Funmilola OlaOlorun

Having a say matters: influence of decision-making power on contraceptive use among Nigerian women ages 35-49 years.

Background Research suggests that women of reproductive age who are involved in household decision-making are more likely than those who are not involved to be able to control their fertility. Little is known, however, about this relationship among women at the upper end of the reproductive spectrum. The aim of this study was to determine the association between household decision-making power and modern contraceptive use among Nigerian women ages 35–49 years. Methods A descriptive, cross-sectional study involving a secondary analysis of data from the Nigerian 2008 Demographic and Health Survey was conducted among women ages 35–49 years who were considered to be in need of contraception. The outcome was modern contraceptive use while the main independent variable was a womans household decision-making power score, constructed using principal component analysis. Multivariate logistic regression was performed to determine whether the womens household decision-making power score, categorized into tertiles, was independently associated with modern contraceptive use. Data were weighted and adjusted for the complex survey design. Results Prevalence of modern contraceptive use among Nigerian women deemed to be in need of contraception in this study was 18.7%. Multivariate logistic regression showed that womens decision-making power remained statistically significantly associated with modern contraceptive use, even after adjusting for age, education, religion, polygyny, parity, wealth and domicile. Women who were in the highest decision-making power tertile had more than one and a half times the odds of using modern contraception compared with women in the lowest tertile [Adjusted Odds Ratio = 1.70; 95% Confidence Interval = 1.31–2.21, p<0.001]. Significance Older Nigerian women who are involved in making household decisions are also able to make decisions related to their fertility. Programs in Nigeria focused on increasing modern contraceptive use should include strategies to increase womens status through encouraging more visible involvement in decision-making across different spheres of their lives.

Intimate partner violence among women in a migrant community in southwest Nigeria.

This descriptive cross sectional study was conducted to determine attitudes to and the prevalence of intimate partner violence (IPV) among women of reproductive age in a migrant community in southwest Nigeria. All consenting females aged 15–49 years in the area sampled were interviewed. A structured questionnaire administered in the local language was used to obtain information on attitudes toward IPV in seven hypothetical situations as well as their exposure to IPV. Eighty-seven percent of women had ever experienced IPV, while 20% experienced IPV in the preceding 12 months. Regarding attitudes to IPV, 79.5% of women believed that wife beating was justified in at least one of seven situations. Respondents who were not living with a male partner were more likely than their counterparts who were married/cohabiting to accept IPV (p = 0.03). There is a need for a cultural reorientation through appropriate health education interventions.

The Relationship between Household Sanitation and Women’s Experience of Menstrual Hygiene: Findings from a Cross-Sectional Survey in Kaduna State, Nigeria

Global efforts to improve sanitation have emphasized the needs of women and girls. Managing menstruation is one such need, yet there is scarce research capturing current practices. This study investigated the relationships between household sanitation and women’s experience of menstrual management. Secondary analyses were undertaken on data from 1994 women and girls collected through the Performance Monitoring and Accountability 2020 survey in Kaduna, Nigeria. In multivariable models, women had higher odds of using the main household sanitation facility for menstrual management when they had access to a basic (OR = 1.76 95%CI 1.26–2.46) or limited (OR = 1.63 95%CI 1.08–2.48) sanitation facility, compared to an unimproved facility. Women with no household sanitation facility had higher odds of using their sleeping area (OR = 3.56 95%CI 2.50–5.06) or having no facility for menstrual management (OR = 9.86 95%CI 5.76–16.87) than women with an unimproved sanitation facility. Menstrual management locations were associated with ratings of their characteristics. Safely managed or basic sanitation facilities were not rated more favorably than unimproved facilities in privacy (OR = 1.02 95%CI 0.70–1.48), safety (OR = 1.45 95%CI 0.98–2.15), access to a lock (OR = 0.93 95%CI 0.62–1.37), or soap and water (OR = 1.04 95%CI 0.70–1.56). Women using their sleeping area had more favorable perceptions of their environment. Findings suggest household sanitation influences women’s choices for menstrual management, but that existing indicators for improvement are not sensitive to menstrual needs.

A training intervention on child feeding among primary healthcare workers in Ibadan Municipality

Introduction Health workers at the primary level are well positioned to provide health information and counselling on child feeding to mothers on antenatal visits. The study was designed to evaluate the effect of training on the knowledge, attitudes and provision of infant and young child feeding (IYCF) information and counselling among primary healthcare (PHC) workers. Methods A two-stage cluster sample was used to select health workers for training on IYCF in Ibadan, Nigeria. Baseline, immediate and 4-week post-training surveys were conducted to assess knowledge, attitudes and practices of health workers regarding IYCF. Paired t-tests were used to measure differences (p < 0.05) before and after the training. Results A total of 124 health workers were trained on current global IYCF recommendations. Participants included community health extension workers (59.7%), nurses (27.4%), community health officers (11.3%), and pharmacy technicians (1.6%). Mean age was 41.8 ± 8.2 years and 95.2% were women. Knowledge of health workers regarding IYCF, particularly complementary feeding, was low at baseline but improved significantly following the training intervention. Attitudes and practices regarding provision of IYCF were suboptimal among health workers at the PHC facilities, but this improved with training. Conclusion Health workers at the PHC level need regular retraining exercises to ensure effective counselling on IYCF.

The role of packaged water in meeting global targets on improved water access

Packaged water (as either refill, bottled, or sachet water) has become an important element of water security in many low- and middle-income countries, owing to poor reliability and lack of piped water infrastructure. However, over time and across countries, the Demographic and Health Surveys monitoring program has inconsistently classified packaged water components as either improved or unimproved. Using data collected as part of the Performance Monitoring and Accountability 2020 (PMA2020) surveys on water options in nine study geographies across eight countries, we identified five geographies where packaged water constituted one of several options for 5% or more of users. In this study, four scenarios were designed in which packaged water components were variously classified as either improved or unimproved. Unimproved water use was highest in scenarios where sachet or refill water was classified as an unimproved source. Across the four scenarios, the difference in the use of unimproved water as the main option was highest (65%) in Nigeria (Lagos). That difference increased to 78% when considering all regular options. The development of these scenarios highlights the importance of classifying a source as improved or unimproved in the overall metric that indicates progress at national and international levels.

A unique opportunity to use football to improve birth registration awareness and completeness in Nigeria

Nigeria is a football-loving nation and has won silverware at international footballing events. By 2016, the country had won five of the under-17 world championships that had ever been held since the tournament’s inception in 1985 (16 tournaments). Brazil ranked next with number of three trophies. Nigeria also has the highest number of football players on the African continent, many of whom are youth.1 As at2006, there were over 6.5 million football players in the country, the eighth largest concentration of players in the world.1 Age-related footballing events have been bedevilled by age fraud. Age fraud is a term for age fabrication or the use of false documentation to gain an advantage over opponents and has been described as the ‘biggest problem’ facing African football.2 Nigeria has been repeatedly accused of being involved in age fraud and several of its players have been disqualified from different events. The country was suspended by FIFA in 1989 and stripped of its hosting rights for the FIFA world youth championship in 1991 after three of the players who it presented in a previous contest had disparities in age …

Mothers’ work family roles and self-reported health in peri-urban Ghana and Ethiopia.

We test the associations between peri-urban mothers’ paid work and reported health in Asawase, Ghana and Sebeta, Ethiopia using data from the Family Health and Wealth Study. The analytic sample is 608 and 667 mothers in Asawase and Sebeta respectively, aged 15 to 49. Dependent measures are self-rated health (SRH), self-reported health problems (SRHP), and chronic disease (CD) status. Independent variables include work/remuneration status. Bivariate and multivariate analyses are presented. Our results showed that in Asawase and Sebeta respectively, 88.3% and 80.1% of mothers had no CD; 88.3% and 91.9% reported very good/good health; 73.4% and 55.5% had no health problems. Ethiopian mothers remunerated for their work other than by cash alone reported better health, on all three outcomes compared with their non-working counterparts [CD-AOR (95%CI):1.98(1.18-3.33); SRH: 3.49(1.39-8.80); SRHP: 1.40(1.04-1.88)]. Findings from Ghana were not as clear. Investigation of women’s multiple family roles is warranted to understand pathways to better health.