NCT00056563 and NCT01076452.

Introduction almost 99% of neonatal deaths occur in developing countries and these deaths can be prevented by the presence of a skilled birth attendant during labour. This study therefore assessed the knowledge and practices of midwives towards immediate newborn care. Methods this study employed a descriptive cross-sectional design. Eighty nine midwives were selected using purposive sampling technique from the two health facilities. Questionnaire was adapted from helping babies breathe manual. Data collected were analyzed with SPSS version 25 and the results were presented using descriptive statistics. Results the mean age of the respondents was 33.20 years ± 8.07. More than half of the midwives (56.2%) had a good knowledge on immediate newborn care. About 62.9% had good practices of immediate new born care, though some still carry out some obsolete practices like routine suctioning of the airway of newborns, immediate cleaning/removal of the vernix caseosa with olive oil and immediate cord clamping. Conclusion a bit above average of the midwives had good knowledge about immediate newborn care and some of the midwives still carry out obsolete practices that has been judge as non-beneficial and are not in line with recommendations of World Health Organization/UNICEF on immediate newborn care. This study therefore recommends that midwives undergo training and retraining on immediate newborn care and there should be increased awareness and education on recent up to date practices of immediate newborn care.

Background. Tuberculosis remains the leading cause of death due to infectious diseases worldwide ranking above HIV/AIDS, and Nigeria is rated as the 7th worldwide and the 2nd in Africa among the 30 countries highly burdened with tuberculosis worldwide. Aim. To investigate the challenges encountered by nurses in the care of TB patients in a Federal Teaching Hospital in Nigeria. Setting. Ekiti State, Southwest Nigeria. Methods. A qualitative contextual method was utilized with the sample size determined by data saturation. Data collection was done through an audiotaped, semistructured interview. The study sample consisted of 20 professional nurses working in the medical and paediatric wards of a selected Federal Teaching Hospital in South West, Nigeria. Data was analysed using Tesch’s content analysis approach. Results. The majority of the participants were females within the age group of 31–40 years. Challenges included inadequate availability of personal protective equipment (PPE), lack of isolation wards, delegating the care of tuberculosis patients to young inexperienced nurses, long process in diagnosing patients with tuberculosis, lack of policies protecting the nurses from exposure to tuberculosis, and inadequate training. The major concern was the fear of contracting tuberculosis. Conclusion. The study suggested that there should be a provision of adequate personal protective equipment; tuberculosis designated wards and provision of periodic training to update the nurses on care of tuberculosis patients. Establishment and execution of hospital policies and practices along with support are equally essential in facilitating a safe workplace for nurses.

BackgroundThe family plays a central role in the provision and maintenance of health status of its members and all factors that contribute to achieving optimal health.AimTo compare the health status of one-parent and two-parent families using the McMaster model of family functioning.SettingOndo State, Southwest Nigeria.MethodsA descriptive cross-sectional design, using multi-stage simple random sampling technique. Data were collected using an adopted self-administered questionnaire from 250 purposely selected families from each sample group. The data entering was analysed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software version 17.0.ResultsFindings showed that one-parent fathers scored higher (mean = 74.4 ± 10.30) than two-parent fathers (70.5 ± 13.05), while one-parent mothers scored higher (mean = 69.7 ± 15.10) than two-parent mothers (mean 67.7 ± 14.78). This means that one-parent fathers have a better self-reported health status than two-parent fathers, while one-parent mothers have a better self-reported health status than two-parent mothers. One-parent fathers have the best self-reported health status. No significant (p > 0.05) difference in the health status of children from both families.ConclusionFathers are healthier than mothers, while one-parent fathers are healthier than two-parent fathers. Comparing the two groups of families, parents from one-parent families reported better health status than parents from two-parent families, whereas within each family group, fathers reported better health status than mothers. This places responsibility on health care professionals to explore family contexts during clinic visits so as to render a more comprehensive health care service to families.

Introduction Death and the dying experience are common phenomena in all clinical settings. Death and the dying presents physical and emotional strain on the dying patient, his relations and professional caregivers. Objective The study therefore assessed the sociodemographic determinants of nurses’ attitudes towards death and caring for dying patient. Method A cross–sectional design was used to study 213 randomly selected nurses, working in one of the tier one teaching hospital in Nigeria. Attitude towards death and the dying was collected with Frommelt Attitude Care of the Dying and Death Attitude Profit–Revised questionnaire. The data collected was analysed with SPSS version 20 and inferential analyses were considered statistically significant at p < 0.05. Results The study revealed that most of the nurses had negative attitudes toward the concept of death (76.5%) and caring for dying patient (68%). Furthermore, a chi-square test revealed significant associations between the nurses’ years of working experience (χ2 = 24.57, p <.00) and current unit of practice (χ2 = 21.464; p = .002) and their attitude towards caring for the dying patient. Also, nurses’ age (χ2 = 13.77, p = .032), professional qualifications (χ2 = 13.774, p = .008), and current ward of practice (χ2 = 16.505, p = .011) were significantly associated with their attitudes to death. Furthermore, the study observed a significant association between nurses’ attitudes to death and caring for the dying patient (χ2 = 11.26, p < 0.01). Conclusion This study concluded that nurses had negative attitudes towards death and dying and therefore prescribes, as part of continuing professional development strategy, the need for requisite positive value – laden, ethnoreligious specific education regarding end of life care.