Professionals In Nigeria Research Articles

Current Practices Regarding Treatment of Neonatal Jaundice by Neonatal Care Practitioners in Nigeria

Background: Neonatal jaundice is a common medical condition encountered in the neonatal period in Nigerian hospitals. Its management is not homogenous among healthcare providers. Therefore, this study aimed at evaluating current practices related to the treatment of neonatal jaundice among doctors and nurses caring for neonates in Nigeria. Methods: Healthcare providers managing neonates in Nigeria were surveyed during annual general and scientific meetings of the Nigerian Society of Neonatal Medicine in 2017. In addition, the Paediatric Association of Nigeria’s mailing list was utilized to disseminate a self-administered, pretested and structured questionnaire to doctors and nurses involved in taking care of newborns in Nigeria. Results: The results of the study showed that local guidelines / protocols were highly applied by the respondents. The majority of the health care providers would screen newborns for neonatal jaundice before discharge. The practice of early discharge within 24 hours was rampant with a high frequency of late follow up at 6 weeks. Conclusion: The practices regarding management of neonatal jaundice among healthcare professionals in Nigeria vary with better practices observed in specialist cadres. Newborn discharge and follow-up practices also vary and are sub-optimal. Therefore, there is a need for more awareness creation on neonatal jaundice treatment among cadres of health care practitioners. This should be complimented with the development of a national guideline on the management of neonatal jaundice in Nigeria.

Development of Bespoke and Sustainable 2-Day Cancer, Palliative, End of Life, and Bereavement Care Educational Workshops for Health Care Professionals in Nigeria

In Nigeria there is a consensus that in-country cancer services lack strategy, focus and coordination of care. This is magnified by poverty and by cultural and religious issues, resulting in the majority of patients presenting late and deemed palliative at the time of diagnosis. The Bricon Foundation, a Nigerian nongovernmental organization joined forces with Macmillan Cancer Support, a well-known established UK cancer charity to design an interactive teaching package for Nigerian health care professionals. The aim of the workshops was to share best practice in basic cancer, palliative and end of life care including bereavement support. The project concentrated on facilitating open discussions among Nigerian health care professionals about these topics including communication challenges and how to take care of themselves. The four two-day workshops were designed to identify challenges and obstacles health care professionals faced in delivering cancer and palliative care in Nigeria. They empowered participants to realize their own potential in improving the cancer experience for the patients and themselves. The cancer sessions were adapted from Macmillan cancer awareness materials that have been well evaluated in the UK. Additionally, the team developed a palliative, end of life and bereavement care study day as day two of the workshops to give participants a basic holistic overview. A team of Macmillan Alumni volunteers traveled to Nigeria to work with The Bricon Foundation team in delivering this training, which had sponsorship from NNPC, Total EPNL and partners. After each day participants completed an evaluation form. This enabled the team to adapt subsequent presentations to the Nigerian context using the feedback. The training was delivered to 91 participants from 26 government and private facilities with all 4 workshops evaluating positively. Attendees specifically valued the group work as it facilitated an exchange of ideas ensuring their voice was heard. Most expediently we were able to identify professionals drawn from different areas of healthcare who are interested in delivering future sessions on a regular basis keeping education at the forefront of cancer, palliative care and health care practice development. With further educational sessions anticipated in the near future, evaluation is on-going.

LEARNING MODELS FOR EFFECTIVE PROPAGATION OF SUSTAINABLE CONSTRUCTION PRACTICES IN THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT

The drive to achieve sustainable built environment has made learning new skills relating to Sustainable Construction Practices (SCP) imperative. This study investigated whether learning method can improve uptake of SCP through knowledge enhancement. Using survey research strategy, data from 206 construction professionals in Nigeria were collected and analysed. The results revealed that Andragogy and Experiential learning models strongly correlated SCP transfer requirements, and are therefore, appropriate models to embed SCP within existing ethos in the built environment. The study espoused the critical roles of experience and hands-on-project as prerequisite reinforcements for effective learning of SCP.

Deploying unqualified personnel in health records practice: Role substitution or quackery? Implications for health services delivery in Nigeria.

Healthcare professionals are obliged to work collaboratively regardless of their professional differences in order to provide the highest possible standard of care to patients. However, this type of collaboration can also lead to role substitution and, in effect, engagement of unqualified personnel in all health professions, including the health information management profession. This is a particular problem in developing nations such as Nigeria, where this trend has the potential to undermine the delivery of health services, the quality and the confidentiality of health information and trust between patients and healthcare professionals. To clarify and protect the professional identity of qualified health information management professionals in Nigeria and to prevent other experts who also work in health facilities (e.g. IT specialists, librarians) from claiming membership of the profession, the nomenclature for the health information management profession has been changed to health records and information management profession.

Awareness and Benefits of Self-Curing Concrete in Construction Projects: Builders and Civil Engineers Perceptions

Self-cured concrete is a type of concrete with a special ability to reduce autogenous shrinkage responsible for early-stage cracking. It is useful generally for the construction of high rise buildings and bridges. The application and use of this technique of curing concrete, however, depends on the level of awareness among stakeholders regarding the application of the technique and its benefits among other factors. This study, therefore, sets out to investigate the level of awareness of selected construction professionals regarding the self-curing concrete technique in addition to the benefits. A cross-sectional survey design method was embraced by giving out 115 questionnaires to builders and engineers in Lagos who were purposely selected. The data was subjected to descriptive statistics. The results indicate that about 21% of selected builders and civil engineers practicing in Lagos are not aware and familiar with the concept of self-curing technology while about 43.1% of the professionals who have the knowledge of SCT have never used it in their professional practice. In addition, lower permeability, reduced coefficients of thermal expansion, and improved microstructures of cementitious paste were perceived as the dominant benefits of the self-curing concrete method. The implication of this study to construction professionals in Nigeria is in developing capacities on innovation practices in high-strength concrete technologies that will make them strike a balance with international counterparts.

An implementation framework of value management in the Nigerian construction industry

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to develop a framework for value management (VM) implementation by establishing the effect of critical success factors on current construction practices. This will aid stakeholders to improve productivity of construction practices in the Nigerian construction industry. The study established the requirements that ought to be satisfied for VM to successfully enhance productivity of construction activities. Design/methodology/approach Data collection was based on self-administered questionnaires from 344 registered construction professionals in Nigeria. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 25 and structural equation modelling were used to analyse the data for both descriptive and inferential analyses. Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin measure of sampling adequacy revealed that the internal consistency of the developed research instrument was appropriate, while the confirmatory factor analysis indicated satisfactory goodness-of-fit indices among acknowledged determinants of the structural model. Findings A framework that established the requirements for the successful implementation of VM construction practices in the Nigerian construction industry. Originality/value A structural model validated the requirements of applying VM on current construction practices. The established requirements (environment, people, government and information/methodology) can be used by decision makers and stakeholders to improve productivity of the current construction practices in the Nigerian construction environment. A framework was developed and validated by construction experts to confirm its suitability, usefulness and acceptance.

Impact of Rework on Building Project and Organisation Performance: A View of Construction Professionals in Nigeria

Rework has become a menace in the construction industry as it leads to undesired and unnecessary loss of efforts. It degrades project cost, quality and schedule performance, and it occurs at both the design and construction phases of construction projects. This study therefore examined the perception of construction professionals on the impact of rework on the performance of both the project and the performing organization. This was achieved by determining the most important effect of rework on project and organizational performance, and identifying variables in which the professionals view varies significantly. The study adopted a quantitative survey approach in which structured questionnaire was adopted as the research instrument. Mean item score was used in ranking the professionals perception of the effect of rework, and Kruskal-Wallis H test was used to identify the variables in which the professionals view varies. The study revealed that: rework has a very high impact of (MIS = 4.00) on project performance which results in projects over shooting their planned budget and planned duration, and degradation of project quality. Rework has a very high effect of (MIS = 4.04) on organizational performance leading to loss of profit/reduced profit, de-motivation of workers, and loss of future work/business. Disputes between contracted parties, design team dissatisfaction, de-motivation of workers and Fatigue are the factors in which the professionals’ view varied significantly. It was recommended that there is the need for the training of construction stakeholders on construction rework and other variables that cause projects to over shoot their budget, time and other resource.

Training for Intercultural Sensitivity Skills: A Case for Agricultural Extension Professionals in Nigeria and Nations Facing Similar Challenges

Training for Intercultural Sensitivity Skills: A Case for Agricultural Extension Professionals in Nigeria and Nations Facing Similar Challenges

Tick-, Flea-, and Louse-Borne Diseases of Public Health and Veterinary Significance in Nigeria.

Mosquito-borne diseases are common high-impact diseases in tropical and subtropical areas. However, other non-mosquito vector-borne pathogens (VBPs) may share their geographic distribution, seasonality, and clinical manifestations, thereby contributing their share to the morbidity and mortality caused by febrile illnesses in these regions. The purpose of this work was to collect and review existing information and identify knowledge gaps about tick, flea-, and louse-borne diseases of veterinary and public health significance in Nigeria. Full-length articles about VBPs were reviewed and relevant information about the vectors, their hosts, geographic distribution, seasonality, and association(s) with human or veterinary diseases was extracted. Specific laboratory tools used for detection and identification of VBPs in Nigeria were also identified. A total of 62 original publications were examined. Substantial information about the prevalence and impacts of ticks and fleas on pet and service dogs (18 articles), and livestock animals (23 articles) were available; however, information about their association with and potential for causing human illnesses was largely absent despite the zoonotic nature of many of these peri-domestic veterinary diseases. Recent publications that employed molecular methods of detection demonstrated the occurrence of several classic (Ehrlichia canis, Rickettsia africae, Bartonella sp.) and emerging human pathogens (R. aeschlimannii, Neoehrlichia mikurensis) in ticks and fleas. However, information about other pathogens often found in association with ticks (R. conorii) and fleas (R. typhi, R. felis) across the African continent was lacking. Records of louse-borne epidemic typhus in Nigeria date to 1947; however, its current status is not known. This review provides an essential baseline summary of the current knowledge in Nigeria of non-mosquito VBPs, and should stimulate improvements in the surveillance of the veterinary and human diseases they cause in Nigeria. Due to increasing recognition of these diseases in other African countries, veterinary and public health professionals in Nigeria should expand the list of possible diseases considered in patients presenting with fever of unknown etiology.

Perceived Well-being among Telecommunication Professionals in Nigeria as a Consequence of Hope, Life Orientation and Personal Meaning

The paper investigated perceived well-being of employees of a private telecommunication organization in Nigeria as a consequence of hope, life orientation and personal meaning. The ex-post facto re...

English

Previous studies have reported poor awareness of the Pharmacovigilance Programme (PP) among health professionals in Nigeria but similar information on the general population is unavailable. This study was designed to investigate the individual and contextual factors associated with awareness of the PP among the general population. The study utilised data collected in the 2012 National HIV and AIDS and Reproductive Health and Serological Survey which were collected through a multi-stage cluster survey among women aged 15-49 years and men aged 15-64 years across all the states in Nigeria. Data on regulatory activities about food and drugs as well as household and individual characteristics were extracted and analyzed using descriptive statistics and multilevel logistic regression. Mean age of the respondents was 31.45±11.8 years. Females constituted 50.1% while 68.7% resided in rural areas. Only 26.0% of the respondents were aware of the PP and this was significantly higher among those with higher education (57.7%) and those who have seen/heard any campaign on Adverse Drug Reactions (ADRs) (79.7%). Participants who had seen/heard any campaign on ADRs were more likely to be aware of the PP (Odd Ratio [OR]: 32.85, 95% Confidence Interval [CI]: 29.13–36.57). Tertiary education (OR: 4.29, 95% CI: 3.51–5.07), and secondary education (OR= 2.35, 95%C.I= 2.0–2.70) significantly increased PP awareness. Participants who were employed and those who resided in urban communities were more likely to be aware of the PP in Nigeria. Generally, awareness of the PP in Nigeria is low. Awareness campaigns should be re-packaged to reach rural dwellers and those with lower education. Key words: Nigeria, pharmacovigilance programme, adverse drug reactions, multilevel logistic regression.

Ethical Issues in Library and Information Science Profession in Nigeria: An Appraisal

Library and information science professional play an extremely important role in the society. However, in discharging their responsibilities and duties, core ethical principles are expected to be upheld by librarians and information workers as outlined in the professional codes of ethics. The aim of this paper is to appraise core ethical issues in library and information science profession in Nigeria. This paper discusses core ethical principle in library and information science profession such as universal access to information, intellectual property rights, intellectual freedom, copyright/fair use and privacy/confidentiality among others. This paper further identified ethical challenges confronting library and information science professionals in Nigeria. This paper concludes that regardless of the ethical challenges confronting library and information science professionals in Nigeria, the professional codes of ethics should be upheld.

A survey of property valuation approaches in Nigeria

PurposeThe emerging trend in the global real estate valuation practice has led to the development of advanced valuation approaches to replace the traditional methods. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the extent to which real estate valuers practicing in Nigeria are aware and use these advanced approaches in real estate valuation practice.Design/methodology/approachBoth traditional and advanced approaches were identified from the literature. An online-based questionnaire survey was administered on estate surveyors and valuers to measure their level of awareness and frequency of use of the identified valuation approaches. The feedback was collated and analyzed using descriptive statistical analysis.FindingsThe professionals are mostly aware of the traditional methods and always use the “sales comparison method” in practice. In contrast, they are not very aware of the advanced approaches and hence, only use the hedonic pricing model occasionally in practice.Research limitations/implicationsThe study only focuses on the Lagos metropolis, a nationwide survey will produce more comfortable generalizable findings.Practical implicationsThis is a wake-up call for the real estate regulatory bodies and indeed all the real estate professionals in Nigeria to embrace the use of the advanced valuation approaches in practice, in order to remain relevant in the international real estate practice.Originality/valueImplementation of the recommendations of this study could help position the Nigerian real estate professionals and the industry for a global exposition.

Medication errors among health professionals in Nigeria: A national survey

Medication errors are preventable causes of patient harm with significant contributions to adverse drug events but they remain understudied in Nigeria. To estimate the prevalence of self-reported medication errors among health professionals and examine their knowledge of medication errors with the hope of identifying appropriate measures to promote medication safety. A cross sectional survey among doctors, pharmacists and nurses in 10 tertiary hospitals. Information was obtained using a self-administered structured questionnaire. Correct responses evaluating the knowledge of prescription, dispensing and administration errors were scored one mark each and the composite scores computed. Appropriate statistics were applied to summarize and establish the relationship between variables at 5% level of significance using SPSS 17.0. A total of 2,386 professionals participated in the study (46.3% nurses, 44.9% doctors, 8.8% pharmacists).The prevalence of self-reported medication errors was 47%.The professional groups differ in their knowledge of all the aspects of medication errors with professional cadres influencing knowledge.Overwork was the most reason for being error prone (59.2%) and only 35.5% had ever reported medication error. 33.4% did not think reporting was necessary. The prevalence of medication errors is high among health care professionals in Nigeria. Knowledge gaps and practice deficiencies were identified requiring interventions.

STAKEHOLDER PERCEPTIONS OF THE BENEFITS AND BARRIERS OF IMPLEMENTING ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS IN THE NIGERIAN CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY

This study investigates stakeholder opinions of the major benefits and barriers of Environmental Management Systems (EMS) to the Nigerian construction industry, and the perceived issues to EMS adoption among organisations in the industry. The study highlights the environment as an important stakeholder in the industry because it affects and is affected by construction activities on a regular basis. It identifies the importance of ISO 14001 in ensuring adequate consideration for the environment is maintained on construction projects. The research adopts a quantitative approach by analysing responses from an online survey among construction industry professionals in Nigeria. The questions on the survey were drawn from a similar study carried out in Asia and the results were analysed using the Weighted Average and Standard Deviation statistical approach. Results reveal that the major benefits of EMS to the Nigerian construction industry were improved efficiency in waste management and environmental protection, as well as an overall increase in employee motivation due to better opportunities for training and development. Lack of technological support in organisations and the high cost of implementing EMS were viewed as the major barriers towards its uptake in construction companies. The findings also indicate that a feasible EMS implementation strategy must not ignore the unique nature of the Nigerian construction industry, which comprises mostly small and medium enterprises. The study concludes by recommending the use of a waste management plan based on the Reuse-reducerecycle-Recover model and an employee training plan to ensure continuous improvement in the organisation’s environmental management strategy.

Investing in health information management: The right people, in the right place, at the right time.

To describe the process adopted to review the academic curriculum for training health information management professionals in Nigeria. Health information management professionals are responsible for managing patients' health service records and hospital information systems across health facilities in Nigeria. An assessment found many are inadequately skilled in information and communications technology (ICT) skills believed to be needed for them to play leadership roles in hospital information systems and function effectively. This was traced to a dearth of relevant ICT courses in their academic training curriculum. A review of the curriculum for training health information management professionals was instituted following an agreed need to address these issues. Health records management is evolving across the world including the developing countries. This advancement requires evolution of training programs to meet the increasing application of ICT in this sector. After several sessions, a new curriculum that addresses all the identified educational deficiencies has been developed. It is believed that this step will help improve the quality of training programs.

Knowledge-Sharing Intention among Information Professionals in Nigeria: A Statistical Analysis

In this study, the researcher administered a survey and developed and tested a statistical model to examine the factors that determine the intention of information professionals in Nigeria to share knowledge with their colleagues. The result revealed correlations between the overall score for intending to share knowledge and other knowledge-sharing intention factors. Citizenship behavior had the highest correlation with knowledge-sharing intention, followed by creativity and innovation, then by frequency of interaction.

Nigeria's National Health Act: An assessment of health professionals' knowledge and perception.

Background:Nigeria's National Health Act 2014 (NHA 2014) was signed into law on October 31, 2014. It provides a legal framework for the regulation, development, and management of Nigeria's Health System. This study assessed the knowledge and perception of the NHA 2014 by health professionals.Materials and Methods:This was a descriptive, cross-sectional, questionnaire-based study conducted in December 2015, in Ota, Ogun State, Nigeria. Data entry and analysis were done using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 16 (IBM SPSS, Chicago, IL, USA) statistical software, with Pearson's Chi-square, which is used to determine the associations between variables. Statistical significance was set at a P < 0.05.Results:The study population comprised 130 health professionals (medical doctors/dentists, nurses, pharmacists, laboratory scientists, and other health-related professionals) in attendance at a medical conference. The respondents' age ranged from 21 to 75 years with a mean age of 44.53 ± 12.46 years. Medical practitioners accounted for 82.3% of the respondents. Although most (79.2%) respondents had a good perception of the NHA 2014 with majority (86.2%) claiming they were aware of the act, majority (73.8%) exhibited poor knowledge of the act. A little more than half (53.1%) of the respondents believed that the NHA 2014 will help to reduce strike actions in the health sector.Conclusion:Although health professionals in Nigeria have good awareness and perception of the NHA 2014, their knowledge of the Act is poor.

Assessing the Awareness and Knowledge on the Use of Probiotics by Healthcare Professionals in Nigeria

Objective: To assess the awareness and knowledge of healthcare professionals in Nigeria on probiotics. Methods: Participants were randomly sampled from major healthcare institutions in Nigeria’s capital. Semi-structured questionnaires were administered. Descriptive statistics was used in data analysis Results: Results showed limited knowledge and awareness of probiotic products by the healthcare professionals assessed. Amongst the participants, pharmacists were more knowledgeable. Conclusion: The findings showed a limited knowledge on probiotics thus limiting their use. Knowledge on probiotics can be improved through seminars, update lectures, incorporating the topic in the curricula of upcoming professionals, amongst others. Pharmacists can also educate other professionals as they are widely regarded as drug experts and have shown to be more informed on this issue. Key words: Awareness, Knowledge, Probiotics, Healthcare Professionals, Nigeria.

Electronic and paper based data collection methods in library and information science research

Purpose – This study aims to examine a comparative analysis of electronic- and paper-based data collection methods. Design/methodology/approach – Survey research approach was adopted to conduct the study. A total of 500 library and information science (LIS) researcher/information professionals selected randomly from seven states in Nigeria represent the sample for the study. A self-designed questionnaire was used to gather data from the respondents. Six objectives were developed to guide the study. Findings – The findings reveal that there is preference for paper-based than the electronic-based data collection methods, and similarly, respondents indicated they cannot use any other data collection methods other than paper-based. Electronic data collection method is beneficial in terms of gathering a representative sample within a short period compared to the paper-based method. The researcher has control over access to the survey in the paper-based method compared to the electronic method, and there is opportunity to monitor the progress of the research and clarify ambiguity by the researcher. The electronic method is limited in terms of collecting data from only the respondents who are computer-literate with good Web skills, while the paper-based method is limited by higher attrition rate, money and time consumption. Research limitations/implications – The study did not consider the time needed to gather data with each method or the amount of time needed for data entry, cleaning and coding. It is possible that a time-motion study would reveal clear superiority of either one method or the other. The total sample of participants in the study is also limited, considering the total number of LIS researcher/information professionals in Nigeria. Practical implications – The study has underlined the value of electronic/Web-based collection as a cost- and time-saving instrument in modern LIS research. Regardless of method and trial, electronic data collection could fulfill in all examined parameters, its promises, realizing cost savings of up to a 50 per cent in comparison with the paper-based data collection method. Originality/value – The paper is solely the idea of the author.