International Journal of Public Health and Epidemiology

International Journal of Public Health and Epidemiology ISSN 2326-7291 Vol. 8 (9), pp. 001-005, September, 2019. © International Scholars Journals

Full Length Research Paper

Patient waiting time in a tertiary health institution in Northern Nigeria

Umar I., Oche M. O.* and Umar A. S.

Department of Community Health, Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto, Nigeria.

Accepted 07 April, 2019

Abstract

The amount of time a patient waits to be seen is one factor which affects the utilization of health care services. Patient satisfaction has emerged as an increasingly important parameter in the assessment of quality of health care; hence, healthcare facility performance can be best assessed by measuring the level of patient’s satisfaction. This was a cross-sectional descriptive study carried out at the out patients’ departments of the Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto. A total of 384 new patients were randomly selected into the study. A set of pretested questionnaires was used to extract information from the respondents; descriptive statistics was used for analysis. A total of 118 (31%) of the patients waited for less than an hour in the waiting room, while 371 (96.6%) spent less than 30 min with the doctor. More than half, 211 (55%) of the respondents were satisfied with the service delivery in the hospital, while only 63 (16%) of the respondents admitted to being given health talks while waiting to be seen by the doctor. Although majority of the patients waited for more than 1 h before being attended to, more than half of them were however satisfied with the services rendered to them. There is the need for health care institutions and providers to put in place measures aimed at reducing waiting time and ensuring patient satisfaction.

Key words: Waiting time, outpatient department, satisfaction, Sokoto.

International Journal of Public Health and Epidemiology ISSN 2326-7291 Vol. 8 (9), pp. 001-007, September, 2019. © International Scholars Journals

Full Length Research Paper

Patient satisfaction and expectations of the quality of service of University affiliated dermatology clinics

Abdullateef A. Alzolibani

Department of Dermatology, College of Medicine, Qassim University, P. O. Box 30109, Buraidah 51477 Qassim, Saudi Arabia. E-mail: [email protected]. Tel: +966-6-3800050 Ext. 2862. Fax: +966-6-3801228.

Accepted 09 April, 2019

Abstract

Patient satisfaction is the major indicator of quality of care provided by a health facility. To determine the level of patient satisfaction with medical care at the Dermatology Clinics affiliated to Qassim University, Saudi Arabia and to identify the socio-demographic characteristics of patients that might influence the level of satisfaction. A cross-sectional survey of 741 patients attending the Outpatient Dermatology Clinics affiliated to Qassim University, Saudi Arabia during the time period from January 1st to March 30th 2010. An Arabic language questionnaire was used to assess various domains of patient satisfaction. The satisfaction rate for overall quality of dermatology services was 66.1% in our patients. High levels of satisfaction were expressed about the general maintenance and hygienic conditions of the clinic. About 38% of patients indicated their dissatisfaction regarding the waiting time for appointment and about 40% were not satisfied about the information they received about their problems. About 48% felt that the consultation time was inadequate and 36.7% felt that they were not allowed to express their symptoms in detail. A significantly high level of satisfaction was associated with female gender, age below 40, single status, low education, low socioeconomic status and rural residence. We also found that patients coming on their first visits were significantly more satisfied than those on follow up visits. Majority of our patients were satisfied with overall care. However, specific questioning exposed certain areas that need to be improved such as reducing waiting period for appointments, providing more information about the disease and by ensuring that patients have the opportunity to ask questions.

Key words: Patient satisfaction, dermatology clinic, satisfaction score, quality of care.

International Journal of Public Health and Epidemiology ISSN 2326-7291 Vol. 8 (8), pp. 001-005, August, 2019. © International Scholars Journals

Full Length Research Paper

Bacteria contamination of raw meat sold in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State Nigeria

Iroha I. R.¹*, Ugbo E. C.¹, Ilang D. C.¹, Oji A. E.¹ and Ayogu T. E.²

¹Department of Applied Microbiology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Ebonyi State University, P. M. B. 053,

Abakaliki Ebonyi State, Nigeria.

²Department of Food Technology, Institute of Management and technology, Enugu, P. M. B. 01079, Enugu State, Nigeria.

Accepted 24 May, 2019

Abstract

Frequency of contamination in retail meat sold in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State was examined in the present study. Three hundred raw meat samples including beef (n = 100), chicken (n = 100), chevron (n = 100) were collected from Abakaliki abattoir and were analyzed for microbiological contamination using standard Microbiological methods. Antimicrobial susceptibility of isolated microbes was determined using the Kirby and Bauer method of disc diffusion. Out of the 300 samples, 79 (29.3%) were contaminated with bacteria species including Bacillus cereus, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella typhi, Shigella dysenteriae and Staphylococcus aureus. Of these, E. coli had the highest occurrence (8%), followed by K. pneumoniae (5.3%), S. typhi (5%), S. dysenteriae 2.6%, P. aeruginosa 2.0%, B. cereus 2.0% and S. aureus (1.3%). The antibiotic susceptibility studies showed an alarming level of resistance to all the tested antibiotics reflecting multi-drug resistant strains. Our data confirms the circulation of antibiotic resistant pathogens in raw meat sold in Abakaliki abattoir and market, which could possibly play a role in the spread of antimicrobial resistance amongst food-borne bacteria.

Key words: Meat, abattoir, contamination, antibiotic resistance.

International Journal of Public Health and Epidemiology ISSN 2326-7291 Vol. 8 (8), pp. 001-006, August, 2019. © International Scholars Journals

Full Length Research Paper

Prevalence and correlates for tobacco smoking among persons aged 25 years or older in Lusaka urban district, Zambia

Seter Siziya¹*, Olusegun Babaniyi², Peter Songolo² and Mutale Nsakashalo-Senkwe³

¹Department of Community Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Zambia, Lusaka, Zambia.

²World Health Organization, Country Office, Lusaka, Zambia.

Accepted 11 January, 2019

Abstract

Tobacco use is the leading cause of non communicable diseases. There is paucity of information on correlates for tobacco smoking among adults in Zambia. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of tobacco use and its correlates in Lusaka urban district. A total of 1928 individuals aged 25 years or older participated in the survey, of which 33.0% were males. About half (53.2%) of the participants were of age 25 to 34 years, and 35.8% of them had attained secondary level of education. Overall, 6.8% of the participants currently smoked cigarettes (17.5% among males, and 1.5% among females). Female respondents were 90% (Adjusted Odds Ratio (AOR) = 0.10, 95% CI [0.05, 0.23]) less likely to smoke cigarettes compared to males. Compared to respondents who had <18.5 Body Mass Index (BMI), respondents who had higher BMI were less likely to smoke (AOR = 0.30 (95% CI [0.15, 0.61]) for 18.5 to 24.9 BMI; AOR = 0.12 (95% CI [0.05, 0.31]) for 25.0 to 29.9 BMI; and AOR = 0.03 (95% CI [0.00, 0.26]) for 30+ BMI. We conclude that the tobacco smoking epidemic is in its early stage in Zambia. Zambia must act now to curtail the epidemic. The association between smoking and body mass index should further be explored so that an intervention can be designed that addresses both smoking and nutrition.

Key words: Tobacco smoking, body mass index, adults.

International Journal of Public Health and Epidemiology ISSN 2326-7291 Vol. 8 (8), pp. 001-008, August, 2019. © International Scholars Journals

Full Length Research Paper

Promotion of knowledge and attitude towards premarital care: An interventional study among medical student in Fayoum University

Salwa Tawfik Abd Al Azeem¹, Eman Taher Elsayed¹*, Naglaa Abd El Khalek El Sherbiny² and Lamiaa Abd El Gawad ahmed²

¹Public health department, Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, Egypt.

²Public health department, Faculty of Medicine, Fayoum Universities, Egypt.

Accepted 18 May, 2019

Abstract

Premarital care (PMC) is a worldwide activity aiming to diagnose, treat unrecognized disorders, and reduce transmission of diseases to couples. The study was an interventional educational prospective study; its aim was to assess and improve knowledge and attitude of 200 medical students in Fayoum University towards premarital care services; through health education intervention in the form of lectures and brochures that address important issues of premarital care. The involved students were interviewed by using closed-ended questionnaires, which were distributed twice, just before the intervention and then after 2 months. A special scoring system was used. Total knowledge score showed significant improvement from 62.44±4.98 to 69.37±3.43, especially as regards components of reproductive health, contents of premarital counseling and the role of PMC in prevention of certain diseases especially hepatitis (significant increase in correct response from 58 to 72%). The main source of knowledge was TV (65.5%). Total attitude score showed significant improvement from 7.89±1.1 to 13.1±.81 especially favorable attitudes towards importance of PMC services, convention to receive such services, and refusal of marriage person with untreated infectious diseases with increase in the percentages to reach 94, 92.5 and 90%, respectively. Females showed better attitudes than males towards PMC. The results reflected the importance of health education as a cornerstone element in improving knowledge and attitude towards premarital care. There is need of continuous health education programs for students to increase their awareness and attitude.

Key words: Premarital care, knowledge, attitude, medical students.

International Journal of Public Health and Epidemiology ISSN 2326-7291 Vol. 8 (8), pp. 001-004, August, 2019. © International Scholars Journals

Full Length Research Paper

Immunization coverage of antenatal and immunization clinics attendees in the Niger Delta University Teaching Hospital

Adekunle Kunle-Olowu¹*, Onyi Euphemia Kunle-Olowu¹ and Ugwu Moses Emeka²

¹Niger Delta University, Wilberforce Island, Bayelsa State, Nigeria.

²Niger Delta University Teaching Hospital, Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, Nigeria.

Accepted 11 May, 2019

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine the coverage for immunization in the first year of life and maternal tetanus toxoid administration in the Niger Delta University Teaching Hospital (NDUTH), Bayelsa State; this will help in establishing ways of improving coverage. A total of 528 were surveyed retrospectively using the immunization register, 521 (98.7%) had BCG, 512(97.0%) had OPV₀, 372 had (70.5%) had OPV₁/DPT₁/HEPBV₁, 313 (59.3%) had OPV₂/DPT₂/HEPBV₂, while only 251(47.5%) had OPV₃/DPT₃/HEPBV₃. Only 94(17.8%) had measles /yellow fever vaccines. However 14.3% of the surveyed children had the complete doses of vaccines. For maternal tetanus toxoid administration, a total of 601 mothers were surveyed using the antenatal and immunization registers. Out of the 601 surveyed, 151(25.2%) and 82(13.6%) had TT1 and TT2 respectively while 368 (61.2%) had both TT1 and TT2 in that pregnancy. The low immunization coverage for children may be detrimental to the attainment of the Millennium Development Goal, aimed at reducing child mortality by 2/3^rd in 2015. However the immunization of mothers will contribute effectively to the elimination of neonatal tetanus.

Key words: Immunisation, coverage, teaching, hospital.