Background: Awareness and knowledge can play key roles in influencing the utilization of health insurance programs in Nigeria. Objectives: This study aims to investigate the awareness and use of the Tertiary Institutions/Voluntary Participant Social Health Insurance Program (TISHIP) for undergraduate dental services. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted in the Enugu Campus of the University of Nigeria and the study population comprised full-time undergraduate students of the institution with a total sample size of 400. Results: Majority (66.7%) of the respondents were aware of the TISHIP, but 37% were aware that it covered dental treatments, and 16.1% had received dental treatment under TISHIP. Fifty point eight percent (50.8%) of the respondents were not registered under the insurance program. The reason respondents had not registered was because majority (49.7%) were not aware of the compulsory registration into the scheme. Respondents agreed that TISHIP would promote equity in healthcare delivery (57.5%), promote improved health facilities (39.4%), and 52.5% were willing to participate in the scheme while 47.9% were undecided on whether TISHIP was worth the financial contribution. Presumed high cost of dental treatment (51.9%) and non-availability of materials for dental treatment at dental facilities (50.8%) were factors that affected the utilization of TISHIP (P < 0.05). Conclusion: Despite the positive effect of TISHIP in cushioning the cost of dental care, utilization is poor, thus there is a need to scale up awareness among the students’ population.

Background:The impact of uncontrolled hypertension results in undesirable cardiovascular events. Hence, there is a need to emphasize on adequate control of blood pressure.Objectives:The objectives of this study were to determine the prevalence and determinants of controlled blood pressure and the complications of hypertension in a tertiary hospital in Nigeria.Materials and Methods:This was a retrospective study of 257 patients of Cardiology Unit of University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital diagnosed with hypertension from 2014 to 2018. A proforma-designed questionnaire was used to retrieve responses from the patients’ medical records. Data were entered and analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 20. The level of significance was set at 0.05.Results:The prevalence of controlled blood pressure was 35.8% with mean blood pressure of 112.39/72.72 mmHg. Adherence to drug therapy was found to be associated with controlled blood pressure (χ2= 8.370,P= 0.005). Two-thirds of patients diagnosed with hypertension developed complications of which hypertensive heart disease, stroke, and chronic kidney diseases were the commonest. Age (χ2= 9.629,P= 0.008) and the initial presenting diagnosis (χ2= 7.662,P= 0.004) were factors associated with the development of complications.Conclusion:Adequate blood pressure control is still a challenge among hypertensive patients in the study population. A comprehensive program is advocated for the control of blood pressure that will accommodate drug adherence in addition to education, and socio-behavioral change modifications.