ABSTRACT Background: Ghana established National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) in 2004 to replace out-of-pocket payment popularly referred to as „cash and carry‟, which created financial barrier to health care access to the poor and vulnerable. However, the NHIS was fully implemented in 2005 and has since faced performance challenges such as delays in issuance of ID cards to registered members and payment of provider claims. Objective: To assess performance of the Ga District Mutual Healt...
ABSTRACT This study is an investigation of one of the known factors that contribute to the high incidence of infant diarrhoea and malnutrition, the low level of the practice of 'exclusive breast-feeding'. Breast-feeding practice^ were studied in mothers who were assisted at delivery by different types of care provider in the Akwapim South District of the Eastern Region of Ghana. In the Akwapim South District, there is a high incidence of diarrhoea and malnutrition in infants (MOH. Annual Repo...
ABSTRACT Background: The introduction of antiretroviral therapy by the global scientific community has been a breakthrough in the fight against Human Immuno-Deficiency Virus and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome. In Ghana, about 195 facilities were said to be rendering Anti-retroviral therapy as at 2015 ending with 119,600 people being put on Antiretroviral medicines. However, defaulting of antiretroviral therapy by patients on medication, remains a threat to this otherwise successful healt...
ABSTRACT Background Discharge from a hospital does not mark the end of care or indicate cure of disease thus care must continue at home in order to maximize health gains. Discharge planning implementation (DPI) ensures conterminous care after discharge and understanding the factors that affect clinical staff’s compliance to DPI may improve clinical practice. This study aimed to assess the factors affecting DPI compliance in Margaret Marquart Catholic Hospital. Method In this study, 112 clin...
ABSTRACT Background: The referral system is emphasized as a back-up function of particular importance in pregnancy and childbirth, as a range of potentially life-threatening complications require management and skills that are only available at higher levels of care (WHO, 1994). In Ho municipality, the proportion of maternal deaths arising from referrals from the periphery to the Volta Regional Hospital had increased from 63% in 2012 to 81% in 2013. Objectives: The objectives of this study we...
ABSTRACT Background: Childhood cancers, although rare, are the leading cause of disease-related mortality in children and adolescents in developed nations, with most African countries having the least surviving rate. The development of effective interventions to reduce delays that may occur along the pathway to cancer care, demands an understanding of their predictors. Few studies on childhood cancers have been published on the factors that influence the time it takes for patients to get a fi...
ABSTRACT Tuberculosis (TB) remains a disease of serious public health consequence in Ejisu-Juaben District. TB case detection has remained low in the district, despite the implementation of the National Tuberculosis Programme (NTP) services through the primary health care infrastructure since 1994. This study therefore sets out to find the factors leading to low TB case detection rate in Ejisu-Juaben district. The specific objectives were; 1. To identify community related factors contributing...
ABSTRACT Background: Hypertension continues to be one of the main risk factors of cardiovascular diseases in the world. Much effort has been done to reduce the incidence of hypertension in urban communities, this has not been the same among the rural dwellers. The study seeks to determine the prevalence and associated risk factors of hypertension among rural dwellers in the Kwabre East District of Ashanti region. Method: This is a community-based cross-sectional study that was carried out in ...
ABSTRACT Community involvement in the control of yaws is a participatory approach to healthcare that is organized from the perspective of the recipient. This study was prompted by the fact that, in 1998 Addo found that community participation in the control of yaws was poor, 3.4% of the population is infected with yaws, yaws now ranking 3rd (1997-2000) from 6th position in 1996. This study looked at how a rural district (Asuogyaman) in the Eastern region of Ghana perceive and manage yaws and ...
ABSTRACT The study was conducted in 5 randomly selected communities in the Wassa West district in the Western region of Ghana using both qualitative and quantitative methods to obtain mothers or caregiver’s knowledge on symptoms of childhood malaria (uncomplicated and complicated) in children under five years of age in relation to its management. A total of 300 caregivers were interviewed using a structured questionnaire. Majority of the respondents were mothers constituting 79%. Although t...
ABSTRACT BACKGROUND Adolescents represent one of the main pillars of any society. They are, however, a vulnerable group who face many challenges during this period including issues concerning their reproductive health. It is also estimated that one out of five adolescent aged 10 – 19 years has at least one serious reproductive health problem which include early pregnancy resulting in school dropout, unsafe abortion and STIs including HIV. OBJECTIVE This study explored the reproductive healt...
ABSTRACT Background Overweight and obesity epidemic has become one of the most urgent global health challenges of the 21st century. Studies have shown that over ten times more children and adolescents were obese in the year 2016; 124 million compared to the year 1975; 11 million, according to findings by (WHO, 2017). Overweight and obesity is understood to be imminent before reception year at school thus at 8 months prevalence could be determined (Perry, Thurston, & Arch, 2016). Currently the...
ABSTRACT Background: Occupational hazards account for a significant percentage of worldwide burden of disabilities and injuries. Welders are exposed to a variety of fumes during the welding process. Continuous exposure to these fume particles can pose harmful threats to the lungs of welders. This can result in a number of conditions such as metal fume fever, nose and throat irritation, bronchitis, emphysema, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and lung cancer thereby reducing lung fu...
ABSTRACT Health insurance is a method of financing health care in which payment for health care is made at a time that one is sick. It is a policy of the Government of Ghana to replace the previous cash and carry system with the Mutual Health Insurance Scheme since the previous method makes health care financially inaccessible to the citizenry especially the poor and the vulnerable. Even though much education on the scheme has been carried out in the district since its inception through durba...
ABSTRACT Background: Pneumonia is a form of acute respiratory infection. The epidemiology of childhood pneumonia is due to various risk factors such as malnutrition, substandard breastfeeding, exposure to biomass fuel for cooking and parental smoking and needs further investigation. Objective: The aim of the study was to examine the relationship between pneumonia and nutritional status in children under five at Princess Marie Louise Children’s hospital. Method: An unmatched case-control d...