Determinants of glycemic control among persons living with type 2 diabetes mellitus attending a district hospital in Ghana.

Background: Diabetes mellitus is a growing public health emergency with prevalence in sub-Sahara Africa expected to experience the highest increase by 2045. Glycemic control is central to diabetes management, but it is influenced by various factors. This study determines the level of glycemic control and the associated individual factors among type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients.

Completion of three-dose hepatitis B vaccination cycle and associated factors among health care workers in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana.

Background: Despite the availability of a safe and effective vaccine coupled with the awareness of the potential risk of Healthcare Workers acquiring Hepatitis B Virus infection, some HCWs never get vaccinated. Generally, hepatitis B vaccination coverage globally is below the expected level as adherence has remained poor in various healthcare settings, especially in developing countries. The objective of this study was to assess the completion of a three-dose Hepatitis B virus vaccination cycle and associated factors among healthcare workers in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana.

Antibiotics susceptibility patterns of uropathogenic bacteria: a cross-sectional analytic study at Kanifing General Hospital, The Gambia.

Background: Antimicrobial resistance poses a public health threat for the treatment of community-acquired urinary tract infections. This study determined the susceptibility patterns of uropathogens and associated risk factors among outpatients diagnosed with urinary tract infections at the Kanifing General Hospital in the Gambia.

Methods: A cross-sectional analytic study was conducted among patients with suspected urinary tract infections at Kanifing General Hospital from March to May 2021.

Hypertension and associated factors among patients attending HIV clinic at Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital.

Objectives: This study determined the prevalence of hypertension and its associated factors among patients attending the HIV clinic at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital (KBTH).

Design: A hospital-based cross-sectional study was conducted at KBTH. The prevalence of hypertension was estimated among study participants, and socio-demographic, lifestyle, anthropometric, metabolic and HIV/ART-related factors associated with hypertension were determined by logistic regression modelling.

Factors determining preventive chemotherapy uptake against soil-transmitted helminthiasis among school-age children in Ghana.

By 2020, the World Health Organization and the Ghana Neglected Tropical Diseases programme intended to treat 75% and 100% of school-age children, respectively, during preventative chemotherapy (PCT), to control soil-transmitted helminths. The performance of PCT was assessed, and the factors associated with albendazole uptake in 2019 were determined. This study comprised secondary data (2019 PCT) and a community-based cross-sectional study conducted among 352 children aged from 7 to 14 years and enrolled with their caregivers.

Assessment of oral health status in a Ghanaian population: rationale, methods, and population characteristics.

Background: Oral health surveys aid in estimating the oral health of a population and provide a projection for future oral health care needs. We report the procedures and rationale of a survey carried out to assess the oral health status and risk factors for oral disease among adults in the Greater Accra Region (GAR) of Ghana. The objective was to provide prevalence estimates on dental diseases, oral health behaviour and risk factors, and to establish baseline epidemiological data on the population's oral health for further research.

Insecticide-treated net (ITN) use, factors associated with non-use of ITNs, and occurrence of sand flies in three communities with reported cases of cutaneous leishmaniasis in Ghana.

Background: The insecticide treated bed net (ITN) has been proven for malaria control. Evidence from systematic review also suggests benefits of ITN roll out in reducing the incidence of cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) and other vector borne diseases.

Methods: Using a community-based cross-sectional study design, ITN use, factors associated with non-use of ITNs, and occurrence of sand flies were investigated in three communities with reported cases of CL in the Oti region of Ghana.

Periodontitis prevalence and severity in an African population: A cross-sectional study in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana.

Background: Periodontitis is a major public health problem affecting many adults, with considerable variation in its prevalence and severity worldwide. There is little data on its prevalence or associated risk factors in Ghana making development of evidence based preventive programs challenging. This study assessed the prevalence, severity, extent, and associated risk factors of periodontitis in an adult Ghanaian population.

Determinants of low birth weight deliveries at five referral hospitals in Western Area Urban district, Sierra Leone.

Background: Low birth weight (LBW) contributes significantly to infant and child mortality. Each year, about 20 1million deliveries are LBW with 96.5% occurring in developing countries.

Determinants of uptake of intermittent preventive treatment for malaria with sulfadoxine pyrimethamine in pregnancy: a cross-sectional analytical study in the Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolis of Ghana.

Background: Ghana malaria control programme recommends the uptake of five doses of sulfadoxine pyrimethamine (SP) during pregnancy following the review of the World Health Organization recommendations in 2012. The uptake of higher doses of SP since the implementation of the new policy in 2016, has been low across the country. The current study determined factors that can be improved to increase uptake of SP for intermittent preventive treatment of malaria in pregnancy (IPTp-SP).

Autologous Fat Grafting with or without Processing: A Study in an Indian Clinical Context.

Background: Although fat grafting has become an attractive method of correction of soft tissue deficiencies, variability in results exists. As the understanding of mechanism of survival of graft improves, the concepts regarding fat grafting change. There are many ways to process the aspirated fat with no clear method superior.

Factors Associated with Tramadol Abuse: A Cross-Sectional Study Among Commercial Drivers and Assistants in the Accra Metropolitan Area of Ghana.

Background: There is increasing public health concern regarding the addiction and dependence potential of tramadol.

Objective: This study sought to determine factors associated with tramadol abuse among commercial drivers and assistants in the Accra Metropolitan Area of Ghana.

Patients And Methods: The study employed a mixed-method quantitative and qualitative approach.

Late ANC initiation and factors associated with sub-optimal uptake of sulphadoxine-pyrimethamine in pregnancy: a preliminary study in Cape Coast Metropolis, Ghana.

Background: Malaria infection during pregnancy is of public health importance as it poses risk to the pregnant woman, her foetus and the newborn child. Intermittent preventive treatment during pregnancy using sulphadoxine-pyrimethamine is one way of reducing the effect of the disease on pregnancy outcomes. The study determined factors associated with uptake of sulphadoxine-pyrimethamine during pregnancy in the Cape Coast Metropolis of Ghana.

Individual and Community Factors Associated with Household Insecticide-Treated Bednet Usage in the Sunyani West District of Ghana Two Years after Mass Distribution.

Purpose: In the year 2015, the Ghana Health Service launched a free mass insecticide-treated net (ITN) distribution campaign in the Sunyani West district of Ghana with the aim of improving household ownership to increase usage. This study determined the level of ownership and usage of ITNs and associated factors among households in the Sunyani West district two years after the mass distribution campaign.

Methods: Study participants were identified using the systematic approach in all five subdistricts of the Sunyani West district and interviewed, and data were collected on household ITN ownership.

Antimalarial Drug Resistance Profiling of Plasmodium falciparum Infections in Ghana Using Molecular Inversion Probes and Next-Generation Sequencing.

A key drawback to monitoring the emergence and spread of antimalarial drug resistance in sub-Saharan Africa is early detection and containment. Next-generation sequencing methods offer the resolution, sensitivity, and scale required to fill this gap by surveilling for molecular markers of drug resistance. We performed targeted sequencing using molecular inversion probes to interrogate five genes (, , , , and ) implicated in chloroquine, sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine (SP), and artemisinin resistance in two sites in Ghana.

Factors Associated with Uptake of Intermittent Preventive Treatment of Malaria in Pregnancy: A Cross-Sectional Study in Private Health Facilities in Tema Metropolis, Ghana.

Introduction: Intermittent preventive treatment of malaria in pregnancy with sulfadoxine pyrimethamine (IPTp-SP) is effective in preventing the adverse consequences of malaria on birth outcomes.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey was carried out among antenatal and postnatal women and midwives at private health facilities in Tema using the mixed method to investigate factors associated with uptake of IPTp-SP. Antenatal and postnatal women were consecutively enrolled and data on their sociodemographic characteristics and antenatal service utilization collected using a questionnaire and review of antenatal care (ANC) records.

Intermittent Preventive Treatment of Malaria in Pregnancy: Assessment of the Sulfadoxine-Pyrimethamine Three-Dose Policy on Birth Outcomes in Rural Northern Ghana.

Background: Intermittent preventive treatment of malaria in pregnancy with sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine (IPTp-SP) decreases placental parasitaemia and improves birth outcomes. Currently, WHO recommends three or more doses of SP given during antenatal care (ANC), spaced one month apart after 16 weeks of gestation till delivery. This study determined the level of uptake of SP and its association with birth outcomes in rural northern Ghana.

Factors associated with syphilis infection: a cross-sectional survey among outpatients in Asikuma Odoben Brakwa District, Ghana.

Background: Syphilis is a sexually transmitted infection caused by the bacterium Treponema pallidum. The disease affects all ages and both sexes but more prevalent among the sexually active age group of 15-49 years. The purpose of the current study was to determine the prevalence and factors associated with syphilis infection among outpatients 15-49 years in the Asikuma Odoben Brakwa District of Ghana where high levels of infection were earlier reported among antenatal women.

The reverse dorsal metacarpal artery flap in finger reconstruction: A reliable choice.

Background: The finger skin and soft-tissue defects are reconstructive challenges due to their nature and the intricate extensor apparatus and flexors it protects. The reverse dorsal metacarpal artery (RDMA) is a time-tested option for the reconstruction of the same.

Materials And Methods: A total of 14 cases of RDMA flap for finger defects involving proximal to distal phalanx were performed.

Potential of Lanistes varicus in limiting the population of Bulinus truncatus.

Objective: To determine the ability of the Ampullariid, Lanistes varicus to prey on egg masses and juveniles of Bulinus truncatus snails, an intermediate host of urogenital schistosomiasis in West Africa.

Results: Lanistes varicus was found to feed voraciously on egg masses and juveniles of Bulinus truncatus, consuming all egg masses (20 -25) exposed to it within 24 h. Also, 95-100% of 1-2 days old B.

Anaemia in pregnancy and associated factors: a cross sectional study of antenatal attendants at the Sunyani Municipal Hospital, Ghana.

Background: Anaemia in pregnancy is an important health issue resulting in high maternal morbidity and mortality. The purpose of the current study was to identify factors associated with anaemia among pregnant women receiving antenatal care at the Sunyani Municipal Hospital in Ghana.

Methods: A cross-sectional study involving pregnant women seeking antenatal care at the Sunyani Municipal Hospital was conducted between May and June, 2015.

Intermittent preventive treatment of malaria in pregnancy: a cross-sectional survey to assess uptake of the new sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine five dose policy in Ghana.

Background: Malaria in pregnancy poses a great risk to both mother and fetus. In Ghana, malaria accounts for 3.4% of deaths and 16.