ABSTRACT Lake Baringo waters and sediments are being impacted negatively by metal contaminants sourced from the lake’s watershed posing a human and environmental health concern. The main objective was to determine the concentration of heavy metals cadmium (Cd), copper (Cu), mercury (Hg) and lead (Pb) in water and sediments, and to characterize sediments in terms of grain size and total organic carbon and relate them to the heavy metal levels encountered at the sampled sites. 5 sites were s...
ABSTRACT East African Sandalwood (Osyris lanceolata) is a dioecious shrub growing to 1-7 m tall depending on environmental factors and genetic variation. Sandalwood is widely exploited for extraction of oil, which is used in the fragrance, perfumery and pharmaceutical industries. Efforts are being made to domesticate the species in order to reduce pressure from its natural habitat. However, little is known in regard to its ecological factors, range of oil yields and quality across its distri...
ABSTRACT Background: Cancer is often associated with a lot of pain and suffering. These suggest that coping with the symptoms, diagnosis and treatment of cancer is a major life stressor that is capable of influencing patients’ quality of life (QoL). Purpose: The purpose of the study is to assess the relationship between cancer patients QoL dimensions and coping strategies in the Radiotherapy Department of the University College Hospital Ibadan, Nigeria. Methods: Data were collected on cl...
ABSTRACT Heavy metal pollution in the environment is a problem experienced all over the world. Whereas heavy metals exist naturally in the environment, heavy metal pollution is associated with anthropogenic activities. Pollution studies reveal that the aquatic ecosystems in Kenya and the fish that inhabit these ecosystems are contaminated with heavy metals. Literature also reveals that exposure to levels of heavy metals above the recommended doses may possibly cause various adverse health ef...
Introduction Dry eye (keratoconjunctivitis sicca, tear instability) is a disorder of the tear film due to tear deficiency or excessive evaporation and is associated with symptoms of discomfort and ocular irritation such as feeling hot, dry, gritty or sandy, burning, smarting sensation, itching, watering or tearing.1,2 Dry eye is one of the commonest afflictions affecting humans, especially the aged. It has been observed that over half of the adult population and a large number of teenagers pr...
ABSTRACT Nzoia River Drainage Basin is a major sugar production region in Kenya. Various pesticides are applied in this area to control weeds and boost sugar productivity. However, use of herbicides for weed control leads to increased chemical loads in the environment whose effects could be disastrous to the biotic component. The use of pesticide adapted microorganisms in the degradation and detoxification of many toxic xenobiotics, especially pesticides, is an efficient tool for the deconta...
ABSTRACT The truncated ecosystems of the Tana River County are highly vulnerable to climate change and variability due to their low adaptive capacities and high dependence on climate sensitive resources. Inadequacy of long term climate information is a serious constraint for long-term planning for enhanced food security and minimization of the adverse impacts of climate change and variability. This study was motivated by the need to downscale climate information using modelling procedures ba...
ABSTRACT Increase in maternal employment over the past 25 years has led to an increase in reliance on child care for young children from birth to 5 years of age. Non parental child care is now the norm for young children on a regular basis, with at least 44% of infants in child day care for more than 30 hours a week. Economic deprivation has led mothers especially in low income residential areas in Naivasha to return to work soon after delivery and since they do not have enough money to hire...
Abstract Contraceptive use in Nigeria at 15 percent is low, despite a high human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) prevalence of 3.4 percent and fertility rate of 5.7 percent. We assessed the levels of spousal communication on family planning and contraception (FPC) and HIV/acquired immune deficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS), the influence of demographic characteristics on this communication and association between this communication and the respondents’ health behaviors. We used a cross-sectional a...
ABSTRACT Nutrition plays a critical role in promoting the health of People Living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA). Nutritional problems strongly predict illness or death among PLWHA. However, the knowledge, attitude and practices relating to adequate nutrition by this group of people have not been adequately explored in Nigeria. This study was therefore carried out to determine the knowledge, attitude and nutritional practices among PLWHA who were attending Antiretroviral Therapy (ART) clinics in Ibad...
SUMMARY Objective: We recently described early rigid retrograde endoscopic realignment of the disrupted urethra under caudal anaesthesia in the outpatient setting. This retrospective study was performed to evaluate our medium-term results. Patients and methods: A retrospective review of patients who had early rigid retrograde endoscopic realignment of traumatic urethral disruptions in our institution over a 5-year period was done and the relevant data extracted and analyzed. Results: Fourteen...
ABSTRACT The increasing use of electric generators in small scale businesses is predicated on the erratic and inadequate power supply in Nigeria. Electric generators produce noise at levels capable of inducing hearing impairment. Hitherto, few studies have assessed the auditory status of generator users in Nigeria. This study was designed to compare the work environment noise levels and auditory status of generator users in two areas where generators are used in Ibadan. A comparative cross ...
Abstract Objective To deterrnine the extent to which ihe cornrnunity-directed approach used in onchocerciasis control inAfrica could effectively and efficiently provide integrated delivery of other health interventions. Methods Athree-year experirnental study was undertaken in 35 health districts frorn 2005 to 2007 inseven research sites inCarneroon, Nigeria and Uganda. Four trial districts and one cornparison district were randornly selected in each site. All districts had established iverrn...
Abstract Introduction: Nigeria’s University College Hospital’s PMTCT centre provides voluntary counselling and testing as part of routine care which was assessed in this paper. Methods: Structured face-to-face interview was carried out at exit on participants from the counselling session. Data analysis was by frequency distribution. Results: All clients were assured of confidentiality, had their HIV/ AIDS knowledge assessed and consent taken before the test, 95.45% of participants had the...
Introduction In the last few decades psychiatric discourse has undergone an important change in its' scope and focus. During the heady days of psychoanalytic hegemony, psychiatrists were willing to prognosticate or pontificate on just about anything, from individual neurosis through to social maladies, from medicine to literature, from the unconscious to the conscious. Nowadays, psychiatry self-consciously emphasizes its origins as 0 medical discipline, focuses its diognostic efforts on opero...