Optimizing the utilization of maternal and reproductive healthcare services among women in low-resourced Nigerian settings.

INTRODUCTION: Quality care delivery is an essential lifesaving interventions for maternal healthcare and reduction in mortality from preventable reproductive conditions. In African countries like Nigeria, numerous perceptions and militating factors present unique challenges in optimizing the utilization of maternal and reproductive healthcare services. As women continuously evolve away from the utilization of healthcare services, achieving universal health coverage for all emerges as a matter of concern. METHOD: A phenomenological and descriptive research design was used. The study participants comprised a total of 38 women selected from primary and tertiary healthcare institutions. They were purposively selected from four healthcare institutions in Nsukka, Enugu State, Nigeria. RESULT: Findings revealed that most rural women at the prenatal stage, utilize maternal healthcare services, but at the postnatal stage, they reject reproductive healthcare services owing to certain perceptions. Concerns about sub-optimal utilization of maternal and reproductive healthcare services were found under enabling, predisposing and need factors. Evidence-based interventions included instituting health insurance policies, improving the healthcare sector, personnel, collaboration among stakeholders, and grass-roots community education. Participants showed little knowledge of social workers' engagement in healthcare institutions. CONCLUSION: Functional network of care between private and public healthcare system is the key to optimizing maternal and reproductive healthcare utilization. The study recommends stakeholder and community engagement in achieving functional networks of care, strengthening relational linkages between frontline health workers and equip rural women with better knowledge. All these are geared toward achieving optimal utilization of maternal and reproductive healthcare services among women in low-resourced Nigerian settings.

Covid-19 Recovery and Growth: Promoting Technology Innovation in Healthcare Sector on Hygiene and Safe Medication Practices in Low-Resourced Nigerian Societies.

Introduction: Globally, the healthcare sector is primarily designated to provide timely, efficient and effective medical services. In African countries like Nigeria, the inequality in the healthcare sector is worsened by the limited coverage of healthcare delivery. This has evolved to an unprecedented effect on the provision of healthcare services in low-resource societies. In the post COVID-19 era, recovery and growth from the pandemic become more demanding with an emphasis on promoting innovative technology in the healthcare sector on hygiene and safe medication practices. Method: Data was sourced from mixed research method. Questionnaires, focus group discussions, and in-depth interviews were used to deduce data from 142 healthcare providers, users, and social workers. Participants were randomly selected from three healthcare institutions in Nsukka, Enugu state. Result: Findings revealed that although greater positive perception (66.7%) holds on promoting innovative technology in the healthcare sector; concerns on negative perceptions (33.3%) were; the choice of medication, cultural health behavior and non-adherence to health guidelines. Major factors militating against innovative technology in healthcare sector were corruption in healthcare system, patients' economic level and poor healthcare delivery. Findings depict that age (χ²cal= 84.0, p=0.000<0.05) and income (χ²cal= 53.7, p=0.000<0.05) of patients were found to be significant in the utilization of innovative technology in healthcare. Evidence-based interventions on innovative healthcare systems on hygiene and safe medication practices were; intensive community health education at the grass-root, implementation of health policies, and tutors' improved healthcare knowledge. Participants showed little knowledge of social workers' engagement in health institutions. Conclusion: Equity in healthcare is a core concern in Sustainable Development Goals. Achieving equal distribution of health services between urban and rural societies in recovery from covid-19 pandemic and growth of the healthcare sector is pegged on promoting innovative technology in hygiene and safe medication practices. The study recommends that social workers' engagement with health providers and users in low-resourced societies could help propagate awareness and self-care management of health challenges through digital information technology in Nigeria.

Is filial care for older adults in Nigeria threatened? Examining concerns from adult offspring providing care.

Filial care for older adults is a normative family practice in Nigeria, heralded by offspring. However, as families continuously evolve away from the extended structure to more nuclear setups, with women contesting traditional domestic roles, strong concerns about filial care are emerging. Our qualitative study investigated filial care using data elicited from 32 adult offspring in Enugu, Nigeria. Narratives reveal that filial care remains the most culturally acceptable and 'feasible' care option for older adults in Nigeria. Notwithstanding challenges constraining the efficiency of filial care, such as changing gender roles, an increase in the ages of adult offspring, uncooperative older adults, deplorable economic conditions, and living arrangements, filial care for older adults abound. Although contested, the paid care option within filial setup was reasonably considered by the participants as an important measure to address the challenges of filial care. In all, participants were unsure about the future of government assistance, hence there is a need to improve filial care by strategically adopting policy and programme directions, with social workers playing potentially pivotal roles.