ABSTRACT Hypertension is a global public health problem that is ravaging the active adult workforce of nations especially in low- and middle-income countries such as Ghana. Health care professionals continue to roll out management interventions aimed at controlling blood pressures and improving patients’ well-being. Regular self-monitoring of blood pressure by hypertensive patients is one sure way of improving their health. The practice of self-monitoring in the general population or among ...
ABSTRACT Zinc is a micronutrient indispensable for growth, development, reproduction, and for the activities of over 2 0 0 enzymes embracing all physiological activities. Zinc deficiency in the preschool age group therefore leads to growth faltering, wasting, stunting and general degeneration in physiological activities. In rural areas of Egypt and Iran where zinc deficiency was first identified, dietary factors of plant origin ( especially phytic acid and fibre), which impair zinc absorption...
ABSTRACT Background: Globally, Hypertension is fast becoming the commonest cardiovascular disorder contributing a lot to the morbidity and mortality (WHO, 1996). Although hypertension is a risk factor for other cardiovascular diseases, it has its own risk factors which range from genetic/familial, sex, age, race/ethnicity, level of physical activity, dietary as well as smoking, alcohol intake and obesity/overweight (WHO, 2002). The general objective of this study is to determine the prevalenc...
ABSTRACT Adolescents represent the future leaders of every nation; therefore, their concerns should be given priority and handled as a public health issue. Adolescents are individuals between 10 – 19 years and constitute about 18% of the world population. However, one of the issues which threaten adolescent’s potential to attaining their future goals is risky sexual behaviours and its undesirable outcome. Risky sexual behaviours are those that expose an individual (adolescents) to the ris...
ABSTRACT Background: Postpartum depression (PPD) is one of the most common psychiatric complications of childbirth. Unfortunately, most PPD cases are undetected and untreated, with attendant significant effects on maternal and neonatal health outcomes. Methodology: A cross sectional study of 300 mothers aged 15 to 45 years was undertaken to examine the association between PPD, breastfeeding practices and nutritional status of their children (0-12 months) attending the Greater Accra Regional a...
ABSTRACT Background: Safety in the workplace is very important considering the physical, mental, and financial cost of an unsafe environment. A critical component of safety in the work environment is the adherence of workers to the safety protocols designed for their protection. Many factories report accidents in spite of the existence of safety protocols in those factories and one of the causes of accidents is known to be violations of safety procedures. This study, which was carried out in ...
ABSTRACT Introduction: Urinary Schistosomiasis and malaria are Neglected Tropical Diseases endemic in Sub-Saharan Africa. The overlapping distribution of these parasites may result in a high co-infection rate and hematologic abnormalities especially with hemoglobin concentration. Objective: The main aim of the study was to assess the association between monoinfection and co-infection status of the two parasites and the hemoglobin concentration in school children. Method: A cross-sectional epi...
ABSTRACT BACKGROUND: Termitomyces schimperi (TS) is an edible mushroom that is known to possess certain therapeutic properties. Anecdotal report from La Cote d’Ivoire suggests that the mushroom is traditionally used in combination with kaolin, to manage a number of cancers. There is, however, a dearth of information on its antioxidant and anticancer properties with or without kaolin. AIMS: The aims of this study were to determine the antioxidant and cytotoxic potential of aqueous and ethano...
ABSTRACT Background: Due to the importance of adolescents in the future of a nation, it has become necessary to consider the well-being of adolescents in order to drive national development. Ghana has developed, adopted and implemented initiatives and programmes to protect and promote the reproductive health needs of adolescents-the Adolescent Health Service Policy and Strategy (2016-2020). Objectives: To conduct a process evaluation on the implementation of the Adolescent Health Service Poli...
ABSTRACT Abstinence as a preventive method against HIV/ADDS has attracted the attention of demographers, planners and public health practitioners for some time now. Concern has been expressed that as yet there is no available evidence that adopts an analytical approach to the effectiveness of abstinence programmes based upon the evidence available. Rather, descriptions and discussion tend to be based on moral positions. This cross-sectional descriptive study sought to explore the phenomenon f...
ABSTRACT Background: Some Type 2 diabetic patients require insulin therapy to control their blood sugar levels in order to prevent complications. A proportion of patients who meet the criteria to be put on insulin are unwilling to start. Patients already on insulin are unwilling to intensify insulin therapy as a result of various factors. This study looked at patient factors determining the acceptance or refusal of insulin therapy at the Cape Coast Teaching Hospital. Objective: fo assess pati...
ABSTRACT Background The referral system is an integral part of maternal health care and is particularly crucial to patients living in rural areas, where vast distances and bad road network, make access to district hospitals an expensive and time-consuming challenge. Ensuring skilled attendance at birth requires developing a responsive referral system which provides links between levels of health care. It is widely accepted that substantial reductions in maternal mortality and severe morbidity...
ABSTRACT Background: Infants who are not exclusively breastfed during the first six months of life are given a wide variety of other foods or drinks during the period to complement or replace breast milk, these food items are termed Breast Milk Substitutes (BMS). Inadequate Exclusive Breastfeeding (EBF) is associated with increased infant morbidity and death. In Ghana about one-third of infants under six months old are not exclusively breastfed suggesting reliance on breast milk substitutes (...
ABSTRACT Background: Infants who are not exclusively breastfed during the first six months of life are given a wide variety of other foods or drinks during the period to complement or replace breast milk, these food items are termed Breast Milk Substitutes (BMS). Inadequate Exclusive Breastfeeding (EBF) is associated with increased infant morbidity and death. In Ghana about one-third of infants under six months old are not exclusively breastfed suggesting reliance on breast milk substitutes (...
ABSTRACT HIV/AIDS is one of the most challenging pandemic globally. More than two-thirds of adults infected with HIV live in Sub-Saharan Africa. Adherence to Anti-Retroviral Treatment (ART) is a key factor that determines the success or failure of treatment, while non-adherence is a major cause of HIV drug resistance and subsequent immunological and clinical failure. Social support is a significant resource for individuals undergoing stress, and has been found to improve adherence among patie...