ABSTRACT Background: Illicit drug use has become a major public health concern in Ghana, particularly among senior high school students in Sunyani West District. This study sought to discuss the use of illicit drug and their effects on academic performance among senior high school students in Sunyani- West District in the Brong-Ahafo Region. Methods: The study was quantitative in nature. Cluster and simple random sampling techniques were used to select 418 respondents from selected cluster s...
ABSTRACT Introduction: Currently, there is an annual decline in TB incidence rate of 1.5% globally which is lower than the expected 10%, according to the new End TB strategy which encourages innovation and improving tools that have been used to control TB to end it. A tool that has proven successful in the world is Directly Observed Therapy Short-course, which is one of the core principals of the stop TB strategy that ended in 2015. Even though there is a new strategy, the breakdown of high-...
ABSTRACT A significant number of children do not comply with the Routine Immunization even after the health extension program was launched. This study was conducted to assess the determinants of noncompliance with the routine infant immunization schedule among residents of the Tamale Metropolis. A cross sectional survey involving 406 caregiver/child pair and also selected officials of the health services in Tamale was conducted. The rates for each scheduled date were 15.5% for Polio Zero, 41...
ABSTRACT Background: Malaria is the number one cause of morbidity in Ghana, accounting for about 38% of all outpatient illnesses, 35% of all admissions and about 34% of all deaths in children. The World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends the spraying of at least 80% (ideally 100%) of houses, structures as well as units in target areas in any round of Indoor Residual Spraying. The Ministry of health intends to achieve at least 90% coverage in one third of the districts in Ghana by 2015. Ind...
ABSTRACT Brief background Worldwide, the population of the elderly has tripled in the last century. Projections indicate that the global population of persons aged 60 years and over, which was 11% in 2000 will reach 22% by 2050. Ageing is a gradual process with various determinants many of which are modifiable. Functional systemic changes, together with the effect of the environment, nutrition, lifestyle and genome of a person may insidiously lead to the development of chronic age-associate...
ABSTRACT There is a high global burden of diseases that are related to poor sanitation. Developing countries including Africa are more affected and Ghana is not left out. Ecological sanitation (EcoSan) is a strategic comprehensive sanitation approach which integrates all aspects of sanitation and links sanitation with agriculture and food production. Faeces and urine serve as vehicles for transmitting many communicable diseases to man. This study was therefore to assess the acceptability of ...
ABSTRACT Unplanned teenage pregnancy constitutes an important health problem whilst contraceptive services are less costly in Ghana and abortion services are increasing in most health facilities. The main objective of the study was to examine the application of information communication technology in the awareness and usage of contraceptive information among teenagers in the Sunyani East Municipality. Five specific objectives were formulated to set as a guide for the study. Descriptive cross...
ABSTRACT The recent emergence of concern about environmental sanitation is not a new problem in Ghana. In most third world countries provision of sanitary facilities lag behind the growing population thereby increasing the risk of sanitation-related infections among the people especially in schools. This study assessed the level of environmental sanitation and disease conditions among students on the campus of the University of Ghana, Legon. It was a cross-sectional descriptive study. Data f...
Abstract Background: An unequal distribution of health personnel, leading to unfavourable differences in health status between urban and rural populations, is a serious cause for concern globally. Part of the solution to this problem lies in attracting medical doctors to rural, remote communities, which presents a real challenge. The present study therefore explored the factors that influence medical doctors’ decision to practise in rural Ghana. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional des...
ABSTRACT The fifth Millennium Development Goal calls for a reduction of maternal mortality ratio by 75% between 1990 and 2015. A key indicator to measure this goal is the proportion of births attended by skilled health personnel. The maternal mortality ratio of Ghana in the year 2013 was 154 deaths per 100,000 live births. High skilled birth attendance is correlated with lower maternal mortality rates globally. However, the proportion of births with a skilled attendant was only 54.7% in Ghan...
ABSTRACT One of the greatest threats to agriculture and global food security today is climate variability. Various studies have shown how both human and environmental systems are adapting to the adverse impacts of climate variability. However, most of these studies failed to recognize indigenous knowledge of smallholder farmers and how this could influence conventional scientific adaptation strategies. Recent adaptation studies have either concentrated on indigenous strategies or conventiona...
BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY A vehicular accident can be defined as a transport accident that (1) involves a vehicle in transport, (2) is not an aircraft accident or water accident, (3) does not include any harmful event involving a railway train in transport prior to the involvement of a vehicle in transport. (Oxford English Dictionary, 2007). Vehicular accidents fall under the broad umbrella of road traffic accidents of which motorcycle crash accidents and bicycle accidents are all under. Thi...
Background of Study According to the World Health Organization (WHO) even in developed countries where morbidity and mortality rates from motorcycle accidents are low, the risk of dying from a motorcycle crash is twenty times higher than a motor vehicle crash (WHO, 2004). Another study noted that riders often ignore safety measures, making them more vulnerable to accidents (Okeniyi JA et al). Studies in Ghana have also shown that road traffic crashes are a leading cause of death and injurie...
BACKGROUND Motorcycle injuries constitute a major but neglected emerging public health problem in developing countries and contribute significantly to the overall road traffic injuries (Peden et al, 2002). Motorcycle injuries are among the leading causes of disability and deaths and the main victims are the motorcyclists, pillions or passengers, and pedestrians in their young reproductive age group (Peden, 2004; Solagrebu et al., 2006). The problem is increasing at a fast rate in developi...
BACKGROUND Motorcycle crashes are becoming a major public health concern and is the leading cause of death and injury around the world. The use of motorcycle for commercial business has emerged in Ghana. This business is gaining grounds in towns and cities where thick vehicular traffic and bad roads exists. Motorcycles have increasingly become a popular means of transport in low and middle-income countries, WHO, (2006). Most of the world’s accidents occurred in low-income and middle-incom...