Assessing the role of biorepositories in outbreak management in Nigeria

Abstract

Low and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs) such as Nigeria have a high burden of infectious diseases occurrence particularly in major urban centres with consistently increasing population without a proportional increase in access to utilities. This makes the efficient management of outbreaks a significant public health challenge. It is proposed that an integration of biobanking practices into public health strategies predispose to an enhanced outbreak management in LMICs including Nigeria. Biobanks store valuable biospecimen of different nature which can be studied retrospectively and actively before and during an outbreak to get to understand disease mechanisms and epidemiology. They are also able to provide samples used to develop diagnostics, and to create new treatments protocols. The theoretical framework for this study combined public health model, biobanking governance theories, and systems theory. The study deployed a mixed-methods design where pure quantitative figures on performance are complemented by contextual and stakeholder-related data. The population under investigation consists of biobanks and relevant stakeholders involved in disease outbreak management in Nigeria. a cross-sectional questionnaire survey. To describe biobank performance measures, basic statistics such as arithmetic means and standard deviations was employed. Pearson correlations and multiple regression analysis was used to identify the associations of independent factors. The model clearly states that there are multiple factors driving biobank suggests that biobank efficacy in managing disease outbreaks. The report highlights the essential function of biobanks in managing disease outbreaks and also showed that biobanking effectiveness will be reinforced when infrastructural and governance issues are removed with consistent good management practices spread across the country and this will impact positive on outbreak management.

Date of Award	2025
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Medical University Graz
Supervisor	Berthold Huppertz (Supervisor)