Background: There is generally a lack of good health-seeking practices among health professionals due to a variety of factors, including the intensity of the medical practice itself. Doctors and nurses are perceived to have a good knowledge of ideal health-seeking behaviors and as such, it is important to determine the level of their awareness and estimate whether this knowledge is put into practice. This study, therefore, aimed to determine the level of awareness and practices of proper health-seeking behavior and to identify the factors responsible for self-medication among doctors and nurses in a tertiary hospital in Nigeria. Methodology: A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted between April and may 2018 among 106 doctors and 164 nurses in a tertiary health facility in Ido-Ekiti, Ekiti State, Southwestern Nigeria. A simple random sampling technique by balloting was performed from the list of doctors and nurses in the hospital to select doctors and nurses that participated in the study. A pretested semi-structured self-administered questionnaire was designed and used to collect data. The data were entered into the computer software and analyzed using SPSS version 20. P ≤ 0.05 was taken as significant. Result: Out of 106 doctors and 164 nurses recruited, only 102 doctors and 143 nurses filled the questionnaire completely and returned for analysis. One hundred and four respondents (42.4%) fall within the ages of 31-40 years with a male to female ratio of 1:1.

Background: Skin cancers are the most common malignancies in the western world, and their incidence is increasing globally. However, the data about the pattern in sub-Saharan Africa are limited. This study evaluates the pattern of primary skin malignancies in a tertiary medical center located in a sub-urban area. Methods: The histo-pathological records of patients managed for malignancies from January 2012 to December 2020 were retrieved from the pathology department of a tertiary medical center in Ekiti State, Southwest Nigeria. All primary skin cancers seen within this study period were extracted from the records and then reviewed retrospectively. Results: The male-to-female ratio of primary skin malignancies was 1:1.06, and the mean age of patients was 57.2 ± 17years. All patients were black Africans who were mainly of the Yoruba ethnicity (97.2%). Squamous cell cancer had the highest frequency (34.7%), followed by melanoma (27.8%), dermatofibrosarcoma (12.5%), and basal cell carcinoma (11.1%). The most commonly affected anatomic region is the lower limbs (50.6%). Conclusion: The pattern of primary skin cancers seen in black Africans differ from that of Caucasians: however, larger community-based studies in our environment is recommended to provide more conclusive information about the pattern of skin cancers.

This study aims to assess health insurance uptake and affordability of care among patients with hypertension in a Federal Teaching Hospital in Southwestern Nigeria. This was a cross sectional study involving 138 hypertensive patient selected through systematic random sampling technique from the cardiology clinic of a Federal Teaching Hospital. A semi-structured, interviewer administered questionnaire was used to collect data. Analysis was done using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 21. A significance level of 5% was used. The mean age (standard deviation) of the patients was 57.4 (12.8) years with median (interquartile range) monthly income of ₦46,500.00 (₦55,000.00) [US$129 (US$152.78)]. The health insurance uptake among them was 26.8%. Out of those who had no health insurance cover, 87.2% of them believed it could make their financial burden less and wish to be registered. Hypertensive patients enrolled under health insurance were significantly less likely to face financial difficulty when paying for drugs (p<0.001) and investigations (p<0.001). Additionally, these patients were significantly less likely to deny or defer project(s) in order to pay for their illness (p=0.004) and to have their source of livelihood being negatively affected by this illness (p=0.002). This study found a low health insurance uptake among hypertensive patients, even though most of the patients who had no health insurance cover were ready to enroll. Additionally, health insurance was identified to promote affordability of care among these patients. It is therefore crucial to put in place measures that will increase health insurance coverage among these patients.

No abstract

The National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) faced several inherent and systemic drawbacks towards achieving universal health coverage for all Nigerians, and this has led to the signing of the new National Health Insurance Authority Act (NHIA), 2022. This article highlights the benefits of NHIA, discusses the possible challenges and the way forward in its implementation. A narrative review of past literature searched in PubMed, MEDLINE, African Journal Online, and Goggle was conducted. A total of 76 publications were initially retrieved and following data triangulation, 55 were finally used. The authors also included their experiences. The NHIA addressed some of the shortcomings of the previous NHIS, however, it would still face several challenges in its implementation such as low government funding priority to health, shortage of healthcare workers and poor healthcare coverage, as well as problems with enforcement as it mandates all Nigerians to enroll. These and other impending constraints must be surmounted and all stakeholders must be involved to ensure the Act accomplishes its aim.