LIFESTYLE MEDICINE CLINIC – UPTH – University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital

LIFESTYLE MEDICINE CLINIC

The Lifestyle Medicine Centre at the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital (UPTH) is a pioneering clinical, training, and research facility dedicated to the prevention, management, and reversal of chronic diseases through evidence-based lifestyle interventions.
It commenced operations in January 2018 at NHIS Clinic and relocated to its permanent site in August 2022.

The Centre is the first government-owned Lifestyle Medicine Centre in Sub-Saharan Africa, representing a landmark step in integrating Lifestyle Medicine into public tertiary healthcare. It provides structured lifestyle-based care to address the growing burden of non-communicable diseases in Nigeria and across the region.

The Centre is directed by Dr Obianma Onya, an International Board Certified Lifestyle Medicine Physician, and operates within the academic framework of UPTH as both a clinical service and a training hub.

Clinical Services

Patients receive comprehensive lifestyle-based care by a multi-disciplinary team, aimed at addressing the root causes of chronic disease. Services include:

Comprehensive Lifestyle Medicine consultations

Lifestyle risk assessment and metabolic screening

Nutrition and weight management programs

Sleep health assessment and counselling

Physical activity prescription

Stress management and behavioural coaching

Group lifestyle education programs

Corporate wellness initiatives

The Centre supports prevention and management of conditions such as hypertension, diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular disease, sleep disorders, and other lifestyle-related chronic illnesses.

Training and Capacity Building

As a recognized training centre for Lifestyle Medicine, the UPTH Lifestyle Medicine Centre provides education and capacity building for:

•Medical doctors

•Resident physicians

•Medical students

•Allied health professionals

•Public health practitioners

Training programs focus on the clinical application of Lifestyle Medicine principles and the integration of lifestyle interventions into routine healthcare practice.

Research and Innovation

The Centre also serves as a platform for research and innovation in Lifestyle Medicine, contributing to the development of locally relevant strategies for preventing and managing chronic diseases in Africa.

Our Mission

To advance the practice of Lifestyle Medicine through clinical care, professional training, and research, improving health outcomes and reducing the burden of chronic disease in Nigeria and beyond.

Prospect:
The Lifestyle Medicine clinic aspires to be a stand-alone clinic serving both walk-in and NHIS clinic patients with an independent revolving fund.

The clinic looks forward to greater interdepartmental collaboration.

It looks forward to a team of trained healthcare professionals undertaking its activities. These include a nurse, exercise physiologist, nutrition counselor all trained in lifestyle medicine.

The infrastructural needs of the clinic include a one-stop facility with a clinic area, laboratory, gym area, culinary kitchen. Further services would include disease reversal programmes, Exercise in the workplace program etc.

The Institute changed to the collegiate system in 1982 and by 1983 when there was dire need of an appropriate clinical training centre that would also meet accreditation requirement. This necessitated the movement of the hospital from Emohua to the Rivers State Government-owned General hospital in Port Harcourt Township under the headship of Prof. A. A. Obuoforibo, who was the second Provost of the College and Chief Medical Director of the hospital. This movement gave the opportunity for the growth of the Department of Paediatrics and Child Health both in its undergraduate, postgraduate and healthcare service delivery programmes. The hospital finally moved to its permanent site at Alakahia in 2006.

The second set of Residents include Drs. Idigo, N. A. Akani, A. Okah, A.A Asinnobi, Alikor E.A.D and in 1986 Dr. A. U. Eneh who transferred from the Department of Medicine. Drs. Alikor, Asinobi, and Okah later left for University College Hospital, Ibadan.

Dr. (Mrs.) F. Eke joined the department in 1985 and assumed headship of the Department until 1986. Thereafter, Dr. R. S. Oruamabo became the head. During this period, some staff of the General Hospital worked in collaboration with the department and these included Drs. C. T. Wari-Toby, Ogunkunle, and Arora, although the last two left. Some visiting lecturers also contributed their quota.

For adequate training of the medical students and residents, the following facilities were established in the hospital.

Children’s Emergency Ward (CHEW)
Children’s Medical Wards which operates two wards each with a capacity of 48 beds with the possibility of horizontal expansion.
Special Care Baby Unit and Newborn Intensive Care Unit: This is made up of two inborn and one outborn wards.
Clinics: There are General Outpatients’ clinic and Consultants’ clinics. Today, we run specialty clinics like Neonatology, Nephrology, Endocrinology, Haemoatology, Oncology and Palliative, Neurology, Cardiology, Community Paediatrics, Infectious Disease, and Adolescent clinic

The Department relocated to its 2-storey building permanent block in 2010. This block has the children emergency ward (CHEW), children outpatient (CHOP), clinic, consultant paediatric clinic (CPC), diarrhoea and respiratory training unit, side laboratory and a satellite pharmacy on the ground floor.

Staff Strength

The Department which started off with only 2 lecturers has through its activities and capacity building increased its staff strength to 20 with the following cadres: nine (9) Professors, twelve (12) Senior lecturers. Apart from three Professors, the other members of staff started and finished their residency programmes at the UPTH and were subsequently employed by the University for the Department. Prof. R. S. Oruamabo retired in 2007 and Prof. F Eke in 2017.

Residency/Training Programmes

Training Programmes Offered (Include duration, scope, certification):

The department runs a robust and fully accredited post graduate Paediatrics training program in tandem with the curricula of the faculties of Paediatrics of both the National Post Graduate Medical College of Nigeria and the West African College of Physicians. The training culminates in the Fellowship qualifications of both colleges (FWACP(Paed) and FMCPaed) and also supports the Doctor of Medicine (MD) Program in Paediatrics which is offered solely by the National Post Graduate Medical College.

Candidates to be admitted into the residency training program MUST posses a Pass in the Primary fellowship examination in Paediatrics of the National Post Graduate Medical College and /or the West African College of Physicians, completion of the mandatory National Youth Service Corps or a certificate of exemption in addition to a good primary medical qualification (MB.;BS/MBBCh/MBChB) from a recognized institution as well as a valid license to practice and full registration with the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria.

Procedures / Specialized Services Rendered

Paediatric HIV and Anti-retroviral Therapy and follow-up.

Paediatric Nephrology including Renal Biopsy and Peritoneal Dialysis

Paediatric Cardiology services including Echocardiography and Electroencephalography (ECG)

Paediatric HIV and Anti-retroviral Therapy and follow-up.

Paediatric Nephrology including Renal Biopsy and Peritoneal Dialysis

Tertiary Neonatal services including Incubator care, respiratory support such as CPAP , Phototherapy , exchange blood transfusions etc

Paediatric Endocrinology and Diabetes Clinics

Social Paediatrics and child safeguarding Services

Paediatric Dermatology Services including Skin Biopsy

Paediatric Respiratology services including Bronchial Asthma and Allergy

Child Neurology Services including Electroencephalography

Bone marrow aspiration procedure

Cancer chemotherapy

Notable Achievements

Training Programmes Offered (Include duration, scope, certification):

Clinic Days & Time (Include specialty clinic days)

Mondays: Infectious Disease Clinic & Endocrinology Clinic

Tuesdays: Neonatology Clinic & Nephrology

Wednesday: Community/Preventive & Oncology &Social Paediatrics &Dermatology

Thursday: Haematology & Cardiology

Friday: Neurology & Pulmunology

Departmental Achievements

Despite the challenges of clinical practice, the Department of Paediatrics and Child Health has achieved remarkable milestones. A major breakthrough was the successful management of an extremely low birth weight preterm baby—born at 24 weeks and weighing just 480 grams—who was discharged home in stable condition at 1.5 kg after 80 days of admission.

Academically, the department prides itself on a strong faculty, including 50 Professorial staff members—the highest in the College of Health Sciences, University of Port Harcourt. This strength reflects in the outstanding performance of residents in postgraduate examinations. Over the years, our residents have earned multiple awards, including Dr. Chinwe Ogbonnaa-Njoku and Dr. Vivien Okoduwa as best Part 1 candidates at WACP and NPMCN in 2019 and 2022 respectively. Drs. Datonye C. Briggs and Sopakirite Douglas also won the Olubunmi Robin Coker Prize for Best Dissertation in 2019 and 2023, and both received the Kunle Ijayi Award for Best Oral Presentation at subsequent PANCONF conferences.

For more details on the scope of work see

UPTH Service Charter.
For Protocol of service; see UPTH Service Charter.

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