A qualitative analysis of factors influencing the implementation of antiretroviral treatment adherence policy in Ghana: stakeholders perspective.

Background: The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS launched the 90-90-90 initiative. Failure to meet the target reflects the difficulties in successfully implementing HIV treatment policy. There are research gaps in exploring personal and external factors influencing HIV treatment in Ghana.

Implementation outcomes and strategies for delivering evidence-based hypertension interventions in lower-middle-income countries: Evidence from a multi-country consortium for hypertension control.

Guidance on contextually tailored implementation strategies for the prevention, treatment, and control of hypertension is limited in lower-middle income countries (Lower-MIC). To address this limitation, we compiled implementation strategies and accompanying outcomes of evidence-based hypertension interventions currently being implemented in five Lower-MIC. The Global Research on Implementation and Translation Science (GRIT) Coordinating Center (CC) (GRIT-CC) engaged its global network sites at Ghana, Guatemala, India, Kenya, and Vietnam.

Towards implementation of context-specific integrated district mental healthcare plans: A situation analysis of mental health services in five districts in Ghana.

Background: Access to quality mental health services in Ghana remains poor, yet little is known about the extent of the access gaps and provision of mental health services at the district level in Ghana. We aimed to conduct an analysis of mental health infrastructure and service provision in five districts in Ghana.

Methods: A cross-sectional situation analysis was conducted using a standardised tool to collect secondary healthcare data, supplemented by interviews with key informants, across five purposively selected districts in Ghana.

Vulnerable newborn types: analysis of subnational, population-based birth cohorts for 541 285 live births in 23 countries, 2000-2021.

Objective: To examine prevalence of novel newborn types among 541 285 live births in 23 countries from 2000 to 2021.

Design: Descriptive multi-country secondary data analysis.

Setting: Subnational, population-based birth cohort studies (n = 45) in 23 low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) spanning 2000-2021.

Neonatal mortality risk of vulnerable newborns: A descriptive analysis of subnational, population-based birth cohorts for 238 203 live births in low- and middle-income settings from 2000 to 2017.

Objective: We aimed to understand the mortality risks of vulnerable newborns (defined as preterm and/or born weighing smaller or larger compared to a standard population), in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).

Design: Descriptive multi-country, secondary analysis of individual-level study data of babies born since 2000.

Setting: Sixteen subnational, population-based studies from nine LMICs in sub-Saharan Africa, Southern and Eastern Asia, and Latin America.

Prevalence and determinants of caesarean section deliveries in the Kintampo Districts of Ghana.

Background: Globally, the increasing rate of caesarean section (CS) delivery has become a major public health concern due to its cost, maternal, neonatal, and perinatal risks. In Ghana, the Family Health Division of the Ghana Health Service in 2016 opted to initiate a program to prevent the abuse of CS and identify the factors contributing to its increase in the country. This study aimed to determine the prevalence and factors influencing CS deliveries in the Kintampo Districts of Ghana.

Prevalence of probable mental, neurological and substance use conditions and case detection at primary healthcare facilities across three districts in Ghana: findings from a cross-sectional health facility survey.

Background: Few studies have examined the prevalence of mental, neurological and substance use (MNS) conditions, case detection and treatment in primary healthcare in rural settings in Africa. We assessed prevalence and case detection at primary healthcare facilities in low-resource rural settings in Ghana.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted at the health facility level in three demonstration districts situated in Bongo (Upper East Region), Asunafo North (Ahafo Region) and Anloga (Volta Region) in Ghana.

The stated preferences of community-based volunteers for roles in the prevention of violence against women and girls in Ghana: A discrete choice analysis.

Violence against women and girls (VAWG) is a human rights violation with substantial health-related consequences. Interventions to prevent VAWG, often implemented at the community level by volunteers, have been proven effective and cost-effective. One such intervention is the Rural Response System in Ghana, a volunteer-run program which hires community based action teams (COMBATs) to sensitise the community about VAWG and to provide counselling services in rural areas.

Regular deworming and seasonality are potential challenges but also offer opportunities for hookworm elimination.

The global health community has targeted the elimination of neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) including soil-transmitted helminthiasis by 2030. The elimination strategy has not changed from that of control using regular mass drug administration (MDA) with albendazole, WASH and education. Already doubts have been expressed about this achievement, principally because drugs do not interrupt transmission.

Development and validation of a diagnostic aid for convulsive epilepsy in sub-Saharan Africa: a retrospective case-control study.

Background: Identification of convulsive epilepsy in sub-Saharan Africa relies on access to resources that are often unavailable. Infrastructure and resource requirements can further complicate case verification. Using machine-learning techniques, we have developed and tested a region-specific questionnaire panel and predictive model to identify people who have had a convulsive seizure.

COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy and its determinants among sub-Saharan African adolescents.

COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among adolescents poses a challenge to the global effort to control the pandemic. This multi-country survey aimed to assess the prevalence and determinants of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among adolescents in sub-Saharan Africa between July and December 2021. The survey was conducted using computer-assisted telephone interviewing among adolescents in five sub-Saharan African countries, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Ghana, Nigeria, and Tanzania.

Association between malaria and household air pollution interventions in a predominantly rural area of Ghana.

Background: Though anecdotal evidence suggests that smoke from HAP has a repellent effect on mosquitoes, very little work has been done to assess the effect of biomass smoke on malaria infection. The study, therefore, sought to investigate the hypothesis that interventions to reduce household biomass smoke may have an unintended consequence of increasing placental malaria or increase malaria infection in the first year of life.

Methods: This provides evidence from a randomized controlled trial among 1414 maternal-infant pairs in the Kintampo North and Kintampo South administrative areas of Ghana.

Effect of iron fortification on anaemia and risk of malaria among Ghanaian pre-school children with haemoglobinopathies and different ABO blood groups.

Background: Haemoglobinopathies such as sickle cell disorder and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency as well as differences in ABO blood groups have been shown to influence the risk of malaria and/or anaemia in malaria-endemic areas. This study assessed the effect of adding MNP containing iron to home-made weaning meals on anaemia and the risk of malaria in Ghanaian pre-school children with haemoglobinopathies and different ABO blood groups.

Methods: This study was a double-blind, randomly clustered trial conducted within six months among infants and young children aged 6 to 35 months in rural Ghana (775 clusters, n = 860).

Exome sequencing of 20,979 individuals with epilepsy reveals shared and distinct ultra-rare genetic risk across disorder subtypes.

Identifying genetic risk factors for highly heterogeneous disorders like epilepsy remains challenging. Here, we present the largest whole-exome sequencing study of epilepsy to date, with >54,000 human exomes, comprising 20,979 deeply phenotyped patients from multiple genetic ancestry groups with diverse epilepsy subtypes and 33,444 controls, to investigate rare variants that confer disease risk. These analyses implicate seven individual genes, three gene sets, and four copy number variants at exome-wide significance.

Impact of mobile health on maternal and child health service utilization and continuum of care in Northern Ghana.

Maternal and child mortality are of public health concern. Most of these deaths occur in rural communities of developing countries. Technology for maternal and child health (T4MCH) is an intervention introduced to increase Maternal and Child Health (MCH) services utilization and continuum of care in some health facilities across Ghana.

"I don't want to have anything to do with someone suspected of COVID-19": a genuine infection avoidance interest or inappropriate concerns related to stigma?

Background: Human existence is being challenged by an outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by the virus SARS-CoV-2 that began in Wuhan, China in December 2019. Efforts to avoid the spread of COVID-19 are undermined by the appearance of disease-associated avoidance of infected persons due to reasons such as social stigma and discrimination.

Objective: This study seeks to investigate avoidance and discrimination against persons suspected of COVID-19 to help fight the pandemic in a predominantly rural setting in Ghana.

Population cause of death estimation using verbal autopsy methods in large-scale field trials of maternal and child health: lessons learned from a 20-year research collaboration in Central Ghana.

Low and middle-income countries continue to use Verbal autopsies (VAs) as a World Health Organisation-recommended method to ascertain causes of death in settings where coverage of vital registration systems is not yet comprehensive. Whilst the adoption of VA has resulted in major improvements in estimating cause-specific mortality in many settings, well documented limitations have been identified relating to the standardisation of the processes involved. The WHO has invested significant resources into addressing concerns in some of these areas; there however remains enduring challenges particularly in operationalising VA surveys for deaths amongst women and children, challenges which have measurable impacts on the quality of data collected and on the accuracy of determining the final cause of death.

Multiple aspects of energy poverty are associated with lower mental health-related quality of life: A modelling study in three peri-urban African communities.

Objective: Over 900 million people in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) live in energy poverty, relying on cooking polluting fuels (e.g. wood, charcoal).

The Continued Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Education and Mental Health Among Sub-Saharan African Adolescents.

Purpose: This multicountry survey assessed the levels and the determinants of the impacts of the pandemic on education and mental health among adolescents in sub-Saharan Africa and the potential factors that may exacerbate these adverse impacts.

Methods: A phone survey was conducted among adolescents in nine diverse areas in Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Ghana, Nigeria, and Tanzania between July and December 2021. Approximately 300 adolescents per area and 2,803 adolescents in total were included.

COVID-19 Preventive Practices, Psychological Distress, and Reported Barriers to Healthcare Access during the Pandemic among Adult Community Members in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Phone Survey.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had serious negative health and economic impacts in sub-Saharan Africa. Continuous monitoring of these impacts is crucial to formulate interventions to minimize the consequences of COVID-19. This study surveyed 2,829 adults in urban and rural sites among five sub-Saharan African countries: Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Tanzania, and Ghana.

The RTS,S malaria vaccine: Current impact and foundation for the future.

The RTS,S vaccine has recently been recommended for implementation as a childhood vaccine in regions with moderate-to-high malaria transmission. We discuss mechanisms of vaccine protection and longevity, implementation considerations, and future research needed to increase the vaccine's health impact, including vaccine modifications for higher efficacy and longevity of protection.

Challenges with adherence to the 'test, treat, and track' malaria case management guideline among prescribers in Ghana.

Background: Despite several efforts at addressing the barriers to adherence to the WHO-supported test, treat and track (T3) malaria case management guideline in Ghana, adherence remains a challenge. This study explored the challenges of prescribers regarding adherence to the T3 guideline.

Methods: This was an explorative study using key informant interviews amongst prescribers comprising medical doctors, physician assistants, nurses and a health extension worker from 16 health facilities in six districts in Ghana.