RESUMO
Background: Caregivers' burden and health-related quality-of-life (HRQoL) associated with Diabetes Mellitus (DM) are affected by several factors, including socio-demographic characteristics of the patients and their caregivers. Unfortunately, studies evaluating the influence of socio-demographic characteristics on caregivers and patients with DM in this environment are limited. This study therefore aimed at assessing the level of the burden imposed on the primary caregivers, the level of HRQoL of Individuals with Diabetes Mellitus (IDM) and the influence of socio-demographic characteristics on these variables among IDM attending the Family Medicine clinic of Wesley Guild Hospital, Ilesa, Osun State, Nigeria. Methodology: Seventy-eight consenting IDM and their corresponding primary caregivers were recruited over 13-weeks in this hospital-based cross-sectional descriptive study. The Well-Being Questionnaire and Zarit Burden Interview were administered on IDM and their corresponding caregivers to assess HRQoL and burden of care. Data were analysed on SPSS 17 using descriptive statistics and Pearson chi-square test at p<0.05. Results: Mean ages of respondents were 70.4±6.33 and 23.7±7.58 years for diabetics and caregivers, respectively. The majority of the diabetic respondents were females (61.5%), married (66.7%), and retired (64.1%). The majority of the caregivers were females (87.2%), petty traders/students (71.8%) and unmarried (87.2%). Over half (51.3%) of the diabetic respondents and their caregivers had 'good' HRQoL and 'high' caregivers' burden. Conclusion: The caregiver being a female, having primary education, being single and having a nuclear family relation of the IDM influenced good HRQoL, whereas being a low-income earner and an uneducated IDM influenced high caregivers' burden.
RESUMO
OBJECTIVE: We determined the malaria prevalence and ascertained the degree of agreement among rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs), urine malaria tests, and microscopy in malaria diagnosis of adults in Nigeria. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study among 384 consenting patients recruited at a tertiary health facility in southwestern Nigeria. We used standardized interviewer-administered questionnaires to collect patients' sociodemographic information. Venous blood samples were collected and processed for malaria parasite detection using microscopy, RDTs, and urine malaria tests. The degree of agreement was determined using Cohen's kappa statistic. RESULTS: The malaria prevalence was 58.3% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 53.0-63.1), 20.6% (95% CI: 16.6-25.0), and 54.2% (95% CI: 49.0-59.2) for microscopy, RDTs, and urine malaria test, respectively. The percent agreement between microscopy and RDTs was 50.8%; the expected agreement was 45.1% and Cohen's kappa was 0.104. The percent agreement between microscopy and urine malaria tests was 52.1%; the expected agreement was 50.7% and Cohen's kappa was 0.03. CONCLUSION: The malaria prevalence was dependent on the method of diagnosis. This study revealed that RDTs are a promising diagnostic tool for malaria in resource-limited settings. However, urine malaria test kits require further improvement in sensitivity prior to field use in malaria-endemic settings.