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Background: Multidrug‑resistant bacterial infections are still a global challenge and successful antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) requires multidisciplinary collaborative partnership. Studies have highlighted the knowledge and perceptions of pharmacists, but there is a paucity of data about practices of pharmacists in teaching hospitals in Nigeria. We set out to determine the knowledge and practices of pharmacists in a major tertiary health facility (THF) in Lagos, Nigeria, before starting an AMS intervention program. Methods: This cross‑sectional survey used electronic forms to find out the knowledge and practices of pharmacists employed in a large tertiary health facility. Data were collected during a Commonwealth Partnerships for AMS program to support low‑ and middle‑income countries to produce antimicrobial consumption surveillance data, quality improvement initiatives, and infection prevention and control (IPC) processes. Results: Two‑thirds of respondents knew that antibiotics were effective against bacteria, and 48.6% knew the causes of antimicrobial resistance. Almost all (97.1%) agreed that AMS must be done, IPC is important, and they were confident to point out inappropriate prescribing. Three‑quarters had advised colleagues or been involved in AMS activities; however, 62.9% had fully or mostly changed their practices based on information received, and 26.5% had participated in World Antibiotic Awareness Week. Conclusion: There are still gaps in knowledge and practices, which underscore the need to entrench regular training on the job. However, there is overall awareness of AMS and a desire for it to be carried out at all levels. Pharmacists are useful for choosing appropriate antibiotics and can play a vital role in AMS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Infections contribute significantly to neonatal mortality in Nigeria. Community health officers (CHOs) provide maternal, newborn and child health services at the primary health care level. However, newborn infection prevention and control (NB-IPC) is not included in their current training curriculum, which has little innovation in teaching methods. This study assessed the effectiveness of a blended curriculum on NB-IPC in improving the competencies of student CHOs. This pre- and post-test study was conducted in the CHO training school of Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), which has 70 students enrolled. We developed and implemented a blended curriculum on NB-IPC using Kern's six-step framework. Twelve videos were recorded of content experts teaching various aspects of NB-IPC and were watched online or downloaded by students. Two interactive practical sessions were held in class. Pre- and post-course assessment of knowledge was with multiple choice questions, attitude with a Likert scale, and skills with an objective structured clinical examination (OSCE). Course satisfaction was also assessed with a validated scale. Paired t-test was used to determine mean differences at a significance level of 0.05. The mean knowledge score of students increased from 10.70 (95% confidence interval (CI): 10.15–11.24) pre-course out of a possible score of 20 to 13.25 (95%CI: 12.65–13.84) post-course (p < 0.001). Mean attitude score increased from 63.99 (95%CI: 62.41–65.56) out of a possible score of 70 to 65.17 (95%CI: 63.68–66.67) (p = 0.222). The mean OSCE score increased from 21.27 (95%CI: 20.20–22.34) out of a possible score of 58.5 to 34.73 (95%CI: 33.37–36.09) (p < 0.001). Mean post-course satisfaction score of students was 127.84 (95%CI: 124.97–130.89) out of a possible score of 147. The new curriculum on NB-IPC improved the competencies of student CHOs in LUTH and they were highly satisfied. The blended curriculum may be a feasible addition to learning in CHO schools across Nigeria. A blended curriculum on NB-IPC involving video teaching is effective in improving the competencies of student CHOs [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Malnutrition and depression have been found to be prevalent in the older persons and often lead to preventable adverse complications. Depression has been shown to be associated with malnutrition. This study was aimed at determining the predictors of depression and malnutrition among older persons attending selected primary health-care centers (PHC) in Kosofe local government area in Lagos, Nigeria. Methods: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study carried out among older persons attending PHC in Kosofe local government, Lagos. A multi-stage random technique was used to select the 219 participants from the PHC centers. Data were collected using a structured interviewer-administered questionnaire and analyzed using Epi Info 7.1. Chi-square was used to test the association between Socio-demographic characteristics and nutritional status, body mass index and depression, and one-way ANOVA was used to test for the association between anthropometric parameters and malnutrition. Associations were statistically significant if P < 0.05. Results: It was found that 57.9% were malnourished or at risk of malnutrition. The study showed that 47.1% of the participants were depressed. There was a significant association (<0.001) between the malnutrition and the level of depression. There was a statistically significant association between family support (P ≤ 0.001), malnutrition (P ≤ 0.001), and depression. There was statistically significant association between the height (P = 0.009), weight (P = 0.001), waist–hip ratio (P = 0.036), and the malnutrition. Remarkably, there was statistically significant association between the waist (P = 0.023) and hip circumference (P = 0.047) and their level of depression. Conclusion: The results from this study revealed a high prevalence of malnutrition and depression among older persons. Therefore, health providers working in PHC centers should have a high index of suspicion for depression among older persons with malnutrition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: risky and hard-to-reach populations like female sex workers (FSW) face a huge burden with sexually transmitted infections (STIs) among which is human Papilloma virus (HPV) infection. This study was conducted to evaluate the knowledge, attitudes and preventive practices for HPV infection among FSW in Lagos, Nigeria. Methods: a descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out among 403 respondents. The sampling units were FSW in brothels in two urban communities of Lagos. A multistage sampling technique was used for selection of respondents. Pre-tested, validated questionnaire was used for data collection. Responses to knowledge, attitude and practice questions were scored graded as poor (<50%) and good (≥50%). Bivariate analysis were carried out using Chi-square, Fisher exact test and student t-test. Logistic regression model was used for multivariate analysis. P-value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: the mean age of the respondents was 32.97 ± 8.43. Majority of the respondents were within the age range of 18-34 years (51.61%), christians (51.12%), single (42.93%) and had secondary education (52.61%). Among the respondents 51.61% had good knowledge, 97.27% had good attitude and 62.28% had good preventive practice. FSW belonging to the age group 35-51 or 52-68 years, were more likely to have a good knowledge compared to those between 18-34 years. FSW with no formal education or living with a relative are less likely to have a good knowledge, compared to those having primary education or living alone. FSW with traditional or other religious beliefs are less likely to have good preventive practices against HPV compared to christian religious belief. Having tertiary education or married makes a FSW less likely, while being widowed makes her more likely to have good preventive practice. FSW living with friends are more likely to be exposed to good preventive practices compared to those living alone. Conclusion: there is a need for regular health education program on HPV for FSW in order to increase their awareness and encourage best preventive practices against HPV. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: This study reports on a yearlong sequence of three periodic, virtual trainings in primary palliative care for healthcare professionals across Nigeria. Our overall objective was to determine the impact of the full course on participants' attitudes, knowledge, skills and plans to implement and deliver palliative care in their local contexts., Methods: The curriculum for this programme was codeveloped by a team of USA and Nigerian palliative care professionals and delivered via three 3-day virtual sessions. Daily surveys, knowledge tests and end-of-training surveys were administered to participants electronically. Demographics, knowledge scores, confidence levels and self-reported achievement were analysed using descriptive statistics., Results: Pretraining and post-training knowledge scores showed significant improvement with average gains of 10.3 percentage points in training 1 (p<0.001) to 11.7 percentage points in training 2 (p=0.01). More than three-quarters of participants improved their test scores. Most participants (89.4%-100%) agreed that they had achieved the daily learning objectives across all trainings. Nearly 100% of participants reported that they felt more empowered as healthcare workers, more confident in their decision-making and more comfortable communicating with patients and other healthcare workers about palliative care., Conclusions: Healthcare workers in Nigeria demonstrated increased knowledge and confidence in providing palliative care as a result of an adapted virtual training programme. Further research is needed to (1) demonstrate feasibility for online trainings in similar resource-limited settings and (2) evaluate impact on patient-centred outcomes., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2024. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)