Characteristics of higher education students who reported sexual violence: a Nigerian national study.

BACKGROUND: Sexual violence among higher education students is a global public health problem. Identifying the characteristics of students who report victimization can serve as basis for programmes that target vulnerable students. METHODS: The study was conducted among 30,114 Nigerian higher education students. They were selected from 18 institutions comprising universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education. The purpose of the study was to assess the characteristics of students who reported sexual violence (rape, attempted rape and sexual harassment) and to determine the association between reporting and their characteristics. RESULTS: Our findings showed that 37% of the students reported experiencing sexual violence. Regression analysis showed that the odds of reporting among female students were two times greater than that of the male students (CI = 1.58-1.78; P < 0.001). The students who were traditionalists (aOR = 2.65, p < 0.001) or from other religious groups (aOR = 3.28, p < 0.001) had higher odds of reporting than those who were Christians. All the age groups represented in the study had significantly higher odds of reporting except those between 25 and 29 years (aOR = 1.03; p = 0.616). Non-final year students had significantly 7% lower odds of reporting (p = 0.037) than the first-year students. The students in the arts and humanities-related programmes significantly had higher odds of reporting than those in the science-related programs (aOR = 1.08; p = 0043). In addition, polytechnic and colleges of education students were two times more likely to report sexual violence than university students (p < 0.001). Also, the students from other regions were two times more likely to report sexual violence than those from Southwest region. CONCLUSION: The study concluded that sexual violence reporting by higher education students differ by their types of schools, sex, religion, level of education and geographical location.

Intention of Staff and Students to Use Internal Whistleblowing to Report Sexual Violence: A Case Study of a Nigerian University.

Sexual violence with its enormous negative consequences has become an epidemic most especially among the young populations. An effective danger-proof reporting system is necessary for curbing this menace including use of the internal whistleblowing mechanism. The study employed a concurrent (parallel) mixed method descriptive design for explaining the sexual violence experiences of university students, the intention of staff and students to blow the whistle, and their preferred whistleblowing strategies. A total of 167 students and 42 members of staff (69% males and 31% females, respectively) were randomly selected from four academic departments (50%) of a university of technology in Southwest Nigeria. An adapted questionnaire containing three vignettes on sexual violence and a focus group discussion guide were used for data collection. We discovered that 16.1% of the students reported to have experienced sexual harassment, 12.3% had attempted rape, and 2.6% had experienced rape. Tribe (Likelihood-Ratio, LR = 11.16; p = .004) and sex (χ2 = 12.65; p = .001) were strongly associated with sexual violence experiences. Also, 50% staff and 47% students had high intention. Regression analysis showed that industrial and production engineering students will be 2.8 times more likely to have intention to internally blow the whistle more than other students (p = .03; 95% CI [1.1, 6.97]). Female staff had 5.73 odds of intention more than male staff (p = .05; [1.02, 32.1]). Also, we observed that senior staff will 31% less likely blow the whistle than the junior staff (Adjusted Odd Ratio, AOR = 0.04; [0.00, 0.98]; p = .05). In our qualitative findings, courage was mentioned as a factor necessary for blowing the whistle while anonymous reporting was emphasized for successful whistleblowing. However, the students preferred external whistleblowing. The study has implication for the establishment of sexual violence internal whistleblowing reporting system in higher education institutions.

Intention for internal whistleblowing to report sexual violence in higher education institutions: a Nigerian national study.

Background: Sexual violence is prevalent in higher education institutions in Nigeria and stakeholders have encouraged staff and students to blow the whistle whenever they fall victim to or are aware of any sexual violence case. However, there is lack of data about whether the staff and students of these institutions have the intention to blow the whistle internally (within the institution) or not. There is also a lack of data on the existing reporting mechanisms or preferred whistleblowing mechanisms in these institutions. These have hindered the analysis of stakeholders' opinions on this topic. Methods: This data note presents a comprehensive quantitative and qualitative data set collected from staff and students of three categories of government owned higher education institutions (Universities, Polytechnics, Colleges of Education) in Nigeria. Data collection was between February and December, 2021, during which quantitative data were collected from 21,937 students and 3,108 staff. Qualitatively, 138 students and 111 staff participated in a total of 35 focus group discussion sessions. The study provides unique information on respondents' attitude, self-efficacy, and subjective norm to sexual violence whistleblowing. It also provides information on self-reported sexual violence experiences, whistleblowing intention, reporting systems in higher institutions and the preferred sexual violence whistleblowing mechanisms. Conclusions: In this data note, we provide a detailed account of the variables in the dataset and then highlight the potential of this study to contribute to improved sexual violence reporting in higher education institutions, thereby reducing the occurrence of the social menace.

Compassion Competence Among Nursing Students From Different Cultures: A Multinational Study.

BACKGROUND: Compassion competence is a nurse's ability to provide patient-centered care and communicate with patients in a sensitive and insightful manner. This descriptive cross-sectional survey study aimed to assess the compassion competence of a multinational group of nursing students. METHOD: A total of 1,158 undergraduate nursing students participated in this study, and stratified random sampling method was used to select participants from the 100 study level to the 400 or 500 level. Data were collected using the Compassion Competence Scale. RESULTS: Significant differences were found in students grouped by country of residence, marital status, and level of study. Age had a significant relationship with compassion competence, whereas gender did not. Students had high mean scores on sensitivity to patient needs across all countries. CONCLUSION: Effective communication skills and insights into patient problems are important aspects of compassion competence, and undergraduate nursing programs should emphasize both of these aspects. [J Nurs Educ. 2022;61(6):289-295.].

Incivility among nursing faculty: A multi-country study.

BACKGROUND: In nursing programs, incivility can be a main issue affecting future registered nurses, and this may threaten patient safety. Nursing faculty play an important role in this scenario to reduce incivility. PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to assess incivility among nursing faculty in different countries. METHOD: This descriptive (cross-sectional) study was conducted to assess the extent of incivility among nursing faculty by using Incivility in Nursing Education-Revised tool and a non-probability (convenience) sampling method was used. Three hundred ninety-five nursing faculty in 10 countries distributed in four continents participated in this study. RESULTS: The results indicated that levels of incivility among participants in different countries were significantly different. Also, there was a significant difference (F = 9.313, P value = 0.000) among the nursing faculty concerning the behaviours that have been rated as disruptive. Furthermore, there was a significant difference (F = 6.392, P value = 0.000) among participants regarding uncivil behaviours that have occurred during the past 12 months. CONCLUSION: Regular assessments are needed to highlight uncivil behaviours and reduce them by making policies and rules in order to enhance academic achievement in nursing education.

Serum P53 Protein Level and Some Haematologic Parameters among Women of Reproductive Age Living with HIV Infection.

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection remains a health challenge in Nigeria, and women of reproductive age are disproportionately infected. P53 protein, D-dimer, serum ferritin, CD4 cell count, haemoglobin concentration and haematocrit levels were measured among non-pregnant women of reproductive age living with HIV infection in order to assess the impact of HIV infection on maternal health. A hundred and sixty-two subjects categorised into three groups of 54 persons each involving; newly diagnosed, subjects on highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) and apparently healthy control subjects were recruited. Blood samples were analyzed for haemoglobin concentration, haematocrit, CD4 cell count, serum ferritin, D-dimer and p53 protein levels by standard methods. The CD4 cell count, serum p53 protein, and Hb Conc. were significantly lower, while serum ferritin was higher in the newly diagnosed group (p=0.001), followed by the group on HAART (p=0.001) compared to the controls. D-dimer level was significantly lower in the control group (2899.11±670.73pg/ml) than both newly diagnosed (4842.44±489.40pg/ml) and HAART (4660.31±519.83pg/ml) groups, while significant decrease in haematocrit was observed between the newly diagnosed group (0.336±0.07l/l) as against both treated (0.378±0.04l/l) and control (0.362±0.02l/l) groups. D-dimer correlated negatively with serum p53 protein level  among the newly diagnosed subjects  and with Hb Conc. among subjects undergoing treatment.  The study concludes that women of reproductive age living with HIV infection showed higher D-dimer and lower tumour suppression protein levels as well as anaemia and reduced immune response. The newly diagnosed subjects were more affected.

Validity and Reliability of the Arabic Version of the Incivility in Nursing Education-Revised Scale.

Background Incivility in nursing education can negatively affect the academic achievement. As there is no tool in Arabic to assess incivility among nursing students, there is a need for a valid and reliable tool. Purpose This study aimed to investigate the psychometric properties of the Arabic version of the Incivility in Nursing Education- Revised (INE-R) survey. Method This cross-sectional study was conducted in four universities in Iraq using a convenience sampling strategy. A translated Arabic version of the INE-R was used to assess its validity and reliability. Results Three hundred eighty-nine surveys were included in the analysis. The contrast validity was confirmed by using Exploratory Factor Analysis. The internal consistency was tested using Cronbach's alpha, which showed the result of 0.87. Conclusion The Arabic version of the Incivility in Nursing Education- Revised is a valid and reliable scale. This scale can be used in Arab countries to assess incivility in nursing education.

Haemostatic Indices as Markers for Monitoring Pulmonary Tuberculosis Treatment.

Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease inducing a state of chronic inflammation which could affect thehaemostatic mechanism as part of host defences against infection. Proper diagnosis and monitoring of tuberculosis patientsundergoing therapy is still a challenge especially in a poor resource country such as Nigeria. This study aims to assess somehaemostatic indices of tuberculosis patients and their possible use as markers in monitoring response to anti-tuberculosistreatment. One hundred and twenty TB patients aged 15-60 years and 120 apparently healthy (control) subjects age andgender-matched were studied. Demographic/bio data was compiled by interview and from patients' case notes. Diagnosis ofTB was by sputum smear microscopy, radiography and clinical assessment. Platelet count (PLT), platelet factor 4 (PF4),prothrombin time (PT), activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT), thrombin clotting time (TCT) and fibrinogen (FIB)were determined using standard techniques. The platelet factor 4, prothrombin time, activated partial thromboplastin timeand fibrinogen levels of TB patients were significantly higher while the thrombin clotting time was significantly lower(P<0.05) when compared with healthy subjects. While PF4, TCT and FIB improved significantly (P<0.05) as antituberculosis therapy progressed, PLT, PT and APTT remained the same. It is concluded that abnormal activation ofhaemostasis occurs in TB condition thus pre-disposing TB patients to bleeding complications. Furthermore, platelet factor4, thrombin clotting time and fibrinogen improved as therapy progressed and therefore may be used as markers for monitoringresponse to anti-tuberculosis therapy.

Determinants of Nigerian University Teachers' Participation in Physical Activities towards Health Promotion

The study investigated the knowledge; attitude and practice (KAP) of sandwich under graduate students of Delta State University; Abraka; on condom use for the prevention of sexually transmitted infections(STls) and unwanted pregnancy. This is with a view of assessing the relevance of knowledge to attitude and practice. Three hypotheses were generated to guide the study. A self designed (KAP) questionnaire with 18 questions items were used to generate information. The sample was 610 students. Percentages and chi- square statistics were used to analyze the data. It was found that students had good knowledgeof condom use towards the prevention of STls and un wanted pregnancy. There was also a relationship between knowledge and attitude. Males and females do not differ in their knowledge; attitude and practice of condom use. It was recommended that family and sexuality education be a part of the school curriculum; while the media should continuously be used to campaign for the use of condom in the prevention of STls and unwanted pregnancy

Influence of marital and educational status on clients' psychosocial adjustment to HIV/AIDS in Calabar, Nigeria.

A comparative descriptive design and a stratified random sampling technique were adopted to study the influence of marital and educational status on the psychological, social, and spiritual adjustment of 280 respondents living with HIV/AIDS in two randomly selected clinics within Calabar, Nigeria. A 30 item questionnaire, with a content validity index of 0.92 and a Cronbach's alpha reliability coefficient of 0.94, was used for data collection, with due attention to ethical considerations. The findings showed that marital status had a significant influence on the respondents' psychological and social adjustment but not on their spiritual adjustment. Those that were married and those with higher educational qualifications had better psychological adjustment than those who had never married. The marital and educational status of clients should be considered when conducting education or counseling, making recommendations, or organizing support groups for living with HIV/AIDS. Furthermore, advocacy aimed at meeting the psychosocial needs of single and less-educated clients could enhance their psychosocial adjustment.

Influence of Gender and Age on Psychosocial Adjustment of People Living with HIV/AIDS in Calabar; Nigeria

Purpose: Health and adjustment to chronic health conditions are often affected by various sociodemographic variables. This study assessed the influence of gender and age on the psychological; social and spiritual adjustment of people living with HIV/AIDS in Calabar; Cross River State; Nigeria. Materials and methods: A comparative descriptive research design was adopted to study 280subjects selected from two health facilities within the study area. A validated adjustment questionnaire was the instrument for data collection while stratified random sampling involving balloting with replacement was used for sample selection. Results: Results showed a significant influence of gender on the respondents' psychological; social and spiritual adjustment (Cal.t=7.89; 4.05; 3.78 Crit.t=1.96). The males adjusted better than the females. Similarly; age of respondents exerted significant influence on psychological adjustment (Cal.F=5.54 Crit.F.=2.37) but not on social and spiritual adjustment (Cal.F=1.67; 0.56 Crit.F