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...
ABSTRACT Paediatric patients undergo various painful invasive procedures in paediatric settings which are not managed effectively. The study aimed to explore the perspectives of nurses about invasive procedural pain management among paediatric patients. A qualitative interpretive design was used in this study. Nurses were recruited from the paediatric units at the Regional Hospital, Koforidua and a semi-structured interview guide was used for the data collection. Saturation was achieved at th...
ABSTRACT Background: Pneumonia is a form of acute respiratory infection. The epidemiology of childhood pneumonia is due to various risk factors such as malnutrition, substandard breastfeeding, exposure to biomass fuel for cooking and parental smoking and needs further investigation. Objective: The aim of the study was to examine the relationship between pneumonia and nutritional status in children under five at Princess Marie Louise Children’s hospital. Method: An unmatched case-control d...
ABSTRACT Ageing predisposes one to chronic conditions, increased utilization of health facilities, increased dependency, and increased economic burden on governments. Thus, examining the quality of life of the elderly provides information that will help meet the needs of the elderly and their caregivers. The aim of the study was to examine the quality of life of the elderly, the relationship between caregiver psychosocial factors and the quality of life of the elderly. The other aim was to in...
ABSTRACT Improving maternal health is a key concern of the international community due to the unacceptably high maternal mortality rate. Invariably several studies have identified induced unsafe abortions as a major contributory factor to these maternal deaths. Contraceptive use, a cheap and effective preventive method of unplanned pregnancies is rather low. Ghana and for that matter, Kumasi is no exception to the rule of a high incidence of induced abortions and its attendant public health ...
Abstract Diabetes mellitus is associated with increased risk of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) and mortality. Type 2 diabetes (T2DM) exerts it deleterious effects through the blood vessel which may lead to hypoperfusion and end organ damage. The ability to characterize the arterial system and derive related biomarkers that can predict the occurrence of CVDs and discriminate high risk subject for management would be of immense importance. Assessment of arterial stiffness and central hemodynami...
ABSTRACT Childhood and adolescent overweight and obesity is a major global concern in the public health sector. Overweight, as well as obesity occurs when the rate of metabolism of calories in the body is less than the rate of caloric intake. This condition is likely to continue into adulthood if not addressed. The prevalence and conditions that determine childhood and adolescent obesity have not been widely studied in children and adolescents between the age of 5 and 17 years in Ghana. Knowi...
ABSTRACT Background: Stress has often been related to a multitude of negative human behaviours and many health conditions including cardiovascular diseases. In recent times, several harmful dietary practices such as unhealthy eating patterns have been associated with issues of stress. Work-related stress (WRS) is experienced when the demands of the work environment exceed the employees’ ability to cope with (or control) them. Nursing is generally perceived as a stressful and demanding prof...