Urban-rural difference in satisfaction with primary healthcare services in Ghana
Background: Understanding regional variation in patient satisfaction about healthcare systems (PHCs) on the quality of services provided is instrumental to improving quality and developing a patient-centered healthcare system by making it more responsive especially to the cultural aspects of health demands of a population. Reaching to the innovative National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) in Ghana, […]
Effect of anti-malarial interventions on trends of malaria cases, hospital admissions and deaths, 2005-2015, Ghana
Background: Since 2005, the Government of Ghana and its partners, in concerted efforts to control malaria, scaled up the use of artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) and insecticide-treated nets (ITNs). Beginning in 2011, a mass campaign of long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs) was implemented, targeting all the population. The impact of these interventions on malaria cases, admissions […]
Family medicine training in sub-Saharan Africa: South-South cooperation in the Primafamed project as strategy for development
Background. Health-care systems based on primary health care (PHC) are more equitable and cost effective. Family medicine trains medical doctors in comprehensive PHC with knowledge and skills that are needed to increase quality of care. Family medicine is a relatively new specialty in sub-Saharan Africa. Objective. To explore the extent to which the Primafamed South-South […]
Pilot testing of the Becoming Breastfeeding Friendly toolbox in Ghana
Background: Ghana has achieved significant progress in breastfeeding practices in the past two decades. Further progress is, however, limited by insufficient government funding and declining donor support for breastfeeding programs. The current study pretested feasibility of the Becoming Breastfeeding Friendly (BBF) toolbox in Ghana, to assess the existing enabling environment and gaps for scaling-up effective […]
Exposure to a slightly sweet lipid-based nutrient supplement during early life does not increase the level of sweet taste most preferred among 4-to 6-year-old Ghanaian children: Follow-up of a randomized controlled trial
Background: The impact of feeding a slightly sweet nutrient supplement early in life on later sweet taste preference is unknown. Objective: We tested the hypothesis that the level of sucrose most preferred by 4-6-y-old children exposed to a slightly sweet lipidbased nutrient supplement (LNS) early in life would not be higher than that of children […]
Does insurance protect individuals from catastrophic payments for surgical care? An analysis of Ghana’s National Health Insurance Scheme at Korle-Bu teaching Hospital
Background: According to the World Health Organization, essential surgery should be recognized as an essential component of universal health coverage. In Ghana, insurance is associated with a reduction in maternal mortality and improved access to essential medications, but whether it eliminates financial barriers to surgery is unknown. This study tested the hypothesis that insurance protects […]
“No visible signs of pregnancy, no sickness, no antenatal care”: Initiation of antenatal care in a rural district in Northern Ghana
Background: Attending antenatal care (ANC) early contribute to better birth outcomes. Studies have shown that many pregnant women in Sub-Saharan Africa do not initiate ANC early (i.e. in the first trimester). This study determined the gestational age of pregnancy at first ANC attendance. It also explored factors that influence initiation of ANC. Methods: This cross-sectional […]
An agriculture–nutrition intervention improved children’s diet and growth in a randomized trial in Ghana
Stunting in Ghana is associated with rural communities, poverty, and low education; integrated agricultural interventions can address the problem. This cluster randomized controlled trial tested the effect of a 12-month intervention (inputs and training for poultry farming and home gardening, and nutrition and health education) on child diet and nutritional status. Sixteen clusters were identified […]
Baseline assessment of the WHO/UNICEF/UNFPA maternal and newborn quality-of-care standards around childbirth: Results from an intermediate hospital, northeast Namibia
Background: Quality of care around childbirth can reduce above half of the stillbirths and newborn deaths. Northeast Namibia’s neonatal mortality is higher than the national level. Yet, no review exists on the quality of care provided around childbirth. This paper reports on baseline assessment for implementing WHO/UNICEF/UNFPA quality measures around childbirth. Methods: A mixed-methods research […]
Impact of Free Delivery Care on Health Facility Delivery and Insurance Coverage in Ghana’s Brong Ahafo Region
Background: Many sub-Saharan countries, including Ghana, have introduced policies to provide free medical care to pregnant women. The impact of these policies, particularly on access to health services among the poor, has not been evaluated using rigorous methods, and so the empirical basis for defending these policies is weak. In Ghana, a recent report also […]
