Hospital acquired infections have been recognized as a critical problem affecting patient care. F... more Hospital acquired infections have been recognized as a critical problem affecting patient care. Factors such as inadequate knowledge of hand washing techniques, long nails, wearing of rings and water related problems affect the practice of hand washing. The main purpose of the study was to assess the practice of hand washing among nurses for prevention of nosocomial infections in General Hospital Ikot Ekpene, Akwa Ibom State.The study was a descriptive study. A total population of all nurses directly rendering care to patients in medical surgical maternity and intensive care unit were used. Structured questionnaire was designed to collect data from the 102 respondents used for the study. Descriptive statistics like tables and percentage was used to analyse data. The result revealed that 84(82.4%) respondents had good knowledge of hand washing and 18 (17.6%) had poor knowledge. Observations on the practise of hand washing revealed that 43 (42.2%) respondents always practised hand washing for prevention of nosocomial infection, 35 (34.3%) practised occasionally, while 24 (23.5%) never practiced hand washing. It was concluded that nurses had good knowledge of hand washing but did not practice it. It was therefore recommended that hospital management should provide hand washing facilities. Also, educational programme such as workshop/seminars to improve hand washing practice in hospital should be encouraged.
Pain is a universal experience, and it is the most frequent reason for people seeking health care... more Pain is a universal experience, and it is the most frequent reason for people seeking health care. The study focused on the assessment and management of pain among surgical patients by nurses in Secondary Health Facility in Calabar Metropolis, Nigeria. Three research objectives and one hypothesis were formulated to guide the study. The study adopted a descriptive design and 68 nurses caring for patients in surgical wards were enrolled for the study. Data were obtained through structured questionnaire (pain assessment and management schedule) reports (nurses-end-of-shift) cards and patients case note. Descriptive statistics was used to analyze the data and Pearson product moment correlation was used to test the hypothesis. The results obtained on methods of pain assessment recorded thus: information about patient 95.8%, pain history 89.7%, patient self report of pain 72%, observation of behaviour 78.9% and assessment of pain site and location 73.5%. The results on pain management revealed use of cold and heat compress 92.6%, diversional therapy 92.6%, health education 92.6%, use of opoids 77.9% and injection paracetamol 95.8%. Further, the result showed a significant relationship between knowledge of pain assessment and management, r-cal = 0.43, r-crit = .02, df 66 P < 0.05. Records of pain assessment and management were deficient in the wards and no pain management was identified. Based on this result, it was recommended that the hospital should set up a pain control team and organize workshop programmes to equip nurses with knowledge and skills in pain assessment, management and documentation.
Midwifery, the first holistic profession in the world in which "care" has always been a women-cen... more Midwifery, the first holistic profession in the world in which "care" has always been a women-centered phenomenon. It is a socially constructed practice that has gone through many historical transitions. Many of these have involved social controversies in terms of the meaning of care, the scope of its practice, and its standardized skills. The purpose of this paper is to explore and critically examine the major transitions on midwifery during history, looking in particular at the socio-cultural circumstances that are associated with these transitions through an historical analysis. Two objectives are intended to be explored; first, identify the major "macro" socio-cultural factors that shaped different meaning of "concept of care" in midwifery. Second, identify the major "micro" socio-cultural factors that changed the scope of practice in midwifery. Two main search approaches are used to collect the retrieved data; textbooks searching, and computer searching. Textbooks searching phase aims to identify the historical knowledge gap and different views of midwifery transitions based on four historical intervals ranging from Stone Ages era to Early Modern time. Computer searching phase aims to critique the different scholarly views that focus on the major social and cultural factors that shaped the practice scope midwifery during history. During this strategy a comprehensive review of the major electronic databases of MEDLINE, PubMed, and CINAHL was conducted. Midwifery is a woman-centered phenomenon and a socially constructed practice where macro and micro socio-cultural factors played a key role in its transition over the history. Power of social organizations, consistency of civilizations, and productivity of industrialization are the major macro social factors that changed the concept of "care" in midwifery from individualized concern to holistic approach. Gender identity, social class and authority, and accessibility of formal education are the main micro socio-cultural factors that changed the practice of midwifery from un-standardized practice to advanced scientific profession.
Hospital acquired infections have been recognized as a critical problem affecting patient care. F... more Hospital acquired infections have been recognized as a critical problem affecting patient care. Factors such as inadequate knowledge of hand washing techniques, long nails, wearing of rings and water related problems affect the practice of hand washing. The main purpose of the study was to assess the practice of hand washing among nurses for prevention of nosocomial infections in General Hospital Ikot Ekpene, Akwa Ibom State.The study was a descriptive study. A total population of all nurses directly rendering care to patients in medical surgical maternity and intensive care unit were used. Structured questionnaire was designed to collect data from the 102 respondents used for the study. Descriptive statistics like tables and percentage was used to analyse data. The result revealed that 84(82.4%) respondents had good knowledge of hand washing and 18 (17.6%) had poor knowledge. Observations on the practise of hand washing revealed that 43 (42.2%) respondents always practised hand washing for prevention of nosocomial infection, 35 (34.3%) practised occasionally, while 24 (23.5%) never practiced hand washing. It was concluded that nurses had good knowledge of hand washing but did not practice it. It was therefore recommended that hospital management should provide hand washing facilities. Also, educational programme such as workshop/seminars to improve hand washing practice in hospital should be encouraged.
Pain is a universal experience, and it is the most frequent reason for people seeking health care... more Pain is a universal experience, and it is the most frequent reason for people seeking health care. The study focused on the assessment and management of pain among surgical patients by nurses in Secondary Health Facility in Calabar Metropolis, Nigeria. Three research objectives and one hypothesis were formulated to guide the study. The study adopted a descriptive design and 68 nurses caring for patients in surgical wards were enrolled for the study. Data were obtained through structured questionnaire (pain assessment and management schedule) reports (nurses-end-of-shift) cards and patients case note. Descriptive statistics was used to analyze the data and Pearson product moment correlation was used to test the hypothesis. The results obtained on methods of pain assessment recorded thus: information about patient 95.8%, pain history 89.7%, patient self report of pain 72%, observation of behaviour 78.9% and assessment of pain site and location 73.5%. The results on pain management revealed use of cold and heat compress 92.6%, diversional therapy 92.6%, health education 92.6%, use of opoids 77.9% and injection paracetamol 95.8%. Further, the result showed a significant relationship between knowledge of pain assessment and management, r-cal = 0.43, r-crit = .02, df 66 P < 0.05. Records of pain assessment and management were deficient in the wards and no pain management was identified. Based on this result, it was recommended that the hospital should set up a pain control team and organize workshop programmes to equip nurses with knowledge and skills in pain assessment, management and documentation.
Midwifery, the first holistic profession in the world in which "care" has always been a women-cen... more Midwifery, the first holistic profession in the world in which "care" has always been a women-centered phenomenon. It is a socially constructed practice that has gone through many historical transitions. Many of these have involved social controversies in terms of the meaning of care, the scope of its practice, and its standardized skills. The purpose of this paper is to explore and critically examine the major transitions on midwifery during history, looking in particular at the socio-cultural circumstances that are associated with these transitions through an historical analysis. Two objectives are intended to be explored; first, identify the major "macro" socio-cultural factors that shaped different meaning of "concept of care" in midwifery. Second, identify the major "micro" socio-cultural factors that changed the scope of practice in midwifery. Two main search approaches are used to collect the retrieved data; textbooks searching, and computer searching. Textbooks searching phase aims to identify the historical knowledge gap and different views of midwifery transitions based on four historical intervals ranging from Stone Ages era to Early Modern time. Computer searching phase aims to critique the different scholarly views that focus on the major social and cultural factors that shaped the practice scope midwifery during history. During this strategy a comprehensive review of the major electronic databases of MEDLINE, PubMed, and CINAHL was conducted. Midwifery is a woman-centered phenomenon and a socially constructed practice where macro and micro socio-cultural factors played a key role in its transition over the history. Power of social organizations, consistency of civilizations, and productivity of industrialization are the major macro social factors that changed the concept of "care" in midwifery from individualized concern to holistic approach. Gender identity, social class and authority, and accessibility of formal education are the main micro socio-cultural factors that changed the practice of midwifery from un-standardized practice to advanced scientific profession.
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Papers by Faith Nlumanze