ABSTRACT Background: Nutritional status is the balance between the intake of nutrients and the expenditure of these in the processes of growth, reproduction, and health maintenance. Under nutrition, especially in children, can lead to substantial problems in mental and physical development. Undernourished children can also suffer several diseases from nutrient deficiencies. Although the overall pattern of growth is genetically determined, it is significantly affected by nutrition. Socioeconom...
ABSTRACT Plant milk beverages have become a necessity as they serve as an alternative for people with lactose intolerance, cow milk allergy, vegetarians and people who want to avoid cholesterol. They have numerous health benefits but their consumption is limited by their poor sensory profiles. Soymilk is the most popular and most widely consumed plant milk beverage in the world. Using local ingredients for commercial production of plant milk in Ghana is advantageous as these raw materials are...
ABSTRACT Teenage pregnancies and abortion cases reported to health facilities in the Tema Metropolis have been increasing over the years. Anecdotally, community pharmacies are also reporting of increases in request for medicines that have abortifacient properties. It is against this background that this study seeks to identify abortion help-seeking behaviours of females in the metropolis when saddled with unwanted pregnancies. The study focuses on identifying where women in the metropolis go ...
ABSTRACT Medical fitness of troops participating in UN peacekeeping mission is of paramount importance to commanders on the field for efficient and productive execution of set tasks. Disability resulting from complications of chronic illnesses, markedly reduces the number of active troops, which includes highly trained specialists, hence commanders fail to achieve targeted objectives. The objective of this study was to estimate the prevalence of hypertension among Ghanaian – UN peacekeepers...
ABSTRACT The cost of providing basic health care in Ghana is escalating and it is beyond the ability of the government alone to finance health care. The introduction of the cash and carry system although had advantages, however for the majority of the people in the rural areas the system has not been of much help as money was not always available to pay for the cost of health care. Therefore, there has been the need to find alternative method of financing health care in Ghana. Mutual health i...
ABSTRACT BACKGROUND Spastic Cerebral palsy accounts for 70-80% of all types of Cerebral palsy. Spasticity as a major feature limits and restricts patients’ ability to walk, stand, sit, or roll effectively due to excessive muscle contraction interfering with lengthening of the affected muscles. It poses a challenge even though there are well known interventions. Rehabilitation which includes physiotherapy is one of the widely accepted interventions. Physiotherapists in other countries and in...
ABSTRACT Bhungroo, a floodwater harvesting Aquifer Storage and Recovery technology, piloted in Northern Ghana for dry season irrigation, was assessed to determine its environmental and technical performance. The study evaluated the recharge, storage and recovery potentials of three Bhungroos, and their impacts on groundwater resources. Due to the limited time available for data collection, a multi-method approach was used. Water quality samples from rainwater, community boreholes, monitoring ...
ABSTRACT This study explored the school health education programme and the reproductive health-seeking behaviour of adolescents in selected Junior High Schools in the Bawku West District. It touched on the scope of the school health education programme, knowledge of female students on sexual and reproductive health issues, their healthseeking behaviour and the factors that hinder adolescents from seeking formal health care. The study adopted a qualitative method, using criterion, convenient a...
ABSTRACT Background: Yaws is a treponemal infection in humans that is common in children who are less than 15 years of age. The causative organism of yaws – Treponema pallidum subspecies pertenue – is genetically related to T. pallidum subspecies, the causative agent of syphilis. Mostly, people who are affected by yaws live in poor socioeconomic conditions. Ghana seems to be the number one yaws endemic country in the WHO African Region, reporting over 20 000 cases annually. The Kintampo N...
ABSTRACT Background: Over the last couple of years, Ghana’s Ministry of Health has continuously strived at improving health care quality and make healthcare delivery in Ghana patient centered. However, challenges remain. This study sought to assess caregivers’ perceptions of quality of care at the Out Patient department of the Princess Marie Louise Hospital in Accra. Objectives: The general objective this study was to assess caregivers’ perception on quality of health care at the outpat...
ABSTRACT Background: Postpartum/postnatal depression is a type of mood disorder, which is associated with childbirth but could affect both sexes. Women with postnatal depression can experience disabling symptoms of low mood, irritability, fatigue, insomnia, changes in appetite, anxiety, guilt, inability to cope, feelings of worthlessness and thoughts of suicide. However, epidemiological data on the prevalence of postpartum depression and its associated factors are still unclear in Ghana. The ...
ABSTRACT Introduction: Asthma is a chronic respiratory disease which has substantial financial and nonfinancial burden on sufferers, their families and the society. Family caregivers continue to be the primary source of care for children with asthma in Ghana which may have financial and psychosocial implications. Aim: The objective of the study was to determine the household cost of caregiving for children with asthma at Princess Marie Louis Hospital in Accra. Methods: A retrospective cross-s...
ABSTRACT Introduction: Antibiotics are by far the most common drugs administered to children. They account for about one-fourth of all medications administered to children, with a third of its use in children considered unnecessary. Due to the lack of education of both healthcare professionals and the general population, antibiotics are commonly used to treat a variety of viral infections including: the common cold, cough, sore throat and acute watery diarrhoea in children. Irrational use of ...
ABSTRACT Background Generally, heavy equipment operators such as forklifts drivers and cranes operators perform various tasks that expose them to many hazards which may lead to health problems. Whole body vibration, awkward postures, repetitive movement, are some of the hazards that heavy equipment operators are exposed to. Objective Investigations were therefore conducted to access Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) among heavy equipment/ machine operators of the Ghana Ports and Harbours Autho...
ABSTRACT Background Risky alcohol use and sexual risk behaviours co-occur, particularly among young people. However, little is known about how these are related, particularly in low and middle income settings where increasing trends are reported. The main objective of the study was to determine the association between risky drinking and sexual risk behaviour (SRB) among in-education young adults aged 14years to 24 years in La-Nkwantanang. Methods: A cross-sectional study among in-educa...