Patterns and social factors associated with non-prescription use of Tramadol: a cross-sectional study among youth in urban informal settlements in Ghana.

Background: Non-prescription use of Tramadol is increasingly becoming common among vulnerable populations. This study examines the factors associated with non-prescription use of Tramadol among youth in urban informal settlements in the Asokore Mampong Municipality, Ghana.

Methods: Cross-sectional data from Tramadol users aged 15 to 35 years living in urban informal settlements were analyzed.

Daily exercises uptake and associated factors among Social Security and National Insurance Trust pensioners in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana.

Background: With a growing body of evidence highlighting the positive impact of regular physical activity or exercise on achieving healthy aging, it is important to gain insight into the factors influencing daily exercises uptake. However, to the best of our knowledge, no study has been focused on factors predicting daily exercises uptake among pensioners, who form a substantial portion of Ghana's aging population. The goal of this preliminary study was to estimate the factors associated with daily exercises uptake among Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) pensioners in Ghana.

Geographical location as a determinant of caregiver burden: a rural-urban analysis of the informal caregiving, health, and healthcare survey in Ghana.

Background: The caregiving scholarship widely acknowledges informal caregivers' contributions to maintaining older adults' health and well-being. However, informal caregivers encounter economic, physical, social, financial and psychological challenges when caring for older adults. The caregiving literature has shown variations in caregiving intensity and motivation between rural and urban informal caregivers of older adults.

National health insurance enrolment among elderly ghanaians: the role of food security status.

Older people with food insecurity in Ghana are often exposed to poor health conditions, highlighting the importance of the National health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) enrolment for ensuring they receive necessary medical attention through access to health care services. However, we know very little about the association between food insecurity and National Health Insurance Scheme enrolment among older people in Ghana. To address this void in the literature, this study uses a representative survey of adults aged 60 or older from three regions in Ghana (i.

Specialist care visits outside the hospital by South Australian older adults.

Background: Limited access to specialist medical services is a major barrier to healthcare in rural areas. We compared rural-urban specialist doctor consultations outside hospital by older adults (≥ 60 years) across South Australia.

Methods: Cross-sectional data were available from the South Australia's Department of Health.

Exploring the association of self-rated oral health with self-rated general and mental health among older adults in a resource-poor context: Insights for advancing Sustainable Development Goal 3.

Introduction: Older adults in Ghana have been disproportionately affected by oral health issues such as caries and periodontitis. This situation calls for comprehensive attention within health and healthcare policies, due to the established connections between oral health and other aspects of health and well-being in high-income countries, including physical and mental health. However, there is a significant gap in the literature when it comes to exploring the association of oral health with physical and mental health in resource-constrained settings like Ghana.

The role of gender in health insurance enrollment among geriatric caregivers: results from the 2022 informal caregiving, health, and healthcare survey in Ghana.

Background: Female informal caregivers of older adults experience a higher burden of physical and mental health problems compared to their male counterparts due to the greater intensity of care they provide. This is likely to result in an imbalance in health needs, including health insurance enrollment, between male and female informal caregivers of older adults. However, to date, no study is available on the role of gender in health insurance enrollment among informal caregivers of older adults in Ghana.

Differences in physical and mental health symptoms among residents living near municipal solid waste sites: a cross sectional study in the Ashanti Region, Ghana.

Objective: Physical and mental health concerns and symptoms, including sleep problems, low mood, extreme tiredness, and appetite loss are prevalent among people living near waste sites. This research examines differences in health symptoms among residents living near municipal solid waste sites in the Ashanti Region, Ghana.

Methods: The study used cross-sectional data from 827 residents living near three municipal waste sites, including Besease, Asokore, and Dompoase sites in the Ashanti Region, Ghana.

Caregiver burden and health-related quality of life: A study of informal caregivers of older adults in Ghana.

Background: Similar to many developing countries, caregiver burden remains high in Ghana which may affect informal caregivers of older adults' health-related quality of life (HRQoL). However, no study has examined the association between caregiver burden and HRQoL among informal caregivers of older adults in Ghana to date. Understanding this association may well help to inform health and social policy measures to improve HRQoL among  informal caregivers of older adults in Ghana.

Perceived neighborhood social cohesion and functional disability among older adults: The moderating roles of sex, physical activity, and multi-morbidity.

Though the Ghanaian social structure is largely communal in several of its social life and social spaces, the extent to which cohesive neighbourhood affects functional ability of older persons and the moderating factors of the relationship, are unknown in Ghana. This study examines the moderating roles of sex, multimorbidity, and physical activity on the association between neighbourhood social cohesion and functional disability among older people in Ghana. A cross-sectional study of 4,446 people-50 years and older-from WHO's Study on global AGEing and adult health Ghana Wave 2 was employed.

Healthcare utilization among informal caregivers of older adults in the Ashanti region of Ghana: a study based on the health belief model.

Background: Existing global evidence suggests that informal caregivers prioritize the health (care) of their care recipients (older adults) over their own health (care) resulting in sub-optimal health outcomes among this population group. However, data on what factors are associated with healthcare utilization among informal caregivers of older adults are not known in a sub-Saharan African context. Guided by the Health Belief Model (HBM), the principal objective of this study was to examine the association between the dimensions of the HBM and healthcare utilization among informal caregivers of older adults in the Ashanti Region of Ghana.

Family Support, Perceived Physical Activeness and Chronic Non-Communicable Diseases as Determinants of Formal Healthcare Utilization Among Older Adults with Low Income and Health Insurance Subscription in Ghana.

Evidence suggests that enrollment in a health insurance scheme is associated with higher levels of formal healthcare utilization among older adults, especially those with low income in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), including Ghana. This study examines the prevalence of formal healthcare utilization and associated factors among older adults with low income and health insurance subscription enrolled in a social intervention program (known as the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty [LEAP] program) in Ghana. Cross-sectional data were obtained from an Aging, Health, Lifestyle and Health Services Survey conducted in 2018 among 200 older adults aged 65 years and above enrolled in the LEAP program.

Health needs of migrant female head porters in Ghana: evidence from the Greater Accra and Greater Kumasi Metropolitan areas.

Background: In low-and middle-income countries, migrants are confronted with health needs which affect the promotion of their well-being and healthy lives. However, not much is known about the health needs of migrant female head porters (Kayayei) in Ghana. This study assesses the health needs of migrant female head porters in the Greater Kumasi Metropolitan Area (GKMA) and Greater Accra Metropolitan Area (GAMA).

Staying in or out? COVID-19-induced healthcare utilization avoidance and associated socio-demographic factors in rural India.

Background: Although evidence on healthcare utilization avoidance during COVID-19 pandemic is emerging, such knowledge is limited in rural settings. An effective policy to the COVID-19 shocks and stresses in rural settings require empirical evidence to inform the design of health policies and programmes. To help overcome this evidence gap and also contribute to policy decisions, this study aimed at examining COVID-19-induced healthcare utilization avoidance and associated factors in rural India.

Mobility limitations and emotional dysfunction in old age: The moderating effects of physical activity and social ties.

Background: This study aims to examine the association between mobility limitations and emotional dysfunction among older Ghanaians and evaluate the buffering effect of physical activity (PA) and social ties in this association.

Methods: The analysis included 1201 adults aged ≥50 from the 2016-17 Aging, Health, Psychological Well-being, and Health-seeking Behavior study. The Medical Outcomes Study Short Form-36 (MOS SF-36) assessed mobility limitations and emotional dysfunction.

Understanding the association between unmet dental care needs and household food security status among older people in Ghana.

The literature recognizes food insecurity as a barrier to access to health care services. However, we know very little about the association between food insecurity and unmet dental care needs among older people in Ghana. To address this void in the literature, this study uses a representative survey of adults aged 60 or older from three regions in Ghana to examine whether older people who experienced household food insecurity differently report unmet dental care needs in comparison to their counterparts without any food insecurity.

Healthcare seeking behaviour during illness among older adults in Ghana: does food security status matter?

Background: Ghana's growing older adult population raises critical questions regarding healthcare for these older adults. At the same time, food insecurity is high among older adults in Ghana. This underscores the need to investigate the issues of food security and healthcare seeking behaviour among older adults.

Intimate partner violence as a determinant of pregnancy termination among women in unions: evidence from the 2016-2018 Papua New Guinea Demographic and Health Survey.

There is a demonstrated link between intimate partner violence (IPV) and pregnancy termination, and this association has received much attention in developed settings. Despite the high prevalence of IPV in Papua New Guinea (PNG), little is known about the association between these experiences and pregnancy termination. This study examined the association between IPV and pregnancy termination in PNG.

System, institutional, and client-level factors associated with formal healthcare utilisation among older adults with low income under a social protection scheme in Ghana.

Background: In sub-Saharan African context, effect of system, institutional and client-level factors on formal healthcare utilisation among older adults with low income, especially those under a social protection scheme (called Livelihood Empowerment against Poverty [LEAP] programme) is least explored in the literature. However, an adequate understanding of how these factors contribute to formal healthcare utilisation among older adults who are classified as poor (in terms of low income) is important to inform health policy decisions. The aim of this study, therefore, was to examine the contributions of system, institutional and client-level factors in formal healthcare utilisation among older adults with low income under the LEAP programme in Ghana.

Housing conditions and long-term care needs of older adults in Ghana: Evidence from the WHO SAGE Ghana Wave 1.

The present study examined the association between housing conditions and long-term care needs of older adults in Ghana. We used data from 4,920 adults aged ≥50 years that participated in the World Health Organisation's (WHO) Study on adult health and AGEing Ghana Wave 1. Housing conditions were assessed with drinking water, sanitation, cooking conditions and building materials, and long-term care needs were based on WHO Disability Assessment Schedule 2.

Understanding the Link between Household Food Insecurity and Self-Rated Oral Health in Ghana.

There is increasing scholarly attention on the role of food insecurity on the health of older adults in sub-Saharan Africa, including Ghana. Yet, we know very little about the association between food insecurity and self-rated oral health. To address this void in the literature, this study uses a representative survey of adults aged 60 or older from three regions in Ghana to examine whether respondents who experienced household food insecurity rated their oral health as poor compared to their counterparts who did not.

Cigarette smoking during breastfeeding in Papua New Guinea: Prevalence and demographic and socio-economic predictors.

Background: Cigarette smoking during breastfeeding is reported to contribute to significant changes in the composition of breast milk not only by reducing its protective features but also affecting infants' response to breastfeeding and breast milk. However, studies on the prevalence of cigarette smoking and associated factors during breastfeeding are limited in Papua New Guinea (PNG). This study estimates the prevalence of cigarette smoking and its association with demographic and economic factors among breastfeeding women in PNG.