Adherence counseling and text message reminders improved adherence among HIV patients. Its adoption for HIV patient management is advocated.

Palm oil consumption and its effects on serum lipid levels and cardiovascular disease in humans is still a subject of debate. Advocacy groups with varying agenda fuel the controversy. This update intends to identify evidence-based evaluations of the influence of palm oil on serum lipid profile and cardiovascular disease. Furthermore, it suggests a direction for future research. The sources of information were based on a PubMed, Google Scholar, African Journal online and Medline search using key words including: palm oil, palmitic acid, saturated fatty acids and heart disease. Published animal and human experiments on the association of palm oil and its constituents on the serum lipid profile and cardiovascular disease were also explored for relevant information. These papers are reviewed and the available evidence is discussed. Most of the information in mainstream literature is targeted at consumers and food companies with a view to discourage the consumption of palm oil. The main argument against the use of palm oil as an edible oil is the fact that it contains palmitic acid, which is a saturated fatty acid and by extrapolation should give rise to elevated total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels. However, there are many scientific studies, both in animals and humans that clearly show that palm oil consumption does not give rise to elevated serum cholesterol levels and that palm oil is not atherogenic. Apart from palmitic acid, palm oil consists of oleic and linoleic acids which are monounsaturated and polyunsaturated respectively. Palm oil also consists of vitamins A and E, which are powerful antioxidants. Palm oil has been scientifically shown to protect the heart and blood vessels from plaques and ischemic injuries. Palm oil consumed as a dietary fat as a part of a healthy balanced diet does not have incremental risk for cardiovascular disease. Little or no additional benefit will be obtained by replacing it with other oils rich in mono or polyunsaturated fatty acids.

The burden of stroke has been projected to increase in low-and middle-income countries due to the ongoing epidemiological transition. However, community-based stroke prevalence studies are sparse in sub-Saharan Africa particularly in Nigeria. This study aimed to provide a comparative estimate of the prevalence of stroke survivors in the rural Niger Delta region. A three-phased door-to-door survey was conducted using WHO modified instruments. In the first-phase, 2028 adults (≥18 years) participants randomly selected from two rural communities were screened by trained health research assistants for probable stroke. In the second phase, suspected cases were screened with stroke-specific tool. Positive cases were made to undergo complete neurological evaluation by two study neurologist in phase-three.Stroke diagnosis was based on clinical evaluation using WHO criteria. Overall, 27 (8 firstever and 19 recurrent cases) stroke survivors with crude prevalence of 13.31/1000 (95% CI, 8.32-18.31) and a non-significant difference in prevalence between the two study communities were found, (P= 0.393I). In addition, age-adjusted prevalence of stroke survivors was 14.6/1000 person, about 7-folds higher than previous estimates outside the Niger Delta region. The prevalence increases significantly with advancing in age, P<0·001.Among others, hypertension (92.59%) was the commonest risk factor and comorbidity found.Improved stroke surveillance and care, as well as better management of the underlying risk factors, primarily undetected or uncontrolled high blood pressure, remains a public health priority.

BackgroundData collection in Sub-Saharan Africa has traditionally been paper-based. However, the popularization of Android mobile devices and data capture software has brought paperless data management within reach. We used Open Data Kit (ODK) technology on Android mobile devices during a household survey in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria.ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to describe the pros and cons of deploying ODK for data management.MethodsA descriptive cross-sectional household survey was carried out by 6 data collectors between April and May 2016. Data were obtained from 1706 persons in 601 households across 6 communities in 3 states in the Niger Delta. The use of Android mobile devices and ODK technology involved form building, testing, collection, aggregation, and download for data analysis. The median duration for data collection per household and per individual was 25.7 and 9.3 min, respectively.ResultsData entries per device ranged from 33 (33/1706, 1.93%) to 482 (482/1706, 28.25%) individuals between 9 (9/601, 1.5%) and 122 (122/601, 20.3%) households. The most entries (470) were made by data collector 5. Only 2 respondents had data entry errors (2/1706, 0.12%). However, 73 (73/601, 12.1%) households had inaccurate date and time entries for when data collection started and ended. The cost of deploying ODK was estimated at US $206.7 in comparison with the estimated cost of US $466.7 for paper-based data management.ConclusionsWe found the use of mobile data capture technology to be efficient and cost-effective. As Internet services improve in Africa, we advocate their use as effective tools for health information management.

The results suggested that exposure to oil/gas pollution may be associated with an increased risk of hypertension. Our findings need to be further investigated in longitudinal studies.