Bassey Ebenso

University of Leeds · Leeds Institute of Health Sciences (LIHS)

Background: The 2014 Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) outbreak was characterised by fear, misconceptions and irrational behaviours. We conducted a knowledge attitude and practice survey of EVD in Nigeria to inform implementation of effective control measures. Methods: Between July 30th and September 30th 2014, we undertook a cross sectional study on know...

Background and objective: Tools to accurately and efficiently measure dietary intake in Nigeria are lacking. We aimed to develop and assess the usability of a new online dietary assessment tool for Nigeria—myfood24 West Africa. Methods: We developed the myfood24 West Africa database using data from existing food composition tables, packaged foods l...

Background/objective: Tools to accurately and efficiently measure the dietary intake of Nigeria are lacking. We aimed to develop and assess the usability of a new online dietary assessment tool for Nigeria, myfood24 West Africa. Methods: We developed myfood24 West Africa database using data from existing food composition tables, back-of-pack labels...

Background Overweight/obesity are known risk factors for non-communicable diseases. Poor dietary quality is a major driver of overweight/obesity. Nigeria has limited evidence on the association of dietary quality with overweight/obesity using nationally representative data. Methods We conducted a secondary analysis of the 2018 Nigeria Demographic...

Informal healthcare providers (IHPs) often serve as the first point of contact for healthcare services for non-communicable diseases in urban slums and their ability to identify risk factors and symptoms of the diseases is crucial for early detection and management. This paper assesses level of knowledge of hypertension and diabetes mellitus (DM) a...

Background Community-based Health Planning and Services (CHPS) was initially designed to address the healthcare needs of Ghana's rural communities. However, with urban population growth and the subsequent healthcare demands of the urban poor, the CHPS policy was extended to urban areas. There is a significant gap in our understanding of the wealth-...

OBJECTIVE: A mixed-methods systematic review to determine reported symptoms, concerns, and experiences of women living with and beyond breast cancer in Africa. METHODS: Literature searches were conducted in Medline, Embase, PsycINFO, Global Health, Web of Science, CINAHL, and the Cochrane Library. Quantitative and qualitative studies that comprise...

This chapter argues that biological and genetic factors, as well as good medical care, can impact on sickle cell disorders (SCD) and how the condition is experienced. We adopted a ‘social determinants of health’ (SDH) lens to understand and explain sociocultural, environmental, economic and political factors which can worsen the impact of SCD for p...

In Africa, sickle cell disorder (SCD), an autosomal recessive genetic disorder, has been recognized as a public health priority by the World Health Organization (WHO). Although progress has been made in the management of the disease, much of this is yet to be fully leveraged in many parts of Africa, with the result that the complications often lead...

The global increase in the frequency of infectious-disease epidemics has rekindled interest in the role of disruption of the human–animal–environment interface by human activities in propagating disease outbreaks. It is estimated that zoonotic diseases account for >75% of emerging infectious diseases. Human modifications to the environment via agri...

This paper brings together researchers, clinicians, technology developers and digital innovators to outline current applications of remote symptom monitoring being developed for palliative cancer care delivery in Africa. We outline three remote symptom monitoring approaches from three countries, highlighting their models of delivery and intended ou...

The Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) Act was passed in 2003 as a measure to prevent FGM in the United Kingdom (UK); at the same time, other initiatives including Tackling FGM were set up. However, between 2016 and 2017, the National Health Service reported about 112 new cases of FGM, and in February 2019, a woman in the UK was prosecuted for perform...

Background The low demand for maternal and child health services is a significant factor in Nigeria's high maternal death rate. This paper explores demand and supply-side determinants at the primary healthcare level, highlighting factors affecting provision and utilization. Methods This qualitative study was undertaken in Anambra state, southeast...

Social science research on sickle cell disorders (SCD), recessively inherited blood conditions, has come of age in the last twenty years from being invisible, neglected, racialized, and mainly medical in focus, to one that is now a global social science priority. In this chapter, an overview is given of sickle cell disorders and the sickle cell tra...

Background: Physical activity (PA) interventions help people with advanced incurable diseases to manage symptoms and improve their quality of life. However, little is known about the extent to which PA is currently delivered in hospice care in England. Objectives: To determine the extent of and intervention features of PA service provision in ho...

Probiotics are live microorganisms recognized as natural candidates to substitute antibiotic substances, usually used to treat bacterial infections responsible for numerous human and animal diseases. Antibiotics are mostly prescribed for treating infections caused by bacteria. However, their excessive and inappropriate use has resulted in the incre...

Background The low usage (demand) of maternity and child health (MCH) services is a key contributor to the high maternal death rate in most regions of Nigeria. A special health programme called the SURE-P/MCH programme had both supply and demand interventions and was implemented over 5 years in selected states in Nigeria. The paper adds new knowled...

Introduction. Compliance with the Government’s lockdown policy is required to curtail community transmission of Covid-19 infection. The objective of this research was to identify places Nigerians visited during the lockdown to help prepare for a response towards future infectious diseases of public health importance similar to Covid-19 Methods. Th...

Objective: To evaluate the impact of a novel e-health intervention that used satellite connectivity infrastructure (SatCom), video training apps (VTR), and data management tools (ClinPak) enabled mobile tablet computers for frontline health workers' training /data management towards achieving improvements in maternal, newborn and child health care...

Social science research on sickle cell disorders (SCD), recessively inherited blood conditions, have come of age in the last twenty years from being invisible, neglected, racialized, and mainly medical in focus, to one that is now a global social science priority. In this chapter, an overview is given of sickle cell disorders and the sickle cell tr...

Background: Sickle cell disease (SCD) describes a group of multisystem, genetic and stigmatising blood conditions that are prevalent in sub-Saharan Africa. Health-related stigma is a negative experience or adverse social judgement about a group based on an enduring feature conferred by a particular health problem. Literature shows that stigmatisat...

Sickle Cell disease (SCD) describes a group of multi-system, genetic, and stigmatizing blood conditions, which are prevalent in Sub-Saharan Africa. Health-related stigma is a negative experience or adverse social judgment about a group based on an enduring feature conferred by a particular health problem. Literature shows that stigmatization is exp...

PURPOSE: The ability to develop and evaluate approaches to the management of advanced cancer in sub-Saharan Africa is limited by the lack of local, reliable and valid data to ensure that practice is evidence-based, replicable and reflects the needs of the population served. METHODS: A secondary qualitative analysis of in-depth interviews with 59...

Background Increasing global commitment to Universal Health Coverage (UHC) in the past decade has triggered UHC-inspired reforms and investments to expand health service coverage in many Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs). UHC aims to ensure that all people can access quality health services, safeguard them from public health risks and impove...

Probiotic-based multi-component preparations refer to a mixture of bioactive agents, containing probiotics or postbiotics as main functional ingredients, and prebiotics, protectants, stabilizers, encapsulating agents, and other compounds as additional constituents.

Following the confirmation on July 21, 2022, of a case of poliomyelitis related to circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus (cVDPV) type 2 in an unvaccinated adult from Rockland County, NY, USA,1 there has been a renewed global drive to strengthen surveillance for the detection of cases and increase vaccination coverage against polio. This is the fir...

Background: Increasing global commitment to Universal Health Coverage (UHC) in the past decade has triggered UHC-inspired reforms and investments to expand health service coverage in many Low-and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs). UHC aims to ensure that all people can access quality health services, safeguard them from public health risks and impove...

Background The 2020 Global Nutrition Report highlights that despite improvements in select nutrition indicators, progress is too slow to meet the 2025 Global Nutrition Targets. While the Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) region has achieved the greatest global reduction in undernutrition (stunting, underweight, and wasting) in the past decade,...

CONTEXT: A challenge facing the provision of palliative care in sub-Saharan Africa (sSA) is a means of increasing coverage of services whilst maintaining quality. Developing an evidence base that reflects patients' experiences and expectations of palliative care services, the context within which services are provided, and the approaches adopted by...

Probiotics and related preparations, including synbiotics and postbiotics, are living and non-living microbial-based multi-components, which are now among the most popular bioactive agents. Such interests mainly arise from the wide range and numerous beneficial effects of their use for various hosts. The current minireview article attempts to provi...

June 24th, 2022, a day that will be etched in today and future generations' textbooks as a historic day, the United States of America revoked the constitutional right to seek safe abortion care. Overturning Roe v Wade allowed the divided individual states to independently decide the legal parameters regarding abortion care. A decision that dispropo...

Following the confirmation on July 21, 2022, of a case of poliomyelitis related to circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus (cVDPV) type 2 in an unvaccinated adult from Rockland County, NY, USA,1 there has been a renewed global drive to strengthen surveillance for the detection of cases and increase vaccination coverage against polio. This is the fir...

This study develops a timeline of obesity-related health policy responses and explores the macro-social factors and conditions which facilitated or constrained public health policy responses to obesity in The Bahamas over a 20-year period.

Maternal and perinatal mortality remain huge challenges globally, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) where >98% of these deaths occur. Emergency obstetric care (EmOC) provided by skilled health personnel is an evidence-based package of interventions effective in reducing these deaths associated with pregnancy and childbirth. U...

This poem is a commentary on the US Supreme Court’s majority decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. The Poem speaks of the coercion and abuse of females by males due to the potential for impregnation and abandonment that might occur, in order to comment on abortion rights being struck down in the United States. In no way do the authors infer that such f...

Background Community health workers play an important role in linking communities with formal health service providers, thereby improving access to and utilization of health care. A novel cadre of community health workers known as village health workers (VHWs) were recruited to create demand for maternal health services in the Nigerian Subsidy Rein...

Background Key populations (KP) are defined groups with an increased risk of HIV due to specific higher risk behaviours. KP who use substances engage in risky behaviors that may play a co-active role in HIV transmission and acquisition in Nigeria. This qualitative study explored the 'syndemics' of substance use, sexual risk behavior, violence and H...

Following confirmation of the first case of monkeypox in the UK by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) on May 7, 2022, events have evolved with dizzying rapidity—as of May 21, 2022, 92 laboratory confirmed cases and 28 suspected cases of monkeypox have been reported in 12 non-endemic countries across three WHO regions.1 Monkeypox is a rare viral...

As of 21 May, 92 laboratory confirmed cases, and 28 suspected cases of monkeypox have been reported in 12 non-endemic countries across three WHO regions (See Table 1).1 There are concerns that this outbreak of monkeypox may become the next global pandemic. Complicating the situation is the fact that most of the cases have occurred in gay, bisexual...

Background: Key populations (KP) are defined groups with an increased risk of HIV due to specific higher risk behaviours. KP who use substances engage in risky behaviors that may play a co-active role in HIV transmission and acquisition in Nigeria. This qualitative study explored the 'syndemics' of substance use, sexual risk behavior, violence and...

We read with keen interest the BMJ report of seven cases of monkeypox that were confirmed in the UK by the 16 May 2022. Since then, 13 more cases of monkeypox have been identified by The UK Health security Agency (UKHSA) bringing the total number of monkeypox cases confirmed in the UK to 20 as of 20 May 2022. Why are these cases generating so much...

Dear Editor, We read with keen interest the recent article in The BMJ about cases of idiopathic hepatitis in children around the world. We are concerned that the gains of multi-sectoral mitigation responses to COVID-19 is under threat by this evolving situation. Cases of idiopathic acute hepatitis were first identified in Scotland among 11 childre...

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has caused disruptions to the functioning of societies and their health systems. Prior to the pandemic, health systems in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) were particularly stretched and vulnerable. The International Society of Global Health (ISoGH) sought to systematically identify priorities for health res...

Background: There is a rise in the prevalence of mental illness among adolescents and the impact of violence on this rising trend requires to be evaluated. Aim: The aim of the study is to better understand the impact of violence on adolescent's mental health. Materials and Methods: The study was a cross-sectional school-based study. Adolescents in...

Background: There is a rise in the prevalence of mental illness among adolescents and the impact of violence on this rising trend requires to be evaluated. Aim: The aim of the study is to better understand the impact of violence on adolescent's mental health. Materials and Methods: The study was a cross-sectional school-based study. Adolescents in...

Background The prevalence of type 2 diabetes (t2dm) in Africa is increasing due to increase in associated risks factors such as unhealthy eating, obesity and physical inactivity. Diet monitoring is an important component in the management of t2dm to aid and prevent progression and complications. Research on dietary assessment in Africa is currently...

Background The COVID-19 pandemic has caused disruptions to the functioning of societies and their health systems. Prior to the pandemic, health systems in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) were particularly stretched and vulnerable. The International Society of Global Health (ISoGH) sought to systematically identify priorities for health res...

Abstract Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has caused disruptions to the functioning of societies and their health systems. Prior to the pandemic, health systems in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) were particularly stretched and vulnerable. The International Society of Global Health (ISoGH) sought to systematically identify priorities for h...

In sub-Saharan Africa, breast cancer is the primary cause of cancer morbidity and the second-most common cause of cancer mortality. An evolving, and now distinct phase along the cancer care continuum in terms of health care and research is survivorship. The broad definition of the term survivorship includes people who have been diagnosed with cance...

Objectives: To describe changes in public risk perception and risky behaviours during the first and second waves (W1and W2) of COVID-19 in Nigeria, associated factors and observed trend of the outbreak. Design: A secondary data analysis of cross-sectional telephone-based surveys conducted during the first and second waves of COVID-19 in Nigeria....

Background There is rise in the prevalence of mental health illnesses among the adolescent and the impact of violence on this rising trend requires to be evaluated. This is the aim of this study. Methods. The study was a cross-sectional school based study. Adolescents in the selected schools were interviewed using structured questionnaire. Informat...

The increasing global human population is projected to reach 9.7 billion people by 2050. This population growth is currently linked to the trends of world-wide urbanization, growth of megacities and shifting dietary patterns. While humankind faces the daunting challenge of feeding and providing healthy lives for its teeming populations, urban agric...

Background Private sectors play a significant role in health provision along with the public sector in both developed and developing countries. Given the limited resources of the public sector, public-private partnerships (PPPs) are considered a good solution to address our growing public health challenges. But inadequate assessment of various heal...

The increasing global human population is projected to reach 9.7 billion people by 2050. This population growth is currently linked to the trends of worldwide urbanization, growth of megacities, and shifting dietary patterns. While humankind faces the daunting challenge of feeding and providing healthy lives for its teeming populations, urban agric...

Background: Nigeria has one of the worst health and development profile globally. A weak health system, poor infrastructure and varied socio-cultural factors are cited as inhibitors to optimal health system performance and improved maternal and child health status. eHealth has become a major solution to closing these gaps in health care delivery in...

Despite increasing attention to implementation research in global health, evidence from low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) using realist evaluations, in understanding how complex health programmes work remains limited. This paper contributes to bridging this knowledge gap by reporting how, why and in what circumstances, the implementation and...

The African Union Bureau of Heads of State and Government endorsed the COVID-19 Vaccine Development and Access Strategy to vaccinate at least 60% of each country’s population with a safe and efficacious vaccine by 2022, to achieve the population-level immunity needed to bring the pandemic under control. Using publicly available, country-level popul...

Background The in-service training of frontline health workers (FHWs) in primary health care facilities plays an important role in improving the standard of health care delivery. However, it is often expensive and requires FHWs to leave their posts in rural areas to attend courses in urban centers. This study reports the implementation of a digital...

Aspergillus fumigatus is a species of fungus that is commonly found in the environment, household dust, soil, and decaying plant matter. The fungus produces spores which are inhaled by humans daily, although the host defence mechanisms of most people limit inflammatory responses and promote fungal clearance. Inhalation of the spores of A fumigatus...

Background: Health worker training is an essential component of epidemic control; rapid delivery of such training is possible in low-middle income countries with digital platforms. Methods: Based on prior experience with the Ebola outbreak, we developed and deployed a bespoke InStrat COVID-19 tutorial app, to deliver accurate and regularly updated...

The first coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) interim guidance released by the World Health Organization recommended suspension of non-urgent community health interventions, including mass drug administration (MDA) for neglected tropical diseases. However, with no end in sight for the COVID-19 pandemic, it was crucial to find ways to restart MDA wh...

Background: Increasing access to maternal and child health (MCH) services is crucial to achieving universal health coverage (UHC) among pregnant women and children under-five (CU5). The Nigerian government between 2012 and 2015 implemented an innovative MCH programme to reduce maternal and CU5 mortality by reducing financial barriers of access to e...

The first COVID-19 interim guidance released by the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended suspension of non-urgent community health interventions, including mass drug administration (MDA) for neglected tropical diseases (NTDs). However, with no end in view for the COVID-19 pandemic, it was crucial to find ways to restart MDA while testing mea...

Objectives To review and synthesize the existing evidence on bereavement care, within the United Kingdom (UK), for ethnic minority communities in terms of barriers and facilitators to access; models of care; outcomes from, and satisfaction with, service provision. Design A systematic review adopting a framework synthesis approach was conducted. An...

Paul Adepoju provides a report on how Africa lags behind in the global race to roll out COVID-19 mass vaccination. This race is unprecedented and characterized by high-income countries adopting strategies such as pre-ordering millions of doses before the COVID-19 vaccines completed clinical trials. Africa has now embarked on the biggest immunisatio...

BACKGROUND: Despite regional efforts to address concerns, the burden of advanced cancer in Africa needs urgent attention. Widespread issues include late symptom presentation, inaccessibility of palliative care services, limited resources, poor data quality, the disparity in data availability, and lack of stakeholder engagement. One way of helping t...

Urbanization, armed confict, and deforestation in African countries have increased the risk of zoonotic infections, which requires a One Health approach focused on the environment, animal health and human health. This approach facilitates the assessment of risks from the human-animal-environment interface. Only by fully implementing One Health appr...

The global threat that continues to accompany SARS-CoV-2 has led to a global response that adopts lockdown and stay home policy as means of curtailing its spread. This study investigates compliance with the Stay Home policy and exposure to COVID-19 in Nigeria. A cross-sectional mixed-methods approach was adopted to elicit responses from 871 partici...

Background: Strengthening health systems to improve access to maternity services remains challenging for Nigeria due partly to weak and irregular in-service training and deficient data management. This paper reports the implementation of digital health tools for video training (VTR) of health workers and digitization of health data at scale, suppor...