Introduction: The consequences of expensive antipsychotics medication can be two folds. One, patients can become more impoverished due to the spending of limited financial resources on the procurement of antipsychotics. Second, the high cost of antipsychotics maybe discouraging and therefore lead to poor adherence and therapeutic failure. The objective was to determine the levels of impoverishment, catastrophic expenditure and the number of days the least paid government worker will have to work due to out-of-pocket (OOP) payments of antipsychotics in a sample of patients receiving treatment for schizophrenia in Benin City. Methods: A community-based cross-sectional survey amongst respondents who are being managed for schizophrenia was conducted using a two-stage cluster sampling procedure. Outcome measures were poverty headcount ratio, poverty gap, catastrophic expenditure and the number of days the least paid government worker will have to work due to OOP payments for antipsychotics. Results: Schizophrenics receiving olanzapine, risperidone, haloperidol, trifluoperazine or chlorpromazine medication to manage their psychiatric condition are being further impoverished by 11.1%, 7.4%, 3.7%, 3.7% and 1.9%, respectively, at the risk of catastrophic expenses by 70%, 64%, 28%, 28% and 34%, respectively, while that of number of days the least paid government worker will have to work to get their drugs were 1.8 day, 1.35 day, 0.15 day, 0.15 day, 0.21 day, respectively. Conclusion: Antipsychotics such as olanzapine and risperidone are far less affordable than chlorpromazine, haloperidol and trifluoperazine.

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Context: The study was conducted in a maximum-security prison in southwest Nigeria, where inmates were held in lawful custody by a court of competent jurisdiction. The inmates are vulnerable, and their health is conditioned not only on their nutrition and health-care services but also on available water and sanitation services, personal and collective hygiene behaviour, within the prison environment. Aim: The study assessed the living and sanitary conditions and hygiene practices of inmates in a maximum-security prison in Nigeria. Settings and Design: The study was descriptive, cross-sectional in design and elicited information on knowledge, attitude and hygiene practice of consented prison inmates. Methods: The questionnaire response was 94.8% and was identified through a multistage sampling technique and inmates were stratified by detention status with the minimum sample allocated by the proportional to size method. Systematic sampling was used for serial recruitment without replacement. The data collection tool was a validated, semi-structured, interviewer-administered questionnaire. Statistical Analysis Used: Knowledge and attitudes were measured on a 24- and 55-point scales and rated as poor (≤11) and good (>11); negative (≤33) and positive (>33), respectively. Summary data were presented by descriptive, Chi-square and logistic regression at P < 0.05. Results: Inmates mean age was 31.6 ± 8.2 years and mostly, males (98.3%) with 47.2% and 50.8% respectively married and completed secondary education. The main water source to inmates was hand-dug wells, while all-male conveniences were dirty. The major illnesses were malaria, ringworm and diarrhoea. In addition, sanitary knowledge was a significant predictor of attitude towards hygiene practices (OR: 0.52, 95% CI: 0.298-0.905). Conclusions: The good knowledge and positive attitudes of inmates contrast poor sanitary conditions, perhaps due to poor sanitation and hygiene infrastructure and overcrowding conditions.

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Context: The increase in the adult population, and change in the lifestyle of Nigerians, the burden of hypertension (HTN) may continue to increase as time unfolds. Aims: The aim of this study is to assess the knowledge, prevalence, and practices relating to HTN among rural dwellers. Settings and Design: The study was carried out in the Oka community in Ikpoba Okha Local Government Area, Edo State, using descriptive cross-sectional study design. Materials and Methods: A sample size of 260 was obtained using the formula for estimating a sample size of an unknown population based on an average prevalence rate from six studies. A self-structured questionnaire and blood pressure apparatus served as an instrument for data collection. The instrument was validated and tested for reliability with a Cronbach coefficient of 0.82, 0.79 and 0.90. Statistical Analysis Used: Descriptive statistics and binary logistic regression were used to analyse the data. Results: The result from the study shows that 246 (94.6%) have heard of HTN, and the prevalence of HTN among the respondents was found to be 47.7%. However the level of knowledge about HTN is very low as 238 (91.5%) of the respondents have poor knowledge. Practices increasing the risk for HTN include adding raw slat to food on the table (2.000), consumption of fatty foods (2.000), not performing the exercise (2.025) and sniffing of tobacco (2.025). Conclusions: The multivariate binary logistic regression showed that sex, age, marital status and occupation are significantly associated with practice relating to HTN. The study, therefore, recommends regular exercises among the rural dwellers and awareness campaign is needed to enlighten the rural dwellers on the causes and prevention of HTN.

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Background: The process of birth may mean extra pressure on a mother's well-being, and this could affect her health-related quality of life (HRQoL). The paucity of published Nigeria-based studies on HRQoL highlights the need to examine the HRQoL of mothers after normal vaginal delivery. Objective: The objective of this study is to assess the HRQoL of mothers at 12 weeks after normal vaginal delivery in selected hospitals in Enugu metropolis. Settings: The study was carried out in one military, one private, and two university teaching hospitals within Enugu metropolis. Enugu metropolis is a city in the southeastern part of Nigeria. Materials and Methods: The study adopted a cross-sectional descriptive design. All 79 participants who delivered between August and September 2015 were enrolled in the study. Adapted SF-36 questionnaire was used in measuring HRQoL. Data were collected from each participant after informed consent and ethical clearance have been obtained. Descriptive statistics and analysis of variance were used to analyse the collated data. Level of statistical significance was set at 0.05. Results: The mean (standard deviation [SD]) age and parity of participants were 34.17 (5.56) years and 3 (1) children, respectively. Findings revealed that the mean (SD) HRQoL was 58.14 (15.47), but participants rated their physical functioning and role limitation due to emotional problem at score range 0–49. Conclusions: The findings demonstrated that in this group of post-partum mothers, HRQoL was moderate, amid poor physical functioning and role limitation due to emotional problem. Health-care providers should consider post-partum counselling on physical and emotional aspects of maternal health.

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Objectives: To compare the effect of timing on initiation of feeding following caesarean delivery on: incidence of post-operative ileus (POI), time of discontinuation of intravenous fluids (IVFs), length of hospital stay and patient's satisfaction. Study Design: This was a prospective randomised controlled study carried out at the obstetric unit of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Department of Ekiti State University Teaching Hospital, Ado-Ekiti, Nigeria. A total of 118 women undergoing elective or emergency primary caesarean section under regional anaesthesia were randomised into early and late feeding group. Data were collated, and Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 20 was used for analysis. Continuous variables were presented as mean ± standard deviation and categorical variables in frequencies and percentages. Test of significance was done using student t-test for continuous variables and Chi-square for categorical variables. P < 0.05 was considered as statistically significant. Materials and Methods: A total of 118 women undergoing elective or emergency primary Caesarean section under regional anesthesia were randomized into early and late feeding group. Data were collated and SPSS version 20 used for analysis. Continuous variables were presented as mean ± standard deviation and categorical variables in frequencies and percentages. Test of significance was done using student t test for continuous variables and chi-square for categorical variables. P value less than 0.05 was considered as significant. Results: The incidence of mild POI was 3.4% for both early and late groups. There were statistically significant differences between the early and late feeding groups in the discontinuation of IVF (79.9% vs. 20.3%, P < 0.001), mean length of hospital stay (3.10 ± 0.31 vs. 3.73 ± 0.45, P < 0.001) and level of satisfaction with timing of onset of oral feeding (100% vs. 20.3%, P < 0.001). Conclusion: Early post-operative feeding is safe, well-tolerated with no adverse surgical outcomes in women following primary caesarean section.

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Background and Purpose: Universities and colleges are considered as important sites to implement health educational programme. This study investigated the effect of a structured short message service (SMS)-based educational intervention on physical activity participation and weight loss (measured in terms of weight, body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), hip circumference and waist-hip-ratio among female undergraduates. Materials and Methods: This experimental study recruited 50 consenting female undergraduates with BMI of 25 kg/m² and above from the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria. The participants were randomly allocated into either intervention group or control group. The participants in the intervention group received structured-SMS based educational instructions on physical activity and nutritional advice thrice weekly for 8 weeks. The control group were only monitored for assessment but received no intervention. Physical activity was assessed using Pedometer. Measures of body weight status were assessed following the standard procedure. Outcomes of interventions were assessed at the end of the 4^th and 8^th weeks. Alpha level was set at P < 0.05. Results: The mean ages of the intervention and control groups were 22.0 ± 1.24 years and 21.9 ± 1.32 years, respectively. There was a significant increase in weight (−0.92 ± 2.15 kg vs. 1.52 ± 2.10 kg P = 0.001), BMI (−0.35 ± 0.84 kg/m² vs. 0.58 ± 0.81 kg/m²) and WC (−1.72 ± 4.07 cm vs. 0.84 ± 3.23 cm P = 0.002) at week four between the experimental and control group. There was a significant increase in weight (−1.40 ± 2.15 kg vs. 1.92 ± 2.61 kg P = 0.001), BMI (−0.52 ± 1.18 kg/m² vs. 0.75 ± 1.01 kg/m² P = 0.001) and WC (−1.90 ± 4.94 cm vs. 0.86 ± 3.54 cm P = 0.003) at week eight between the experimental and control group. Conclusion: A structured SMS on physical activity and nutritional advice can help to achieve weight reduction and improve physical activity participation among female university students.

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