Associated factors of diet quality among people living with HIV/AIDS in Ghana.

INTRODUCTION: Nutrition is a very important element of a comprehensive care for people living with HIV/AIDS (PLHIV), especially in resource-constrained settings where malnutrition and food insecurity are common. Dietary diversity is a useful indication of nutritional adequacy (diet quality) in people of all ages. An optimally diverse diet strengthens the body's immune system. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to assess diet quality and its associated factors among PLHIV. METHODS: A facility-based cross-sectional study design was employed to select 440 PLHIV from two hospitals in the Eastern Region of Ghana. Dietary intakes were determined using 24-hour recall. A stadiometer and bioimpedance analysis machine were used to obtain anthropometric and body composition data. Diet quality was assessed using FAO's individual dietary diversity score (IDDS) as a proxy. SPSS version 20 was used for analysis. Odds ratios and ordinal logistic regression were used to identify factors associated with diet quality among the PLHIV. P-value was set at 0.05. RESULTS: Most of the PLHIV (73%) consumed from 'Starchy staple" food group. Less than 20% of the study sample consumed 'Fruits' and 'Vegetables' (17% and 14% respectively) a day before the survey. The mean IDDS was 4.11 (SD = 1.29). Overall, most of the PLHIV (56%) had medium IDDS which is equivalent to "diet needing improvement', 14% had higher IDDS (good diet), whiles about 31% of the participants actually had poor diet (lower IDDS). Associated factors of diet quality were age (AOR = 0.966: 95%CI: 0.936-0.997: p = 0.031), married (AOR = 4.634: 95%CI: 1.329-16.157: p = 0.0016), separated (AOR = 0.0203: 95%CI: .036-0.994: p = 0.049), and daily meal frequency (AOR = 0.441: 95%CI: .478-1.948: p = 0.020). Overall, the model accounts for about 20% of the variation in diet quality of the participants (pseudo-R square = 0.196). CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates that most of the PLHIV did not consume good diet which may have an implication on their immune system, which is already under attack by HIV, and probably emerging infections. Age, marital status, and meal frequency were the variables that predicted diet quality among the study participants.

Modeling clinical and non-clinical determinants of intrapartum stillbirths in singletons in six public hospitals in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana: a case-control study.

The Greater Accra Region (GAR) of Ghana records 2000 stillbirths annually and 40% of them occur intrapartum. An understanding of the contributing factors will facilitate the development of preventive strategies to reduce the huge numbers of intrapartum stillbirths. This study identified determinants of intrapartum stillbirths in GAR. A retrospective 1:2 unmatched case-control study was conducted in six public hospitals in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana. A multivariable binary logistic regression model was used to quantify the effect of exposures on intrapartum stillbirth. The area under the receiver operating characteristics curve and the Brier scores were used to screen potential risk factors and assess the predictive performance of the regression models. The following maternal factors increased the odds of intrapartum stillbirths: pregnancy-induced hypertension (PIH) [adjusted Odds Ratio; aOR = 3.72, 95% CI:1.71-8.10, p < 0.001]; antepartum haemorrhage (APH) [aOR = 3.28, 95% CI: 1.33-8.10, p < 0.05] and premature rupture of membranes (PROM) [aOR = 3.36, 95% CI: 1.20-9.40, p < 0.05]. Improved management of PIH, APH, PROM, and preterm delivery will reduce intrapartum stillbirth. Hospitals should improve on the quality of monitoring women during labor. Auditing of intrapartum stillbirths should be mandatory for all hospitals and Ghana Health Service should include fetal autopsy in stillbirth auditing to identify other causes of fetal deaths. Interventions to reduce intrapartum stillbirth must combine maternal, fetal and service delivery factors to make them effective.

Ways of coping among women with infertility undergoing assisted reproductive technologies in Ghana.

Introduction: infertility remains a public health challenge, especially among women in low- and middle-income countries. Assisted reproductive technologies (ART) provide effective remedies to infertility problems. Despite the use of these technologies in many countries, not much empirical studies have examined the coping strategies infertile women accessing ART adopt. We sought to explore various coping mechanisms used by women with infertility. Methods: a cross-sectional survey was conducted in five selected fertility centers in Accra. Overall, 150 women undergoing ARTs were consecutively sampled. The ways of coping questionnaire was used. Chi-square test and binary logistic regression model were used in testing for association between sociodemographic characteristics of women receiving ART and the use of coping strategies at 5% significance level. Results: the mean age of the respondents was 38.2 ± 6.1 years with 56% having completed tertiary education and 40% had been experiencing infertility for less than five years. All 46.7% of the respondents were in phase two of the treatment process. The most widely used coping strategy was positive reappraisal, with confrontational being the least form of coping strategy used. Age and educational level significantly associated with problem solving and positive reappraisal, respectively. Conclusion: the study concludes that women use various coping strategies whiles seeking ARTs. Women who were advanced in age and had attained higher level of education coped better whiles seeking ARTs. Those who had experienced infertility for a long period were able to cope through avoidance of difficulty situations and accepting the reality of the challenges. It can therefore be recommended that the coping strategy used among different subgroups of individuals that are seeking ARTs needs to be identified and women educated on whiles seeking ARTs.

"No visible signs of pregnancy, no sickness, no antenatal care": Initiation of antenatal care in a rural district in Northern Ghana.

BACKGROUND: Attending antenatal care (ANC) early contribute to better birth outcomes. Studies have shown that many pregnant women in Sub-Saharan Africa do not initiate ANC early (i.e. in the first trimester). This study determined the gestational age of pregnancy at first ANC attendance. It also explored factors that influence initiation of ANC. METHODS: This cross-sectional study, conducted in Ghana, used mixed methods to collect data from women aged 15-45 years who delivered 6 months prior to the study. Crosstabs, chi-square test and logistic regression were used to analyse quantitative data. Also, 33 participants were engaged in focus group discussions (FGDs). Thematic content analysis was used to develop themes from the data. RESULTS: Of the 431 participants, 8.9, 8, 25.4, 45.3 and 10.7% started ANC in the first, second, third, fourth and fifth months of pregnancy respectively. Formal education, employment and number of living children were predictors of initiating ANC early; by 12 weeks of gestation. Women who attained primary, junior high, secondary education and above had 5.6, 57.5 and 163.2 higher odds respectively of initiating ANC in the first trimester compared to women with no education (p ≤ 0.05). Women with two, three and four to nine living children were 4.1, 3 and 3.5 times respectively more likely to access ANC early compared to primigravidae women. However, women with five or more children and primigravidae women are more likely to initiate ANC late; after 12 weeks gestation. The FGD data also show that most of the participants initiated ANC late. Two themes: visible signs of pregnancy and or sickness influence ANC attendance in the first trimester. The themes that explain late initiation of ANC are: healthy, do not value the benefits of early ANC attendance, desire to avoid embarrassment associated with the pregnancy, unplanned pregnancy, indirect cost of accessing ANC and traditional rites and practices. CONCLUSION: Contextual factors influence ANC initiation. Investment in female education, intensification of health promotion activities by health workers, non-governmental organisations, community and religious leaders to sensitise communities on the benefits of initiating ANC at the onset of pregnancy is needed to improve first trimester attendance.

Factors That Influence Enrolment and Retention in Ghana' National Health Insurance Scheme.

BACKGROUND: The government of Ghana introduced the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) in 2004 with the goal of achieving universal coverage within 5 years. Evidence, however, shows that expanding NHIS coverage and especially retaining members have remained a challenge. A multilevel perspective was employed as a conceptual framework and methodological tool to examine why enrolment and retention in the NHIS remains low. METHODS: A household survey was conducted after 20 months educational and promotional activities aimed at improving enrolment and retention rates in 15 communities in the Central and Eastern Regions (ERs) of Ghana. Observation, indepth interviews and informal conversations were used to collect qualitative data. Forty key informants (community members, health providers and district health insurance schemes' [DHISs] staff) purposely selected from two casestudy communities in the Central Region (CR) were interviewed. Several community members, health providers and DHISs' staff were also engaged in informal conversations in the other five communities in the region. Also, four staff of the Ministry of Health (MoH), Ghana Health Service (GHS) and National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) were engaged in in-depth interviews. Descriptive statistics was used to analyse quantitative data. Qualitative data was analysed using thematic content analysis. RESULTS: The results show that factors that influence enrolment and retention in the NHIS are multi-dimensional and cut across all stakeholders. People enrolled and renewed their membership because of NHIS' benefits and health providers' positive behaviour. Barriers to enrolment and retention included: poverty, traditional risk-sharing arrangements influence people to enrol or renew their membership only when they need healthcare, dissatisfaction about health providers' behaviour and service delivery challenges. CONCLUSION: Given the multi-dimensional nature of barriers to enrolment and retention, we suggest that the NHIA should engage DHISs, health providers and other stakeholders to develop and implement intervention activities to eliminate corruption, shortage of drugs in health facilities and enforce the compulsory enrolment stated in the NHIS policy to move the scheme towards universal coverage.

Why are the poor less covered in Ghana's national health insurance? A critical analysis of policy and practice.

BACKGROUND: The National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) was introduced in Ghana to ensure equity in healthcare access. Presently, some low and middle income countries including Ghana are using social health insurance schemes to reduce inequity in access to healthcare. In Ghana, the NHIS was introduced to address the problem of inequity in healthcare access in a period that was characterised by user-fee regimes. The premium is heavily subsidised and exemption provided for the poorest, yet studies reveal that they are least enrolled in the scheme. We used a multi-level perspective as conceptual and methodological tool to examine why the NHIS is not reaching the poor as envisaged. METHODS: Fifteen communities in the Central and Eastern Regions of Ghana were surveyed after implementing a 20 months intervention programme aimed at ensuring that community members have adequate knowledge of the NHIS' principles and benefits and improve enrollment and retention rates. Observation and in-depth interviews were used to gather information about the effects of the intervention in seven selected communities, health facilities and District Health Insurance Schemes in the Central Region. RESULTS: The results showed a distinct rise in the NHIS' enrollment among the general population but the poor were less covered. Of the 6790 individuals covered in the survey, less than half (40.3 %) of the population were currently insured in the NHIS and 22.4 % were previously insured. The poorest had the lowest enrollment rate: poorest 17.6 %, poor 31.3 %, rich 46.4 % and richest 44.4 % (p = 0.000). Previous enrollment rates were: poorest (15.4 %) and richest (23.8 %), (p = 0.000). Ironically, the poor's low enrollment was widely attributed to their poverty. The underlying structural cause, however, was policy makers' and implementers' lack of commitment to pursue NHIS' equity goal. CONCLUSION: Inequity in healthcare access persists because of the social and institutional environment in which the NHIS operates. There is a need to effectively engage stakeholders to develop interventions to ensure that the poor are included in the NHIS.