ABSTRACT Early screening for detection and diagnosis of diseases and health conditions is an important public health principle. Breast self-examination (BSE) is one of such screening strategies where a woman examines her breasts regularly to detect any abnormal swelling or lumps in order to seek medical care. This study therefore explored the knowledge, perceptions and the practice of Breast Self-Examination among female soldiers at the 37 Military Hospital. This study combined both quantitat...
ABSTRACT Introduction Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is known to be the oldest form of healthcare available and are found in almost every country around the world. Complementary and alternative medicine is used worldwide, both in developed and developing countries. About 80% of people in developing countries such as China, India, Latin America and large parts of Africa are known to rely on CAM as a source of primary health care. In Ghana, about 70% of the population depends on C...
ABSTRACT Background: The Okwawuman Mutual Health Insurance Scheme (OMHIS) had been operating since 2002. However, performance reviews have reported mainly on deficits/surpluses, coverage rates and effects on health services utilization. Objective: The study seeks to assess the performance of the scheme with respect to the performance ratios and its impact on the utilization of differential components of health services and also on maternal care outcomes including caesarean section, vacuum ext...
ABSTRACT HIV/AIDS is still a big public health issues as adolescents today have not known a world without AIDS. The school environment offers great opportunity for HIV high risk behaviours. Despite a great awareness of the dangers of the disease and the abundance of knowledge, young people continue to engage in behaviours that place them at risk of contracting the disease. The main objective of the study is to determine the relationship between HIV risk perception and sexual behaviours among ...
ABSTRACT Background: Hepatitis B is a major public health challenge and WHO is making all efforts at eliminating it as a public health threat by 2030. Elimination includes reduction of the reservoir of transmission through antiviral therapy. Sub-Saharan Africa is one of the regions of the world with high burden of disease. Treatment with antiviral therapy is almost unavailable and/or inaccessible. The study seeks to find factors affecting response to antiviral therapy in chronic hepatitis B (...
ABSTRACT An oral health survey was carried out among young adults in the Ga district to assess the oral health status of young adults in and out of school and to recommend types of treatment needed. A stratified random sample of young adults 1 5 -3 2 years old was selected from rural and urban Senior Secondary Schools and the communities. Questionnaires were administered by Ccommunity Health Nurses after which oral examinations and recording of data was carried out by the principal investigat...
ABSTRACT Background: Post Abortion Care (PAC) is extensively identified as a critical practice to address hitches related to miscarriage and incomplete abortion and reduce repeat abortions. The WHO has established that every service delivery site at every level of the health system should be equipped and have personnel trained to recognize abortion complications and to provide or refer women for prompt care, 24 hours a day. A health facility is said to be providing perfect post abortion care ...
ABSTRACT Introduction: Adolescents access and correct usage of contraceptives is low leading to unwanted pregnancies which has multiple adverse effect on the adolescent such as teenage pregnancies and early motherhood, sexually transmitted infections, family and community especially in Ghana. Objective: The objective of this study is to determine the factors influencing contraceptive use by adolescents in the Sunyani West District. Methods: The study adopted a cross sectional study using se...
ABSTRACT Introduction: Medical referral system is a vital and critical aspect of patient care from a primary health care professional to a tertiary care provider or specialist. Referral letters have become the most common means by which health care providers communicate with each other on patient information transfer. Objectives: The aim of this research is to determine the quality and appropriateness of medical referrals to the Ga West municipal hospital, Amasaman. Methods: This research i...
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 Healt...
ABSTRACT Dual contraception or dual method refers to the use of condom with hormonal contraceptives or an intrauterine device to ensure enhanced protection and prevention of both unintended pregnancies and STI/HIV. When used consistently and correctly, it is capable of ensuring healthy sexual life devoid of the challenges of morbidity and mortality associated with unprotected sex. Notwithstanding, the extent of the use of dual contraceptives method use in Ghana is not known. The overarching...
ABSTRACT Introduction: Cancer has been described to be a disease in which cells in the body grow so much the body can no longer control them. Cervical cancer is a disease that affects the cervix in the female reproductive system. It has been said to be the second cause of female cancers worldwide. It accounts for over 275,000 female deaths and about 529,000 new diagnoses each year. There is a reduction in the occurrence of cervical cancer in developed countries because of constant screening b...
ABSTRACT Background: Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer among women in both high-resource and low-resource countries. According to WHO Global Burden of Disease, 2004, breast cancer accounts for 16% of all female cancers with majority (69%) of breast cancer deaths occurring in developing countries. Although breast cancer incidence rate is said to be increasing worldwide, little is known about the determinants of the disease in Africa and currently, there is no data available on ...
ABSTRACT The use of modern contraceptive among adolescents is still low in many low – income countries, including Ghana. Despite the low level of contraceptive prevalence among adolescents and the high teenage pregnancy rates, few studies have been done especially in the Nabdam district of Ghana, to examine the factors that influence modern contraceptive use among adolescent in the Nabdam district, an area where teenage pregnancy is high. This study aimed to determine the factors that inf...
ABSTRACT Background: Breastfeeding has been established as the gold standard of infant feeding, and exclusive breastfeeding is recommended for the first six months of a child’s life. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) less than 40% of children globally are exclusively breastfed up to six months. The practice of exclusive breastfeeding in Ghana is estimated at 52% and that of professional working mothers is about 10.3%. This study therefore sought to find out the support prof...