ABSTRACT Background Discharge from a hospital does not mark the end of care or indicate cure of disease thus care must continue at home in order to maximize health gains. Discharge planning implementation (DPI) ensures conterminous care after discharge and understanding the factors that affect clinical staff’s compliance to DPI may improve clinical practice. This study aimed to assess the factors affecting DPI compliance in Margaret Marquart Catholic Hospital. Method In this study, 112 clin...
ABSTRACT Background: The referral system is emphasized as a back-up function of particular importance in pregnancy and childbirth, as a range of potentially life-threatening complications require management and skills that are only available at higher levels of care (WHO, 1994). In Ho municipality, the proportion of maternal deaths arising from referrals from the periphery to the Volta Regional Hospital had increased from 63% in 2012 to 81% in 2013. Objectives: The objectives of this study we...
ABSTRACT Background: Childhood cancers, although rare, are the leading cause of disease-related mortality in children and adolescents in developed nations, with most African countries having the least surviving rate. The development of effective interventions to reduce delays that may occur along the pathway to cancer care, demands an understanding of their predictors. Few studies on childhood cancers have been published on the factors that influence the time it takes for patients to get a fi...
ABSTRACT BACKGROUND: Complementary alternative medicine (CAM) use appears to be on the increase globally and there is an increased rate of usage among hypertensive patients. The main objective of the study was to describe CAM use among hypertensive patients for the management of hypertension. METHOD: A descriptive cross-sectional survey involving 209 hypertensive patients seeking health care at Ledzokuku Krowor Municipal Assembly (LEKMA) hospital was conducted. Demographic data, pattern of CA...
ABSTRACT Tuberculosis (TB) remains a disease of serious public health consequence in Ejisu-Juaben District. TB case detection has remained low in the district, despite the implementation of the National Tuberculosis Programme (NTP) services through the primary health care infrastructure since 1994. This study therefore sets out to find the factors leading to low TB case detection rate in Ejisu-Juaben district. The specific objectives were; 1. To identify community related factors contributing...
ABSTRACT Background: Hypertension continues to be one of the main risk factors of cardiovascular diseases in the world. Much effort has been done to reduce the incidence of hypertension in urban communities, this has not been the same among the rural dwellers. The study seeks to determine the prevalence and associated risk factors of hypertension among rural dwellers in the Kwabre East District of Ashanti region. Method: This is a community-based cross-sectional study that was carried out in ...
ABSTRACT Community involvement in the control of yaws is a participatory approach to healthcare that is organized from the perspective of the recipient. This study was prompted by the fact that, in 1998 Addo found that community participation in the control of yaws was poor, 3.4% of the population is infected with yaws, yaws now ranking 3rd (1997-2000) from 6th position in 1996. This study looked at how a rural district (Asuogyaman) in the Eastern region of Ghana perceive and manage yaws and ...
ABSTRACT The study was conducted in 5 randomly selected communities in the Wassa West district in the Western region of Ghana using both qualitative and quantitative methods to obtain mothers or caregiver’s knowledge on symptoms of childhood malaria (uncomplicated and complicated) in children under five years of age in relation to its management. A total of 300 caregivers were interviewed using a structured questionnaire. Majority of the respondents were mothers constituting 79%. Although t...
ABSTRACT BACKGROUND Adolescents represent one of the main pillars of any society. They are, however, a vulnerable group who face many challenges during this period including issues concerning their reproductive health. It is also estimated that one out of five adolescent aged 10 – 19 years has at least one serious reproductive health problem which include early pregnancy resulting in school dropout, unsafe abortion and STIs including HIV. OBJECTIVE This study explored the reproductive healt...
ABSTRACT An individual's knowledge of HI V transmission and accurate assessment of their own risk is key in adopting safer sexual practices. Evidence suggests prevalence of HIV I AIDS among Ghanaians has seen a steady decline over the years; however there are reports of new infection among various populations despite on-going interventions. Sus@ning prevention education among youth and other special groups is very vital in contributing to further decline in the overall prevalence of HIV / AID...
ABSTRACT Background Overweight and obesity epidemic has become one of the most urgent global health challenges of the 21st century. Studies have shown that over ten times more children and adolescents were obese in the year 2016; 124 million compared to the year 1975; 11 million, according to findings by (WHO, 2017). Overweight and obesity is understood to be imminent before reception year at school thus at 8 months prevalence could be determined (Perry, Thurston, & Arch, 2016). Currently the...
ABSTRACT Background: Occupational hazards account for a significant percentage of worldwide burden of disabilities and injuries. Welders are exposed to a variety of fumes during the welding process. Continuous exposure to these fume particles can pose harmful threats to the lungs of welders. This can result in a number of conditions such as metal fume fever, nose and throat irritation, bronchitis, emphysema, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and lung cancer thereby reducing lung fu...
ABSTRACT Noise pollution is a global occupational health issue affecting the well-being of workers who are exposed to it. A common detrimental effect of work place noise exposure over time is noise induced hearing loss. Noise induced hearing loss is completely preventable, especially when safety measures are taken, however it becomes irreversible once acquired. The main aim of the study was to determine the effect of occupational noise levels on hearing among cement factory workers. A cross-s...
ABSTRACT Background Malaria in pregnancy is a public health problem especially in sub-Saharan Africa. “Intermittent Preventive Treatment in pregnancy using Sulfadoxine-Pyrimethamine” (IPTpSP) is one of the proven interventions for preventing malaria in pregnancy. The WHO policy on IPTp-SP recommends a universal coverage of four or more doses per pregnancy. However, in 2014, only 17% of eligible pregnant women received three or more doses of IPTp-SP in the Brong Ahafo region of Ghana. Mala...
ABSTRACT Health insurance is a method of financing health care in which payment for health care is made at a time that one is sick. It is a policy of the Government of Ghana to replace the previous cash and carry system with the Mutual Health Insurance Scheme since the previous method makes health care financially inaccessible to the citizenry especially the poor and the vulnerable. Even though much education on the scheme has been carried out in the district since its inception through durba...