Nkolika Uguru

University of Nigeria | UNN · Department of Preventive Dentistry

Introduction This study investigates the oral health-seeking behaviour of households and its influence on demand for dental caries treatment services in Enugu state Nigeria. Methods A quantitative descriptive cross-sectional study was used to explore the oral health seeking pattern of 378 urban and 348 rural household respondents in Enugu state Ni...

Objective Equitable access to oral healthcare is a major focus of the Universal health coverage debate in Nigeria. However, a great majority of the population still do not have full coverage for essential oral healthcare services. This study will determine the extent of inequities in accessing oral healthcare services and the factors influencing ac...

Background Illicit drug use among adolescents has become a public health concern which cuts across all social strata. This study explored the public perception of factors that influence illicit drug use among adolescents in Owerri, Nigeria. MethodsA descriptive cross-sectional research design was used. The study adopted a mixed-method approach comp...

Background: Illicit drug use among adolescents has become a public health concern which cuts across all social strata. This study explored the public perception of factors that influence illicit drug use among adolescents in Owerri, Nigeria. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional research design was used for the study. The study adopted a mixed-met...

Background: In order to reduce the rate of illicit drug use, the public has an important role to play, therefore how they perceive illicit drug use among youths must be ascertained. This study, seeks to ascertain public perception on strategies for curbing adolescent drug use. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional research design was used for the...

Background: To reduce the rate of illicit drug use, the public has an important role to play, therefore how they perceive illicit drug use among youths must be ascertained. This study seeks to ascertain the public perception of strategies for curbing adolescent drug use. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional research design was used for the study....

Background: Dental caries, despite improvement in oral health across the globe, is still a large contributor to the global burden of oral diseases and a major public health concern. In Enugu state, Nigeria, there is minimal access to adequate and proper oral health care. This study examined the determinants of dental caries treatment provision and...

Background Dental caries, despite improvement in oral health across the globe, is still a large contributor to the global burden of oral diseases and a major public health concern. In Enugu state Nigeria, there is minimal access to adequate and proper oral health care. This study examined the determinants of dental caries treatment provision and th...

Background Dental caries, despite improvement in oral health across the globe, is still a large contributor to the global burden of oral diseases and a major public health concern. In Enugu state Nigeria, there is minimal access to adequate and proper oral health care. This study examined the determinants of dental caries treatment provision and th...

Objective and aim: The importance of fluoride in preventing dental diseases cannot be overemphasized. The aim of this study was to determine the fluoride content of commercial bottled water, sachet water and carbonated soft drinks available in Southeastern-Nigeria at the same time, eliciting their dental and public health implications. Method: D...

Background: Professional oral prophylaxis reduces plaque and calculus levels and improves oral health. This study identified the practice of routine scaling and polishing among oral health professionals. Methodology: This was a cross-sectional study of 73 oral health professionals who attended the Southeast Oral Health Forum at Onitsha, Anambra Sta...

Women comprise a significant proportion of the health workforce globally but remain under-represented in the higher professional categories. Concern about the under-representation of women in health leadership positions has resulted in increased research on the topic, although this research has focused primarily on high-income countries. An improve...

Background: Physician-led smoking cessation services are suboptimal in Nigeria. Objectives: This study evaluated a text messaging intervention designed to increase the knowledge and practices of physicians in Nigeria to help smokers quit. Methods: Using a pre-post study design, all physicians (N = 946) in 3 tertiary care hospitals located in 3...

Background: The importance of strong and transformative leadership is recognised as essential to the building of resilient and responsive health systems. In this regard, Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 5 prioritises a current gap, by calling for women's full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership, including in the h...

Background: One of the control tools for periodontal disease besides individual home care is professional oral prophylaxis that is, Scaling and Polishing (S&P).The aim of this study is to assess the effect of oral health awareness on the demand and uptake of scaling and polishing among dwellers of rural and urban environments. Methods: This inte...

BACKGROUND: Most policies in Nigeria are deliberate choices based on political mechanism, oversight, and lack of appropriate information. However in recent times there has been a global shift towards evidence based policy making. Thus Actors' views on evidence and their role in policy development appear critical to the use of evidence. OBJECTIVE: T...

Background Patient medical records are an objective tool for the systematic identification and treatment of tobacco users. The aim of this study was to assess brief intervention tobacco cessation activities documented by physicians in some select tertiary hospitals in Nigeria. Methods We conducted a cross-sectional descriptive study using informat...

Background: Health policymaking is a complex process and analysing the role of evidence is still an evolving area in many low- and middle-income countries. Where evidence is used, it is greatly affected by cognitive and institutional features of the policy process. This paper examines the role of different types of evidence in health policy develo...

Background: In Nigeria, there is a high burden of oral health diseases, poor coordination of health services and human resources for delivery of oral health services. Previous attempts to develop an Oral Health Policy (OHP) to decrease the oral disease burden failed. However, a policy was eventually developed in November 2012. This paper explores t...

Abstract Background In Nigeria, there is a high burden of oral health diseases, poor coordination of health services and human resources for delivery of oral health services. Previous attempts to develop an Oral Health Policy (OHP) to decrease the oral disease burden failed. However, a policy was eventually developed in November 2012. This paper ex...

Background: In Nigeria, there is a high burden of oral health diseases, poor coordination of health services and human resources for delivery of oral health services. Previous attempts to develop an Oral Health Policy (OHP) to decrease the oral disease burden failed. However, a policy was eventually developed in November 2012. This paper explores t...

The magnitude of variation in economic costs of tobacco consumption among socio-economic status (SES) groups in Nigeria is unclear. Understanding the factors that influence tobacco use and expenditure among different socio-economic groups would inform decisions on interventions for tobacco control in Nigeria. Secondary data was obtained from the 20...

Background: In Nigeria, there is a high burden of oral health diseases, poor coordination of health services and human resources for delivery of oral health services. Previous attempts to develop an Oral Health Policy (OHP) to decrease the oral disease burden failed. However, a policy was eventually developed in November 2012. This paper explores t...

Background: This study assessed the comorbidities associated with malaria and patterns of health seeking in southeast Nigeria. Materials and Methods: The survey was undertaken in Enugu state, Southeast Nigeria. Data were collected from 500 householders, 200 in‑patient and outpatient exit surveys and data abstraction from 125 inpatient and outpatien...

Objective: : In many developing countries, utilization of dental care services remains a major problem. This study seeks to determine the level of utilization of dental services and highlight inequities and barriers in utilization across various socioeconomic (SES) groups in Enugu. Method: A quantitative cross-sectional descriptive study conducte...

Objective: The study aim was to (1) determine dental health care awareness among traders within Enugu metropolis. (2) Determine the relationship between educational level and treatment seeking options amongst traders. Method: This was a cross-sectional descriptive study on oral health care awareness amongst the traders in Enugu metropolis. Two ma...

Many households own, use and spend money on many malaria preventive tools, some of which are inappropriate and ineffective in preventing malaria. This is despite the promotion of use of effective preventive methods such as Insecticide treated nets (ITNs) and indoor residual house spraying (IRHS). The use of these ineffective methods imposes some ec...

In Nigeria, concerns on the quality and financing of health-care delivery especially in the public sector have initiated reforms including support for public-private partnerships (PPP) at the Federal Ministry of Health. Likewise, Enugu State has developed a draft policy on PPP since 2005. However, non-validation and non-implementation of this polic...

Background: Nigeria has introduced National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) as a financial risk protection option against ill health. This paper therefore assesses the benefit incidence of the NHIS to the employees of the federal establishments in Enugu, Southeast Nigeria. It provides empirical evidence necessary for scaling up the scheme. Methods:...

Malaria is the number one public health problem in Nigeria, responsible for about 30% of deaths in under-fives and 25% of deaths in infants and 11% maternal mortality. This study estimated the economic burden of malaria in Nigeria using the cost of illness approach. A cross-sectional study was undertaken in two malaria holo-endemic communities in N...

Introduction: Where out-of-pocket payment (OOP) serves as the major means of financing health care, the cost of health care might differentially influence health seeking behavior of households of different socio-economic status (SES) groups. This study examined the variations in health care seeking and incidence and level of OOP across households o...

Abstract Background There is an urgent need for universal access to modern contraceptives in Nigeria, to facilitate the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals and other national goals. This study provides information on the potential role of community solidarity in increasing access to contraceptives for the most-poor people through explor...

Different social economic and personal factors have been touted as determining a person's health. This encompasses a person's living environment, economic status, genetic makeup, physical attributes and not just access to health services. It is important that health workers recognize that a person's socio-economic environment can have an adverse ef...

Halitosis is a recognized problem in dental practice. Some individuals have the belief that they have offensive mouth odour which neither the dental clinician nor any other person can perceive. This condition is known as delusional halitosis. Delusional halitosis can be classified as either Pseudo halitosis or Halitophobia depending on the response...

To examine the level of awareness of youths to voluntary counseling and testing and willingness to pay for this service, and to explore reasons for underutilization of this service. A cross sectional study was carried out among undergraduate students of two tertiary institutions in Enugu Nigeria using pre-tested interviewer administered questionnai...

Lymphangioma are rare benign lesions of the lymphatic vessels, found mainly in the head and neck. Almost all cases of macroglossia in young children are caused by lymphangioma of the tongue. Aesthetic, occlusal, functional and psychosocial problems may arise as a result of this condition. The preferred treatment is surgery but in some cases scleros...

Rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) and Artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) have been widely advocated by government and the international community as cost-effective tools for diagnosis and treatment of malaria. ACTs are now the first line treatment drug for malaria in Nigeria and RDTs have been introduced by the government to bridge the existin...

Household Questionnaire. Contains a household questionnaire on feasibility of community based health insurance. It contains demographic information of the respondent, health seeking pattern of the household, payment and payment coping mechanisms. It also contains questions about acceptability and willingness to pay for CBHI scheme, perceptions abou...

It is important that community-based health insurance (CBHI) schemes are designed in such a way as to ensure the relevance of the benefit packages to potential clients. Hence, this paper provides an understanding of the preferred benefit packages by different economic status groups as well as urban and rural dwellers for CBHI in Southeast Nigeria....

The introduction of rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) has improved the diagnosis and treatment of malaria. However, any successful control of malaria will depend on socio-economic factors that influence its management in the community. Willingness to pay (WTP) is important because consumer responses to prices will influence utilization of services and...

Improvement of utilization of malaria treatment services will depend on provision of treatment services that different population groups of consumers prefer and would want to use. Treatment of malaria in Nigeria is still problematic and this contributes to worsening burden of the disease in the country. Therefore this study explores the socio-econo...

Contains a household questionnaire on the preferences of different household for where they sought treatment for malaria treatment. It also contains the socio-demographic detail of each respondent and their socio-economic status based on household owned assets and food expenditure pattern.

People seek treatment for malaria from a wide range of providers ranging from itinerant drug sellers to hospitals. However, there are lots of problems with treatment provision. Hence, factors influencing treatment provision in hospitals and non-hospitals require further investigation in order to remedy the situation. To examine the knowledge, patte...

Malaria places a great burden on households, but the extent to which this is tilted against the poor is unclear. However, the knowledge of the level of the burden of malaria amongst different population groups is vital for ensuring equitable control of malaria. This paper examined the inequities in occurrence, economic burden, prevention and treatm...

The anti-retroviral (ARV) treatment programme in Nigeria is delivered through selected teaching and mission hospitals at a free/subsidized rate. The government aims to scale up ARV treatment in the country. However, non-adherence to ARV medication can lead to viral resistance, treatment failure, toxicities and waste of financial resources. This stu...

Introduction: Health inequity refers to health inequalities that are unjust according to some theory of social justice and is represented by inequalities in health status, health care utilization and health care financing. Few studies have been done to assess socioeconomic inequities in health in Nigeria. Objective: The purpose of this study was to...