Inequalities in early marriage, childbearing and sexual debut among adolescents in sub-Saharan Africa.

Background: Adolescent sexual and reproductive health (ASRH) is a major public health concern in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). However, inequalities in ASRH have received less attention than many other public health priority areas, in part due to limited data. In this study, we examine inequalities in key ASRH indicators.

Intimate partner violence against adolescents and young women in sub-Saharan Africa: who is most vulnerable?

Background: Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a global public health and human rights issue that affects millions of women and girls. While disaggregated national statistics are crucial to assess inequalities, little evidence exists on inequalities in exposure to violence against adolescents and young women (AYW). The aim of this study was to determine inequalities in physical or sexual IPV against AYW and beliefs about gender based violence (GBV) in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA).

Work Practices and Health Problems of Spray Painters Exposed to Organic Solvents in Ile-Ife, Nigeria.

Background: Automobile spray painters in Nigeria are exposed to organic solvents due to the hazardous nature of their work. Inadequate use of personal protective equipment (PPE) may intensify exposure to high levels of chemical hazards with resultant health problems.

Objectives: The present study assessed PPE use and work practices and compared work-related health problems of spray painters and controls in Ile-Ife, Nigeria.

Reproductive health challenges of male and female street beggars and use of reproductive health services by female street beggars in Ife-Ijesa, Nigeria.

Objectives: The aims of the study were to investigate the reproductive health challenges in Nigeria of male and female street beggars and the use of reproductive health services by female street beggars.

Methods: The study had a cross-sectional descriptive design. An interviewer-administered questionnaire, designed by the authors, was used to elicit information from 100 male and female street beggars recruited over a 4 week period in Ife-Ijesa zone, south-western Nigeria.

Burden of family caregivers of ophthalmic patients in a university teaching hospital in south-west Nigeria.

Background: The family provides support in the care of their ill members and suffers some burden during caregiving. This study assessed the burden of family caregivers and associated factors in an ophthalmic clinic situated in a university teaching hospital in southwest Nigeria.

Methods: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study where consenting family caregivers of ophthalmic patients completed a semi-structured questionnaire containing information on their socio-demographic characteristics and caregiving burden using the Zarit burden interview.

Lifting the veil on disrespect and abuse in facility-based child birth care: findings from South West Nigeria.

Background: Eliminating disrespect and abuse in health care facilities during childbirth could be a contributory factor in improving pregnancy outcomes and avoiding preventable illnesses and deaths. This study aims to provide evidence of disrespect and abuse in this community in order to create awareness about its occurrence.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey was carried out on 384 recently delivered women who visited the postnatal and immunization clinics of a primary and tertiary health facility in Ile-Ife.

Engendering a conducive environment for university students with physical disabilities: assessing availability of assistive facilities in Nigeria.

Purpose: This study assessed awareness and availability of assistive facilities in a Nigerian public university.

Methods: Study was conducted in Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile Ife Nigeria using a mixed methods approach. Fifty two students with disability (SWD) were interviewed with a semistructured, self-administered questionnaire.

The effect of mobile phone short message service on maternal health in south-west Nigeria.

Background: The maternal mortality ratio in Nigeria is estimated to be about 814 per 100,000 live births, and deliveries taken outside a health facility have been implicated as a major factor for this high number. Mobile phones interventions are continually being explored in the health field but its usefulness in maternal health in Nigeria has not been widely explored.

Objective: To determine the impact of SMS (text messages) on maternal health behaviour in Ife-Ijesa zone of Osun State, Nigeria.

Sexual experiences of married HIV positive women in Osogbo, southwest Nigeria: role of inappropriate status disclosure.

Background: Worldwide heterosexual sex is the most common mode of HIV transmission, with the marital heterosexual route becoming a major contributor in sub-Sahara Africa. This study examined the role of inappropriate HIV status disclosure, after diagnosis, on marital sexual experiences of HIV positive women.

Methods: The study employed a descriptive cross-sectional design.

Street hawking among in-school adolescents in a south-western town in Nigeria: pattern, determinants and effects on school performance.

Street hawking is the commonest form of child labor in Nigeria. Although street hawking is very pervasive, there is the increasing need to fully understand its pattern and effects on those involved in hawking particularly adolescents who combine schooling with hawking. In Nigeria, data on the effects of street hawking on in-school adolescents are generally scanty.

Male involvement in family planning decision making in Ile-Ife, Osun State, Nigeria.

This study assessed men's awareness, attitude, and practice of modern contraceptive methods, determined the level of spousal communication, and investigated the correlates of men's opinion in family planning decision making in Ile-Ife, Nigeria. Quantitative methodology was employed in this cross-sectional descriptive design using a structured household questionnaire to collect information from 402 male study participants. A multistage sampling procedure was employed.

New paradigm old thinking: The case for emergency obstetric care in the prevention of maternal mortality in Nigeria.

Background: The continuing burden of maternal mortality, especially in developing countries has prompted a shift in paradigm from the traditional risk assessment approach to the provision of access to emergency obstetric care services for all women who are pregnant. This study assessed the knowledge of maternity unit operatives at the primary and secondary levels of care about the concept of emergency obstetric care (EmOC) and investigated the contents of antenatal care (ANC) counseling services they delivered to clients. It also described the operatives' preferred strategies and practices for promoting safe motherhood and averting maternal mortality in South-west Nigeria.

College students in Nigeria underestimate their risk of contracting HIV/AIDS infection.

Objectives: To assess the perceptions of personal risk of acquiring HIV/AIDS infection among students of selected tertiary institutions in Osun State, Nigeria and to determine the correlates of perceptions of personal risk of infection.

Methods: The study employed a cross-sectional descriptive design. An interviewer-administered questionnaire was applied to the 405 study participants and correlates of perceptions of personal risk of HIV infection were evaluated using multiple logistic regression analysis, confidence intervals and odd ratios.

Correlates of physicians' attitudes toward communication with HIV/AIDS patients in Ile-Ife, Nigeria.

Objectives: The study assessed physicians' perceptions of HIV/AIDS patients and identified the determinants of physicians' attitudes toward communication with HIV/AIDS patients in Ile-Ife, Nigeria.

Methods: A semi-structured questionnaire was used to elicit information from 110 physicians in a cross-sectional survey, while in-depth interviews were conducted with 10 people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) who had been previously admitted under the care of the physicians. Univariate, bivariate and multivariate analyzes were conducted.