The African Journal of Primary Health & Family Medicine welcomes submissions that encourage scholarly exchange between family medicine and primary health care researchers and practitioners across Africa and the developing world, whilst providing a contextual and holistic view of family medicine as practiced across the continent.

Background: Patient-centered care (PCC) approach has continued to gain recognition globally as the key to providing quality healthcare. However, this concept is not fully integrated into the management of primary health care (PHC) in existing nursing practice due to numerous challenges. Among these challenges is the perception of nursing on PCC in the Primary Health Care system. This study seeks to present the results of qualitative research performed at various selected PHC centres on nurses’ perceptions in PCC practice. This study aim was to explore the perception of nurses on PCC. Methods: A qualitative action research approach was adopted. The study involved 30 local government PHC centres located in Osun State Southwest of the federal republic of Nigeria. Data was collected through a semi-structured interview guide questions. Thereafter, data analysis was performed using thematic analysis and NVivo 12 software to generate themes, subthemes, and codes. Results: PCC perceptions of nurses that was revealed in our findings were categorised into positive and negative themes. The negative themes include: poor approach by the nurses and lack of enforcement agency. The positive themes that emerged include: outcome driven healthcare, valued care provider, communication to sharpen care and driven healthcare service. Conclusion: There is need for continuous training, and upgrading of nurses in line with global recommended standards of providing quality healthcare service delivery to the people. Therefore, the federal and state governments and local government council through the Nursing and Midwifery Council body should regulate, supervise, monitor and enforce the use and implementation of PCC in the PHC healthcare system.

BACKGROUND: A key dimension of a quality healthcare to patients is patient-centered care approach which is increasingly gaining recognition worldwide. However, this concept is not fully implemented in practice. AIM: The aim of this study is to provide outcomes from assessment of nurses’ perceptions about patient-centered care and the current trends in Primary Health Care system in South West Nigeria. METHODS: This study employed a qualitative participatory action research study approach and conducted a semi-structured individual interview with thirty-five nurses and four focus group discussions in Osun State South West Nigeria Primary Health Care centres. RESULTS: Primary Health Care (PHC) nurses perceived and described patient-centered care (PCC) as a global approach to improve and enhance nursing care to foster patient participation. The narratives were categorised into two: positive and negative perception. Ten main themes emerged: (I) Attitude of the nurses (ii) Lack of enforcement and implementation, (iii) Experience of the nurses, (iv) Quality-Caring, (v) Effective communication with patient, (vi) Motivated and Proactive healthcare, (vii) Sharpen the form of care, (viii) Outcome and after-effect driven healthcare, (ix) Approved support, and (x) Guarantor of service and motivation. CONCLUSION: Our participatory action research study on the assessment of nurses’ perception on the utilization of PCC at the PHC for effective and quality healthcare service revealed the importance of nurses’ role, acceptability of PCC and current nursing care practice at the Primary Health Care (PHC) rural community setting. Nurses as healthcare providers expressed PCC as a common and global approach that would enhance patient experiences and improves the quality of nursing healthcare delivery through integration of PCC and healthcare service at the PHC healthcare system.

BACKGROUND: Teaching and learning are like two composites sides of a coin. While the indispensability of teaching to knowledge and skill acquisition among professionals including nurses is never in doubt, certain teaching methods have been proven to yield more fruitful results than others. This study therefore explored the lived experience of nurse educators regarding teaching methods and the challenges encountered in nursing education institutions in South West Nigeria. METHODOLOGY: A qualitative inquiry research approach was used. Fifteen nursing educators were purposively selected from three nursing institutions in South West Nigeria with at least one year of teaching experience. Data was collected through semi-structured, in-depth individual interviews with the selected participants. All interview sessions were audio recorded with participants' permission and later transcribed verbatim. Thereafter, the collected data was analyzed using thematic content analysis. RESULTS: The study identified a number of factors that hindering teaching methods that support students learning by nurse educators. Results showed six themes viz: Inadequate preparedness of the students for higher education; Insufficient facilitation skills of the teachers; Misconceptions about teaching practices; Resource constraints; Resistance to change; and Lack of incentives. Further analysis revealed that the dynamic changes occurring in the health care professions, require a radical shift in the way nursing students are taught, to develop them into competent nurses of the future, who are capable of using their skills to solve the health care needs of the populace. CONCLUSIONS: The effective use of teaching methods is the cornerstone of the future of general nursing and nursing practice. Nurses need to be trained with an objective to become skilled and competent through effective teaching and learning by taking into account the diversity of higher education institutions and responding effectively to the needs of nursing educators and nursing students, as well as institutional demands.

Background: The World Health Organization recognises injuries as a growing global public health problem. While there are several causes of injuries and trauma, relevant research is mostly centred on road traffic accidents, burns, and drowning with less focus on violence-related injuries/trauma such as sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV). To identify priority research topics, prioritisation, and development of practice guidelines to mitigate the impact of injuries/trauma resulting from SGBV, this systematic scoping review will aim to map and describe the range of research relating to injuries/trauma due to SGBV in the global context. Methods: A scoping review guided by Arksey and O’Malley’s methodological framework will be conducted. Literature relating to injuries/trauma and SGBV will be searched in PubMed, SCOPUS, and PsycINFO, CINAHL, Web of Science, Google Scholar, Trip, guideline repositories, websites, and reference list of included articles. This study will include evidence sources focused on the epidemiological burden, guidelines for out-of-hospital and in-hospital care of victims, barriers or facilitators to reporting and obtaining healthcare, and approaches for mitigating injuries/trauma due to SGBV. The search will be limited to publications within 10 years (2012 to 2023). Two authors will apply the eligibility criteria to identify potentially relevant citations. The data will be extracted in duplicate and methodological quality assessed using varied tools (Mixed Method Quality Appraisal Tool; and Appraisal of Guidelines, Research and Evaluation instrument). The study will be reported in keeping with the Preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses extension for scoping reviews. Discussion: The scoping review will highlight existing literature on injuries/trauma due to SGBV and identify gaps to facilitate research prioritisation, development of guidelines, and resource allocation to alleviate the impact of injuries/trauma resulting from SGBV. This study’s findings will be disseminated via a series of meetings with key stakeholders (local and international) in the field of healthcare, policy, social welfare, GBV interest groups, and others. Also, the final scoping review results will be presented at relevant workshops, meetings, and conferences. Moreover, this study’s findings will be disseminated via journal publications and policy briefs.

The African Journal of Primary Health & Family Medicine welcomes submissions that encourage scholarly exchange between family medicine and primary health care researchers and practitioners across Africa and the developing world, whilst providing a contextual and holistic view of family medicine as practiced across the continent.