Ethnic variations in health-seeking behaviours and attitudes between Fulani herders and Oruba farmers in southwestern Nigeria.

Rural Yoruba and Fulani residents of two local governments in Oyo State, Nigeria, were surveyed to determine differences in health-seeking behaviour. Fulani residents were more likely to use private facilities during a recent illness, while Yoruba residents more commonly used government facilities: a fact reflected in the overall attitudes of those surveyed. The need for greater outreach and involvement of minority populations is recommended to enhance public service utilization.

Observations of barbers' activities in Oyo State Nigeria: implications for HIV/AIDS transmission.

In Nigeria, most studies concerning HIV/AIDS transmission have looked at the sexual route from both epidemiological and behavioral perspectives. A few have examined the role of blood transfusion and the potential for indigenous surgical practices. None have specifically looked at the transmission of potential barbers. This study distinguished between indigenous barbers who function as surgeons and "modern" barbers who cut hair, and focused on the latter through observations of barbering practices in 77 shops in Igbo-Ora and Apete communities in Oyo State. Igbo-Ora is headquarters of a rural local government, while Apete is a peri-urban community near Ibadan, the state capital. Five barbering sessions were observed in each shop using a checklist during evening hours when shops are busiest. All barbers used clippers to cut hair, either electric or manual. On average, barbers sterilized the clippers in a commercial disinfectant, Jik, or with methylated spirits prior to 4.2 barberings. Sex and age of customer were not associated with wether the clippers were sterilized. Three shop characteristics appeared to influence sterilization behavior. Clippers were more likely to be sterilized if the shop was in Apete, if the shop owner was male, and if the shop had two or more of the following electrical appliances: fan, TV, or radio/cassette layer. There were only two observed cases of the barbers causing a cut, and in both cases the clippers had been sterilized. Overall, 63 (16.3%) of the 385 customers were barbed with non-sterilized clippers. The relatively short time gap between customers implies that the potential for disease transmission exists, though it was not within the scope of this study to study disease transmission itself. In-service training that involves the barbers themselves and addresses both gender and town differences is recommended.

Interactions between patent medicine vendors and customers in urban and rural Nigeria.

Patent medicine vendors (PMVs) supply a large portion of the drugs used by the public in African countries to treat their illnesses. Little has been reported about what actually transpires between PMVs and their customers, but nevertheless, concerns have been raised about the potential for abuse of their position. This study conducted 720 observations of PMV-customer interaction in 444 medicine shops in both the metropolis of Ibadan and the rural town of Igbo-Ora in Oyo State, Nigeria. Each interaction lasted 2 minutes on average. A quarter of the customers shared their illness problems with the shop attendant, 9% presented a prescription and the majority simply requested items for purchase. Most customers (73%) were buying drugs for themselves, while the remainder had been sent to purchase for another person. The former were more likely to be adults, while the latter were more often children and adolescents. The most common PMV behaviours are: selling the requested medicine (69%), giving their own suggestions to the customer (30%), asking questions about the illness (19%) and providing instructions on how to take the medicine (21%). Only three referrals were observed. The large number of specific drug requests was evidence of a public that was actively involved in self-care, and thus the major role of the PMV appeared to be one of salesperson meeting that need. A second role became evident when the customer actually complained about his/her illness, a practice associated with the more active PMVs who asked questions, gave suggestions and provided information. These PMV roles can be enhanced through consumer education, PMV training and policy changes to standardize and legitimize PMV contributions to primary health care.

Factors associated with coverage in community-directed treatment with ivermectin for onchocerciasis control in Oyo State, Nigeria.

Community-directed distribution with ivermectin (CDTI) has been adopted by the African Programme for Onchocerciasis Control (APOC) as its main strategy for achieving sustained high coverage in endemic communities. This article describes the coverage results achieved when CDTI was introduced in four local government areas of Oyo State, Nigeria. Using a household survey after the second distribution, researchers documented that 68.6% of the community overall received the drug, and as did 85.0% of those who were eligible (not pregnant, not sick and at least 5 years of age). Six factors were associated with having received ivermectin. Four were personal characteristics: being male, being at least 35 years of age, belonging to the Fulani ethnic minority, having taken the drug at a previous distribution. Two village characteristics were smaller size, as measured by number of houses, and use of the central place mode of distribution as opposed to house-to-house. In-depth interviews with village leaders and volunteer community-directed distributors (CDDs) and focus group discussions among villagers provided qualitative data to help interpret the findings. Women in many villages felt excluded from decision making. The concerns of migrant farm workers living in Yoruba farm settlements were not well understood by health staff or the majority population. The main factor associated with receiving the ivermectin was having received it before, and qualitative comments about side-effects and beliefs about orthodox drugs indicated that issues of personal preferences, not addressed in a household coverage survey, need to be explored further. The findings can provide guidance in re-orienting health workers to the importance of fostering participation and cohesion among all segments of the community, especially the inclusion of women and minority groups.