Pattern of Utilisation of Family Planning Services Among Women of Reproductive Age Attending Comprehensive Health Centre, Oba-Ile, Akure, Ondo State Nigeria (Published)
Family planning (FP) allows individuals and couples to anticipate and attain their desired number of children and the spacing and timing of their births. It is achieved through use of contraceptive methods and the treatment of involuntary infertility. A woman’s ability to space and limit her pregnancies has a direct impact on her health and well-being as well as on the outcome of each pregnancy; thereby, promoting the health and welfare of family groups and effectively contributing to the social development of a country. The study was conducted to determine the pattern of utilization of family planning services among women of reproductive age attending the Comprehensive Health Centre, Oba-Ile, Akure, Nigeria. A sequential mixed method explanatory research approach was adopted for the study, with an initial retrospective quantitative data collection from clients’ records for the 5-year period (2016-2020); followed by a qualitative data collection using in-depth interview of key informants to provide further explanation on the key findings from the quantitative phase. The findings revealed that of the randomly selected 317 records, majority 147(46.4%) of the women were aged 21-30 years and the mean age was 30.48years; 302 (95%) of them were married; and they all had formal education; although, only 43(13.56%) had tertiary education. Over two-thirds of them 253 (79.8%) were employed; while, 30(9.46%) were students and 34(10.72%) were either unemployed or full housewife. Those with Parity 1-3 were 212(66.9%), and only 4 (1.3%) had 7-10 children; while, the mean parity was 3. The total number of women utilizing family planning services in the facility annually, increased from 132 in 2016 to 713 in 2020. The sample did not reveal any quarterly pattern of utilization of the services by the women. The study also showed that majority (37.9%) of the women used the Jadelle method of family planning, followed by Implanon (30.9%); and majority of the clients did not change their choices (57.1%). The qualitative data revealed the need for sustained presence of family planning providers and continued support from development partners; as the drop in 2017 was reportedly due to lack of a provider, while the consistently improved attendance thereafter was attributed to the collaboration with development partners.
Keywords: Family Planning, Pattern, Reproductive Age, Utilization, Women, comprehensive health centre
Knowledge and Utilization of Prostate Cancer Screening Services among Male Civil Servants in Iseyin Local Government Area, Oyo State, Nigeria (Published)
Cancer related morbidity and mortality continues to pose grave health challenge to men globally with increasing prevalence especially in developing countries. Presently prostate cancer has been reported to have a prevalence level of 11% in Nigeria which is considered alarming. Developing strategies to forestall increasing incidence and prevalence are vital to reducing the deleterious effects prostate cancer on health and national developmental efforts. Research oriented strategies are considered potent measures to achieving this goal thus making research into factors associated with prostate cancer an important endeavour. It is against this background that this study was designed to examine knowledge and utilization of prostate cancer screening services among civil servants in Iseyin LGA of Oyo State, Nigeria. The descriptive survey research design was employed in the study and data were collected using a self developed and validated questionnaire with a reliability of 0.86 Cronbach alpha. Collected data were analysed using descriptive statistics of frequency counts and percentages. Findings showed that respondents have low level of knowledge and low utilization level of prostate cancer screening services. Findings also identified cost, accessibility, work schedule and some fads like negative effect on sexual activities as perceived factors militating against the utilization of prostate cancer screening services. Addressing the identified issues using education as a tool among others were recommended.
Keywords: Barrier, Education, Knowledge, Prostate Cancer, Screening, Utilization
Knowledge and Utilization of Prostate Cancer Screening Services among Male Civil Servants in Iseyin Local Government Area, Oyo State, Nigeria (Published)
Cancer related morbidity and mortality continues to pose grave health challenge to men globally with increasing prevalence especially in developing countries. Presently prostate cancer has been reported to have a prevalence level of 11% in Nigeria which is considered alarming. Developing strategies to forestall increasing incidence and prevalence are vital to reducing the deleterious effects prostate cancer on health and national developmental efforts. Research oriented strategies are considered potent measures to achieving this goal thus making research into factors associated with prostate cancer an important endeavour. It is against this background that this study was designed to examine knowledge and utilization of prostate cancer screening services among civil servants in Iseyin LGA of Oyo State, Nigeria. The descriptive survey research design was employed in the study and data were collected using a self developed and validated questionnaire with a reliability of 0.86 Cronbach alpha. Collected data were analysed using descriptive statistics of frequency counts and percentages. Findings showed that respondents have low level of knowledge and low utilization level of prostate cancer screening services. Findings also identified cost, accessibility, work schedule and some fads like negative effect on sexual activities as perceived factors militating against the utilization of prostate cancer screening services. Addressing the identified issues using education as a tool among others were recommended.
Keywords: Barrier, Education, Knowledge, Prostate Cancer, Screening, Utilization
Knowledge and Barriers in Utilization of Maternal Health Care Services in Kano State, Northern Nigeria (Published)
Use of maternal health care in most African countries has been associated with several socioeconomic, cultural and demographic factors, although contextual analyses of the latter have been few. Similar previous study in Kano showed that 64% of women with severe obstetric morbidity identified at different hospitals in Kano state Nigeria were in critical conditions upon arrival, underscoring the significance of pre-hospital barriers in this setting with free and accessible maternal health care. This cross-sectional descriptive study explored knowledge and Utilization of maternal health services among Urban and Rural reproductive women. The views of (n=1000) married women within the age group of 14 to 49years were selected randomly both in urban and rural areas. In a two point scale (good, poor), Knowledge of maternal health facilities and services generally show that urban and rural had extremely good knowledge of maternal health service and programs provided by the government with 99.0% of urban and 82.4% of rural. While overall, only 63.4% and 51.4% both urban and rural utilize health facilities and its programs. There was a statistically significant association between the respondents a level of education, income, age and their knowledge score (p = 0.005) for both urban and rural: knowledge of maternal health facilities was higher among those with formal education, high income and younger respondents.
Keywords: Barriers, Knowledge, Maternal Healthcare, Utilization