Patterns of chronic illness among older patients attending a university hospital in Nigeria

Abstract

<jats:p>Background: The rising burden of chronic diseases has attracted the attention of public health researchers and policymakers worldwide.&#x0D; Objectives: To assess the demographic, morbidity and outcome patterns of chronic illness among the older patients at Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospitals Complex, Ile-Ife, Nigeria.&#x0D; Design: Retrospective study&#x0D; Setting: Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospitals Complex, Ile-Ife, Nigeria.&#x0D; Participants: Seven hundred and eighty-eight (788) adults (60 years and over) hospitalized between 2010 and 2014 in the hospital.&#x0D; Interventions: None&#x0D; Results: The age of the selected study population ranged from 60 to 99 years with a mean of 76.08(±10.42). More than half (53.0%) were between 60–69 years, with a subsequent decline. Male patients accounted for 64.0%, but females were more frequent among patients 80 years and older. The most common health conditions were heart diseases (22.5%), neoplasm (13.2%), cerebrovascular accident (12.4%), and gastrointestinal diseases (14.5%). The records showed that 14.9% were referred to other institution for various reasons (including further management, lack of space, industrial action by workers, discharged against medical advice or dead).&#x0D; Conclusion: Heart diseases were the major chronic illnesses among the older adults followed by neoplasm conditions, while musculoskeletal conditions were the least. It also found that there was a poor outcome of conditions amongolder adults in this setting. Therefore, efforts should be made towards the prevention and reduction of chronic illnesses, as well as improving the outcome of care.&#x0D; Keywords: chronic diseases, older adults, health care, retrospective, demographic&#x0D; Funding: Doctoral Fellowship from Consortium for Advanced Research Training in Africa</jats:p>

Barriers and facilitators to the delivery of age-friendly health services in Primary Health Care centres in southwest, Nigeria: A qualitative study

“…A multi-country study on health data reporting in PHCs in five LMICs including Nigeria found that data was primarily collected in outpatient care, antenatal care, immunization, family planning, HIV and tuberculosis services only [ 39 ]. Although older adults vary greatly in terms of health status, the majority of them have at least one chronic condition and are prone to other age-related diseases such that the current data reporting system in the PHCs will exclude them from care [ 40 , 41 ]. In comparison to high-income countries, data on aging and the well-being of older people in Low- or Middle- Income Countries (LMICs) are insufficient and might not be fully representative of the aging populations in the countries flagging the need to prioritize research for informed decision-making [ 42 ].…”

Barriers and Facilitators to the Delivery of Age-friendly Health Services in Primary Health Care Centres in Southwest, Nigeria: A Qualitative Study

“…A multi-country study on health data reporting in PHCs in five LMICs including Nigeria found that data was primarily collected in outpatient care, antenatal care, immunization, family planning, HIV and tuberculosis services only [33]. Although older adults vary greatly in terms of health status, the majority of them have at least one chronic condition and are prone to other age-related diseases such that the current data reporting system in the PHCs will exclude them from care [34,35]. In comparison to high-income countries, data on aging and the well-being of older people in LMICs are insufficient and might not be fully representative of the aging populations in the countries flagging the need to prioritize research for informed decision-making [36].…”

Acceptability of smart locker technology for dispensing chronic disease medication among patients and healthcare providers in Nigeria

“…Patients of persons living with chronic illnesses. According to a research paper on patterns of chronic illnesses conducted in Nigeria in 2020 [4], the percentage of chronic diseases in Nigeria is about 64.9% of the population. This was used as a proxy to estimate the population prevalence of chronic diseases given that the population of Nigeria is about 200 million [5].…”