Reproductive age mortality survey (RAMOS) in Accra, Ghana.

Background: Maternal mortality remains a severe problem in many parts of the world, despite efforts to reach MDG 5. In addition, underreporting is an issue especially in low income countries. Our objective has been to identify the magnitude of maternal deaths and the degree of underreporting of these deaths in Accra Metropolis in Ghana during a one year period.

Quality of life, optimism/pessimism, and knowledge and attitudes toward HIV Screening among pregnant women in Ghana.

Objective: We sought to explore optimism/pessimism, knowledge of HIV, and attitudes toward HIV screening and treatment among Ghanaian pregnant women.

Method: Pregnant women in Accra, Ghana, completed a self-administered questionnaire including the Life Orientation Test-Revised (LOT-R, an optimism/pessimism measure), an HIV knowledge and screening attitudes questionnaire, the Short Form 12 (SF-12, a measure of health-related quality of life [HRQOL]), and a demographic questionnaire. Data were analyzed using t-tests, ANOVA, correlations, and the chi2 test.

Maternal mortality in the Greater Accra region in Ghana: assessing completeness of registration and data quality.

Objective: To assess the completeness of registration of maternal mortality by comparing various data sources and to review the quality of information pertaining to individual cases.

Data Source And Methods: Female deaths aged 10-50 years in the Greater Accra region in Ghana from January 1, 2000 to December 31, 2000 were recorded. Identified maternal deaths (International Classification of Diseases, 9th revision) in four major hospitals in the region were compared with those registered in the civil registers.