ABSTRACT Optimal breastfeeding practices ensure adequate nutrients for growth, development, and protection of infant and young child. However, some mothers are unable to breastfeed their children as recommended due to their work. In light of this, the study sought to describe the determinants of breastfeeding practices of working mothers with children 4-23 months in Accra. A cross-sectional design, utilizing a quantitative approach was used to sample 400 working mothers of children 4-23 month...
ABSTRACT BACKGROUND: Human Immunodeficiency Virus and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, (HIV-AIDS) is an incurable disease estimated to cause an annual worldwide mortality of above 1 million, most of which are in Sub Saharan Africa alone (WHO, 2014). Female Sex Workers are a higher risk Key Population where HI is concentrated. FSW HIV prevalence in Ghana is 11.1%, several times higher than the national prevalence of 1.3% (NACP, 2014). This study focused on FSW in Takoradi, a city which has...
ABSTRACT Introduction About 90% of HIV new infections among infant and children younger than 14 years are due to mother-to-child transmission. More than half of these children die before their second birthday in the absence of treatment. However, mortality among HIV positive infants can be reduced by over 70% if treatment is initiated within the first three months after birth. Though Ghana has well established Prevention of Mother to Child/Early infant diagnosis (PMTCT/EID) service, over 80 %...
ABSTRACT This study assessed dry season farming profitability and examines farming practices and their influence on the environment. Dry season farming practices identified from the literature were irrigation practices, land preparation, tillage practices and use of agrochemicals. A cross sectional design was adopted as quantitative data was collected from respondents. Five (5) communities along the White Volta River in the Bawku West District were purposively selected based on their proximit...
ABSTRACT Studies have established that suicidal ideation is associated with risk of suicide attempt or suicide. Thus understanding more about Suicidal ideation may have implications for prevention. The study was a descriptive cross-sectional survey which utilized secondary data from the most recent Global School Health Survey (GSHS) conducted in 2012. Both Bivariate and Multivariate analyses were done to examine the associations between demographic and psychosocial factors and suicidal ideati...
Abstract This study was aimed at providing comprehensive information on infant and young child feeding practices adopted by HIV positive mothers participating in the nation’s pilot PMTCT programme in the Manya Krobo District, Eastern Region of Ghana. It also drew comparisons with the same feeding practices among mothers of unknown HIV status. Secondly, the study provided information on the relationships between infant and young child feeding practices and selected background factors o...
ABSTRACT Background Cervical cancer is a Public Health threat. The disease imposes economic burden on resources in the form of medical and non-medical expenditure and loss of productivity. Cervical cancer cases are expected to increase in 2030 by 1.5-fold in view of the rising world population. A woman who develops cervical cancer in sub-Saharan Africa has at least 79 percent chance of dying from this malignancy. Cervical cancer risk can be reduced by 80 percent through regular screening. Gen...
ABSTRACT Background: Congenital auomalies are among the leading causes o f fetal and infant morbidity and mortality worldwide. Prenatal ultrasound (US) screening has become an essential part o f antenatal care in the developed world. Such practice is just evolving in die developing countries such as Nigeria. The aim of this article is to present our initial experience and demonstrate the effectiveness o f a prenatal US screening program in detecting congenital malformation in a developing cou...
ABSTRACT In Nigeria, as in many developing countries, the private. health sector provides a significant proportion of reproductive health services. However, there-are concerns about the quality of the reproductive health services' provided by personnel operating in this sector. Few interventions exist to improve the quality of reproductive health services being provided by 'private practitioners', 'This three year intervention project, which was implemented in Oyo, Ogun and Gombe States, was ...
ABSTRACT Globally, the devastation that befalls women diagnosed of breast cancer remains inestimable. Early detection remains a major effective approach that should be employed to combat the disease. The issue of concern, however, is whether women in the rural underserved areas are aware of these early detection methods. This study was designed to assess rural women’s awareness and knowledge of breast cancer and their screening practices. The study was a descriptive cross-sectional study ut...
ABSTRACT Tetracylines are among the most commonly available range of broad spectrum antibiotics that are abused and misused in livestock production. Although there are available records on veterinary drug residues; however because of the accessibility of oxytetracycline and tetracycline antibiotics and consequent abuses, there is need for further information on dietary exposure and assessment of risk inherent in ingestion of their residues in treated cattle. Therefore, the concentrations and ...
ABSTRACT Most commercially available assays for diagnosis of HIV infection have shown shortcomings in the detection and quantification of rare genotypes of the virus. Most of the assays do not detect subtype O (outlier) and/or N (nonmajor, nonoutlier) or new circulating recombinant forms (CRFs), which are becoming more important in sub-Saharan Africa. Furthermore, the commonly available tests require costly measuring devices and expensive test kits, which are not easily affordable for develop...
ABSTRACT We compared the premorbid social adjustment of 38 schizophrenic patients with that of 20 manic patients. Even though the small sample size affected the number of significant differences obtained, schizophrenic patients consistently showed evidence of poorer premorbid functioning than manics at various stages of social development. Schizophrenic men also tended to have functioned more poorly than women. Poor premorbid functioning was associated with negative syndrome, but not with pos...
ABSTRACT The practice of early marriage has persisted in some Nigerian tribes, despite its associated negative health effects. There is however inadequate information on adolescents‟ knowledge and attitude towards this practice. This study was therefore conducted to determine knowledge, attitude and the prevalence of early marriage among adolescents in Sasa, a multi-ethnic community in Akinyele Local Government Area Nigeria. Using a three-stage sampling technique, 400 adolescents were rec...
ABSTRACT Records of 15 patients presenting with pressurised bottled drinks related eye injuries between January 1996 and 2001 were reviewed to identify factors contributing to accidental eye injuries from pressurised bottled drinks, reason for poor outcome and to make recommendations. In all, 16 eyes of 15 patients were studied out of which 7 were males (M:F, ratio I:1.1). Age range, 3 years-49 years, mean 23.6 years. The majority of those affected were students 46.7%, and traders 26.7%. The ...