ORIGINAL ARTICLE |
|
Year : 2016 | Volume
: 17
| Issue : 2 | Page : 43-47 |
|
Prevalence and attitude of self-ear cleaning with cotton bud among doctors at aminu Kano teaching hospital, Northwestern Nigeria
Mukhtar Gadanya1, Sanusi Abubakar1, Abdulazeez Ahmed2, Amina Zangina Maje3
1 Department of Community Medicine, College of Health Sciences, Bayero University/Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, Kano, Nigeria 2 Department of Otorhinolaryngology, College of Health Sciences, Bayero University/Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, Kano, Nigeria 3 Department of Community Medicine, Faculty of Clinical Sciences, College of Health Sciences, Bayero University/Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, Kano, Nigeria
Correspondence Address:
Abdulazeez Ahmed Department of Otorhinolaryngology, College of Health Sciences, Bayero University/Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, Kano Nigeria
![Login to access the Email id](http://www.medknow.com/images/email.gif) Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None ![Crossref citations](http://www.medknow.com/journals/images/crossref.png) | Check |
DOI: 10.4103/1595-1103.194215
|
|
Background: The use of cotton bud for self-ear cleaning is a common practice among many people despite its attendant ill-effects. This study examined the prevalence, attitude toward the use of cotton buds, and reasons for the use of cotton buds and problems or ill-effects associated with its use among medical doctors working at Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital.
Materials and Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out among a randomly selected sample of 130 medical doctors working in Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital spread across several departments in the hospital using a self-administered semi-structured questionnaire. Data were analyzed using MINITAB statistical software and the results summarized using measures of central tendency while Chi-square test was used to assess for associations between categorical variables.
Results: The respondents' age ranged from 25 to 55 years with a mean age of 33.6 ± 5.4 years. Most of the respondents were males (68.0%) The prevalence of cotton bud use was found to be 76.3% and for many, the frequency of use of cotton buds was once daily, and both ears were frequently cleaned. A common problem encountered with cotton bud use was retention of the bud as a foreign body. There was an association between owning a cotton bud and using it (χ2 = 38.317, P= 0.001). There was also a significant association between the use of cotton buds and the department where the respondent works (χ2 = 19.28, P= 0.0001).
Conclusion: The use of cotton buds for self-ear cleaning is surprisingly prevalent among medical doctors working at Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital. There is a need for health education and promotion strategies for health workers in the hospital community that ear cleaning is best done by trained personnel. |
|
|
|
[FULL TEXT] [PDF]* |
|
![Email this article](/ServeContent?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.njsrjournal.org%2Ftemplates%2Ficon_mail.gif) |
|