ABSTRACT Infant and young child feeding practices have been identified as one of the major determinants of children's nutritional status and account to a large extent for the high rates of malnutrition among children in Ghana. This study is aimed at determining infant and young feeding practices in relation to nutritional status of children under two years in the Kumbungu District of Ghana. This was a cross-sectional study conducted on 274 pairs of children and their mothers who were randoml...
ABSTRACT Background: Cardiovascular complication accounts for greater number of deaths that occur in lupus patients who have chronic inflammation. However, arterial stiffness is used to predict diseases of the cardiovascular system, characterized by persistent inflammation which affects adipose tissues, dysregulation of adipokines and hyperinsulinemia, tend to quicken hardening of arteries in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Aim: This study investigated association existing b...
ABSTRACT Background: Hepatitis B virus and HIV infections are endemic in sub-Saharan Africa where 22.9 million individuals are estimated to be infected with HIV and nearly 50 million people are chronic HBV carriers. Due to similar routes of transmission, co-infections with the two viruses are common. Hepatitis B being severely infectious and found in HIV-positive patients, could pose more serious health problems. In Ghana, the prevalence of HBV infection is estimated at 15% of the adult popul...
ABSTRACT Background Intestinal helminths are very common in developing countries including Ghana. It is estimated in developing countries that one-third of all pregnant women are infected with helminths. Intestinal helminths infestation during pregnancy may be linked with adverse outcomes including prenatal mortality, maternal anaemia, low birth weight and growth restriction. This study’s objective was to determine the prevalence of intestinal helminths infestation among pregnant women att...
ABSTRACT The purpose of the study was to assess the perspectives of teachers and students in Senior High Schools in the Tamale Metropolis on school-based sex education. Provision of sexuality education in schools has been identified as a key strategy in promoting the sexual and reproductive health of adolescents as it equips them with the knowledge, skills and efficacy to make informed decisions about their sexuality and lifestyle in the mist of numerous and conflicting messages about their ...
ABSTRACT Adolescent sexual and reproductive health issues have become increasingly prominent and generated widespread international concern. This study was designed to investigate the level of knowledge of senior high school girls on reproductive health practices. This objective was achieved by exploring respondents’ knowledge on contraceptives and pregnancy prevention; exploring respondents’ level of knowledge on HIV/AIDS and finding out the challenges adolescents face in accessing knowl...
ABSTRACT Objective: To determine the prevalence of oral diseases among school going children and how their oral health behaviors relate with their oral health status. Method: Descriptive cross-sectional study design was used. Purposive and cluster sampling were used to select 279 school children from upper Primary and Junior High School in nine (9) basic schools in Assin North Municipal Area. Data were collected from the 279 students using the WHO Oral Health Questionnaire for Children and cl...
ABSTRACT Prenatal care provides the opportunity for early detection of pregnancy related problems for treatment to improve pregnancy outcomes. However, our knowledge is incomplete about the degree to which the content and delivery of prenatal care are associated with postpartum care practices such as infant feeding behaviors and newborn care. This study aimed at assessing the relationship between prenatal care and the adoption of newborn care practices including child feeding practices among...
ABSTRACT Introduction: Tuberculosis exacts heavy morbidity and economic tolls globally – more than ten million incident cases and $9.2 billion of tuberculosis (TB) expenditure accrued in 2017 alone. The World Health Organization introduced the Public-Private Mix (PPM) initiative in the late 1990s as part of measures to achieve TB control targets by strategically engaging all health providers. Ghana, one of the thirty high-burden TB nations implemented PPM in 2003 in urban areas of the cou...
ABSTRACT Generally, Muslims religious leaders are often viewed as potential obstacles towards family planning practices owing to their incessant condemnation of family planning. In Northern Region family planning practices is very low, especially among Muslim couples. In view of this, the study sought to examine how Muslim women and men in the Tamale Metropolis take decisions regarding family planning. The social survey was adopted as research strategy due to the larger nature of the study p...
ABSTRACT INTRODUCTION: High use of antibiotics is associated with the emergence and spread of antibiotic resistance. Global antibiotics consumption has increased in recent years with an even more significant increase coming from developing countries. The Ministry of Health in Ghana estimates that the median prevalence of antibiotic prescribing in health facilities is 44.3% against a standard of 30%. The quarterly prevalence of antibiotic prescribing at the Sunyani Municipal Hospital outpatie...
ABSTRACT Birth weight is used as a measure of maternal health and nutritional status as well as infant growth and survival. Low birth weight and early childhood malnutrition have both been associated with increased mortality and morbidity in children. Despite interventions like the ANC and growth monitoring and promotion by the Ghana Health Service to ensure adequate birth weight and early childhood growth, the prevalence of low birth weight and poor early childhood growth in the Northern Re...
ABSTRACT Breastfeeding is one of the main modes through which HIV is transmitted from mothers to their infants. Although the rate of transmission is drastically reduced when the breastfeeding mother is managed on anti retroviral therapy, there is still a probability of transmission. This puts a considerable level of strain on breastfeeding HIV positive mothers. The purpose of this study was to explore the psychosocial experiences of breastfeeding HIV positive mothers in the Tema metropolis. T...
ABSTRACT It is over a century since the discovery of Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) and since then, a lot more is still being discovered about the pathophysiology of the disease. Notable amongst the various factors that affect the disease’s pathophysiology and management is red cell dehydration. Factors that affect cellular dehydration and serum osmolality in SCD patients are not very clearly understood. An objective method among of assessing SCD patient’s hydration status is by measuring the ...
ABSTRACT This thesis assesses the impact of CLTS programme as an innovation to ending open defecation in the Kumbungu District area of Ghana. The research sampled respondents using purposive sampling and convenience sampling technique was employed. Data were collected using questionnaire, observation and field notes. Major findings in the study revealed that; latrines are simply lacking and the few which are there are either poorly taken care of or over shared with several households with it...