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Introduction: hepatitis B Virus (HBV) and hepatitis c virus (HCV) affect millions of people globally. Healthcare workers (HCWs) are at increased risk of infection due to occupation exposures where the viruses are spread mainly through needle stick injuries and exposure to infected blood and body fluid. The objective of this study was to assess the prevalence of viral hepatitis among patients and the practices of HCWs. Methods: this study involved a 5-years retrospective review of laboratory results of patients for HBV and HCV in addition to a questionnaire-based assessment of the preventive practices of 103 HCWs on HBV and HCV. Data was analyzed using SPSS. Results: the prevalence of HBV among the patients was 12.6% and 15.2% for HCV while the prevalence among the HCWs was 6.6% for HBV and 6.5% for HCV. About 60% of the HCWs had good overall preventive practices for viral hepatitis. Among the HCWs, 29.28% dropped needles in sharp containers after use, 53.5% recapped needles, 21.4% reused needles, 36.9% did not practice regular hand washing, and 53.4% completed the doses for HBV vaccine. Conclusion: there is high prevalence of HBV and HCV among the patients and the HCWs. This increases the occupational risk of infection with the viruses among HCWs. We recommend that more enlightenments and trainings be done for the HCWs to enable them take appropriate measures to protect themselves. Also, HCWs should provide HBV and HCV screening to patients accessing care and those found positive should be linked to care and treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Metal ions (Cr and Co) are released from metal orthopaedic implants in situ. We investigated tissue dissemination of Cr III, Cr VI and Co II ions in the body, and determined if administration of ascorbic acid (AA) affected their in vivo distribution using rats as a model system. Organs of rats treated with both Cr (VI) and Co (II) have higher metal ion levels when compared with control levels in the organs of rats without metal treatment. The reduced form of chromium, Cr III, is reported to be relatively impermeant to cell membranes in vitro, and in line with this, Cr III did not distribute into the organs of the rats after administration in vivo. Potent in vitro reduction of Cr (VI) to Cr III by AA was observed in this study. Prior intraperitoneal injection of AA lowered tissue uptake of both Cr VI and Co II, and increased faecal excretion, but not to a significant extent. AA may only be effective in increasing elimination of Cr VI at high concentrations when plasma reduction is saturated, and may be of limited therapeutic use in patients with orthopaedic implants. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As an inevitable process, the number of older adults is increasing in many countries worldwide. Two of the main problems that society is being confronted with more and more, in this respect, are the inter-related aspects of feelings of loneliness and social isolation among older adults. In particular, the ongoing COVID-19 crisis and its associated restrictions have exacerbated the loneliness and social-isolation problems. This paper is first and foremost a comprehensive survey of loneliness monitoring and management solutions, from the multidisciplinary perspective of technology, gerontology, socio-psychology, and urban built environment. In addition, our paper also investigates machine learning-based technological solutions with wearable-sensor data, suitable to measure, monitor, manage, and/or diminish the levels of loneliness and social isolation, when one also considers the constraints and characteristics coming from social science, gerontology, and architecture/urban built environments points of view. Compared to the existing state of the art, our work is unique from the cross-disciplinary point of view, because our authors' team combines the expertise from four distinct domains, i.e., gerontology, social psychology, architecture, and wireless technology in addressing the two inter-related problems of loneliness and social isolation in older adults. This work combines a cross-disciplinary survey of the literature in the four aforementioned domains with a proposed wearable-based technological solution, introduced first as a generic framework and, then, exemplified through a simple proof of concept with dummy data. As the main findings, we provide a comprehensive view on challenges and solutions in utilizing various technologies, particularly those carried by users, also known as wearables, to measure, manage, and/or diminish the social isolation and the perceived loneliness among older adults. In addition, we also summarize the identified solutions which can be used for measuring and monitoring various loneliness- and social isolation-related metrics, and we present and validate, through a simple proof-of-concept mechanism, an approach based on machine learning for predicting and estimating loneliness levels. Open research issues in this field are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Although totally implantable venous access ports (TIVAPs) have been safe and valuable in the management of cancer and other chronically ill patients who require longterm intermittent venous access, a few complications have been reported with their use. Data on the use of TIVAPs in sub-Saharan Africa and other low- and middle-income regions is limited. In this study, we determine the complications that arise from TIVAP use at a cancer centre in Nigeria. Patients and Methods: Between 4 January 2018 and 15 September 2020, 100 patients received TIVAPs at our centre, primarily for the administration of chemotherapy for the treatment of solid tumours. Data were retrospectively extracted from the institutional electronic medical records and descriptive analysis of patient and disease characteristics, port-specific data and data on complications and outcomes was conducted Results: The 100 patients who were implanted with TIVAPs at our cancer centre had their devices in situ for a total of 27,183 days, with a mean duration of use of 272 catheter-days (SD: 267 days; range: 2–952). TIVAP-related complications were identified in 13 patients (13%), i.e., an incidence of 0.478 complications/1,000 catheter-days. The mean time to onset of complications was 61 days (SD: 105 days; median: 23 days; range: 0–389). The complications observed include port-site bleeding, pocket infection, cutaneous site infection, arterial puncture, wound dehiscence, difficult access (due to port malpositioning and port site fibrosis) and others. No deaths, pneumothorax, haemothorax, catheter occlusions, or catheter-associated venous thromboses were recorded. Conclusion: Our study shows that TIVAPs can be used successfully in our environment and presents a case for more widespread use to improve both the patient experience and the ability of healthcare providers to deliver optimal treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Loneliness and social isolation are subjective measures associated with the feeling of discomfort and distress. Various factors associated with the feeling of loneliness or social isolation are: the built environment, long-term illnesses, the presence of disabilities or health problems, etc. One of the most important aspect which could impact feelings of loneliness is mobility. In this paper, we present a machine-learning based approach to classify the user loneliness levels using their indoor and outdoor mobility patterns. User mobility data has been collected based on indoor and outdoor sensors carried on by volunteers frequenting an elderly nursing house in Tampere region, Finland. The data was collected using Pozyx sensor for indoor data and Pico minifinder sensor for outdoor data. Mobility patterns such as the distance traveled indoors and outdoors, indoor and outdoor estimated speed, and frequently visited clusters were the most relevant features for classifying the user's perceived loneliness levels.Three types of data used for classification task were indoor data, outdoor data and combined indoor-outdoor data. Indoor data consisted of indoor mobility data and statistical features from accelerometer data, outdoor data consisted of outdoor mobility data and other parameters such as speed recorded from sensors and course of a person whereas combined indoor-outdoor data had common mobility features from both indoor and outdoor data. We found that the machine-learning model based on XGBoost algorithm achieved the highest performance with accuracy between 90 % and 98 % for indoor, outdoor, and combined indoor-outdoor data. We also found that Lubben-scale based labelling of perceived loneliness works better for both indoor and outdoor data, whereas UCLA scale-based labelling works better with combined indoor-outdoor data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background The World Health Organization recommends person-centred and integrated care for mental health of people with Neglected Tropical Diseases. This study assesses the feasibility and acceptability of mental health care for people with NTDs, which integrated mental health care into primary health care services, in central Nigeria. Methods People affected by NTDs were screened for depression and anxiety, and those identified referred to the integrated service. Following their use of the service, Focus Group Discussions were held with service users and carers, and Key Informant Interviews with health service providers. Service providers were also interviewed on attitudes, before and after training with the WHO mhGAP Intervention Guide. Results In general service users reported satisfaction with the services, which they found to be dignified and accessible. They expressed concern about affordability, and waiting times. Providers also felt the service was acceptable. System gaps were identified, for example in health information systems and supervision. Poor political will threatened sustainability. CAMI scores did not change with mhGAP training. Conclusion Locally designed services that support mental health of people with NTDs can be integrated into primary care. Weak basic infrastructure and lack of investment are barriers to sustainability and potential effectiveness. Contexte L'Organisation mondiale de la santé recommande des soins centrés sur la personne et intégrés pour la santé mentale des personnes atteintes de maladies tropicales négligées. Cette étude évalue la faisabilité et l'acceptabilité des soins de santé mentale pour les personnes atteintes de MTN, qui ont intégré les soins de santé mentale dans les services de soins de santé primaires, dans le centre du Nigeria. Cette étude évalue la faisabilité et l'acceptabilité des soins de santé mentale pour les personnes atteintes de MTN, qui intègrent les soins de santé mentale dans les services de soins de santé primaires, au centre du Nigeria. Méthodes utilisées Les personnes atteintes de MTN ont fait l'objet d'un dépistage de la dépression et de l'anxiété, et celles qui ont été identifiées ont été orientées vers le service intégré. Après leur utilisation du service, des discussions de groupe ont été organisées avec les utilisateurs du service et les soignants, et des entretiens avec des informateurs clés avec des prestataires de services de santé. Les prestataires de services ont également été interrogés sur leurs attitudes, avant et après la formation au guide d'intervention mhGAP de l'OMS. Résultats En général, les utilisateurs des services se sont déclarés satisfaits des services, qu'ils ont trouvés dignes et accessibles. Ils ont exprimé des inquiétudes quant à l'accessibilité financière et aux temps d'attente. Les prestataires ont également estimé que le service était acceptable. Des lacunes ont été identifiées dans le système, par exemple dans les systèmes d'information sanitaire et la supervision. Le manque de volonté politique a menacé la viabilité des services. Les scores CAMI restent inchangés suite à la formation au mhGAP. Conclusion Des services de santé mentale conçus localement pour venir en aide aux personnes atteintes de MTN peuvent être intégrés aux soins primaires. La qualité de l'infrastructure de base et le manque d'investissement sont les obstacles principaux à la durabilité et à l'efficacité potentielle de ces interventions. Antecedentes La Organización Mundial de la Salud recomienda una atención centrada en la persona e integrada para la salud mental de las personas con Enfermedades Tropicales Desatendidas. Este estudio evalúa la viabilidad y aceptabilidad de la atención a la salud mental de las personas con ETD, que integra la atención a la salud mental en los servicios de atención primaria, en Nigeria central. Métodos Las personas afectadas por ETD fueron examinadas para detectar depresión y ansiedad, y las identificadas fueron derivadas al servicio integrado. Tras su utilización del servicio, se celebraron debates de grupos focales con los usuarios y cuidadores del servicio, y entrevistas a informantes clave con los proveedores de servicios sanitarios. También se entrevistó a los proveedores de servicios sobre sus actitudes, antes y después de la formación con la Guía de Intervención mhGAP de la OMS. Resultados En general, los usuarios se mostraron satisfechos con los servicios, que consideraron dignos y accesibles. Expresaron su preocupación por la asequibilidad y los tiempos de espera. Los proveedores también consideraron que el servicio era aceptable. Se detectaron deficiencias en el sistema, por ejemplo en los sistemas de información sanitaria y la supervisión. La escasa voluntad política amenazaba la sostenibilidad. Las puntuaciones CAMI no cambiaron con la formación mhGAP. Conclusión Los servicios diseñados localmente para apoyar la salud mental de las personas con ETD pueden integrarse en la atención primaria. La debilidad de la infraestructura básica y la falta de inversión son obstáculos para la sostenibilidad y la eficacia potencial. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction Advocacy for immunization has been ongoing in various parts of the world to improve immunization uptake amongst children. Annually within the last decade, immunization has been reported to avert over two million deaths globally. This study determined the current immunization status of children 1-5 years of age, the factors affecting immunization uptake and recommends ways of improving immunization uptake among children presenting at an Emergency Pediatric Unit (EPU). Methods This was a prospective cross-sectional study conducted from 1st October to 30th November 2019. All eligible children aged 1-5 years old seen within the study period whose mothers/caregivers consented to participate in the study were recruited in the EPU of Jos University Teaching Hospital (JUTH), Plateau State, Nigeria. A systematic sampling technique was employed in the selection of caregiver/mother-child pair while data were obtained using an interviewer-administered questionnaire. Results A total of 191 (76.4%) children were fully immunized for age. Distance to the health facility, experience of vaccine side effects and health workers' attitude were significantly associated with immunization status. Distance to health facility was an independent predictor of complete immunization while short messaging service (SMS) was the most preferred 190 (76.0%) way suggested to improve immunization uptake. Conclusions This study has brought to light a suboptimal level of full immunization status for age, which can be improved by targeting homegrown interventions at improving accessibility to the facility and addressing adverse events following immunization promptly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: HIV-related stigma is often expressed as irrational behaviors, negative attitudes, and unfavorable judgments toward people living with or at risk of HIV which remains very common in low- and middle-income countries including Nigeria. This study assessed the level of HIV-related stigma and its associated factors among Young Men who have Sex with Men (YMSM) in HIV care., Methodology: This was a cross-sectional study conducted among 122 YMSM to assess the level of HIV-related stigma and its associated factors among YMSM in HIV care using respondent driven sampling between July 2023 and April 2024. Quantitative method of data collection was employed and SPSS version 23 was used for data analysis. A p -value of ≤ 0.05 was considered statistically significant., Results: The mean age of the study participants was 22.2 ± 2.0 years with 56 (45.6%) being 22 years and below. The total HIV- related stigma score for the participants was 121.9 ± 18.8 with high-level of stigma reported among 40 (32.8%) of the participants. Significant variation in the mean total HIV-related stigma score was found with duration on HIV treatment with those who had been on treatment for >3 years having a mean score of 117.8 ± 15.2 compared to 110.3 ± 20.1 for those who had been on treatment for <2 years (mean difference: -7.50; 95% Confidence interval: -14.45, -5.51; p = 0.035)., Conclusion: This study found a high level of HIV-related stigma among the YMSM in HIV care which is significantly influenced by the duration of time in HIV care., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2025 Afolaranmi, Chaplin, Zoakah and Kanki.)

Background: The co-occurrence and clustering of risk factors for non-communicable disease (NCD) is a global public health concern., Aim: This study aimed to assess the co-occurrence and clustering of risk factors for NCDs among in-school and out-of-school adolescents in Jos North Local Government Area, Plateau State, Nigeria., Setting: Secondary schools and markets in Jos North Local Government Area., Methods: A comparative cross-sectional study was conducted among 377 in-school and 377 out-of-school adolescents, aged 10-19 years of age. An interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to collect information on behavioural and physical risk factors for NCDs. Chi-square and Mann-Whitney U tests were used for comparisons at a 5% level of significance. Statistical analysis was carried out using Statistical Product and Service Solutions (SPSS) version 23.0., Results: Of the 754 sampled adolescents, 386 (51.2%) were females and 368 (48.8%) were males. Adolescents aged 10-14 years made up 37.8% of the participants, 15 to 17 years of age accounted for 46.9% and 18-19 years 15.3%. Risk factors with the highest prevalence were a sedentary lifestyle (94.2%) and an unhealthy diet (92.4%). Majority (97.2%) had two or more risk factors while 1.9% of adolescents had no risk factor. More in-school adolescents (24.1%) had two risk factors compared to 14.1% of out-of-school adolescents (p 0.001); 14.1% of out-of-school adolescents had five or more risk factors compared to 2.9% of those in school (p 0.001)., Conclusion: Co-occurrence and clustering of behavioural and physical risk factors was found among both in-school and out-of-school adolescents.Contribution: This study highlighted the burden of risk factors for NCDs among both in-school and out-of-school adolescents in the North-Central part of Nigeria. This is especially useful in developing targeted interventions to tackle these risk factors.

Competing Interests: Conflict of Interest Declaration Authors have no competing interests to declare.

Introduction: household food insecurity is a critical social determinant of health globally. There is a rising global prevalence of food insecurity which affects households' access to food of adequate quantity and quality. This study assessed the level of food security and its socio-demographic determinants among rural households., Methods: this is a cross-sectional community survey among 201 rural households in Langai district representing a total population of 1,284. Reported food security was assessed using Food Consumption Scores and Coping Strategy Index. Data were analysed with SPSS 21. Analysis was done to assess the level of food-security associated factors. Multivariable analysis was done to assess determinants of food security. P-value <0.05 is considered significant., Results: forty-three percent of all households have a total income greater than the national minimum wage. Overall, 21.4% are quality-food insecure (FCS), 6.5% have severe coping behaviour (CSI-food insecure) and 34.8% are highly economically vulnerable to food insecurity. Significant predictors of household food security include women earning than the basic monthly wage (AOR: 4.29 [95%CI: 1.34-13.71]; p=0.014); those without marital partners (AOR: 4.91 [95%CI: 1.01-23.90]; p=0.049); smaller household size (≤ 5) (AOR: 2.69 [95%CI: 1.16-6.24]; p=0.021); and those not receiving financial support (AOR: 2.68 [95%CI: 1.17-6.13]; p=0.020)., Conclusion: almost a quarter of all households' experience food insecurity with more than one-third being highly vulnerable to food insecurity. Efforts should be made to cushion the effect of global food insecurity among vulnerable populations and improve livelihood through improved agricultural practices to have sustainable and equitable food security., Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing interests., (Copyright: Philip Adewale Adeoye et al.)

Introduction: Among people living with HIV (PLHIV), fertility desire which is the desire to have more children is increasing due to the improvement in quality of life and survival resulting from anti-retroviral treatment and also improved sexual and reproductive health services. Fertility desires can result in increased risk of HIV transmission, especially in unprotected heterosexual intercourse. There is limited information regarding the fertility desires and predictors among PLHIV in our environment., Methods: This study was aimed at assessing the fertility desires and predictors in PLHIV in Northcentral Nigeria. Study was descriptive cross-sectional. Semi-structured interviewer administered pretested questionnaires was used to get information from 170 PLHIV accessing care in a secondary health-care facility selected by the systematic sampling technique. Data were analyzed using the SPSS software version 23.0. At 95% confidence interval (CI), a P < 0.05 was considered to be statistically significant. Chi-square and logistic regression., Results: Fertility desire was found among 64.1% of the respondents. Younger age (odds ratio [OR] = 0.2270; 95% CI = 0.0662-0.7791, P = 0.0184), having no child or a smaller number of children (OR = 0.0432; CI = 0.0046-0.4050; P = 0.0059) and suppressed viral loads (OR = 4.1069; CI = 1.1650-14.4784; P = 0.0280) were the predictors for fertility desire., Conclusion: This study showed that PLHIV had high fertility desires but do not know any safe method of conception, hence intensified effort should be made by primary care providers and other health-care workers to include sexual and reproductive health counselling during routine HIV clinic visits to enable PLHIV make informed decision about their fertility desires., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts of interest., (Copyright: © 2022 Journal of Global Infectious Diseases.)

Background: The use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) is on the increase globally and found to be more pronounced among those with chronic illnesses even in the face of insufficient scientific evidence to support its efficacy. Hence, this study was conducted to assess the level of use of CAM and its predictors among patients on long term care in tertiary health institution., Methods: This was a cross-sectional study conducted among 176 patients accessing treatment for chronic medical conditions in Jos University Teaching Hospital using quantitative method of data collection. Epi Info statistical software version 7 was used for data analysis and a value of P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant., Results: The median age of respondents was 50 (IQR 30-84) years with 83 (47.2%) being 51 years and above. Utilization of CAM was reported among 72 (40.9%) with herbal preparation ranking highest among 56 (77.8%) the respondents. Absence of side effects (AOR = 2.23; 95% CI = 1.6918-3.2135) and consistency with culture (AOR = 4.46; 95% CI = 1.4695-6.1851) were identified predictors of CAM use., Conclusions: This study has demonstrated a relatively high level of CAM use with perceived absence of side effects, peer influence, and consistency with culture predicting its use., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts of interest., (Copyright: © 2022 International Journal of Preventive Medicine.)

Background: Bullying is public health problem globally in workplaces with untold deleterious effects on the health and well-being of individuals at the receiving end. Bullying has been found to disrupt social interaction at workplace thereby creating an unhealthy and seemingly unproductive work environment. Studies have reported varying rates of workplace bullying as high as 83% in Europe, 65% in the Americas and 55% in Asia with very little documented in the contemporary African setting and Nigeria in particular. It therefore became imperative to assess the level of bullying and its associated factors among medical doctors in residency training in a tertiary health institution in Plateau state Nigeria., Methodology: This was a cross sectional study conducted among resident doctors in Jos University Teaching Hospital between November 2019 and February 2020 using quantitative method of data collection and SPSS version 20 was used for data analysis. Crude and adjusted odds ratios as well as 95% confidence interval were used in this study with a p -value of ≤0.05 considered statistically significant., Results: The mean age of the respondents was 32.3 ± 3.9 years with 78 (62.9%) being 31 years and above. Bullying was currently being experienced by 74 (59.7%) of the respondents with verbal aggression and threats as well as insult and use of derogatory remarks being the forms of bullying experienced by 85.1 and 74.3% of the respondents, respectively. Furthermore, witnessing a colleague being bullied was the sole factor found to be significantly associated with workplace bullying (AOR = 0.18; 95% CI = 0.068-0.449; p < 0.001)., Conclusion: Workplace bullying has been found to be in existence and relatively high among medical doctors in residency training in this setting with witnessing someone being bullied as its sole associated factor., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Afolaranmi, Hassan, Gokir, Kilani, Igboke, Ugwu, Amaike and Ofakunrin.)

Objective: Malaria and HIV account for over four million deaths per year thereby contributing significantly to the current global health burden. Insecticide Treated Nets (ITNs) represent a practical and effective means to prevent malaria in Africa. This study was conducted to determine the factors affecting the utilization of Long Lasting Insecticide Treated bed Nets (LLITNs) among People Living with HIV/AIDS (PLHIV)., Methods: An interventional study with a before and after design conducted among PLHIV to determine the factors affecting the utilization of LLITNs. EPI info statistical software version 3.5.4 was used for data analysis. Confidence interval for this study was set at 95% with a corresponding P ⩽ 0.05 considered statistically significant., Results: This study reported a mean 33.86 + 11.50 years with statistically significant improvement in the consistency of LLITNs use after the intervention. Furthermore, the likelihood of use of LLITNs was 9 times more among respondents with tertiary education when compared to other levels of education (Odd's ratio = 9.3712; 95% CI = 2.5261 - 34.7652; P = 0.0008)., Conclusion: This study has demonstrated positive influence of provision of free LLITNs supported with health education on the consistent utilization of LLITNs as well as certain factors that can influence LLITNs use., Competing Interests: Conflict of Interest: There is no conflict of ineterest declared.