Pan African Vivax and Ovale Network (PAVON) Malaria Diagnostic Competency Training: Offering Training Opportunities to Impact Malaria Elimination Strategies in Sub-Saharan Africa.

PAVON has developed a malaria microscopy competency training scheme to augment competency in malaria microscopy. Here, data accrued from training activities between 2020 and 2023 in Botswana are presented. Three trainings were done for 37 central and peripheral level technicians for a two-week period.

Is it safe? Health promotion videos on YouTube and the safety of viewers - Views from Ghana.

Objectives: Health promotion videos are trending and abundant. Information provided in these videos is not verified by any designated experts but is popular. In this paper we discuss the prevalence of such videos and guide patients on how to verify their authenticity.

Climate Change and Health: Perspectives From Ghana.

Climate change is impacting many aspects of human life in many ways. In Ghana, climate change knowledge remains low and discussions linking climate change and health are scarce. In this paper, authors contribute to the shaping of discussions about climate and health with a focus on how climate change increases certain ailments.

The relationship between health literacy and health-seeking behavior amongst university students in Ghana: A cross-sectional study.

Background And Aims: The crises of the last decades have provided more evidence of the need for health literacy as a measure of resilience and preparedness. In this study the relationship between health literacy and health-seeking behavior was investigated.

Methods: This study used a cross-sectional design with a questionnaire of five sections dedicated to health-seeking behavior, health literacy, family background, socioeconomic status and demographics.

Malaria Elimination in Africa: Rethinking Strategies for and Lessons from Botswana.

The global malaria community has picked up the theme of malaria elimination in more than 90% of the world's population in the next decade. Recent reports of () in sub-Saharan Africa, including in Duffy-negative individuals, threaten the efforts aimed at achieving elimination. This is not only in view of strategies that are tailored only to elimination but also due to currently revealed biological characteristics of concerning the relapse patterns of hypnozoites and conservation of large biomasses in cryptic sites in the bone marrow and spleen.

Detection of Transversions and Transitions in HBG2 Cis-Elements Associated with Sickle Cell Allele in Ghanaians.

Short tandem repeats located 5' prime to the β-globin gene, have been observed to be in linkage disequilibrium with the HbS allele, and thought to affect the severity of sickle cell disease. Here, we report on new mutants within the HBG2 region that may impact sickle cell disease. To determine the cis-acting elements microsatellites, indels and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), within the HBG2 region by sequencing, in subjects with sickle cell disease.

Gamified Problem Gambling and Psychological Distress: The Mediated-Moderated Roles of Cognitive and Economic Motives.

Economic and non-economic motives for gambling may amplify anxiety and depression among young adults. On the grounds that online gambling is highly addictive, it is imperative to assess significant contributory factors in gambling that aggravate financial harm and psychological distress. The study examines gamified problem gambling and psychological distress among young adults in Ghanaian universities.

Perceptions about the causes and treatment of cancer - A cross-sectional survey of university students in Ghana.

Cancer awareness campaigns in Ghana and many parts of the world have gathered pace in recent years. Despite this encouraging trend, there has been no significant reduction in stigma in Ghana. This study investigated the role of beliefs about the causes of cancer in stigmatization and perceptions about treatment.

The role of care-seeking behavior and patient communication pattern in online health information-seeking behavior - a cross-sectional survey.

Introduction: online health information-seeking behaviour has been on the increase and patients are seeking more responsibility in decisions about their health. Previous studies have mostly predicted online health information-seeking behaviour with demographic characteristics and not current behaviours driven by improving online information. The study attempts to bridge the gap between fast-developing patient online health information-seeking behaviour and health behaviour research.

Similar Ferroportin Q248H polymorphism prevalence in patients with Plasmodium falciparum malaria and control subjects in the low-endemic setting of Botswana.

Introduction: Recent evidence suggests that ferroportin (FPN) Q248H may confer a survival advantage against malaria by reducing erythrocytic intracellular iron in Africans. We investigated if FPN Q248H mutation, that is prevalent in Batswana, is a factor in limiting the susceptibility to Plasmodium falciparum malaria.

Methods: 264 archived dried blood spot samples (183 P.

Children with Plasmodium vivax infection previously observed in Namibia, were Duffy negative and carried a c.136G > A mutation.

Background: In a previous study, using a molecular approach, we reported the presence of P. vivax in Namibia. Here, we have extended our investigation to the Duffy antigen genetic profile of individuals of the same cohort with and without Plasmodium infections.

The Pan African Vivax and Ovale Network (PAVON): Refocusing on Plasmodium vivax, ovale and asymptomatic malaria in sub-Saharan Africa.

The recent World Malaria report shows that progress in malaria elimination has stalled. Current data acquisition by NMCPs depend on passive case detection and clinical reports focused mainly on Plasmodium falciparum (Pf). In recent times, several countries in sub-Saharan Africa have reported cases of Plasmodium vivax (Pv) with a considerable number being Duffy negative.

Pregnancy-induced Cardiovascular Pathologies: Importance of Structural Components and Lipids.

Pregnancy leads to adaptations for maternal and fetal energy needs. The cardiovascular system bears the brunt of the adaptations as the heart and vessels enable nutrient supply to maternal organs facilitated by the placenta to the fetus. The components of the cardiovascular system are critical in the balance between maternal homeostatic and fetus driven homeorhetic regulation.

Data on artificial neural network and response surface methodology analysis of biodiesel production.

The biodiesel production from waste soybean oil (using NaOH and KOH catalysts independently) was investigated in this study. The use of optimization tools (artificial neural network, ANN, and response surface methodology, RSM) for the modelling of the relationship between biodiesel yield and process parameters was carried out. The variables employed in the experimental design of biodiesel yields were methanol-oil mole ratio (6 - 12), catalyst concentration (0.

Socio-demographic characteristics and psychosocial consequences of sickle cell disease: the case of patients in a public hospital in Ghana.

Background: Sickle cell disease (SCD) is of major public health concern globally, with majority of patients living in Africa. Despite its relevance, there is a dearth of research to determine the socio-demographic distribution and psychosocial impact of SCD in Ghana. The objective of this study was to examine the socio-demographic distribution and psychosocial consequences of SCD among patients in Ghana and to assess their quality of life and coping mechanisms.

Association between psychosomatic health symptoms and common mental illness in Ghanaian adolescents: Age and gender as potential moderators.

Little is known about the role of age and gender in the association between psychosomatic symptoms and common mental illness in Ghanaian adolescents. This cross-sectional study examined age and gender as moderators between psychosomatic symptoms and common mental illness using data from a school-based survey ( N = 770). Males reported higher psychosomatic symptoms and common mental illness, while younger adolescents reported higher common mental illness only.

Assessing alcohol abstinence self-efficacy in undergraduate students: psychometric evaluation of the alcohol abstinence self-efficacy scale.

Background: Alcohol use is a major public health concern with respect to its impact on youth morbidity and mortality. Self-efficacy to abstain from alcohol use in young people is an important prevention and intervention strategy in future alcohol dependence. However, research on the assessment of self-efficacy to abstain from alcohol use among undergraduate students is almost non-existent in Ghana, apparently due to the unavailability of a standardised testing instrument.

Exploring Ghanaian adolescents' meaning of health and wellbeing: a psychosocial perspective.

There is presently no internationally agreed upon set of indicators for assessing adolescent health and what "health and wellbeing" means to adolescents. The psychosocial context of family, friends, and school plays a crucial role in the construction of health and wellbeing by adolescents. In spite of this, not much is known about the meaning Ghanaian adolescents attach to their health and wellbeing and the role of stress and social support in the construction of this meaning.

Correlates of psychological functioning of homeless youth in Accra, Ghana: a cross-sectional study.

Background: Research on homeless youth has shown that this population is at high risk for various mental health problems. Previous studies conducted among homeless young adults in Ghana have focused primarily on economic, social and cultural causes of homelessness, their engagement in risky sexual behaviours and the prevalence of STI including HIV/AIDS. We are therefore not fully informed of the prevalence of psychological symptoms and their associated factors.

Exploring the Role of Self-Esteem and Parenting Patterns on Alcohol Use and Abuse Among Adolescents.

The type of parental child-rearing practices used by parents and guardians substantially influence children's self-esteem and consequently their decision to engage in alcohol use, its abuse. The aim of this study was to explore the role of self-esteem and parenting patterns on alcohol use and abuse among adolescents. Three hundred and sixteen boys and girls in Senior High Schools completed self-report questionnaires assessing self-esteem, parenting patterns and alcohol use and abuse.

Prevalence and determinants of depressive symptoms among university students in Ghana.

Background: Over two million Ghanaians suffer from moderate to mild mental disorders but prevalence levels and determinants among university students remains fairly unknown. A better understanding of depression and its determinants is necessary in developing appropriate interventions in this population group.

Method: A convenient sample of 270 students from a public university (132 males and 138 females) were interviewed using a questionnaire to record socio-demographic variables, HIV risk behaviours.

HIV/AIDS knowledge among undergraduate university students: implications for health education programs in Ghana.

Background: Globally, the spread of HIV/AIDS remains on the rise especially among adolescents who are at increased risk of infection. Sexual behavioural change remains one of the most effective ways of preventing further transmission among this vulnerable group.

Objective: To evaluate HIV/AIDS knowledge among undergraduate students' and how it can be used in HIV prevention strategies in Ghana.

HIV/AIDS knowledge and uptake of HIV counselling and testing among undergraduate private university students in Accra, Ghana.

Background: HIV Counselling and Testing (VCT) and knowledge about HIV are some key strategies in the prevention and control of HIV/AIDS in Ghana. However, HIV knowledge and utilization of VCT services among university students is low. The main objective was to determine the level of HIV/AIDS knowledge and to explore factors associated with the use HIV counselling and testing among private university students in Accra, Ghana.

Social support and the psychological wellbeing of people living with HIV/AIDS in Ghana.

Objective: The current study sought to investigate the association between age, gender, social support and the psychological wellbeing of people living with HIV and AIDS (PLHA) in Ghana.

Method: Cross-sectional data containing information on demographics, social support and psychological well-being (stress, depression, and anxiety), were collected from 107 men and women living with HIV/AIDS. To explore age group differences, participants were stratified by age (< 39 vs.

Cultural adaptation of the condom use self efficacy scale (CUSES) in Ghana.

Background: Accurate assessment of self-reports of sexual behaviours is vital to the evaluation of HIV prevention and family planning interventions. This investigation was to determine the cross-cultural suitability of the Condom Use Self Efficacy Scale (CUSES) originally developed for American adolescents and young adults by examining the structure and psychometric properties.

Method: A self-administered cross-sectional survey of a convenient sample of 511 participants from a private university in Ghana with mean age 21.