ABSTRACT Background Needle stick and sharp instrument injuries are occupational exposures encountered by health care workers in the discharge of their duties. These accidental injuries expose them to various infectious diseases as well as the associated psychological trauma that comes with the fear of infection and the side effect of the drugs used for post exposure treatment. This is a serious occupational health hazard among healthcare workers, however, empirical data on the prevalence of n...
ABSTRACT INTRODUCTION: Globally, 257 million people are infected with Hepatitis B virus (HBV), with Ghana considered as a highly endemic country. Higher maternal HBV infection and low vaccine uptake in children poses great challenges in reducing HBV burden. The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of HBV among postpartum women, and identify factors that affect HBV vaccination uptake in children. METHODS: A cross-sectional study, was conducted in four hospitals in the Tamale M...
ABSTRACT Background: Mother-to-Child Transmission (MTCT) of HIV remains the main mode of acquisition of HIV in children. Transmission of HIV may occur during pregnancy, delivery or breastfeeding. Studies have shown that some specific interventions help to reduce the transmission of the virus to the baby. In order to target safe, rational and effective intervention to reduce MTCT of HIV, it is necessary to ensure that the nurse/midwife has knowledge of the strategies for the prevention of vert...
ABSTRACT Background The street food industry is one of the means of income generation in most developing countries. Due to the afTordability, accessibility and availability of a wide variety offoods, millions of people depend on street foods on daily basis. For this reason, the safety and hygienic practices adopted during the production -to- consumption stage should not be undermined. Every year, millions of people worldwide suffer from food borne illnesses making it a major public health con...
ABSTRACT Introduction: Breast cancer continues to represent a major public health problem despite recent falls in deaths due to improved survival from a combination of early diagnosis, breast screening and improvement in treatment methods. This study aimed to determine the knowledge about and attitudes towards breast cancer among female soldiers and officers of the Ghana Armed Forces and to document some of the perceptions they have about breast cancer. Methods: A cross-sectional study was co...
Abstract A cross-sectional study was conducted in the Yendi district to find out significant background characteristics and factors that differentiate women who attend prenatal service but deliver at home unsupervised, from those who attend prenatal service and had supervised delivery Interviews using a structured questionnaire were conducted. The study sample consisted of 400 women and 273 men selected through three steps multi-stage sampling technique from the 6 sub-districts in the distric...
ABSTRACT Background: Blood borne pathogens such as hepatitis B, hepatitis C and human immunodeficiency virus are often transmitted through needle stick and other sharp injuries in the hospital environment. In delivering service, HWs improvise and device approaches rather than use the approved preventive measures, predisposing them to blood borne infections and injuries. Objectives: The main objective of the study was to determine compliance with blood borne infection protocols among health wo...
ABSTRACT Background Despite the benefits of contraceptives, its usage by men is minimal especially in low and middle income countries. Many epidemiological studies have reported contraceptive usage amongst women but there is paucity of data on contraceptive usage by men. Therefore, this study was aimed at determining the prevalence of contraceptive usage, the types of contraceptives frequently used and factors influencing contraceptive usage amongst men in Awutu Senya east municipality. Metho...
ABSTRACT This study set out to assess the human resource management practices in private health facilities in the Kasoa North Sub-region. To do this, the study sought to assess the human resourcing practices in private health facilities, to assess the mechanisms of human resource training and development and to determine the employee welfare-handling processes in these private health facilities. The study area was selected due to the proliferation of healthcare facilities. The sample size, co...
ABSTRACT Background: Diabetes is a condition whereby the body fails to regulate levels of glucose in the body, resulting in too much glucose being present in the body. Despite the strong consensus that good glycaemic control minimizes the risk of developing complications such as nephropathy, and cardiovascular diseases in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM), only few patients can obtain optimal glycaemic control. Objective: This study was to explore factors associated with poor glycaemic control ...
ABSTRACT Background: Insufficient physical activity (PA) has been linked to several non-communicable diseases. Studies describing the physical activity levels of Ghanaian young adults in reference to the global recommendations are seriously scanty. The university period offers policymakers a window of opportunity to promote healthy behaviours in a vast number of young adults accessing tertiary education. This study was conducted to provide data on the prevalence and patterns of physical activ...
ABSTRACT Introduction: Tuberculosis (TB) is one major cause of illness and death worldwide especially in Asia and Africa. Globally, tuberculosis is one of the leading causes of death (WHO, 2017). However, TB is curable. The National TB Control Programme introduced the Directly Observed Treatment, Short Course (DOTS) to improve treatment success rates. Despite these efforts, the number of Multiple Drug Resistance Tuberculosis (MDR-TB) cases is increasing at a fast rate. Objective: The study as...
Abstract Background: Despite improvement in surgical techniques combined with chemotherapy and /or radiotherapy, the prognosis of gastric and oesophageal adenocarcinoma at the advance stage still remained poor. However, there is mounting evidence of the role of HER-2 expression in patients with these cancers. Aim: To determine the patterns of HER-2 protein expression in patients with gastric or oesophageal adenocarcinoma at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital (KBTH), Ghana Method: Retrospectively,...
ABSTRACT Background Hypertension is a global health threat especially in developing countries because of its high prevalence and concomitant risks of cardiovascular, cerebral and renal injuries. The leading cause of admissions and death in Ghana among adults is hypertension and related complications. Many patients diagnosed of heart failure, stroke and renal failure have underlying high blood pressure, which can be controlled with medications. This study aims to determine the factors affectin...
ABSTRACT This study was undertaken in the Wa District of the Upper West region o f Ghana during the period o f 5th April to 15th May 1997 in six (6) sub-districts. The study was to answer the following question: “ What level o f knowledge do mothers in the Wa District have about diarrhoea, it’s causes, effects, appropriate home treatment and prevention, and what they practice during episodes o f diarrhoea among young children” There have been concerns expressed at the district and regio...