A Dynamic Regression Modeling of the Prevalence of Stroke in South-East of Nigeria (Published)
Stroke is increasingly becoming one of the major public health issues in Nigeria. This study aimed to predicting future prevalence of stroke in south-east Nigeria in 2022 and 2023, using previous prevalence. The number of patients recorded with stroke (transient ischemic attack) and risk factors hypertension (HT), diabetes mellitus (DM), dyslipidemia (DY), and alcohol (AL) on monthly basis from January 2017 to December 2021 in Enugu State University Teaching Hospital were extracted. The dynamic regression model was applied to the data, best model is selected using Akaike information criterion corrected (AICC), and the model generated is used to predict the number of patients with stroke in 2022 and 2023. A total of 1216 patient records were included in this study. The proportion of hypertension was 51.49%, diabetes mellitus was 7.65%, alcohol was 6.4%, and dyslipidemia was 24.81%. Regression with ARIMA(0,0,1) was the best model. The prediction showed that by December 2022 the number of patients will increase by 29.63% and by December 2023 it will rise to 36.67%. The findings of this study suggest the prevalence of stroke in south-east Nigeria is high and will still rise in the future. There is still need of further research on stroke and other risk factors towards establishing appropriate policy, preventive and management measures.
Keywords: Nigeria, Risk Factors, Stroke, dynamic regression model, transient ischemic attack
Family Structure and Peer Group as Risk Factors to Suicidal Behaviour among the Youths in Ekiti State, Nigeria (Published)
This study investigated family structure and peer group as risk factors to suicidal behaviour among the youths in Ekiti State, Nigeria. The study adopted descriptive research design of the exploratory type. The population for the study comprised all youths in Ekiti State, while the sample consisted of 300 male and female youths and young adults within the ages of 13-55years. Stratified random sampling technique was used to select the sample to accommodate family structure and gender strata from two out of the three Senatorial Districts (Central and South) in Ekiti State. Fifty youths were selected from each of the three Local Government Areas in each Senatorial District making a total of six Local Government Areas and two Senatorial Districts arriving at 300 youths altogether. The instrument for the study was questionnaire to collect data on risk factors to suicidal behaviour among youths in Ekiti State. The validity of the instrument was considered through face and content validity procedures. The reliability was considered using Cronbach alpha and the coefficient yielded 0.79. Two research hypotheses were generated and tested at 0.05 level of significance. The data collected were analysed using frequency count, mean, standard deviation and Pearson Product Moment Correlation statistical tools. The study found that there was significant relationship between family structure as well as peer group and youth suicidal behaviours in Ekiti State. It was concluded that family disruption and bad peer group contribute to youth suicidal behaviours in Ekiti state. It was therefore recommended that couples should avoid all acts of omission and commission that could lead to disharmony among them, and also be watchful of the type of friends their children keep.
Keywords: Family Structure, Peer-Group, Risk Factors, suicidal behaviour, tragedy
The Informal Caregiver of an Old Family Member (Published)
The objective of this research was to analyze the risk and protective factors present in the informal caregiver of an old relative, in two families of the Municipality of Hecelchakán, of the State of Campeche. The method used was carried out using a qualitative approach of an exploratory nature. The sample consisted of 2 families (main caregiver) of the municipality of Hecelchakán. An interview was applied where the following items were considered: family, economic, social, health and emotional. The results obtained from this project indicate that among the risk factors is the family area, with little or no support in the care of the elderly, likewise the health factor of the people involved undoubtedly affects their well-being. The protective role is given by the society in which they are immersed and the love they feel for who is in their care. As conclusions we can say that the primary caregiver should have help and try to distribute the work more equitably, the secondary caregiver should also be involved in the care of the old relative. The main recommendations are to activate care programs for informal caregivers and to carry out more research about the informal caregiver
Keywords: Caregiver, Elderly, Informal Caregiver, Protective Factors, Risk Factors
Bovin Mastitis: Prevalence, Risk Factors and Major Pathogens in the Sidamo Zone Snnprs, Ethiopia. (Published)
A cross sectional study was conducted from September 2010 to August 2011 on small holder dairy farms to determined the bovine mastitis prevalence, risk factors and major pathogens in urban and peri-urban areas of Sidama Zone, Southern Ethiopia. 161 Farmers addressed through using semi-structured questionnaires regarding the different potential risk factors and 96 dairy cows used for clinical, subclinical and laboratory examination. Both subclinical and clinical bovine mastitis were observed in the study areas; the more prevalent was subclinical mastitis 42.7%. 2(2.08%), and the lower was clinical mastitis (2.08%). In this study, there was a significant differences (P<0.05) between lactating cows at different location, breed and lactation stages; however, there was no significant differences (P>0.05) between lactating cows with parity and age. Of 384 quarters examined, 5(1.3 %) were blind teats and 71(18.4%) quarters showed evidence of infection of mastitis. Although the dairy farm owners have some awareness about mastitis, still now it’s continuing as devastating disease. The milk samples collected from california mastitis test positive were subjected to microbiological examination and then many bacterial species were isolated such as: Staphylococcus aureus (21.1%), and Staphylococcus intermedius (17.3%) followed by Staphylococcus epidermidis (13.5%), klebsiella (13.5%), Micrococcus species (9.6%), Staphylococcus hyecus (7.7%), Aracnobacterium pyogen (5.7%), Escherichia coli (3.8%), Enterobacter species (3.8%) and Bacillus cereus (3.8%). This study showed that mastitis is the problem of dairy cows in the study areas; this disease associated with herd management system, drainage, floor types and level, milking procures and manure removal schedule and the major isolates that were contagious pathogens. Therefore, hygienic milking practice, milking order, hygienic of the utensils used for milking practice, proper manure removal and housing and management improvements are some of the important procedures which need attention while the prevention of the disease. Before treatment, susceptibility testing for the isolated microorganisms is very vital in controlling strategy.
Keywords: Bacteria isolation, Bovine Mastitis, CMT, Risk Factors, Sidama Zone Ethiopia
Demographic Differences in the Knowledge of Breast Cancer among Women in Ebonyi State, Nigeria (Published)
Breast cancer is the most common of all cancers and is the leading cause of cancer deaths in women worldwide, a condition that may be predicated upon by lack of knowledge about fundamental regimen necessary for cancer prevention. The study was therefore designed to determine demographic differences in the knowledge of breast cancer among women in Ebonyi State, Nigeria. The sample of the study comprised 1,845 women drawn through the multistage sampling procedure. A 40-item questionnaire was used to elicit information on knowledge symptoms, risk factors, prevention methods and treatment options of cancer. Descriptive statistic of percentage was used to answer the research question and inferential statistic of chi-square was used to test the entire hypotheses formulated for the study at an alpha level of 0.05. Knowledge of breast cancer was found to be on the average (48.72%); differed by age with younger women (35-44years 56.43%) reporting higher knowledge of breast cancer than the older ones (45-54 years 46.03%); women with post-secondary education (67.66%) had higher knowledge than those with secondary (60.16%), primary (49.03%) and non-formal education (39.01%); urban women (55.61%) were more knowledgeable than rural women (47.81%). Chi-square analysis indicated that significant association existed between level of education and knowledge of breast cancer. However, no significant association was found between age and location of residence. It was concluded that breast cancer knowledge of women in Ebonyi State is on the average and associated significantly with education, but not with age and location of residence of the women. Consequently, it is recommended that breast cancer education should be used to improve the women’s knowledge of the disease, especially for those with non-formal education, older women and those in the rural areas through interventions by government and non-governmental agencies and through curriculum revision for schools
Keywords: Age, Breast cancer, Education, Knowledge, Location, Risk Factors, Women
LITERATURE BASED REVIEW – RISKS IN ERP SYSTEMS INCLUDING ASIAN COUNTRIES (Published)
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems are widely used in nowadays to manage resources, communication and data exchange between different departments and modules with the purpose of managing the overall business process of the organization using one integrated software system. Due to the large scale and the complexity nature of these systems, many ERP implementation projects have become disasters in the history of ERP. Since an ERP requires many resources such as financial, human resources, time, computer hardware and software, a failure can menace the entire business organization. The aim of this survey is to identify risks associated with the ERP projects, general and security within the Asian region, so that the parties responsible for the project can take necessary precautions to deal with those risks for a successful ERP implementation.
Keywords: ERP, Risk Factors, Security risks
A SURVEY OF RISK FACTORS IN THE STRATEGIC PLANNING PROCESS OF PARASTATALS IN KENYA (Published)
A common challenge faced by all organizations, whether private or public, is how to successfully they manage strategic planning process for attainment of organizational objectives. Some researchers have noted that organizations fail to implement up to 70 per cent of their strategic plans. This study sought to determine the challenges faced by the Kenya Bureau of Standard in its efforts to implement its strategic plans. Specifically, the study tried to find out how organization structure, leadership style, top management, staff involvement and organizational change affect implementation of strategic plans in the Organization. It also tried to identify the role of funds in strategic plan implementation. The study was explanatory in nature since its main purpose was to explain the factors that affect implementation of strategic plans in the public sector and especially in the Kenya Bureau of Standard. It adopted a stratified random sampling technique to get a sample of 27 respondents being 15% of the 178 members of staff who form Organization’s entire staff compliment. Data for the study was collected by use of questionnaires and analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics to establish the relationship between the dependent and independent variables. Quantitative data was analyzed by use of means of percentages, standard deviations and frequency distributions. It is expected that the results of the study will assist the top management and staff of the Organization, as well as other stakeholders, to understand the factors that affect implementation of strategy in the public sector and more so, in the Kenya Bureau of Standard. From the findings strategic planning process has been faced with various risk factors including inadequacy of funds and less involvement of staff in the whole process of strategic planning. The researcher would recommend that the Kenya Bureau of Standard should address the factors that affect strategic planning process because the strategic plan is the key route to improved business performance and has an important role in every organizational setting. To mitigate or even avoid severe effects on the performance of the organization by the government, the organization should adhere to its regulations concerning attainment of funds.
Keywords: Plans, Risk Factors, Strategy
