Public Health in Colonial and Post-Colonial Ghana: Lesson-Drawing for The Twenty-First Century

Public health in twenty-first century Ghana is mired with several issues ranging from the inadequacy of public health facilities, improper settlement planning, insanitary conditions, and the inadequacy of laws and their implementation. This situation compared to the colonial era is a direct contradiction. Development in the pre-colonial era to the colonial era sought to make the prevention of diseases a priority in the colonial administration. This was begun with the establishment of the health branch in 1909 as a response to the bubonic plague that was fast spreading in the colony. From here public health policies and strategies were enacted to help the diseases prevention cause. Various public health boards, the medical research institute or the laboratory branch, the waste management department, the use of preventive medicine and maintenance of good settlement planning and sanitation were public health measures in the colonial era. This research seeks to analyse the public health system in the colonial era so as to draw basic lessons for twenty-first century Ghana. Archival data and other secondary sources are reviewed and analysed to help draw these lessons. Richard Rose’s lesson-drawing approach was used to draw the lessons

Association of wrist circumference and waist-to-height ratio with cardiometabolic risk factors among type II diabetics in a Ghanaian population

The study determined the association of wrist circumference (WrC) and waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) with cardiometabolic risk factors among diabetics in a Ghanaian population. This cross-sectional study involved 384 diabetic patients at Begoro District Hospital, Ghana. Blood pressure, anthropometrics, and biochemical indices were measured. The overall prevalence of dyslipidaemia, metabolic syndrome (MetS), and hypertension was 42.4%, 76.3%, and 39.8%, respectively. The optimum cut-off range of WrC to identify individuals at increased cardiometabolic risk was 17.5 to –17.8 cm for men and 16.0 to 16.7 cm for women while that of WHtR was 0.52 to 0.61 for men and 0.53 to 0.59 for women. WrC for women was a significant independent predictor for MetS [aOR = 3.0 (1.39–6.72), ] and systolic blood pressure [aOR = 2.08 (1.17–3.68), ]. WHtR was a significant positive predictor for triglycerides [aOR = 3.23 (0.10–3.82), ] for women. Using Framingham risk scores, 61% of the subjects had elevated 10-year risk of developing cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), with no significant difference in gender prevalence. WrC [aOR = 6.13 (0.34–111.4), ] and WHtR [aOR = 2.52 (0.42–15.02), ] were associated with statistically insignificant increased odds of moderate-to-high risk of developing CVDs in 10 years. The use of gender-specific cut-offs for WrC and WHtR may offer putative markers for early identification of CRFs

Evaluation of serum iron overload, AST:ALT ratio and log10ferritin:AST ratio among schizophrenia patients in the Kumasi Metropolis, Ghana: A case-control study

Objective: The association between unbalanced iron indices and the conditions of schizophrenia are not well understood. Liver dysfunction which has been linked to iron metabolism might be a contributing factor. This case–control study evaluated serum iron indices and liver function in treatment-naïve schizophrenia patients and those already on treatment at the Psychiatric Department of the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH), Kumasi-Ghana. Results: The mean age of the respondents was 39.6 ± 0.8 years. Increased levels of serum iron, TS, AST, ALT and AST:ALT ratio and lower levels of UIBC, TIBC, Transferrin, and log Ferritin:AST ratio levels were observed among the treatment-naïve group compared to the control. The treatment-naïve and treatment groups showed significantly higher serum AST:ALT ratio, and lower log10ferrtin:AST ratio than the healthy controls. There was a significant correlation between log10ferritin and AST, and log10ferritin and GGT in both treatments (r = 0.343; p = 0.003, and r = 0.502; p = 0.001 respectively) and treatment-naïve groups (r = 0.348; p = 0.002, and r = 0.614; p \u3c 0.001 respectively). Percentage transferrin saturation correlated significantly with GGT only, in the treatment-naïve group (r = 0.667; p \u3c 0.001), and ALT and GGT in the treatment group (r = 0.252; p = 0.030 and r = 0.646; p = 0.014 respectively)

Predictors of noncompliance to antihypertensive therapy among hypertensive patients Ghana: Application of health belief model

This study determined noncompliance to antihypertensive therapy (AHT) and its associated factors in a Ghanaian population by using the health belief model (HBM). This descriptive cross-sectional study conducted at Kintampo Municipality in Ghana recruited a total of 678 hypertensive patients. The questionnaire constituted information regarding sociodemographics, a five-Likert type HBM questionnaire, and lifestyle-related factors. The rate of noncompliance to AHT in this study was 58.6%. The mean age (SD) of the participants was 43.5 (±5.2) years and median duration of hypertension was 2 years. Overall, the five HBM constructs explained 31.7% of the variance in noncompliance to AHT with a prediction accuracy of 77.5%, after adjusting for age, gender, and duration of condition. Higher levels of perceived benefits of using medicine [aOR=0.55(0.36-0.82),p=0.0001] and cue to actions [aOR=0.59(0.38-0.90),p=0.0008] were significantly associated with reduced noncompliance while perceived susceptibility [aOR=3.05(2.20-6.25),

Knowledge of complications of diabetes mellitus among patients visiting the diabetes clinic at Sampa Government Hospital, Ghana: a descriptive study

Abstract Background Diabetes mellitus (DM) appears to be a global epidemic and an increasingly major non-communicable disease threatening both affluent and non-affluent society. The study aimed to determine the knowledge of diabetic complications among diabetes mellitus clients visiting the Diabetic Clinical at Sampa Government Hospital, Ghana. Method This questionnaire-based descriptive study recruited a total 630 patients visiting the Diabetes Clinic at the Sampa Government Hospital. Structured questionnaire was used to obtain information such as socio-demographic and knowledge on complications of diabetes. Results Out of a total of 630 participants, 325 (51.5 %) knew diabetic foot as the most common complication followed by hypertension 223(35.4 %), neuropathy 184 (29.2 %), hypoactive sexual arousal 160(25.4 %), arousal disorder 135(21.5 %), eye diseases 112(17.7 %), heart disease 58(9.2 %), and renal disease 34(5.4 %). Comprehensive assessment of level of knowledge on the complications showed that majority 378(60.0 %) of T2D patients did not have knowledge on diabetes complications, 169(26.9 %) had inadequate knowledge on diabetics complication while 82(13.1 %) had adequate knowledge. The risk factors associated with the level of knowledge of diabetic complications were female gender adjusted odd ratio (AOR) =2.31 (1.56–3.41) married participants AOR = 3.37 (1.44–7.93), widowed AOR = 2.98 (1.10–8.08), basic level of education AOR =0.18 (0.082–0.50), Junior High School (JHS) and above of education level AOR = 0.035(0.017–0.75), 5–9 years of T2D duration AOR = 0.31(0.018–0.57), ≥10 years T2D duration AOR = 0.042 (0.02–0.10) and urban dwellers AOR = 0.36 (0.22–0.68) respectively. Conclusion Participants knew the individual complication of diabetic mellitus but lack an in-depth knowledge on the complications. Further expansion of diabetic educative programs like using mass media and involving national curriculum of education can improve self-regulatory awareness of diabetic complications which may reduce the morbidity and mortality of diabetic patients

Association of Wrist Circumference and Waist-to-Height Ratio with Cardiometabolic Risk Factors among Type II Diabetics in a Ghanaian Population

The study determined the association of wrist circumference (WrC) and waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) with cardiometabolic risk factors among diabetics in a Ghanaian population. This cross-sectional study involved 384 diabetic patients at Begoro District Hospital, Ghana. Blood pressure, anthropometrics, and biochemical indices were measured. The overall prevalence of dyslipidaemia, metabolic syndrome (MetS), and hypertension was 42.4%, 76.3%, and 39.8%, respectively. The optimum cut-off range of WrC to identify individuals at increased cardiometabolic risk was 17.5 to –17.8 cm for men and 16.0 to 16.7 cm for women while that of WHtR was 0.52 to 0.61 for men and 0.53 to 0.59 for women. WrC for women was a significant independent predictor for MetS [aOR = 3.0 (1.39–6.72), p=0.005] and systolic blood pressure [aOR = 2.08 (1.17–3.68), p=0.012]. WHtR was a significant positive predictor for triglycerides [aOR = 3.23 (0.10–3.82), p=0.001] for women. Using Framingham risk scores, 61% of the subjects had elevated 10-year risk of developing cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), with no significant difference in gender prevalence. WrC [aOR = 6.13 (0.34–111.4), p=0.107] and WHtR [aOR = 2.52 (0.42–15.02), p=0.309] were associated with statistically insignificant increased odds of moderate-to-high risk of developing CVDs in 10 years. The use of gender-specific cut-offs for WrC and WHtR may offer putative markers for early identification of CRFs

Additional file 1: of Knowledge of complications of diabetes mellitus among patients visiting the diabetes clinic at Sampa Government Hospital, Ghana: a descriptive study

Data set on which conclusion of this manuscript was based upon. (XLSX 54 kb