Marked variability in institutional deliveries and neonatal outcomes during the COVID-19 lockdown in Nigeria.

Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and the interventions to mitigate its spread impacted access to healthcare, including hospital births and newborn care. This study evaluated the impact of COVID-19 lockdown measures on newborn service utilization in Nigeria.

Methods: The records of women who delivered in hospitals and babies admitted to neonatal wards were retrospectively reviewed before (March 2019-February 2020) and during (March 2020-February 2021) the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown in selected facilities in Nigeria.

Addressing constraints to informal providers' involvement in tuberculosis control: a qualitative study of patent medicine dealers and tuberculosis programme managers.

Background: A major constraint to tuberculosis control is low case finding with under-reporting to national authorities. Evidence shows that Patent Medicine Dealers are first port of call for most people with symptoms of tuberculosis, yet there is poor referral of such clients to tuberculosis treatment facilities for further evaluation. This study investigated constraints to involvement of Patent Medicine Dealers in tuberculosis control.

Knowledge and Practices of Health-Care Waste Management among Health Workers in Lassa Fever Treatment Facility in Southeast Nigeria.

Background: The threat of endemic, emerging, and reemerging infectious diseases, especially the viral hemorrhagic fevers demands effective health-care waste management (HCWM) among health-care workers. The study was intended to assess the knowledge and practices of HCWM among the cleaning staff in a Lassa fever (LF) treatment facility.

Materials And Methods: This was a cross-sectional descriptive study of 234 cleaning staff of Federal Teaching Hospital Abakaliki recruited by systematic random sampling.

Comparative outcome of overhead and total body phototherapy for treatment of severe neonatal jaundice in Nigeria.

: In Nigeria, neonatal jaundice is commonly treated by overhead phototherapy with neonates lying supine, often with effective exposure of less than one half of the body surface. Total body exposure in phototherapy has been in use for less than 2 years in Nigeria, but is available in only five neonatal centres.: To compare the effectiveness of total body exposure (TBPE) with the conventional partial exposure (COPT) for treatment of hyperbilirubinaemia.

Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of Healthcare Managers to Medical Waste Management and Occupational Safety Practices: Findings from Southeast Nigeria.

Introduction: Awareness of appropriate waste management procedures and occupational safety measures is fundamental to achieving a safe work environment, and ensuring patient and staff safety.

Aim: This study was conducted to assess the attitude of healthcare managers to medical waste management and occupational safety practices.

Materials And Methods: This was a cross-sectional study conducted among 54 hospital administrators in Ebonyi state.