ABSTRACT Background: The link between food retail environment and health disparities continue to grow. Assessment of the food environment is one key strategy in undertaking healthy food retail initiatives. However, little is known about the retail food environment in developing countries like Ghana. This study therefore, aimed to examine the food retail environment in the Tamale Metropolis. Methods: This study was a descriptive cross-sectional study and employed simple random sampling techni...
ABSTRACT Background Nosocomial infections are a major public health problem worldwide and are on the increase despite significant efforts by hospital infection control measures. Nosocomial infection comprises infection occurring in a patient who is receiving treatment in a health care settings. Infection acquired by health care workers and people visiting the hospital is considered nosocomial infection. These infections affect about 2 million people globally resulting in 5% to 15% of them sp...
ABSTRACT Background: All immunizations carry a potential risk of being associated with adverse events. Adverse events (AEFI) is defined as any unwanted medical occurrence which follows immunization and does not necessary have a causal relationship with the use of the vaccine. The identification, recording, reporting and monitoring of adverse event following immunization (AEFI) is essential to the investigation and reduction of such cases. This study was to assess factors influencing reportin...
ABSTRACT Introduction: Anaemia is a global public health problem that affects both poor and rich countries. Males, females are affected and particularly pregnant women. Iron supplementation is one of the key interventions used to control anaemia in pregnancy. However, compliance with the intake of the supplements is a key factor in controlling anaemia. This study sought to explore the factors that affect compliance. Methodology: Community-based cross-sectional study design was used to inform...
ABSTRACT Background: Open defecation can lead to public health problems most especially in areas where people defecate openly in bushes, gardens, rivers and other water bodies. Nonetheless, even with the availability of toilets, people still need to be convinced to desist from open defecation and use toilets. Therefore, the need for behavior change is critical in addition to the provision of toilets; this has been attempted through the use of programs like the Community-Led Total Sanitation ...
ABSTRACT Health care settings both in developed and developing countries are bedevilled with quality problems, which may be defined, as gap between what is and what is expected. Quality is how good or bad something is. The thing may be a product or a service. People will only patronise health care services that meet expectations. Quality of care Assessment is the measurement of the quality of healthcare services. It measures the difference between expected and actual performance to identif...
ABSTRACT Background: The commonest ailment of the prostate of men is Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia (BPH) and is a common histologic condition among older men throughout the world. All men from age 50 are at a higher risk of getting BPH and it is common among blacks than the white race. The urology department of the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) has recorded the highest number of BPH among all the urological cases. It is, therefore, necessary to identify the problems these men face and...
ABSTRACT Late diagnosis of HIV is a major hindrance in the campaign to control the spread of HIV/ AIDS. Late diagnosis, defined as the presence of CD4 lymphocyte count of less than 350/ul and or WHO stage 3 or 4 disease at diagnosis, leads to late entry into care. This subsequently results in a delay in ART initiation and poorer treatment outcomes. In sub-Saharan Africa, 45% - 72.8% of HIV positive patients are being diagnosed at a late stage of the disease. However the proportion of HIV pat...
ABSTRACT Background: T2D is progressive, and over time, there is a decline in beta cell activity of the pancreatic islets resulting in the lack of insulin, which is vital in glucose homeostasis. There is, therefore, the need to initiate insulin, the most potent glucose-lowering agent, in the management of T2D, which often is delayed. Delay of insulin therapy is often due to reluctance by patients, which is known as psychological insulin resistance or reluctance by the clinician known as clin...
ABSTRACT Background: Abossey Okai situates the central market for automobile spare parts in Accra, Ghana. The market lacks formal structures for work supervision thus exposing workers to various hazards. The most commonly encountered are mechanical hazards. Mechanical hazards could result in a high prevalence of various forms of occupational injuries and disorders. Objective: This study assessed the factors that influence work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WRMSDs) among the garage worke...
ABSTRACT Malaria and anaemia continues to be a burden in the Hohoe Municipality of the Volta region of Ghana. In 2006, two cross-sectional studies were carried out in thirty communities among children under five years in the municipality in June and November to determine the prevalence of malaria and anaemia. This formed the baseline malaria and anaemia prevalence in the municipality. After this study, insecticide-treated nets (ITNs) and Artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACTs) were intr...
ABSTRACT Ghana established the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) through the enactment of Act 650 in 2003 which was to secure the provision of basic healthcare services to a person resident in the country. Since the implementation of NHIS in 2004, the Fee-for-service (FFS) has been used for the payment of drugs and some other services until 2008 when the Ghana Diagnostic-Related Groups (G-DRGs) was introduced to pay providers on the basis of claims made by them to the District Mutual ...
ABSTRACT Background: Spontaneous reporting is the most efficient and cost effective method of monitoring the safety of registered drugs. The programme was launched in Ghana in June 2001. The spontaneous adverse drug reaction system is affected by underreporting by doctors and other healthcare professionals; there is however, limited knowledge about the factors that contribute to low reporting of adverse drug reactions and the reporting rate in Ghana. Objective: The general objective of this ...
Abstract The HIV/AIDS pandemic continue to spread in Sub Saharan Africa and Ghana is no exception, 2001 estimates of prevalence from sentinel centres across the country suggest between 3 to 4 percent. This study was conducted in Agogo, in the Ashanti Akim North District of Ghana. It is a qualitative descriptive study that set out to describe the youth and the environment they live in, document what safer sex and HIV/AIDS prevention information the youth have, describe what safer sex and HIV...
ABSTRACT Background: Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are currently a major public health concern all over the world. A major risk factor for NCDs is obesity. Childhood obesity is a global health challenge with over 42 million children affected. One major factor that influences obesity in children is their diet. Marketing of foods affects the choice of foods children desire and demand from their parents. Food marketing occurs through multiple techniques including electronic media (e.g. inter...