Gbolahan A. Oni

Rapid ethnographic assessment: Applications in a diarrhea management program

This paper reports on a rapid ethnographic assessment methodology (REA) that was developed as an essential component of the dietary management of diarrhea (DMD) program. The DMD program is an interdisciplinary research project that has been developed to design intervention programs to reduce or eliminate the nutritional complications of diarrhea in Peru and Nigeria. Anthropological data gathering was an important component of the intervention design, but time and budgetary constraints required a rapid methodological approach. This paper outlines the REA methodology, describes the advantages and disadvantages of the approach, and discusses future applications for international primary health care interventions.

Psychosocial correlates of alcohol, tobacco and cannabis use: findings from a Nigerian university.

The possible correlates of alcohol, tobacco and cannabis use were investigated in a survey conducted among undergraduate students of the University of Ilorin, Nigeria. Factors that emerged as common correlates to the three substances investigated were peer influence, self-reported poor mental health, religiousity, parental/guardian supervision, perceived availability and perceived harmfulness. In addition, drinking and smoking were found to be commoner among the male sex and among respondents who reported study difficulty. There was also a significant positive relationship between cannabis use and a polygamous family background and belonging to an older age group. Although the data used in the analysis is limited due to its cross-sectional nature, the observations made are useful enough for the formulation of primary prevention strategies. A further and more elaborate longitudinal study is, however, suggested.

Development of a nutritionally adequate and culturally appropriate weaning food in Kwara State, Nigeria: An interdisciplinary approach

A nutrition education program was undertaken in Kwara State, Nigeria to improve infant feeding practices and nutritional status of weaning-aged children. A series of ethnographic, market survey, epidemiological, dietary, clinical, and communications research studies were implemented to develop a culturally acceptable, yet nutritionally adequate, weaning food. A premise of the project was that the development and introduction of any new weaning food should be based upon ingredients available in the community and to households, at a low cost and with minimum preparation time, and that would be culturally acceptable by mothers for feeding young children. Initially, research was conducted to define the problem in both nutritional and anthropological terms. Data was collected to describe: (1) present patterns of infant feeding and their determinants; and (2) dietary intake and nutritional status of infants in the intervention area. This paper focuses on the process of defining the problem and developing an intervention from an interdisciplinary perspective. The development of the new weaning food, Eko-Ilera, a fortified pap based on the traditional weaning food, is described.

Family Planning Knowledge, Attitudes And Practices of Males in llorin, Nigeria

Summary A household survey conducted between September 1988 and January 1989 in Ilorin, Nigeria, yielded data on the contraceptive knowledge, attitudes and practices of 1,022 men. Although the sample is not representative of the city, the data provide comparative information by level of education and area of residence, which serves as a proxy for socioeconomic status. Contraceptive knowledge is virtually universal among these men, with the condom and oral contraceptives the most commonly known methods. The condom is also the most commonly used method, yet less than half of men from the most educated and highest socioeconomic groups have ever used it. The majority of men at all education and residence levels have positive attitudes toward family planning, and contraceptive use is associated with communication about family planning between husbands and wives. Among men who say they have had such discussions, 22-60 percent report that their wives use a method, compared with 4-10 percent of those who say they have not discussed family planning with their wives.

Use of contraceptives for birth spacing in a Nigerian city.

This paper examines the use of contraceptives among women aged 15-35 in the urban area of Ilorin, Nigeria, with particular focus on use for the purpose of spacing births. Approximately 19 percent of ever-married women in the sample had used contraceptives at some time and approximately 6 percent were using at the time of the survey. Results suggest that some women have used or are using contraceptives as a substitute for prolonged periods of postpartum sexual abstinence. Whereas all groups of women in the study prefer to maintain an interval of two years between births, less traditional women no longer prefer to observe long periods of postpartum sexual abstinence. For some women, therefore, there is a wide gap between the length of preferred birth interval and the length of preferred abstinence. The magnitude of this gap is significantly associated with both ever use and current use of contraceptives. Other variables found to have a significant independent effect on contraceptive use were total number of children desired, maternal age, and maternal education.

Desired family size and its determinants among urban Nigerian women: A two-stage analysis

This paper proposes and carries out a two-stage analysis of the determinants of desired family size, using data gathered from a sample of women in the city of Ilorin, Nigeria. The analysis first focuses on differences between women who report numerical family size desires and those who report nonnumerical desires. Findings suggest that there are important differences between these two groups, but there is little variation in the actual number reported by those expressing numerical desires. Implications of these findings for survey design are discussed. In particular, the practice of forcing numerical responses by instructing interviewers to probe when women report nonnumerical desires is questioned.

Feeding practices and prevalence of hand‐feeding of infants and young children in Kwara State, Nigeria

A survey questionnaire was administered to a representative sample of mothers of infants and young children less than three years of age in the seven Yoruba speaking local government areas (LGA) of Kwara State, Nigeria, to obtain information on childrens feeding practices in relation to their ages, site of residence, and selected family characteristics. Hand‐feeding of a dilute, fermented maize or sorghum pap was reported to be very common in this part of Nigeria despite criticism by health professionals who fear that it produces an increased risk of aspiration pneumonia. Rates of hand‐feeding were similar in urban and rural areas, and younger mothers were as likely as older ones to hand‐feed their children. There were also no apparent differences related to maternal education. At all ages children who were hand‐fed tended to have lower nutritional status than those who were not. Despite the lower nutritional status of hand‐fed children, it is argued that the practice evolved culturally as an appropriate...

Contraceptive knowledge and practices in Ilorin, Nigeria: 1983-88.

This report describes changes in knowledge and use of contraceptives in Ilorin, Nigeria between 1983 and 1988, a period marked both by dramatic changes in Nigerias economic climate, as a result of the decline in the value of oil exports, and by considerable increases in public programs aimed at promoting the use of family planning and reducing fertility. The report is based on the analysis of two surveys of married women aged 15-35 years who lived in the city of Ilorin. By 1988, knowledge of modern methods of contraception had become virtually universal in Ilorin, even among women with no education and among those living in the poorest areas of the city. Current use of contraceptives had also increased considerably since 1983, reaching prevalence rates of 15 percent among women with primary education, 20 percent among those with secondary education, and 40 percent among those with postsecondary education. Each of these groups of women experienced at least a doubling of contraceptive prevalence between 1983 and 1988. Although use among uneducated women was still low in absolute terms (prevalence of 4.5 percent), these women also experienced a substantial relative increase in use.

Breastfeeding: Its relatioship with postpartum amenorrhea and postpartum sexual abstinence in a Nigerian community

Breastfeeding, together with its two related postpartum variables--amenorrhea and abstinence--govern both the tempo and quantum of fertility in traditional African societies. Decline in breastfeeding also implies decline in postpartum amenorrhea and abstinence practice. Changes in breastfeeding practices in tropical Africa, therefore, has fertility implications and consequences. This paper examines how breastfeeding is functionally related to postpartum amenorrhea and abstinence in Ilorin, an urban community in Nigeria. Results indicated that the effect of breastfeeding on fertility, through its relationship with postpartum abstinence, might be more important than its effect through lactational amenorrhea in this society. This is more true among women with little or no education than among women with secondary or higher education. The population or family planning implications of these relationships are discussed.

Breast-feeding pattern in an urban Nigerian community

This paper examines the pattern of breastfeeding among women still in their prime childbearing ages (15-35 years) in Ilorin, the capital city of Kwara state in Nigeria. While breastfeeding is still a common practice among urban women, there is wide variation in the duration of breastfeeding depending on the socioeconomic characteristics of the mothers. Mothers education and fathers education have very strong negative associations with duration of breastfeeding. Use of contraception also has a significant independent but negative effect on breastfeeding duration. Christians continue breastfeeding for shorter periods than Muslims. The introduction of supplementary feedings to the infant occurs in this population much earlier than is recommended by various authorities. Decline in breastfeeding practice may have deleterious effects on the health and survival of children in developing countries and may also lead to higher fertility and more rapid population growth. The high morbidity and mortality among artificially fed infants in many developing countries can be attributed to improper preparation as well as contamination of infant formula and other foods.