Socio-demographic and behavioural determinants of body mass index among an adult population in rural Northern Ghana: the AWI-Gen study.

Background: Obesity and associated cardiometabolic diseases are increasing in urban sub-Saharan Africa due to a complex epidemiological and nutritional transition. Related data on rural communities is scarce.

Objectives: The study characterized the socio-demographic and behavioural factors influencing body mass index (BMI) among adults in rural Northern Ghana Methods: A population-based cross-sectional study involving adults aged 40-60 years residing in the Kassena-Nankana districts was undertaken.

Assessing the catastrophic effects of out-of-pocket healthcare payments prior to the uptake of a nationwide health insurance scheme in Ghana.

Background: Financial risk protection against the cost of unforeseen healthcare has gained global attention in recent years. Although Ghana implemented a nationwide health insurance scheme with a goal of reducing financial barriers to accessing healthcare and addressing impoverishing effects of out-of-pocket (OOP) healthcare payments, there is a paucity of knowledge on the extent of financial catastrophe of such payments in Ghana. Thus, this paper assesses the catastrophic effect of OOP healthcare payments in Ghana.

Are social support and HIV coping strategies associated with lower depression in adults on antiretroviral treatment? Evidence from rural KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.

We assess depression rates and investigate whether depression among HIV-infected adults receiving antiretroviral treatment (ART) is associated with social support and HIV coping strategies in rural South Africa (SA). The study took place in a decentralised public-sector ART programme in a poor, rural area of KwaZulu-Natal, SA, with high-HIV prevalence and high-ART coverage. The 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ12), validated in this setting, was used to assess depression in 272 adults recently initiated on ART.