Background Nigeria, with a population growth rate (2000-2005) of 2.5% and with 5% of the total population aged 60 years and above, has the potential for a rapid growth rate of the older population in coming years.1 The implication of this in a country with large population as reported by the National Population Census 2006, limited number of health care professionals and care homes, is difficulty in meeting the various needs of the elderly, hence, the importance of identifying the palliative care needs of the elderly. Aim The study was set out to assess the palliative care needs of and provision of care to elderly patients seen in the selected clinics of the University College Hospital, Ibadan, Oyo state, Nigeria. Objectives 1. To describe characteristics of elderly patients seen in the selected clinics. 2. To explore the current use of the hospital palliative care team in the care of geriatric patient. 3. To explore the current use of the hospital palliative care team in the care of geriatric patient. Methods A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted over a 3-month period using an interviewer administered questionnaire after full consent was given by participants. The questionnaire was a combination of the Africa Palliative Care Outcome Scale (APCA-POS), the Edmonton Symptom Assessment Scale (ESAS) and Hope Spiritual Assessment Tool. Demographic information regarding gender, age, nationality, abode and referral to the Care Centre was obtained. Scaled questions from selected tools were ticked with respect to physical, psychosocial and spiritual needs and expectations of palliative care. The validated data collection tools (APCA-POS, ESAS, HOPE) were used in the questionnaire. Ethical approval was obtained from the relevant organizations. Data was analysed using IBM SPSS statistics 21. Results 424 participants completed the questionnaire and most patients (330; 77.8%) were recruited from the geriatric wards with a 2:1 female to male ratio. Most participants fell in the 60 -69 year-old age group. The most common symptom was pain in 240 patients with moderate pain in single or multiple areas. A high percentage (45.8%) were moderately worried about their disease condition and only 66 out of 422 freely discussed this feeling with their family members. Other symptoms observed were nausea, vomiting, constipation and loss of appetite. Conclusion The study showed the palliative care needs of the elderly and calls for collaboration between the palliative care team and the physicians in the geriatric unit for better management of the needs of the elderly.

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The approach to water management worldwide is currently in transition, with a shift from centralised infrastructures to greater consideration of decentralised technologies, such as rainwater harvesting (RWH). Initiated by recognition of drivers, including water demand, increasing risk of ground-water pollution and flooding, the value of RWH is filtering across the academic-policy boundary. However, in Nigeria, implementation of sustainable water management (SWM), such as RWH systems, is inefficient social, environmental and technical barriers, concerns and knowledge gaps exist, which currently restrict its widespread utilisation. This inefficiency contributes to water scarcity, water-borne diseases, and loss of lives and property due to flooding. Meanwhile, several RWH technologies have been developed to improve SWM through both demand and storm-water management. Such technologies involve the use of storage tanks, surface water reservoirs and ground-water recharge pits as storage systems. A framework was developed to assess the significance and extent of water management problems, match the problems with existing RWH-based solutions and develop a robust ready-to-use multi-criteria analysis tool that can quantify the costs and benefits of implementing several RWH-based storage systems. The methodology adopted was the mixed method approach, involving a detailed literature review, followed by a questionnaire survey of 1067 household respondents, 135 Nigerian Architects and Civil Engineers and focus group discussion with Stakeholders. A total of 1042 sets of data were collected through a questionnaire survey and analysed using SPSS, Excel and selected statistical methods to derive weightings of the attributes for the tool. Following this, three case studies were selected to collect data for hydrological modelling using the RainCycle model. From the results it is found that the most important barrier constraining sustainable RWH regime in Ibadan was obsolete and insufficient operational equipment, followed by poor renumeration of water corporation staff and misuse of available funds. In addition, the measure of importance of storage capacity was established, with the highest score of 4.5 which reflects the general inadequacy of storage as a major barrier to the adoption of RWH as a sustainable water management method. Further, respondents’ major health hazards associated with drinking contaminated water was established. A larger proportion (61.2%) of respondents chose prevalence of typhoid fever; some have a prevalence of diarrhea (19.4%), while few of respondents’ water sources is free from water-borne diseases (2.3%). The tool developed is an integrated platform of related evaluation techniques, including Whole Life Cycle Cost Analysis and Multi-Attribute Utility Theory. The tool uses data including cost and quantities of materials for building a RWH storage system and quantifies the cost and benefits of alternative RWH-based systems that can improve project management. This tool is novel, given its integration of the analytical techniques mentioned above and application for selecting the most appropriate RWH-based SWM systems. The implementation of the tool is envisaged to provide an objective platform for the quantification of the costs and benefits of RWH-based systems prior to implementation.