Reproductive experiences of teenagers in the Ejisu-Juabeng district of Ghana.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the proportions of male and female teenagers aged 15-19 years who have ever been involved in pregnancy, and to examine factors associated with involvement in teenage pregnancy in the Ejisu-Juabeng district of Ghana. METHODS: In a household-based cross-sectional survey, 481 randomly selected male and female teenagers were enrolled between August 3 and September 17, 2009. Study variables included demographics; sexual exposure; contraceptive use; and involvement in pregnancy, childbirth, and induced abortion. Multivariable multinomial logistic regression analyses were used to examine the association between involvement in pregnancy, and the background and reproductive profiles of the respondents via SPSS version 16.0. RESULTS: Both the mean and median ages of the respondents were 17.2 years. One-third of respondents lived with both parents, and one-third lived with single mothers. The median age of sexual debut was 16.0 years. Approximately 58% of sexually experienced females had been pregnant, and 37% had had an induced abortion. Age at sexual debut, gender, and being out of school were significantly associated with involvement in teenage pregnancy, whereas residential status, relationship with first partner, and contraceptive use were not. CONCLUSION: Keeping adolescents enrolled in school might reduce their risk of involvement in pregnancy in the Ejisu-Juabeng district of Ghana

A study of uncertainty expressions in Australian accounting and auditing standards

Australian auditors' interpretation of selected key uncertainty expressions, such as virtual certainty, expected, reasonable assurance and possible, contained in Australian accounting and auditing standards is examined. Auditors demonstrated a reasonably high degree of variability in the interpretation of uncertainty expressions. In view of the proliferation of uncertainty expressions within international and Australian accounting and auditing standards, this lack of consistency in interpretation of uncertainty expressions raises some serious concerns. Compared with the less experienced auditors, the more experienced auditors demonstrated greater variability in their interpretations of uncertainty expressions. Contrary to expectations, the study did not find any difference in judgments between auditors in Big 5 and non-Big 5 firms

Antibiotic Susceptibility Pattern of Enterobacteriaceae Isolated from Raw Meat and Ghanaian Coin Currencies at Cape Coast Metropolis, Ghana: The Public Health Implication

Introduction: The emergence and upsurge of multiple antibiotic resistant (MDR) Enterobacteriaceae in the environment is a cause of concern as this can result in an outbreak and spread to healthcare settings. MDR Enterobacteriaceae have been associated with high morbidity and mortality due to delay in selecting and delivering active therapy in time. Aims and Objectives: The study was conducted to investigate the level of contamination of raw meat and Ghanaian coins in circulation at Cape Coast Metropolis. In all, 10 raw meat were sampled each from chevron and beef from Kotokuraba market, and 400 Ghanaian coin currencies retrieved from food vendors, students, transport operators and banks were used in this study. Methods and Materials: The Enterobacteriaceae species isolated were tested for their susceptibility to Ampicillin, Tetracycline (TET), Gentamicin (GEN), Cotrimoxazole (COT), Cefuroxime (CRX), Cefixime (CXM), Cefotaxime (CTX), Penicillin (PEN), Cloxacillin (CXC), Erythromycin (ERY) and Amikacin (AMK) antibiotics using Mueller-Hinton agar antibiotic diffusion technique. Of the isolated Enterobacteriaceae, 30% and 62% from chevron and beef respectively and 14.17%, 13.75% and 10.63% from food vendors, students and transport operators respectively showed resistance to some of the antibiotics tested. Results and Discussions: 8.6% of the Escherichia coli (E. coli) isolated from chevon were resistant to CRXr-CHLr-AMPr-COTr-GEMr and 15.5% of CRXi-CHLi-AMPr- TETr-COTr from beef. 40.0% of E. coli isolated from coin currencies were resistant to CRXr-CHLr-AMPr-TETr-CTXr, 50.0% of Enterobacter spp to CRXr-CHLr-AMPr-TETr-CTXr, 16.67% of Proteus spp to CRXi-CHLi-AMPr-TETr-AMKi, 40% Pseudomonas spp to CRXr-AMPr-TETr- AMKi and 100% of Enterobacter spp to CRXr-AMPr-TETi-CTXr. Conclusion: The multidrug-resistant Enterobacteriaceae isolates from circulating Ghanaian coins and raw meats in the Cape Coast metropolis is an indication of an impending danger which requires immediate attention to prevent a possible outbreak and spread from the society to the hospital setting