Background. Follicular thyroid cancer (FTC) has historically been linked to iodine deficiency. Although Ghana is among the iodine deficient regions of the world, the proportions, trends, and the clinical features of FTCs have not been studied as a single disease entity. The aim of this study was to determine the relative frequencies, trends, and the clinicopathological characteristics of FTCs among all thyroid malignancies in our institution. Materials and Methods. This was a retrospective st...
Approximately half of the global population possesses a mobile phone, and 42% access the internet. Social media is one of the variables affecting sexual behavior among teenagers in today's society. This study was conducted to assess the contribution of social media usage to adolescent reproductive health services in the Tamale metropolis of the Northern Region of Ghana. The study design was a mixed method approach thus, qualitative and quantitative study design (cross- sectional study design ...
Background: Tramadol abuse has become a major public health concern in Ghana, particularly among tricycle drivers in the Tamale metropolis. This study discussed the factors that influence the abuse of tramadol among tricycle drivers in the Tamale metropolitan area in the Northern Region. Methods: The study employed both the qualitative and quantitative method. The multiple sampling using the simple random sampling, purposive and snowball sampling techniques were used to select 55 respondents ...
The campaign for improved sustainable development goal six (6) is increasingly threatened as people’s existing knowledge and attitudes seem not to promote clean water and proper sanitation practices. Environmental sanitation has become a problem to the extent that it has engaged the attention of authorities as well as concerned citizens. As a result, over the years Ghana failed to achieve her set sanitation target. One area that has suffered from this problem is the Muslims (Zongo) communit...
Background: Childhood under nutrition is a significant public health concern in Ghana with the Northern region mostly recording a higher prevalence. Several projects have been launched in the Northern region especially in Sagnarigu municipal where undernutrition is still unacceptably high. The purpose of this study is to investigate the responsive care and feeding practices of mothers/caregivers, and how this affects the nutritional status of children aged 6 to 24 months in Sagnarigu Municipa...
Menstruation is a default physiological and biological aspect of females at their reproductive age. Menstruation and girl child academic performance is a public health issue in developing countries including Ghana. The relationship between menstruation and the academic performance of girls is very important and needs to be addressed in detail. This study therefore sought to investigate the effects of menstrual hygiene on the academic performance of Junior high school girls in the Tamale metro...
Approximately 22% of Ghanaians are involved in the practise of open defecation. In 2014, the Sagnarigu Municipality embraced Community-Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) as a strategy to combat open defecation. This study assessed the determinants of CLTS uptake and sustainability in the Sagnarigu Municipality. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 338 randomly selected household heads. Structured questionnaires, Focused Group Discussions, and Key Informant Interviews were used to collect data...
Postpartum contraception is an essential determinant for population control and mitigation of maternal, infant morbidity and mortality. Birth spacing lowers the risk of preterm birth, a major cause of infant mortality. Northern region has the lowest contraception uptake of 11% in Ghana. Again, limited study has been conducted on this topic over the years hence necessitating the conduct of this study. Mixed study design was employed for the study. Simple random and purposive sampling technique...
Varicocele is a disorder of venous return caused by abnormal enlargement of pampiniform plexus draining the testicles. This condition is common among men seeking medical attention for fertility problems, sexual dysfunction or complains of continuous scrotal discomfort. Varicocele repair has been recommended for varicose patients with such complaints, however, the effect of microsurgical sub-inguinal varicocelectomy on semen parameters, gonadotropins or factors to predict which of the patients...
Maternal health care has received great global attention as a result of millions of delivery related mortalities. In the wake of calls for enhanced maternal health care, several factors inform the decision of women to seek delivery services, including their satisfaction with the caregiving processes, which is often not in their best interest. Also, studies on delivery clients’ satisfaction in Ghana including the study area are sparse. This analytical cross-sectional study therefore, examine...
Ghana, one of the challenging contexts settings in sub-Saharan Africa, is a strong democratic nation and one of the area’s emerging economies, yet the country still faces poor maternal health with maternal mortality ratios at 350/100,000 live births. This statistic means that the country’s efforts to achieve Millennium Development Goal-5—the reduction of maternal mortality by 75 per cent by 2015—remains a mere dream. In this dissertation, I explore rural Ghanaian women’s perspective...
Caesarean section (CS) is usually indicated when a vaginal delivery would put the baby or mother at risk. Even though women know the benefits of CS, they were interested in vaginal delivery to be recognized as women in their social context. The study sought to determine the prevalence of caesarean section among women who delivered at the Tamale Teaching Hospital within a five-year duration and to assess the social construction of knowledge of those who delivered through caesarean section with...
People living with disabilities are individuals in society who are faced with challenges in performing normal daily activities of living due to physical or mental malfunction. It is estimated that the world's population is made up of 15% of persons with disabilities with a great majority from low-income countries especially in Africa. These individuals living with disabilities require quality health care including the area of reproduction by the state. After a decade of the enactment of Perso...
In Ghana, the uptake of family planning is very low and hence the persistent high rate of unmet needs and low rates of contraceptive usage. With the continuous increase in sexual activities, unplanned and unprotected sexual intercourse place young people at risk of unwanted pregnancies, unsafe abortions, infections with Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs) including HIV and AIDS and maternal deaths; which pose a major challenge to adolescent reproductive health. This is however, highly incons...
Improved water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) practices have been the most effective means of reducing the incidence of WASH-related diseases. This thesis assessed the association between WASH practices and the incidence of WASH-related diseases in the Tamale Metropolitan area of Ghana. The mixed method approach was employed with an explanatory study design. Multi-stage sampling technique was used to sample household heads and purposive sampling to select key informants for the quantitative a...