ABSTRACT Background Stroke is one of the major determinants of mortality and a significant contributor to the global disease burden. It is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in developed and developing countries imposing enormous economic burden on individuals and society. Available data indicate that stroke is an emerging problem in Sub-Saharan Africa. Most stroke survivors usually experience limitation in physical functioning and require physiotherapy and rehabilitative services i...
ABSTRACT Essential medicines are selected to meet the priority health needs of majority of the population. The World Health Organization has set a benchmark of 80% availability of these essential medicines in health facilities. However, over 50% of the population in Low and Middle Income Countries still lack access with only about 30% of the medicines being available to them in both public and private health facilities. In Ghana, availability is still low with only about 17% of essential medi...
ABSTRACT An appraisal of intersectoral collaboration on PHC in the Asante-Akim North District in October 1995 revealed that though PHC is high amongst the developmental priorities of the Assembly, there is hardly any effort to coordinate the activities of the various sectors engaged in the promotion of PHC. Despite much common ground for collaboration, horizontal linkages amongst the decentralised departments engaged in PAC. activities remain weak or nonexistent An analytical framework adapte...
ABSTRACT Background Globally over 195 million pre-school children are vitamin A deficient, whilst in Ghana, it was estimated that 72 % of pre-school children are vitamin A deficient. Periodic administration of high dose vitamin A capsules is currently used as a prevention strategy, but this requires appropriate healthcare infrastructure and is donor dependent, hence may not be sustainable if donor support is withdrawn. Inadequate dietary intake of vitamin A-rich foods is a major etiological f...
ABSTRACT The peri-urban community of Prampram is characterized by filthy and choked open drains, indiscriminate waste disposal and open defecation. Waste handlers engage in different types of activities such as sweeping, collection, transportation and disposal with little or no personal protection and thus are often confronted with serious public health problems related to their work. The purpose for this study was to assess the different degrees of health risks associated with different acti...
ABSTRACT Background: The availability of skilled care during pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum period ensures the best chances of delivering a healthy infant with no complication to the mother. Huge disparities in health exist between urban and rural dwellers but recent research has shown that the urban poor sometimes have worse maternal health outcomes than rural dwellers. Community-based interventions have been shown to foster interactions between pregnant women and health care prov...
ABSTRACT Introduction: Mother-to-Child-Transmission (MTCT) of HIV is a global health problem. Recent advances in the Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission (PMTCT) program have provided the means to drastically reduce infant mortality associated with HIV/AIDS. Quality HIV testing and counselling (HTC) is an important gateway to PMTCT services and concerted effort has been made by the National AIDS/STI Control Program (NACP) to scale up the provision of antenatal HTC in Ghana. Some concern...
ABSTRACT Background Cholera is an intestinal disease caused by the bacterium vibro cholerae. The disease is characterized by severe watery diarrhoea with vomiting and severe dehydration. It is spread through faecal-oral route from an infected person and fomites (surfaces). In 1982, Ghana recorded as many as 15,032 cases considered as the highest in a single year. Since 1970, the trend of cholera outbreak has changed, from the usual occurrence of one in every 4 - 6 years to a more frequent typ...
ABSTRACT The declining malaria burden in endemic regions is predicted to increase the proportion of malaria infections that progress to cerebral malaria (CM). This epidemiologic scenario appears ominous against the backdrop of a poor understanding of CM pathogenesis, lack of effective adjunctive therapies, and poor prognosis after onset. Thus, the need to better understand the pathogenesis of CM has become more apparent. To better understand the pathogenesis of CM, this study explored both ge...
ABSTRACT Background Globally over 195 million pre-school children are vitamin A deficient, whilst in Ghana, it was estimated that 72 % of pre-school children are vitamin A deficient. Periodic administration of high dose vitamin A capsules is currently used as a prevention strategy, but this requires appropriate healthcare infrastructure and is donor dependent, hence may not be sustainable if donor support is withdrawn. Inadequate dietary intake of vitamin A-rich foods is a major etiological f...
ABSTRACT BACKROUND: Induced abortion has been reported to be the third most significant cause of maternal mortality globally. Whereas the prevalence in the developed countries is declining due to an increased use of contraceptives, the same cannot be said about developing countries. In Ghana 60% of all those who seek for abortion services are below the age of 30years. In the Hohoe municipality of Ghana, more than two-thirds of all maternal deaths recorded in 2006 were due to the complications...
ABSTRACT Background: Most developing countries still suffer from anaemia as a major public health concern. Anaemia results in maternal morbidity and mortality and also has significant influence on the development of the foetus. This study seeks to determine the prevalence and associated factors of anaemia among pregnant women obtaining antenatal care at the Savelugu Municipal Hospital. Method: A cross-sectional study was conducted from March to May 2018. A total of 348 pregnant women who atte...
ABSTRACT Introduction: Ghana‟s National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), which was established in 2003 by Act 650, had an objective of reaching a hundred percent coverage within five years of its operations. The scheme is over ten years old with a reported national coverage of about 60% and active membership of about 35%. A number of reasons have been identified to account for the slow progress by the scheme towards universal coverage. National health insurance renewal rate among insurance s...
ABSTRACT Introduction Hypertension in pregnancy is a leading cause of maternal morbidity and mortality. Mortality usually results from eclampsia, a condition which is heralded by specific prodromal signs. Eclampsia can easily be prevented if a patient recognizes these signs, and seeks prompt care. Antenatal care provides a good opportunity to educate clients on the prodromal signs. Objectives To determine if greater proportion of expectant mothers who have received antenatal care in Korle bu ...
ABSTRACT Background: Ghana as a country has witnessed different mental health regimes reflecting prevailing global trend, from incarceration in the colonial era through to NRCD decree of 1972 and recently mental health Act 846 of 20 1 2.Critical to the Mental Health Act are the provisions on mental health authority, mental health board, mental health fund, mental health tribunal, regional and district committees and especially increasing access to mental health services in communities. T...