Knowledge Of Causes Research Articles

Mental health literacy: Perspectives from Northern Kenya Turkana adolescents.

Mental illness accounts for high levels of morbidity, mortality and poor quality of life among young people. Depression, anxiety, conduct issues and hyperactive disorder account for 13% of the global burden of disease that affects one in seven adolescents. In Kenya, not much is documented about the mental health of non-school-going adolescents, and yet they make up about 1.8million of the country's population. An ethnographic study by Focus Group Discussions with 32 rural northern Kenya Turkana-based adolescents divided into school and nonschool groups was conducted. We read out vignettes in which the main character exhibited symptoms of depression, schizophrenia or anxiety and explored their knowledge of causes and management options for the same, and then analyzed the data thematically. Participants described the conditions without referring to the local names we had collected earlier: depression (Akiyalolong), schizophrenia (waarit/Ngikerep) and anxiety (Ngatameta naaronok). They assigned curses, guilt, hunger pangs, and evil spells as causes, and believed friends and age-mates, parents, teachers, and the local chief, among others, could help, but rarely medical intervention. Interventions to improve the adolescent's knowledge of mental illness are a much-needed support for the health of young people.

Awareness and knowledge of risk factors associated with oral cancer among military personnel in Nigeria.

The military lifestyle has been reported to increase the risk of this population group to the development of oral cancer. This study aimed to determine the awareness and knowledge of oral cancer in a population of soldiers to acquire data for establishing an educational program for units of the Nigerian Army in oral cancer prevention and monitoring. The study was conducted in the dental center of 82 Division Military Hospital, Nigerian Army, Enugu, Nigeria. A cross-sectional survey was performed using a pre-tested self-administered questionnaire. Questions relating to oral cancer awareness, knowledge of causes, and relationship to certain habits, treatment options, and desirability of screening opportunities for oral cancer were asked. Soldiers attending the military hospital, dental center, were chosen randomly for the study. Three hundred soldiers were surveyed. The mean age of those surveyed was 37.5 and had spent an average of 11-15 years in the Army. The majority of the soldiers (80.7%) have heard of cancer; the types most known were breast (75%), skin (30%), and lung cancer (28.3%). Of the 300 soldiers surveyed, 15.3% knew about oral cancer, with 41.3% of these able to identify cigarette smoking and (26%) alcohol consumption as possible risk factors associated with oral cancer. The majority believed that cancer was caused by some form of supernatural phenomenon. Oral cancer awareness is low among soldiers in the Nigerian Armed Forces, and strategies to increase awareness should be developed.

Knowledge and attitudes of school principals towards childhood hearing loss and hearing services: A cross-sectional survey to support the implementation of inclusive education in Samoa.

To assess the knowledge and attitudes among school principals towards childhood hearing loss and hearing services to support the implementation of inclusive education in Samoa. Educators are uniquely positioned to advocate for inclusive education in their classrooms, and may be among the first professionals to suspect hearing loss in their young students. Given the well-known impacts of childhood hearing loss on learning and development, educators therefore play a vital role in referring students for an ear and hearing health assessment. A cross-sectional convenience sampling design and bilingual questionnaire were used (English/Samoan). School principals attending the annual conference for educators of Samoa over 4 days in June 2022 were invited to anonymously complete a 23-item questionnaire on childhood hearing loss and hearing services. Participants were required to respond to each statement with either 'yes', 'no' or 'unsure'. The questionnaire investigated general knowledge of healthy hearing and hearing loss, knowledge of causes and risk factors of hearing loss, knowledge of identification and intervention for hearing loss and the attitudes towards students with hearing loss. 95.4% of the 109 participants agreed that healthy hearing is important, and 97.2% felt that childhood hearing loss is an important problem in Samoa. Participants agreed that hearing loss adversely impacts the interaction with peers (95.4%), listening in the classroom (94.5%), speech and language development (93.6%), classroom behaviour (88.1%) and reading skills (85.3%). 97.2% of participants felt that students with hearing loss should have the same opportunities as their normal-hearing counterparts, and 92.7% would include students with hearing loss in their classroom. 94.5% were keen to learn more about childhood hearing loss. There were no significant differences in response proportions between variable subgroups. Overall, the results displayed high levels of knowledge and very positive attitudes among school principals in Samoa towards their students with hearing loss.

Causes of sudden cardiac death according to age and sex in persons aged 1–49 years

Knowledge of causes of sudden cardiac death (SCD) according to age is important in clinical decision making and to lower the risk of SCD in family members of the deceased. The purpose of this study was to report overall and sex-stratified causes of SCD according to age in persons aged 1-49 years. The study population consisted of all persons in Denmark aged 1-35 years in 2000-2009 and 36-49 years in 2007-2009, which equals 27.1 million person-years. Danish death certificates, discharge summaries, autopsy reports, and data from nationwide registries were used to identify all SCD cases. The SCD cases were divided into 5-year age groups. In the 10-year study period, there were 14,294 deaths, of which 1362 (10%) were classified as SCD. Potentially inherited cardiac disease accounted for a high proportion (43%-78%) of autopsied SCD in all age groups. A significant proportion (19%-54%) of SCD was caused by sudden arrhythmic death syndrome in all age groups. Autopsy rates in both sudden unexpected death cases and SCD cases declined significantly with increasing age (74% in the youngest age group vs 35% in the oldest). The proportion of SCD cases that were identified with a potentially inherited cardiac disease postmortem was high in all studied age groups, while autopsy rates in sudden and unexpected death cases declined markedly with increasing age. Our findings indicate that diagnoses of inherited heart disease are likely missed in some SCD cases, along with the opportunity for treatment and prevention in surviving relatives.

Using high throughput screens to predict miscarriages with placental stem cells and long-term stress effects with embryonic stem cells.

A problem in developmental toxicology is the massive loss of life from fertilization through gastrulation, and the surprising lack of knowledge of causes of miscarriage. Half to two-thirds of embryos are lost, and environmental and genetic causes are nearly equal. Simply put, it can be inferred that this is a difficult period for normal embryos, but that environmental stresses may cause homeostatic responses that move from adaptive to maladaptive with increasing exposures. At the lower 50% estimate, miscarriage causes greater loss-of-life than all cancers combined or of all cardio- and cerebral-vascular accidents combined. Surprisingly, we do not know if miscarriage rates are increasing or decreasing. Overshadowed by the magnitude of miscarriages, are insufficient data on teratogenic or epigenetic imbalances in surviving embryos and their stem cells. Superimposed on the difficult normal trajectory for peri-gastrulation embryos are added malnutrition, hormonal, and environmental stresses. An overarching hypothesis is that high throughput screens (HTS) using cultured viable reporter embryonic and placental stem cells (e.g., embryonic stem cells [ESC] and trophoblast stem cells [TSC] that report status using fluorescent reporters in living cells) from the pre-gastrulation embryo will most rapidly test a range of hormonal, environmental, nutritional, drug, and diet supplement stresses that decrease stem cell proliferation and imbalance stemness/differentiation. A second hypothesis is that TSC respond with greater sensitivity in magnitude to stress that would cause miscarriage, but ESC are stress-resistant to irreversible stemness loss and are best used to predict long-term health defects. DevTox testing needs more ESC and TSC HTS to model environmental stresses leading to miscarriage or teratogenesis and more research on epidemiology of stress and miscarriage. This endeavor also requires a shift in emphasis on pre- and early gastrulation events during the difficult period of maximum loss by miscarriage.

Factors associated with preterm births in sacred heart hospital, Lantoro, Abeokuta, Ogun state

This research was carried out to ascertain the factors associated with preterm births in Sacred Heart Hospital, Lantoro, Abeokuta, Ogun State, Nigeria. The Objectives were to assess the Knowledge of mothers on the causes of preterm labour during ANC, assess causes of preterm birth in Sacred Heart Hospital, Lantoro, Abeokuta, determine the socio-demographic factors that influence preterm delivery in mothers attending Sacred Heart Hospital, Lantoro, Abeokuta and Investigate the possible options to the management of preterm labour. The significance of this study is to empower clients and health care professionals to understand and prevent preterm births, minimize the complications of preterm births and give better care to premature babies. Nurses could educate pregnant women based on the findings of this study to avoid practices that predispose them to preterm births. Early detection and prompt treatment of disease conditions associated with premature births. It will also serve as a base-line for future studies. Research design was retrospective/cross sectional study. Data was collected from the records of women who delivered in the hospital between January 2016 and December 2018. Sample size was determined by the use of Cochran’s formula to select 162 respondents from the ANC using self–structured questionnaire. Quantitative data was collected using abstract form questionnaire with 4 sections on socio-demographic, knowledge of causes of preterm births, preterm delivery among respondents and available options for the management of preterm births. Findings from the analysis revealed that 62% of nursing mothers have heard of preterm births, 57.1% have poor knowledge of causes. Majority (89.3%) were married and from monogamous homes (89.3%). Previous preterm births (78.6%) and pre-eclampsia (82.1%), the highest risk factor. Eighty-nine percent of mothers had babies with low apgar score while 80% had slow development. Almost all mothers (100%) opted for Kangoro Mother Care. Recommendations were made based on the findings that nurses should update their knowledge and skills on the causes, prevention and special care of preterm babies so as to guide the mothers aright thereby reducing infant morbidity and mortality associated with premature births.

Disasters and Hazards: Risk Reduction, Mitigation and Management

Disasters and Hazards: Risk Reduction, Mitigation and Management

Preventive programs in public health: seminar presentations on HIV, malaria and visual impairment

Preventive programs are standardized behavioral interventions that either stop or reduce course of diseases. Indeed, it is known that much of public health programs are synonymous to preventive medicine, which constitute major theme in primary healthcare. The objective of this study was to provide preliminary summaries of research programs, which determined nutritional status on visual impairment (VI) among children, utilization of ITNs and reduction of HIV/AIDS infection in Nigeria. The studies adopted intervention approaches. In Delta state, antioxidant vitamins and ferrous sulphate were administered to participants, to assess impact on visual impairment. In health education on utilization of ITNs in Bayelsa and Rivers states; as well as on HIV/AIDS infection in Northern Nigeria. Statistically, the studies followed a quantitative method. Baseline percentages of vitamin A and C deficiencies, anaemia, and VI differed with respective post-intervention levels. Post-intervention result showed that 92.1% owned ITNs, improved knowledge of causes and consequences of malaria. On HIV, community-based television, and radio awareness programs on the use of condom influenced the reduction of HIV/AIDS infection by up to 30%. In conclusion, the preliminary reports indicate that antioxidant vitamins and iron supplementation ameliorated anaemia and VI. Public health awareness campaign influenced behavioural change wheel on use of ITNs as well as use of condom for the reduction of HIV/AIDS infection in Nigeria.

Neuromuscular diseases in the pediatric intensive care unit: 11 years of experience from a tertiary children’s hospital

Background & Objective: We present 11-year data of patients with neuromuscular disease (NMD) that were treated in the pediatric intensive care unit of a tertiary children’s hospital. Methods: The data of all cases followed-up in the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) were retrospectively analyzed. Patients were evaluated in terms of age, gender, diagnosis, PRISM, neuroanatomical localization, hospitalization time-age, cause of admission to pediatric intensive care unit, clinical course, complications and clinical discharge status. Results: A NMD was detected in 43 of the 1,411 patients admitted within the study period and accounted for approximately 3% of pediatric intensive care unit admissions. NMD consisted of genetic (n= 35, 74.8%), acquired (n=6, 13.8%) and metabolic (n=2, 4.6%) causes. The diagnoses included spinal muscular atrophy type 1 (n=12, 27.9%), Duchenne and Becker muscular dystrophy (n=7, 16.2%), congenital myopathy (n=6, 13.9%), congenital muscular dystrophy (n=5, 11.6%), Guillain-Barre syndrome and its variants (n=2, 4.6%), spinal muscular atrophy associated with respiratory distress type 1 (n=2, 2.3%), critical illness neuropathy (n=2, 4.6%), acute flaccid myelitis (n=2, 4.6%), congenital myasthenic syndrome (n=1, 2.3%), peripheral neuropathy associated with disorder of riboflavin transporter (n=1, 2.3%), juvenile amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (n=1, 2.3%), stress-induced childhood-onset neurodegeneration with ataxia and variable seizures (n=1, 2.3%), and metabolic myopathy (n=1, 2.3%). Respiratory complications (n=31, 72%) were the most common reasons of admission to the pediatric intensive care unit. Seven (16.2%) patients have the NMD diagnosis confirmed during their first admission in PICU. These included both genetic cause of NMDs (n=4) and acquired NMDs (n=3). Mortality rate was 6.9% (n=3). Forty-three patients diagnosed with NMD had 75 times PICU admissions. The disease with the highest rate of re-admission to the PICU was SMA type 1, and the most common reason for re-admission was respiratory reasons. Conclusion: Accurate diagnosis of NMD and knowledge of causes of admission to PICU is crucial for increasing awareness, sensitivity and effectiveness when treating these diseases.

Impact of a mixed method training programme on attitudes of future doctors toward intellectual disability

Objective: The aim of the study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a mixed method training programme in improving attitudes of senior medical students toward intellectual disability (ID). Methods: This study was a quasi-experimental intervention study conducted with the senior medical students. The intervention groups received a mixed method training programme that included seminars, role-playing, social contact, and interactions with people with ID as simulated patients, which have been described in the literature as effective training methods. The control groups was shown a video unrelated to ID. The effectiveness of the intervention was evaluated by administering the Attitudes Toward Intellectual Disability Questionnaire (ATTID)-Short Form to both the intervention and control groups as pre-intervention, post-intervention, and 6-week follow-up. Results: A significant difference was found positively between pre-intervention post-intervention, and 6-week follow-up ATTID-Short Form scores in the intervention groups on factors of Discomfort, Knowledge of capacity and rights, Sensitivity or tenderness, Knowledge of causes, except for the Interaction factor. The differences between pre-intervention and 6-week follow-up scores were significantly greater in the intervention groups compared with the control groups on all factors except the Sensitivity or tenderness factor. Conclusion: The results of this study showed that the mixed method training programme resulted a positive change in students’ attitudes toward people with ID.

Prevalence and correlates of infertility related psychological stress in women with infertility: a cross-sectional hospital based survey

BackgroundPsychological stress is commonly found among infertile women. Untreated stress can affect negatively the success of infertility treatment. Most of the available knowledge is generated from developed countries and is largely based on women undergoing In vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment. However, very little is known on infertile women from Ethiopia including other countries in East Africa. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of psychological stress and possible demographic-clinical correlates in Ethiopian women suffering from infertility.MethodThis cross sectional descriptive correlation study was conducted from May to August, 2021 involving 96 women undergoing a non-IVF treatment for infertility at Gandhi Memorial and Tikur Anbessa hospitals. The sampling was continuous and based on inclusion criteria that include infertility duration of a minimum one year, female sex and Ethiopian nationality. Data on Infertility related stress was collected using the Copenhagen Multi‐Centre Psychosocial Infertility-Fertility Problem Stress questionner administered by an interviewer. The socio demographic and clinical factors were collected using Amharic version of structured interviewer administered questionnaire and chart review. The analysis of relationship between infertility related stress and background variables was done with an independent sample t-test or one-way ANOVA statistics supplemented with effect size assessment.ResultsThe prevalence of infertility related stress was overall 92.71% (95% CI, 87–98%). The personal, marital, and social subdomain mean scores (SD) were 2.74 (.80), 1.54 (.81) and 1.90 (.80), respectively. Infertility related stress was higher for those women who were: aged above 35, living in a cohabitation marital type, has no living children, and with 4–6 years duration of infertility (all P < 0.05). Whereas, there was insufficient evidence to suggest that infertility related stress varies by education, income, knowledge of cause of infertility or history of past treatment (all P > 0.05).ConclusionsThe prevalence of psychological stress among Ethiopia women having infertility was very high. The results provide preliminary evidence that infertility related stress is associated with age, marital status, motherhood status and duration of infertility. Responsible bodies need to avail psychological screening and services prioritizing women at higher risk of developing stress.

A study to assess knowledge of periodontal disease among university students in Assam

Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate levels of oral health knowledge of periodontal disease among nondental university students. Materials and Methods: One hundred university students (mean age 20.1 years ± 2.5) were recruited into this study. The participants completed a structured questionnaire during a personal interview. The questionnaire consisted of items to assess participants' personal data (age, gender, level of study, and specialty) and oral heath knowledge related to periodontal disease. Statistical significance was based on probability values of &lt;0.05. Results: Participants showed poor knowledge of causes, signs, symptoms, and preventive measures of gum disease. Only 49% of first-year and 60% of final-year students said yes as an answer. The level of the study had no relationship with students' knowledge of the initiating factors of periodontal disease but had a significant relationship with the knowledge of periodontal disease's signs, preventive measures, and relations to general health and systemic disease. Students from scientific disciplines had more knowledge of periodontal disease's causes, preventive measures, and relations to general health and systemic disease than those from humanity disciplines. Conclusions: There were significant differences in oral health knowledge regarding periodontal disease between students from different levels of studies and different disciplines.

It is Divine Punishment for our sins”: Knowledge and Perception of the Cause, Symptoms, and Mode of Transmission of the COVID-19 Disease Among Local Traders in Nigeria

Background: Access to correct information can influence the formation of the right attitude towards mitigating the spread of the COVID-19 disease. Many individuals in Nigeria have taken up non-scientifically approved practices in a bid to protect themselves from the virus. The aim of this study was to assess the source of information, and knowledge of cause and mode of transmission of the COIVD-19 disease among local traders in Ibadan, Oyo state, Nigeria. Method: A cross-sectional study of local traders from two densely populated markets in Ibadan was conducted using an interviewer-administered semi-structured questionnaire. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 25 and Microsoft Excel 2016, and were presented in frequency tables and charts. Chi-square test was used to test for association. The level of significance was set at p&lt;0.05. Results: A total of 321 traders; 27.4% of which were males and 72.6% females were recruited into the study. Mean age was 39.4±11.8 years, radio (93.5%) and television (75.7%) were the most commonly used sources of information, 65.8% believed COVID-19 was a result of divine punishment for sins, majority (95.3%) reported that COVID-19 was spread through personal contact with infected persons. There was a statistically significant association between knowledge of cause and age (p=0.004), as well as between knowledge of cause and marital status (p=0.001). Additionally, a statistically significant association was observed between knowledge of transmission and level of education (p=0.012). Conclusion: Even though they have access to adequate information, people may not take proper actions to protect themselves and others from contracting the COVID-19 disease. Reinforced health promotion strategies that pay attention to the local contexts and perspectives of community members should be taken across board.

The impact of COVID -19 on offshore wind project productivity – A case study

This study investigated productivity in an offshore wind project to understand the distribution of their value-adding and non-value-adding hours. A comprehensive literature review presented results on productivity in regular mega-projects, revealing a limited knowledge of offshore wind projects. From the first quarter of 2019 to the early second quarter of 2020, 62,447 realized activities, equaling 213,786 h, were sampled from a wind farm development project in the British sector of the North Sea. This data was then analyzed and presented through a descriptive statistic. The results showed a distribution of 21.21% value-adding (VA) and 50.09% non-value-adding (NVA) hours. With 20.9% of the total hours, the weather is the dominant cause of waiting time, followed by vessels and previous tasks. The findings further show the disruptions of the COVID-19 pandemic and its effects on productivity. It supports and expands on existing knowledge of causes for waiting time in offshore wind projects, ultimately providing the industry with an understanding of areas that need development to enhance productivity. The paper contributes to current knowledge by providing an understanding of productivity in offshore wind projects.

Assessment of socio-behavioural correlates and risk perceptions regarding anthrax disease in tribal communities of Odisha, Eastern India

BackgroundThis study is a baseline survey to assess the knowledge, attitude and practices with regards to the anthrax disease among the communities before demonstrating a One Health approach for elimination of human anthrax in an endemic district of Odisha. A total of 2670 respondents from 112 villages of 14 blocks were interviewed for the study using a structured questionnaire by multi-stage sampling method. Descriptive statistics were reported and logistic regression was performed to estimate the relationship between the variables and knowledge of anthrax.ResultOut of 2670 participants in the study, 76.25% were male and about half were illiterate. Most of the respondents (54.19%) were involved in agriculture as an occupation. 71% of the respondents had livestock in their houses and farming was the main purpose for keeping the livestock. Only one-fifth of the respondents (20.26%) knew about anthrax and a majority of them have come across the disease during community outbreaks. Almost 25.9% of livestock owners had knowledge about vaccination against anthrax disease although 83.4% of the livestock owners disposed the animal carcass by burial method.ConclusionThe study findings indicated that the community members had poor knowledge of cause, symptoms, transmission and prevention of anthrax disease which may be improved by a One Health approach.

Food Waste Causes in Fruit and Vegetables Supply Chains

Fruit and vegetables are a core component of healthy diets, but horticultural production and distribution activities suffer from a high incidence of surplus food and food waste. The intrinsic perishability of products as well recurring pests, diseases and contamination events are since long recognized to be primary reasons for fruit and vegetables wastage, but a more thorough knowledge of causes, including external events and internal strategies and practices, is necessary to design and implement waste reduction strategies. However, literature on waste causes in fruit and vegetables supply chains is rather fragmented. Most existing studies focus on single products, single deterioration mechanisms or single reuse or recycling choices, and hardly ever investigate more than one stage of the fruit and vegetables supply chain.The main objective of the paper is to offer an instrument for identifying in a comprehensive way the possible origin points and root issues behind food waste generation in the stages of fruit and vegetables supply chains. The research is conducted through the application of two methods. A first phase consists in a deep literature review, whose results are summarized in the so-called Causes Framework. This qualitative instrument shows the possible sources of fruit and vegetables surplus and waste, highlighting for each supply chain stage the high-priority causes and for each cause the fundamental root issue. The second research phase is a case study that shows how the Framework can be applied to pinpoint the most significant causes for specific supply chains. The unit of analysis is the supply chain of an Italian PGI pear. Primary information is gathered from 6 enterprises through 7 semi-structured interviews. The most critical causes of surplus and waste generation in the focal supply chain are found as the intersection between interview answers and Framework predictions. The paper integrates sparse pieces of knowledge on the processes of food waste generation in fruit and vegetables supply chains, and offers an instrument that may support private and public decision-makers in the reduction of horticultural waste.

Knowledge and Attitudes of Pacific Islander Doctors and Medical Students to Childhood Hearing Loss and Hearing Services: Results of a Structured Questionnaire Survey in SAMOA.

The Pacific Islands have among the highest global rates of childhood hearing loss in the world. Given the scarcity of ENT Specialists and audiologists in the region, the role of the wider health professional community in addressing preventable childhood hearing loss is crucial. A 10-item 5-point Likert scale questionnaire was administered to medical officers and medical students in Samoa. The statements aimed to investigate knowledge and attitudes to childhood hearing loss and hearing services. Overall, 95.8% of participants selected “Disagree/Strongly Disagree” in response to the statement “Hearing loss is not that important because it does not kill.” There was good knowledge regarding early detection and intervention services for infant hearing assessments (73.6%) and amplification suitability for babies (69.4%-72.2%). Highest knowledge of causes of childhood sensorineural hearing loss was measured for neonatal meningitis/seizures (55.6%), followed by intra-uterine infections (52.8%), and aminoglycosides (52.8%). Knowledge was lowest for jaundice (33.3%) and birth asphyxia (38.9%).

ASSESSMENT OF KNOWLEDGE OF CAUSES, SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS AS A DETERMINANT OF KIDNEY FAILURE RISK BEHAVIOUR AMONG WORKERS IN EDE NORTH LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF OSUN STATE, NIGERIA

Background Kidney diseases are silent killers with huge consequences that man has been attempting to eradicate for years, but with little success. Knowing the exact nature of the cause, signs, and symptoms that indicate a decline in kidney function could help detect disease development earlier. This study looked at people's knowledge of kidney failure's causes, signs, and symptoms as a determinant of kidney failure risk behavior. Objective The goal was to discover if people's knowledge of kidney failure's causes, signs, and symptoms could help with early illness identification. Methods A descriptive survey research design with a multistage sampling procedure was used to pick 331 respondents for the study. The study's instrument was a structured self-administered questionnaire with a reliability coefficient of 0.81. Three hypotheses were developed and using SPSS, the chi-square test was employed to assess the hypotheses at the 0.05 level of significance. Results The findings revealed that knowledge of causes and knowledge of signs and symptoms were significant determinants of kidney failure risk behaviors (X2cal= 110.97, X2crit= 19.68, df= 11, p 0.05; X2cal= 52.70, X2crit= 35.172, df= 23, p 0.05) and that there was no significant gender difference in knowledge of kidney failure causes (F=0.049, df=329, p&gt; 0.05). Conclusion We found that knowledge of causes, signs, and symptoms is a significant factor of kidney failure risk behaviors among workers in Ede North Local Government Area of Osun State, Nigeria, based on the findings of this study. We also concluded that there is no significant gender difference in knowledge of the causes of kidney failure among these workers.

"It is the scourge of God" Misconceptions of COVID 19 Pandemic Among Older Market Traders In Ibadan, Nigeria

Background: Community perception on COVID-19 can influence the development of the right attitude towards mitigating the spread of the Sars CoV 2 virus. Older adults are at risk of severe infections and mortality is high among them. Objectives: This study was conducted to document the knowledge, perceptions and misconceptions of COVID-19 among older market traders in Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria. Methods: A cross-sectional study conducted in two densely populated markets in Ibadan. An interviewer-administered semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect data on the knowledge and perception of COVID-19. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 23. Level of significance was set at p<0.05. Results: A total of 321 respondents were sampled. All participants were aware, source was mainly through radio (93.5%), and 65.8% believed COVID-19 was as a scourge from God for punishments of sins. Only 41.1% had good knowledge of spread with personal contact (95.3%) mostly reported. On knowledge of symptoms and preventive measures, dry cough (84.7%) and frequent hand washing (95.6%) were mostly reported. Knowledge of cause was significantly associated with age (p=0.04) and marital status (p=0.001), while level of education (p=0.012) was significantly associated with knowledge of spread. Conclusion: Misconceptions about the knowledge of the cause and spread of COVID-19 were prevalent among the study population. The implication of this finding among older adults and the significant effect of some sociodemographic factors on the knowledge of the cause and spread of COVID-19 calls for urgent health-promoting interventions that would dispel the misconceptions.

Teaching what matters: Integrating health equity education into the core surgery clerkship

BackgroundSignificant disparities in surgical outcomes exist. It is imperative to prepare future doctors to eliminate disparities. Our team of senior medical students developed a surgical clerkship module examining equity in prostate cancer. Student attitudes before and after a facilitated teaching session were assessed. MethodsA surgical equity pilot module was integrated into the core surgical clerkship starting in July 2020. This module was composed of (1) asynchronous preparatory material and (2) a synchronous interactive case discussion regarding disparities in prostate cancer. Discussion sessions were facilitated by upper-level medical students. Participants answered optional anonymous Likert-style and open-ended survey questions before and after the session. Pre- and post-responses were compared. ResultsOne hundred and sixteen students completed the module between July 2020 and January 2021. Pre- and post-survey response rates were 66% and 29%, respectively. At baseline, almost all students (95%) agreed knowledge of disparities would make them a better physician. However, the majority (95%) described their general knowledge of surgical disparities as “nonexistent,” “poor,” or “average.” Most students did not have a framework for assessing causes of surgical disparities (86%) and were not aware of interventions for reducing disparities (90%). After intervention, the majority rated their knowledge of surgical disparities as “good” or “excellent” (71%; P < .001). Most students indicated they had a framework 79%; P < .001) and were aware of effective interventions (62%; P < .001). ConclusionWe demonstrated a successful pilot of an equity-focused clerkship module. Student attitudes after a single session reflected significant improvement in knowledge of causes and interventions related to surgical disparities. Equity-focused teaching can be incorporated into the surgical clerkship.