Оценка влияния горных работ на формирование поля напряжений и деформирование выработок в условиях шахты «Нестор»

Наведено результати аналітичних та експериментальних досліджень з оцінки впливу гірничих робіт на напружено-деформований стан покрівлі в умовах шахти «Нестор».The results of analytical and experimental studies on the impact of mining on the stress-strain state of the roof in the mine "Nestor"

Maternal hypertensive mother's knowledge, attitudes and misconceptions on hypertension in pregnancy: A multi-center qualitative study in Ghana

Hypertension in pregnancy is one of the commonest complications of pregnancy and a leading cause of maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality globally, with the highest burden in low and middle income countries. Pregnant women's knowledge about hypertension in pregnancy facilitates early health seeking behavior, which can result in early diagnosis and treatment. This study therefore explored the knowledge, misconceptions and attitudes of Ghanaian women who were affected by hypertension in pregnancy. A qualitative study was carried out across five referral hospitals in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana. In-depth interviews (IDIs) and focus group discussions (FGDs) were used to explore the women's knowledge on hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP), and particularly preeclampsia. Women of at least 16 years, admitted with a HDP to the maternity ward with gestational ages from 26-34 weeks were eligible for participation. The inductive approach was used to develop a code book and the dataset was coded using Nvivo version 12 software. A total of 72 women participated in the study. Fifty IDIs and 3 FGDs involving 22 women were conducted. Although most of the women had regular antenatal visits, several had never heard of "pre-eclampsia". More common terminology used by women (i.e. "Bp") referred to any of the hypertensive disorders (e.g. pre-eclampsia, gestational hypertension and chronic hypertension). Women also perceived that pre-eclampsia may be inherited or caused by "thinking too much". The study revealed that the knowledge about hypertension in pregnancy is limited among the affected women despite regular antenatal attendance with some form of health education. There should be more education programs on hypertensive disorders of pregnancy including pre-eclampsia with revised strategies

Provision and experience of care among women with hypertension in pregnancy: a multi-center qualitative study in Ghana

BACKGROUND: Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP) remain a leading global health problem with complex clinical presentations and potentially grim birth outcomes for both mother and fetus. Improvement in the quality of maternal care provision and positive women's experiences are indispensable measures to reduce maternal and perinatal adverse outcomes. OBJECTIVE: To explore the perspectives and lived experiences of healthcare provision among women with HDP and the associated challenges. METHODS: A multi-center qualitative study using in-depth interviews (IDIs) and focus group discussions (FGDs) was conducted in five major referral hospitals in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana between June 2018 and March 2019. Women between 26 and 34 weeks' gestation with confirmed HDP who received maternity care services were eligible to participate. Thematic content analysis was performed using the inductive analytic framework approach. RESULTS: Fifty IDIs and three FGDs (with 22 participants) were conducted. Most women were between 20 and 30 years, Akans (ethnicity), married/cohabiting, self-employed and secondary school graduates. Women reported mixed (positive and negative) experiences of maternal care. Positive experiences reported include receiving optimal quality of care, satisfaction with care and good counselling and reassurance from the health professionals. Negative experiences of care comprised ineffective provider-client communication, inappropriate attitudes by the health professionals and disrespectful treatment including verbal and physical abuse. Major health system factors influencing women's experiences of care included lack of logistics, substandard professionalism, inefficient national health insurance system and unexplained delays at health facilities. Patient-related factors that influenced provision of care enumerated were financial limitations, chronic psychosocial stress and inadequate awareness about HDP. CONCLUSION: Women with HDP reported both positive and negative experiences of care stemming from the healthcare system, health providers and individual factors. Given the importance of positive women's experiences and respectful maternal care, dedicated multidisciplinary women-centered care is recommended to optimize the care for pregnant women with HDP

The introduction of a midwife-led obstetric triage system into a regional referral hospital in Ghana

Objective: To introduce and embed a midwife-led obstetric triage system in a busy labour ward in Accra, Ghana to improve the quality of care and to reduce delay. Design: The study utilized a participatory action research design. Local staff participated in baseline data collection, the triage training course design and delivery, and post-training monitoring and evaluation. Setting: A regional referral hospital in Accra, Ghana undertaking 11,032 deliveries in 2012. Participants: All midwives and medical staff. Measurements: Measurements included maternal health outcomes, observations of labour ward activity, structured assessments of midwife actions during admission, waiting times, focus group discussions, and learning needs assessments which informed the course content. During training, two quality improvement tools were developed; coloured risk acuity wristbands and a one page triage assessment form. Participants measured compliance and accuracy in the use of these tools following course completion. Findings: Initially, no formal triage system was in place. The environment was chaotic with poor compliance to existing protocols. Sixty-two midwives received triage training between 2013 and 2014. Two Triage Champions became responsible for triage implementation, monitoring and further training. Following training, the ‘in-charge’ midwives recorded a cumulative average of 83.4% of women wearing coloured wristbands. A separate audit by the Triage Champions found that 495/535 (93%) of the wristbands were correctly applied based on the diagnosis. Quarterly monitoring of the triage assessment forms by Kybele trainers, showed that 92% recorded the risk acuity colour, 85% a “working diagnosis” and 82% a “plan.” Median (interquartile range) waiting times were reduced from 40 (15-100) to 29 (11-60) minutes (p=007). Twenty of 25 of the staff reported that the wristbands were helpful. Conclusions: An interactive triage training course led to the development of a triage assessment form and the use of coloured patient wristbands which resulted in delay reduction and improved quality of maternity care

Antenatal Deep Vein Thrombosis with an Underlying Thrombophilia

Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) can cause severe morbidity in the puerperium and, less commonly, during pregnancy. A woman who developed DVT as a result of thrombophilia was successfully managed with anti-coagulant therapy. The case highlights the need for thrombophilia screening in pregnancy. Key Words: Thrombosis, Thrombophilia, Pregnancy [ Trop J Obstet Gynaecol, 2004;21:177-179

Condom Tamponade in the Management of Primary Postpartum Haemorrhage: A Report of three cases in Ghana

Postpartum haemorrhage is one of the major causes of maternal mortality worldwide. The leading cause of primary postpartum haemorrhage is uterine atony and active management of the third stage of labour with oxytocin is recommended for preventing primary postpartum haemorrhage. Parenteral oxytocin is also the drug of choice for medical management of postpartum haemorrhage secondary to uterine atony. Condom uterine balloon tamponade is a low cost technique that can be used as a second-line option for treatment. We report retrospectively three cases of primary PPH secondary to uterine atony which were managed successfully with condom tamponade. Condom tamponade is effective in managing post partum haemorrhage secondary to uterine atony and we advocate for the training of all skilled attendants on how to insert the condom tamponade. (Afr J Reprod Health 2015; 19[3]: 151-157). Keywords: condom temponade, postpartum haemorrhage, management L’hémorragie du post-partum est une des principales causes de mortalité maternelle dans le monde entier. La principale cause de l'hémorragie du post-partum principale est l'atonie utérine et la gestion active de la troisième phase du travail à l'ocytocine est recommandée pour prévenir les hémorragies du postpartum primaire. L’ocytocine parentérale est également le médicament de choix pour la gestion médicale des hémorragies du post-partum secondaire à une atonie utérine. La tamponnade du ballon du préservatif utérin est une technique à faible coût qui peut être utilisée comme une option de deuxième ligne pour le traitement. Nous rapportons rétrospectivement trois cas de la HPP primaire, secondaire à une atonie utérine qui ont été gérés avec succès avec la tamponnade du préservatif. La tamponnade du préservatif est efficace dans la gestion de l’hémorragie du post-partum secondaire à une atonie utérine et nous proposons que tous les agents qualifiés soient formés sur la manière d insérer la tamponnade du préservatif. (Afr J Reprod Health 2015; 19[3]: 151-157). Mots-clés: tamponnade du préservatif, hémorragie du post-partum, gestio

Strengthening quality of acute care through feedback from patients in Ghana

Quality of acute care has attracted attention in recent years with policy initiatives in Ghana. Such initiatives need to be complemented with patient feedback systems for strengthening quality. Therefore the goal of this study is to examine factors associated with quality of acute care and to propose a range of options for improving the existing model of healthcare delivery. Methods: Cross-sectional data were collected from 379 patients presenting to emergency centres in five public health facilities. A structured questionnaire developed based on the literature and expert advice by physicians and nurses was used to collect data. Principal component analysis (PCA) was used to extract the factors salient to patients’ perspective of quality of care. Logistic regression was then used to examine association between these factors and overall quality of acute care. Results: The majority of the patients (17.2%) presented with obstetrical related conditions, 15% with Road Traffic Accidents (RTAs), 11.3% with diarrhoea related problems and the least number (8.4%) with bronchial asthma. The average days of admission was high for patients with bronchial asthma (mean = 9), RTA (mean = 8) and burns (means = 7). The PCA produced four factors of quality (interpersonal care; prompt care; physical environment and privacy; drugs and equipment) all of which had a positive statistically significant association with overall quality of acute care after controlling for patient’s socio-demographic characteristics. Conclusion: Study findings provide important feedback not only for optimising clinical operations but also for improving in-hospital quality of acute care with short-term and long-term approaches

The third delay: understanding waiting time for obstetric referrals at a large regional hospital in Ghana

Abstract Background Delay in receiving care significantly contributes to maternal morbidity and mortality. Much has been studied about reducing delays prior to arrival to referral facilities, but the delays incurred upon arrival to the hospital have not been described in many low- and middle-income countries. Methods We report on the obstetric referral process at Ridge Regional Hospital, Accra, Ghana, the largest referral hospital in the Ghana Health System. This study uses data from a prospectively-collected cohort of 1082 women presenting with pregnancy complications over a 10-week period. To characterize which factors lead to delays in receiving care, we analyzed wait times based on reason for referral, time and day of arrival, and concurrent volume of patients in the triage area. Results The findings show that 108 facilities refer patients to Ridge Regional Hospital, and 52 facilities account for 90.5% of all transfers. The most common reason for referral was fetal-pelvic size disproportion (24.3%) followed by hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (9.8%) and prior uterine scar (9.1%). The median arrival-to-evaluation (wait) time was 40 min (IQR 15–100); 206 (22%) of women were evaluated within 10 min of arrival. Factors associated with longer wait times include presenting during the night shift, being in latent labour, and having a non-time-sensitive risk factor. The median time to be evaluated was 32 min (12–80) for women with hypertensive disorders of pregnancy and 37 min (10–66) for women with obstetric hemorrhage. In addition, the wait time for women in the second stage of labour was 30 min (12–79). Conclusions Reducing delay upon arrival is imperative to improve the care at high-volume comprehensive emergency obstetric centers. Although women with time-sensitive risk factors such as hypertension, bleeding, fever, and second stage of labour were seen more quickly than the baseline population, all groups failed to be evaluated within the international standard of 10 min. This study emphasizes the need to improve hospital systems so that space and personnel are available to access high-risk pregnancy transfers rapidly