ABSTRACT Chronic pain among advanced cancer patients (ACP) has several devastating effects on the patient’s quality of life and need to be understood for effective pain management. However, there is lack of literature on chronic pain experiences among ACP in Ghana. This study aimed to explore and describe chronic pain experiences among ACP in the Accra Metropolis. A qualitative approach with exploratory-descriptive design was used for this study. The Multidimensional Model of Cancer Pain wa...
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: Anaemia is a condition where the number of red blood cell (RBC) is reduced below the recommended value. It is diagnosed when a blood test shows haemoglobin concentrations below established levels. Iron deficiency anaemia is the most common type of anaemia. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), as many as 30% of the people in the world have anaemia due to prolonged iron deficiency. A good source of iron (haem iron) is meat and non-haem iron from plant sources. ...
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 Hypertension is a global public health problem in high, middle and low income countries. Management of hypertension involves both pharmacological and non-pharmacological approaches. Self-management is an important non-pharmacological approach that facilitates blood pressure control. Self-management practices in hypertension include medication adherence, lifestyle modifications and self-monitoring of blood pressure. There is paucity of literature on self-management practices among hyp...
ABSTRACT Substance abuse is a maladaptive use of a drug, resulting in impairment of functioning or distress, as manifested by a failure to perform adequately at home, school or work. In Nigeria, a large number of the population mostly the youth buy drugs without any physician‟s prescription. The aim of this study was to explore the perceptions of the youth on the substances they abused in Gawon Nama area of Sokoto, Sokoto state, Nigeria. An exploratory descriptive qualitative design was use...
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 HIV and AIDS was discovered as far back as 1981, however a cure for it is yet to be found. The only remedy to treat the disease is Adherence to Antiretroviral therapy. Over the years, non-adherence to ART has become an important issue in HIV and AIDS treatment. In this regard, the study sort to assess facilitators and barriers to antiretroviral therapy adherence among HIV and AIDS clients seeking care at Sunyani Regional and Municipal Hospitals. The key purpose guiding the study was ...
ABSTRACT Background: For an effective behaviour modification in dietary habits, an understanding of the association between an individual’s personality traits and food habits are of much significance. Aim: The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between personality traits and dietary habits among undergraduate students of the University of Ghana. Methodology: A cross-sectional study was conducted and students were recruited by systematic sampling. A questionnaire was used to...
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...