ABSRACT Introduction: Tuberculosis (TB) has been identified to be a leading cause of early death among People Living with HIV (PLHIV) in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and HIV has emerged as one of the key factors hindering global TB control. In SSA, although there are many HIV/TB intervention programmes, structural, contextual and individual factors prevent targets from being met. In Ghana, collaborative HIV/TB services have been incorporated into health services since 2007. However, targets are n...
ABSTRACT Introduction Onchocerciasis is one of the debilitating neglected tropical diseases that manifests in blindness at later stages. Ivermectin has been proven to clear microfilariae and is therefore being distributed in endemic communities. Adherence to ivermectin treatment is a major challenge in the implementation of the community directed treatment strategy. Some individuals do not adhere to the bi-annual treatment accounting for the continuity of onchocerciasis transmission. Objectiv...
ABSTRACT Caring for children who live with epilepsy can be very demanding, difficult and stressful burden for parents. Caregiver crisis and coping strategies adopted by parents of children living with epilepsy was explored to ascertain the crisis parents faced, the meaning they ascribed to epilepsy and caregiving and the resources at their disposal using the ABC-X family stress model as a guiding framework. A qualitative descriptive-exploratory approach was adopted for the study. Participants...
ABSTRACT Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) have become major players in Community Development Agenda and perform intermediary roles between donors and intended beneficiaries. Unfortunately, highly publicized corruption scandals are discovered in literature often associated with the activities of NGOs especially in developing countries. To sanitize the aid delivery chain, NGOs are required to be accountable to donors (upward accountability) and beneficiaries (downward accountability). Howe...
ABSTRACT Background: Malaria remains a significant source of morbidity and mortality in Ghana. The AngloGold Ashanti mining company in Obuasi in the Ashanti Region of Ghana concerned about the threats malaria poses to its operations instituted a comprehensive malaria control programme including Indoor Residual Spraying (IRS) in 2006. This district wide intervention against malaria needs to be evaluated and this report presents such analysis of the effect of the intervention on malaria parasit...
ABSTRACT Background: Benign prostatic hyperplasia is a well-known and commonly diagnosed urological condition in the aging male population, which affects over 50% of men in their 60s and increased to 90% by the age of 85 years. The condition is normally accompanied by lower urinary tract symptoms that impacts negatively on the quality of life. Upon all the problems that BPH cause in the life of men, the exact aetiology is unknown. Several mechanism have been mentioned that contribute to the p...
ABSTRACT Background: The 21st century has witnessed more efficacious and effective health interventions than ever, yet the proportion of effective coverage of these interventions remain poor. The interconnectedness of the health system is central for an effective delivery of interventions. Delivering malaria interventions to achieve desired health system effectiveness has remained a challenge without the understanding of the contribution of each building block indicator to effectiveness. Effi...
ABSTRACT Decentralisation is extensively adopted as a mechanism to perk up democratic procedure of governance and the integrity and competence of scarce resource allotment. While the objectives and the key principles of decentralisation such as subsidiarity are illustrious, attempts to execute them have not always been flourishing. This study aimed at empirically evaluating the link between decentralisation and environmental sustainability in the Obuasi Municipality of Ghana. The study adopte...
ABSTRACT Cassava bagasse and its extracted cellulose fibres have seen frequent application mostly in the packaging industry as reinforcement material in plastic composites development. However, the material properties such as the mechanical properties of the single elementary cassava cellulose fibres have not been examined and reviewed literature does not show its potential use in the development of tissue engineering scaffolds for cell culture. The study, therefore, characterized the mechani...
ABSTRACT Researches in communities are usually concentrated on the objectives of projects and may not address the felt-needs of the people involved. A project which administered Vitamin A Supplementation to children at the time they received their immunizations was carried out in the Kintampo District of Ghana. It was known as the Kintampo Vitamin A EPI -Plus Project (KTVAP EPI-PLUS). For the success of the project, the communities were educated on the importance of Vitamin A through meetings...
Abstract A Comparison of the Diet of Confirmed Type 2 Diabetes Subjects at the National Diabetes Management and Research Center, with Non-Diabetic Subjects. OBJECTIVE: The study objective was to compare the diet and nutritional status of diabetic subjects to non-diabetic subjects and to evaluate whether recommendations given as part of diettherapy for diabetics are being followed. METHODS: A cross-sectional study design was followed. One hundred and fifty one diabetic subjects were identified...
ABSTRACT INTRODUCTION: Recurrent vulvovaginal candidiasis (RVVC) is the occurrence of more than three episodes of Candida infection in the vulva and vaginal area of women in a year. Candida infection is a yeast infection caused by various fungal species in the Candida family. RVCC is a global health problem of women with higher burdens in women with immunocompromising comorbidities and those with low occupational, environmental and personal health hygiene. AIM: This study aimsat assessing the...
ABSTRACT Cervical cancer affects women between ages 15-44 years. Human Papillomavirus types 16 and 18 are the main causes of cervical cancer. Women with active sex life, who do not use condom during sexual intercourse, who have multiple sex partners, women who smoke and prolong use of oral contraceptives are mostly at risk. This study seeks to understand the perception of risks of cervical cancer among University of Ghana female students. The study was cross-sectional and employed the mixed m...
ABSTRACT Background Health information plays a pivotal role in ensuring the success of health systems. It ensures the health system blocks receive the needed information for effective decision-making. Improving data reporting systems can, therefore, strengthen the delivery of health programmes and health systems. Information Communication Technology (ICT), particularly mobile phone applications (mHealth) have become pivotal in the delivery of quality health data. The Neglected Tropical Diseas...
ABSTRACT This study was done to explore the factors influencing domiciliary deliveries in the West Gonja District despite high antenatal care coverage in the health facilities. The study sought to: assess the socio-cultural perceptions about the choice of place of delivery, assess the role of cost considerations in women‟s choice of place of delivery and to examine the institutional and health systems‟ factors influencing the choice of place of delivery. A population-based qualitative and...