ABSTRACT
Introduction: occupational stress is a recognized health problem among nurses. Globally, its prevalence varies between 9.2% and 68.0%. It detracts from nurses' quality of life and efficiency of job performance. In Ghana, we do not know the important contributory factors to this problem. Our study sought to identify the important predictors of occupational stress among nurses.Methods: in January 2016, we conducted an institutional-based survey among nurses of Salaga Government Hospital. They completed a five-point Likert type questionnaire adopted from the British Psychological Working Conditions Survey, and the Nurse Stress Index. Across 30 predictor variables, a mean score of 4.00 to 5.00 represented high to extreme occupational stress. We performed bivariate and multivariate analyses to identify important predictors of occupational stress at 95% confidence level.Results: of 167 nurses, 58.1% (97) were females. Respondents who experienced high to extreme stress levels had a 2.3 times odds of reporting sickness absence (CI: 1.03-5.14). Sources of occupational stress included: manual lifting of patients and pieces of equipment (OR: 16.23; CI: 6.28 - 41.92), the risks of acquiring infections (OR: 14.67; CI 5.90 - 36.46), receiving feedback only upon unsatisfactory performance (OR: 28.00; CI: 9.72 - 80.64), and inadequate opportunities for continuous professional development (OR: 63.50; CI: 19.99 - 201.75).Conclusion: the working conditions of nurses were stressful. The most significant predictors of occupational stress were poor supportive supervision by superiors, lack of adequate skills to perform routine tasks, uncertainty about their job role, and the lack of adequate opportunities for career advancements
Subject(s)
Ghana , Nurses , Occupational Stress , Quality of Life , Work/psychologyABSTRACT
Aims: To determine the prevalence of Pulmonary Tuberculosis (PTB) and its risk factors among prison inmates at the Ho central prison. Study Design: Cross-sectional study. Place and Duration of Study: Ho Central Prison in the Ho Municipality of the Volta Region, between May and June 2014. Methodology: We included 389 prisoners who were screened using the World Health Organization PTB tool. Consenting suspected PTB case-patients were interviewed using a structured questionnaire. Variables collected were socio-demographic and prison-related factors. Spot and early morning sputum samples were collected from suspected case-patients for sputum smear microscopy. Prevalence of PTB and risk factors were determined. Significance level was set at 0.05. Results: Overall, 173 (44.5%) prisoners were found to have symptoms suggestive of PTB out of which 151(87.3%) were included in the study. Of 151 prisoners included, 111 (73.5%) were able to produce sputum for SSM. Only 1(0.9%) of those tested came out as smear positive PTB. None of the potential risk factors was significantly associated with PTB. Conclusion: Prevalence of PTB among Ho central prison inmates was low. None of the potential risk factors was significantly associated with PTB. Use of multiple diagnostic methods for PTB in future studies has been recommended.
ABSTRACT
Background: On the 28th of October, 12 students from a Senior-High-School (SHS) in the Akwapim North-District-Ghana, reported to the district hospital with abdominal cramps, diarrhea and vomiting. We investigated to identify the cause, the source of infection and to recommend control measures. Methods: We conducted a descriptive investigation; with active case-search and a retrospective cohort-study. A case-patient was a student presenting with abdominal cramps, diarrhea and or vomiting from the 28th of October to the 2nd of November in the SHS. We interviewed students and reviewed medical records. Stool from case-patients and water samples were taken from known sources of drinking water and associated boreholes for laboratory diagnosis. We performed univariate analysis by person, place and time and assessed risk factors through relative risk 95% confidence level. Results: Aeromonas-spp and Eschericia-coli were isolated from stool and water samples respectively. The overall attack rate was 8.0 (101/1254) /1000 with no fatalities. The index case, a 15 yr-old female student reported on october 28th and case-patients peaked (16/101) 24hours later. The mean age of case-patients was 17 years (±1.2) with females 77% (78/101) mostly affected. Eating waakye [RR=3.13(CI 2.35-4.17)], banku [(RR= 2.21(CI 1.33-3.69)], kenkey [RR=1.39 (CI 1.03- 1.87)] and drinking borehole water [( RR=7.60 (CI 6.26-9.25)] were associated with the gastroenteritis. Conclusions: Drinking Eschericia coli-contaminated-bore hole water was the most likely cause of this point-source outbreak. Chlorination of the boreholes water coupled with education on food safety and personal hygiene were initiated based on our recommendations and these measures were temporally associated with containment of the outbreak.