Health of urban Ghanaian women as identified by the Women's Health Study of Accra

Abstract

The high prevalence of preventable illnesses in this expanding urban population indicates that the health care services are obligated to develop and provide screening, preventive strategies and treatment for both general health and gynecologic health conditions.

Clinic visits and cervical cancer screening in Accra

“…8 Using the data from the Ghana 2000 census, the 1731 enumeration areas in Accra were stratified by socio-economic status and 200 were selected with probability proportional to population size within the socio-economic strata. Each household in the selected strata was visited in order to compile a list of women aged 18 and older who were usually resident in the household.…”

“…There have been a number of publications from this study on different health issues. [6][7][8][9][10][11] This paper is a subanalysis of the WHSA data focusing on the determinants of women in Accra having a Pap smear. The WHSA did not inquire about VIA since it was not available in many hospitals at the time of the study.…”

Secular trends in admissions and mortality rates from diabetes mellitus in the Central Belt of Ghana: a 31-year review

“…The rising rates of diabetes admissions and increasing mean age of admitted patients is reflective of the increasing longevity of the citizenry of Ghanaians attended by modest improvements in the socio-economic status leading to urbanisation and adoption of western life-styles that are serving as undercurrents for the epidemiological transition being experienced by many LMICs [19,20]. Accordingly, the population prevalence of vascular risk factors in particular obesity, physical inactivity, systemic arterial hypertension has escalated in several countries across Africa culminating in the rising burden of diabetes and other noncommunicable diseases [20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27]. For instance, about four in five adult Ghanaians has been recorded not to engage in enough physical activity [20][21][22].…”

“…In the World Health Survey 2002-2003, fruits and vegetable consumption in Ghana were the lowest among 52 mainly low-and middle-income countries including 19 African nations [24,25]. This have reflected in increases in the prevalence of hyperlipidemia among Ghanaians with current estimates ranging between 17 and 23 percent [26,27]. In most developing countries, the burden of hypertension is on the ascendency [28- 30].…”

State of dietetics practice in Ghana

“…This is critical as overweight and obesity prevalence rises sharply in tandem with the risk of non-communicable diseases. 9,12,18 Another important issue that demands attention is the increasing abuse of the dietetics profession by charlatans posing as dietitians and diet counselors. The Ghana Health Service, in partnership with the Ghana Dietetic Association as well as the newly created Allied Health Task Force needs to design and enforce regulatory mechanisms for ensuring appropriate professional conduct and practice.…”