No abstract

The incidence of adult patients with orofacial cleft is not rare in our community, probably due to limited access to specialized health care facilities, poverty and ignorance. Furthermore, some of these patients are not aware that these facial defects can be repaired. The advent of the smile train organization and free services has resulted in this harvesting phenomenon.

Background: Traditional healers/herbalists remain one of the most accessible and popular options of care to people suffering from cancers particularly at the community level in Nigeria. The majority of patients with oral cancer present at the terminal stage after exploring unorthodox care. This study assesses the awareness of oral cancer among traditional caregivers in Kano State, Northwestern (NW) Nigeria.Methods: Self-administered, structured questionnaires were administered to a cross section of 21 traditional caregivers.Results: Of the 21 traditional caregivers studied, the majority (66.7%) had never heard of oral cancer and only 7 (33.3%) were aware. The level of knowledge on oral cancer was assessed using a scoring system classifying respondents as having adequate (>50%) or inadequate (<50%) knowledge. There was a significant educational status gap as respondents with informal education had lesser knowledge than that of their counterparts who had formal education (61.9% versus 19.0%) (P= 0.012).Conclusions: It is important to have allied healthcare providers informed about oral cancer, as their knowledge and awareness of oral cancer and its risk factors, which were low in our study, are vital in prevention and early detection.Impact: This study provides an insight into oral cancer prevention using traditional herbalists who are popular caregivers for those seeking health-related solutions.

The DO is a viable and available treatment option for reconstructing maxillomandibular discrepancies and accompanying soft and hard tissue deficiencies.

Background. The opportunity to provide free surgical care for orofacial clefts has opened a new vista and is enhanced by well-informed communities who are aware of the free surgical services available to them. It is the responsibility of cleft care providers to adequately inform these communities via a combination of community mobilization and awareness creation. Methods. This was a nationwide, cross-sectional descriptive study of all orofacial cleft service providers in Nigeria using a structured, self-administered questionnaire. Results. A total of 4648 clefts have been repaired, 50.8% by the ten government-owned and 49.2% by the five nongovernment-owned organizations included in the study. The nongovernment-owned institutions seemed to be more aggressive about community mobilization and awareness creation than government-owned ones, and this was reflected in their patient turnout. Most of the organizations studied would prefer a separate, independent body to handle their awareness campaign. Conclusion. Community mobilization requires skill and dedication and may require formal training or dedicated budgets by government-owned and nongovernment-owned institutions alike. Organizations involved in cleft care provision must take community mobilization and awareness seriously if the largely unmet needs of orofacial cleft patients in Nigeria are to be tackled.