The Prevalence of Cigarette Smoking and Knowledge of Its Health Implications among Adolescents in Owerri, South-Eastern Nigeria

Despite the growing problem of global cigarette use, accurate information on the prevalence and pattern in Nigerian adolescents’ remains sparse. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of cigarette smoking among in-school male adolescents in Nigerian population and to assess their level of knowledge on the health effects of cigarette smoking. A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out among 944 randomly selected in-school male adolescents in Owerri, south-east Nigeria, between September and November 2013. Information was obtained using a self-administered questionnaire. The findings indicated a prevalence of 15.3% for ever smoked adolescents and 11.2% for current smokers. The mean age at cigarette smoking initiation was 14 years. Sixty-three percent had good knowledge of health problems associated with cigarette smoking. Lung cancer was the most reported associated health problem. Fifty-two (36.1%) indicated that they were initiated by their friends who offered them their first stick of cigarette. The major reason for smoking cigarette the first time was to be like their friends/role model and out of curiosity. Poor knowledge of health effects of smoking was statistically associated with cigarette smoking (X2 = 26.82, p-value < 0.001). Knowledge of health problems associated with smoking proved to be the major reason for not smoking by never smoked adolescents, which means that awareness creation on health problems associated with cigarette smoking through health education in schools coupled with stiff legislative ban on sale of cigarette to adolescents will, to a reasonable extent, reduce the high prevalence of adolescent cigarette smoking in our society.

Assessment of the Accuracy of Estimation of Blood Loss by Health Care Professionals in Federal Medical Centre Assessment Owerri, Nigeria

Background: Visually estimated blood loss has long been known to be im-precise, inaccurate, and often underestimated, which may lead to delayed di-agnosis and treatment. Aim: To determine the accuracy of blood estimates by health workers in surgical and obstetric specialties. Methodology: This was a cross sectional single blinded observational study done in January 2016 to determine discrepancy between actual blood loss (ABL) and estimated blood loss (EBL) by consenting healthcare practitioners working in various surgical and obstetric departments of the Federal Medical centre, Owerri. Reconsti-tuted whole blood was obtained from the blood bank, and simulated scena-rios with known measured blood loss were created using common surgical materials. Visually estimated blood loss was performed by medical personnel. Percent errors of estimated blood loss were calculated and comparisons were made among the health professionals. The statistical analysis was done using SPSS version 21. Results: A total of 113 health professionals comprising 64 doctors and 49 nurses assessed 7 clinical scenarios. On the average, there was a general tendency for the health workers to under estimate the volume. Ma-jority of the participants underestimated the blood volume by more than 20% of actual volume. Though the nurses were more likely to underestimate blood volume than the doctors however, there was no statistical difference between the estimations by the nurses and the doctors except in station 3 with a p val-ue of 0.045. Conclusion: This finding calls for action in training and retrain-ing of every health worker in blood loss estimation, so that intervention can be initiated early.

Knowledge, Attitude and Practices of Food Hygiene among Food Vendors in Owerri, Imo State, Nigeria

Background: Food vendors play a critical food safety role in the “farm to plate” continuum that is necessary for the prevention and control of food borne diseases and therefore, any lack of its understanding by the food vendors poses a serious challenge to food safety. Objective: To assess the knowledge, attitude and hygienic practices of food vendors in Owerri town of Imo State, Nigeria. Methods: The study was a Cross-Sectional descriptive design that used a proportionate convenience sampling technique to select 200 food vendors from the three Local Government Areas (LGAs) in Owerri town. Data were collected using a pretested semi-structured interviewer administered questionnaire. Descriptive analyses were done with frequencies and summary statistics. Chi square statistics were computed to determine significant relationships and p value was set at 0.05 significant level. Results: While a majority of the respondents had a good level of knowledge (81%) and positive attitude (71%) about food hygiene, only 37% of the respondents had a good level of hygienic practice. It was revealed that 32% and 46% of the respondents received training on food hygiene and environmental health worker inspection respectively. It was also revealed that, there were statistically significant relationships between knowledge (p = 0.001), attitude (p = 0.000), formal training on food hygiene (p = 0.000) and the level of food hygienic practices. Conclusion: The public health management of food vending services should involve the development of strategies that will equip them with the necessary knowledge and skills to provide vending services in a hygienic and safe manner.

Assessment of Waste Management Practices among Residents of Owerri Municipal Imo State Nigeria

Poor waste management has been a major problem to human existence and it affects both rural and urban areas. Various methods of waste disposal exist and this study assessed the waste man-agement practices among residents of Owerri Municipal, Imo state, Nigeria. It was a descriptive cross sectional study in which a total of 282 residents of Owerri Municipal were selected by multistage sampling technique and studied using self and interviewer administered questionnaires. The results showed that 90% of respondents were aware of waste management while 97.5% had posi-tive attitude towards it. The major types of waste generated from households were food residues (97.1%) and vegetable products (95.4%). Also poor waste management practices among residents include open dumping, practiced by 66.3% of the residents and burning as practiced by 62.4% of respondents. The commonest means of waste transport to final disposal site was by wheel barrow. Gender and educational status of respondents significantly influenced their knowledge, attitude and practice of waste management (p < 0.05). Good waste management is pivotal to sustainable healthy living conditions in any environment. The residents of Owerri need health education, reg-ular supply of refuse collection facilities and designated final dump sites. These will encourage strict adherence to proper and appropriate waste management practices among them.

Assessment and Trend of Land Cover Land Use Changes in Owerri and Environs, South Eastern Nigeria

This study examined land cover and land use changes (LCLUC) in Owerri and environs from 1986 to 2016 and went further to determine the trend in the change of each LCLUC class. The satellite imagery of the area over the three decades was characterized into the different LCLUC classes and the changes in the areal extent of the different LCLUC classes were calculated and plotted, followed with the estimation of the trend?using?linear regression analysis method. The result?revealed that over the three decades, forests and sparse vegetation respectively decreased at a rate of 0.73% and 0.05% of the total land area per year while built up areas increased?almost equally in the opposite direction at a rate of 0.65% of the total land area per year. Open spaces and water bodies decreased at the rate of 0.11% and 0.02% of the total land area respectively which were as a result of the pressure for resources like land and sand for built infrastructure.?A model was derived for the LCLUC and it revealed that Owerri and environs may be devoid of vegetal cover in about 2 decades (2039) if the current rate of conversion of forests to built-up infrastructure is not abated.?This whole LCLUC scenario if not controlled may trigger changes in the local climate of the area and urgent steps are therefore needed to create awareness to all the stakeholders?in the area?on the need for sustainable land and natural resources use, tree planting, urban spatial plan and controls in order to safeguard the environment, ecosystem and climate of the area for the future.

An Assessment of Vehicular Emission in the Vicinity of Selected Markets in Owerri, Imo State, Nigeria

This study assessed pollutants concentration at selected markets in Owerri. These markets were purposively selected after careful consideration of all major markets in the study area;the selected markets were considered to be more congested during the day as a result of open assess to road junctions coupled with a high density of vehicular movement, presence of offices, residential buildings, and human activities. Five air pollutants from vehicular emissions were monitored, namely: carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide (CO2), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), particulate matter (PM 2.5) and particulate matter (PM 10). Assessments were carried out within 3 hours per dual diurnal section using approved standard methods which were converted to a 1-hour mean for the morning and afternoon period of sampling 7-10 am and 2-5 pm. These periods are known for the peak of human and vehicular movement within the study area. Results show that the highest level of CO concentration (0.293 - 0.387 ppm) was recorded at Alaba market and is less than the permissible limit of 35 ppm given by national ambient air quality standard (NAAQS). The highest range of CO2 (1153 - 1875 ppm) was recorded from Alaba market which is higher than the ambient standard of 314 ppm. The highest level of NO2 (0.116 - 0.297 ppm) was recorded from Relief market which is also higher than the permissible limit (0.100 ppm) of NAAQS. The highest range of particulate matter of PM 2.5 and PM 10 was recorded from Relief market (0.011 - 0.029 μg/m3) and (0.065 - 0.172 μg/m3) respectively and is far lower than the permissible limit (150 μg/m3) of NAAQS and WHO (base on target 1) standards. The study, therefore, concludes that there is a significant impact of emission from vehicles in the selected markets in Owerri metropolis as result indicates a high risk of health problems in the markets due to the high level of CO2 and NO2. It, therefore, recommends that an adequate mechanism should be put in place to decongest traffic density in the city especially near markets so as to have a substantial reduction in vehicular emissions and improve the livability of the citizens.

Knowledge and Practice of Breast Self-Examination among Female Undergraduates in South-Eastern Nigeria

Breast disease often presents as palpable masses (lumps), inflammatory lesions, nipple secretion, or mammography abnormalities;and this can be easily treated when discovered early. Breast Self-Examination (BSE) is the quickest and cheapest means of early breast cancer detection. The objective of this study was to determine the knowledge and practice of breast self-examination among female undergraduates in Owerri, south eastern Nigeria. A multi-stage sampling design was used to select participants. Interview using structured questionnaire was conducted on randomly selected respondents in six faculties from each tertiary institution. Questionnaire was prepared in English and was self-administered. Permission to conduct the survey was requested and obtained from the university ethical review board. Informed verbal and written consent was obtained from participants. Confidentiality of information was maintained throughout the study. Knowledge and practice of BSE was examined among 720 randomly selected female undergraduates aged 16 to 28 years. It was found that 98.9 percent have heard of BSE but only 32.5 percent of them performed this examination accurately and monthly as required. There is a statistically significant relationship between knowledge of risk factors for breast cancer and practice of BSE (χ2 = 31.17, P χ2 = 86.75, P χ2 = 75.94, P < 0.001). These female undergraduates had a poor knowledge of the right procedure and practice of BSE;therefore there is need for awareness creation on the risks of breast cancer and benefits of early detection among female undergraduates through breast self-examination.

Fibroadenoma in Blacks

Background: Fibroadenoma is the commonest benign tumour of the breast affecting the majority of young females below the age of thirty in our environment. It is a source of concern and psychological problems in females requiring medical attention in our hospitals. Aim: This study describes the clinicopathologic characteristics of fibroadenoma in Eastern Nigerian Igbo females. Methodology: The archives of the Department of Pathology Federal Medical Centre, Owerri was used for the data collection and analyzed using simple statistics. Results: 504 fibroadenomas were analyzed. The average size was 1.99 cm with a range of 0.5 cm to 18 cm. The average age of the patients was 22.6 ± 6.7 years with a range of 9 to 60 years. The peak age of incidence was in the 11 - 20 (44.64%) age group followed closely by the 21 - 30 (43.45%) age group. The ratio of involvement of the left to the right breast was 1:1.2. Fibroadenoma was 18% multiple and 10.7% bilateral. 5.3% (27), 0.6% (3), and 0.2% (1) of the cases were giant, complex fibroadenoma and malignant breast disease in fibroadenoma respectively. Conclusion: This study has provided insights into the clinicopathologic characteristics of fibroadenoma among Nigerian Igbos and calls for more research in this area in other parts Nigeria and elsewhere.