Depression&Anxiety Among Women in Northern Kenya:Sociodemographic Predictors

This article documents socio-demographic predictors of anxiety and depression among Maasai women in resource poor settings in Northern Kenya.These findings emerged from the findings of a dissertation research that aimed to establish the treatment effectiveness of an eclectic model of psychoeducation(PE)in treating depressive and anxiety symptoms among the women.The study adopted a quasi-experimental research design which had an experimental group(EG)and control group(CG).The population for the study was 686 female members of Conservation Enterprise Groups(CEG)in Laikipia County,from which a sample of 200 were recruited for the study(EG,n=100 and CG,n=100),at 80%power and 30%effective size.The Beck’s Depression Inventory(BDI)and Beck’s Anxiety Inventory(BAI)tools were used to assess the symptoms of depression and anxiety,respectively.The PE was provided as an intervention treatment to the EG at the middle and end of the study,after which the respondents were tested for symptoms of depression.The study established the prevalence of depression as 26.7%and 31.3%for anxiety and disorders,among women in the region.Data was analyzed using SPSS Version 21.0.

Sociodemographic and Economic Factors Associated with Urinary Bilharzia in the Municipalities of Sô-Ava, Aguegues and N’Dali in Benin

Introduction: This research, conducted in the municipalities of Aguégués, Sô-Ava, and N’dali in Benin, focused on identifying socio-demographic and economic factors associated with urinary bilharzia in 415 school-aged children from 8 to 14 years. Using urine test strips and filtration techniques, the study found prevalences ranging from 11.88% to 34.53% across the municipalities. Method: Epidemiological data (urine) were collected and examined with test strips to assess the presence of terminal haematuria: the prevalence of infestation and parasite density was quantified using the filtration technique. Socio-demographic and economic factors were recorded using a questionnaire to assess the correlation with disease. Results: Prevalences of 34.53% (N = 48 out of 139), 13.53% (N = 18 out of 133) and 11.88% (N = 17 out of 143) respectively for the municipalities of Aguégués, N’dali and Sô Ava were calculated. The study showed that the variables “age”, “sex”, “religion” and “socio-professional” activity were not significantly correlated with bilharziasis (p > 0.05) and it appears that these factors are not related to bilharziasis in the surveyed households. While age, sex, religion, and socio-professional activity showed no significant correlation with bilharziasis, factors like agriculture, fishing, and place of residence were statistically significant in relation to the disease. Conclusion: The findings suggest that these socio-demographic and economic factors impede the elimination of schistosomiasis in the examined areas.

Cognition and Sociodemographic Determinants for Effective Pain Control in Patients with Cancer Pain: a Cross-sectional Survey in China

This cross-sectional study aimed to investigate cancer patients'cognitive level of pain control and to evaluate the patient-related factors or barriers to effective cancer pain management in China.In seven tertiary hospitals across China,372 patients experiencing cancer pain were surveyed through a self-designed questionnaire to assess the factors associated with effective pain control.Patients'demographic data and pain control-related factors were recorded.Cluster sampling and binary logistic regression models were used to investigate the association between predictive factors and effective pain control.The survey showed that the majority of the patients were more than 45 years old(76.3%),and 64.4%had an average annual income of more than 20000 RMB.One-third of the patients suffered from cancer pain for more than 3 months,and 75.1%received professional guidance during medication.The barriers to pain control for patients included preference to enduring pain and refusing analgesics(62.9%),negligence towards drug usage(28.5%),concerns about the addiction(48.2%)and adverse reaction(56.4%).The average annual family income,pro fessional guidance,knowledge of pain medication,adherence to analgesics,and concerns about addiction to analgesics were significantly correlated to the effect of patients'pain control.The study presents major barriers to optimal pain control among patients with cancer in China.Our findings suggest that educational programs and medical insurance reimbursement support from the government are urgently needed to overcome the cognitive barriers toward effective pain management and to relieve the economic burden among patients with cancer pain in China.

Sociodemographic characteristics, cultural biases, and environmental attitudes: An empirical application of grid-group cultural theory in Northwestern China

Natural resource-management studies have become increasingly attentive to the influences of human factors. Among these,cultural biases shape people's responses to changes in natural resource systems. Several studies have applied grid-group cultural theory to assess the effects of multiple value biases among stakeholders on natural resource management. We developed and administered a questionnaire in the Heihe River Basin(n = 364) in northwestern China to investigate the appropriateness of applying this theory in the Chinese context of natural resource management. The results revealed various cultural biases among the respondents. In descending order of prevalence, these biases were hierarchism(46.98%), individualism(26.65%), egalitarianism(18.96%), and fatalism(2.78%), with the remaining respondents(4.67%) evidencing no obvious bias. Our empirical study revealed respondents' worldviews and the influence of sociodemographic characteristics on cultural biases, as theoretically posited. Among the variables examined, age had a positive and significant effect across all biases except individualism. The correlation of income to all cultural biases was consistently negative. Only education had a negative and significant effect across all biases. Women were found to adhere to egalitarianism, whereas men adhered to individualism and hierarchism. Thus, grid-group cultural theory was found to be appropriate in the Chinese context, with gender, age, education, and income evidently accounting for cultural biases. Relationships between environmental attitudes and cultural biases conformed with the hypothesis advanced by grid-group cultural theory. This finding may be of value in explaining individuals' environmental attitudes and facilitating the development and implementation of natural resource-management policies.

The Practice of Exclusive Breastfeeding and Its Sociodemographic Determinants amongst Nursing Mothers at a Tertiary Health Care Institution in South East, Nigeria

Background: Breastfeeding is a natural and critical act that provides nutrients and energy for the infant and young child;and through a public health intervention such as exclusive breastfeeding, it improves the survival rates of the infant. Objective: To determine the breastfeeding practices and the sociodemographic determinants of exclusive breastfeeding amongst nursing mothers present at the Imo state university teaching hospital Orlu. Methods: A cross sectional analytical study design was used that included all nursing mothers present within a 4 week study period. Data was collected using a structured questionnaire. Descriptive analyses were done with frequencies and summary statistics. Chi square statistics were computed to determine significant associations and binary logistic regression was used to determine sociodemographic predictors of exclusive breastfeeding practice. P value was set at 0.05 significant level. Results: While most of the respondents were aware of exclusive breastfeeding (92.5%), only 24% of the respondents were practicing exclusive breastfeeding. Work and school activities, and the feeling that breast milk was insufficient for the needs of the baby were the reasons for not practicing exclusive breastfeeding for a majority of the respondents (56.6%). Furthermore, 61% of those that were practicing non-exclusive breast feeding gave a cereal or infant formula in addition to the breast milk for 3 to 6 months. It was further revealed that there were statistically significant relationships between breastfeeding practice and maternal age (p = 0.003), level of maternal education (p = 0.005) and maternal occupation (p = 0.006). Conclusion: Understanding and taking into cognizance the sociodemographic characteristics will enable the design, and adequate delivery of appropriate and effective strategies that improve exclusive breastfeeding practice.

Sociodemographic Factors of Alcohol Consumption in a Population of Hospitalized Patients in Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso)

The prevalence of excessive alcohol consumption is high in our context. The fight against this scourge requires accurate identification of sociodemographic factors for a better communication strategy. Objective: To determine the sociodemographic factors associated with alcohol consumption in a population of hospitalized patients. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted during two months in 14 hospital departments of the University Hospital CHU-Yalgado Ouédraogo (CHUYO) in Ouagadougou, by interview and document review. All patients hospitalized for less than a year, aged 18 at least and consenting were included. Excessive alcohol consumption was defined as consumption ≥210 g/week in men and 140 g/week in women according to WHO, a score ≥8 in men and in women ≥7 by AUDIT Questionnaire, a score ≥2 according to the DETA questionnaire. Socio-demographic factors as age, sex, religion, educational level, marital status, occupation and salary status were filled for all patients. Results: A total of 391 patients were included. The average age was 44 ± 16.26 years and the sex ratio of 1.34. Among them, 135 (34.53%) were consumers of alcohol. The prevalence of excessive consumption ranged from 7.92% to 10.49%. A statistically significant relationship was found between alcohol consumption and sex (p 0.03), religion (p 0.01) and education level (p 0.01). On the contrary, no significant relationship was found between alcohol consumption, age, marital status and occupation. The salary status “employee” appears to promote the consumption of alcohol by some tools. Conclusion: The excessive consumption of alcohol is common in our population especially by educated men of non-Muslim religion. This hypothesis should be corroborated in a study within the general population to better set control strategies against this scourge.

Investigation of Relationship between Sociodemographic Factors and HIV Counseling and Testing (HCT) among Young People in Nigeria

The main purpose of this study was to examine the association between sociodemographic factors (gender, place of residence, level of education, geopolitical zone, and socioeconomic status) and HCT uptake among young people in Nigeria. The study is a quantitative research guided by one research question and one hypothesis. The target population comprised young people in Nigeria ages 15 to 24 years because the focus of this study was to identify the factors affecting HCT uptake among young people in this age cohort. The representative sample was obtained from the updated master sample frame of rural and urban zones developed by the National Population Commission in Nigeria. This master sample frame was a national survey that comprises all 36 states in Nigeria. Probability sampling technique was used to obtain a sample of 10,091 respondents (ages 15 to 24 years) for the study. The multistage cluster sampling was used to select suitable young people with known probability. Data were collected throughout Nigeria between September and December 2012 from 32,543 households (rural = 22,192;urban = 10,351) using structured and semi-structured questionnaires. The individual questionnaires asked about household characteristics, background characteristics of the respondents. Data were analyzed by inputting them into SPSS v21.0 for analysis and then coded them for each participant. The data were summed using descriptive statistics. Frequencies and percentages;measures of central tendencies were used to answer the research question while nonparametric test such as chi-square was used to analyze non-normally distributed data at 0.5 level of significance. Results of data analysis indicated that the sociodemographic variables of gender, place of residence, level of education, geopolitical zone, and SES were significantly associated with HCT uptake. Among others, it was recommended that examining the efficacy of HCT treatments in Nigeria, along with conducting a demographic analysis of the at-risk population, could be beneficial in informing the authorities who are responsible for allocating finite medical resources.

Psychological Well-Being of Adolescents in South Western Nigeria: Its Association with Sociodemographic Characteristics and Perceived Food Insecurity

Psychological well-being (PWB) which is a measure of life satisfaction in adolescence plays a great role in their behavioral lifestyle. The aim of this study was to assess the adolescents’ psychological well-being, its association with perceived food insecurity, and their sociodemographic characteristics. Using multistage random sampling, 352 students from three secondary schools in Ado Local Government in Nigeria were recruited. A self-administered questionnaire adapted from existing literature was used for data collection. About fifty-six percent of the adolescents had high psychological well-being. Most of the students studied had a high estimate of themselves in their self-autonomy and personal growth development. While Tribe (p = 0.032), type of family (p < 0.001), present class (p = 0.039) and class repetition (p = 0.018) were significantly associated with psychological well-being of adolescents, most adolescents had a medium to high food insecurity. Self-autonomy and personal growth development in adolescents are associated with the type of family structure, the higher the social class of the family and the lower of the occurrence of repetition of a class shall be. A stable family environment is beneficial to adolescents.

Sociodemographic and Scanographic Aspects of Primary Bronchopulmonary Cancer in a Hospital in Mali

Summary: A malignant tumour that develops from the bronchial epithelium and then invades the lungs. It ranks third after colorectal and breast cancer. In Mali, computed tomography (CT) is the main imaging tool used at all stages of treatment. We had initiated this study with the objective of specifying the place of CT in the diagnosis of primary bronchopulmonary cancer at the hospital of Mali. Method: This is a prospective and descriptive study conducted by the Medical Imaging and Thoracic Surgery departments at Mali Hospital from March 2014 to February 2015. All the patients who have benefited from a CT scan and presenting at least one histologically confirmed bronchopulmonary tumor were included. Results: We were recruiting 60 patients with bronchopulmonary cancers out of 500 referred for a thoracic CT scan performed, a frequency of 12%. There was one male patient with a sex ratio of 4H/1F. The average age was 60 years. The history of smoking was 85%. The symptoms were dominated by general condition (63.33%), cough (25%) and haemoptysis (58.33%). CT scans were performed in all patients. The lesions were located more in the lower lobes (71%). The tumours were: heterogeneous tissue density (70%), spiculated contours (80%), and the histology was more non-small cell carcinoma. Conclusion: The incidence of bronchopulmonary cancer is very high and its prognosis is poor at an advanced stage. The evaluative role of CT and biopsy guidance has given it a place of choice in its management. The diagnosis of certainty remains histology.

Sociodemographic characteristics and risk factor analysis of Demodex infestation(Acari:Demodicidae)

To identify sociodemographic characteristics and risk factor of Demodex infestation,756 students aged 13-22 years in Xi'an,China were sampled for the school-based cross-sectional study.Demodex was examined using the cellophane tape method(CTP).The results showed that the total detection rate of Demodex was 67.6%.Logistic regression analysis revealed that five variables(gender,residence,sharing sanitary ware,frequency of face-wash per day,and use of facial cleanser) were found to be uncorrelated with Demodex infestation,whereas three variables(age,skin type,and skin disease) were found to be independent correlates.Students aged over 18 years had 22.1 times higher odds of Demodex infestation compared to those under 16 years and students aged 16-18 years also had 2.1 times higher odds compared to those aged 13-15 years.Odds of having a Demodex infestation for oily or mixed skin were 2.1 times those for dry or neutral skin.Students with a facial skin disease had 3.0 times higher odds of being infested with Demodex compared to those without.The inception rate of students with facial dermatoses increased in parallel with increasing mite count.The inception rates were 21.3%,40.7%,59.2%,and 67.7% in the negative,mild,moderate,and severe infestation groups,respectively(χ2=60.6,P<0.001).Specifically,the amount of infested mites and inception rate of acne vulgaris were positively correlated(R2=0.57,moderate infestation odds ratio(OR)=7.1,severe infestation OR=10.3).It was concluded that Demodex prevalence increases with age,and Demodex presents in nearly all adult human.Sebaceous hyperplasia with oily or mixed skin seems to favour Demodex proliferation.Demodex infestation could be associated with acne vulgaris.The CTP is a good sampling method for studies of Demodex prevalence.

Nutritional status in adolescent girls:Attempt to determine its prevalence and its association with sociodemographic variables

Objective:To determine the prevalence of malnutrition among adolescent girls and to assess the association of nutrition with sociodemographic variables.Methods:A cross-sectional study was conducted among adolescent girls aged 16-19 years.Data regarding sociodemographic variables were collected by administration of a prestructured,pretested questionnaire.Height and weight were measured by standardized techniques in a sample of 700 adolescents.BMI was calculated.IBM SPSS Statistics version 22 was used to determine proportions and for chi-square analysis,independence tests,and binary logistic regression.Results:We found 36.2%of adolescent girls were malnourished,among whom 33.7%were obese and 66.3%were undernourished.Conclusion:Age and education of the mother and father were found to be significantly associated with malnutrition.

Surveillance of emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants by nanopore technology-based genome sequencing

Objective:To surveill emerging variants by nanopore technology-based genome sequencing in different COVID-19 waves in Sri Lanka and to examine the association with the sample characteristics,and vaccination status.Methods:The study analyzed 207 RNA positive swab samples received to sequence laboratory during different waves.The N gene cut-off threshold of less than 30 was considered as the major inclusion criteria.Viral RNA was extracted,and elutes were subjected to nanopore sequencing.All the sequencing data were uploaded in the publicly accessible database,GISAID.Results:The Omicron,Delta and Alpha variants accounted for 58%,22%and 4%of the variants throughout the period.Less than 1%were Kappa variant and 16%of the study samples remained unassigned.Omicron variant was circulated among all age groups and in all the provinces.Ct value and variants assigned percentage was 100%in Ct values of 10-15 while only 45%assigned Ct value over 25.Conclusions:The present study examined the emergence,prevalence,and distribution of SARS-CoV-2 variants locally and has shown that nanopore technology-based genome sequencing enables whole genome sequencing in a low resource setting country.

Risk factors and natural history of breast cancer in younger Chinese women

AIM: To investigate the age differences in the risk factors, clinicopathological characteristics and patterns of treatment of female breast cancer patients. METHODS: Seven thousand one hundred and fiftytwo women with primary breast cancer from the Hong Kong Breast Cancer Registry were recruited after receiving patients' consent, they were asked to complete standardized questionnaires which captured their sociodemographic characteristics and risk factors associated with breast cancer development. Among them, clinicopathological data and patterns of treatment were further collected from medical records of 5523 patients with invasive breast cancers. Patients were divided into two groups according to the age at diagnosis: younger(< 40 years old) vs older patients(≥ 40 years old) for subsequent analyses.RESULTS: Analysis on the sociodemographic characteristics and exposure to risk factors were performed on 7152 women with primary breast cancer and the results revealed that younger patients were more likely to have unhealthy lifestyles; these include a lack of exercise(85.4% vs 73.2%, P < 0.001), having high stress in life(46.1% vs 35.5%, P < 0.001), having dairy/meat-rich diets(20.2% vs 12.9%, P < 0.001),having alcohol drinking habit(7.7% vs 5.2%, P = 0.002). Younger patients were also more likely to have hormone-related risk factors including nulliparity(43.3% vs 17.8%, P < 0.001) and an early age at menarche(20.7% vs 13.2%, P < 0.001). Analyses on clinicopathological characteristics and patterns of treatment were performed on 5523 women diagnosed with invasive breast cancer. The invasive tumours in younger patients showed more aggressive pathological features such as having a higher percentage of grade 3 histology(45.7% vs 36.5%, P < 0.001), having a higher proportion of tumours with lymphovascular invasion(39.6% vs 33.2%, P = 0.003), and having multifocal disease(15.7% vs 10.3%, P < 0.001); they received different patterns of treatment than their older counterparts.CONCLUSION: Younger patients in Hong Kong are more likely to encounter risk factors associated with breast cancer development and have more aggressive tumours than their older counterparts.

Self-evaluated health of married people in Jamaica

Background: In the Caribbean in particular Ja-maica, no study has been done to examine married respondents in order to understand reasons for their greater health status. The ob-jectives of the current study are: 1) examine the sociodemographic characteristics of married people in Jamaica;2) evaluate self-rated health status of married people in Jamaica;3) deter-mine factors that account for good health status of married people and 4) provide public health practitioners with empirical studies that can be used to formulate policies for men in particular non-married men in Jamaica. Materials and me- thods: Stratified random sampling technique was used to select 6,783 respondents. It was a nationally representative sample. Logistic re-gression analysis was used to ascertain the correlates of health status. Results: The mean age for women in marriage in Jamaica was 6 years lower than that of men. The correlates of good health status (including moderate health) of respondents in descending order were self- reported illness (OR = 0.12, 95%CI = 0.01- 0.17);age (OR = 0.94, 95%CI = 0.93-0.96);income (OR = 1.32, 95%CI = 1.05-1.66) and sex of respon-dents (Or = 1.14-2.32)—χ2(df = 4) = 383.2, P < 0.05. The four variables accounted for 44.4% of the explanatory power of the model;with self-reported illness accounting for 32.5% of the explanatory power. Conclusion: Marriage pro-vides greater access to more socioeconomic resources for its participants as well as increase men’s unwillingness to visit medical care prac-titioners.

Relationship between Socio-Demographic Factors and Eating Practices in a Multicultural Society

There is currently a dearth of information pertaining to socio-demographic factors and eating practices in a multicultural country like Mauritius. This study was therefore undertaken to probe the different eating practices among an adult sample population in Mauritius in an endeavor to establish significant relationships, if any, with common socio-demographic and socio-economic factors. A self-designed questionnaire, (randomly distributed to n = 387 adults), pertaining to socio-demographic variables, vegetarianism, breakfast patterns, eating out of home meals (OHMs), food frequency questions and dieting practices were asked. Males (21 - 40 yrs) had a significantly (p 0.05) to adherence to the recommendations for the consumption of fish. The socio-demographic factors most influential towards eating practices were gender, age and socio-economic status represented by education and occupation. In conclusion, relationships recorded in the present study were comparable to Western eating practices and the availability of certain foods has compelled Mauritians to develop its own and unique eating patterns which can be of relevance in providing accurate health targets for future nutrition interventions in Mauritius.

Profiling the Socio-Demographic Characteristics and Outcome of Preterm Delivery in Alex Ekwueme Federal University Teaching Hospital Abakaliki

Background: Preterm delivery is a major cause of perinatal morbidity and mortality globally. In more than half of the cases, the exact cause is unknown and it is largely unpredictable. Certain maternal, social and demographic characteristics are risk factors and often help to predict and prognosticate the neonatal outcomes. Objective: This study was designed to determine the maternal socio-demographic characteristics and neonatal outcomes of patients managed for singleton preterm delivery in Alex Ekwueme Federal University Teaching Hospital, Abakaliki. Method: This was a 4-year retrospective analysis of patients managed for preterm birth from 1st January 2012 through 31st December 2015. Results: Over the study period there were a total number of 623 singleton preterm deliveries in the facility, while there were 9647 deliveries in the facility;the preterm birth rate was 6.5% or 65 per 1000 deliveries. The mean maternal age was 28.79 ± 5.33 while the mean parity was 1.89 ± 1.98. The mean gestational age and birth weight were 33.67 ± 2.62 and 2.30 ± 0.78 kg respectively. Apgar score in 1 minute was 6.89 ± 3.27, while in the 5th minute was 7.95 ± 3.42. Majority of the patients were multiparous and booked for antenatal care in the facility. Most of the preterm labour started spontaneously and were delivered vaginally. The caesarean section rate in this study was 35.5%. Fetal distress and preeclampsia/eclampsia were the commonest indications for caesarean section. The male to female ratio was 1.1:1. Nearly half of the neonates were born with normal birth weight and 427 (68.5%) were alive at discharge. However, 196 (31.5%) suffered early neonatal death due to prematurity. Maternal parity, booking status and fetal weight were significant determinants of fetal outcome with a p-value 0.05. Conclusion: Birth weight was the most important determinant of neonatal survival and the unbooked patient was an important determinant of poor outcome. Booking for antenatal care and ensuring optimal weight at delivery would go a long way at reducing the poor neonatal outcome associated with preterm delivery.

Cannabis Use among People with Mental Illness: Clinical and Socio-Demographic Characteristics

Background: Cannabis can be associated with short-term and long-term adverse effects such as psychotic states, risk of dependence, provoking relapse and aggravating existing psychotic symptoms. Aim: The current study is a descriptive cross-sectional hospital based study that aims to identify the prevalence and correlates of cannabis use among patients with mental illness. Methods: The study was conducted in two outpatient psychiatry clinics in Khartoum (Sudan). The sample size was 348 consecutive patients over 2 months’ study period. Clinical and sociodemographic characteristics were documented. Descriptive statistics was used to describe the data variables, and tabulated tables were used to calculate chi-square test for categorical data and the significance was set at p Results: A total of 96 participants (27.6%) had history of cannabis abuse;all of them were male patients. The majority (51%) started to use cannabis between 10 - 19 years of age, and most of them (86.6%) had a duration of less than five years of using cannabis. Psychiatric symptoms occurred after starting cannabis use in 17.7% of cases. We found a statistically significant difference related to age when comparing the age of cannabis users and non-users (p = 0.0239). The majority of patients with comorbid mental illness and cannabis abuse (89.5%) were below the age of 40 years. There was also statistically significant association between educational level achieved and history of using cannabis (p = 0.00001). Those with history of cannabis are more likely to be manual laborers (46.9%), and those with no history of cannabis were mostly unemployed (44%), indicating significant influence of employment history (p = 0.0064). The relation between using cannabis and the clinical psychiatric diagnosis was not statically significant (p = 0.125). Conclusion: Cannabis use is highly prevalent among people with mental illness. It is related to age, educational level and type of work.

Stillbirth at a Nigerian Tertiary Hospital

Background: Despite improvements in antenatal and intrapartum care, stillbirth still remains an important, largely understudied and pregnant problem in obstetrics. Most of the stillbirths occur in the developing world and the majority of stillbirths are preventable. Objective: To determine the stillbirth rate, the identifiable risk factors and sociodemographic factors associated with stillbirths. Materials and Methods: This was a retrospective review of all deliveries conducted at UATH over a five-year period spanning from the January 2012 to December 2016. In this study, stillbirths were considered as foetal death at or after 28 weeks of gestation or a birth weight of 1000 g or more. The folders of cases that met the definition of stillbirth within the study period were retrieved and analyzed for sociodemographic factors, type of stillbirth, fetomaternal determinants of stillbirths and presumptive/identifiable risk factors for the stillbirth. Results: There were a total of 5714 deliveries within the period under review, of which 288 resulted in stillbirths giving an institutional stillbirth rate of 50.4/1000 deliveries. Out of the 288 stillbirths, 136 (47.2%) were fresh stillbirths while 152 (52.8%) were macerated. Macerated stillbirth (152, 52.8%) was slightly predominant, with obstructed labour 94 (32.6%) being responsible for most of the stillbirths. Most of the stillbirths were preterm (183, 63.5%). There were 6 congenitally malformed stillbirth foetuses and no autopsy was carried out on any of the 288 stillborn. However, majority of the parturients who had stillbirth were unemployed (137, 47.6%) and uneducated (110, 38.2%). Conclusion: The stillbirth rate within the study period appears. Complications of labour seem to be the leading risk factor for stillbirth in this study. Low socioeconomic status underscores the need to reduce factors related to social, educational, occupational and healthy inequalities in the developing world.

An Evaluation of a Cataract Surgical Camp in New Karu L.G.A., Nasarawa State, Nigeria

Aim: To describe the socio-demographic profile of the participants and the ocular pathologies seen during a 3-day free eye screening and cataract surgical camp, to identify the groups we need to create awareness to, and to improve access in subsequent outreaches. Method: A retrospective cross-sectional descriptive study was carried out among 552 participants that attended a cataract surgical outreach camp in New Karu Local Government Area (L.G.A.), Nasarawa State from 10th to 14th September 2013. Data were analyzed using SPSS Version 20 using descriptive analysis such as frequencies and cross-tabulation. P Results: Six hundred and sixty-six people registered and 552 were examined comprising of 205 males and 347 females. The majority (81.7%) were younger than 60 years old, accounting for 4.5 times more than those older than 60. Females were in the majority (63%). Amongst those older than 60 years, males were slightly higher as compared to those younger than 60 years, where females were twice as much. Most of the participants (71.3%) reside within the L.G.A. Amongst those that reside within the L.G.A., females were twice the men and there was a fairly even distribution of both sexes amongst those that reside outside the L.G.A. The majority of the screened participants (41%) required presbyopic correction. Cataract was the second commonest ocular pathology (22.6%) and 53 (9.6%) participants with VA ≤ 6/60 were offered the free cataract surgery. Conclusion: There was an increase in female participation and those younger than 60 years. Amongst those younger than 60 years and those that reside within New Karu L.G.A., female participation was twice as much as males. When the barrier of distance is eliminated, it increases female participation.

Socio-Demographic Factors Associated with Psychoactive Substance Use among Commercial Motorcycle Operators in Kano, Nigeria

Background: Psychoactive substance use was common among commercial motorcycle operators. Studies had shown that there were some socio-demographic factors which were commoner among commercial motorcycle operators who used psychoactive substances. However, this was not explored among commercial motorcycle operators in Kano, North Western Nigeria. Aim: The aim of the study was to determine the socio-demographic factors associated with psychoactive substance use among motorcycle operators in Kano, Northwestern Nigeria. Methods: It was a cross-sectional study. Instrument used for data collection included socio-demographic questionnaire and World Health Organisation Student Drug Use Questionnaire. Data analysis was done using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) 16th edition. Results: Commercial motorcycle operators who used substances were found to be of younger age group (X2 = 10.9, P < 0.001), single (X2 = 4.3, P = 0.034) and had a father who used tobacco (X2 = 4.28, P = 0.04). Participants who were single were more likely to use inhalants (X2 = 21.06, P =0.001), opiates (X2 = 11.82, P = 0.012), cannabis (X2 = 5.12, P = 0.028) and stimulants (X2 = 5.12, P = 0.028) compared to those who were married. Conclusion: This study found that being of younger age, being single, and having a father who smoked were significantly associated with psychoactive substance use. Participants who were singles were more likely to use inhalants, opiates, cannabis and stimulants. No relationship was observed between the age of the respondents and specific substance use. Legislations should be enacted to reduce the rate of psychoactive substance use among motorcycle operators and general population at large.