PREVENTION

The study looks at the topic “Evaluating the Effectiveness of ITV’s Izigan Programme in Cultism Awareness and Prevention in Benin City. The objectives of this study were to assess the effectiveness of ITV’s Izigan programme in raising public awareness about cultism in Benin City. To evaluate the influence of the Izigan programme on youth attitudes and behaviours toward cult-related activities.To examine the factors that affect audience reception, understanding, and engagement with the Izigan programme. To explore potential strategies for enhancing the content and delivery of the Izigan programme to improve its impact on cultism prevention. The study employed the Cultivation theory and the agenda-setting theory, and then the survey research design with a questionnaire as an instrument was used to collect responses from a sample size of 400. The study discovered that Izigan is highly effective in raising public awareness of cultism, while also maintaining relevance through audience engagement. It also found that through the consistent framing of cultism as a destructive social problem, Izigan cultivates rejection attitudes and reinforces preventive behaviours among youths. In addition, it was discovered that, while Izigan successfully engages its audience, infrastructural and institutional challenges remain significant barriers to its full potential in combating cultism. Lastly, it was found that enhancing the impact of Izigan requires strong involvement of security experts, expanded access through digital platforms, and the inclusion of more real-life stories. These strategies, supported by audience feedback, would improve credibility, engagement, and long-term effectiveness in cultism prevention. The study then recommended that the programme should collaborate more closely with security agencies, psychologists, and community leaders to provide expert perspectives that boost credibility and authority in addressing cultism. Moreso, to overcome barriers like poor electricity supply and reach a wider youth audience, Izigan should increase its presence on social media and other online platforms, making the content accessible anytime and anywhere. In addition, the inclusion of testimonies from former cult members, victims, and community stakeholders would make the programme’s message more relatable, impactful, and persuasive to viewers. Lastly, it was recommended that sustained coverage, dramatisations, and interactive segments should be developed to keep the issue of cultism at the forefront of public discourse, reinforcing long-term behavioural change among youths.

BACKGROUND xiv Child injury and violence remain major public health problems, especially in low- and middle-income countries where children are often exposed to unsafe environments, poor supervision, and harmful disciplinary practices, and caregivers play a central role in preventing these occurrences. OBJECTIVE To assess child injury and violence prevention practices in Ovia North-East Local Government Area, Edo State, to provide evidence that will improve child injury and violence prevention practices and reduce the health burden caused by these injuries. MATERIALS AND METHODS A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out among 572 primary caregivers of children aged 0– 17 years in Ovia North-East Local Government Area, Edo State. A multistage sampling technique was used to select respondents. Data were collected using a pretested, interviewer-administered structured questionnaire. Data analysis was done using IBM SPSS version 27. Descriptive statistics were presented as frequencies and percentages, while chi-square test and multivariate logistic regression were used to determine associations and predictors. Statistical significance was set at p < 0.05. RESULTS The majority of respondents were female (84.4%), married (81.3%), and aged 30–39 years (42.1%). All respondents were aware of child injury and violence. Overall, 64.9% had good knowledge, while 62.9% had a good attitude towards child injury and violence prevention. Falls, burns, and cuts were the most commonly identified forms of child injury, while physical abuse was the most commonly identified form of violence. Falls were also the most frequently reported injuries experienced by children under the caregivers’ care. A very high proportion of respondents reported witnessing violence against children, with physical abuse being the most common form observed. Overall, 71.7% of xv respondents had good preventive practices, although unsafe practices such as allowing unsupervised play and keeping medicines or hazardous substances within children’s reach were still noted. Factors significantly associated with child injury and violence prevention included age, education, marital setting, income, household size, and occupation. On multivariate analysis, age, education, and marriage type were significant predictors of knowledge, marriage type significantly predicted attitude, while occupation was a significant predictor for practice. CONCLUSION The study found that caregivers in Ovia North-East LGA generally had good knowledge, attitude, and practices regarding child injury and violence prevention. However, important gaps remain in specific areas of home safety and violence prevention. There is a need for sustained community-based health education, targeted caregiver support, and practical interventions aimed at improving child safety and reducing violence against children in the community. KEYWORDS: Child injury, child violence, Prevention, Caregivers, Knowledge, Attitude, Practices, Ovia North-East

The preceptorship programme was an intervention to increase the knowledge of Lassa fever prevention among health workers and patients in lily hospital at Oredo Local Government Area, Benin city, Edo State. Nigeria On getting approval from the department to carry out the preceptorship programmed in lily hospital, the researcher moved to the preceptorship programmed area. The researcher got an introductory letter from the Department of Health, Safety and Environmental Education, University of Benin which was submitted to the chief medical officer at lily hospital and was approved by the director

This study was conducted to find out the Knowledge and Attitudes Towards Prevention of Non-Communicable Diseases among Undergraduates in University of Benin. To therefore achieve the purpose of the study, four (4) research questions and four (4) hypotheses were raised and analyzed. A descriptive survey research design was employed, with a sample of 180 undergraduates selected using simple random sampling. Data were collected through a structured questionnaire with sections A, B and C. Section A seeks to elicit responses on the socio-demographic character of respondents, while Section B seeks to elicit responses on Level of Knowledge of NCDs among Undergraduates in University of Benin and C seeks to elicit information about Attitudes and Preventive Practices of NCDs amongUniversity of Benin undergraduates. The instrument was vali dated by the researcher’s supervisor and two experts in the Department of Health, Safety and Environmental Education (H.S.E.), Faculty of Education. To determine the reliability of the instrument, the internal consistency reliability was adopted. In this vein, twenty (20) copies of the instrument were administered to the respondents who were not part of the target population.