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 In 2003, Ghana Health Service (GHS) introduced an appraisal system with the aim of improving performance of its employees and also link both individual and organizational performances to achieving critical health targets. Using performance indicators, this thesis assessed the perception of selected health workers on performance appraisal in GHS and its implications for organizational commitment and achievement of the three health related Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Data were...
iv ABSTRACT Background: Globally, adolescent period is a critical developmental phase where many preventable health problems are acquired. However, studies have shown that parent adolescent sexual communication is protective against risky sexual behaviours. Nationally, parent adolescent communication on Sexual Reproductive Health (SRH) rarely occurs. Furthermore, anecdotal evidence along the coastal towns/suburbs shows a high prevalence of risky sexual behaviours and its associated consequenc...
ABSTRACT This study examined the determinants of seeking professional psychological help among contemporary Ghanaians. Specifically, the study investigated whether experience with mental health service, perceived social support (family, friends, and significant other), health locus of control (internal, chance, and powerful others), self-stigma, and cultural belief would uniquely and significantly account for attitudes toward seeking professional help after controlling for demographic charact...
ABSTRACT Background Rabies remain a public health threat although can be eliminated by vaccinating dogs which are major reservoirs of the disease and through pre and post-exposure prophylaxis in humans. Rabies is a fatal viral encephalitis disease which is untreatable when clinical symptoms develop. It is a neglected and old infectious zoonotic disease with fatality rate of 100%, worldwide distributed but more endemic area being in developing countries of Asia and Africa. In Ghana from 2000 t...
ABSTRACT Introduction: HIV/AIDS remains one of the world’s most important Public Health issue according to WHO (2014). The Ghana AIDS Commission (2014) reports a linear downward trend of HIV since the year 2008. Several studies report different prevalence of sexual risk behavior among PLWHA, but very few studies have been conducted in Ghana. The primary mode of HIV transmission is through sexual contact, which accounts for a greater number of new HIV cases (Ghana AIDS Commission, 2013). Hen...
ABSTRACT Background: Youth sexuality is of paramount interest to many stakeholders, since potential negative consequences may occur. These include HIV/AIDS, other STIs, and unintended pregnancies. Studies elsewhere indicate that sexting increases risky sexual behaviour among the youth. In Ghana however, there is no empirical evidence about sexting behaviours among the youth and the extent to which sexting influences risky sexual behaviours. This study, sought to examine the influence of sexti...
ABSTRACT Purpose: In Ghana the available statistics on unsafe abortions could only be gathered from the hospitals and the clinics especially in the major cities, leaving out the numerous cases of self –induced abortions in the rural communities where the women privately indulged in induced abortion without it being recorded in any hospital records. The purpose of this study was to investigate methods of self –induced abortion, one of the causes of maternal mortality in Ghana. This study s...
ABSTRACT Background Malaria in pregnancy is a public health problem especially in sub-Saharan Africa. “Intermittent Preventive Treatment in pregnancy using Sulfadoxine-Pyrimethamine” (IPTp-SP) 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. Mal...
ABSTRACT Introduction: Cancer of the cervix is said to be the commonest cancer second to breast cancer worldwide yet it causes the highest cancer deaths occurring among women. Cervical cancer prevalence rate remains very high in most developing countries including Ghana despite the introduction of its prevention as well as treatment options. The study therefore sought to assess the knowledge and awareness of cervical cancer and cervical cancer screening among these women in the Asante ...
ABSTRACT Water-borne diseases, caused largely by lack of potable water, are among the leading causes of morbidity and mortality. Several indigenous water treatment methods have been developed to enhance the quality of drinking water. In Illah, a combination of dried fruits of Xylopia aethiopica and Tetrapleura tetraptera are used for household treatment of water without information on its potency in water purification. There is no documented information on the effectiveness of this treatment...
ABSTRACT Introduction: Infertility is the inability of a couple to conceive after one year of regular unprotected sexual intercourse. In the Ghanaian society women bear the brunt for a couple’s inability to have children. Studies put male factors and female factors on the same level of causation. There seem to be little knowledge about male infertility in our communities. This study sought to assess knowledge about male infertility, identify some of the factors associated with knowledge abo...
ABSTRACT Background World Health Organisation Global malaria programme recommends three primary interventions that must be scaled up in countries to effectively respond to malaria control and management towards achieving the millennium development goals for malaria by 2015 and one of these is Indoor Residual Spraying. The Indoor Residual Spraying programme was started in the Obuasi Municipality in 2006 by the AngloGold Ashanti Mining Company as a measure to reduce the expenditure in...
ABSTRACT The level of awareness and screening practices for breast and cervical cancers among rural women was investigated.Three of the six rural wards in Ona-ara LGA were selected by balloting and the three largest communities in each of the wards were purposively selected for the study.Structured interview was conducted among 276 consenting women aged ≥18 years in the households. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics and Chi-square test. Mean age of respondents was 36.5+12.6 ye...
ABSTRACT In spite of the increasing number of children living with HIV in Nigeria, pubIished data on their clinical profile are few. We describe the clinical profile at presentation of HW-infected children at the University College Hospital, Ibadan, in a prospective study. Among 272 children studied (149 54.8%] males; mean age 4.2 yam [range 2 months to 15 years]), infection was acquired through vertical transmission in 252 (926%). blood transfusion in 5 (1 .SO%),+and undetermined routes In...