30 Public Health Final Year Project Topics and Ideas for Nigerian Students

Public health projects usually study a community or a group of people: what they know, what they do and what affects their health. That puts sampling, ethics and access to respondents at the centre. The best topics are narrow, local and doable.

Here are 30 ideas by area, with tips on choosing and writing yours.

Treat these as a starting point for a talk with your supervisor, and get permission and ethical approval before you collect any data.

What makes a good public health project topic

• A defined population and place. A named community, school, clinic or workplace.
• A clear variable. Knowledge, attitude, practice, prevalence, uptake, determinants or perception.
• Access. Can you reach respondents or records within your time?
• Ethics. Informed consent and confidentiality.
• Relevance. Does it address a real health problem?

30 topic ideas

Maternal, newborn and child health

1. Factors influencing antenatal care uptake among women in a selected community
2. Knowledge and practice of exclusive breastfeeding among mothers
3. Barriers to childhood immunisation completion in a selected local government area
4. Knowledge of family planning methods among women of reproductive age
5. Prevalence and determinants of child malnutrition among under-fives

Infectious disease

1. Knowledge and prevention practices of malaria among households
2. Awareness and utilisation of HIV testing services among young adults
3. Knowledge, attitude and practice of cholera prevention in a flood-prone community
4. Knowledge and practice of tuberculosis prevention among community members
5. Awareness and uptake of COVID-19 and other vaccines among adults

Non-communicable diseases

1. Knowledge and prevention practices of hypertension among adults
2. Awareness and screening for diabetes in a community
3. Prevalence of risk factors for non-communicable diseases among university staff or students
4. Awareness and screening practices for breast and cervical cancer among women
5. Physical activity and diet patterns among adolescents

Environmental and occupational health

1. Water, sanitation and hygiene practices in a rural community
2. Solid waste disposal practices and health risks in an urban settlement
3. Food safety practices among street food vendors
4. Occupational health and safety practices among market workers or factory staff
5. Indoor air pollution from cooking fuel and respiratory symptoms among women

Mental and behavioural health

1. Prevalence of substance use among secondary school students
2. Knowledge and attitude toward mental illness in a community
3. Stress and coping strategies among university students
4. Social media use and mental wellbeing among adolescents

Health systems and services

1. Utilisation of primary health care services in a selected community
2. Patient satisfaction with services at a primary health centre
3. Knowledge and use of health insurance among informal sector workers
4. Role of community health workers in health promotion
5. Health-seeking behaviour of residents during illness
6. Effectiveness of health education in improving hand hygiene among school pupils

Choosing a topic you can finish

Start from a health problem people in your community already talk about. Then narrow it to one population, one place and one issue.

Check who will let you collect data, and plan consent and ethics early, because approval can take weeks. Show your supervisor before you commit. More help: how to choose a final year project topic and how to calculate sample size.

Writing your public health project

Public health projects usually follow the five-chapter format. Chapter Three should state the study design (often descriptive cross-sectional), study area, population, sample size and sampling technique, instrument, validity and reliability, ethics and data analysis.

• Chapter Three: methodology
• Cronbach's alpha for your questionnaire
• Analyse questionnaire data with SPSS
• Interpret Likert scale mean scores

Interested in the field itself? See is public health worth studying in Nigeria?

Getting help with the report

The MonoEd FYP Generator drafts chapters from real published sources, and you can paste your supervisor's outline so it follows your department's headings. Chapters 1 and 2 of your first project are free. It won't make up results, so your data (or your build) has to be your own. There's also a proposal generator.

You'll defend this work in person, so know every section well. These defence questions are good practice.

If your programme has a practicum or SIWES, keep your logbook well. See the Public Health SIWES report guide and the MonoEd SIWES Logbook. Curious about the field itself? Read is public health worth studying in Nigeria?

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What are good public health project topics?

Knowledge, attitude and practice studies on malaria, immunisation, hygiene, hypertension and family planning are common and doable.

What design do these projects use?

Descriptive cross-sectional surveys are the most common.

Do I need ethical approval?

Usually yes when you collect data from people. Ask your department how to apply.

How big should my sample be?

It depends on your population and design. See how to calculate sample size and ask your supervisor.

How many chapters does it have?

Most schools use five. Check your department's format.