ABSTRACT Introduction According to UNAIDS/WHO (2007) every day, over 6800 persons become infected with HIV and over 5700 persons die from AIDS globally, mostly because of inadequate access to HIV prevention and treatment services. In Ghana, compared with other African countries the HIV prevalence is low (2.7%), knowledge about the disease is high, and in 2007 the HIV and AIDS infected population was estimated at 312,030. The Ghana National AIDS/STI Control Programme provides treatment, care...
ABSTRACT Background: Patients' participation in their care is an important component in the delivery of quality health care. Patients‘ willingness to participate in their care is assumed to be influenced by attitude, subjective norms and perceived behavioural control. However, there is a paucity of evidences on the relation between patients‘ participation and their behavioural intentions. Aim: The aim of this study was to explore the factors influencing patients‘ willingness to particip...
ABSTRACT Congenital glaucoma is a major public health issue because visually impaired children have a lifetime of blindness ahead of them with its associated emotional, social and economic cost to the child, family and society. The study sought to assess the level of knowledge and perception of parents of children with congenital Glaucoma seeking care at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital. The study was undertaken at Komfo Anokye teaching hospital. A mixed method design comprising of one hund...
ABSTRACT A community-based survey of 2018 adults in the Kassena-Nankana District of the Upper East Region aged 15-64 years was carried out to assess the prevalence of certain risk factors of the non-communicable diseases; cardiovascular disease, diabetes, respiratory conditions and cancers. This survey was conducted in the month of June during the planting season for the major crops cultivated in the Kassena Nankana district. Tobacco use among the study population was determined to be 20.9%. ...
ABSTRACT Use of mobile phones in the neonatal intensive care unit by healthcare workers can lead to contamination and spread of healthcare associated infections among hospitalized neonates. An understanding of dynamics of mobile phone usage as well as contaminating bacteria forms an important step in developing infection control strategies to regulate its use in clinical areas of the neonatal intensive care unit. Methods: I conducted a cross-sectional study to assess mobile phone use, at...
ABSTRACT Background: Disposal of electronic waste is an emerging global environmental and public health problem. The recycling of electronic waste by open burning releases a complex mixture of toxicants containing oxides of inorganic particles of metals which disperse into the environment to affect the health of pupils attending schools located around Agbogbloshie e-waste site. Hazardous inorganic metals such as Lead (Pb), Manganese (Mn), Cadmium (Cd), Chromium (Cr) and Nickel (Ni) found i...
ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to assess the post-discharge feeding challenges among mothers‟ of preterm infants. A qualitative design was employed in the study. A purposive sampling method was used to select nine participants at the Paediatric/Child Health out-patients department of the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital. An interview guide was used to understand the post- discharge feeding challenges each mother and their preterm infants encounter after discharge. Participants were inter...
ABSTRACT BACKGROUND: Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is known to result in 700,000 deaths each year worldwide, mostly in low and middle income countries. Currently, Ghana faces a double disease burden from communicable and non-communicable diseases, coupled with poor monitoring of antibiotic use and weak regulatory systems. There is also a lack of capacity to link results of laboratory diagnostic tests to sale of medicines as well as uncontrolled veterinary use of antibiotics, compounding t...
ABSTRACT Background It is a common goal among emergency medical systems all over the world to respond as fast as possible to the scene of emergencies in order to improve patient outcome. The study was done to assess whether ambulance response time has an influence on prehospital trauma survival. Method: A retrospective cross sectional study whereby data from trauma patients transported by ambulances belonging to the National Ambulance Service from January to December 2014 in the Greate...
Summary The nutritional deficiencies endured in early childhood can have debilitating mental and physical consequences that are carried to adulthood. In the third world countries a variety of activities such as growth monitoring and evaluation, community based weaning foods feeding programmes and many others have been under taken to prevent and treat malnutrition in childhood. Past studies in Ghana has shown that under nutrition is prevalent among preschool children. The DHMT of Akatsi dis...
ABSTRACT BACKGROUND: Adequate infant feeding enhances growth, overall health and survival of infants in the early years of life and throughout the life cycle. Maternal health care services offer mothers education on infant feeding and care. Effective counselling, knowledge and attendance of caregivers to child welfare clinics is a major route towards optimal infant feeding. As Ghana seeks to achieve optimal universal health for all mothers and children through targeted policy making, this ...
ABSTRACT Background: Hepatitis B is the inflammation of the liver caused by the Hepatitis B virus. The risk of maternal transmission of Hepatitis B infection in pregnancy and a peri-natal period is dependent on maternal Hepatitis B envelop antigen (HbeAg). A positive HbeAg mother has between 70-90% chances of transmitting the virus to the unborn child. This study sought to determine the prevalence of and predictors of Hepatitis B among pregnant women in the Wa municipality. The study also ass...
ABSTRACT BACKGROUND: Sierra Leone has one of the worst maternal health indices among other countries, and it is also one of the countries with the lowest human development index. Majority of the causes of maternal morbidity and mortality can be prevented by means of utilization of adequate antenatal care, institutional delivery and skilled birth attendants. However, utilization of Maternal Health Care (MHC) services is generally low in the country. There is an alarming shortage of skilled Hea...
ABSTRACT Background: Drug use is a global public health issue and transcends cultural boundaries. Substance use and their accompanying disorders have consequences for people's mental, physical and environmental health. Drug addiction is a contributing factor to poor dental health among drug addicts. There is documented disability and comorbidity associated with drug use, nevertheless, majority of these people have never been treated and others don’t continue treatment when they start. This...
ABSTRACT Background: HBV infection remains one of the highly infectious diseases that can be contracted by HCW’S through needle pricks, sharp related injuries, and splash of blood or body fluids into the eyes or mucus membranes and other human activities like unprotected sexual intercourse. Nurses are known to be a high risk group for the infection but nursing students are even at the greatest risk of the infection due to their inexperience. Despite these facts above, the prevalence and th...