4%) and acceptable 35 (13.4%) to them. About half 367 (50.0%) also believed AMT alone could cure their illness without resort to orthodox medical therapy (OMT). Over half 401 (54.6%) of the 734 respondents that were aware of AMT had patronized or taken one form of alternative medical therapy or the other in the last 12 months prior to the study. Of these number, 323 (80.5%) had taken concoction (herbal preparations). However, there was no relationship between respondents' age, sex, educational level or religion and the patronage of AMT as all test of associations were not statistically significant p>0.05. This study has revealed that the use of alternative medical therapies is quite popular among the studied population and a high proportion of the respondents use AMT notwithstanding that they live in the urban communities where they have better access to orthodox medical care and medical practitioners. Regulations should be made concerning the advertisement of alternative medicine and practices as orthodox medicine and practices are usually not advertised.

Despite their 'above average' level of knowledge of the consequences, the students were still involved in risky sexual behaviors. Behavioral change communications should be intensified among these adolescents.

Background: Adolescents are tomorrow's adult population, hence their health and well-being are crucial. The objective of this study was to determine the nutritional status of in-school adolescents in Ibadan, southwestern Nigeria. Method: A descriptive cross-sectional survey was conducted on 93 in-school adolescents attending a diabetes mellitus sensitisation and education programme, selected by simple random sampling (the ballot method) using a self-administered, semi-structured questionnaire. Anthropometric measurements were carried out on the subjects by trained researchers. Data were analysed using SPSS® software, version 17. Results: Study subjects comprised 29 males (31.2%) and 64 females (68.8), with an overall mean age of 15.67 (± 1.25) years. All of them were in senior grades of their secondary education. Approximately 90% of respondents' parents had attained at least secondary education. The television was the most popular source of health information for the study subjects (33.3%). Nearly a third of them were underweight (body mass index (BMI) < 18.5 kg/m 2)) and 7.6% of them were overweight or obese (BMI ≥ 25 kg/m 2). However, the prevalence of underweight was higher in the male respondents than in their female counterparts (41.4% vs. 23.4%, respectively). Statistically significant differences were also observed when the mean BMI and mean BMI percentiles for age and sex were compared (p < 0.05 in both instances). Conclusion: The study showed that malnutrition, and especially undernutrition, is still a problem in adolescents, with a higher prevalence in boys. Nutrition education in schools, and special programmes like the one attended by the study subjects, would help considerably in improving the health and well-being of the nation's adolescents; tomorrow's adult population.

Vaccines are highly thermo-sensitive materials whose potency requires a functional cold chain system which is dependent on the ability of health care workers to effectively manage the system toward eliminating vaccine-preventable diseases.This study assessed knowledge and practice of vaccination logistic management systems among primary health care workers in Osun state Nigeria.It was a descriptive cross-sectional study among 180 randomly selected health care workers who took part in a larger study on the design and pretesting of vaccine cold chain (VACOC) coolers. Research instruments were self-administered semi-structured pretested questionnaire that was analyzed using the SPSS version 23.0.The mean age was 36.7 ± 8.9 years, 87 (48.3%) could correctly explain the vaccination logistic management system, 132 (73.3%) had been trained on the system, 129 (71.7%) could assemble the ice packs used in the vaccine career box, 135 (75.0%) could assemble the vaccines, while 145 (80.6%) could assemble the diluents and thermometer. One hundred and fifty-one (83.9%) and 146 (81.1%) were found to have good knowledge and attitude to the management systems, respectively. Spending more than 5 years in profession, being a male, being a Community Health Officer were significant predictors of having a good practice of immunization logistic management system. Some gaps in knowledge, attitude, and practice of vaccination cold chain logistic system still exist among studied respondents, and these should be addressed by stakeholders in immunization programs.

Chikungunya virus (CHIKV); Chikungunya (CHIK); enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA); immunoglobulin G or M (IgG/IgM); odds ratio (OR); non-structural proteins (nsP); hemagglutination inhibiting (HI); complement fixing (CF); neutralization test (NT); immunofluorescence assay (IFA); plaque reduction neutralization test (PRNT); confidence interval (CI); analysis of variance (ANOVA); body temperature (BT); Building Nigeria's Response to Climate Change (BNRCC).

In this study, adolescents were sexually active with negative consequences on their reproductive health. Stakeholders involved in the care of adolescents should take the consequences into consideration.