ABSTRACT Background: Cognitive dysfunction, presenting as learning and memory impairment, is a common manifestation in many chronic diseases, including depression, epilepsy and Alzheimer’s disease. It could also be present without any known underlying medical condition. Till date, no drug has shown convincing efficacy in improving learning and memory deficits in these conditions although some medicinal plants are demonstrating promising effects. The aim of the study was to investigate the e...
ABSTRACT Background: Epidemiological transitions characterized by increasing urbanization and changing lifestyle factors have resulted in an increase in the incidence of non-communicable diseases, especially cardiovascular diseases (CVD) in sub-Saharan Africa. The WHO country profile for Ghana shows that 18% of deaths in 2010 were as a result of CVD. In Africa more than 40% (and up to 50%) of adults in many countries are estimated to have high blood pressure. Other risk factors such as obesit...
ABSTRACT In Ghana and other countries of the developing world, men are very influential in deciding whether their partners visit the antenatal clinic (ANC) or not or they deliver in a health facility or not. Generally, there is a high ANC coverage in Offinso and Ghana at large. But as a result of lack of male support during ANC, some pregnant women are not able to deliver at health facilities. This necessitated the conduct of this study to explore the influence of male support during ANC on t...
ABSTACT Having a trained birth attendant at every delivery has been identified as the single most important way of reducing maternal mortality. However most women do not patronise supervised delivery services even where they are available. Among the reasons given for this state of affairs is the high cost of accessing the services. Supervised delivery in this district was estimated at 37% in 1998, which falls below the national figure of 44%. The actual cost to a woman for accessing this serv...
ABSTRACT Background: Viral Haemorrhagic fevers (VHF) are among the important public health emergencies of international concern as defined by the International Health Regulations (2005). They are associated with occurrence of major epidemics with high case-fatality rates. The emergence and re-emergence of VHF is a growing concern worldwide. The recent outbreak of Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) in the sub region exposed many weaknesses in the disease surveillance and response systems in Africa due ...
ABSTRACT This study was intended to find the social and environmental factors that affect the prevalence o f schistosomiasis in two rural communities in the Asuogyaman District. The study was conducted in response to a felt need by the District Health Administration. A comparative cross-sectional study was conducted, using both quantitative and qualitative methods. Data was collected using a structured questionnaire to interview young people aged 10-20 years on their knowledge, attitude and p...
ABSTRACT Introduction: Worldwide, it was approximated that 303,000 maternal deaths will occur in 2015, yielding a general MMR of 216 maternal deaths per 100 000 live births for the 183 nations. Sub-Saharan Africa has an elevated MMR with a point-gauge of 546 per 100,000. In Ghana the MMR was 319 per 100,000 in 2015. Antenatal care exists as one of the Safe Motherhood intercessions that when executed effectively has the possibility to remarkably minimize deaths before and few weeks after deliv...
ABSTRACT Background: Anemia in pregnancy is a major public health problem that affects pregnant women in both developing and developed countries but pregnant women in developing countries are mostly affected. An estimated 41.8% of pregnant women worldwide are anemic. The World Health Organization has put in place some measures to help prevent anemia during pregnancy, which requires countries to integrate into their antenatal care. This study aimed at determining the factors influencing the us...
ABSTRACT Stillbirth (SB) is a global issue; an estimated 2.6 million SB occur in a year. The highest rate of SB is recorded in Africa. Data on the postnatal experiences of mothers who have had SB in Ghana is lacking. The purpose of this study was to explore the postnatal mother’s experience of SB in the East Mamprusi District of the Northern region of Ghana. Exploratory descriptive design was adopted for the study. Purposive sampling method was used to recruit fourteen (14) participants who...
ABSTRACT Introduction: Family caregivers continue to be the primary source of care for the elderly in Ghana. However, their care-related economic burden is often overlooked. Aim: The objective of the study was to estimate the economic burden of family care-giving for the elderly in the Ga-East Municipality. Methods: A retrospective cross-sectional cost-of-care study was conducted among family caregivers in the Ga-East Municipality. A simple random sample of 98 respondents completed an intervi...
ABSTRACT Background: Negative outcomes pertaining to sexual and reproductive health such as teenage pregnancy, unsafe abortions, STI’s and HIV/AIDS can have devastating effects on education, physical and psychosocial wellbeing of adolescents. Various studies in adolescent reproductive health show that school-based programs have potential for improved knowledge, attitudes and behaviour. Ghana began the Adolescent Health Clubs (AHC) in 2014 to help improve outcomes regarding sexual and reprod...
ABSTRACT Background: Menopause is the permanent cessation of menstruation, usually occurring between the ages of 45 and 55 years, and it is considered as a natural biological event that affects all women who transit into the period. To some women, the transition is characterized with physiological, psychological and social changes that impact their health. Clinical menopausal symptoms include hot flushes, depression, mood swings, forgetfulness, and sleep disturbances among others. Over the ye...
ABSTRACT Background: In Africa, infectious diseases continue to be a major health problem because many of the national surveillance systems have scarce resources at their disposal and struggle to ensure timely detection or an effective response to disease outbreaks. To address this issue, in 1998 the World Health Organization Regional Office for Africa approved the Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response (IDSR) strategy for strengthening infectious disease surveillance and response capac...
ABSTRACT INTRODUCTION: Adolescence is a period of biological, psychological and social transformations as a child transits to adulthood. Thus adolescents, including those in Nkwanta South district, are vulnerable to themselves and the environment. OBJECTIVES: This study identified the social determinants of non-marital adolescent pregnancy in terms of formal education, adolescent parent and peer relationships. METHODS: The study was a community based cross sectional research. Two communities ...
ABSTRACT Background: Sedentary behaviour is characterised by energy expenditure ≤ 1.5 metabolic equivalents (METs). Common sedentary activities include television viewing, video game playing, computer use, driving automobiles, and reading. In addition, children also spend time engaging in sedentary hobbies like sitting or lying to read, sitting to chat with friends, drawing, and writing. Sedentary behaviour assessment is important because of its linkages with poor health outcomes like cardi...