Obafemi Awolowo University Hospital Reports Findings in Managed Care (Influence of social disadvantage among children admitted to the pediatric emergency unit of a tertiary Hospital in Nigeria): Managed Care

2022 JUL 29 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Daily News -- New research on Managed Care is the subject of a report. According to news reporting originating from Ile Ife, Nigeria, by NewsRx correspondents, research stated, “Social disadvantage has an influence on the health of individuals. In developed countries, the prevalence, pattern of social disadvantage, and the outcome of admissions in socially disadvantaged children are under-studied.”

Our news editors obtained a quote from the research from Obafemi Awolowo University Hospital, “To determine the prevalence of social disadvantage, pattern of diseases, and illness outcomes among socially disadvantaged children. This was a prospective hospital-based study involving 400 patients who presented at the pediatric emergency unit (PEU) of a tertiary hospital in Southwest Nigeria. Information on socio-demography and history of illness was obtained from consecutive children using a proforma. The data was analyzed using SPSS version 20. The 400 participants comprised 276 male and 124 female giving a ratio of 2.2:1. Their age range was 1-14 years; the mean ± SD age was 4.6 ± 2.3. Three hundred (75%) of the children were socially disadvantaged. The social factors associated with social disadvantage were low income, unemployment of mothers, polygamous setting, single parenting, rural residence, and low registration for health insurance. There was a significant association between social disadvantage and the development of malaria (P = 0.03), pneumonia (P = 0.01), septicemia (P = 0.03), diarrhea diseases (P = 0.04), neonatal jaundice (P = 0.04), meningitis (P = 0.04), and protein-energy malnutrition (P = 0.003). Death was significantly worse among the children who are socially disadvantaged (P = 0.0001). Many children admitted to the PEU in Osogbo are socially disadvantaged. Children of low-income parents, unemployed mother, single parent, residents of rural places, and those without health insurance are more vulnerable to developing infectious disease as well as neonatal jaundice and protein-energy malnutrition.”

According to the news editors, the research concluded: “Socially disadvantage increases the risk of poor illness outcome (death).”

This research has been peer-reviewed.

For more information on this research see: Influence of social disadvantage among children admitted to the pediatric emergency unit of a tertiary Hospital in Nigeria. Nigerian Journal of Clinical Practice, 2022;25(7):1021-1028. Nigerian Journal of Clinical Practice can be contacted at: Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications, Wolters Kluwer India Pvt Ltd , A-202, 2ND Flr, Qube, C T S No 1498A-2 Village Marol, Andheri East, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India.

The news editors report that additional information may be obtained by contacting S. B. Oseni, Dept. of Pediatrics and Child Health, Obafemi Awolowo University Hospital, Ile-Ife, Osun-State, Nigeria. Additional authors for this research include E. Agelebe, O. J. Adebami, O. A. Oyedeji and A. O. Odeyemi.

Publisher contact information for the Nigerian Journal of Clinical Practice is: Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications, Wolters Kluwer India Pvt Ltd , A-202, 2ND Flr, Qube, C T S No 1498A-2 Village Marol, Andheri East, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India.

(Our reports deliver fact-based news of research and discoveries from around the world.)