ABSTRACT Background: Exclusive breastfeeding is essential for optimal survival, development and growth of infants. World Health Organization and United Nations Children’s Fund recommend that infants are exclusively breastfed from birth up to six months of age to achieve its benefits. However, exclusive breastfeeding rates across the world and in Ghana are below the recommended targets. This study’s aim was to investigate the socio-demographic factors, socio-cultural factors as well as ide...
ABSTRACT Background: Cardiovascular related diseases and its deaths have increased over the years with hypertension being a precursor to these diseases. Proper management of the condition has proven to increase the life expectancy of patients. Adherence appears to be one of the important factors that influence the outcome of therapy greatly. Poor medication adherence is associated with poor disease outcomes, waste of health care resources and contributes to reduced blood pressure control. Obj...
ABSTRACT Background: Unhealthy diet, smoking, physical inactivity, overweight/obesity, impaired glucose tr' ", "ce nGT) and/or impaired fasting glycaemia (JFG) result in diabetes mellitus. The hyperglycemic condition in diabetics leads to the development of some complications driven by both modifiable and non-modifiable risk factors. This study therefore seeks to determine the risk factors and associated complications in patients with diabetes mellitus at the Maamobi General l-! " " '~l 'r. ,...
Abstract In a retrospective study in a small community in Ga District, Southern part o f Ghana it was discovered, that majority of women (94.1%) received antenatal care and that eighty three per cent o f them delivered under the supervision o f recognised-trained medical personnel. Supervised deliveries took place in Government health facilities as well as in the private sector. The majority of the women (86%) had more than four antenatal care visits. Cost, cultural factors or age seem...
ABSTRACT Background Access to essential medicines is a major component for an effective health service delivery system. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the availability and affordability of essential medicines used in the treatment of the top ten registered diseases in Builsa District in the year 2009. Method The survey was a cross sectional descriptive study, that employed both quantitative and qualitative approaches, following the standardized World Health Organization and Health ...
ABSTRACT Background: Oral health is a key part of the general health of an individual and is crucial to quality of life. Several oral diseases can affect individuals' oral health and one of these diseases is dental caries. It occurs as a result of acids produced when sugars react with bacteria found in the plaque on the enamel of the tooth. Objectives: To assess the risk factors of dental caries among urban primary school children. Metbod: The study used a cross sectional design and 420...
ABSTRACT Background: The growing recognition of the critical importance of providing care to mothers and newborns and the substantial gaps in coverage that exists have prompted a paradigm shift in responding to maternal and new born health issues. Invariably, the health care that a mother receives during pregnancy, at the time of delivery, and soon after delivery is important for the survival and well-being of both the mother and her child. However, evidence suggests that maternal and neonata...
ABSTRACT Introduction Against the backdrop of the Sustainable Development Goals 1, 2 and 3, which aim to improve global health, food security, and reduce poverty, agriculture for most is crucial to achieving self-sustainability in Africa. However, the increased occurrence of adverse events including droughts and conflicts, with losses to farmers, threatens efforts to achieve the set goals. These losses can affect livestock farmers’ psychosocial wellbeing and productivity. Identifying, there...
ABSTRACT This study aimed at examining how political economy factors influence the pricing of petroleum products in Ghana. The research intended to find out the powers and interests of the actors in determining the prices of petroleum products, the processes involved in implementing the prices of fuel and the implications of petroleum price deregulation on the Ghanaian economy. A qualitative approach was used in the data collection, analysis and presentations of which 22 respondents were inte...
ABSTRACT Introduction Waste is produced from households, municipal sources, commercial and industrial organizations as well as construction and demolition. Waste can also be produced uncontrollably through agriculture, mines and quarries activities. Waste management involves lot of activities including sweeping. Aim and Methods To assess some aspects of the health risks associated with waste handling, a cross- sectional study was carried out at Prampram, a peri- urban community a district ...
ABSTRACT Introduction: There is a huge burden of Health care associated infections (HAIs) globally; in 2002, there was an estimated 99,000 deaths due to HAIs in the United States and majority of these are attributed to poor compliance of health care workers including health sciences students to Infection Prevention and Control protocols (IPC). Health science students by virtue of their training are at risks of spreading or contracting HAIs due to lack of knowledge and in-experience. Method: ...
ABSTRACT Introduction Despite the global response to the tuberculosis epidemic, a high burden of this disease still persists particularly affecting the poor and vulnerable population. Many cases are missed annually and passive case detection have not proven to improve on the number of tuberculosis cases detected. Implementation of facility and community based active case detection interventions have been documented to increase TB case detection rates. The aim of this study was to assess the ...
Abstract Background: Metabolic syndrome is a condition characterised by the clustering of cardiovascular disease risk factors such as obesity, hyperglycaemia, dyslipidaemia and high blood pressure. The condition frequently occurs among people with T2DM. The metabolic syndrome is associated with adverse health effects such as heart attack, stroke and other diseases involving the blood vessel. It is linked to more than two-fold increase risk of mortality compared with those without the syndrome...
ABSTRACT Background: Measuring patient satisfaction has become an integral part of health facility management globally. Patient satisfaction is an essential pointer of equitable quality of care. It is often complained that the communication between healthcare workers and patients at public hospitals is very poor. This mostly makes it look like patients are totally at the mercy of the healthcare workers at these hospitals. Objective: This study sought to examine factors influencing pati...
ABSTRACT Background: Several factors influence health care utilization. Albeit a lot of the factors are comparable across geographies, their interrelation and impacts on peoples’ actions is often peculiar to a population in the context of the setting they live in. The focus of this study was to assess factors influencing healthcare services utilization in Danku community in Wa Municipality, Upper West Region, Ghana. Objective: The objective of this study was to assess the factors influenc...