Disasters: Implications for public health and health care system

Disasters are the tragedies of a natural or human-made hazard which poses a level of threat to life, health, property, or that negatively affects society or environment. The sources of disasters could be natural or human generated. Among the natural disasters affecting our environment include earthquake, volcanic eruption, flood tsunami, landslide, hurricanes/tropical cyclones/typhoons, lightening among others. Again, the human induced disasters plaguing the society include the following – terrorism, bombing, riots, protests, clashes, gas leakage and flaring. The impacts of disasters are numerous and devastating on both the health of the human populations and the vital infrastructure. Public healththerefore views disasters in terms of what the health care providers do to the human populations within the confines of preventing, preparing for, responding to, and recovering from disasters and emergencies. Many Governments and organiszations in the world have made attempts to ameliorate the suffering of humans who have been affected by disasters. This paper discusses the implications of disasters on public health and the health care system within the fundamental principles that guide thepractice of public health during disasters

A study of attitudes of nurses toward death and dying in tertiary health institutions in Cross River State

The study was carried out to find out the attitudes of nurses’ toward death and dying patients in three (3) tertiary (health) institutions in Cross River State. A twenty (20) items close-ended questionnaire on the four points Likert scale model was designed and administered to a sample population of six hundred (600) respondents. The simple percentage method was used to analyze the demographic data of the respondents. Two null hypotheses were set and tested at 0.5 level of significance using Pearson product moment correlation analysis. The result of the analysis reveals that age and years ofexperience of nurses have a favourable relationship with their attitudes toward dead and dying patients. It is concluded that the more one matures in acquisition of knowledge and skill, the better one gets to appreciate realities in nature especially as it relates to attitude towards dead and dying

Caregivers’ Perceptions of Burden and Health- Promoting Behaviours among Informal Caregivers of Cancer and Stroke Patients Attending Tertiary Care Facilities in South- South Nigeria

Family caregivers’ role in cancer and stroke care is overly burdensome. Studies have considered burden and predictors of burden but the influence of caregiving burden on health - promoting behaviours among cancer and stroke family caregivers in Nigeria is scarce. The purpose of this study was to determine the influence of caregivers’ perceptions of burden and health-promoting behaviours on informal caregivers of cancer/ stroke patients attending tertiary care facilities in South- South Nigeria. A descriptive cross-sectional survey was employed among 410 purposively selected cancer/ stroke patients’ family caregivers in tertiary care facilities, South- South Nigeria. A standardized Zarit burden interview scale and structured questionnaire were used to measure burden and determine health-promoting behaviours respectively. Descriptive (means, standard deviation and percentages) and inferential (ANOVA) statistics with a Fisher’s protected t- test at 0.05 level of significance were used for data analysis. The respondents experienced severe (F= 14.02; P= 0.810) burden in caregiving to cancer/ stroke patients. The influence of health- promoting behaviours (primary, secondary and tertiary preventions) among caregivers of cancer/ stroke is significantly high in the tertiary care facilities, South-South, Nigeria. Caregivers of cancer and stroke patients experienced severe levels of burden and health-promoting-behaviours in terms of prevention at the primary, secondary and tertiary activities were significantly high among respondents. This calls for knowledge mobilization and dissemination in Nigeria and beyond

A Study of Health and Safety Concerns of Nursing Students in South-South Nigeria

Background: Creating a positive practice environment for nursing students, who constitute a critical mass of the requisite health sector workforce in developing countries that are plagued by an  acute shortage of health manpower,  has been advocated. Very little is known about their safety concerns in South-South Nigeria. Methods: This descriptive cross sectional survey examined the health and safety concerns of nursing students in Calabar & Uyo, South-South geopolitical zone of Nigeria, as a basis for planning an appropriate safety education programme. A simple random sample of 297 nursing students in their penultimate (second) and final (third) year of study were selected for the study. Data collection tool was a structured validated, 21-item self-reporting questionnaire. Analysis was carried out using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 14. Results: The mean age of the students was 26 + / - 6.6 years, 160 (53.9%) and 137 (46.1%) were in their penultimate and final year respectively. The three topmost concerns of the respondents were contracting HIV/AIDS or Hepatitis B from a needle stick injury 187 (63.0%), infection with tuberculosis or other infectious diseases 180 (61.0%) and acute/chronic effect of stress and overwork 99 (33.0%). The least concerns of the students included, being exposed to radiations from lasers or burns from electrocautory devices 31(10.0%) and sustaining a back injury 31 (10.0%). Conclusion: Safety education should address the expressed student concerns, namely, occupational transmission of blood borne infections, tuberculosis and stress. Provision of HBV vaccination, BCG vaccination, personal protective equipment, auto-destruct safety needles/syringes and sharp boxes, promotion of good nutrition and personal hygiene; institution of occupational health services in institutional training facilities  serving nursing students in training are also recommended to sustain a positive practice environment for the  students. Keywords: Nursing Students, Health Concerns, Safety Concerns, Needlestickinjur

The Synergy between Burden and Anticipatory Grief among Caregivers of People Living with HIV/AIDS in Calabar Municipality, Nigeria

Contents: Caregiving remains the crux of management in terminal diseases, but little attention is given to the effects of terminal illnesses on the caregivers and the associated anticipatory grief that aggravates caregivers' burden.Aim: This study assesses the correlations between burden and anticipatory grief experienced among caregivers of people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) in Calabar Municipality, Cross River State, Nigeria. Methods: Correlations and descriptive cross-sessional design were utilized to assess and purposefully recruit 231 eligible caregivers of PLWHA, respectively. Validated revised Zarit Burden Interview scale (ZBI) and Anticipatory Grief Scale were the primary data collection instruments. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 21.0.Results: Study findings revealed that the highest percentage, 36.4% (84) participants experienced a moderate burden, while 22.1% (51) experienced a severe burden. Similarly, the highest percentage, 33.3% (77) of the participants experienced moderate anticipatory grief in the range of 57-76, while 30.7% (71) of participants experienced severe anticipatory grief within 77- 135. Positive and significant correlations (r = 0.61, P < 0.05; r = 0.53, P < 0.05; r = 0.66, P < 0.05) were obtained for the relationship between no anticipatory grief/burden; mild anticipatory grief/ burden and severe anticipatory grief/ burden respectively) during the study. These positive correlations revealed a strong synergy between the two variables, caregiver’s burden and anticipatory grief. Conclusion: As sub-Saharan Africa disproportionately bears the burden of HIV, more persons will have to take up family caregivers' roles despite the high level of burden and associated anticipatory grief. The need for educational intervention backed by the policy cannot be over-emphasized and should be implemented to enhance and acquaint caregivers with the nature of anticipatory grief and its connection with a terminal disease like HIV/AIDS

Religious and existential well-being among nursing students in anambra state, nigeria

Spirituality is a significant concept for the discipline of nursing with substantial influence on holistic care of patients. The purpose of the study was to investigate the status of Spiritual Well-Being (SWB) among nursing students in public Schools of Nursing in Anambra State, Nigeria.  A cross-sectional survey was carried out among 228 nursing students based in three government Schools of Nursing in Anambra State, Nigeria.  A 20 item Spiritual Well-Being Scale (SWS) comprising of 10 questions each on religious and existential wellbeing sub-scales was adapted for the study. Internal consistency reliability of the instrument using the Cronbach Alpha coefficient was 0.93. Ethical approval was obtained from Nnamdi Azikwe University Teaching Hospital (NAUTH) ethical committee. Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Chi-Square and Pearson correlation analysis were done to verify association between variables using SPSS version 21 for Windows.  Probability value less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. The mean age of respondents was 22 years. Overall, 55.1% reported moderate level of spirituality compared with 44.9% who had high level of spirituality. Nursing students’ average spiritual well-being (SWB) score was 97.7. SWB was significantly related to the level of study of respondents (p= 0.001). A significant strong positive correlation was found between Religious Well-Being (RWB) and Existential Well-Being (p=0.001; r=.697). The study has shown that nursing students in public Schools of Nursing in Anambra State, self-reported moderate level of spiritual wellbeing (SWB). Educational interventions are required to improve nursing students’ religious and existential well-being for the ultimate purpose of promoting holistic nursing care

The Exceptional Role of Women as Primary Caregivers for People Living with HIV/AIDS in Nigeria, West Africa

In Africa, women play an indispensable role in family life. The normative roles of women extend from reproductive role to the raising of children and caring for sick family members. These roles are very unique and are dictated by culture, religion and beliefs. Despite these, their contributions in caregiving remain unrecognized except by the beneficiaries. Caregivers of people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) experience high level of burden due to the expanded role and inadequate preparation for the caregiver’s duty. A descriptive cross-sectional research design was utilized to elicit data from 260 participants in Calabar municipality, Nigeria. Caring for PLWHA is an exceptional service due to exacerbation of symptoms and co-morbidities peculiar to terminal phase of HIV. The study revealed gender inequalities in burden levels. Significant relationships (p < 0.05) also existed between burden of care, availability of support and duration of care during this study. Despite the perceived consequences, the family care givers were still determined to continue caregiving role. This informs the need for governmental support to ameliorate the negative consequences of caregiving by female caregivers

Knowledge and practice of injection safety among nurses at university of Calabar Teaching Hospital (UCTH), Calabar, Nigeria: implications for nursing education

Exposure to blood borne viruses, by health care workers has been on the increase with nurses mostly affected. These exposures constitute serious challenges in the health care setting as they are common causes of illness and mortality among health care workers including hospitalized patients. Practice of standard precautions has been shown to reduce the risk of exposure to blood and body fluids. Over the years, injection safety has become an integral part of infection control in view of many diseases that are transmitted through unsafe injection practices. This study was conducted to assess the knowledge and practice of injection safety among nurses in UCTH, Calabar using a descriptive research design. The specific objectives were to assess the level of knowledge of nurses about injection safety, assess injection safety practices and ascertain the barriers to injection safety practices among nurses in UCTH. Purposive sampling was used to select one hundred and ninety one (191) nurses across the wards in UCTH Calabar. A checklist containing 37 items was used to elicit information. Frequency and percentages were used for descriptive data while the hypothesis was tested using Chi square (X2) analysis at 0.05 level of significance. Result revealed that 59.7% of the respondents had good knowledge of injection safety and 66.0% had good practice of injection safety while 6.8% had poor practice. Barriers to injection safety practices included inadequate supply of injection safety material, none display of injection safety guidelines. Statistical analysis revealed a significant relationship between level of knowledge and practice of injection safety among nurses (P = 112.8 &lt; 0.05). Recommendations: health care administrators and nurse leaders should display injection safety guidelines, supply injection safety materials and ensure that more nurses are recruited into the workforce.Keywords: Injection Safety, Nurses, Knowledge and practic

Psychosocial factors as predictors of pre-surgery anxiety among patients awaiting surgery in selected hospitals in Akwa Ibom State

Pre-surgery anxiety remains a significant psychological concern among patients scheduled for surgery, with implications for recovery, treatment outcomes, and patient compliance. In many clinical contexts, including Nigeria, the psychological preparation of patients is often overlooked, with medical professionals focusing more on physiological stability than mental readiness. This study investigated psychosocial factors as predictors of pre-surgery anxiety among patients awaiting surgery in selected hospitals in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. A total of 152 in-patients (101 males [66.4%] and 51 females [33.6%]), aged 20 to 51 years (M = 39.3), were purposively selected from surgical wards of the University of Uyo Teaching Hospital and St. Luke’s Hospital, Anua. A cross-sectional survey design was adopted. Four standardized psychological instruments were used: the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, the Santa Clara Strength of Religious Faith Questionnaire, and the State Sub-scale of State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI Y-1). Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and multiple regression analysis. Findings revealed that self-esteem (β = .345; p &lt; .05), perceived social support (β = .427; p &lt; .05), and religiosity (β = .285; p &lt; .05) significantly and positively predicted pre-surgery anxiety. Collectively, the psychosocial variables jointly predicted pre-surgical anxiety (F(5,147) = 6.975, p &lt; .001), accounting for a meaningful variance in anxiety levels among patients. The implications of these findings highlight the need for preoperative psychological screening and interventions that address patients’ self-perception, social environments, and religious coping mechanisms. Healthcare professionals should be trained to recognize psychosocial risk factors and integrate supportive counseling into routine pre-surgical care