Prevalence and health effects of post-COVID-19 condition in Africa: a scoping review protocol

INTRODUCTION

SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has caused global devastations in the social, economic and health systems of every nation, but disproportionately the nations in Africa. Apart from its grave effects on the global systems, is the persistence of post-COVID-19 condition in individuals infected with the virus. Therefore, the aim of this scoping review is to collate and summarise the existing research evidence about the prevalence and health effects of post-COVID-19 infection conditions in Africa.

METHODS AND ANALYSIS

Five main databases will be thoroughly searched from 1 September 2023 to 30 April 2024, for eligible articles based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria. These databases include PubMed, Central, Scopus, Dimensions AI and JSTOR. Meanwhile, Arksey and O'Malley guidelines will guide this scoping review using article published between 1 January 2020 and 30 April 2024. This review will provide a useful insight into the prevalence of the post-COVID-19 symptoms and their health effects within the population in Africa. The results and findings of the review will be valuable for health system interventions, including restructuring and reorientation of health systems in the continent.

ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION

This scoping review will involve analysis of secondary data, therefore, no ethical approval is needed. Dissemination of the results will be done through international journals and available research conferences.

Prevalence and predictors of workplace sexual harassment of nurses in the Central Region of Ghana: a cross-sectional online survey

OBJECTIVE

We investigated the prevalence and predictors of workplace sexual harassment against nurses in the Central Region of Ghana.

DESIGN

A cross-sectional online survey.

SETTING

Central Region of Ghana.

PARTICIPANTS

A total of 1494 male and female nurses from various healthcare facilities in the Central Region participated in this survey from August to September 2021.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

The prevalence of sexual harassment was determined using the Sexual Experiences Questionnaires and the Workplace Violence in the Health Sector Questionnaires. We used descriptive statistics to analyse participants' characteristics and the occurrence of sexual harassment. Binary logistic regression was used to determine the predictors of sexual harassment. The survey instrument yielded a reliability value of 0.82.

RESULTS

The prevalence of sexual harassment was 43.6% when behaviour-based questions were applied and 22.6% when a direct question was used. The main perpetrators of sexual harassment were male physicians (20.2%), male nurses (15.4%), male relatives of patients (15.1%) and male patients (11.6%). Unfortunately, only a few victims lodged complaints of harassment. Compared with males, female nurses were more likely to be sexually harassed (adjusted OR, aOR 1.59, 95% CI 1.23 to 2.07). Moreover, nurses with higher work experience (aOR 0.86, 95% CI 0.80 to 0.93), those married (aOR 0.54, 95% CI 0.41 to 0.72) and those working in private or mission/Christian Health Association of Ghana health facilities (aOR 0.49, 95% CI 0.36 to 0.68) were less likely to be sexually harassed.

CONCLUSIONS

The prevalence of workplace sexual harassment against nurses in the Central Region of Ghana is high and may compromise quality healthcare delivery in the region. Therefore, managers of healthcare facilities and the Ghana Health Service need to institute antisexual harassment interventions, including education, training and policy, with a focus on females in general, but especially those who are not married, less experienced and those working in public health facilities.

Preventing workplace mistreatment and improving workers' mental health: a scoping review of the impact of psychosocial safety climate

BACKGROUND

Work environment is rapidly evolving, unfortunately, it is also becoming increasingly hostile for workers due mostly to common psychosocial hazards. This situation is posing significant challenges for organisations to protect the psychological well-being of their workers. Hence, this review aims to map studies to understand the influence of psychosocial safety climate (PSC) on workplace mistreatment and mental health of workers.

METHODS

The guidelines outlined by Arksey and O'Malley were adopted for this review. PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, JSTOR, Google and Google Scholar were searched for relevant papers. Only peer-reviewed studies that measured PSC using PSC-12, PSC-8 or PSC-4 were included in this review.

RESULTS

Thirty-eight studies met the inclusion criteria. This review found that PSC has a negative association with workplace mistreatment such as bullying, harassment, violence, discrimination and abuse. Further, PSC has a positive association with psychological well-being, personal resilience and hope. Low level organisational PSC also promotes psychological distress, stress, depression, cognitive weariness and emotional exhaustion. The buffering effect of PSC is well-established. Moreover, PSC mediates the association between health-centric leadership and workers' psychological health problems. The inverse relationship between PSC and depressive symptoms was stronger for females than males.

CONCLUSION

Organisations should prioritise training and development of supervisors to enhance their supportive skills, encourage respectful behaviour, encourage the use of resources promote open and bottom-up communication and provide guidance on conflict resolution. By promoting a high PSC context, organisations can create a culture that discourages mistreatment, leading to increased employee well-being, job satisfaction, and productivity.

Psychosocial factors, psychological well-being and safety incidents among long-distance bus drivers in Ghana: A cross-sectional survey

BACKGROUND

Commercial bus drivers account for most road traffic crashes and related mortality. The psychosocial working conditions of these drivers have been found precarious. However, road safety initiatives in Ghana still focus on correcting risky driving behaviours, ignoring the conditions under which these drivers operate. Hence, the purpose of this study was to examine whether psychosocial work factors can predict the psychological well-being and risky driving behaviours of long-distance bus drivers in Ghana.

METHODS

This quantitative cross-sectional survey recruited 7315 long-distance bus drivers that operate from Accra to other parts of Ghana and cities in other West African countries. Hypotheses were tested using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM).

RESULTS

We found that job demands and job resources are direct and significant predictors of psychological well-being and safety incidents among these drivers. Moreover, psychological well-being of the drivers had a significant inverse relationship with their safety incidents. Psychosocial safety climate (PSC) had a negative association with safety incidents, and a positive but non-significant association with psychological well-being. PSC had a negative and significant association with job resources contrary to the notion of the PSC theory.

CONCLUSION

Psychosocial work factors are predictors of psychological well-being and safety incidents of long-distance bus drivers. Owners and managers of bus transport businesses in Ghana, driver unions and station masters need to highly prioritise psychological health and safety of this bus drivers by providing suitable job resources and adopting bottom-up communication that might help the drivers effectively cope with their job demands.

Psychosocial work factors affecting safety incidents of long-distance bus drivers in Ghana: Mediating role of psychological well-being

Background

Improving psychosocial work environment of long-distance bus drivers is essential for their psychological well-being and on-the-road safety. Despite the importance of the work environment of bus drivers, it has received little research attention in Ghana and other developing nations. Hence, this study examined the influence of psychosocial work factors (job demands and job resources) on safety incidents of long-distance bus drivers and how psychological well-being mediates this association.

Methods

This cross-sectional survey sampled 7315 long-distance bus drivers who commute from the cities of Accra and Tema to other parts of Ghana and other cities in the West Africa sub-region. Partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) was used to test four hypotheses.

Findings

The results suggest that job demands and job resources have direct association with safety incidents of the long-distance bus drivers. The psychological well-being of the bus drivers played a partial mediation role in the association between psychosocial work factors and safety incidents of the drivers.

Conclusion

The job demand-resource model provides a useful model for understanding the impact of the work environment on driving performance among these long-distance bus drivers. Providing the drivers with high job control and supportive work culture can equip and support them to value the critical roles they play in the transport sector. Managers of bus transport companies and individual bus owners should implement effective communication strategies like the bottom-up communication approach, conduct periodic assessments to identify and address drivers' precarious work conditions, create safety on the road, and reduce crashes and associated fatalities.

Psychosocial work conditions and traffic safety among minibus and long-bus drivers

OBJECTIVE

This study sought to examine the association between psychosocial work factors and road traffic crashes (RTCs), and test the differences in psychosocial work factors between minibus and long-bus drivers.

METHODS

This cross-sectional survey employed a convenient sampling method to collect data from 7315 long-distance minibus and long-bus drivers who operate between the Ghanaian cities, Accra and Tema and other parts of the country. The drivers answered a job content questionnaire, psychosocial safety climate scale (PSC-12), work-family conflict scale, and demographic questions on age, education, driving hours, and RTC history.

RESULTS

The correlational analysis showed a significant association between psychosocial work factors and RTCs for the previous 2 years. Hierarchical multiple linear regression found that supervisor support, skill discretion, decision autonomy, psychological demands, PSC, and work-family conflict significantly contributed to explaining RTC rates among the drivers. Also, significant differences were found between minibus and long-bus drivers in driving hours, occurrence of near misses, RTCs, and all psychosocial work factors explored in this study except work-family conflict.

CONCLUSIONS

Psychosocial work factors directly predict RTCs among minibus and long-bus drivers. Policymakers, driver unions, and owners and managers of bus transport businesses should prioritize integrating occupational health and safety into road transport activities. Furthermore, managers and bus owners should use bottom-up communication, provide access to support services and work-family balance initiatives, flexible work schedules, and a supportive work environment to improve road safety.

Coping with hypertensive treatment at Bono Regional Hospital in Sunyani, Ghana: a prospective observational cohort study

Introduction

the stress associated with hypertension treatment makes using coping strategies inevitable. However, most patients with hypertension apply inefficient coping strategies, leading to uncontrolled blood pressure (BP). The study analyzed coping strategies associated with hypertension treatment and determined how these coping strategies predicted the current BP of patients with hypertension.

Methods

the study was a prospective observational cohort conducted between January and December, 2020. Consecutive sampling technique was used to enumerate 508 patients who consistently sought treatment at the healthcare facilities. A sphygmomanometer was used to measure BP to determine controlled and uncontrolled BP based on Ghana Health Service standards. A questionnaire was adapted from Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations-2 to measure patients' coping strategies. Descriptive statistics, cut off percentage and multiple linear regression were applied in analyzing the data at a 0.05 level of significance.

Results

females were two-thirds (74%) of the study population and the mean age was 58.40 ± 11.72. All patients with hypertension used the three coping strategies: emotion-oriented coping (EOC), task-oriented coping (TOC) and avoidance coping (AC). However, EOC was highly used (61.2%), followed by TOC (58.5%) and AC (46.2%). Also, the study found coping with treatment regimens to be relatively poor since it was only physical exercise (79.5%) that they effectively observed. The multiple linear regression results revealed that the three coping strategies were significant predictors of current BP levels [F (3, 117) = 12.390 at p < 0.001]. Thus, AC, TOC, and EOC explained 37.4% of the variability of current BP status (R2 adj=0.374). Specifically, patients who use TOC (66.3%) were more likely to have a controlled BP than those using EOC (53.7%) and AC (35.8%).

Conclusion

patients' coping strategies were inadequate for hypertension treatment since treatment regimens were poorly observed. Meanwhile, EOC is most likely to negatively affect a patient's treatment, leading to uncontrolled BP. Our study recommends the need to encourage patients to combine their EOC with TOC to enable them control their BP better.

Public health concerns for food contamination in Ghana: A scoping review

Nutrition is sturdily and rapidly becoming the foremost determinant of health in today's Sars-Cov-2 and climate change ravaged world. While safe food sustains life, contamination obliterates its values and could result in death and short to long term morbidity. The purpose of this scoping review is to explore food contamination in Ghana, between 2001-2022. Using Arksey and O'Malley's procedure, a systematic literature search from PubMed, JSTOR, ScienceDirect, ProQuest, Scopus, Emeralds Insight, Google Scholar, and Google was carried out. Following the inclusion criteria, 40 published and grey literature were covered in this review. The review revealed the following: Studies on food contamination involving Greater Accra, Ashanti, Central, and Eastern Regions alone account for over 50% of the total number of such studies conducted in Ghana; regulators failed in enforcing regulations, monitoring and supervision; managers failed to provide adequate infrastructure and facilities. The most common food safety risks of public health concern are: i) micro-organisms (E. coli/faecal coliforms, Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella spp, Bacillus cereus, and Viral hepatitis); ii) drugs (Amoxicillin, Chlortetracycline, Ciprofloxacin, Danofloxacin, and Doxycycline) and; iii) chemicals (Chlorpyrifos). Salad, vegetables, sliced mango, meat pie, and snail khebab are of high public health risks. The following deductions were made from the review: Highly contaminated food results in death, short to long term morbidity, economic loss, and threatens to displace Ghana's efforts at achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 2. Thus, Government must resource key regulatory bodies to enhance their operational capacity, regulators must foster collaboration in monitoring and supervision of food vendors, and managers of food service outlets must provide adequate facilities to engender food safety culture.

Influence of psychosocial safety climate on occupational health and safety: a scoping review

BACKGROUND

Creating a healthy, decent and safe workplace and designing quality jobs are ways to eliminate precarious work in organisations and industries. This review aimed at mapping evidence on how psychosocial safety climate (PSC) influence health, safety and performance of workers.

METHODS

A literature search was conducted in four main databases (PubMed, Scopus, Central and Web of Science) and other online sources like Google Scholar. A reference list of eligible studies was also checked for additional papers. Only full-text peer-reviewed papers published in English were eligible for this review.

RESULTS

A search in the databases produced 13,711 records, and through a rigorous screening process, 93 papers were included in this review. PSC is found to directly affect job demands, job insecurity, effort-reward imbalance, work-family conflict, job resources, job control and quality leadership. Moreover, PSC directly affects social relations at work, including workplace abuse, violence, discrimination and harassment. Again, PSC has a direct effect on health, safety and performance outcomes because it moderates the impact of excessive job demands on workers' health and safety. Finally, PSC boosts job resources' effect on improving workers' well-being, safety and performance.

CONCLUSION

Managers' efforts directed towards designing quality jobs, prioritising the well-being of workers, and fostering a bottom-up communication through robust organisational policies, practices, and procedures may help create a high organisational PSC that, in turn, promotes a healthy and decent work environment.

Positive Status Disclosure and Sexual Risk Behavior Changes among People Living with HIV in the Northern Region of Ghana

OBJECTIVE

To investigate sexual behavior changes adopted by People Living with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (PLHIV) on Antiretroviral therapy (ART) in the Northern Region of Ghana.

METHODS

We employed a cross-sectional survey with a questionnaire to collect data from 900 clients from 9 major ART centers within the region. Chi-square and logistic regression analyses were applied to the data.

RESULTS

More than 50% of PLHIV on ART use condoms, reduce sexual partners, practice abstinence, reduce unprotected sex with married/regular partners, and avoid casual sex. Fear of others getting to know patients' HIV-positive status (χ² = 7.916, p = 0.005), stigma (χ² = 5.201, p = 0.023), and fear of loss of family support (χ² = 4.211, p = 0.040) significantly predict non-disclosure of HIV-positive status among the participants. Change in sexual behavior is influenced by the following: "to avoid spreading the disease to others" (R² = 0.043, F (1, 898) = 40.237, p < 0.0005), "to avoid contracting other STIs" (R² = 0.010, F (1, 898) = 8.937, p < 0.0005), "to live long" (R² = 0.038, F (1, 898) = 35.816, p < 0.0005), "to hide HIV-positive status" (R² = 0.038, F (1, 898) = 35.587, p < 0.0005), "to achieve good results from ART treatment" (R² = 0.005, F (1, 898) = 4. 282, p < 0.05), and "to live a Godly life" (R² = 0.023, F (1, 898) = 20. 880, p < 0.0005).

CONCLUSIONS

High self-disclosure rate of HIV-positive status was identified, with participants disclosing to their spouses or parents. Reasons for disclosure and non-disclosure differed from person to person.

Acute lower respiratory infections among children under five in Sub-Saharan Africa: a scoping review of prevalence and risk factors

BACKGROUND

Acute lower respiratory tract infections (ALRTIs) among children under five are still the leading cause of mortality among this group of children in low and middle-income countries (LMICs), especially countries in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). This scoping review aims to map evidence on prevalence and risk factors associated with ALRTIs among children under 5 years to inform interventions, policies and future studies.

METHODS

A thorough search was conducted via four main databases (PubMed, JSTOR, Web of Science and Central). In all, 3,329 records were identified, and 107 full-text studies were considered for evaluation after vigorous screening and removing duplicates, of which 43 were included in this scoping review.

FINDINGS

Findings indicate a high prevalence (between 1.9% to 60.2%) of ALRTIs among children under five in SSA. Poor education, poverty, malnutrition, exposure to second-hand smoke, poor ventilation, HIV, traditional cooking stoves, unclean fuel usage, poor sanitation facilities and unclean drinking water make children under five more vulnerable to ALRTIs in SSA. Also, health promotion strategies like health education have doubled the health-seeking behaviours of mothers of children under 5 years against ALRTIs.

CONCLUSION

ALRTIs among children under five still present a significant disease burden in SSA. Therefore, there is a need for intersectoral collaboration to reduce the burden of ALRTIs among children under five by strengthening poverty alleviation strategies, improving living conditions, optimising child nutrition, and ensuring that all children have access to clean water. There is also the need for high-quality studies where confounding variables in ALRTIs are controlled.

Sexual harassment as experienced by nurses from selected healthcare facilities in Ghana

BACKGROUND

Workplace Sexual Harassment (WSH) remains a major occupational health hazard to many nurses globally. Despite the negative impact of WSH on health and safety of nurses, there are limited studies exploring sexual harassment experiences of nurses in the line of duty in Low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) including Ghana.

AIM

This study aimed at exploring the lived sexual harassment experiences among nurses working in healthcare facilities in the Central Region of Ghana.

METHOD

This study used a qualitative interpretive phenomenological approach (IPA). Data from 24 participants, 13 participants' written descriptive narratives of sexual harassment experiences (via online) and 11 telephone interviews were analysed concurrently using the IPA.

RESULTS

Participants experienced verbal, non-verbal and physical forms of sexual harassment, often perpetrated by physicians, colleague workers, and patients. Most victims reacted passively to the acts sexual harassment and cases are often not reported despite the negative impact on victims' health. While some participants dealt with sexual harassment by accepting the behaviour as an inevitable part of their job, others either quit or intend to quit the job to avoid the harassers. Most participants are unaware of any workplace measure such as policy that addresses sexual harassment in the health sector in Ghana.

CONCLUSION

This study highlights the problems of sexual harassment against nurses in the healthcare sector in Ghana, and calls for urgent development of measures such as a sexual harassment policy to prevent occurrence and promote effective resolution of sexual harassment within the healthcare sector in the country. Sexual harassment against nurses could be hampering quality healthcare delivery in the region.

Malaria amongst children under five in sub-Saharan Africa: a scoping review of prevalence, risk factors and preventive interventions

INTRODUCTION

Africa has a higher burden of malaria-related cases and deaths globally. Children under five accounted for over two-thirds of all malaria deaths in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). This scoping review aims to map evidence of the prevalence, contextual factors and health education interventions of malaria amongst children under 5 years (UN5) in SSA.

METHOD

Four main databases (PubMed, Central, Dimensions and JSTOR) produced 27,841 records of literature. Additional searches in Google, Google Scholar and institutional repositories produced 37 records. Finally, 255 full-text records were further screened, and 100 records were used for this review.

RESULTS

Low or no formal education, poverty or low income and rural areas are risk factors for malaria amongst UN5. Evidence on age and malnutrition as risk factors for malaria in UN5 is inconsistent and inconclusive. Furthermore, the poor housing system in SSA and the unavailability of electricity in rural areas and unclean water make UN5 more susceptible to malaria. Health education and promotion interventions have significantly reduced the malaria burden on UN5 in SSA.

CONCLUSION

Well-planned and resourced health education and promotion interventions that focus on prevention, testing and treatment of malaria could reduce malaria burden amongst UN5 in SSA.

Self-Determination Theory and Quality of Life of Adults with Diabetes: A Scoping Review

Background

Diabetes is one of the leading causes of sickness, death, and decreased quality of life globally. The prevalence of diabetes keeps rising globally due to lifestyle changes and urbanization. Therefore, improved quality of life (QoL) and appropriate diabetes self-management practices, including treatment adherence, are crucial to improving and sustaining the health of diabetic patients. Some studies have adopted the self-determination theory (SDT) to study diabetes interventions, but less is known about its effectiveness in improving QoL, treatment adherence, and diabetes self-management. Aim/Objective. This review assessed the effectiveness of SDT in improving self-management practices, treatment adherence, and QoL among adult diabetic patients.

Method

We followed the six-stage framework by Arksey and O'Malley in conducting the review. PubMed, JSTOR, Central, and ScienceDirect databases were searched for published articles from January 2011 to October 2021 using keywords and Boolean logic. Furthermore, we screened a reference list of related articles. Also, Google Scholar, Z-library, and web-based searches were carried out to retrieve other relevant evidence that applied SDT in improving QoL, diabetes self-management, and treatment adherence. Findings. Fifteen studies met the inclusion criteria, from which data were extracted as findings. SDT effectively improved QoL, diabetes treatment adherence, and diabetes self-management among diabetic patients. Of these studies, 11 provided data on SDT and diabetes self-management and affirmed the effectiveness of the theory in improving appropriate diabetes self-management practices. Two studies confirmed the effectiveness of SDT in improving treatment adherence. SDT and QoL were assessed in 4 of the studies, which demonstrated the effectiveness of SDT in enhancing the QoL of diabetic patients.

Conclusion

SDT effectively improved QoL, diabetes treatment adherence, and diabetes self-management. The application of SDT in diabetes management will improve the health and QoL of diabetic patients. Hence, diabetes management interventions could adopt SDT to guide treatment.

Impact of Sars-Cov-2 on access to healthcare by person with disabilities

The Sars-Cov-2 pandemic has ravaged societies at their very core and deepened pre-existing inequalities. Meanwhile, persons with disabilities (PwDs), the most oppressed group in Ghana that live in poor and deplorable conditions are most like to be negatively impacted by the Sars-Cov-2 crisis. Therefore, the aim of this study is to explore how the Sars-Cov-2 pandemic is influencing access to healthcare by PwDs in the Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolis (STM). We collected data from 17 participants, nine from the Ghana Blind Union (GBU), five from Ghana Society for the Physically Challenged (GSPC), and three from the Ghana National Association of the Deaf (GNAD). An interview guide containing 25 items was used to gather data from the participants and we employed Phenomenological Analysis (PA) approach in making sense of the data. PWDs encounter many different barriers like; i) stigma and discrimination, ii) cost and availability of transport, iii) poor attitude of healthcare staff, iv) poor communication, v) hospital environment and equipment, vi) handwashing and sanitizing facilities, vii) unsuitable washrooms, viii) cost of healthcare, ix) registration and renewal of NHIS cards, and x) loss of income as they attempt to seek healthcare during this Covid-19 era in the STM. Covid-19 pandemic has widened the disproportionate and inequality gaps against PWDs in the STM when they attempt to seek healthcare. in the face of this, STM may lead Ghana to lag in achieving the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3.8, which entreats nations to provide quality healthcare for all persons including PWDs. PWDs need education and empowerment to enable them demand for their rights when accessing healthcare. The findings highlight existing gaps in the implementation of the disability law by healthcare facilities in STM and, re-focus the attention of hospital managers in STM to the healthcare needs of PWDs in STM.

Socio-cultural factors influencing adolescent pregnancy in Ghana: a scoping review

Background

Adolescent pregnancy is a public health challenge that has well-defined causes, associated health risks, and social and economic consequences for adolescent, their families, communities, and society. The purpose of this scoping review is to summarize studies published on socio-cultural determinants of adolescent pregnancy in Ghana.

Methods

Search for records was done in four major databases, including PubMed CENTRAL, Science Direct and JSTOR. Records from Google and Google Scholar were also added, and results and findings from published and unpublished studies were included. All the 22 studies that met the eligibility criteria, were critically appraised. The guidelines for conducting scoping reviews by Arksey and O’Malley were followed.

Results

The result revealed that poverty, peer influence, low level of education, dysfunctional family, lack of communication between parents and their daughters, lack of sexual and reproductive health education, child marriage, coerced sex, misconception and non-usage of contraceptives, and decline in cultural values such as puberty rites and virginity inspection are some of the determinants of adolescent pregnancy in Ghana. The study also showed that there is a lack of high-quality observational studies that adjust for confounding variables.

Conclusion

Interventions and policies should be designed to take into consideration the needs, context, and background of adolescents. Programmes to enhance adolescent reproductive health need to consider multilevel factors such as person, family, community, institutions, national, and global issues that affect such programmes.

Factors Influencing Drug Use Information Received at Primary Healthcare Centre Pharmacies in Ghana

Background

Health literacy addresses environmental, political, and social factors that determine health. Drug dispensers play a major role in educating patients on drug use to increase effective and efficient drug utilisation, thereby promoting positive healthcare outcomes. From the patients' perspective, this study examined the communication quality between patients and drug dispensers at primary healthcare centres in the Cape Coast Metropolis of Ghana.

Method

We conveniently surveyed 269 patients seeking health care at primary healthcare facilities using a researcher-constructed 13-item instrument. In SPSS version 21 software, we analysed the data using percentages, chi-square analysis, and logistic regression.

Results

Almost half of the participants (n = 132) reported low health literacy, with 81% (n = 218) reporting that drug side effects were not discussed with them at the pharmacies. The findings further indicated that health literacy and educational level predicted general communication quality between participants and drug dispensers; participants with secondary education were about 3 times more likely to report not being told of the side effects of prescribed drugs as compared with those who had completed only basic education.

Conclusions

There is still a high level of low health literacy among patients seeking healthcare at primary healthcare centres and a very high percentage of patients did not receive any education on side effects of dispensed drugs. Drug use directives from dispensers at primary healthcare facilities can make a difference between any 2 patients.

Maternal and child health data quality in health care facilities at the Cape Coast Metropolis, Ghana

Background

The demand for quality maternal and child health (MCH) data is critical for tracking progress towards attainment of the Sustainable Development Goal 3. However, MCH cannot be adequately monitored where health data are inaccurate, incomplete, untimely, or inconsistent. Thus, this study assessed the level of MCH data quality.

Method

A facility-based cross-sectional study design was adopted, including a review of MCH service records. It was a stand-alone study involving 13 healthcare facilities of different levels that provided MCH services in the Cape Coast Metropolis. Data quality was assessed using the dimensions of accuracy, timeliness, completeness, and consistency. Health facilities registers were counted, collated, and compared with data on aggregate monthly forms, and a web-based data collation and reporting system, District Health Information System (DHIS2). The aggregate monthly forms were also compared with data in the DHIS2. Eight MCH variables were selected to assess data accuracy and consistency and two monthly reports were used to assess completeness and timeliness. Percentages and verification factor were estimated in the SPSS version 22 package.

Results

Data accuracy were recorded between the data sources: Registers and Forms, 102.1% (95% CI = 97.5%—106.7%); Registers and DHIS2, 102.4% (95% CI = 94.4%—110.4%); and Forms and DHIS2, 100.1% (95% CI = 96.4%—103.9%). Across the eight MCH variables, data were 93.2% (95% CI = 82.9%—103.5%) complete in Registers, 91.0% (95% CI = 79.5%—102.5%) in the Forms, and 94.9% (95% CI = 89.9%—99.9%) in DHIS2 database. On the average, 87.2% (95% CI = 80.5%—93.9%) of the facilities submitted their Monthly Midwife’s Returns reports on time, and Monthly Vaccination Report was 94% (95% CI = 89.3%—97.3%). The overall average data consistency was 93% (95% CI = 84%—102%).

Conclusion

Given the WHO standard for data quality, the level of MCH data quality in the health care facilities at the Cape Coast Metropolis, available through the DHIS2 is complete, reported on timely manner, consistent, and reflect accurately what exist in facility’s source document. Although there is evidence that data quality is good, there is still room for improvement in the quality of the data.

Nutritional status and associated factors of older persons in sub-Saharan Africa: a scoping review

BACKGROUND

The older person population is rapidly increasing globally, including sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Concurrently, malnutrition is also increasing among older persons in SSA, with a dearth of empirical evidence on nutritional status and associated factors among the older persons in the region to inform effective interventions to promote healthy ageing.

AIM/OBJECTIVE

This review assessed the nutritional status and associated factors among older persons in SSA.

METHOD

PubMed, Google Scholar, and Cochrane Library electronic databases were searched for published articles from 2010 to 2021 using keywords and Boolean logic. Also, we carried out a free web-based search to retrieve other relevant evidence that assesses the older persons' nutritional status. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses flow chart was used to appraise the research articles that responded to the study's research questions.

FINDINGS

Twenty studies met the inclusion criteria, from which data were extracted as findings. The malnutrition prevalence was between 6 to 54% among older persons in SSA. We found that the prevalence of malnutrition vary and could be as high as 28.4% in a low socio-economic status area. Of these studies, twelve (12) provided data on undernutrition with prevalence ranging from 2.9 to 41%;10 provided data on overweight (8.1-54.1%) and 5 on obesity (2.7-44.7%). Seventeen of the studies evaluated factors associated with malnutrition; 4 studies revealed the association between socioeconomic status and malnutrition, 7 studies reported a significant association between dietary habits and malnutrition. Four studies showed an association between educational status and malnutrition. Disease conditions associated with malnutrition were reported in four of the studies.

CONCLUSION

This review shows that malnutrition is a problem among older persons in SSA coupled with many risk factors which should be given critical attention. We recommend nutrition education for older persons as well as the development of nutrition interventions for this vulnerable group.

Physical activity and dietary behaviors: a phenomenological analysis of experiences of Ghanaians during the COVID-19 lockdown

Introduction

the COVID-19 pandemic has necessitated many public health preventive measures including lockdowns or curfews. However, because humans are used to working and moving up and down, they would need to find ways to avert the negatives associated with the COVID-19 induced lockdown. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to qualitatively explore experiences of Ghanaians during the lockdown period in terms of physical activity, dietary behaviors, boredom, and changes in weight.

Methods

using a phenomenological approach, we analyzed data from 27 persons from Accra, Tema, and Kumasi who filled our online open-ended survey. We created open-ended items and circulated online (between 21^st April, 2020 and 10^th May, 2020) to persons who experienced the lockdown. We analyzed the data using Colaizzi´s 7-step phenomenological approach.

Results

many people felt very bored and frustrated during the lockdown period, and some of these people resorted to physical exercise routines either individually or collectively as family. However, many experienced tremendous physical inactivity because of lack of space. They experienced poor eating behaviors, all of which resulted in reported weight gains.

Conclusion

the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown has caused boredom and frustrations to quite a number of people. Physical inactivity increased because of lack of space, coupled with poor eating habits producing high levels of weight gain among people who experienced the lockdown in Ghana. There is therefore an urgent need to teach these people how to exercise within limited space and how to eat healthily during times of restriction.