Assessment of workhour feeding practices, healthy behaviour score and body mass index of physicians in Northern Nigeria: a cross-sectional multi-centre study.

Background: The increasing prevalence of obesity and overweight among health workers calls for an appraisal of their lifestyle. This study assessed medical practitioners' workhour feeding and lifestyle practices and explored the relationship between these practices and their body mass index (BMI). Methods: The survey involved 321 medical practitioners selected from 9 northern Nigeria hospitals in 2021. Data collected included biodata, medication history, workhour feeding characteristics, lifestyle behaviours, blood pressure, height, and weight measurements. Data were analyzed using Epi info software (version 7). Results: Most respondents were male (70.7%). Their mean age was 38 ± 7.4 years. During their last workhours, 84.1% had lunch, and 46.4% took sugary drinks. Usually, 41.7% source their lunch from the hospital canteen, and 18.7% patronize their canteen at least weekly. Most reported healthy behaviour towards alcohol consumption (99.7%), fruit and vegetable consumption (54.8%) and smoking (98.4%). However, only 22.4% were physically active. Their mean healthy behaviour score and BMI were 2.8 ± 0.7 and 26.1 ± 4.6 kg/m2, respectively. The obesity and overweight rates were 18.4% and 37.7%, respectively. Their source of lunch during workhours, age, sex, years of practice, employment duration, marital status, job category, systolic blood pressure, anti-hypertensive, and antidiabetic medication use were significantly associated with mean BMI. However, only antihypertensive medication use, being married, inadequate fruit/vegetable consumption and workhour sugary drinks consumption predicted obesity. The predictors of overweight/obese were years of practice (< 10 y) and use of antihypertensive medications. Conclusions: Obesity and overweight rates were high. Most were physically inactive. Workhour sugary drink consumption predicted obesity. Effective workplace and community interventions to improve practitioners' lifestyle behaviour and curtail obesity and overweight are needed.

Knowledge of Lassa fever, its prevention and control practices and their predictors among healthcare workers during an outbreak in Northern Nigeria: A multi-centre cross-sectional assessment.

BACKGROUND: The year 2020 Lassa fever (LF) outbreak had the greatest disease burden and this can place an enormous strain on the already overstretched healthcare system and can potentially increase morbidity and mortality due to infectious diseases. Therefore, having a knowledgeable healthcare workforce with appropriate skills and competencies to prevent and manage outbreaks of a neglected infectious disease such as LF in Nigeria will potentially enhance public health. Thus, this survey assessed the level of knowledge of LF and its prevention and control (PC) measures amongst the healthcare workers (HCWs) during a LF outbreak in Katsina state, Nigeria. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: During this cross-sectional survey, HCWs complete a validated 29-item questionnaire comprising 18 items on the knowledge of LF and its PC measures and an item on global self-evaluation of their LF knowledge. Psychometric properties of the questionnaire were evaluated. Chi-square and binary logistic regression analyses were conducted. Out of 435 HCWs invited, a total of 400 participated in the study (92% response rate). The majority of participants (51.8%) demonstrated inadequate LF knowledge, with 62.9% of those scoring low having a high self-perception of their LF knowledge with the global scale. This LF knowledge over-estimation was predicted by LF training status (odds ratio (OR) 2.53; 95% CI: 1.49-4.30; p = 0.001). The level of LF knowledge and its PC measures among the study participants was low (11.60±8.14, 64.4%) and predicted by participants' LF training status (OR 2.06; 95% CI: 1.19-3.57; p = 0.009), place of work (OR 1.82; 95% CI: 1.07-3.08; p = 0.03) and their designations (OR 2.40; 95% CI: 1.10-5.22; p = 0.03). CONCLUSION: The level of knowledge of LF and its PC measures among the HCWs surveyed was suboptimal and participants' LF training status, place of work and occupational category were the significant predictors. In addition, LF knowledge overestimation on a global scale was observed among a majority of HCWs and this was also predicted by LF training status. Therefore, there is a critical need for health authorities in Nigeria to prioritize continuous on-the-job training of HCWs on priority neglected tropical diseases such as Lassa fever.