"They are trying their best": incarcerated individuals' assessment of general healthcare services in selected Ghanaian prisons.

Background: The World Health Organization (WHO) has indicated that the absence of prison health poses a threat to public health, making it important to safeguard access to quality healthcare for incarcerated populations. Although several studies have explored the quality of care in prisons, there is a dearth of empirical evidence on the perspectives of incarcerated individuals. This study investigated incarcerated individuals' perspectives and opinions on the general healthcare services in Ghanaian prisons.

Adverse childhood experiences and associations with mental health, substance use, and violence perpetration among young adults in sub-Saharan Africa.

Background: Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) can have debilitating effects on child well-being, with consequences persisting into adulthood. Most ACE studies have been conducted in high-income countries and show a graded relationship between multiple ACE exposures and adverse health outcomes. Less is known about the types and burden of ACEs in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA).

Creating communities that care: social representation of mental health in two urban poor communities in Ghana.

Building caring communities is fundamental to achieving a community-based approach to mental health. Understanding how communities perceive mental illness provides critical insight into fostering mental health awareness and care. We explored the perceptions of mental illness among members of two urban poor communities in Accra, Ghana.

Adverse Childhood Experiences Module Nonresponse: Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, 2019 and 2021.

Introduction: Data on adverse childhood experiences are key to understanding their burden and informing prevention programs and strategies. Population-based surveys that collect adverse childhood experiences data may be affected by item nonresponse. This study examines differences in nonresponse to the optional Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System adverse childhood experiences module overall, by sociodemographic characteristics, by year, and by question.

Social Group Membership, Social Identities, and Mental Health Experiences in Urban Poor Communities in Ghana: A Critical Social Psychology Inquiry.

Social groups and identities significantly influence mental health outcomes, yet their impact in resource-poor communities remains understudied. We explored the role of social group memberships and identities in shaping mental health experiences in two urban poor communities in Ghana. Data from 77 participants were analyzed thematically, revealing widespread engagement in social groups that provide access to both material and symbolic resources.

Unravelling the experiences of incarcerated individuals living with HIV on ART: a qualitative study in Ghanaian prisons.

Purpose: The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) goal to end the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) epidemic as a public health threat by 2030 emphasises the importance of leaving no one behind. To determine progress towards the elimination goal in Ghana, an in-depth understanding of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) care from the perspective of vulnerable populations such as persons living with HIV in incarceration is necessary. This study aims to explore the experiences of incarcerated individuals living with HIV (ILHIV) and on antiretroviral therapy (ART) in selected Ghanaian prisons to help inform policy.

Prevalence of Functional Disabilities and Associations Among Disabilities, Violence, and HIV Among Adolescents and Young Adults in Lesotho.

Introduction: Lesotho has the second-highest prevalence of HIV. Despite progress in achieving HIV epidemic control targets, inequities persist among certain groups, particularly associations between disability, HIV, and violence. We assessed the prevalence of disability and examined associations between disability and HIV and violence using data from the 2018 Lesotho Violence Against Children and Youth Survey (VACS).

Adverse childhood experiences, HIV and sexual risk behaviors - Five sub-Saharan countries, 2018-2020.

Background: Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) have been shown to have negative, lasting effects on health including increasing the likelihood of engaging in sexual risk behaviors.

Objective: This study aimed to identify associations between exposures to ACEs and sexual risk behaviors and HIV service utilization among young people.

Participants And Setting: A sample of 8023 sexually active young people (19-24 year olds) from five sub-Saharan African countries participated Violence Against Children and Youth Surveys (VACS).

Approaches for measuring cumulative childhood adversity: A study of youth from 5 sub-Saharan African countries.

Background: Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) include forms of abuse, neglect, and household stressors that are potentially early life traumatic experiences. A summed integer count of ACEs is often used to examine cumulative childhood adversity (CCA) but has limitations.

Objectives: The current study tests two additional methods for measuring CCA using large samples of youth in low- and middle-income countries.

Parental absence as an adverse childhood experience among young adults in sub-Saharan Africa.

Background: Parental absence in childhood has been associated with multiple negative consequences, such as depression and anxiety in young adulthood.

Objective: To assess whether parental absence for six months or more in childhood is associated with poor mental health and substance use in young adulthood and whether parental absence accounts for additional variance beyond those explained by other adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) among youth in sub-Saharan Africa.

Participants And Settings: We used combined Violence Against Children and Youth Survey (VACS) data from Cote d'Ivoire (2018), Lesotho (2018), Kenya (2019), Namibia (2019), and Mozambique (2019).

Parenting-related positive childhood experiences, adverse childhood experiences, and mental health-Four sub-Saharan African countries.

Background: Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) are associated with poor mental health outcomes and risk-taking behaviors. Positive childhood experiences (PCEs) may mitigate these negative impacts.

Objective: This study 1) assessed the associations between ACEs and negative health outcomes and risk-taking behaviors among young adults, and 2) evaluated whether - and which - PCEs moderate the association between ACEs and these outcomes in sub-Saharan Africa.

Human immunodeficiency virus care and management in incarcerated populations in Sub-Saharan Africa between 2010 and 2022: A narrative review.

Background: Different countries in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) have established guidelines to reduce HIV transmission and improve its management in prisons. This narrative review aimed to examine established literature on HIV care and management among incarcerated persons in SSA to identify successful interventions that could inform improved guidelines, policies, and practices related to the clinical care of this population.

Methods: We searched PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, Embase, and TRIP Medical Databases in August 2022 for articles published between 1st January 2010 and 30th June 2022.

Service-seeking behaviors among male victims of violence in five African countries: The effects of positive and adverse childhood experiences.

Background: Violence against boys and men is widely under-reported. Boys and men face unique and gendered barriers to accessing services following experiences of violence.

Participants And Setting: The study is a secondary data analysis of five nationally representative population-based Violence Against Children and Youth Surveys (VACS) conducted in Kenya (2019), Côte d'Ivoire (2018), Lesotho (2018), Mozambique (2019), and Namibia (2019).

Strong Father-Child Relationships and Other Positive Childhood Experiences, Adverse Childhood Experiences, and Sexual Risk Factors for HIV among Young Adults Aged 19-24 Years, Namibia, 2019: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Using cross-sectional data from the 2019 Namibia Violence Against Children and Youth Survey and sex-stratified multivariable models, we assessed the associations between four different positive childhood experiences (PCEs) and having ≥3 adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), including ≥3 ACE-PCE interaction terms, and seven sexual risk factors for HIV acquisition among young adults aged 19-24 years. One PCE, having a strong father-child relationship, was inversely associated with two risk factors among women (lifetime transactional sex (OR, 0.4; 95% CI, 0.

Cross-time comparison of adverse childhood experience patterns among Kenyan youth: Violence Against Children and Youth Surveys, 2010 and 2019.

Background: Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are a global public health concern. Many children experience multiple ACEs. Patterning of multiple ACEs may change over time.

Coping with loneliness and stigma associated with HIV in a resource-limited setting, making a case for mental health interventions; a sequential mixed methods study.

Background: Challenges such as stigma and loneliness may increase vulnerability to Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection and negatively affect the quality of life of people living with HIV (PLHIV) despite the massive investment in access to antiretroviral therapy. This study aims to determine the level of loneliness and stigma and explore the coping resources employed by PLHIV in a resource-constrained setting.

Methods: This was a sequential mixed methods study conducted at the Cape Coast Teaching Hospital (CCTH) in Ghana between May and December 2021.

"There Is Nothing I Can't Face Now": Coping With Child Loss Among Bereaved Parents in Ghana.

Coping resources play a critical role in parents' recovery from the trauma associated with child loss. In Ghana, little is known about how parents cope with child loss despite the relatively high prevalence of child loss in the country. This study, therefore, sought to map out coping strategies bereaved parents adopt in response to child loss.

Patterns of gendered risk factors and associations with intimate partner violence and low educational attainment among adolescent girls and young women in Lesotho: A latent class analysis.

Background: Globally, adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) are disproportionately impacted by economic, demographic, and social factors associated with a wide range of negative outcomes.

Objective: The objective of this study was to use latent class analysis (LCA) to identify groupings of AGYW in Lesotho based on patterns of gendered risk factors, and to assess the association between the identified groupings and intimate partner violence (IPV) and low educational attainment.

Participants And Setting: Data were from the 2018 Lesotho Violence Against Children and Youth Survey.