ABSTRACT Background Information on the cost of management of malaria is important for improved financial management but is sparse. The objective of this study was to estimate the Institutional cost of irrational prescriptions for uncomplicated malaria. Methods A retrospective cross-sectional study approach was used to review 140 prescriptions issued for uncomplicated malaria at the Madina Polyclinic, Kekule. The prescriptions were judged to be rational or irrational according to the Standard...
ABSTRACT The period of adolescence is a critical one where adolescents are vulnerable to many health risks including those related to their sexual and reproductive life. With the availability of adolescent friendly health services (AFHS), it is expected that adolescents will go through their developmental stages with minimal or no health challenges. However, health challenges of adolescents rather seem to be on the increase and this may be attributed to many factors. The purpose of this study...
ABSTRACT Background: Cervical cancer is the commonest gynaecological cancer in women worldwide with more than 85% of the global burden occurring in developing countries where it accounts for 13% of all female cancers and a major cause of cancer-related deaths. It has a long latency period and it is one of the few cancers that are preventable through regular screening. Objective: This study aimed to assess the awareness of cervical cancer among young female adults and their willingness to scre...
ABSTRACT Background: Small-Scale mining which feature large rudimentary, unmonitored and uncontrolled practices had been vulnerable to miners due to the use of labour-intensive and crude methods of extracting the ore which tend to produce lots of dust and fumes. Objective: To determine the effect of personal protective equipment use and occurrence of respiratory diseases among small-scale miners in Tarkwa-Nsuaem Municipality. Methods: A cross sectional study was performed among small-scale mi...
ABSTRACT The most direct and reliable method for estimating the man-biting rate is the human landing catches (HLC). It is considered the most representative and usually considered as the “Gold standard”, for determining human biting activity of mosquitoes. However, of recent there has been concerns about the ethics of using humans as baits to collect mosquitoes and therefore there is the need for an alternative method. This study compared Human Landing and Pyrethrum Spray methods in estim...
ABSTRACT INTRODUCTION: This is an exploratory qualitative study to determine the psychosocial factors affecting families with hospitalized children and their coping strategies at the University Hospital – Legon. Children in some cases of reporting to the hospital will need to be admitted during their recovery period for a short or long period. In such cases, a family member can be on the ward with the child to keep them company and also make them feel secured in the unfamiliar environment. ...
ABSTRACT Background: Malaria remains one of the major public health burdens in Africa in that it is one of the common diagnosis made by prescribers in all out patient departments across the African continent. The infection affects about 3.4 billion people worldwide and accounted for the deaths of 1.2 billion people across the world. The worrying situation about the infection is that of the over-diagnosis of the disease and over prescription of antimalarial to persons who have not been tested ...
ABSTRACT Background: Mental illness is debilitating both to immediate families and the society at large. In Ghana, mental illness is not treated as a priority in healthcare. Persons caring for their mentally-ill relatives often feel burdened, helpless and sometimes ignored by other family members and the society. The main objective of this study is to examine the social, economic and emotional consequences on families as a result of taking care of mentally-ill relatives attending the OPD of t...
ABSTRACT Introduction Accurate medication adherence and self-efficacy to properly adhere to treatment is essential for every hypertensive patient. Poor adherence to hypertensive treatment regime is the most important single reason for disease complications such as cardiovascular and renal failures. Method The study was a cross-sectional study involving 350 hypertensive patients attending Ridge Hospital. The Morisky Medication Adherence Scale, health and facility related tool was used to obtai...
ABSTRACT Background: Exposure to pesticide and its associated health effects in farm children is a major global public health issue. Several studies published in the developed countries have associated pesticide exposure in farm children with acute respiratory infection. However, no data on this subject is available in farm children in Africa. Objectives: This study investigated the prevalence of acute respiratory infection (ARI) defined as acute lower respiratory tract infection (ALRI) and u...
ABSTRACT Introduction: Antenatal Care Attendance (ANC) is a very vital issue to consider when dealing with matters of maternal mortality. Maternal mortality, a possible consequence of infrequent or lack of antenatal care attendance. Ghana‟s maternal mortality rate is still unacceptably high, 319 deaths per 100,000 live births. Women receiving antenatal care from a skilled provider has increased steadily over the past two and a half decades from 82% in 1982 to 97% in 2014. But how much of th...
ABSTRACT Malaria is highly endemic in the Northern part of Ghana with seasonal variabilities in the cases of malaria reporting. The highest numbers of cases are reported during the rainy season. IRS can contribute to the elimination of malaria if rigorously applied (World malaria report, 2013). Every year, since indoor residual spraying implementation in the East Mamprusi district there has been spraying exercises conducted between April and May. This period falls within the rainy season when...
ABSTRACT In Ghana. utilisation of maternal health services has seen marked improvement in the last decade. According to the GDHS (2014) births occurring in health facilities also increased from 57% in 2008 to 73% in 2014. Also, births attended to by skilled personnel increased from 59% to 74% in 2008 to 2014, respectively. Despite these marked increases skilled delivery still remains a major challenge to the health sector in Ghana. This study was intended to explore the factors that influence...
ABSTRACT Introduction: In resource-limited settings like Ghana, conventional smear microscopy with low specificity and sensitivity is the most commonly used diagnostic tool for detection of tuberculosis (TB). The Ghana 2013 TB Prevalence Survey findings indicated that TB is four times higher compared to previous World Health Organization (WHO) estimated number and the proportion of smear negative and culture positive pulmonary TB was higher than the routine report. The increment in prevalence...
ABSTRACT It is essential to recognize the relative importance of the various barriers to the utilization if effective health services are to be delivered. This study set out to find the factors leading to the observed underutilization in health facilities in the Assin District. It involved the administration of questionnaires to one-hundred household heads of selected communities of Assin District. Focus group discussions were also conducted with community members. In-depth interviews were c...