Individual-level Predictors of Birth Preparedness and Complication Readiness: Urban-Rural Comparison.

Introduction: Maternal mortality is a major public health problem. Birth preparedness and complication readiness (BP/CR) constitute a veritable strategy for reducing maternal mortality, yet adoption is low with wide urban-rural discrepancies.

Objectives: The objectives of this study were to compare the practice of BP/CR amongst women in rural and urban areas of Rivers State, Nigeria, and determine the individual-level predictors.

Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Postpartum Depressive Symptoms Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Existing evidence regarding the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on postpartum mental health is mixed, with disparate studies showing increased, stable, or even reduced risk of postpartum depression (PPD) amid the pandemic. Furthermore, although it is plausible that the pandemic impacted the mental health of mothers from vulnerable and underserved communities differentially, few studies have characterized racial and ethnic differences in the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on PPD. Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System data for 2018-2019 (pre-pandemic period) and 2020 (peri-pandemic period) from 40 sites ( = 110,779, representing 5,485,137 postpartum women) were used to determine whether rates of PPD changed during the first year of the pandemic.

PHQ-9 DIAGNOSTIC ACCURACY AND OPTIMAL CUT-OFF FOR DEPRESSION AMONG PATIENTS WITH STROKE IN NIGERIA.

Background: Depression is one of the most common and devastating consequences among stroke survivors. In spite of the availability of treatment for depression, the non- or under-detection precludes patients from benefiting from it.

Objectives: This study sought to validate the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ- 9) as a tool for detecting depression among patients with stroke.

Methanol poisoning in South- South Nigeria: Reflections on the outbreak response.

The methanol poisoning outbreak in Rivers State in May 2015, involved 84 persons in five local government areas. An incident management system comprised of an Emergency Preparedness and Response (EPR) committee and the Local Government Area Rapid Response Teams in an Emergency Operations Centre (EOC). The EOC teams conducted case finding activities, line listing, and descriptive analysis, a retrospective cohort study and collection of local gin samples for laboratory investigation.