Papers by Owoidoho Udofia
Nigerian Hospital Practice, 2018
Introduction: The General health Questionnaire (GHQ) is the most popular instrument for screening... more Introduction: The General health Questionnaire (GHQ) is the most popular instrument for screening psychopathology globally. It is widely used locally and has been translated into a few Nigerian languages. Research on the relationship between educational attainment and the screening ability of the English version among Nigerians is scanty. Aims: This study aims to determine the effect of educational attainment on the screening potential of 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) among persons in Ilupeju, Lagos. Methodology: A random sample of 399 participants was drawn from worshipers from some churches in Ilupeju in Lagos state. Socio-demographic questionnaire and the English version of the GHQ-12 were administered to the selected church members. Participants who had a GHQ score of 2 or greater than 2 and 20% of those that had a GHQ score less than 2 had Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV (SCID) administered to them. The data was analysed with the Statistical Package for...
Open journal of psychiatry & allied sciences, 2022
Background: Brain fag and burnout are exhaustion syndromes first described in different cultural ... more Background: Brain fag and burnout are exhaustion syndromes first described in different cultural contexts, and both occur among students. They share some similarities but have not been compared in research. Objective: This study sought to determine the relationship between brain fag and burnout among adolescent students in Calabar, Nigeria. Method: In this cross-sectional study, 810 students were recruited from ten secondary schools in Calabar. The Brain Fag Syndrome Scale and the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Student Survey were administered. Results: The mean sample age was 15.93 (±1.35) years, and the gender distribution was approximately equal. The emotional exhaustion and cynicism dimensions of burnout were significantly associated with brain fag syndrome (p<0.05). Respondents with high emotional exhaustion (Odds ratio [OR]=3.3, confidence interval [CI]=2.06-5.36) and cynicism (OR=2.7, CI=1.66-4.39) were more likely to meet the threshold for brain fag syndrome. Principal components analysis of items from both instruments yielded a four-factor structure, and one had substantial loadings from both scales. Conclusions: Both syndromes are related, probably due to an overlap in core exhaustion symptoms. More research is needed to elucidate their relationship further.
Nigerian Journal of Psychiatry, Jan 27, 2010
Background: Psychiatric patients are known to suffer from impairment in several areas of their ge... more Background: Psychiatric patients are known to suffer from impairment in several areas of their general functioning. One major area affected is the area of sexual functioning, which could be as a result of their psychiatric illness or as a result of their psychotropic medication. Aims: To determine the prevalence and pattern of sexual dysfunctions among psychiatric outpatients and the relationship between sexual dysfunctions and demographic variables. Methods: A socio-demographic data questionnaire was administered on consecutive out patients of the Federal Psychiatric Hospital, Calabar. Male patients were also given the International Index of Erectile Function (IEEF) while female patients were given the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI). The same questionnaires were also administered on a healthy control group. Patients and controls were each 150 in number. Results: Male Participants were 188 (62.7%) while female participants were 112 (37.3%). Patients had higher rates of sexual dysfunctions than healthy respondents (Male patients = 16 – 48.9%, Male controls = 5.3 – 22.3%; Female Patients = 50 – 66.1%, Female controls = 37.7 – 50%). Significant differences were found only among the males. These were in the erectile, orgasmic and intercourse satisfactory domains. Marital Status, level of education and employment status influenced the prevalence rates among respondents. Conclusion: Psychiatric patients have higher rates of sexual dysfunction than the general population. Those at risk are single, less-educated and unemployed. Psychiatrists should routinely ask their patients about sexual dysfunctions. Key words: Sexual Dysfunction, Prevalence, Psychiatric patients
Science World Journal, 2020
The burden of mental illness of inmates in low and middle income countries (LMICs) prisons was hi... more The burden of mental illness of inmates in low and middle income countries (LMICs) prisons was higher than in the developed ones. Positive interventions common in reversing the increasing prevalence of inmates' mental distress in developed countries are rare in Nigeria, a LMICs. This study contributed to initiate mental health promotion in Nigerian prisons through studying mediating effect of positive interventions, specifically spirituality and resilience on inmates' mental wellbeing. Mental distress of 63 male inmates of Bida prison, North-centre Nigeria was assessed with GHQ-12. The impact of resilience and spirituality on mental distress was measured by Resilience Scale and brief Spirituality Involvement and Beliefs Scale respectively. The mean age of participants was 27.27years (SD = 1.43years) and 70% of them had mental distress. Variables with statistically significant experience of mental distress were being single and having high mean resilience score. The study demonstrated the impact of marital status, resilience and spirituality on the mental wellness of the participants. This will aid mental health promotion of inmates in Nigeria prisons.
Journal of Epidemiology society of Nigeria, Jul 30, 2020
Background: Previous studies show that academic burnout among undergraduates in Nigeria is preval... more Background: Previous studies show that academic burnout among undergraduates in Nigeria is prevalent and impacts negatively on their mental well-being and quality of life. Few studies have looked at the relationship between burnout, psychological morbidity and quality of life. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of burnout syndrome among undergraduates and its relationship with psychological morbidity and quality of life. Methods: A total of 933 undergraduates from the faculties of education, law and medicine, Bayero University Kano, participated in this descriptive, cross sectional study. Study instruments included a sociodemographic questionnaire, Maslach Burnout Inventory-students' survey, 12-item version of the General Health Questionnaire, and WHO Quality of Life Survey-Abbreviated Version. Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 16 was used to analyse the data using Chi square and ANOVA and a p-value of 0.05 or less was considered statistically signicant. Results: This showed a burnout prevalence of 153(16.4%) for emotional exhaustion, 230(24.7%) for cynicism and 194(20.8%) for reduced academic efcacy. Burnout increased with increasing length of academic activity, increasing psychological morbidity and decreasing Quality of Life. Education students had more burnout on cynicism subscale while medical students had more burnout on academic efcacy subscale. Overall, law students were the least burnout. Conclusion: Burnout is common among undergraduates of Bayero University Kano. Families (through participatory parenting) and university authorities should put in place functional programmes to reduce the burden of burnout and more researches are needed to gain deeper understanding of burnout and its effects on students' mental health.
Nigerian Journal of Psychiatry, 2012
Background: The International Physical Activity Questionnaire short-form (IPAQ-SF) is frequently ... more Background: The International Physical Activity Questionnaire short-form (IPAQ-SF) is frequently used to assess physical activity (PA) level in the general adult population including pregnant women. However, the reliability and validity of the questionnaire in pregnancy is unknown. Therefore, the aims of the present study were to investigate test-retest reliability and concurrent validity of IPAQ-SF among pregnant women, and whether PA is reported differently among those who fulfill (active) vs. do not fulfill (inactive) recommendations of ≥150 min of weekly moderate intensity PA in pregnancy. Method: Test-retest reliability was examined by answering IPAQ-SF twice, two weeks apart (n = 88). To assess validity, IPAQ-SF was compared to the physical activity monitor SenseWear Armband® (SWA) (n = 64). The participants wore SWA for 8 consecutive days before answering IPAQ-SF. PA level was reported as time spent in moderate-, vigorous-and moderate-to-vigorous intensity PA (MPA, VPA and MVPA) corresponding to the cutoff points 3-6, >6 and >3 Metabolic Equivalents (METs), respectively. Results: Test-retest intraclass-correlation of MPA, VPA and MVPA ranged from 0.81-0.84 (95% Confidence Intervals: 0.69,0.90). Comparing time spent performing PA at various intensities; the mean differences and limits of agreement (±1.96 Standard Deviation) from Bland-Altman plots were−84 ± 402 min/week for MPA,−85 ± 452 min/week for MVPA and 26 ± 78 min/week for VPA, illustrating that the total group under-reported MPA by 72% and MVPA by 52%, while VPA was over-reported by 1400%. For the inactive group corresponding numbers were 44 ± 327 min/ week for MPA, 52 ± 355 min/week for MVPA and 16 ± 33 min/week for VPA, illustrating that the inactive group over-reported MPA by 13% and MVPA by 49%, while VPA was not detected by SWA, but participants reported 16 min of VPA/week. In contrast, corresponding numbers for the active group were−197 ± 326 min/week for MPA,−205 ± 396 min/week for MVPA and 35 ± 85 min/week for VPA, illustrating that the active group underreported MPA by 81% and MVPA by 60%, while they over-reported VPA by 975%. Conclusion: IPAQ-SF had good test-retest reliability, but low to fair concurrent validity for MPA, VPA and MVPA compared to an objective criterion measure among pregnant women. Further, women fulfilling PA guidelines in pregnancy under-reported, while inactive women over-reported PA level.
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research), Apr 9, 2022
West African journal of medicine, Feb 28, 2022
INTRODUCTION Recently, there has been an increase in the abuse of relatively newer substances som... more INTRODUCTION Recently, there has been an increase in the abuse of relatively newer substances sometimes in unusual combinations. Some of these drugs and their street names are unfamiliar to researchers and clinicians, hindering their identification. Our objective was to investigate current trends in drug abuse, focusing on eliciting drugs of use and their street names in Calabar, Nigeria. METHODS Using a qualitative design, we conducted focus group discussions among 15 male in-patients of the drug treatment ward of the Federal Neuropsychiatric Hospital, Calabar. Data was collected as audio recordings and handwritten notes and was analyzed using the Nvivo software. RESULTS Prescription drugs like flunitrazepam (street name Blueboy, Sweetnol), trihexyphenidyl, codeine and tramadol were commonly abused. Illicit substances included cannabis of various potencies (each having unique street names), vulcanizing gum (street name Solution), cocaine and heroin (street name Thailand). Some unusual substances such as soakaway fumes, formaldehyde or gammalin (lindane) mixed with cannabis were described. Few supposedly nonpsychoactive substances were reportedly potent when consumed alone (e.g., leaves of the papaya plant) or in mixtures, such as menthol candy dissolved in soft drinks. Other prescription drugs such as Benadol or D4, unfamiliar to the researchers, were volunteered. CONCLUSION Newer substances of abuse in their various combinations are abused by Nigerian youth. More studies are needed to elucidate further the chemical composition of these drugs/mixtures and their mechanism of action.
Nigerian Postgraduate Medical Journal, 2020
Context: Access to social network sites (SNS) is commonplace, especially among young people globa... more Context: Access to social network sites (SNS) is commonplace, especially among young people globally. Cumulatively, long duration of daily exposure may be having effects on psychological health outcomes, including increased and in some cases, decreased risk of depression and anxiety. Despite these potential effects, there is a paucity of literature on patterns and effects of exposure to social media, especially in developing countries where regular mental health screening is generally unavailable. Aim: This study aims to assess the psychological effects of Internet/social media usage among undergraduates in Calabar. Settings and Design: A descriptive cross-sectional study conducted in the University of Calabar, Nigeria. Methodology: Multi-staged sampling technique was used to recruit equal proportions of the undergraduate students from five selected Faculties in the University. Internet Addiction Test and General Health Questionnaire-28 were used to measure addiction to Internet and psychological health status of the respondents, respectively. Socio-demographic questionnaire was used to obtain information on demographic and social media characteristics of the respondents. Statistical Analysis: Chi-square and independent t-test were used as inferential statistics, with P value set at 0.05. Results: Four hundred and eighteen (418) respondents completed the questionnaires. The mean age was 21.5 ± 3.6 years. Male:female ratio was 1:0.99. WhatsApp (59.8%) was the most commonly visited social media platform, whereas entertainment (52.2%) was the most common reason for social media use. About one-fifth (20.1%) had moderate-to-severe forms of Internet addiction, whereas one-third (33.1%) were psychologically distressed. Psychological distress was found to be significantly more common among respondents with mild/none, compared with those with moderate-to-severe forms of Internet addiction (P = 0.00). Respondents with moderate-to-severe forms of Internet addiction had significantly lower mean depression and anxiety scores compared with those with mild or no form of addiction (P = 0.00). Conclusions: There is high degree of psychological distress among students, and this was found to be more common among those that were less/not addicted to SNS. Specifically, high degree of Internet addiction may be protecting against the increased risk of depression and anxiety. The implications of these findings on youth counselling and the prevention of mental illnesses in developing countries are discussed in this article.
Mary Slessor Journal of Medicine, 2005
Three cases of genital injuries caused by self-amputation, dog bite and cassava grating machine a... more Three cases of genital injuries caused by self-amputation, dog bite and cassava grating machine are presented. Accidental partial amputation of the penis through dog bite and de-gloving by cassava grating machine and unusual and, to our knowledge, have never been reported before. A previous report from this center showed that approximately 21% of all genito-urinary injuries specifically affect the genital organs, mostly as complications of circumcision2. As with one of our patients, victims of genital self-amputation usually have an antecedent history of serious psychosexual problems. Surgical management is usually aimed at restoring cosmesis and preserving erectile and ejaculatory capacities and function. It may sometimes be extensive. Attempt at re-anastomosis should be made when an amputated stump is available and viable. De-gloving and crush injury to the phallus is a very severe form of injury for which primary repair is unlikely to produce the best results. Non-viable tissue usually forms the basis for wound infection, which would result in breakdown. Delayed repair is likely to produce better results. Key Words: Unusual; causes; genital injuries; management; Nigerian Mary Slessor Journal of Medicine Vol.4(1) 2004: 93-98
The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of psychopathology among inmates in a Niger... more The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of psychopathology among inmates in a Nigeria prison. It also explored the relationship between psychiatric morbidity and physical comorbidity. Ninety four prisoners were administered sociodemographic questionnaire, General Health Questionnaire (GHQ 28) and Present State Examination was done. PULSE Profile was used to evaluate physical and functional disability. Majority of the inmates were young offenders (62.8%), 57.4% scored 5 and above on GHQ 28. One third of the inmates (32.8%) had depression. There is high prevalence of psychopathology among prison inmates. Continuous efforts should be made to provide adequate mental health services in prisons.
PubMed, Apr 28, 2023
Objective: Social inequalities have serious health consequences for the developing child. Measuri... more Objective: Social inequalities have serious health consequences for the developing child. Measuring these disparities is challenging, and the Family Affluence Scale (version II), a proxy indicator based on material wealth, was developed as a solution. However, it has not been validated for use in Sub-Saharan Africa and may not be applicable in developing countries. This preliminary study aimed to determine the convergent validity and reliability of a culturally adapted version of the FAS II. Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out among 422 senior secondary school students in Calabar, Nigeria. Modified versions of the Family Affluence Scale Version II (FAS II) were tested for their psychometric properties as proxy measures of socioeconomic status among Nigerian adolescents. Cronbach's alpha was computed as a measure of internal consistency, while Spearman's rank correlation and regression analysis were done to assess convergent validity. Results: The mean sample age was 14.95 (±1.53) years, with an approximately equal gender distribution. Internal consistency was 0.68 for the 4-item version of the modified scale and increased to 0.75 when the item about travelling abroad was deleted. The modified FAS II scores (4 items) had a significant positive correlation with tuition cost (r=0.48, p<0.001), paternal educational attainment (r=0.27, p<0.001), and maternal educational attainment (r=0.30, p<0.001). Similarly, the 3-item version had a significant positive correlation with tuition cost (r=0.52, p<0.001), paternal educational attainment (r=0.24, p<0.001), and maternal educational attainment (r=0.30, p<0.001). Moderate (aOR: 4.25; 95%CI 2.45-7.39) and high affluence (aOR: 11.43; 95%CI 6.36-20.55) predicted attending more expensive schools. Moderate affluence (aOR: 2.15; 95%CI 1.28-3.62) and high affluence (aOR: 5.21; 95%CI 2.76-9.84) predicted a higher paternal education. Also, moderate affluence (aOR: 2.18; 95%CI 1.31-3.63) and high affluence (aOR: 7.42; 95%CI 3.76-14.66) predicted higher maternal education. The 3-item version performed similarly in terms of its predictive ability. Conclusion: The modified version of the FAS II appears to have sufficient validity and reliability for measuring the socio-economic status of adolescents in Nigeria.
Nigerian Journal of Psychiatry, 2007
No Abstract.Nigerian Journal of Psychiatry Vol. 3 (2) 2005: pp. 33-3
Nigerian Journal of Ophthalmology, 2021
Nigerian Journal of Clinical Practice, 2019
Background: Health-seeking behavior is important as it reveals the preventive, curative, and reha... more Background: Health-seeking behavior is important as it reveals the preventive, curative, and rehabilitative actions taken by individuals to rectify perceived ill-health. Aim and Objectives: To identify existing eye health–seeking behavior, factors influencing such behavior, and suggest ways in which the system can respond to the needs of the target population in order to reduce visual impairment and blindness. Methods: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study; 600 respondents were interviewed using a semistructured pretested questionnaire administered to every fifth new patient attending the eye clinic of University of Calabar Teaching Hospital (UCTH) for a period of 5 months by a single interviewer. People unable to respond appropriately were interviewed alongside their caregivers. Results: Poor distant vision was the most frequent ocular complaint in this study. The mean duration of complaint before presentation to any health facility was 370.65 ± 889.48 days with a range of 0–9,125 days. Nature of eye complaint was the most significant factor that determined how early respondents sought help (P < 0.001). Place of residence, nature of eye complaint, and employment status were significant determinants of the choice of place of first presentation for ocular complaints. Conclusion: There is need for improved eye health education and awareness for prompt presentation to an appropriate eye care professional at the onset of symptoms and even case finding for potentially blinding eye conditions.
Asian Journal of Psychiatry, 2017
Background: The mental health burden from fear of future terrorism has not been given much resear... more Background: The mental health burden from fear of future terrorism has not been given much research attention compared to the immediate mental distress such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Such neglected ongoing mental health morbidity associated with threats of terrorism had been described as pre-traumatic stress syndrome (PTSS). Objective: The study highlighted this phenomenon (PTSS) in Nigeria by examining the catastrophic burden of the fear of future terrorism and associated psychiatric burden among adult population in Kaduna city. Method: Participants were students and staff of Kaduna State University (KASU), Kaduna Polytechnic, and students awaiting admission into Kaduna State University. They responded to the following instruments after obtaining their informed consents: a sociodemographic questionnaire, the Terrorism Catastrophising Scale (TCS), and the depression and Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD) portion of Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI). Results: The TCS showed that 78.8% of the participants had from moderate to severe clinical distress on fear of terrorism. The TCS has a Cronbach's alpha of 0.721 and also had significant moderate correlation with depression (r=0.278; p<0.01) and GAD (r=0.201; p<0.01) scales of MINI.
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Papers by Owoidoho Udofia