Introduction
The Health Visiting Unit in the department of Community Medicine propagates health promotion and disease prevention through Health Education, Counselling, Community outreaches, Immunization services, School health services and Home visitation of the patients and care-givers for continuity of care.
Details of these services rendered by the unit are stated below;
- Health assessment of patient/clients;
- History taking.
- Nursing diagnosis.
- Health teaching/education and counselling.
- Follow up visits in the wards and clinics.
- Case referrals.
- Health education/teaching on;
- Definition and explanation of various medical conditions such as;
- Diabetes mellitus
- Hypertension
- Anemia
- HIV/AIDS
- Sexually transmitted diseases
- Malignancies
- Causes
- Predisposing factors
- Signs and symptoms
- Prevention of infections
- Prevention of complications
- Adequate nutrition and hydration
- Importance of exercise
- Importance of early detection and prompt treatment of illness
- Drug side effects
- Personal and environmental hygiene
- Counselling sessions on;
- Health Promotion
- Healthy living
- Behavioral change
- Follow up visits
- Advise on discharge
- Importance of keeping to hospital appointment
- Home visitation
- Definition and explanation of various medical conditions such as;
- Health teaching/education on;
- Definition and explanations on various surgical conditions such as
- Benign prostatic hypertrophy.
- Bladder outlet obstruction.
- Open heart surgeries.
- Undescended testis
- Cancer
- Preoperative psychological care to patients and caregivers .
- Post-operative advice on;
- Importance of exercise.
- Adequate nutrition.
- Prevention of infection.
- Prevention of complication.
- Catheter care.
- Drug compliance.
- Personal and environmental hygiene.
- Counseling sessions on;
- Behavioral change.
- Change of job.
- Change of accommodation.
- Health promotion.
- Follow up visits
- Advise on discharge
- Importance of keeping to hospital appointments
- Others
- Definition and explanations on various surgical conditions such as
- Health education and explanations on;
- Various gynaecological and obstetrics conditions such as
- Malaria in Pregnancy
- Anaemia in pregnancy
- Infertility
- Pre-eclampsia
- HIV/AIDS in pregnancy
- Ectopic pregnancy.
- Causes of gynecological conditions
- Causes of obstetrics conditions
- Signs and symptoms
- Predisposing factors
- Complications
- Management of conditions like;
- Infertility
- Prevention
- Family Planning
- Various gynaecological and obstetrics conditions such as
- Infant and child care
- Assessment of babies and children
- Care of newborns /infants
- Infant feeding and weaning
- Infant clothing
- Prevention of childhood diseases/infections
- Prevention of home accident
- Immunizations
- Other aspects of child care such as;
- School health services
- Home visitation
- Supporting children with special needs
- Other infant care
- Immunization Services which includes;
- All vaccine preventable diseases for both adults and children
- Other services include;
- Establishing and addressing key health needs such as;
- Nutritional needs
- Safety needs
- Avoidance of violence
- Sex education
- Parenting skills
- Coming to terms with illness such as;
- Depression
- Chronic illnesses
- Coping with disability
- Health promotion
- Prevention of home accidents
- Maintaining a ventilation system
- Providing information on local services like;
- Mass campaign on immunization
- Home Visitation where the following activities are carried out;
- Home assessment and readjustment to suite patient/client condition
- Health education
- Counselling
- Assessing wound healing and changes
- Assessing other treatment at home
- Referral services
- Health outreach program and school health services where the following services are rendered;
- Health education
- Client assessment that involves the following;
- History taking
- Physical assessment
- Temperature check
- Pulse check
- Respiration count
- Blood pressure check
- Blood glucose check
- Counseling of clients on prevailing health conditions
- Treatment of minor ailments
- Referral of complex cases
- Prevention of illness
- Health promotion
- Childhood immunization
- Adult immunization
- Environmental assessment
- Disease surveillance
- Case tracing
- Screening and identification of defects
- Other job description continues;
- A Health education and counseling on mental health as follows;
- Understanding the signs and symptoms of mental illness from mild to severe forms of mental illnesses.
- Mental problems viz;
- Myths about mental illnesses
- Common causes of mental illnesses
- Predisposing factors
- Precipitating factors
- Maintaining factors
- Types of mental illnesses
- Mental health promotion activities viz;
- Advantages of sleep
- Stress management
- How to live a healthy lifestyle
- Early recognition of mental illnesses
- Coping mechanisms like adaptive (positive) methods and maladaptive (negative) methods
- Relaxation
- Ventilation and its importance.
- A Health education and counseling on mental health as follows;
- Establishing and addressing key health needs such as;
The unit in addition collaborates with WHO to carry out National Immunization plus days, contact tracing and disease surveillance for communicable and noncommunicable diseases continually and during epidemics.
The staff disposition of the unit is as follows;
Mrs Okelu F U ADCH/Head HVU
Mrs Solomon C C ADPHED
Mrs Ezeala Adikaibe N P ADPHED
Mrs Ikeme O C CNO
Mrs Agupusi I N ACPHN
Mrs Agadeze Nnenna ACPHN
Mrs Madu N B ACPHN
Mrs Nweze J C ACPH