Student Reflections on Learning in a Doctoral-Level Writing Course.

BACKGROUND: Programs to improve student writing have been deployed widely in nursing graduate education, but few operational indicators exist for measuring their value. PROBLEM: The challenge of measuring outcomes reflects the complexity of what transpires when graduate students write. Better understanding is needed of what it means to students to "learn" from writing support. APPROACH: A full-semester writing course was implemented in a nursing science PhD program. In formative course assessment activities, students identified problems in early drafts of their work, which they subsequently learned to detect and resolve. In this article, students report what was learned. CONCLUSION: Writing skills, like clinical skills, are intertwined with intellectual maturation and sense of professional identity. Writing, like clinical learning, requires an investment of time and labor far beyond what is typical in didactic approaches to classroom-based graduate education. Our experience suggests a need to reconceptualize writing pedagogy in nursing.

Clinical profile and predictors of viral suppression in HIV-infected older adults at a University Hospital in Kumasi, Ghana.

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.

The Relationship Between Pregnancy Intentions and Diet or Physical Activity Behaviors in the Preconception and Antenatal Periods: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

INTRODUCTION: Healthy preconception and antenatal diet and physical activity behaviors may optimize maternal and offspring outcomes. These behaviors are thought to be linked to pregnancy intentions. The aim of this study was to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis to determine the association between women's pregnancy intentions and diet or physical activity behaviors in the preconception and antenatal periods. METHODS: MEDLINE Complete, PsycINFO, CINAHL Complete, Global Health, Embase, and INFORMIT: Health Subset were searched in September 2018 for studies that evaluated relationships between pregnancy intentions and dietary and physical activity behaviors. Risk of bias was assessed, and random effects meta-analyses were conducted for dietary (food groups; energy and macronutrients; diet quality; and caffeine, iodine, and folate intake) and physical activity outcomes. RESULTS: Of 2623 screened records, 19 eligible studies were identified. The overall risk of bias was moderate to high. Twelve studies measured diet and physical activity behaviors during preconception, 5 during pregnancy, and 2 across both periods. Eleven studies measured pregnancy intention retrospectively, and 8 prospectively measured pregnancy intention. The number of studies available for meta-analyses of individual dietary and physical activity outcomes ranged from 2 to 5. Pregnancy intentions were not associated with preconception fruit, vegetable, or caffeine intake or physical activity. Antenatally, women with intended pregnancies were more likely to report healthier diets, lower caffeine intake, and higher physical activity. Insufficient studies were available to conduct subgroup comparisons for prospective or retrospective assessment. DISCUSSION: Pregnancy intentions were not associated with preconception diet or physical activity behaviors. In contrast, antenatally, women with intended pregnancies demonstrated better diet and physical activity behaviors. Given the small number of studies available for meta-analyses, further research is needed to consolidate our findings. Meanwhile, health professionals can assess women's pregnancy intentions during preconception and pregnancy and encourage a healthy lifestyle.

The level of knowledge and associated socio-demographic factors on cervical cancer among women: a cross-sectional study at Kenyase Bosore community, Ghana.

INTRODUCTION: Cervical cancer is a major cause of death amongst women around the world. In Ghana, it accounts for over 2,119 female deaths and about 3,151 new diagnoses of the disease. It is usually diagnosed at an advanced stage, making it difficult to treat. This study aims at assessing the knowledge on risk factors, prevention and treatment of cervical cancer among women in Kenyase Bosore, Ghana. METHODS: This study was a cross-sectional descriptive study conducted among women in Bosore Kenyase, Ghana. A total of 200 women were selected for the studies using the convenience sampling technique. Structured questionnaires were used for data collection and statistical package for social sciences application was also used to analyse the data. Pearson chi-square test was used to find associations between knowledge and awareness level and socio-demographic characteristics of the participants. RESULTS: Overall, 9.7% of the respondents had high knowledge on cervical cancer, 20.6% had moderate knowledge and 69.7% had low knowledge on cervical cancer. There was a significant association between educational background (p=0.000) and awareness level of the respondents. There was also a significant association between the occupation (p=0.003), educational background (p=0.000) and knowledge level of the respondents. CONCLUSION: The knowledge level of the respondents was very low. Specifically, the respondents had inadequate knowledge on risk factors, signs and symptoms, prevention and treatment of cervical cancer. The authors recommend the intensification of cervical cancer education in Kenyase Bosore, and Ghana as a whole.

Contraceptive use and associated factors among sexually active female adolescents in Atwima Kwanwoma District, Ashanti region-Ghana.

INTRODUCTION: Unintended pregnancies and adolescent childbearing are on the increase in Sub-Saharan Africa. In Ghana, 14% of adolescents aged 15-19 are already mothers or pregnant with their first child. Most of these pregnancies are associated with poor outcomes such as miscarriages, stillbirths, unsafe abortions and other complications that might result in infant or mortality. In addition, sexually-active adolescents (16-19 years) are at higher risk of contracting STIs. Evidence suggest that contraceptive use help reduce fertility rate and adolescent reproductive health. This study therefore sought to understand the magnitude and associated factors that influence female adolescents' use of contraceptive in the Atwima Kwanwoma District, Ghana. METHODS: A descriptive and analytic cross-sectional study design was used for this study. Using a structured questionnaire, data were collected from randomly sampled 200 sexually active female adolescents; aged 16-19 for a three month period; June to September 2017. The questionnaire elicited data on the socio-demographic characteristics of respondents, their knowledge and perception, use of contraceptives and factors influencing their contraceptive use. Data were analyzed using STATA version 12.1 software. RESULTS: Ninety-five percent of the respondents exhibited some knowledge about contraceptives, but this high knowledge did not translate into its use as the prevalence rate was 18%. Condom was the most widely used contraceptive (33%) and perceived side effects of contraceptives was found to be the main reason for not using the contraceptives (53.66%). Marital status and the participants who were staying with both parents were found to be associated with contraceptive use with their p-values of 0.023 and 0.002 respectively. CONCLUSION: Considering the fact that contraceptive knowledge does not necessarily translate into use, further studies (qualitative), are needed to understand why high knowledge levels are not associated with high usage patterns.

Barriers for nurses' participation in and utilisation of clinical research in three hospitals within the Kumasi Metropolis, Ghana.

INTRODUCTION: Scientific research results are a necessary base for high quality nursing practice. The level of implementation of research in the clinical setting, including nurses' participation in and knowledge of research results, have gained considerable attention internationally. However, the remarkable international increase of such studies does not apply to the Ghanaian context. We therefore set out to evaluate the degree of involvement of nurses in research, as well as their utilization patterns of research findings in Ghana. Objectives: the study sought to investigate the proportion of nurses involved in clinical research as well as barriers for nurses' participation and utilization of research findings, within the Kumasi Metropolis area, Ghana. METHODS: A descriptive and analytical cross-sectional study design was used in this study. A 47 item questionnaire elicited data on 158 participants' demographics, the proportion and the barriers to participation, which was then analyzed using SSPS version 17 software. Qualitative interviews with key informants complemented quantitative survey data. In-depth interviews with nurse managers at the hospitals in focus was conducted and analyzed thematically. RESULTS: The study shows that 36.1% of the nurses, included in the study, had participated in research and only 25.3% of these had (knowingly) used specific research results in clinical practice. However, the level of research participation differed greatly between nurses working at different hospitals. Nurses' participation in clinical research was shown to be associated with their perception of benefit of research to practice as well as their understanding of time as a factor for them engaging in reading scientific articles. In addition, barriers associated with nurses' integration of research findings into the daily practice was their perceived lack of support from the collegium and their perception of research as not part of the nursing role. CONCLUSION: Findings from the study suggest that there is a need to create institutional support to facilitate and encourage nurses' participation in research, yet also to formalize nurses' continuous professional development. This, could change nurses' attitudes towards research, and contribute to improving health care as it would increase nurses' role as agents for evidence based clinical practice.

Removal of ammonium ions by laboratory-synthesized zeolite linde type A adsorption from water samples affected by mining activities in Ghana.

Ammonium ion adsorption by laboratory-synthesized zeolite (linde type A; LTA) was investigated in batch kinetics experiments. Synthesized zeolite LTA was characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and particle size analysis. Water samples were taken from the Nyam and Tano rivers in Ghana, and 0.8 g of zeolite was added to 100 ml portions of each sample. Portions of the samples were withdrawn every 30 min for 150 min and the concentration of ammonia in each sample was determined. The removal efficiency of zeolite LTA was evaluated by retrieving the zeolite from the water samples and adding to a fresh sample to repeat the process. Equilibrium data were fitted by Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms. Maximum adsorption capacities were 72.99 mg g(-1) for samples from the River Nyam and 72.87 mg g(-1) for samples from the River Tano. The equilibrium kinetic data were analysed using adsorption kinetic models: pseudo-first order and pseudo-second order kinetic models. Linear regression was used to estimate the adsorption and kinetic parameters. The results showed that the adsorption followed pseudo-second order kinetics and suggest that zeolite LTA is a good adsorbent for the removal of nitrogen ammonia from water.