The Government of Enugu State plans to offer free perinatal services at the primary health care (... more The Government of Enugu State plans to offer free perinatal services at the primary health care (PHC) centers in order to improve perinatal outcomes in the state, but it was not clear whether there are skilled birth attendants (SBAs) at the PHC level to implement the program. To determine whether there are sufficient numbers of SBAs in the public PHC system in Enugu State of Nigeria. This cross-sectional survey involved enumeration of health workers who worked at each public PHC facility in Enugu State and included verification of the qualifications and trainings of each health worker. Data analysis was performed with the help of Stata statistical package version 13 and results were presented in tables and as simple proportions. There were 55 nurses and no midwife or doctor in the 152 PHC clinics studied. This number represents 0.36 nurses per health facility or about 9% (i.e., 55/608) of a minimum of 608 SBAs required for 24-h perinatal services at the 152 PHC clinics. There were 1...
BackgroundMalnutrition can be defined as a state of nutrition where the weight for age, height fo... more BackgroundMalnutrition can be defined as a state of nutrition where the weight for age, height for age and weight for height indices are below -2 Z-score of the NCHS reference. It has posed a great economic burden to the developing world.ObjectivesThe objective of this study is to assess the prevalence of malnutrition among pre-school children in abakiliki in Ebonyi state of Nigeria.MethodsThis is a cross-sectional studies that assess the prevalence of malnutrition and associated factors among children aged 1- 5Â years attending nursery and primary schools. Nutritional assessment was done using anthropometry and clinical examination.ResultsA total of 616 children aged one to 5Â years were enrolled into this study. Three hundred and sixty-seven (59.6%) were males while 249 (40.4%) were females. Sixty of the 616 children (9.7%) had acute malnutrition based on WHZ-score. Moderate acute malnutrition (MAM) was present in 33 children (5.3%) while 27 (4.4%) had severe acute malnutrition.Conc...
Pain control in newborns is poorly understood and often neglected in neonatal practice in many se... more Pain control in newborns is poorly understood and often neglected in neonatal practice in many settings in our environment. Managing pain among newborns can be quite challenging and the effectiveness of various interventions used to ameliorate pain in this category of patients are either unknown or poorly understood by many a people engaged in the care of newborns in one way or the other. A search for published works on neonatal analgesia was performed using Google and PubMed. The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews was also searched. The areas of focus were definition, pathophysiology and management of pain in neonates. Relevant information was extracted and processed. Contrary to what is widely believed in many quarters, howbeit erroneously, there is compelling evidence that newborns do indeed feel pain. Supportive care, comprising of use of sucrose, glucose, breastfeeding, kangaroo mother care are worthwhile measures in ameliorating pain in the newborn. Novel therapies (such as sensorial saturation and swaddling) have been evaluated and proven useful. The use of sedation did not show any beneficial results.
British Journal of Medicine and Medical Research, 2015
ABSTRACT Methods: The study was carried out among adolescents attending secondary schools from tw... more ABSTRACT Methods: The study was carried out among adolescents attending secondary schools from two cities; (Enugu and Abakiliki located in south eastern part of Nigeria) within age range of 10-19 yr. A structured self administered questionnaire developed from self esteem scores was used for data collection. Pearson’s chi-square was used to test for relationship between categorical variables while student t- test was used to test significant relationship between continuous variables. Test of significance was set at p<0.5. Results: The self esteem questionnaire used was classified into two major questions with several sub questions. The first group is about self confidence, self fulfillment and self worth and confidence, the second group include depression, hopelessness, loneliness, and suicidal thoughts. We enrolled 507 adolescents in this study. The mean age of all participants was 16.3 (1.2) yr. Total mean self esteem score for all respondents is 15.77±2.769. Low self esteem was observed in 3.6% of the respondents with 4.3% of females and 2.5% of Males. Low self esteem is mostly seen in older adolescents aged 18-19 (44%) and rare among (adolescents less than 11 yr (0%). Low self esteem was more common among the female respondents in all the age ranges. Conclusion: Self esteem is high among adolescents, though this is may be overemphasized as more research is needed in this area. Keywords: Self esteem; adolescents; secondary schools
Some adolescents may have sleep disorder at some point during adolescence. Determining the patter... more Some adolescents may have sleep disorder at some point during adolescence. Determining the pattern and practice of sleep among adolescents could be useful to establish a lasting sleep hygiene program among adolescents. The objectives of this study are to describe sleep pattern and practice among adolescent in Nigerian secondary schools. Sleep habits were investigated using a random sampling of adolescents from secondary schools from February to April 2013. A self-administered questionnaire was developed based on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) IV criteria. Epworth Daytime Sleepiness Scale and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) were used. A total of 443 subjects, comprising 263 (59.4%) females and 180 (40.6%) males completed the questionnaire. The mean duration of night sleep of the subjects during weekday was 7.84 (1.9) hours and 8.65 (2.07) hours during the weekend. 22.8% (101/443) had abnormal sleep onset latency (< 5 minutes and > 30 minutes). The gender of the subjects did not influence the sleep onset latency (χ(2) = 32.89, p= 0.57). Twenty six (5.9%)of the subjects reported difficulty falling asleep. Adolescents have varying degrees of sleeping practice and hygiene.
Depression among adolescents is an uncommon and frequently unrecognized issue in pediatrics. Chil... more Depression among adolescents is an uncommon and frequently unrecognized issue in pediatrics. Children and adolescents however suffer from both depression and associated symptoms. The study was carried out among adolescents in secondary schools from two states; Enugu and Ebonyi metropolises within the age range of 9-18 in Enugu metropolis. The instrument employed for data collection was a structured self-administered questionnaire developed from the Goldberg Depression Questionnaire, a Screening Test for Depression. It is particularly suited for students in this age group. The families were assigned socio-economic classes using the recommended method (modified) by Oyedeji. The aims and objectives of this study were to determine the prevalence of several levels of depression among adolescents attending secondary schools in two states. A total of 453 adolescents who are attending secondary schools from two states were recruited in this study. Depression is non-existent before the age of 10 years according to this study. The prevalence of moderate depression was lowest (2.3%) at the age of 10 and highest at (6.2%) the age of 13. The prevalence of severe depression was lowest (1.9%) at the age of 11 and highest (7.4%) at the age of 12. Female gender is a risk factor for depression. Children whose parents are separated showed higher incidences of depression in all the spectra studied. Adolescents exhibit different levels of depression with a female preponderance.
It is a documented fact that upper respiratory tract infection (URTI) is more of a viral illness.... more It is a documented fact that upper respiratory tract infection (URTI) is more of a viral illness. This study aims at documenting the prevalence of the use of unprescribed antibiotics in children aged <5 years with upper respiratory symptomatology. Four hundred twenty-three mother-child pairs were enrolled for this study. Chi-square and logistic regression analysis were used to find association between use of unprescribed antibiotics and variables of interest. The prevalence of unprescribed antibiotics in children aged <5 years in the management of URTI is 75.9%. The antibiotics abuse was commoner in older children with URTI (45.9% in children aged 12-24 months) and among mothers with higher educational attainment. Antibiotics abuse among mothers is high. Government, through its responsible agencies, should enforce stricter control or outrightly stop sale of antibiotics over-the-counter to prevent the dreaded antibiotics resistance.
The Government of Enugu State plans to offer free perinatal services at the primary health care (... more The Government of Enugu State plans to offer free perinatal services at the primary health care (PHC) centers in order to improve perinatal outcomes in the state, but it was not clear whether there are skilled birth attendants (SBAs) at the PHC level to implement the program. To determine whether there are sufficient numbers of SBAs in the public PHC system in Enugu State of Nigeria. This cross-sectional survey involved enumeration of health workers who worked at each public PHC facility in Enugu State and included verification of the qualifications and trainings of each health worker. Data analysis was performed with the help of Stata statistical package version 13 and results were presented in tables and as simple proportions. There were 55 nurses and no midwife or doctor in the 152 PHC clinics studied. This number represents 0.36 nurses per health facility or about 9% (i.e., 55/608) of a minimum of 608 SBAs required for 24-h perinatal services at the 152 PHC clinics. There were 1...
BackgroundMalnutrition can be defined as a state of nutrition where the weight for age, height fo... more BackgroundMalnutrition can be defined as a state of nutrition where the weight for age, height for age and weight for height indices are below -2 Z-score of the NCHS reference. It has posed a great economic burden to the developing world.ObjectivesThe objective of this study is to assess the prevalence of malnutrition among pre-school children in abakiliki in Ebonyi state of Nigeria.MethodsThis is a cross-sectional studies that assess the prevalence of malnutrition and associated factors among children aged 1- 5Â years attending nursery and primary schools. Nutritional assessment was done using anthropometry and clinical examination.ResultsA total of 616 children aged one to 5Â years were enrolled into this study. Three hundred and sixty-seven (59.6%) were males while 249 (40.4%) were females. Sixty of the 616 children (9.7%) had acute malnutrition based on WHZ-score. Moderate acute malnutrition (MAM) was present in 33 children (5.3%) while 27 (4.4%) had severe acute malnutrition.Conc...
Pain control in newborns is poorly understood and often neglected in neonatal practice in many se... more Pain control in newborns is poorly understood and often neglected in neonatal practice in many settings in our environment. Managing pain among newborns can be quite challenging and the effectiveness of various interventions used to ameliorate pain in this category of patients are either unknown or poorly understood by many a people engaged in the care of newborns in one way or the other. A search for published works on neonatal analgesia was performed using Google and PubMed. The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews was also searched. The areas of focus were definition, pathophysiology and management of pain in neonates. Relevant information was extracted and processed. Contrary to what is widely believed in many quarters, howbeit erroneously, there is compelling evidence that newborns do indeed feel pain. Supportive care, comprising of use of sucrose, glucose, breastfeeding, kangaroo mother care are worthwhile measures in ameliorating pain in the newborn. Novel therapies (such as sensorial saturation and swaddling) have been evaluated and proven useful. The use of sedation did not show any beneficial results.
British Journal of Medicine and Medical Research, 2015
ABSTRACT Methods: The study was carried out among adolescents attending secondary schools from tw... more ABSTRACT Methods: The study was carried out among adolescents attending secondary schools from two cities; (Enugu and Abakiliki located in south eastern part of Nigeria) within age range of 10-19 yr. A structured self administered questionnaire developed from self esteem scores was used for data collection. Pearson’s chi-square was used to test for relationship between categorical variables while student t- test was used to test significant relationship between continuous variables. Test of significance was set at p<0.5. Results: The self esteem questionnaire used was classified into two major questions with several sub questions. The first group is about self confidence, self fulfillment and self worth and confidence, the second group include depression, hopelessness, loneliness, and suicidal thoughts. We enrolled 507 adolescents in this study. The mean age of all participants was 16.3 (1.2) yr. Total mean self esteem score for all respondents is 15.77±2.769. Low self esteem was observed in 3.6% of the respondents with 4.3% of females and 2.5% of Males. Low self esteem is mostly seen in older adolescents aged 18-19 (44%) and rare among (adolescents less than 11 yr (0%). Low self esteem was more common among the female respondents in all the age ranges. Conclusion: Self esteem is high among adolescents, though this is may be overemphasized as more research is needed in this area. Keywords: Self esteem; adolescents; secondary schools
Some adolescents may have sleep disorder at some point during adolescence. Determining the patter... more Some adolescents may have sleep disorder at some point during adolescence. Determining the pattern and practice of sleep among adolescents could be useful to establish a lasting sleep hygiene program among adolescents. The objectives of this study are to describe sleep pattern and practice among adolescent in Nigerian secondary schools. Sleep habits were investigated using a random sampling of adolescents from secondary schools from February to April 2013. A self-administered questionnaire was developed based on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) IV criteria. Epworth Daytime Sleepiness Scale and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) were used. A total of 443 subjects, comprising 263 (59.4%) females and 180 (40.6%) males completed the questionnaire. The mean duration of night sleep of the subjects during weekday was 7.84 (1.9) hours and 8.65 (2.07) hours during the weekend. 22.8% (101/443) had abnormal sleep onset latency (< 5 minutes and > 30 minutes). The gender of the subjects did not influence the sleep onset latency (χ(2) = 32.89, p= 0.57). Twenty six (5.9%)of the subjects reported difficulty falling asleep. Adolescents have varying degrees of sleeping practice and hygiene.
Depression among adolescents is an uncommon and frequently unrecognized issue in pediatrics. Chil... more Depression among adolescents is an uncommon and frequently unrecognized issue in pediatrics. Children and adolescents however suffer from both depression and associated symptoms. The study was carried out among adolescents in secondary schools from two states; Enugu and Ebonyi metropolises within the age range of 9-18 in Enugu metropolis. The instrument employed for data collection was a structured self-administered questionnaire developed from the Goldberg Depression Questionnaire, a Screening Test for Depression. It is particularly suited for students in this age group. The families were assigned socio-economic classes using the recommended method (modified) by Oyedeji. The aims and objectives of this study were to determine the prevalence of several levels of depression among adolescents attending secondary schools in two states. A total of 453 adolescents who are attending secondary schools from two states were recruited in this study. Depression is non-existent before the age of 10 years according to this study. The prevalence of moderate depression was lowest (2.3%) at the age of 10 and highest at (6.2%) the age of 13. The prevalence of severe depression was lowest (1.9%) at the age of 11 and highest (7.4%) at the age of 12. Female gender is a risk factor for depression. Children whose parents are separated showed higher incidences of depression in all the spectra studied. Adolescents exhibit different levels of depression with a female preponderance.
It is a documented fact that upper respiratory tract infection (URTI) is more of a viral illness.... more It is a documented fact that upper respiratory tract infection (URTI) is more of a viral illness. This study aims at documenting the prevalence of the use of unprescribed antibiotics in children aged <5 years with upper respiratory symptomatology. Four hundred twenty-three mother-child pairs were enrolled for this study. Chi-square and logistic regression analysis were used to find association between use of unprescribed antibiotics and variables of interest. The prevalence of unprescribed antibiotics in children aged <5 years in the management of URTI is 75.9%. The antibiotics abuse was commoner in older children with URTI (45.9% in children aged 12-24 months) and among mothers with higher educational attainment. Antibiotics abuse among mothers is high. Government, through its responsible agencies, should enforce stricter control or outrightly stop sale of antibiotics over-the-counter to prevent the dreaded antibiotics resistance.
Uploads
Papers by Herbert Obu