ABSTRACT Background: Anemia, defined as blood hemoglobin level below established cut-off points, is a pervasive global public health problem. An estimated 2 billion people are affected globally. Anemia prevalence is highest in developing countries but also high in developed countries. Worldwide, over 30% of all women suffer from anemia, with abnormal uterine bleeding being a risk factor for anemia. Uterine fibroids are the most common benign gynecologic tumors affecting premenopausal women, w...
Abstract Background Healthcare staff work in an environment considered to be one of the most hazardous occupational settings. This is especially true in developing countries where health service delivery is fraught with inadequate protection against exposures to numerous fomites and pathogens. Studies have shown that inadequate knowledge of occupational hazards and unavailability of safety measures contribute greatly to the increased incidence of occupational accidents and injuries among heal...
ABSTRACT Introduction: Obesity has been described as an epidemic with more than one-third of children aged of 2 to 19, said to be overweight or obese. Adult obesity has been strongly linked to obesity in childhood and adolescence. It is therefore imperative to tackle this problem in the adolescent stage, to prevent entering adulthood with one of the major risk factors for Non-Communicable Diseases. Known immediate consequences of obesity include self-esteem, reduced cognitive capabilities, an...
ABSTRACT Background The street food industry is one of the means of income generation in most developing countries. Due to the afTordability, accessibility and availability of a wide variety offoods, millions of people depend on street foods on daily basis. For this reason, the safety and hygienic practices adopted during the production -to- consumption stage should not be undermined. Every year, millions of people worldwide suffer from food borne illnesses making it a major public health con...
ABSTRACT Background In 2005, Ghana started implementing a National Health Insurance Scheme with the aim o f removing cost as a barrier to accessing healthcare. The Scheme had as an important component, the Claims Process through which services rendered by providers could be reimbursed by the Scheme. Right from its inception, the Claims Process has been dogged with challenges: from lack o f compliance by providers and Scheme M anagers with the original tariff structure developed to outstanding...
ABSTRACT A study on assessment of X-ray radiation among X-ray workers and associated potential health problems in Owerri was carried out with the thermolumolunescent dosimeter between 12th April to 30th December 2011. A total of 50 workers were used for the study. Comprising 24 male X-ray workers and 26 female X-ray workers. The mean X-ray dose below permissible doses is 9.4.7 the T-test is -4.29; the P-value is 0.000. The mean exposure factor is 20msv upto six test which involve 3 male x-ray...
ABSTRACT Background: The suppression of the immune system by persistent exposure to organic pollutants can induce or exacerbate airway inflammation, which can be a predictor of respiratory infections. Objective: The study examined the association between exposure to pesticides and symptoms of acute respiratory infections (ARIs) among children under five years in the Offinso North District in the Ashanti Region of Ghana. Methodology: The study population was derived from a population-based cro...
ABSTRACT Background: Adverse pregnancy outcomes have devastating effects on the survival of both the mother and the infant. There is widespread adverse pregnancy outcomes in developing countries. About 5.4 million children die before their 5th birthday and 46% are neonatal deaths. Another 830 women die every day from complications related to pregnancy and childbirth. Several factors can lead to adverse pregnancy outcomes. These include socio-cultural factors, health facility related factors a...
ABSTRACT Introduction Morbidity and mortality of tuberculosis is a rising public health issue worldwide. The Sawla-Tuna-Kalba district of the Northern Region recorded cure rate of 46.4% and completed treatment rate of 22.8%., in 2016. This culminates into a TB treatment success rate of 69.2% (Northern Regional Health Directorate Annual Report, 2016). This is below the WHO sets standards of 85%. This study aimed at assessing the factors that influence ineffective and effective TB treatment out...
ABSTRACT Children under five years of age constitute about 50% of all deaths in Ghana every year therefore any attempt to reduce mortality rate significantly should aim at the under five years. In order to have an effective child survival strategy, the understanding of where, when and why caregivers seek for health care for their under five year is very important. This is what is called the treatment seeking behavior. How communities manage these diseases amidst poor social amenities like tra...
ABSTRACT BACKGROUND: Diabetes Mellitus (DM) is a serious condition that increases the risk of ill health and shortens life through complications. The number is increasing globally due to lifestyle changes and diet leading to increasing levels of overweight and obesity. Management of DM poses economic burden to society, healthcare providers and sufferers. Costing study has been used for policy advocacy. It has been used to identify the burden of disease, areas for future intervention and prior...
ABSTRACT Background: The National Health Insurance Scheme is a financial arrangement that enable citizens of Ghana to access health care service without having to pay at the point of service delivery. This somehow ensures an improvement in the quality of basic health rendered to the people. Health insurance schemes are thus seen as viable alternatives in providing more sustainable and equitable health delivery system in countries. To improve fairness in the provision of health care and provid...
ABSTRACT Unsuccessful attempts at securing NHIS accreditation do not prevent a facility from providing services to the general public. Knowledge on how well these facilities perform during the accreditation process is therefore needed to inform policy on improving quality of healthcare delivery. The study was a cross sectional quantitative review of NHIS accreditation data on all private health care providers who applied to the NHIA for accreditation from July 2009 to July 2012, with the purp...
ABSTRACT Expanded Programme on Immunisation is one of the health intervention that holdout the prospect of reducing infant and childhood mortality in developing countries. In Ghana efforts are being made to folly immunise all children against the six childhood killer diseases. Unfortunately access to and utilisation of the services by the children remains poor in many districts. The Ashanti Akim North district for instance recorded dropout rate of 29% in 1999. This dropout rate is unacceptabl...
ABSTRACT Tuberculosis threatens public health all over the world and affects persons mostly in their productive lives. The proportion of cases with successful treatment outcome is a key indicator to assess the effectiveness and performance of any Tuberculosis Control Programme. Effective treatment is a major element in reducing the transmission of infection and ultimately achieving elimination of the disease. The study was conducted to determine factors associated with treatment outcome and t...