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Objective The incidence of congenital abnormalities is highest in low-and-middle-income countries. However, the prevalence, spectrum, trends of neonatal congenital anomalies and their admission outcomes have not been well explored. This study was a 10 year retrospective hospital-based research in a low-income country to address the above. Methods All infants hospitalized in the Special Care Baby Unit at the Cape Coast Teaching Hospital in Ghana, between 1st January 2010 and 31st December 2019, had their demographic, obstetric, and clinical data recorded. Results Over the decade, 236 neonates with congenital abnormalities were admitted to the unit, accounting for 2.8% of total neonatal admissions and 8.6 per 1000 births. Mortality occurred in 33.2% of neonates with congenital abnormalities, corresponding to 4.6% of all neonatal deaths. Mortality was significantly associated with place of delivery and gravidity of more than five. The commonest anomalies were in the nervous system, particularly neural tube defects, followed by suspected chromosomal abnormalities and then cardiac defects. Neonates with cardiac defects had a higher chance of dying. Health center/clinic delivery proffered a better survival than hospital delivery, but this should be interpreted with caution. Conclusion Neural tube defects were the most predominant anomalies; hence, intensification of preconception and antenatal folic acid supplementation is pivotal towards their reduction. Making prenatal screening for early detection of fetal anomalies an integral part of routine antenatal care is also essential. This research was conducted in a single center and did not include stillbirths and abortions so cannot give an accurate estimation of the number of congenital abnormalities in the population. A national registry of congenital anomalies is recommended., Author(s): Betty Anane-Fenin [sup.1] [sup.2] , Douglas Aninng Opoku [sup.3] , Lawrence Chauke [sup.1] [sup.4] Author Affiliations: (1) grid.11951.3d, 0000 0004 1937 1135, Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Faculty of [...]

Introduction: Globally, 7 million people with HIV (PWH) aged over 50 years exist. 5 million of them live in sub-Saharan Africa, the epicenter of the HIV epidemic. In Ghana, every 1 in 6 PWH is aged over 50 years. However, access to geriatric health care is grossly limited in Ghana and the sub-Saharan Africa region. This has resulted in a lack of focus on geriatric syndromes, a multi-factorial clinical condition common in older PWH, that do not fit discrete disease categories. Consequently, this gap threatens the life expectancy for aging PWH, necessitating the need to promptly fill it. The KNUST Aging and HIV Outcomes (KAHO) study will help identify priorities and opportunities for developing an effective integrated model of HIV and geriatric healthcare in Ghana. Methods and analysis: The KAHO study will recruit 151 PWH aged 50 years and older at the Infectious Disease Unit (IDU) of the University Hospital, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST). The study will be conducted over a 2-year period and participants will be seen at months 0, 6 and 12. Participants at each visit will be taken through assessments and questionnaires on geriatric health, cognition, social vulnerability, HIV-related conditions and they will provide biospecimens for laboratory testing. We will also conduct semi-structured qualitative interviews of PWH, healthcare providers, policy makers and study research assistants. Quantitative data will be analyzed using one sample proportion test and linear regression models appropriately. The Levesque's framework will be used as a guide to analyze qualitative data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Availability of effective antiretroviral therapy (ART) has improved patient survival and older adults (≥50 years old) constitute 10% of the world's HIV population. However, data on this population are lacking, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. To identify the profile of older adults with HIV infection receiving ART and factors associated with viral suppression. A retrospective cross-sectional study involving HIV patients ≥50 years, registered at a University Hospital in Kumasi, Ghana from January 2010 to July 2020. All study participants had been on ARTs for ≥12 months. Data were analysed using STATA® and multivariate logistic regression was done to determine the association between variables. We recruited 132 study participants with a mean age of 58.1 years (±6.8). Non-communicable diseases (NCD) comprised the commonest comorbidity (67.4%; n = 89) and hypertension was the most prevalent (47.2%). The mean duration of ART was 63.2 months (±32.0) and approximately 84.1% (n = 111) achieved viral suppression (≤50 copies/ml). After adjustment, factors independently associated with viral suppression were widow(ed) (aOR = 0.23; 95% CI = 0.07–0.72) and good ART adherence (aOR = 3.51; 95% CI = 1.03–11.99). Hypertension is prevalent among this cohort of HIV patients. Approximately 84% of elderly patients on ARTs achieve viral suppression, influenced by widowhood and good drug adherence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: The aim of the study was to determine the prevalence and key predictors of late booking among pregnant women accessing antenatal care services in a rural district of Ghana. Design: Cross‐sectional study. Methods: Data on demographic characteristics, knowledge of accessing antenatal care services and booking gestation were collected from 163 randomly selected pregnant women accessing accessing antenatal care in rural Ghana from 1 March 2022 to 30 April 2022 using a structured questionnaire. The chi‐square and logistic regression were used to explore associations between exposure and dependent variables. Results: The prevalence of late accessing antenatal care booking among study participants was 44.8% (73/163). About 79.1% (129/163) of them had adequate knowledge of accessing antenatal care services. Maternal age of 35–49 years (AOR: 8.53, 95% CI: 2.41–30.12), participants whose partners had no formal education (AOR: 3.43, 95% CI: 1.03–11.39) and participants with adequate knowledge about accessing antenatal care services (AOR: 0.21, 95% CI: 0.07–0.62) were associated with late booking for accessing antenatal care services among study participants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: This study determined the prevalence and key determinants of burnout among nurses and midwives in Kumasi, Ghana. Design: Hospital‐based cross‐sectional study. Method: A questionnaire was used to obtain data from 391 nurses and midwives at a tertiary hospital in Kumasi, Ghana using simple random sampling. Results: About 84.4% of the participants were females. The majority of the study participants experienced low burnout for all dimensions (58% in emotional exhaustion, 55.5% poor personal accomplishment and 38.3% depersonalization). Multiple regression analysis revealed that high emotional exhaustion was independently predicted by post‐graduate education (β = 6.42, p =.003), lack of support from management (β = 2.07, p =.024), dislike for leadership style, (β = 3.54, p <.001) and inadequate number of staff (β = 2.93, p =.005). Age (β = 0.35, p =.004), lack of support from management (β = 1.60, p =.012), and inadequate number of staff (β = 1.49, p =.034) independently predicted high depersonalisation. Female sex (β = 4.36, p <.001) and years of practice (β = −0.26, p <.001) independently predicted low personal accomplishment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]