Standard treatment guidelines: Perception and utilization in a tertiary health care facility in South-South, Nigeria

Abstract

Background:The Nigerian National Standard Treatment Guidelines (NSTG) was introduced in 2008 and the second edition was launched in 2017. This study evaluated the level of awareness, acceptance, and use of this tool within the Nigerian health-care system.Methodology:This study was carried out at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital, Benin City, Nigeria. A semistructured questionnaire was administered to doctors in the hospital. Information sought included the biodata, awareness of the STG, publication and use of the STG, the perceived advantages and disadvantages, and suggestions on how to improve its use.Results:There were 155 respondents with a mean age of 34.1 ± 6.4 years and response rate of 77.5%. The level of awareness was 46.5%, with 21.9% having received lessons on the subject; 53.0% received lessons as students. Awareness of the date of the initial introduction of the STG at the national level was 4.5% with 1.3% aware of the current edition of the NSTG. The description of the STG was satisfactory in 27.7% participants. Again only 20.6% currently use the NSTG, with 12.3% rating the entire STG utilization as successful.Conclusion:There is low awareness and poor utilization of the STG among doctors in the facility which may be a reflection of the situation in other health facilities in the country. There is need to encourage the use of this clinical tool to ensure appropriate use of medicines and delivery of health care in resource-limited settings.

Interpregnancy interval after a miscarriage and obstetric outcomes in the subsequent pregnancy in a low-income setting, Nigeria: A cohort study

“…28 The continued prevalent use of the surgical approach for the evacuation of the uterus may not be unconnected to the possible occurrence of incomplete miscarriage and unplanned surgical evacuation which complicates the medical method in some patients. 29 Also, the poor awareness and utilization of standard treatment guidelines, 30 prevalence of supplier-induced demand, 31 poor counselling, restrictive abortion laws 32 and asymmetry of information 33 between the patients and their doctors especially in the study area may have played a significant role in making surgical method a preferred method by the health practitioners. This preponderance of treatment using surgical method was, however, different from findings in other studies 34,35 where medical management was applied and found to have comparable outcomes with the surgical methods, especially since the introduction of prostaglandins as an efficient method of medical evacuation.…”