Nigerian Postgraduate Medical Journal最新文献

{"title":"Vascular injuries: Aetiology, presentation and management outcomes at a tertiary hospital in Lagos, Nigeria.","authors":"Ezekiel Olayiwola Ogunleye,&nbsp;Olugbenga Oluseyi Olusoji,&nbsp;Okezie Obasi Kanu","doi":"10.4103/npmj.npmj_221_22","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4103/npmj.npmj_221_22","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Vascular injuries lead to haemorrhagic shock and distal limb ischaemia, especially with an arterial injury. This life-threatening state mandates urgent evaluation and intervention to save life and limbs. The treatment aims to restore blood flow and replace lost blood within the golden hours, stabilising cardiovascular haemodynamics and averting irreversible ischaemic damage. The aim of this study was to analyse the clinical profile of vascular injuries, management and outcomes in our institution.</p><p><strong>Materials and methods: </strong>This retrospective study covered the period from January 2015 to December 2021. Information of interest were extracted from the medical records of each participant. The results from the data analysis were presented in charts and tables.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Seventy-four patients aged 15-78 years (mean 32.30 ± 13.75 years) were included in this study. The male-to-female ratio was 3.6:1. The most common causes were gunshot injury, road traffic accident and iatrogenic injuries. The mean duration from injury to presentation was 9.85 h and mean duration from presentation to restoration of flow was 7.3 h. The most common injured artery was the femoral artery, whereas the most common vein was inferior vena cava. Primary vascular repair was done in majority of the cases. Amputation was performed in 18.9% with loss of viability of the limb.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Vascular injury though relatively uncommon remains a challenging and life-threatening disease predominantly in young adult males. Urgent intervention prevents limb loss and mortality. Favourable outcome is accomplished by improving emergency healthcare delivery and well-equipped vascular centres with adequately trained personnel in the nation's hospitals.</p>","PeriodicalId":19720,"journal":{"name":"Nigerian Postgraduate Medical Journal","volume":"29 4","pages":"334-340"},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2022-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"40669897","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Acceptability, appropriateness and feasibility of webinar in strengthening research capacity in COVID-19 era in Nigeria.","authors":"Abiola Olubusola Komolafe,&nbsp;Omotade Adebimpe Ijarotimi,&nbsp;Olufemi Mayowa Adetutu,&nbsp;Oluseye Ademola Okunola,&nbsp;Temitope Olumuyiwa Ojo,&nbsp;Funmilola Folasade Oyinlola,&nbsp;Oluwatosin Eunice Olorunmoteni,&nbsp;Monday Daniel Olodu,&nbsp;Ojo Melvin Agunbiade,&nbsp;Olayinka Donald Otuyemi","doi":"10.4103/npmj.npmj_167_22","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4103/npmj.npmj_167_22","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>The challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic have necessitated the increasing use of online virtual training platforms. The objectives of the study were to assess the acceptability, appropriateness and feasibility of virtual space in strengthening the research capacity in Nigeria.</p><p><strong>Materials and methods: </strong>Data were collected through an adapted online questionnaire from participants following a 2-day webinar. Both descriptive and inferential (bivariate and multivariate) analyses were done.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The findings of the study revealed that 55.2% of participants (n = 424) were males and 66.0% (n = 424) were early career researchers. Two hundred and thirty-six participants (55.7%) (n = 424) reported very good acceptability, 67.9% (n = 424) reported very good appropriateness while 54.7% (n = 424) reported good feasibility of webinar for research capacity strengthening. The rating of knowledge obtained from the webinar as 'excellent' increased the odds of acceptability (odd ratio [OR] = 38.30; P < 0.001), appropriateness (OR = 15.65; P < 0.05), and feasibility (OR = 20.85; P < 0.05). Furthermore, the preference for zoom and other online platforms for learning increased odds of acceptability of the webinar (OR = 2.29; confidence interval [CI]: 0.97-57.39; P < 0.05), appropriateness (OR = 2.55; CI: 1.10-5.91; P < 0.05) and feasibility (OR = 2.34; CI: 0.96-5.74; P < 0.05).</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>The study concluded that webinar was acceptable, appropriate and feasible for strengthening research capacity, although poor internet connectivity and cost of data were the major challenges in Nigeria. However, a learner-centred approach in contents' delivery that ensures optimal learning has the potential of enhancing research capacity strengthening via virtual space.</p>","PeriodicalId":19720,"journal":{"name":"Nigerian Postgraduate Medical Journal","volume":"29 4","pages":"288-295"},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2022-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"40655253","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Socio-demographic factors influencing measures of cognitive function of early adolescent students in abuja, Nigeria.","authors":"Vincent Ebuka Nwatah,&nbsp;Patience Abaluomo Ahmed,&nbsp;Lamidi Isah Audu,&nbsp;Selina Nnuaku Okolo","doi":"10.4103/npmj.npmj_157_22","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4103/npmj.npmj_157_22","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>The brain in the early adolescent period undergoes enhanced changes with the radical reorganisation of the neuronal network leading to improvement in cognitive capacity. A complex interplay exists between environment and genetics that influences the outcome of intellectual capability. We, therefore, aimed to evaluate the relationship between socio-demographic variables and measures of cognitive function (intelligence quotient [IQ] and academic performance) of early adolescents.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>The study was a descriptive cross-sectional study of early adolescents aged 10-14 years. Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices was used to assess the IQ and academic performance was assessed by obtaining the average of all the subjects' scores in the last three terms that made up an academic year. A confidence interval of 95% was assumed and a value of P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The overall mean (standard deviation) age of the study population was 11.1 years (±1.3) with male-to-female ratio of 1:1. Female sex was associated with better academic performance with P = 0.004. The students with optimal IQ performance were more likely (61.7%) to perform above average than those with sub-optimal IQ performance (28.6%). As the mother's age increased, the likelihood of having optimal IQ performance increased 1.04 times (odds ratio [OR] = 1.04; 95 confidence interval [CI] = 1.01-1.07). Students in private schools were three times more likely to have optimal IQ performance than those from public schools (OR = 2.79; 95 CI = 1.65-4.71).</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>The present study demonstrated that students' IQ performance and the female gender were associated with above-average academic performance. The predictors of optimal IQ performance found in this study were students' age, maternal age and school type.</p>","PeriodicalId":19720,"journal":{"name":"Nigerian Postgraduate Medical Journal","volume":"29 4","pages":"317-324"},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2022-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"40655256","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The Nigeria national health insurance authority act and its implications towards achieving universal health coverage.","authors":"Tope Michael Ipinnimo,&nbsp;Kabir Adekunle Durowade,&nbsp;Christiana Aderonke Afolayan,&nbsp;Paul Oladapo Ajayi,&nbsp;Tanimola Makanjuola Akande","doi":"10.4103/npmj.npmj_216_22","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4103/npmj.npmj_216_22","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) faced several inherent and systemic drawbacks towards achieving universal health coverage for all Nigerians, and this has led to the signing of the new National Health Insurance Authority Act (NHIA), 2022. This article highlights the benefits of NHIA, discusses the possible challenges and the way forward in its implementation. A narrative review of past literature searched in PubMed, MEDLINE, African Journal Online, and Goggle was conducted. A total of 76 publications were initially retrieved and following data triangulation, 55 were finally used. The authors also included their experiences. The NHIA addressed some of the shortcomings of the previous NHIS, however, it would still face several challenges in its implementation such as low government funding priority to health, shortage of healthcare workers and poor healthcare coverage, as well as problems with enforcement as it mandates all Nigerians to enroll. These and other impending constraints must be surmounted and all stakeholders must be involved to ensure the Act accomplishes its aim.</p>","PeriodicalId":19720,"journal":{"name":"Nigerian Postgraduate Medical Journal","volume":"29 4","pages":"281-287"},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2022-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"40655252","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Evaluation of the effect of nutritive versus non-nutritive pacifiers as adjuncts to local anaesthesia in male neonatal circumcision using the plastibell technique - A prospective randomised controlled study.","authors":"Chibuike George Ihediwa,&nbsp;Christopher O Bode,&nbsp;Felix M Alakaloko,&nbsp;Olumide A Elebute,&nbsp;Justina O Seyi-Olajide,&nbsp;Oluwaseun Abiola Ladipo-Ajayi,&nbsp;Adesoji O Ademuyiwa","doi":"10.4103/npmj.npmj_189_22","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4103/npmj.npmj_189_22","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Male circumcision is the most common surgical procedure worldwide and is often carried out for religious, cultural, medical and public health reasons. It is commonly performed during the neonatal period. Many studies have now shown that pain is a common intra- and post-operative complication. To ensure proper analgesia during the procedure, many surgeons opt for the use of pacifiers as an adjunct to anaesthesia during neonatal circumcision. The aim of this study is to compare nutritive pacifiers (NPs) versus non-NPs (NNPs) as adjuncts to local anaesthesia in male neonatal circumcision using the Plastibell technique.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A prospective randomised controlled study was carried out between October 2019 and March 2020. A total of 100 neonates were circumcised using the Plastibell technique and randomised into NP (Group A, n = 33), NNP (Group B, n = 33) and controls (Group C, n = 34), respectively. The differences in pain scores using the Neonatal Infant Pain Scale, total crying time and heart rate during circumcision were recorded and assessed.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The age of participants ranged from 5 to 28 days and the weight ranged from 2.5 to 5.0 kg. The overall mean age, birth weight and current weight of the participants were 15.5 ± 6.1 days, 3.4 ± 0.4 kg and 3.5 ± 0.6 kg, respectively. The control group had the highest average pain score of 5.5 (4.5-5.8) compared to the intervention groups with median pain score (NP: 3.3 [1.3-4.3] and (NNP: 4.3 [3.1-5.1], respectively). NPs had significantly lower pain scores (P = 0.023) and reduced total crying time (P = 0.019) at all stages of the circumcision compared to those given NNPs and controls.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>This study showed that NPs were superior to NNPs in providing additional pain control during male neonatal circumcision.</p>","PeriodicalId":19720,"journal":{"name":"Nigerian Postgraduate Medical Journal","volume":"29 4","pages":"310-316"},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2022-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"40655258","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Willingness to pay for a COVID-19 vaccine for oneself and one's child among individuals attending a tertiary care centre in West Bengal, India.","authors":"Tanveer Rehman,&nbsp;Ajay Mallick,&nbsp;Farhad Ahamed,&nbsp;Srikanta Kanungo,&nbsp;Sanghamitra Pati","doi":"10.4103/npmj.npmj_194_22","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4103/npmj.npmj_194_22","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>The free-of-cost supply could not meet the demand for coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) vaccines in India, so the government approved an injection option with a price. We aimed to determine how much money an individual would be willing to pay for a COVID-19 vaccine for themselves and their children and assess the factors determining it.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We conducted a study among all adults visiting the outpatient department of a government tertiary care hospital in West Bengal, India, in August 2021. Trained nursing officers combined bidding game and open-ended question methods during personal interviews to estimate the willingness-to-pay (WTP) values.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The mean (standard deviation) age of 1565 participants was 40.8 (12.2) years with 46.5% (n = 727) males, 70.4% (n = 1102) parents, 50.0% (n = 783) educated upto class 12 and 30.9% (n = 483) belonging to upper-middle socio-economic scale (SES). The median (inter-quartile range [IQR]) WTP amount for the first dose and the subsequent/booster dose among the unvaccinated (50.2%, n = 785) and vaccinated (49.8%, n = 780) participants were ₹0 (0-100) and ₹0 (0-200), respectively. The median (IQR) WTP for inoculating children with any COVID-19 vaccine was ₹50 (0-300) in both groups. Significant differences were found in the WTP prices for adult vaccines in both groups concerning age category (P = 0.02), education (P < 0.01) and SES (P < 0.01).</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Although more than half of the respondents were unwilling to pay for themselves, WTP for COVID-19 vaccination was higher for their children. Policy-makers should consider income, education and age to cap the private sector vaccination price.</p>","PeriodicalId":19720,"journal":{"name":"Nigerian Postgraduate Medical Journal","volume":"29 4","pages":"296-302"},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2022-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"40655254","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Caregiving in a tertiary health institution in North Central Nigeria: Support types and financial burden","authors":"O. Akande, M. Fasiku, O. A. Bolarinwa, T. Akande","doi":"10.1101/2022.07.04.22276588","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.07.04.22276588","url":null,"abstract":"Background: Caregivers play an important role in informal patient management. Identification of the support types and the financial challenges faced by caregivers will provide information on strategies to ease this burden. This study aimed to describe the support types and financial burden amongst caregivers in a tertiary hospital in North Central Nigeria. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study conducted amongst caregivers of inpatients in a tertiary hospital in North Central Nigeria. Data were collected using a pre-tested interviewer-administered questionnaire and were analysed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences package version 23. Results were reported in frequencies and proportions and presented in prose, tables and charts. Results: A total of 400 caregivers were recruited. The mean age was 38.32 ± 12.82 years and most (66.0%) were females. Caregivers supported their patients by running errands (96.3%) and 85.3% reported caregiving as stressful. The reported errands were purchase of medications (92.3%), supply of non-medical needs (63.3%), submission of laboratory samples and collection of results (52.3%) and service payment (47.5%). About two-thirds (63.2%) reported loss of income while caregiving and about half (50.8%) provided financial support to the patients. Conclusion: This study suggests that majority of caregivers experience significant physical and financial burden while caregiving. This burden can be eased off by the simplification of payment and laboratory processes and employment of more staff to support patients admitted to the wards. The financial burden experienced by caregivers reinforces the need to encourage more Nigerians to enrol in a health insurance scheme.","PeriodicalId":19720,"journal":{"name":"Nigerian Postgraduate Medical Journal","volume":"30 1","pages":"119 - 125"},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2022-07-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44332259","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Nigeria in the COVID era: Health system strengthening for national security and prosperity.","authors":"Olumuyiwa O Odusanya","doi":"10.4103/npmj.npmj_106_22","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4103/npmj.npmj_106_22","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The coronavirus disease-19 pandemic has spread to all parts of the world. As of 20 May 2022, over 500 million confirmed cases have occurred with over 6 million deaths. In Nigeria, over 255,000 cases have occurred with more than 3000 deaths. The pandemic has adversely affected virtually all aspects of human endeavour, with a severe impact on the health system. The Nigerian health system was ill prepared for the pandemic, and this further weakened it. The impacts of the pandemic on the health system include disruption of health services, low motivation of the health workforce, unresponsive leadership and poor funding. The national response, though initially weak, was ramped up to expand capacity building, testing, public enlightenment, creation of isolation and treatment centres and research. The funding for the national response was from the government, private sector and multilateral donors. Nigeria must comprehensively strengthen its health system through motivating and building the capacity of its human resources for health, improved service delivery and provision of adequate funding, to be better prepared against future pandemics.</p>","PeriodicalId":19720,"journal":{"name":"Nigerian Postgraduate Medical Journal","volume":"29 3","pages":"192-197"},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2022-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"40639025","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Prevalence of skeletal-related events in hormone-naive prostate cancer in a low resource setting.","authors":"Fredrick Obiefuna Ugwumba,&nbsp;Ikenna Ifeanyi Nnabugwu,&nbsp;Agharighom David Okoh,&nbsp;Kevin Ndubuisi Echetabu,&nbsp;Okechukwu Onwuasoigwe,&nbsp;Ekeoma Okey Nwosu","doi":"10.4103/npmj.npmj_70_22","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4103/npmj.npmj_70_22","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Presentation with symptoms of advanced prostate cancer is prevalent in developing societies. The objective of this study was to determine the rate of and factors associated with skeletal-related events (SREs) at presentation with hormone-naïve prostate cancer.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Records of 331 consecutive prostate cancer patients from January 2009 to April 2018 were reviewed. The prevalence of SRE at the presentation was determined. In addition, the relationships between SRE and age of patient, duration of clinical features, serum total prostate-specific antigen (tPSA) and biopsy Gleason score (GS) at presentation were evaluated. Analyses were done with IBM SPSS® version 25.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Mean age was 69.8 ± 8.0 years. While 43.8% of patients had lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) only, 51.4% had LUTS and other features of disease progression. Only 2.1% of the cases were confirmed from screen detection of elevated serum tPSA. SREs were observed in 11.8% at first presentations with hormone-naïve prostate cancer. Symptom duration (odds ratio [OR] 0.94; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.90-0.99; P = 0.02), anaemia that could not be attributed to gross haematuria or external blood loss (OR 9.6; 95% CI 3.12-29.52; P < 0.001) and transrectal biopsy GS (OR 1.61; 95% CI 1.17-2.22; P = 0.003 ) were significantly associated with SREs at presentation with hormone-naïve prostate cancer.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Evidence exists that patients who present with SREs from more aggressive prostate cancers may have had more rapid symptom progression, but not a longer delay before presentation.</p>","PeriodicalId":19720,"journal":{"name":"Nigerian Postgraduate Medical Journal","volume":"29 3","pages":"268-271"},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2022-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"40641555","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Strengthening the oral health system in Nigeria: A health systems building block approach.","authors":"Mcking Izeiza Amedari,&nbsp;Eyitope O Ogunbodede,&nbsp;Omolara G Uti,&nbsp;Adetayo O Aborisade,&nbsp;Ifeoma Katerine Amedari","doi":"10.4103/npmj.npmj_127_22","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4103/npmj.npmj_127_22","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Aim: </strong>The present study aimed to describe the building blocks of the oral health system, including the role that the community plays in strengthening the oral health system in Nigeria.</p><p><strong>Methodology: </strong>This research was a scoping review of the existing literature retrieved from search engines and databases. Thus, we utilised grey literature, peer-reviewed literature, policy documents and websites. The oral health system was analysed using the World Health Organisation's Health systems framework, and we adapted this framework by introducing a seventh block, community participation. We also inserted the links between the oral health service delivery and oral health workforce blocks of the framework to improve the oral health outcomes.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>More dental clinics are required to improve the availability and accessibility of oral health services. Dental workforce expansion is imperative. This can be approached by training of junior cadre dental professionals and incorporating community health practitioners to deliver basic oral care. There is an unregulated access to medication to treat dental conditions; hence, oral disease treatments need to be included in the country's treatment guidelines to improve standard of care. The government needs to improve on overall health spending and invariably increase oral health care allocation urgently. Furthermore, the country's stewardship of oral health care is hinged on well disseminated and implemented national policies on oral health. The oral health system can achieve its overall goals with community participation, engagement and ownership.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Strengthening the oral health system in Nigeria requires urgent attention on each building block and cross-cutting interventions across the system's building blocks. The role of the community will need to be recognised because it is vital in sustaining any organisational change.</p>","PeriodicalId":19720,"journal":{"name":"Nigerian Postgraduate Medical Journal","volume":"29 3","pages":"173-182"},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2022-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"40639023","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}