Use of youth-friendly health services and predictive factors: A community-based analytical cross-sectional study among young people in the Tamale metropolis.

Globally, teenage pregnancies, unsafe abortions and sexually transmitted infections are on the increase among young people. However, their knowledge and uptake of youth-friendly sexual and reproductive health services are low. This study evaluated young people's knowledge, attitude and utilization of youth-friendly health services in the Tamale Metropolis.

Determinants of adherence to antiretroviral therapy among people living with HIV receiving care in health facilities in Tamale Metropolis, Ghana.

Background: Strictly following antiretroviral therapy (ART) is essential in managing HIV and AIDS and attaining viral suppression. However, adherence to ART remains a complex challenge among persons living with HIV (PLHIV) and it is influenced by various individual and socio-cultural factors. Also, there is limited data as far as the studies on determinants of ART adherence in the Tamale Metropolis is concerned.

Preterm birth, low birth weight, and their co-occurrence among women with preexisting chronic diseases prior to conception: a cross-sectional analysis of postpartum women in a low-resource setting in Ghana.

Background: The incidence of chronic diseases, which are significant contributors to maternal deaths and adverse new-born outcomes, is increasing among women of reproductive age in northern Ghana. This emerging health issue raises serious concerns about the potential exacerbation of adverse birth outcomes in this setting, given that it is one of the regions in the country with a high incidence of such outcomes. We investigated the risks of preterm birth (PTB), low birth weight (LBW), and concurrent PTB and LBW among women with preexisting chronic conditions prior to conception in the Tamale Metropolis of northern Ghana.

Prevalence and Associated Factors of Adolescent (15-19 Years) Childbearing in Ghana.

Adolescent pregnancies continue to be a global issue that affects more high-income, middle-income, and then low-income countries, with the latter experiencing the majority of cases. The current study looked into the prevalence and variables predicting adolescent childbearing in Ghana. Data from the Ghana Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) 2017-2018 was used to conduct an analytical cross-sectional study.

Coping strategies used by informal family caregivers of individuals living with mental illness in the Upper East Region of Ghana: a qualitative study.

Background: Caregivers' responsibilities for caring for individuals living with mental illness have grown in the last three decades, owing mostly to the transition of mental health treatment from institutions to community-based psychiatric services. Due to the burden that ensues with caring for individuals living with mental illness, many caregivers adopt different strategies to deal with the challenges.

Objective: This study aimed to explore the coping strategies of informal family caregivers of individuals living with mental illness in the Upper East Region of Ghana.

Exploring the burden on family caregivers in providing care for their mentally ill relatives in the Upper East Region of Ghana.

Caring for the mentally ill involves numerous challenges, including financial difficulties, stigma, and psychosocial issues, among others. Unpaid family caregivers must endure these challenges as they continue their care for their relatives with mental illness. Despite these burdens and their concomitant effects on both the patients and their caregivers, there is no evidence of this burden in the Bolgatanga municipality.

Exploring the barriers to mental health service utilization in the Bolgatanga Municipality: the perspectives of family caregivers, service providers, and mental health administrators.

Background: Mental health service utilization remains a challenge in developing countries, with numerous barriers affecting access to care. Albeit data suggest poor utilization of mental health services in the Bolgatanga Municipality in Ghana, no studies have explored the barriers to the utilization of mental health services. Therefore, this study explored the perspectives of family caregivers, service providers, and mental health service administrators on the barriers to mental health service utilization in the Bolgatanga Municipality, Ghana.

Maternal health care utilization following the implementation of the free maternal health care policy in Ghana: analysis of Ghana demographic and health surveys 2008-2014.

Background: In July 2008, Ghana introduced a 'free' maternal health care policy (FMHCP) through the national health insurance scheme (NHIS) to provide comprehensive antenatal, delivery and post-natal care services to pregnant women. In this study, we evaluated the 'free' policy impact on antenatal care uptake and facility-level delivery utilization since the policy inception.

Methods: The study used two rounds of repeated cross-sectional data from the Ghana Demographic and Health Survey (GDHS, 2008-2014) and constructed exposure variable of the FMHCP using mothers' national health insurance status as a proxy variable and another group of mothers who did not subscribe to the policy.

Factors associated with initial AstraZeneca vaccine knowledge, attitudes, and uptake among hospital nurses: A cross-sectional study in Ghana's Upper East region.

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused over 171,657 confirmed cases and 1,462 deaths in Ghana, particularly among frontline health-workers involved in pandemic response. Prevention measures in Ghana include AstraZeneca 'Covishield' vaccination of health-workers, but research on factors affecting uptake of COVID-19 vaccines in Ghana were initially limited. Therefore, this study aimed to analyse knowledge, attitudes, and initial uptake of Covishield among nurses in the War Memorial Hospital in Navrongo, Upper East Region.

Proportion and factors influencing client satisfaction with delivery services in health facilities in the Sissala East Municipality, Ghana: A cross-sectional study.

Background And Aims: Client satisfaction is the difference between the healthcare services delivered and the needs of the client. Anecdotal evidence suggests the quality of maternal health and delivery services in Ghana especially in the Upper West Region is appalling. Moreover, there is a paucity of data on clients' satisfaction with maternal and delivery services rendered by healthcare.

Effects of computerized decision support on maternal and neonatal health-worker performance in the context of combined implementation with performance-based incentivisation in Upper East Region, Ghana: a qualitative study of professional perspectives.

Background: Computerized decision support systems (CDSS) and performance-based incentives (PBIs) can improve health-worker performance. However, there is minimal evidence on the combined effects of these interventions or perceived effects among maternal and child healthcare providers in low-resource settings. We thus aimed to explore the perceptions of maternal and child healthcare providers of CDSS support in the context of a combined CDSS-PBI intervention on performance in twelve primary care facilities in Ghana's Upper East Region.

Determinants of Menstrual Hygiene Management Practices among Schoolgirls: A Cross-Sectional Study in the Savannah Region of Ghana.

Introduction: Menstruation is crucial in the reproductive lives of all women. The advent of menses in most settings is accompanied by physical and psychological health, religious, social, and cultural implications. The research intends to identify determinants of menstrual hygiene management (MHM) practices among adolescent girls in Junior High Schools in the West Gonja Municipality of the Savannah Region of Ghana.

Perceived factors influencing menstrual hygiene management among adolescent girls: a qualitative study in the West Gonja Municipality of the Savannah Region, Ghana.

Introduction: menstrual hygiene (MH) is important for all women, yet it is still a neglected issue in many parts of the world. In most traditional African contexts, including Ghana, menstruation is largely treated as a taboo and humiliating topic that is rarely discussed openly. The main aim of this study is to assess perceived factors influencing menstrual hygiene management among adolescent girls in Ghana´s Savannah Region, West Gonja Municipality.

Effects of combined decision-support and performance-based incentives on reported client satisfaction with maternal health services in primary facilities: A quasi-experimental study in the Upper East Region of Ghana.

Background: Computerized decision-support systems (CDSS) and performance-based incentives (PBIs) have potential to contribute to client satisfaction with health services. However, rigorous evidence is lacking on the effectiveness of these strategies in lower-income countries such as Ghana. This study aimed to determine the effect of a combined CDSS-PBI intervention on client satisfaction with maternal health services in primary facilities in the Upper East Region of Ghana.

Can performance-based incentives improve motivation of nurses and midwives in primary facilities in northern Ghana? A quasi-experimental study.

Background: Lack of an adequate and well-performing health workforce has emerged as the biggest barrier to scaling up health services provision in sub-Saharan Africa. As the global community commits to the Sustainable Development Goals and universal health coverage, health workforce challenges are critical. In northern Ghana, performance-based incentives (PBIs) were introduced to improve health worker motivation and service quality.

Effects of an adolescent sexual and reproductive health intervention on health service usage by young people in northern Ghana: a community-randomised trial.

Background: While many Ghanaian adolescents encounter sexual and reproductive health problems, their usage of services remains low. A social learning intervention, incorporating environment, motivation, education, and self-efficacy to change behaviour, was implemented in a low-income district of northern Ghana to increase adolescent services usage. This study aimed to assess the impact of this intervention on usage of sexual and reproductive health services by young people.

Cost to households in treating maternal complications in northern Ghana: a cross sectional study.

Background: The cost of treating maternal complications has serious economic consequences to households and can hinder the utilization of maternal health care services at the health facilities. This study estimated the cost of maternal complications to women and their households in the Kassena-Nankana district of northern Ghana.

Methods: We carried out a cross-sectional study between February and April 2014 in the Kassena-Nankana district.

Motivation and incentives of rural maternal and neonatal health care providers: a comparison of qualitative findings from Burkina Faso, Ghana and Tanzania.

Background: In Burkina Faso, Ghana and Tanzania strong efforts are being made to improve the quality of maternal and neonatal health (MNH) care. However, progress is impeded by challenges, especially in the area of human resources. All three countries are striving not only to scale up the number of available health staff, but also to improve performance by raising skill levels and enhancing provider motivation.

The challenges of developing an instrument to assess health provider motivation at primary care level in rural Burkina Faso, Ghana and Tanzania.

Background: The quality of health care depends on the competence and motivation of the health workers that provide it. In the West, several tools exist to measure worker motivation, and some have been applied to the health sector. However, none have been validated for use in sub-Saharan Africa.