Utilization of Primary Healthcare Centers by Residents of Ido-Ekiti, Nigeria.

Background: Primary health care (PHC) centers help in providing a complete, universal, unbiased, and reasonable healthcare service to all. One major aim of PHC is to reduce health inequality. Most PHC centers in Nigeria cannot deliver fundamental healthcare services due to staffing, equipment distribution, quality infrastructure, and drug supply problems. The objective of this study was to assess the awareness and utilization of PHC services in a rural community in Nigeria. Methods: The study was carried out in a pastoral area in Ekiti State, Nigeria. A multistage sampling procedure was used to recruit adults aged 18 years and over residing in 361 households. A semi-structured questionnaire was utilized for data compilation. Study data were evaluated using IBM SPSS version 28.0 and reported using descriptive and inferential statistics. Chi-square test and binary logistic regression were used to assess the associated factors and predictors of PHC utilization. Results: The proportion of those who had ever utilized PHC services was 45.7%. Significant predictors of the utilization of PHC centers include knowledge of the location of a PHC center, awareness that PHC centers operate 24 hours every day, and awareness that community members are part of the PHC staff. Conclusions: Non-availability of medical personnel and ease of access to secondary and tertiary health institutions are potential threats to the use of PHC facilities.

Trajectories of Successful Aging Among Older Adults in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Successful aging was defined as having no multimorbidity, high functional capacity, active life engagement, and good health-related quality of life. This study analyzed data from 1433 older adults who were followed up for 12 years across seven waves from the New Zealand Health, Work and Retirement study by examining the trajectories of successful aging. Latent growth curve modeling was used to assess the growth factors of successful aging trajectories of older adults. The mean successful aging score was 3.53 (range: 0-6) in 2006 and linearly declined by 0.064 units every year. Those with higher successful aging scores at baseline had a slower decline. Successful aging scores were lower among females, Maori, and those aged 65 years and above at baseline. The findings from this study suggest that gender and ethnic inequalities play significant roles in successful aging among older adults in New Zealand.

Perceived stress and stressors among first-year undergraduate students at a private medical school in Nigeria.

OBJECTIVES: Medical training has long been globally recognised as involving numerous stressors that can affect the well-being of students. This study, the first to be conducted among first-year medical students at a private university in Nigeria, aims to identify factors associated with students' perceived stress. METHODS: An analytical cross-sectional design was employed. A semi-structured pretested and validated questionnaire was administered to first-year medical students. The data were analysed using IBM SPSS version 25.0. Descriptive and analytical statistics were presented as frequencies, percentages, means, and standard deviations. The chi-square test was also used to identify the associations between categorical variables. RESULTS: The majority of the respondents were females (72.2%) and Christians (85.8%). Sixty seven percent of the participants perceived medical school as being stressful. More females than males were stressed. Statistically, ethnicity and intrapersonal factors were correlated with perceived stress. CONCLUSION: In this study, the prevalence of perceived stress among first-year medical undergraduate students was high. Students should be prepared on how to cope with stress by developing coping strategies such as healthy lifestyle patterns, availing of social support, engaging in physical activity, and seeking counselling when needed.

A Descriptive, Cross-sectional Study to Assess Pressure Ulcer Knowledge and Pressure Ulcer Prevention Attitudes of Nurses in a Tertiary Health Institution in Nigeria.

Globally, higher-than-expected pressure ulcer rates generally are considered a quality-of-care indicator. Nigeria currently has no national guidelines for pressure ulcer risk assessment, prevention, and treatment. A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted to assess the pressure ulcer knowledge and the attitude of nurses regarding pressure ulcer prevention in a tertiary health institution in Nigeria. During a period of 2 months, nurses were recruited to complete a 25-item paper/pencil survey that included participant demographic information (6 items), pressure ulcer knowledge questions (11 items), and statements on participants' attitude toward pressure ulcer prevention (8 items). Data were entered manually into statistical analysis software, analyzed, and presented using descriptive statistics (frequencies and percentages). The majority of the 90 nurse participants were female (60, 66.7%), 45 (50%) were married, and 75 (83.3%) had 1 to 10 years' experience in nursing practice; 69 (76.7%) had received special training on pressure ulcer prevention. Overall, 58 (64.4%) nurses had correct pressure ulcer knowledge and 67 (74.4%) had a positive attitude toward preventing pressure ulcers. However, 56 nurses (62.2%) disagreed with regular rescreening of patients whom they deemed not at risk of developing pressure ulcer, and 70 (77.8%) believed pressure ulcer prevention should be the joint responsibility of both nurses and relatives of the patients. Thus, the majority of the 90 nurses knew the factors responsible for pressure ulcers and how to prevent them, but nurses need to be orientated to the fact that pressure ulcer risk screening of all patients with limited mobility is an integral part of their job and that it is important that nurses enlighten patients and their relatives on how to prevent pressure ulcers.

Assessment of Self-Medication Practices and Its Associated Factors among Undergraduates of a Private University in Nigeria.

Background: Self-medication is the use of drugs to treat self-diagnosed disorders or symptoms or the intermittent or continued use of prescribed drug for chronic or recurrent disease or symptoms, and it is mostly common in developing countries. This study therefore assessed the practice of self-medication among undergraduate students of a private university in Nigeria. Methods: The study employed a descriptive cross-sectional design. A pretested questionnaire was self-administered to 384 undergraduate students of the university. Data were analysed and summarised using descriptive and inferential statistics such as chi-squared and Fisher's exact tests. Results: Overall, 297 (81.8%) undergraduate students practiced self-medication. About 71% of the students had used analgesic, antibiotics (10.5%), and antimalarial drugs (33%) without prescription within one month prior to the survey. The most commonly used drug for self-medication was paracetamol (75.1%). Furthermore, self-medication was found to be significantly associated with age (p=0.021), gender (p < 0.001), college (p=0.025), and year of study (p=0.004). Some of the reasons why undergraduate students practiced self-medication were because of the unfriendly attitude of health care workers (27.7%), lack of time to go to school clinic (26.7%), school clinic is too far from hostel (15.3%), and drugs prescribed in the school clinic do not improve health condition (15.3%). Conclusion: Majority of the students attributed the practice of self-medication to unfriendly attitude of health care workers in the university clinic.