{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,16]],"date-time":"2026-09-16T01:11:13Z","timestamp":1789521073603,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":0,"publisher":"African Journals Online (AJOL)","issue":"2","content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Afr H. Sci."],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a viral infection that has been reported in virtually every country. Healthcare workers (HCW) are more at risk of COVID-19 than the general population making them a priority group for vaccination. Before the roll out of COVID-19 vaccines in Nigeria, some HCW were using some repurposed, unapproved drugs to possibly prevent the disease. This study evaluated the frequency and pattern of drug use for COVID-19 prevention.\r\nMethods: This was a prospective cross-sectional study of HCW conducted in Southern Nigeria. Data was obtained from the participants using a questionnaire and blood sample was obtained for SARS-CoV-2 antibody testing. Data was analysed using the statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) version 23.\r\nResults: One hundred and sixty-six participants were enrolled in this study. Thirty-two (19.3%) of them had taken a repurposed medication as prophylaxis for COVID-19. The most used drugs were Vitamin C (9%), Azithromycin (8.4%) and Zinc (6.6%). History of contact with patient with confirmed COVID-19 and being a pharmacist were independent factors associated with the use of COVID-19 prophylaxis.\r\nConclusion: Several HCW in Nigeria take drugs to possibly prevent COVID-19. These medications may not offer significant protection against COVID-19. There is an urgent need to increase uptake of COVID-19 vaccines in HCW in Nigeria.\r\nKeywords: COVID-19; chemoprophylaxis; healthcare workers.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.4314\/ahs.v23i2.5","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2023,10,12]],"date-time":"2023-10-12T14:38:34Z","timestamp":1697121514000},"page":"37-42","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":2,"title":["The practice of using repurposed medications as chemoprophylaxis for COVID-19 by healthcare workers in a tertiary hospital in Southern Nigeria"],"prefix":"10.4314","volume":"23","author":[{"given":"Sylvanus","family":"B Udoette","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Asukwo","family":"E Onukak","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Victor","family":"A Umoh","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Akpabio","family":"A Akpabio","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"2895","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2023,7,13]]},"container-title":["African Health Sciences"],"original-title":[],"link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.ajol.info\/index.php\/ahs\/article\/download\/250585\/236915","content-type":"application\/pdf","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/www.ajol.info\/index.php\/ahs\/article\/download\/250585\/236915","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2023,10,12]],"date-time":"2023-10-12T14:41:00Z","timestamp":1697121660000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.ajol.info\/index.php\/ahs\/article\/view\/250585"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2023,7,13]]},"references-count":0,"journal-issue":{"issue":"2","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2023,7,13]]}},"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.4314\/ahs.v23i2.5","relation":{},"ISSN":["1729-0503","1680-6905"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1729-0503","type":"electronic"},{"value":"1680-6905","type":"print"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2023,7,13]]}}}