ABSTRACT Introduction: Antibiotic resistance is a global public health issue. Although antibiotic resistance will suffice naturally over time, increased use/misuse of antibiotics escalates the process. In Ghana there is a dearth of studies exploring the relationship between knowledge, attitude and practices on consumption of antibiotics by individuals within the community. The objective of this study was to determine the factors influencing antibiotic use among adults within the Greater Accra...
ABSTRACT Background Understanding the determinants of obesity in adults is important due to its association with other chronic diseases. A study done in Ghana to determine Socio-demographic variation in obesity among Ghanaians adults reported that overweight and obesity had high prevalence in Accra metropolis. The study identified high prevalence among women and other upper- class residents. A similar study done at the University for Development Studies (UDS) in Tamale, Ghana, found that risk...
ABSTRACT The study explored how patient’s representation of diabetes, psychological distress and the use of spiritual coping influence their medication adherence. A total of 196 diabetics were sampled from the Tema General Hospital using the purposive sampling technique. The measures used included the Revised Illness Perception Questionnaire (IPQ-R), Spiritual Coping subscale of the Africultural Coping System Inventory, the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale 21(DASS-21) and the Medication Adhe...
ABSTRACT Market Women’s Knowledge on Infant and Young Child Feeding Practices in Ashiedu Keteke of the Greater Accra Region, Ghana. Infant and young child feeding is an important area to improve child survival and promote healthy growth and development as recommended by the WHO/UNICEF. Malnutrition remains the leading cause of child morbidity and mortality among children under five years of age particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. Amidst the many efforts over the years to curb the malnutriti...
ABSTRACT Background: The elderly are among the most vulnerable groups of people worldwide and are prone to chronic diseases such as hypertension, stroke, diabetes and cancers. The prevalence as well as associated risk factors of these chronic diseases have been observed to have increased over time in Ghana. Methods: This study used secondary data generated from the WHO Study on Global AGEing and Adult health (SAGE) in Ghana. Information on the elderly, defined as people with age of 60 years a...
ABSTRACT Background: Yaws is a chronic relapsing disease caused by Treponema pallidum pertunue, which can result in severe disability and deformities. Children below the age of 15 years in socially disadvantaged and resource-poor communities are the most affected. Several non-specific factors have been demonstrated to facilitate the continuous transmission and resurgence of the disease in endemic communities. Rural communities in Ghana continue to report cases of yaws despite the roll out of ...
ABSTRACT Miscommunication among health care providers is the root cause of errors leading to injury and death of patients. Consequently, handing over communication has become a primary focus of international and national concern. Nurses handing over has been identified to be prone to errors. The use of structured communication tools such as SBAR has been found to improve communication among health care providers and promote a positive outcome on patient safety. The purpose of this study is to...
ABSTRACT BACKGROUND: In Ghana, even though the knowledge of the practice and benefits of exclusive breast feeding amongst women is very high, only 52% of babies are breastfed up to 6 months of life. In Ghana 49.52% of the work force are females, also 40.1% of workers are within the formal sector. Better educated women participate more in the formal sector and earn higher incomes. This study sought to examine exclusive breastfeeding practices amongst women in the formal sector in the Greater A...
ABSTRACT Diarrhoea is a global childhood killer, especially of children in developing countries. Eighty eight percent of all cases of diarrhoea worldwide are attributable to drinking water, human excreta disposal and hygiene risk factors. In Ghana, diarrhoea remains of public health concern because it is still a major cause of childhood morbidity and mortality and exposure to the pathogens that cause diarrhoea is frequently related to drinking contaminated water, improper human excreta dispos...
ABSTRACT Background: Human immunodeficiency virus since its discovery has grown to become a public health menace. Healthcare workers are at risk of acquiring HIV infection as a result of managing HIV infected patients. Post exposure prophylaxis (PEP), a confirmed method, decreases the possibility of sero-conversion to HIV after occupational exposure. This study aimed at assessing the level of knowledge on post exposure prophylaxis, determining the level of risk to occupational injuries and to...
ABSTRACT Background: The World Health Organisation (WHO) statistics reveal that people worldwide are living longer; and currently, 125 million people are aged 80 years or older. However, the challenge is how to ensure the provision of a quality healthcare to the frail elderly. Objective: This qualitative study explored the perception of the quality of healthcare among the frail elderly in the Tema Metropolitan Assembly. Methods: A semi-structured interview guide was used to gather information...
ABSTRACT The success or otherwise of most health related programs in most developing countries are judged using many indicators, among which is the beneficiary communities’ perception of the program. This study examined or probed into the perceptions of the communities with regard to the services rendered by Community Health Officers (CHOs) as front liners in the Community Health and Family Planning (CHFP) project being executed by the Navrongo Health Research Center (NHRC) in the Kassena- ...
ABSTRACT Background: Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) testing and counseling is a precarious and vital gateway to HIV prevention and treatment. Ghana has a policy of free or subsidized HIV testing and counseling services. However the utilization of the HIV testing services remains generally low. This study assessed community perceptions and factors influencing HIV testing and counseling services in the Kassena-Nankana East and West Districts of Northern Ghana. Methodology: This was an explo...
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: Routine empiric antibiotic therapy is common in patients living with HIV/AIDS. Such routine antibiotic regimen could lead to selection of multidrug resistance especially ESBLs in hitherto drug sensitive intestinal colonizing flora. There is paucity of data to describe intestinal carriage of ESBL-producing enterobacteria in HIV/AIDS patients. Aim: This study was designed to examine HIV/AIDS patients for faecal carriage with extendedspectrum beta-lactamase producing enterob...