ghanaopendata/ghanaian-research-english huggingface dataset:
Utilisation Of Sexual And Reproductive Health Services Among Adolescents At Asante Akyem North District

Adolescents encounter general as well as sexual and reproductive health problems which if not resolved can affect them not only at this stage but in adulthood. Given this, globally, there is an increased concern about the sexual and reproductive health and adolescents’ development and Ghana is no exception. The purpose of the study was to explore the utilisation of sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services among adolescents at Asante Akyem North district. The study was guided by the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) and was ethically approved by the Institutional Review Board of the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research at the University of Ghana. The study employed a qualitative interpretive, descriptive design. Fifteen adolescents (15 to 19 years of age) who have utilised SRH services were purposively sampled from the various health facilities in the district. An interview guide was used to gather data, which was audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim and analysed using thematic content analysis. Six main themes emerged from the analysis which was further categorised into sub-themes. The major themes described the attitudes of adolescents towards SRH services, social pressures (subjective norms), perceived behavioural control and the intentions of adolescents to use SRH services. The other emerged themes included state of adolescents before using SRH services and perceptions of adolescents on SRH services which were additional themes to the constructs of the TPB. The findings indicated that most adolescents have positive attitudes towards SRH services. Their utilisation of SRH services was influenced by social pressures and faced a lot of challenges and barriers when using SRH services. However, most of the adolescents were willing to use SRH services in the future. The adolescents had sentiments as the considered moral issues associated with their use of SRH services but rationalised it by weighing benefits over cost. Adolescents also gave recommendations on how SRH services should be packaged to meet their needs. Participants were confident that if their significant others approve of their utilisation of SRH services, it will be easy for them to use the services. It was recommended that policies should be made to strengthen the existing SRH services at the general hospitals and clinics to ensure that services are youth friendly by providing private rooms for adolescents to serve them at their convenient hours. Future research should focus on the sexually active adolescents who have not used SRH services.

Source: UG
Utilisation Of Traditional Medicine Among Women Diagnosed With Breast Cancer In Ghana: A Descriptive Phenomenological Study

Background: Women living with breast cancer (BC) rely on traditional medicine (TM) in addition to orthodox medicine. There is a need to understand how and why women diagnosed with BC utilise TM. This study explored and described the lived experiences of women living with BC in terms of their utilisation of traditional medicine. Methods A descriptive phenomenology design was used to purposefully conduct 20 face-to-face, in-depth interviews using a semi-structured interview guide. The data were analysed using NVivo-12 based on Collaizzi’s framework for thematic data analysis. Results Overall, five main themes emerged, namely: sources of knowledge on TM, motivations for using TM, treatment modalities, timing for the initiation of TM, the reasons for discontinuing use of TM, and the decision to seek orthodox medicine. Under the category of motivations for using TM, four themes emerged: financial difficulties and perceived cost effectiveness of TM, influence of social networks, including family and friends, assurance of noninvasive treatment, delays at the healthcare facility, and side effects of orthodox treatment. Non-invasive treatments included herbal concoctions, natural food consumption, and skin application treatments. Regarding the timing of initiation, TM was used in the initial stage of symptom recognition prior to the decision to seek orthodox medicine. and was also used complementarily or as an alternative after seeking orthodox medicine. However, patients eventually stopped using TM due to the persistence of symptoms and the progression of cancer to a more advanced stage, and disapproval by orthodox practitioners. Conclusion Women living with BC in Ghana utilise traditional medicine (TM) for many reasons and report their family, friends, and the media as a main source of information. A combination of herbal concoctions and skin Application modalities are obtained from TM practitioners to treat their BC. However, they eventually discontinue TM when symptoms persist or when disapproval is expressed by their orthodox healthcare providers. We conclude that There is an opportunity to better integrate TM into the standard of oncological care for BC patients.

Source: UG
Utility and effectiveness of computerised motion sensitivity screening tests in rural onchocercal community survey

BACKGROUND: Non-invasive tool of community diagnosis for onchocercal endemicity needs to be identified and ascertained for their utility and effectivity in order to facilitate the control of onchocerciacis in sub-Saharan Africa OBJECTIVE: To determine the utility and effectiveness of the Wu-Jones Motion Sensitivity Screening Test (MSST) in detecting optic nerve diseases in onchocercal-endemic rural Africa. METHODS: MSST was applied to sampled subjects in the selected communities of Raja in Sudan; Bushenyi in Uganda; Morogoro in Tanzania; and of Ikom, Olamaboro and Gashaka in Nigeria. Basically, six points within the central field of vision were repeatedly tested at 1/3 meter from the screen of a laptop computer in a room darkened. Motion sensitivity was expressed as a percentage of motion detected in the individual eye and this was averaged for the community. RESULTS: A total of 3,858 eyes of 2,072 patients were examined. Seventy-six percent of the subjects completed the test, at an average test time of 120.4 (66.7) seconds. The overall mean motion sensitivity of all eyes tested was 88.49 (17.49%). At a cut-off point of 50%, 6.4% of all subjects tested were subnormal, while at 70% cutoff, 13.3% were subnormal. The highest proportion of 50% cutoff sub-normality was recorded at Morogoro at 12.7%. CONCLUSION: Motion Sensitivity Screening Test was widely accepted and easily administered to the rural and largely illiterate subjects studied. Our data suggest that the proportion of severe field defects by MSST in a community, with cutoff at 33%, best correlates with optic nerve disease prevalence, while proportion of defect from a higher cut-off level at about 50%, best correlates with overall ocular morbidity.

Source: UG
Utility of anti-Mycobacterium tuberculosis antibody (ab905) for detection of mycobacterial antigens in formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissues from clinically and histologically suggestive extrapulmonary tuberculosis cases

The Bacteriology Department aims to improve the quality of life first for Ghanaians and the world at large by conducting research into bacterial diseases of public health importance to Ghana and globally. In addition to working on enteric pathogens and sexually transmitted diseases, the department’s current main focus is on the two most important mycobacterial diseases of public health importance to Ghana, namely Buruli ulcer (BU) and tuberculosis (TB).

Source: UG
Utility of early diagnosis, contact tracing and stakeholder engagement in outbreak response in three COVID-19 outbreak settings in Ghana

The Epidemiology Department contributes to the mission of the institute through basic and applied epidemiological research on, but not limited to, malaria and other diseases of public health importance. It is also home to the Social Science Unit of the Institute, including the Health Support Centre for HIV/AIDS and other communicable and noncommunicable health problems.

Source: UG
Utility of volume adjusted prostate specific antigen density in the diagnosis of prostate cancer in Arab men

Background: This study was undertaken to assess the utility of prostate specific antigen (PSA) and PSA density (PSAD) in discriminating between benign and malignant prostate disease in the Kuwaiti Arab population. M ethods: A total of 100 consecutive patients suspected of having prostate cancer because of serum PSA > 4 ng/ml, or detection of a prostatic nodule on rectal examination were further investigated by determination of PSAD, TRUS of prostate, sexant prostatic biopsy and histological analysis to establish the correct diagnosis. Other diagnostic measures included the determination of the area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve, sensitivity and specificity. Results: Of the 100 prostate biopsies that were performed, 33 cases were confirmed to be prostate cancer and 67 were described as benign lesions comprising benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) with or without prostatitis. The age range for patients with prostate cancer was 42-90 years, and 52-90 years for those without prostate cancer. The mean prostate volume was 58.82 cc (range 9-177 cc) and 62.60 cc (range 15-140 cc), the mean PSA value was 36.65 ng/ml (range 5.8-200 ng/ml) and 16.49 ng/ml (range 1.4-46.0 ng/ml), while the mean PSAD was 0.92 (range 0.046-5.714) and 0.452 (range 0.034-2.294) for patients with prostate cancer and patients without prostate cancer respectively. Patients with PSA less than 4 ng/ml (3 cases) all had benign prostate lesions, and 7 cases with PSA more than 50 ng/ml all had prostate cancer and were excluded because values above 50 ng/ml have close to 100% specificity for prostate cancer. Further analysis was done on the remaining 90 cases which were patients with a PSA between 4 and 50 ng/ml. The discriminating power of serum PSA for detecting prostate cancer as estimated by the area under ROC was 0.686 while that for PSAD was 0.732. The maximum likelihood for a positive PSA was at a PSAD cut-off point of 0.32. For the PSA cut-off point of 10 ng/ml, the sensitivity was 80%, and specificity was 42.2%. For the PSAD cut-off point of 0.32, the sensitivity was 58% and the specificity 76.6%. Conclusions: Determination of PSAD is not a useful adjunct to serum PSA values in the range of 10-50 ng/ ml in our population. PSAD value less than 0.32 with PSA less than 10 ng/ml strongly suggests benign disease.

Source: UG
Utilization and farmers' knowledge on pigeonpea diversity in Benin, West Africa

Background: Understanding factors driving farmers' uses of crop genetic resources is a key component not only to design appropriate conservation strategies but also to promote sustainable production. However, in Benin, limited information is available on farmers' knowledge related to pigeonpea uses and conservation. This study aimed at i) identifying and investigating the different uses of pigeonpea in relation with socio-cultural factors, namely age, gender, ethnic group and respondents' residence, ii) assessing pigeonpea varieties richness at household level and iii) evaluating the extent and distribution of pigeonpea varieties. Methods: Three hundred and two farmers were surveyed using structured questionnaire. Direct observation, field visit and focus group discussion were carried out. Association between number of varieties maintained at household level and socio-cultural variables was tested. Mann-Whitney test was used to assess whether the number of varieties held by households headed by men and women were different. Distribution and extent of diversity was assessed through four cells analysis. Results: Farmers in Benin mainly grow pigeonpea for its grains for home consumption. Pigeonpea's stem and leaves are used for medicinal purposes to treat malaria, dizziness, measles, and eye infection. The ethnic group and the locality of residence of farmers influenced on the use of pigeonpea for medicinal purposes (P < 0.01). There was no significant association (P > 0.05) between the number of varieties held by household and the age of the respondent, number of years of experience in pigeonpea cultivation, the size of household, number of family members engaged in agricultural activities and gender. Farmers used criteria including seed colors, seed size, plant height, maturity groups and cooking time to classify their varieties. Varieties with white seed coat color were the most grown while varieties with black, red or mottled seed coat color are being abandoned and deserve to be conserved. Conclusion: Knowledge on medicinal uses of pigeonpea is vertically transmitted within community and pigeonpea varieties maintenance at household level does not depend on socio-cultural factors. This study will contribute to raise awareness on the various utilization of pigeonpea. In addition, it provides the basis for designing conservation strategies of pigeonpea genetic resources. © 2017 The Author(s).

Source: UG
Utilization of complementary and alternative medicine for the prevention of COVID-19 infection in Ghana

Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use is widespread and has played critical roles in preventing infections, including previous coronaviruses. This study sought to document current practices in the use of CAM for the prevention of COVID-19 disease in Ghana. An anonymous electronic survey was conducted from February 1, 2021 to April 30, 2021. Data on demographic characteristics, basic clinical information, illness perceptions about COVID-19, and CAM use during the pandemic period were generated. While about 82.5% (986/1195) of the participants used CAM during the COVID-19 period, 69.1% (681/986) of CAM users intented it for COVID-19 infection prevention. Vitamin supplements (88.1%, 869/986), spiritual healing/prayer (23.3%, 230/986), mineral supplements (22.3%, 220/986), botanical/herbal medicines (22.2%, 219/986), and diet therapy (19.4%, 191/986) were the main types of CAM used. From the adjusted binary logistic regression model, current age (aOR: 1.03, 95%CI: 1.01–1.05), sex (aOR: 1.41, 95%CI: 1.02–1.95), participants’ perceptions of consequences (aOR: 1.10, 95%CI: 1.04–1.17), identity (aOR: 1.15, 95%CI: 1.06–1.25) and concerns about COVID-19 (aOR: 0.91, 95%CI: 0.85–0.97) were statistically significant predictors of CAM use. These results suggest the need for appropriate public health policy on COVID-19 and CAM use in addition to directing further research initiatives toward an optimized COVID-19 prevention scheme using clinically validated CAM treatments. Research to validate the clinical efficacy of these products, especially the herbs, for COVID-19 prevention while isolating lead compounds that could be optimized and used for the treatment and prevention of COVID-19 is also recommended.

Source: UG
Utilization of cowpeas for human food

This paper reviews the research and outreach accomplishments of the cowpea utilization project sponsored by the United States Agency for International Development-funded Bean/Cowpea Collaborative Research Support Program. Research has examined a limited number of cultivars and has taken as its starting point mature, dry seeds. A broad spectrum of food quality issues have been studied, including: • safety concerns and physiological effects associated with consuming legume seeds and products made from them; • chemical composition and nutritional quality of the seeds and products; • physical and functional behavior of seeds and products; and • socioeconomic aspects including sensory quality of seeds and products, consumer acceptance, and costs and impacts of technology adoption. Research foci have included: • The effect of pretreatment and storage on cowpea food quality; • processing whole seeds to improve food quality; • conversion of legume seeds into food ingredients, principally flours and meals; • processing seeds and ingredients to improve food quality; and • improvement of traditional foods and development of new foods from bean and cowpea-based ingredients. © 2003 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Source: UG
Utilization of Healthcare Services and Renewal of Health Insurance Membership: Evidence of Adverse Selection in Ghana.

Background: Utilization of healthcare in Ghana’s novel National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) has been increasing since inception with associated high claims bill which threatens the scheme’s financial sustainability. This paper investigates the presence of adverse selection by assessing the effect of healthcare utilization and frequency of use on NHIS renewal. Method: Routine enrolment and utilization data from 2008 to 2013 in two regions in Ghana was analyzed. Pearson Chi-square test was performed to test if the proportion of insured who utilize healthcare in a particular year and renew membership the following year is significantly different from those who utilize healthcare and drop-out. Logistic regressions were estimated to examine the relationship between healthcare utilization and frequency of use in previous year and NHIS renewal in current year. Results: We found evidence suggestive of the presence of adverse selection in the NHIS. Majority of insured who utilized healthcare renewed their membership whiles most of those who did not utilize healthcare dropped out. The likelihood of renewal was significantly higher for those who utilize healthcare than those who did not and also higher for those who make more health facility visits. Conclusion: The NHIS claims bill is high because high risk individuals who self-select into the scheme makes more health facility visits and creates financial sustainability problems. Policy makers should adopt pragmatic ways of enforcing mandatory enrolment so that low risk individuals remain enrolled; and sustainable ways of increasing revenue whiles ensuring that the societal objectives of the scheme are not compromised.

Source: UG
Utilization of Moodle Learning Management System (Lms) By Undergraduate Students at The Kings University College, Ghana

Today, university students have become so much inclined with technology with a majority of them having personal computers at their disposal. In sub-Saharan Africa and Ghana particularly, emerging evidence has suggested a broad range of circumstances surrounding the use of a learning management system in improving teaching and learning. The purpose of the study was to examine how effectively the learning management system is being utilized by Ghanaian university students, particularly at Kings University College, Accra. The survey research design was used for the study. Using questionnaires, data were collected from 178 undergraduate students in finding out their awareness, challenges and future use of the MOODLE LMS. The analysis of data revealed the channel of awareness of the MOODLE LMS was very low (M=1.34, SD=0.44). Again, the students were experiencing challenges such as poor internet connectivity, lack of computer skills among others when using the platform (M = 4.55, SD = 2.15). In spite of this, they were willing to use the MOODLE LMS in future for their academic work (M=4.42, SD=2.20). The outcome of the data analysis perhaps suggests that acquiring adequate technology infrastructure, organizing seminars and asking students to use the LMS may not enough. Furthermore, effective utilization of the LMS should be based on mandatory institutional policies and objectives. The study contributes to the discourse on the integration of the LMS from the perspective of undergraduate students studying in a Ghanaian private university. Based on the findings, the study recommends effective computer training for students as it will go a long way in making the e-learning platform friendlier to use.

Source: UG
Utilization of obstetric services in Ghana between 1999 and 2003.

Analysis of the 2003 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey shows that even though over 90% of pregnant women attend antenatal care in health institutions, only 43% deliver in the health institutions. The quality of antenatal care received is also lower than is expected for standard obstetric care. The national caesarean section rate of 3.7% reflects inadequate obstetric coverage. There is a need for continued education of health workers to improve the quality of antenatal care. The Ghanaian health system needs to consider how to improve obstetric coverage by skilled attendants and to study the reasons for inadequate use of delivery services in order to be able to achieve the target for maternal health set in the Millennium Development Goals.

Source: UG
Utilizing A Multi-Stage Transition Model For Analysing Child Stunting In Two Urban Slum Settlements Of Nairobi: A Longitudinal Analysis, 2011-2014

Introduction Stunting is common among children in many low- and middle-income countries, particularly in rural and urban slum settings. Few studies have described child stunting transitions and the associated factors in urban slum settlements. We describe transitions between stunting and states and associated factors among children living in Nairobi slum settlements. Methods This study used data collected between 2010 and 2014 from the Nairobi Urban and Demographic Surveillance System (NUHDSS) and a vaccination study conducted within the surveillance system. A subset of 692 children aged 0 to 3 years, with complete anthropometric data, and household socio-demographic data was used for the analysis. Height-for-age Z-scores (HAZ) was used to define stunting: normal (HAZ ⿽ 1), marginally stunted (-2 ⿽ HAZ). < -1), moderately stunted (-3; HAZ < -2), and severely stunted (HAZ < -3). Transitions from one stunting level to another and in the reverse direction were computed. The associations between explanatory factors and the transitions between four child stunting states were modeled using a continuous-time multi-state model. Results We observed that 48%, 39%, 41%, and 52% of children remained in the normal, marginally stunted, moderately stunted, and severely stunted states, respectively. About 29% transitioned from normal to marginally stunted state, 15% to a moderately stunted state, and 8% to the severely stunted state. Also, 8%, 12%, and 29% back transitioned from severely stunted, moderately stunted, and marginally stunted states to the normal state,respectively. The shared common factors associated with all transitions to a more severe state include: male gender, ethnicity (only for mild and severe transition states), child’s age, and household food insecurity. In Korogocho, children whose parents were married and those whose mothers had attained primary or post-primary education were associated with a transition from a mild state into a moderately stunted state. Children who were breastfed exclusively were less likely to transition from moderate to severe stunting state. Conclusion These findings reveal a high burden of stunting and transitions in urban slums. Context-specific interventions targeting the groups of children identified by the socio-demographic factors are needed. Improving food security and exclusive breastfeeding could potentially reduce stunting in the slums.

Source: UG
Utilizing attributive patterns as a linguistic classification tool of newspapers

The indices for the classification of newspapers have often focused on agenda-setting roles, economic position and size of newspapers, among others. Concerning newspapers in Africa, Moehler and Singh (2011) and Hasty (2005) assert that the only index for the classification of newspapers is ownership. The study, therefore, focuses on the patterns of the attributive mode of the transitivity system of Systemic Functional Grammar to propose a linguistic alternative index for classifying newspapers. The findings indicate that the patterns of attributions that occur are significant and viable enough to classify newspapers.

Source: UG