Enhancing West African family medicine curriculum through entrustable professional activities.

The training of Family Medicine residents in the West Africa College of Physicians (WACP) has steadily upscaled to a competency-based approach over the years. The latest review of the curriculum (2022) includes self-directed online modules on clinical postings, health management, patient safety, quality assurance research and medical education among others. The operationalisation of the revised curriculum involves the use of workplace-based tools for formative assessments.

Correction: Hygienic disposal of stools and risk of diarrheal episodes among children aged under two years: Evidence from the Ghana Demographic Health Survey, 2003-2014.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.

Age-friendly initiatives - GHANA.

The global increase in the population of older persons has profound inter-sectoral implications, necessitating the development of age-friendly initiatives at the global and national levels. While progress has been relatively slower across Sub-Saharan African countries, highlighting existing commendable initiatives is essential to identify the current gaps and promote the development of strategies and interventions to promote age-friendly societies. This mini-review highlights some of the key initiatives in Ghana in the areas of policy, healthcare, finance, social services, education and research and in promoting dementia-friendly communities.

A multi-centre investigation of macrovascular and non-ocular microvascular complications in children and adolescents with diabetes mellitus in southern Ghana.

Objectives: To investigate the prevalence of macrovascular and non-ocular microvascular complications and the associated factors among children and adolescents with diabetes mellitus in selected hospitals in southern Ghana.

Design: A cross-sectional study.

Setting: The out-patient clinics of the Departments of Child Health, Medicine and Therapeutics, Family Medicine, Ophthalmology, and the National Diabetes Management and Research Centre, all at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, Accra, as well as from Cape-Coast Teaching Hospital in the Central Region of Ghana.

Family APGAR and treatment outcomes among HIV patients at two ART Centres in Kumasi, Ghana.

Objectives: This study aimed to examine the association between Family Adaptability, Partnership, Growth, Affection and Resolve (Family APGAR) and HIV treatment outcomes.

Design: A cross-sectional study using the Family APGAR questionnaire.

Setting: The study was conducted in Kumasi, Ghana, at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital and the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology Hospital.

Education for primary health care in Africa.

No abstract available.

Carers' needs assessment for patients with dementia in Ghana.

Unlabelled: AbstractBackground: Carers of people with dementia (PWD) face a myriad of challenges. As dementia prevalence surges in the sub-Saharan population, the provision of data on the met and unmet needs of caregivers has become paramount.

Aim: This study aimed to identify the needs of carers of older adults living with dementia in Ghana.

A Cross-Sectional Study of Ocular Changes in Children and Adolescents with Diabetes Mellitus in Selected Health Facilities in Ghana.

Background: The main objective of the study was to determine the prevalence of diabetic retinopathy (DR), other diabetes-related ocular changes (e.g., cataracts, corneal ulceration), and non-diabetic ocular disease in Ghanaian children and adolescents.

Educational intervention to enhance the knowledge of Ghanaian health workers on Alzheimer's disease and related dementias.

Background:  Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRDs) pose a major public health challenge in older adults. In sub-Saharan Africa, the burden of ADRD is projected to escalate amidst ill-equipped healthcare workers (HCWs).

Aim:  This study aimed to assess ADRD knowledge amongst Ghanaian HCWs and improve gaps identified through a workshop.

Hygienic disposal of stools and risk of diarrheal episodes among children aged under two years: Evidence from the Ghana Demographic Health Survey, 2003-2014.

Background: Most childhood diarrheal illnesses are a result of the faeco-oral transmission of infected food, water, and unclean fingers. The present paper was conducted to estimate the prevalence of hygienic disposal of stools (HDS) and its associated factors, and further quantify the impact of HDS on diarrheal diseases among children under two years.

Methods: A cross-sectional design was used to evaluate three rounds of the Ghana Demographic Health Survey (GDHS) from 2003-2014 involving 4869 women with children aged under two years.

Family Physician Perceptions of Climate Change, Migration, Health, and Healthcare in Sub-Saharan Africa: An Exploratory Study.

Although family physicians (FPs) are community-oriented primary care generalists and should be the entry point for the population's interaction with the health system, they are underrepresented in research on the climate change, migration, and health(care) nexus (hereafter referred to as the nexus). Similarly, FPs can provide valuable insights into building capacity through integrating health-determining sectors for climate-resilient and migration-inclusive health systems, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Here, we explore FPs' perceptions on the nexus in SSA and on intersectoral capacity building.

Morbidity and Complications of Diabetes Mellitus in Children and Adolescents in Ghana: Protocol for a Longitudinal Study.

Background: Diabetes is associated with premature morbidity and mortality from its many complications. There are limited data on the chronic complications of diabetes in children and adolescents in sub-Saharan Africa.

Objective: The study aims to determine the (1) burden and related factors of chronic systemic complications of diabetes, including diabetic and nondiabetic ocular conditions in children and adolescents, and (2) quality of life (QoL) of participants compared to healthy controls.

Exploring the illness experiences amongst families living with 2019 coronavirus disease in Ghana: Three case reports.

The 2019 corona virus disease (COVID-19) has wreaked havoc on countries, communities and households. Its effect on individuals and their families, although enormous, has not been adequately explored. We thus present a report on the illness experiences of three families in Ghana who had at least one member diagnosed with COVID-19.

Family medicine residency training in Ghana after 20 years: resident attitudes about their education.

Objective: In addition to assessing educational needs of family medicine trainees in Ghana, we sought to assess whether those entering the training programme aimed to pursue an academic career.

Design: A case study using an anonymous cross-sectional survey through collaboration between faculty members from the family medicine departments of Ghana and the University of Michigan.

Setting: The family medicine postgraduate trainees and the most recent graduates in the three training sites, Accra, Kumasi and Mampong, as well as modular residents in Ghana served as the targeted participants during data collection between October and November of 2018.

Incidental finding of COVID-19 infection amongst staff at a primary care facility in Ghana.

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected nearly every country worldwide and all African countries. The issue of healthcare workers (HCWs) contracting the disease is a growing concern in Ghana, because of the risk of spreading infections amongst themselves and to vulnerable patients in their care. This article illustrates how 14 staff at the Korle Bu Polyclinic/Family Medicine Department were incidentally found to be Covid-19 positive with most of them being asymptomatic.

Predictors of family functionality amongst human immunodeficiency virus-serodiscordant couples in two major hospitals in Kumasi, Ghana.

Background: Family instability and partner conflicts are reportedly common in serodiscordant relationships. To date, the family adaptability, partnership, growth, affection and resolve (Family APGAR), a standardised tool for assessing family function, has not been used in any published literature involving this peculiar group.

Aim: The aim of this study was to determine the predictors of family functionality and its association with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) serodiscordance.

Visual impairment and social isolation, depression and life satisfaction among older adults in Ghana: analysis of the WHO's Study on global AGEing and adult health (SAGE) Wave 2.

Aim: To estimate the prevalence of visual impairment (VI) and associated factors and further quantify its association with social isolation, depression and life satisfaction among older adults in Ghana.

Methods: WHO Study on Global AGEing and Adult Health Ghana dataset for older adults 50 years and above was used for this study. Social isolation, depression and life satisfaction were our primary outcomes with VI being our secondary outcome.

Community-orientated primary care: a scoping review of different models, and their effectiveness and feasibility in sub-Saharan Africa.

Introduction: Community-orientated primary care (COPC) is an approach to primary healthcare (PHC) that originated in South Africa and contributed to the formulation of the Declaration of Alma-Ata 40 years ago. Despite this, PHC remains poorly developed in sub-Saharan African countries. There has been a resurgence of interest in strengthening PHC systems in the last few years and identifying key knowledge gaps.

Establishing the First Geriatric Medicine Fellowship Program in Ghana.

As life expectancy in Ghana improves, a large and growing population of older adults require healthcare. Despite governmental support for the care of older adults, there have been no geriatricians and no in-country educational path for those desiring to become specialists in this field. In fact, 23 of 54 countries in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) lack even a single geriatrician.

Five Years Of Family Medicine Undergraduate Education In Ghana: A Wake-Up Call!

Objectives: Given the introduction in 2008 of undergraduate family medicine in the University of Ghana, the study aimed to identify the perceptions of medical students in Ghana about family medicine with regard to knowledge and relevance as well as specialty preferences.

Design: A cross-sectional survey.

Method: Investigators conducted yearly surveys of first clinical year students at the University of Ghana School of Medicine and Dentistry over a 5-year period (2008-2012) using a semi-structured questionnaire.

Malaria chemoprophylaxis: cross-sectional study of use among air travellers departing from Accra, Ghana.

Background: Malaria is the most common life-threatening infectious disease among travellers and chemoprophylaxis is recommended. The overall effectiveness, medication types and cost of malaria chemoprophylaxis in Accra are not well documented. This study investigated the use of chemoprophylaxis for malaria prevention in air travellers departing from Kotoka International Airport (KIA) in Accra, Ghana.

Country profile on family medicine and primary health care in Ghana.

No abstract available.