QUALITY OF LIFE OF HEARING-IMPAIRED STUDENTS IN IBADAN METROPOLIS, NIGERIA

2019-04-03T14:24:31Z

QUALITY OF LIFE OF HEARING-IMPAIRED STUDENTS IN IBADAN METROPOLIS, NIGERIA JAIYEOLA, TAIWO MOFADEKE Quality of Life (QoL) encompasses an individual’s well-being and health, social participation and satisfaction with functioning in daily life. Hearing impairment causes communicative problems with significant consequences in cognitive, social and emotional well-being of students. However, information relating to the QoL of the hearing-impaired in Ibadan which could be used to design special health-related interventions is sparse. This study therefore examined the QoL of Hearing-Impaired Students (HIS) in Ibadan Metropolis, Nigeria. A cross-sectional study was used to enroll 102 HIS after a total sampling of all the four secondary schools for the deaf in Ibadan: two Total Mainstream Schools (TMS), one Partial Mainstream school (PMS) and one Special School (SS) for the deaf. Of the 102 respondents: 42 were from TMS, 31 from PMS and 29 from SS. Informed consent and assent were taken from the school authorities and students respectively. All respondents could read and write English. Data on socio-demographic characteristics and Health Related QoL (HRQoL) were collected using a questionnaire. A sign language interpreter communicated instructions on filling the questionnaire to students. Respondents’ HRQoL was assessed with the World Health Organization Quality of Life (WHOQOL-BREF) instrument, consisting of two global items on QoL and health; and four domains with 26 questions measured on a 5-point Likert scale. Minimum and maximum obtainable scores on WHOQOL-BREF are: Rating QoL (1 and 5), satisfaction with health (1 and 5), physical health (7 and 35), psychological health (6 and 30), social relationship (3 and 15), and environment (8 and 40). Total obtainable score ranged from 26 to 130; with higher score indicating higher QoL. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, student t-test, and ANOVA. Age of respondents was 17.8±2.8 years and 55.9% were females. Respondents’ HRQoL scores were: Rating QoL (2.7±1.2), satisfaction with health (2.7±1.3), physical health (12.7±2.5), psychological health (11.9±2.6), social relationship (11.9±2.7), and environment (11.3±2.3). Total QoL score was 47.9±10.1. Males had higher scores than females in all domains: physical health (12.9±2.9 versus 12.5±2.1), psychological (12.2±2.8 versus 11.6±2.5), social relationship (12.4±2.6 versus 11.6±2.7) and environment (11.6±2.4 versus 11.2±2.2), total QoL score 49.1±10.3 versus 46.7±9.6) without significant differences (p>0.05). Respondents in SS (13.4±2.2) scored higher than those in TMS (12.4±2.8) and PMS (12.3±2.2) on the physical health domain. Students attending SS (12.7±2.8) also had a higher score than those in TMS (11.8±2.8) and PMS (11.2±2.2) in the psychological health domain. Similarly, HIS in SS (12.9±3.0) also had higher score in social relationship compared to those in PMS (11.8±2.3) (p>0.05) and TMS (11.4±2.5) (p<0.05). Students in SS (12.6±2.3) had a significantly higher score in the environment domain than those in PMS (10.9±1.9) and TMS (10.8±2.2) (p<0.05). Hearing-impaired students generally had a poor quality of life, although students attending the special school have better quality of life than those attending other schools for the deaf in Ibadan metropolis. Interventions aimed at improving overall quality of life of hearing-impaired students in the study area are required. Keywords: Quality of life, Hearing impairment, Psychological health, Physical health,

PHYSICAL HEALTH PROBLEMS AND PSYCHOACTIVE SUBSTANCE USE OF STREET CHILDREN IN IBADAN MUNICIPALITY

2019-03-19T15:26:29Z

PHYSICAL HEALTH PROBLEMS AND PSYCHOACTIVE SUBSTANCE USE OF STREET CHILDREN IN IBADAN MUNICIPALITY ABIFARIN, MODUPEOLA Street children are vulnerable to physical, social and health problems. However, the data on the health status of street children in Ibadan are scarce. This study was conducted to determine the physical health problems and psychoactive substance use of street children in Ibadan municipality. In this cross-sectional survey, 304 consenting children who admitted spending over 6 hours on the street were enrolled from 10 randomly selected clusters (1 major market and 4 motor-parks per LGA) in two out of five Local Government Areas (North-East and South-East) in Ibadan. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to obtain socio-demographic information, history of health problems for which treatment was sought 3-months prior to the study and psychoactive substance use. In-depth Interviews (IDI) were conducted among 10 purposively selected participants. Respondents’ weight and height were measured and compared with the National Centre for Health Statistics standard reference. The Z-scores for height-for-age, weight-for-height, weight-for-age and Body Mass Index (BMI)-for-age were computed. Values <-2.0 were regarded as stunting, wasting, underweight and thinness respectively. The IDI data were processed using content analysis while descriptive statistics and Chi-square test were used for quantitative data. Respondents’ mean age was 15.2±1.4 years and 87.8% were males. Seventy-four percent were out of school and 26% attended school infrequently. About 14.8% always sleep on the street, 17.1% did so most times, 27.6% occasionally and 40.5% never slept on the street. Respondents mainly worked as bus-conductors (25.0%), hawkers (24.7%), scrap-pickers (18.8%), and porters (14.8%). Respondents’ median daily earning was N500.00 (N20- N2500), with scrap-pickers earning the highest (N700-N2500) followed by bus-conductors (N500-N2000). Sixty percent of the respondents were stunted, 43.8% were underweight, and none was wasted. Majority (82.8%) had normal BMI-for-age. Few were moderately thin (7.5%), severely thin (7.8%), and overweight (1.9%). Majority (74.7%) of the respondents had experienced at least one health problem including physical injuries (55.5%), high fever (35.5%), gastrointestinal symptoms (11.8%), and muscular cramps (3.6%). Overall, 62.0% of the children were currently using at least one psychoactive substance including palm wine (40.5%), local gin (27.6%), marijuana (26.0%) and cigarette (24.3%). The use of psychoactive substance was significantly related to frequency of sleeping on the streets. More of the respondents who frequently slept on the streets (71.1%) experienced at least one health problem three months prior to the study for which treatment was sought compared with those who occasionally slept on the streets (67.9%) and those who never did so (52.8%)(p<0.05). The IDI participants had experienced major health challenges and consumed some psychoactive substances. The street children experienced significant health problems especially stunting, underweight and physical injuries. Those who slept on the street are more vulnerable to psychoactive substance use. There is the need to design interventions aimed at rehabilitating street children. Keywords: Physical health, Street children, Substance use Word count: 451

Institute of Child Health

QUALITY OF LIFE OF HEARING-IMPAIRED STUDENTS IN IBADAN METROPOLIS, NIGERIA

PHYSICAL HEALTH PROBLEMS AND PSYCHOACTIVE SUBSTANCE USE OF STREET CHILDREN IN IBADAN MUNICIPALITY