Objective: The aim of the study is to assess the physical, financial, emotional and social impact of breast cancer on women in North east Nigeria.Methods: A qualitative transcendental phenomenological study design was adopted, using face-to face unstructured interview to collect data from 22 respondents who were recruited via purposive non-probability sampling technique. The interviews were recorded, transcribed verbatim and further analyzed using thematic analysis method into themes and sub-themes.Results: The result revealed excruciating pains that does not abate completely as the main physical impact, expensive cost of treatment as the major financial impact and crying as the major emotional impact of breast cancer on women. However, been diagnosed with breast cancer had no any consequences on participants’ relationship with spouse or family members.Conclusion: Breast cancer causes pain, makes women to cry and the treatment is very expensive but it does not cause relationship problems. There is therefore the need for Government and Non-governmental policies to be geared towards supporting women with breast cancer to overcome these challenges.

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The ravaging consequences of Malaria in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) have been a subject of serious concern to every stakeholder. Literature and anecdotal evidence shows that around 60% of Nigerians seek fever treatment from Patent Medicine Vendors (PMVs) despite the limited formal dispensing knowledge most possess. This study attempts to establish a base line of knowledge, attitude and practices of Malaria control among PMVs in Gombe Metropolis, North Eastern Nigeria. The study was a descriptive cross sectional survey based on structured questionnaires used to collect relevant information from 109 PMVs selected by purposive sampling technique. The result show that 85.3% of the participants in this study correctly identified fever or high body temperature as the common sign of uncomplicated (UC) Malaria, while 70.6% recognized convulsion as one of the main symptoms of severe Malaria. Furthermore, 86.2% of the PMVs also knew that sleeping inside treated nets constitute one of the best ways to prevent Malaria. In the same vein, awareness of change in Malaria treatment policy from monotherapy to Artemisinin based combination therapy (ACT) was high (73.3%) among them. However, those PMVs that had ever undergone some degree of drug dispensing training exhibited a significantly higher level of awareness of change in malaria treatment policy (X2 =17.903, P = 0.000). Although 85.3% of PMVs frequently recommend Arthemeter Lumefantrine (AL) as treatment of uncomplicated Malaria, only 39.4% of the participants would refer severe malaria cases. Even though most Malaria control awareness and practice variables were found to be fairly good among the participants, it is clear from the study that there is the need for enhanced training, monitoring and supervision by the relevant authorities so as to fully harness the vast potential in PMVs.

IntroductionChildren living with HIV have been known to face the highest risk of AIDS-related deaths when compared to other age groups (Unicef, 2016). As at 2019, there were 38.0 million people living with HIV (UNAIDS, 2020). Out of these 36.2 million were adults, while 1.8 million were children 0-14 years. HIV is transmitted from an infected person to an uninfected person by two major modes, namely, horizontal transmission and vertical transmission (or mother to child transmission MTCT)) (Mark, Crepaz, Jansen 2006; Federal Government of Nigeria 2002).Prevention of mother to child transmission (PMTCT) is a global interventional program initiated by the United Nations Organization to protect the children of the world from the scourge of the HIV pandemic, (UNGASS, 2002). The target is to have mother to child transmission eliminated and to substantially reduce AIDS related maternal deaths. The reduction of the impact of HIV/AIDS on women and children is the rationale for strengthening the programme for the prevention of mother to child transmission. The AIDS-response must focus on solutions for this extremely vulnerable population in preventing new infections, but also testing and starting treatment early are the best ways to end AIDS among the youngest children. Mother to child transmission of HIV greatly place our future generation at high risk of disabilities and reduced their life span. In an age where the tools and knowledge are at hand to prevent and treat HIV in children, yet new infections and deaths among this age group is a reflection of our collective failure to prioritize children as our future generation (UNICEF 2016).Acceleration of treatment for all pregnant and breastfeeding women living with HIV is still needed to achieve elimination of new infections among children and half HIV related deaths among pregnant women and new mothers, (Unicef 2017). At the turn of the century, and the beginning of the Millennium Development Goals, an HIV diagnosis was equivalent to a death sentence for most children and their families in low-income countries. But, an early diagnosis paired with treatment and care can ensure long healthy lives, regardless of location, and can help prevent transmission of HIV to

Topmost among the 21st century innovations in pedagogy is the introduction of the constructivist approach in which students are afforded wide latitude of involvement in constructing, reconstructing and ascending a scaffold of knowledge based on student centered learning (SCL) approach. This study aimed to assess the perception of SCL introduced as a form of teaching and learning among students and lecturers in the College of Nursing and Midwifery, Gombe State, Nigeria. Employing a descriptive cross sectional study design and a purposive sampling technique, a sample of 117 students and 24 lecturers were drawn. Using an adapted SCL questionnaire, data collection was done from November to December, 2020 and was analyzed using SPSS (IBM) version 23 and result presented as means and percentages, while Pearson correlation and one-way ANOVA was used to present inferential statistics results. All statistical findings were considered significant at p≥0.05. Cronbach’s alpha reliability score of at least 7.0 was achieved within each set of variables considered. Of the eight SCL components assessed, the most highly rated were role of lecturers (3.99±0.7) and role of students (3.53±0.6) while the least rated were obstacles (2.91±0.9) and learning outcomes (2.95±1.1). Three major obstacles to SCL identified in the study include: “in ability to cover the syllabus using SCL approaches” (3.04±1.4); “lack of infrastructure for SCL in my school” (3.87±1.1) and; “lack of guidelines for the SCL approach in my school” (3.13±1.3). The study findings conclude that, despite the good perception of SCL in the college there are limitations to its full adoption. Therefore, it is recommended that online discussions, training of staff and provision of measures to ensure content coverage using SCL, provision of critical infrastructure and guidelines for SCL be prioritized by the management and other stakeholders.