Suchergebnisse

Objective: Insanitary disposal of sewage is a problem that contributes to pollution and impacts negatively on human health. It contributes significantly to the prevalence of diarrhoeal diseases. This study was conducted to determine the knowledge and practice of sewage disposal among selected residents of Abattoir community of Jos South LGA, Plateau State.Methods: A multistage sampling technique was used to select respondents. Semi-structured interviewer administered questionnaires were used to collect data which was analyzed with Epi info 3.5.4. A p-value of < 0.05 was considered statistically significant for this study.Results: A total of 120 adults from selected households were interviewed. A mean age of 31± 2 years was found with a male:female ratio of 1:1.4. Adequate knowledge regarding sewage disposal was found among 94% of respondents. The flush/pour-flush toilet connected to septic tank, simple pit latrine and open defaecation were the methods found in use among them. The choice of sewage disposal type was statistically significantly related to level of education. Other reasons that influenced choice of toilet methods were hygiene, convenience, affordability and ease of maintenance. No cases of diarrhoea were reported in 90% of the households in the 6 months prior to the study.Conclusion: Despite the commendable findings in this community, the community is still at risk due to the poor practices of a few that were persisting in the community. Both government and community efforts are required to ensure that basic toilet facilities are available to all.Keywords: sewage disposal, knowledge, practice, urban community

Mental health and emotional responses to the effects of COVID-19 lockdown in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) are of serious public health concern and may negatively affect the mental health status of people. Hence, this study assessed the prevalence of mental health symptoms as well as emotional reactions among sub-Saharan Africans (SSAs) and associated factors among SSAs during the COVID19 lockdown period. This was a web-based cross-sectional study on mental health and emotional features from 2005 respondents in seven SSA countries. This study was conducted between 17 April and 17 May 2020 corresponding to the lockdown period in most SSA countries. Respondents aged 18 years and above and the self-reported symptoms were feeling anxious, being worried, angry, bored and frustrated. These were the main outcomes and were treated as dichotomous variables. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to identify the factors associated with these symptoms. We found that over half (52.2%) of the participants reported any of the mental health symptoms and the prevalence of feeling bored was 70.5% followed by feeling anxious (59.1%), being worried (57.5%), frustrated (51.5%) and angry (22.3%) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Multivariate analysis revealed that males, those aged >28 years, those who lived in Central and Southern Africa, those who were not married, the unemployed, those living with more than six persons in a household, had higher odds of mental health and emotional symptoms. Similarly, people who perceived low risk of contracting the infection, and those who thought the pandemic would not continue after the lockdown had higher odds of mental health and emotional symptoms. Health care workers had lower odds for feeling angry than non-healthcare workers. During the COVID-19 lockdown periods in SSA, about one in two participants reported mental health and emotional symptoms. Public health measures can be effectively used to identify target groups for prevention and treatment of mental health and emotional symptoms. Such interventions should be an integral component of SSA governments' response and recovery strategies of any future pandemic.