Nutritional status of primary school children and their caregiver's knowledge on malnutrition in rural and urban communities of Ekiti State, Southwest Nigeria.

BACKGROUND: Nutritional imbalance is an underlying cause of 2.6million death annually and a third of child's death globally. This study assessed and compared the nutritional status of primary school children and their caregiver's knowledge on malnutrition in rural and urban communities of Ekiti State. METHODS: This is a cross-sectional comparative study carried out among 983 urban and rural primary school children in Ekiti State (495 in urban and 488 in rural) using interviewer-administered semi-structured questionnaire. A multi-stage sampling technique was used and data collected was analyzed using SPSS 23 with level of statistical significance set at p < 0.05. RESULTS: Underweight and stunting were relatively higher in rural (6.5% and 22.7% respectively) than in urban (6.3% and 19.4% respectively) and these differences are not statistically significant (p = 0.898, p = 0.197). However, wasting, overweight and obesity were higher in urban (12.7%, 6.1% and 7.7% respectively) than rural (11.5%, 3.7% and 7.5% respectively) but the difference is not statistically significant. (p = 0.242). Majority of the caregivers in both settings had good knowledge of malnutrition though higher in urban mothers (89.5%) with statistical significance than their rural counterparts (71.5%). However, there is no significant association between caregiver's knowledge and malnutrition in this study. Being in lower primary school class, relationship with caregiver, educational status of caregiver and occupation of caregiver were the common predictors of malnutrition among the school children in both community settings. CONCLUSION: Generally, the prevalence of malnutrition was high in both urban and rural primary school children in this study. However, while underweight and stunting were more prevalent among the children in the rural communities, wasting, overweight and obesity were more prevalent in the urban. The caregivers in both communities had good knowledge of malnutrition (better in the urban) but this is not good enough to bring a significant relationship with the occurrence of malnutrition in the children. Common predictors of malnutrition in both community settings are being in lower primary school class, relationship with caregiver, educational status of caregiver and occupation of caregiver. It is therefore recommended that regular continuous public enlightenment, nutritional education programmes and other programmes targeted at improving the economic power of the caregivers are measures that will improve the nutritional status of the primary school children.

Topical ear drop self-medication practice among the Ear, Nose, and Throat patients in Ido Ekiti, Nigeria: A cross - sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Self-medication is a common habit in our country; Nigeria, especially among patients with otorhinolaryngological disorders. Medication when taken wrongly may bring dire consequences to the individual, such as masking developing diseases and may cause many other undesirable effects. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and to analyze topical ear drop self-medication practices among respondents attending the Ear, Nose, and Throat Clinic of Federal Teaching Hospital Ido Ekiti, Nigeria. DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY:: A 6-month hospital based cross-sectional study was conducted among patients who were seen in the Ear, Nose, and Throat facility of Federal Teaching Hospital, Ido Ekiti from July to December 2016 to determine topical ear drop self-medication practices. A pretested semi-structured questionnaire was used to obtained information from respondents. RESULTS:: A total of 162 respondents out of 493 patients seen during the study had otological problems. Of which 107 (66%) respondents had engaged in self-medication with topical ear drops. Their ages ranged between 2 and 83 years with a mean age of 36.6 ± 19.1 years. There were 75 males and 87 females. The major reason for self-medication was that their ailments were minor in about 40.2% and the most common indication for self-medication was ear blockage with hearing impairment (33.6%). Pharmacy/chemist shops (42%) were major sources of information for those that self-medicated. Chloramphenicol and gentamycin were the major drugs that were used by the respondents. CONCLUSION: Majority of the respondents in this study practiced self-medication using different topical ear drops. Major source of information on the topical ear drops used was from pharmacy/chemist shops. There is a need for adequate public health education to create awareness among people on the danger of self-medication and to enact or enforce the law to reduce access to over the counter drugs. Healthcare should be made available and avoidable at primary health-care level.

Contexte: L'automédication est une habitude courante dans notre pays; Nigéria, en particulier chez les patients présentant des troubles oto-rhino-laryngologiques. Les médicaments pris à tort peuvent avoir des conséquences désastreuses pour l'individu, comme masquer des maladies en développement et causer de nombreuses autres effets indésirables. Le but de cette étude était de déterminer la prévalence et d'analyser les pratiques d'automédication les participants à la clinique de l'oreille, du nez et de la gorge de l'hôpital fédéral d'enseignement Ido Ekiti, au Nigeria. Conception et Méthodologie: 6 mois étude transversale en milieu hospitalier a été menée auprès de patients qui ont été vus dans l'établissement Oreille, Nez et Gorge de l'Enseignement Fédéral Hôpital, Ido Ekiti de juillet à décembre 2016 pour déterminer les pratiques d'automédication topique des gouttes auriculaires. Un questionnaire semi-structuré prétesté a été utilisé pour obtenir des informations auprès des répondants. Résultats: Un total de 162 répondants sur 493 patients vus au cours de l'étude avaient problèmes otologiques. Dont 107 (66%) répondants se sont engagés dans l'automédication avec des gouttes auriculaires topiques. Leur âge variait entre 2 et 83 ans avec un âge moyen de 36,6 ± 19,1 ans. Il y avait 75 hommes et 87 femmes. La principale raison de l'automédication était que leur les troubles étaient mineurs dans environ 40,2% des cas et l'indication la plus fréquente d'automédication était un blocage de l'oreille avec déficience auditive (33,6%). Les pharmacies / pharmacies (42%) étaient les principales sources d'information pour ceux qui se soignaient eux-mêmes. Le chloramphénicol et la gentamycine médicaments importants qui ont été utilisés par les répondants. Conclusion: La majorité des répondants à cette étude pratiquaient l'automédication en utilisant différents gouttes auriculaires topiques. La principale source d'information sur les gouttes auriculaires topiques utilisées provenait des pharmacies / pharmacies. Il y a un besoin de l'éducation en matière de santé publique pour sensibiliser les gens au danger de l'automédication et pour promulguer ou appliquer la loi afin de réduire l'accès à des médicaments en vente libre. Les soins de santé devraient être disponibles et évitables au niveau des soins de santé primaires. Mots-clés: Automédication, Nigeria, pratique, gouttes auriculaires topiques.

Topical ear drop self-medication practice among the ear, nose, and throat patients in Ido Ekiti, Nigeria: A cross - sectional study

Background: Self-medication is a common habit in our country; Nigeria, especially among patients with otorhinolaryngological disorders. Medication when taken wrongly may bring dire consequences to the individual, such as masking developing diseases and may cause many other undesirable effects. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and to analyze topical ear drop self-medication practices among respondents attending the Ear, Nose, and Throat Clinic of Federal Teaching Hospital Ido Ekiti, Nigeria. Design and Methodology: A 6-month hospital based cross-sectional study was conducted among patients who were seen in the Ear, Nose, and Throat facility of Federal Teaching Hospital, Ido Ekiti from July to December 2016 to determine topical ear drop self-medication practices. A pretested semi-structured questionnaire was used to obtained information from respondents. Results: A total of 162 respondents out of 493 patients seen during the study had otological problems. Of which 107 (66%) respondents had engaged in self-medication with topical ear drops. Their ages ranged between 2 and 83 years with a mean age of 36.6 ± 19.1 years. There were 75 males and 87 females. The major reason for self-medication was that their ailments were minor in about 40.2% and the most common indication for self-medication was ear blockage with hearing impairment (33.6%). Pharmacy/chemist shops (42%) were major sources of information for those that self-medicated.Chloramphenicol and gentamycin were the major drugs that were used by the respondents. Conclusion: Majority of the respondents in this study practiced self-medication using different topical ear drops. Major source of information on the topical ear drops used was from pharmacy/chemist shops. There is a need for adequate public health education to create awareness among people on the danger of self-medication and to enact or enforce the law to reduce access to over the counter drugs. Healthcare should be made available and avoidable at primary health-care level