Background Globally, male involvement in maternal health care services remains a challenge to effective maternal health care accessibility and utilization. Objective This study assessed male involvement in maternal health care services and associated factors in Anomabo in the Central Region of Ghana. Methods Random sampling procedures were employed in selecting 100 adult male respondents whose partners were pregnant or had given birth within twelve months preceding the study. Pearson Chi-Square and Fisher's exact tests were conducted to assess the association of sociodemographic and enabling/disenabling factors with male involvement in maternal health care services. Results Some 35%, 44%, and 20% of men accompanied their partners to antenatal care, delivery, and postnatal care services, respectively. Male involvement in antenatal care and delivery was influenced by sociodemographic (partner's education, type of marriage, living arrangements, and number of children) and enabling/disenabling (distance to health facility, attitude of health workers, prohibitive cultural norms, unfavourable health policies, and gender roles) factors. Conclusion The low male involvement in maternal health care services warrants interventions to improve the situation. Public health interventions should focus on designing messages to diffuse existing sociocultural perceptions and health care provider attitudes which influence male involvement in maternal health care services.

BackgroundHelicobacter pylori infection affects more than half of the world’s population. It is generally acquired during childhood with no symptoms but has long- term clinical sequelae. This study estimated the prevalence of H. pylori infection amongst children in a rural environment in Africa.MethodsWe conducted a cross-sectional study over a four (4)-month period within two rural communities. 240 asymptomatic children were tested using lateral flow immunochromatographic assay for the qualitative detection of H. pylori antigen in a fecal specimen. Statistical analysis and processing was done using Stata version 11.ResultsThe mean age of the participants was 10.5 ± 2.7 years with the predominant age range being 8–10 years (34.6%), and a mean household size of 7.1 ± 1.7. The study population showed a female preponderance of 57.1%. 88% of the H. pylori positive children lacked pipe and borehole drinking water. All of the positive H. pylori children practiced open-air defecation. The overall prevalence of H. pylori infection among children in this study was at least 14.2%.ConclusionOur study demonstrated a high prevalence of H. pylori infection among children in a rural setting. Educational status of parents did not affect H. pylori prevalence but increasing household numbers, female gender, source of drinking water other than pipe and borehole, open-air defecation and younger age were associated with a higher H. pylori prevalence.

Body size issues are gaining public health attention because of the fast rising epidemic of overweight and obesity across the globe. This study explored Ghanaian women's subjective perceptions regarding ideal body size for women.A purposive sampling strategy was employed in recruiting 36 women across the body weight spectrum from Tamale (n=17) and Accra (n=19) in Ghana. Qualitative data were obtained from in-depth interviews using a semi-structured interview guide. Data from the interviews were analysed deductively.The mean body mass index of participants was 33.5±10 kg/m 2 : 16 of the participants were obese, 8 overweight, 11 normal weight, and one underweight. The participants almost unanimously had a preference for an ideal body size slightly above the normal, but not necessarily obese. Typically described as "not too skinny, but not too fat", this preferred ideal reflected a fuller, curvier and shapelier, as opposed to the western ideal of thinner body type. Women often felt pressured by peers and family members to have a slightly heavier body size.Health education efforts are needed to focus on messages that seek to challenge existing body size perceptions that may inhibit women's willingness to maintain a healthy body weight.

SummaryHypertension is a significant contributor to the global burden of cardiovascular and related target organ diseases such as heart failure, coronary heart disease, stroke and kidney failure, and their associated premature morbidity, mortality and disability. Marital status is an important social characteristic known to predict a range of health outcomes including cardiovascular disease. However, little is known about its impact on hypertension in sub-Saharan Africa. This study explored the relationship between marital status and hypertension among women and men in Ghana. Drawing on data from the 2014 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey (GDHS), descriptive statistics and binary logistic regression models were used to analyse the link between marital status and hypertension. About 13% of women aged 15-49 and 15% of men aged 15-59 were found to be hypertensive. After controlling for lifestyle and socio-demographic covariates, the logistic regression models showed significantly higher odds of hypertension for married (OR=2.14, 95% CI=1.30-3.53), cohabiting (OR=1.94, 95% CI=1.16-3.23) and previously married (OR=2.23, 95% CI=1.29-3.84) women. In contrast, no significant association was found between any of the marital status cohorts and hypertension for men. Other significant predictors of hypertension were age, body mass index and wealth status. The results demonstrate that marital status is an independent risk factor for hypertension in Ghana for women, rather than men. This could have immediate and far-reaching consequences for cardiovascular health policy in Ghana. In particular, the findings could lead to better targeted public health interventions, including more effective risk factor assessment and patient education in clinical settings, which could lead to more effective patient management and improved cardiovascular outcomes.

BackgroundAlthough the public health importance of the association between television (TV) viewing and obesity and/or related outcomes have been demonstrated in both cross-sectional and prospective studies elsewhere, similar studies are lacking within the African region. With the view to fill this gap in the literature, the current study explored the association between TV exposure and overweight/obesity among Ghanaian women.MethodsBased on a sample of 4158 women, descriptive statistics and binary logistic regression were applied to data on TV ownership, TV viewing frequency, and body mass index (BMI) measures from the 2014 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey (GDHS) to explore the association between TV exposure and overweight/obesity among Ghanaian women.ResultsDespite controlling for other factors (age educational level, marital status, wealth quintile, occupation, type of locality, and parity), the results show that women with TV in their households, and with high TV exposure were significantly (P < 0.05) more likely (OR = 1.39, 95% CI = 1.002, 1.923) to be overweight/obese compared to those with no TV in their households, and no TV exposure.ConclusionThe study demonstrates that increased TV exposure is significantly associated with overweight/obesity among women in Ghana even after adjusting for other factors. Interventions aimed at tackling obesity in Ghana should focus on encouraging the uptake of more physically demanding pastime activities in place of TV “sit time”.