Udoka Chris Okafor

Cost burden of post stroke condition in Nigeria: a pilot study.

Aim: Estimation of cost burden of a disease condition is a very important part of health care policy making worldwide. Till now, such documents are lacking especially on non-communicable diseases in the health policy making process in Nigeria. This article therefore attempts to report the results of a prospective cross-sectional study on the cost burden of a cerebrovascular accident condition (stroke) in Nigeria. It estimates the direct health care cost for a minimum period of 12weeks and maximum of 36weeks for post stroke hemiplegia. Study Design/Setting: It was a collaborative cross-sectional study amongst centers situated in urban and sub-urban environments in Southern Nigeria. It involved a hospital of an Oil and Gas Company in Port Harcourt, Nigeria, two Government tertiary hospitals in Port Harcourt and Benin-City, all in South-South Nigeria, the industrial hub of the country. A Private Specialist hospital in Lagos, South-West Nigeria, the corporate hub of the country was also included. Method: Patients diagnosed and admitted for management for cerebrovascular accident (stroke) in the above named health facilities formed the subjects of this study. Medical records (case files) of two hundred and forty (240) stroke patients managed within the last six years (2005- 2011) were randomly selected from the medical record departments of the study centers. Files of the patients who were admitted during acute care period (without discharge against medical advice) and were followed on out-patient basis without default within the study period were purposively utilized. The files were then assessed for the various investigations and treatment interventions of acute and long term care and the costs thereof. Ethical approval to access patients’ case files was sought and granted by the Research Ethics Committee of the different study centers. Results: The results revealed that it requires an average of N95,100: 00 (

Prevalence of work-related musculoskeletal discomfort and its impact on activity: A survey of beverage factory workers in Eastern Nigeria

600) and N767,900: 00 (

Work-related back discomfort and associated factors among automotive maintenance mechanics in Eastern Nigeria: A cross sectional study

4860)in a government and a private hospital, respectively to access care within the first 36weeks of post stroke affectation in Nigeria. Conclusion: The outcome of this study suggests that managing stroke constitutes a huge direct cost burden unaffordable by an average Nigerian stroke sufferer. The implication is that lack of means for rehabilitative care may result in disability adjusted life years which further compounds burdens in terms of indirect cost on the sufferers’ and care givers’ productivity. It is therefore recommended that awareness of this disorder is created by policy makers and implementers where it does not exist and increased where it does with health promotion and preventive measures.

Occupational Hazards: Awareness and Level of Precautions Among Physiotherapists in Selected Health Institutions in Lagos, Nigeria

BACKGROUND Bottling workers maintain awkward postures while performing machine paced repetitive motions in many of their job tasks and therefore are predisposed to work related musculoskeletal discomfort (WMSD). There is a paucity of literature on prevalence and impact of musculoskeletal discomfort among this occupational group. OBJECTIVE This study was conducted among Eastern Nigerian beverage factory workers to investigate prevalence of WMSD as a first step towards risk factors investigation and ergonomic future intervention. METHOD A total of 301 workers (8 workstations) completed a modified Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire in this cross sectional survey. RESULTS Twelve month prevalence of WMSD was 91.4% and 65.1% had been prevented from doing activity at home or workplace by WMSD in the past 12 months. Shoulder, neck and upper back in that order were the most common complaints. Prevalence of WMSD in body regions were associated with age but not with gender except for neck, upper back, shoulder, and ankle/foot complaints. CONCLUSION WMSDs are very high among beverage bottling workers. Investigation into the prevailing risk factors especially the work posture and work organization/work psychosocial factors for possible risk exposure in these workers is essential for ergonomic intervention towards work injury prevention.

Nigerian physiotherapists’ knowledge and attributes of professionalism

BACKGROUND Back pain has been identified as a common cause of disability in the working population. Automotive mechanics habitually use awkward back posture in their course of manual activity and hence may be at risk of work-related back pain. OBJECTIVE To investigate the prevalence, pattern and severity of back pain among automotive maintenance mechanics, as well as the personal and job variables associated with or predicting occurrence of back pain. METHOD Using a cross-sectional design, information about self-reported back pain and the associated variables were collected among 684 randomly recruited automotive mechanics. RESULT Prevalence of back pain was 76.02%; with the majority experiencing low back pain. 63.3% of the workers reported they limited their activity due to the back pain. Older workers (>50 years), daily work lasting ≥5 hours duration, no more than primary education, being normal weight, frequent use of kneeling and sustained postures, and lack of knowledge of ergonomic postures were associated with increased prevalence of back pain. Lack of job autonomy, inadequate task clarity, heavy physical work load, manual material handling, strenuous posture, noisy environment, vibrations, work schedule and inadequate auxiliary support were also associated with increased prevalence of back pain among the mechanics. CONCLUSION Work-related back pain is prevalent among automotive maintenance mechanics. Work-related back pain is high among automotive maintenance mechanics. Workstation policy and legislation on reduction of risks with combined health literacy and ergonomic education programs in this occupational group are imperative.

Profile of Physiotherapist Educators in Anglophone West African Countries: A Cross-Sectional Study

Background: Exposure to Occupational hazards can be very detrimental to the health of workers. Physiotherapists are healthcare professionals with immense burden to deliver on musculoskeletal and other aspects of health of patients and clients. Exposure to Occupational hazards can affect the discharge of their duties and negatively affect the quality of healthcare delivery. Identification, precaution and control of occupational hazards in the workplace are imperatives to the health and well-being of physiotherapists.

The Spectrum of Student Enrollment-Related Outcomesin Physiotherapy Education Programs in Westafrica

Abstract Background: It has been reported in the extant literature that the attributes of professionalism vary widely with gender, age, the level of education, cultures, and socioeconomic backgrounds and between professions. This study evaluated Nigerian physiotherapists’ knowledge and attributes of professionalism and also examined the influence of demographic variables on their professionalism. Methods: One hundred and forty-nine physiotherapists recruited from four randomly selected University Teaching Hospitals completed a Professionalism Inventory that assesses demographic variables, knowledge of professionalism and attributes of professionalism – clinical competence, a spirit of inquiry, accountability, autonomy, advocacy, innovation and visionary, collegiality and collaboration, and ethics/value. Results: The physiotherapists’ average knowledge of professionalism score was 62%, and the average attributes of professionalism score were 63/80 (79%). The physiotherapists who are married, older than 40 years, and with a doctorate, with 16–20 years of work experience, and employed in the neurology practice setting demonstrated significantly (p < 0.01) higher knowledge of professionalism than their respective counterparts. Similarly, married physiotherapists and those with a doctorate, employed in the orthopedic/sports practice setting embodied higher attributes of professionalism than their counterparts. Conclusions: The poor knowledge of professionalism reported for the physiotherapists in this study has implications for curricula and licensure reforms in Nigeria.