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Biomedical subjects

J D Adeniyi

Publications and source records attributed to J D Adeniyi.

16 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1997

Eradicating guinea worm without wells: unrealized hopes of the Water Decade.

At the start of the United Nations International Drinking Water Supply and Sanitation Decade in the 1980s, guinea worm disease was targeted as the major indicator of the success of the Decade's efforts to promote safe water. By the late 1980s, most of the guinea worm endemic countries in Africa and South Asia had established guinea worm eradication programmes that included water supply as one of their main technical strategies. By surveying the water supply situation in Ifeloju Local Government Area (LGA) in Oyo State, Nigeria, in June 1996, as a case study, it was possible to determine the role that water supply has played in the eradication effort. Although two major agencies, the former Directorate for Food, Roads and Rural Infrastructure and UNICEF, provided hand dug and bore-hole wells respectively in many parts of the LGA, coverage of the smaller farm hamlets has been minor compared to efforts in the larger towns. This is ironic because the farm hamlets served as a reservoir for the disease in the 1980s, such that when the piped water system in the towns broke down, guinea worm was easily reintroduced into the towns. The survey of 188 ever-endemic hamlets with an estimated population of 23,556 found that 74.3% of the people still drink only pond water. Another 11.3% have wells that have become dysfunctional. Only 14.4% of this rural population has access' to functioning wells. Guinea worm was eliminated from 107 of the hamlets mainly by the use of cloth filters and chemical treatment of ponds. While this proves that it is possible to eradicate guinea worm, it fails to leave behind the legacy of reliable, safe water supplies that was the hope of the Water Decade.

Animals↗
PubMed1991

Guineaworm control case study: planning a multi-strategy approach.

The planned global eradication of guineaworm (dracunculiasis) offers opportunities to learn about relatively complicated disease control situations. Unlike smallpox, which was eradicated over 10 years ago through immunization, the guineaworm problem has no one solution, but must rely on a variety of technologies to protect, treat or replace existing unsafe community water supplies which harbour the disease. Experiences in rural Nigeria have shown that a multi-strategy approach is necessary to account for differences in geographical settlement patterns, local culture and beliefs, geology of the area, economy of the villages and political clout of town leaders among the five major segments of the community. Through a self-help primary health care programme, residents of the Idere community were able to dig wells, produce and distribute cloth water filters bringing a reduction in disease incidence in some areas. It was also seen that generally low standards of living exacerbated by scattered outlying settlements made self-help difficult. Unfortunately occasional government and private efforts did not succeed because of a lack of community participation. Programme planners must involve the consumers in diagnosing these community characteristics and in planning, supervising and maintaining the resulting projects. The multi-strategy approach will help avoid wasted resources and false expectations that arise when project staff attempt to apply a "magic bullet" solution to a complex problem.

Case-Control Studies↗
PubMed1988

Health education strategies for tropical disease control in school children.

This study was concerned with the demonstration of the outcome of health education in the control of malaria, schistosomiasis, dracontiasis and onchocerciasis in rural secondary schools in Nigeria using a simplified version of Green's antecedent model. Green identified three factors which could contribute to the prevalence of a disease or health problem and they are 'predisposing', 'enabling' and 'reinforcing' factors. Thus educational activities were planned in this project that would affect these three factors. The study was of a quasinon equivalent before and after experimental design. It was carried out in 10 secondary schools grouped into two equal clusters (five each) to form experimental and control groups. The post-intervention findings revealed that there was a significant increase in the knowledge of the four diseases among those in the experimental group over those in the control group. The results also showed that when knowledge was supported by enabling and reinforcing factors, desirable changes could result in the school setting among students.

Child↗
PubMed1986

Targeting school children for tropical diseases control: preliminary findings from a socio-behaviour research in Nigeria.

This paper reports one study carried out among school children in Nigeria to investigate some of the social and behaviour factors contributing to the transmission of malaria, guineaworm, schistosomiasis and onchocerciasis. Data were gathered from 1310 secondary school children in a rural community. Analysis of data revealed that 70% of students wash and fetch water in the streams and ponds for domestic purposes. More than 70% claimed that their drinking water was pipe borne even though we knew that the taps had been dry for months. Only 29% specified streams, wells, ponds and water holes as sources of water supply. More than 30% claimed to treat their water before drinking in their homes. There is evidence from home visits in the community that a large proportion of the population do very little to improve the quality of drinking water before consumption. With the exception of malaria, the student's knowledge on the causes and prevention of schistosomiasis, onchocerciasis and guineaworm is virtually nil. All of these had implications for an educational intervention plan which was the next phase of the project.

Attitude to Health↗
PubMed1982

Profession-specific training in health education.

In 1975, the African Regional Health Education Centre (ARHEC) inaugurated two training programmes in health programmes in health education: a two-year postgraduate course leading to a master's degree, and a one-year course preparing for a non-graduate diploma. The purpose of the latter was to give advanced training and updating to experienced health personnel who had either received a diploma in health education some years before or had been functioning as health educators. This was intended to be a temporary course, to phase out in three years. However, due to its popularity, it was extended in spite of certain negative aspects, mainly the fact that new graduates often return to their former positions with little opportunity to utilize fully their new skills. Those who succeeded best tried to merge health education with their basic professional practice (for example, nursing with patient education). ARHEC decided therefore to modify the programme of its advanced diploma course, which now provides for the teaching of a basic core of health education subjects to all students, and includes three modules to which students are assigned according to their previous training and their future professional activities: community health education and primary health care; hospital-based patient and family health education; and school health education. The practical field work, which is an essential aspect of the course, is tailored to the interests of students in each module. Preliminary evaluation indicates that this programme provides a better response to the needs of students and their employers and eliminates the problem of two categories of health educators (diploma and masters level). It is intended to create other modules dealing with the media, occupational health, and so on.

Clinical Competence↗
PubMed1981

Health education specialization in Africa: roles in conflict.

This paper presents an assessment of the professional preparation programme offered at the African Regional Health Education Centre (ARHEC), University of Ibadan, Nigeria, where training is provided at the diploma and post-graduate levels. Role conflicts between the two groups of professionals involved have been noted, both during and after training. Diplomates hold expectations that they will be considered in the same light as post-graduate specialists, and are therefore disappointed sometimes when they go back to their professional settings. Master level specialists also experience frustrations in cases where diplomates hold seniority over them. The most successful diploma holders seem to be those who incorporate health education into their basic professional practice, for example nurses using patient education skills. An analysis of the activities and performance of the diploma students during their training also revealed that they tend to view health education in terms of their basic profession and developed projects that integrated both disciplines. This experience has led ARCHEC staff to advocate profession-specific training at the diploma level, so that graduates will have a better vision of their role in the broader picture of health education.

Attitude↗