International Journal of Natural Sciences: Current and Future Research Trends

An Assessment of Scavenging for Livelihood and its Health Implication at Gosa Dumpsite, Abuja, Nigeria

Aderonke P. AJAMA, Moses B. ADEWOLE, Ifeanyi E. OFOEZIE — Sun, 19 May 2024 00:00:00 +0000

This study investigated the activities and socio-economic drivers as well as health implications of solid waste on scavenging at the Gosa dumpsite, Abuja. Out of the total of 520 registered scavengers with the Abuja Environmental Protection Board, 487 consented and each was administered a structured questionnaire. The questionnaire elicited information such as demographic (gender, age, marital status, ethnicity, nationality and level of education), socio-economic variables (years spent scavenging and quantity and type of waste scavenge per day) and the health implication from waste scavenging. The study revealed that all the scavengers were male, young and adults and live within the vicinity of the Gosa dumpsite scavenging waste materials such as bottles, papers, cartons, irons, plastics, aluminium cans and electronic wastes. More than 50% of the waste pickers scavenged as much as 20 kg of solid wastes per day and over 90% of them sell the scavenged solid materials to recyclers. Most of the scavengers (93%) do not use protective gears as they claimed not to know the adverse effects of toxic materials on human health. Symptoms such as headache, sore throat and eye irritation were reported by these waste pickers. The study concluded that awareness and monitoring programmes on the risk related to scavenging activities should be organised for the scavengers at the dumpsite. It was recommended that poverty and unemployment were the two major drivers of waste scavenging in the Gosa dumpsite, Abuja.

OPD Capacity in the 21st Century: A Review of the Factors that Increase Patient Waiting Time

Maame Fosua Afrifa-Minka, Anubhav Sony — Sat, 27 Jan 2024 00:00:00 +0000

The OPD is the first point of call for patients in the hospital and requires operating at optimum capacity to ensure the smooth running of the hospital to maintain a good image to the public. Patients as individuals who are already discomforted either physically, mentally or socially require spending the shortest possible time in the hospital. The healthcare delivery system in the 21^st century has undergone several changes due to the adoption of technology geared towards improving services. The OPD is no exception where technology has been adopted to reduce long queues. Despite the technology, several other contributions make up the OPD such as hospital staff working at the OPD, the patients and tailor-made protocols peculiar to hospitals. An increase in the waiting time subsequently reduces patients' satisfaction and therefore probing the factors that cause it is vital to providing quick and quality healthcare services. Therefore, the goal of this study is to investigate and elaborate on the factors that contribute to the increase in patient waiting time at the OPD. Current studies fail to focus on the several factors that contribute to the increase in waiting times but instead provide solutions that address one or a few factors. Our review, therefore, provided several solutions after identifying that staffing, demand, OPD Billing, the type of hospital, OPD layout and communication were among the several factors that increase patient waiting time in the OPD in the 21^st century.