Papers by Alero A. ROBERTS
Background: There is growing burden of cardiovascular disease in developing countries and the pat... more Background: There is growing burden of cardiovascular disease in developing countries and the pathogenesis of artherosclerotic damage starts in childhood.Objective: The study is to examine the prevalence of hyperlipidaemia in schoolchildren in Lagos, as it relates to both socio-demographic and anthropometric correlates.Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out among urban and rural adolescent schoolchildren aged between 10 and 19 years in Eti-Osa Local Government Area (EOLGA) of Lagos State. A structured questionnaire wasused to get information relating to socio-demographic characteristics, family history of cardiovascular disease, lifestyle habits and socio-economic class, and the students were examined for height, weight and cholesterol levels.Results: Two hundred and eighty eight subjects in the urban region and 72 subjects in the rural region of Eti-Osa LGA participated in the study. The mean age was 15.6±2.2 years with a range of 10 to 18.9 years. The mean serum total ch...
BMC Medical Education
Background Advances in precision medicine in Nigeria suggest improving genomics education and com... more Background Advances in precision medicine in Nigeria suggest improving genomics education and competency among healthcare practitioners to facilitate clinical translation. Due to the scarcity of research in this area, this study aimed to assess Nigerian medical students’ perceptions about their preparedness to integrate precision medicine into their future clinical practice. Methods This was an institution-based cross-sectional study of medicine and surgery students in their clinical years attending the two fully accredited colleges of medicine in Lagos, Nigeria, between April and October 2022 using an adapted tool administered via Google Forms. The survey assessed their awareness, perceptions about knowledge, ability, and attitudes toward precision medicine, ethical concerns, and perceptions about their education in precision medicine. Multivariate linear regression models were used to assess factors associated with students’ perceptions of their knowledge, ability, and attitudes. ...
Social Science Research Network, 2018
Exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) rates until six months in most low and middle income counties (LMIC... more Exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) rates until six months in most low and middle income counties (LMICs) are well below the 90% WHO benchmark. This systematic review sought to provide evidence on effectiveness of various interventions on exclusive breastfeeding until six months in LMICs, compared with standard care. Experimental and observational studies with concurrent comparator promoting EBF, conducted in LMICs with high country rates of breastfeeding initiation, were included. Studies were identified from a systematic review and PUBMED, Cochrane and CABI databases. Study selection, data abstraction, and quality assessment were carried out independently and in duplicate. Relative risks with 95% confidence intervals were calculated for individual studies and pooled. High heterogeneity was explored through pre-specified subgroup analyses for the primary outcome (EBF until six months) by context and by intervention for the randomised controlled trials. Prediction intervals were calculated for each effect estimate. Sixty-seven studies with 79 comparisons from 30 LMICs were included. At six months, intervention group infants were more likely to be exclusively breastfed than controls (RR=2.19, 95%CI 1.73-2.77; I 2 78.4%; 25 RCTs). Larger effects were obtained from interventions delivered by a combination of professional and lay persons (RR 3.90, 95%CI 1.25-12.21; I 2 46.7%), in interventions spanning antenatal and postnatal periods (RR 2.40, 95%CI 1.70-3.38; I 2 83.6%), and when intensity was between four to eight contacts/sessions (RR 3.20, 95%CI 2.30-4.45; I 2 53.8%). Almost every intervention conducted in LMICs increased exclusive breastfeeding rates; choice of intervention should therefore be driven by feasibility of delivery in the local context to reduce infant mortality.
Nigerian Postgraduate Medical Journal
Background: Hepatitis is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality, particularly in de... more Background: Hepatitis is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality, particularly in developing countries. It is often caused by hepatitis B and C, which are both preventable and treatable. Available information on Hepatitis B and C in Nigeria is based primarily on estimates obtained from specific population sub-groups or hospital-based surveys leaving gaps in population-level knowledge, attitudes, and prevalence. This study aimed to assess the knowledge, attitude and associated factors of hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections amongst residents of Lagos State. Methodology: This was a community-based descriptive cross-sectional study carried out in all the 20 local government areas of Lagos state using a multistage sampling technique. Data were collected using pre-tested interviewer-administered questionnaires. Blood samples were taken (pinprick) from respondents (n = 4862) and tested using hepatitis B and C surface antigen tests after obtaining informed consent. Results: The overall prevalence of HBV infection in Lagos State was 2.1% while the prevalence of HCV infection was 0.1%. Only about half of all the respondents (50.9%) had heard about hepatitis B before the survey. Knowledge of the specific symptoms of HBV was also very low. For instance, only 28.1% of the respondents knew that yellowness of the eyes is associated with hepatitis while < 1% (0.1%) knew that HBV infection is associated with the passage of yellow urine. The most common source of information about hepatitis was the radio (13.0%). Only 36.2% of the respondents knew that HBV infection could be prevented. Overall, 28.8% of the respondents were aware of the hepatitis B vaccine. Less than half (40.9%) felt it was necessary to get vaccinated against HBV, however, a similar proportion (41.9%) would want to be vaccinated against HBV. Only 2.5% of all the respondents had ever received HBV vaccines while 3.5% had ever been tested for hepatitis B before this survey. There was a statistically significant association between HBV infection and respondents' use of shared clippers and work exposure involving contact with body parts and body fluids (P < 0.05). Conclusion: The knowledge, awareness and risk perception of HBV infection were low, however, almost half of the residents were willing to receive hepatitis B vaccinations if offered. It is recommended that the population-based prevention programmes and regular community-based surveillance be conducted by the public health department of Lagos State Ministry of Health. In addition, the strengthening of routine immunisation and vaccination of high-risk groups should be prioritised.
Background Antibiotic resistance has been widely described in children by various pathogens to mu... more Background Antibiotic resistance has been widely described in children by various pathogens to multiple antibiotics, these have become a global health crisis and an emergency. Factors associated with antibiotic use are both community and hospital based as studies have reported increased use of antibiotics by parents and caregivers as well as health care providers This study aimed to describe prevalence rates of antibiotic prescribing and evaluate antibiotic prescribing practices as well as targets for improving the quality of antimicrobial prescribing in children over time. Method Point prevalence survey of antimicrobial use was performed yearly for 4 years to monitor trends in antimicrobial prescribing., Data from all patients admitted before 8 am on the day of the PPS were included. A web-based application designed by the University of Antwerp was used for data-entry, validation and analysis (http://www.global-pps.com). Results A total of 260 children including 90 (34.6%) neonates...
African Journal of Clinical and Experimental Microbiology
Background: Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) has become a public health emergency with increasing r... more Background: Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) has become a public health emergency with increasing rates and spread globally. Antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) has been advocated to reduce the burden of antimicrobial resistance, promote rational and appropriate use of antibiotics and improve clinical outcomes. Education and training are one of the AMS interventions to improve antimicrobial use. We present the roll out of a successful AMS programme with education and training using the Global-PPS as data collection tool to measure AMS interventions and impact.Methodology: This was a cross sectional study on the implementation of an AMS programme at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital. Global PPS was conducted in 2015 to collect baseline data which was used to identify targets for quality improvement in AMS and was repeated in 2017 and 2018 to measure impact of AMS interventions. AMS interventions included education, feedback of Global-PPS result and writing of the hospitalwide antibiot...
Introduction: Increasing manpower capacity to meet the demands in the healthcare system is import... more Introduction: Increasing manpower capacity to meet the demands in the healthcare system is important during health emergencies. Medical students have roles to play during a pandemic but their involvement in these duties should be voluntary. The objective of this study was to assess the willingness and motivations of final year medical students in Lagos, Nigeria towards volunteering during the COVID-19 pandemic.Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among medical students in their sixth (final) year of study at the two public Universities in Lagos, Nigeria using total population sampling technique. A web-based questionnaire was used for data collection and data were analysed using SPSS. Logistic regression analysis was used to predict the willingness to volunteer.Results: The mean age of the respondents was 23.4years±2.6SD and 62.6% were female. About 65.9% of the medical students were willing to volunteer. Motivational factors which include self-rated good health...
This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-No... more This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 License, which allows others to remix, tweak, and build upon the work non-commercially, as long as the author is credited and the new creations are licensed under the identical terms.
Pan African Medical Journal, 2021
Introduction in Africa, genetic diseases and congenital anomalies remain a significant source of ... more Introduction in Africa, genetic diseases and congenital anomalies remain a significant source of morbidity and mortality. Existing data suggests a gap in the use of prenatal tests among pregnant women to better inform decision making. We examined relationships of socio-demographic factors with willingness to terminate affected pregnancies, and the use of, knowledge of, and attitudes towards prenatal screening/diagnostic tests. Methods this was a cross-sectional descriptive study of pregnant women who attended antenatal clinics at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (N = 422) selected by convenience sampling. Responses were obtained with assisted self-administered structured questionnaires. Results mean ± S.D. age of the respondents was 32.5 ± 5.3 years. The majority of the participants (92.2%) had at least a secondary education. Ultrasound scans in the second trimester were the most frequently used test (39.1%). Only 77 (18.2%) of the respondents indicated willingness to terminate affected pregnancies. The majority of the respondents had fair knowledge and good attitude scores. Knowledge and attitude scores were significantly correlated (r = 0.25, p < 0.001). Compared to married women, being single was associated with a 2.62-point lower knowledge score (95% CI: -4.63, -0.62, p = 0.01). Compared to women who responded “no” when asked if they were willing to terminate an affected pregnancy, women who responded “maybe” had a 0.81-point lower attitude score (95% CI: -1.45, -0.17, p = 0.01). Conclusion our results suggest important socio-demographic differences in women´s knowledge/ behaviours towards prenatal diagnostic tests. Further research is needed to explore these relationships and broader pregnancy-related ethical beliefs among pregnant women in Lagos.
Annals of Tropical Pathology, 2017
Background: Lead is one of ten chemicals of key public health concern. It inhibits various enzyme... more Background: Lead is one of ten chemicals of key public health concern. It inhibits various enzymes in the synthesis and homeostasis of red blood cells, hence altering hematologic parameters in those chronically exposed. Aim: This study aims to assess the degree of lead exposure among battery lead repair workers in Lagos and relate it to their hematologic profile. Materials and Methods: Structured interviewer-administered questionnaires were used to record demographic data. Blood samples were taken to determine full blood count, erythrocyte protoporphyrin, serum ferritin, and blood lead levels (BLL). BLLs were determined by atomic absorption spectrometry. BLL were categorized as mild, moderate, or severe and were related to hematologic parameters. Categorical data were presented as proportion and continuous data as means or median. The effects of personal protective equipment on BLLs were assessed. Results: A total of 66 men with the mean age 46.15 ± 11.73 years and average duration ...
European Respiratory Journal, 2013
Background: There is limited data on the prevalence of COPD in sub-Saharan Africa. We aimed to de... more Background: There is limited data on the prevalence of COPD in sub-Saharan Africa. We aimed to determine the prevalence of COPD in an urban community in Lagos, Nigeria and also explore the risk factors associated with COPD. Methods: Adults 40 years and above were randomly selected from Idi-Araba community in Mushin Local Government Area. Questionnaire of symptoms and risk factors for COPD was completed and pre-bronchodilator spirometry performed on all participants. Those with pre-bronchodilator FEV1/FVC ratio Results: There were 412 participants (58.3%) females. Mean age was 53.7±11.2 years, 9.7% had >12 years of formal education, 13.8% were ever smokers (1.5% current smokers), 23.1% used biomass fuel for cooking, 24.5% had occupational dust exposure, and 1.5% had tuberculosis previously. The prevalence of COPD was 5.3% (95% confidence interval (CI) 3.4 – 8.0), 7.6% (95% CI 4.1 – 12.6) in males, 3.8% (95% CI 1.7 – 7.0) in females, (X2=2.88, p=0.09). The significant determinants ...
Nigerian quarterly journal of hospital medicine, 2017
Background: Lassa fever is an acute viral illness endemic in parts of West Africa such as Sierra ... more Background: Lassa fever is an acute viral illness endemic in parts of West Africa such as Sierra Leone, Liberia, Guinea and Nigeria. Estimates of Lassa fever infections per year in West Africa are about 100,000 to 300,000 with approximately 5,000 deaths. Objectives: This study was carried out to determine the knowledge and attitude towards Lassa fever and its prevention among adults in Kosofe Local Government Area, Lagos state, Nigeria. Methods: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study, a total of 240 respondents were recruited using multi-stage sampling technique. Interviewer-administered structured questionnaires were administered. Data was analyzed using EPI Info Version 7 statistical software. Results: Only 4.2% of the respondents had good knowledge of Lassa fever and 92.1% had positive attitude towards the prevention of the disease. Almost all (90.8%) of the respondents had rats/rodents move freely in and around their house. More than four-fifth of the respondents (81.3%) s...
African Journal of Emergency Medicine, 2021
Introduction Despite the high burden of deaths from emergency conditions in Nigeria, there are no... more Introduction Despite the high burden of deaths from emergency conditions in Nigeria, there are no formal emergency medicine (EM) residency programs in the country. Due to the absence of training programs in the country, we hypothesised that there may be a lack of awareness of these benefits of specialised emergency care among medical students and also a lack of interest in it. In this study, we assessed the knowledge and attitude of Nigerian medical students towards EM specialty and their willingness to undergo EM training. Methods Online surveys were shared among medical students in six selected medical schools, one in each of the six geo-political zones in Nigeria. The surveys were designed to assess the knowledge of, attitude towards, and interest in EM residency programs. A total of 439 responses were received and analysed using Epi Info 7 analytical software. Results Among the 439 respondents, the average knowledge score was 27.5%. Thirty-three percent (CI 28%-37%) of all the respondents had good knowledge about the availability of and opportunities in EM. Good knowledge was determined by a score of >50% on the knowledge portion of the survey, 97%% (CI 96%-99%) of the respondents felt that EM training program should be established in Nigeria and 20.5% % (CI 17%-25%) of the respondents were interested in pursuing EM as a specialty of choice. Conclusion Our research showed that there is a low level of knowledge about EM residency training programs among Nigerian medical students. This is likely secondary to the current absence of these programs in Nigeria. Almost all of the respondents felt that an EM training program should be established and a substantial number of medical students indicated an interest in pursuing the specialty.
SSM Annual Scientific Meeting, 2021
SSM Annual Scientific Meeting, 2021
Results Majority (78.57%) of children were fully immunised in a timely manner, 7.86% were fully i... more Results Majority (78.57%) of children were fully immunised in a timely manner, 7.86% were fully immunised in an untimely manner, 10.71% were incompletely immunised for age and only 4 children were unvaccinated. Although aware of childhood immunisation, 63.57% of them had poor knowledge regarding childhood immunisation. Statistically significant associations were found between a child's immunisation status and maternal age (p=0.0072), mother's highest educational level (p=0.0000), her husband's age (p=0.0001) and highest educational level (p=0.0000), estimated household monthly income (p=0.0292), number of siblings a child had (p=0.0001), child's place of birth (p=0.0000), antenatal care (p=0.0000) and vaccination card availability (p=0.0000). Conclusion Badagry LGA is a major border town with heavy cross-border traffic facilitating transmission of diseases internationally. The gaps in immunization status of the children can be attributed to most mothers having poor overall knowledge. Parental age, educational level, estimated household income and household composition have significant impact on immunisation coverage and significantly, all unvaccinated children belonged to mothers with poor overall knowledge. Major limitations to this study were language barrier and unwillingness of mothers to be interviewed. This study demonstrates the need for continuous community engagement to improve immunisation completeness and timeliness of vaccine uptake.
PAMJ - One Health, 2020
INTRODUCTION: According to the integrated management of childhood illness (IMCI), adequate knowle... more INTRODUCTION: According to the integrated management of childhood illness (IMCI), adequate knowledge of danger signs by caregivers is a vital parental tool that will result in a positive healthcare-seeking behavior. Most studies done in Nigeria have been facility-based. This study aimed at collecting baseline information on mothers/caregivers regarding their knowledge of danger signs of common childhood illnesses in under-five children in Alimosho Local government area of Lagos State. METHODS: this was a community based descriptive cross-sectional study using a multi-stage sampling method to administer a pre-tested questionnaire on a total of 360 mothers of under-five children residing in Alimosho Local government area of Lagos State between March and May 2016. Descriptive statistics were employed to analyze the data using SPSS version 22.0. RESULT: over 90% of the mothers showed good knowledge and ability to recognized the general danger signs of childhood illnesses. Health workers were the most reported source of information for their knowledge. Nearly all the respondents agreed that they worry when their children had fever, fast breathing and convulsion. High maternal education and parity were significantly associated with knowledge of danger signs (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: the knowledge of the mothers towards danger signs of common childhood illnesses was high and they had a positive attitude and practices towards the proper management of the identified danger signs.
Nigerian Medical Journal, 2020
Background: The current situation regarding the scope and contribution of undergraduate medical r... more Background: The current situation regarding the scope and contribution of undergraduate medical research to the health space in Nigeria is still largely unreported in formal literature. This study examined the knowledge, attitudes, and the perceived barriers faced by medical students in Lagos toward research. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study design was conducted among all medical students in 200–600 levels of study at the College of Medicine, University of Lagos. With the aid of Self-administered questionnaires, we examined their knowledge of research and the analytical tools used in research, their attitudes and the perceived barriers to their participation in research. Results: The data were obtained from 221 medical students, of whom 52.9% had prior involvement in research and 14.0% and 6.3% had presented or published their research, respectively. The overall knowledge of medical research was low (21.3%) and reported barriers included lack of funding for research' (79.6%), “lack of research and biostatistics curriculum” (76.0%), “inadequate training in research methodology” (74.7%), “insufficient time allocation to undergraduate research” (73.3%), “lack of professional supervisors and proper mentoring” (58.8%), and “lack of equipped laboratory facilities to conduct research” (77.8%). Conclusion: Our results highlight the need for more mentored supervision and training to improve their knowledge of the principles and techniques of clinical research to increase involvement.
Poster Presentations, 2019
32.7; p<0.01). Men with urogenital NG had higher urine Cq values than men without urogenital NG (... more 32.7; p<0.01). Men with urogenital NG had higher urine Cq values than men without urogenital NG (33.9 vs 32.6;p<0.01). Cq values were higher in urines of HIV positive men compared to HIV negative men (33.9 vs 32.7;p<0.01). In women, Cqvalues were higher in oropharyngeal swabs and anorectal swabs compared to vaginal swabs (36.7 and 33.9 vs 30.8;p<0.001). Cq-values were higher in vaginal swabs of HIV positive women compared to HIV negative women (35.1 vs 31.0;p=<0.01). Conclusion Vaginal swabs and urine samples had much lower Cq values, i.e. higher CT loads, compared to oropharyngeal swabs which could have impact on transmission potential and sequelae. We hypothesize that high risk populations, such as HIV and NG positive patients, likely have repeat CT infections leading to partial immunity and therefore lower CT loads. Disclosure No significant relationships.
Nigerian Postgraduate Medical Journal, 2020
Background: Antimicrobial resistance, a global problem, is mostly a consequence of misuse or over... more Background: Antimicrobial resistance, a global problem, is mostly a consequence of misuse or overuse of antimicrobials. This study sought to audit the compliance to hospital antimicrobial policy and determine the ability of medical students to carry out audits. Methodology: This was a retrospective study to determine compliance with departmental policies in the preceding 2 months in the Children's Emergency Room (ChER) using a checklist. The primary outcome was to determine the rational use of antibiotics. The secondary outcomes were to determine whether the de-escalation of antibiotic, change from intravenous to oral or change in prescriptions were performed in line with culture results based on the departmental policy. Results: The records of 450 children who attended ChER of Lagos University Teaching Hospital in January and February 2018 were retrieved for this study, of which 279 (62.0%) were prescribed antimicrobials. A suspected or confirmed diagnosis of infection was made in 214 (76.6%) of the patients, significantly highest in the infant age group (P = 0.03). Cultures were taken from 94 patients (33.7%), and although not statistically significant, cultures were mostly taken from neonatal patients aged <28 days (20/49, 40.8%). Applying the criteria, compliance with departmental guidelines was found in 111 (39.8%) of the cases. Conclusion: We found that the use of antimicrobials was judged unnecessary in 17.2% of the patients seen in ChER. There was a poor practice of collecting samples for culture before prescribing antibiotics. Prospective audit and feedback is feasible and it can be done with medical students who will report their findings to consultants and other doctors knowledgeable in principles of antimicrobial therapy.
PLOS ONE, 2019
Background Loss to follow-up (LTFU) is a term used to classify patients no longer being seen in a... more Background Loss to follow-up (LTFU) is a term used to classify patients no longer being seen in a clinical care program, including HIV treatment programs. It is unclear if these patients have transferred their care services elsewhere, died, or if there are other reasons for their LTFU. To better understand the status of patients meeting the criteria of LTFU, we traced a sample of HIV-infected patients that were LTFU from the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) antiretroviral program. Methods We conducted a cross-sectional study of HIV-infected adult patients who enrolled for care between 2010 and 2014 at LUTH and were considered LTFU. Patients with locator information were traced using phone calls
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Papers by Alero A. ROBERTS