RESUMO
The postpartum period is a critical time to address the high unmet needs of family planning and reduce the risks associated with closely spaced pregnancies. Unintended pregnancies immediately following childbirth are associated with increased maternal mortality, morbidity, and poor pregnancy outcomes. Adoption of postpartum family planning is a cost-effective way that would reduce maternal and child morbidity and mortality. This study aimed to establish the prevalence, the clients' sociodemographic factors, and health care workers' influences on modern contraceptive uptake amongst postpartum women at Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital (ISTH), Irrua. This descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out amongst postpartum mothers attending maternal and child health clinics in ISTH, Irrua, Edo State, Nigeria. The selection of participants was by simple random sampling technique. All consented participants selected through simple random sampling were administered questionnaires, and completed ones were coded and analysed while the level of significance was set at 5%. In this study, over 90% of the women were aware of a method of modern contraception. However, this did not translate to increased contraceptive uptake as only 17.8% of the respondents were currently on a method of postpartum contraception. The statistically significant sociodemographic factors influencing the utilization of modern contraceptives by postpartum women, as seen in this study, were: Age (p <0.001), level of education (p <0.001), religion (p=0.048), and parity (p=0.010). The women who have higher educational status, higher parity, and adequate information provided by healthcare providers were more likely to use at least a method of modern contraceptive postpartum. The uptake of modern contraceptives amongst postpartum women was low in this study. Strengthening family planning counseling services during prenatal care and emphasizing the girl child education, provision of adequate information by healthcare providers on the need for postpartum contraception could enhance modern contraceptive use for postpartum women.
RESUMO
Background: Occupational diseases can result in sickness absence, economic loss, disability, or death of workers. Several studies have revealed that occupational health and safety practice is still low in some occupational groups despite their knowledge and the occupational health legislation. This study assessed the level of knowledge, attitude, and practices of automobile mechanics towards occupational health hazards and safety in a Local Government Area of Lagos State. Methodology: This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among 120 consenting registered automobile mechanics in the Surulere Local Government Area of Lagos State. A questionnaire was used to obtain information on socio-demography, occupational health history, knowledge, attitude, and practice of automobile mechanic workers towards health problems, associated hazards, and safety. Data entry and analysis were done with epi-info 3.5.1 (2008); Chi-square test and Fisher Exact test were used to test for significance. Results: In this study, 96.7% of the respondents had an overall knowledge of safety devices. However, further exploration revealed knowledge gaps in select safety devices. The percentage of the respondents with a good attitude was 26.7%, while the respondents who had an overall good practice towards occupational hazards and safety was 21.7%. In this study, the daily income and years of working experience were associated with knowledge of safety practices among automobile mechanics. Full-time automobile mechanic workers had a more positive attitude than those that engaged in part-time practice. Workers with formal training demonstrated better safety practices than those that were trained by apprenticeship. Conclusion: This study reflected the level of neglect experienced by this sector in terms of the regulated safety of its workers. The quality of supervision, regulation and training received by these automobile mechanics was sub-standard.