Resources

Monkeypox: Did the Nigerian media do more harm than good?

The objective of this study was to describe the kind of information published by the media during the Monkeypox outbreak in Nigeria. Although most of the information reported were from verifiable sources, there was a high level of sensationalism around the Monkeypox outbreak which heightened public anxiety. Health reporters and the media in Nigeria should be trained on how to accurately report disease outbreak reports and health facts.

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Knowledge, attitude and practice to Lassa fever virus among shop owners in four community markets in a military barrack in Kaduna state, Nigeria

This resource describes the results of a Knowledge, attitude and practice survey conducted amongst shop owners of four community markets in a military barrack in Kaduna state, Nigeria. The findings in this study show that the respondents have a good knowledge, and positive attitudes and practices towards Lassa fever virus. Nonetheless, awareness programs should continue, proper medical care should be provided for the sick, and protective gears should be available to health care workers.

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Awareness of Lassa fever in a rural community in South West Nigeria

The study showed that there was poor awareness of Lassa fever among members of the community. Thus efforts should be made to increase the awareness of the populace through health campaigns, and to reduce the spread of both the vector and the virus.

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Public awareness of Lassa fever in three rural communities of Nigeria

This resource aims to assess public awareness of Lassa fever among residents of three rural communities in Edo State, Nigeria through the use of a structured questionnaire. The television was the most popular source of Lassa fever awareness in all communities studied. Among participants who reported to have heard of Lassa fever, vehicles of transmission of disease mentioned included mosquito bites 9 (32.1%), dog bites 7 (25%) and eating of rat-contaminated food 2 (7.1%). Sleeping under mosquito bed nets and intake of herbal concoction were the principal mode of prevention of Lassa fever reported by respondents.

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Power, fairness and trust : understanding and engaging with vaccine trial participants and communities in the setting up the EVOVAC-Salone vaccine trial in Sierra Leone

In this article the authors discuss the implementation of an Ebola vaccine trial in Kambia district in Sierra Leone during and after the epidemic. They analyze the role of social science research for the development of community engagement strategies. The authors give special attention to the analysis of rumours as source of information and explanation about resistance rooted in a much deeper sociopolitical context.

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Rat-Atouille: A mixed method study to characterize rodent hunting and consumption in the context of Lassa fever

This paper investigated the consumption of rodents, including the reservoir species of Lassa fever, and found this is widespread and does not neatly tally against generational or gender lines. Further, it found that the reasons for rodent consumption are multifactorial, including taste preferences, food security, and opportunistic behaviour.

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Land tenure in Sierra Leone: the law, dualism, and the making of a land policy

This book gives a brief account of the background to the dual land tenure system in force in Sierra Leone and explains the reasons why the dualism derived from the different colonial experience of the former Colony and Protectorate of Sierra Leone still persists. It also gives an account of the main features of the English derived land law in the Western Area and of the forms of land holding in the Provinces which are governed predominately by customary law.

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