Browsing by Author "Dzomeku Millicent Veronica"

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    Gender disparities of chronic musculoskeletal disorder burden in the elderly Ghanaian population: study on global ageing and adult health (SAGE WAVE 1)
    (BioMed Central, 2015) Nakua Kweku Emmanuel; Otupiri Easmon; Dzomeku Millicent Veronica; Owusu-Dabo Ellis; Agyei-Baffour Peter; Yawson Edwin Alfred; Folson Gloria; Hewlett Sandra
    Background: Traditionally, non-communicable diseases including musculoskeletal disorders have not been a priority in low-and-middle income countries. The main aim of this paper is to assess age and gender specific burden by estimating the current prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders and associated risk factors in the elderly Ghanaian population. Methods: Between May 2007 and June 2008, the World Health Organization conducted a nationwide study on AGEing (SAGE) and Adult Health in Ghana. The study employed a multistage cluster sampling strategy to identify participants by stratifying the population by age and setting. A structured questionnaire was used for data collection. A Poisson regression model was fitted with robust error variance. Prevalence estimates took into account the complex survey design and sampling weights. Statistical significance was considered at p ≤ 0.05 significance level. Statistical analysis was performed with STATA version 11.2. Results: The prevalence rates of chronic back pain and chronic arthritis/joints pain were higher in women than men. The overall crude prevalence’s rates were 28.2 and 10.7 % for chronic back pain and chronic arthritis/joints pain respectively. Substantial differences existed between men and women in terms of socio-economic status, education level and occupational status. Women with primary education had a chronic back pain prevalence of 36.2 % (95 % CI; 29.2, 43.3) and chronic arthritis/joints pain prevalence of 15.8 % (95 % CI; 11.1, 20.6) while their male counterparts had prevalence rates of 29.0 % (95 % CI; 23.4, 34.5) and 9.8 % (95 % CI; 6.4, 13.2) respectively. Residence (rural and urban) did not appear to influence the prevalence of chronic back pain and arthritis/joints pain. Conclusion: Our findings suggest the existence of sex differences in chronic back pain and chronic arthritis/joint pain in the elderly population in Ghana after adjustment for demographic and socio-economic factors. It indicates the existence of inequalities in health between elderly men and women with women suffering more from chronic back pain and chronic arthritis/joints pain.
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    Home birth without skilled attendants despite millennium villages project intervention in Ghana: insight from a survey of women’s perceptions of skilled obstetric care
    (BioMed Central, 2015) Nakua Kweku Emmanuel; Sevugu Thomas Justice; Owusu-Dabo Ellis; Dzomeku Millicent Veronica; Otupiri Easmon
    Background: Skilled birth attendance from a trained health professional during labour and delivery can prevent up to 75 % of maternal deaths. However, in low- and middle-income rural communities, lack of basic medical infrastructure and limited number of skilled birth attendants are significant barriers to timely obstetric care. Through analysis of self-reported data, this study aimed to assess the effect of an intervention addressing barriers in access to skilled obstetric care and identified factors associated with the use of unskilled birth attendants during delivery in a rural district of Ghana. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted from June to August 2012 in the Amansie West District of Ghana among women of reproductive age. Multi-stage, random, and population proportional techniques were used to sample 50 communities and 400 women for data collection. Weighted multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to identify factors associated with place of delivery. Results: A total of 391 mothers had attended an antenatal care clinic at least once for their most recent birth; 42.3 % of them had unskilled deliveries. Reasons reported for the use of unskilled birth attendants during delivery were: insults from health workers (23.5 %), unavailability of transport (21.9 %), and confidence in traditional birth attendants (17.9 %); only 7.4 % reported to have had sudden labour. Other factors associated with the use of unskilled birth attendants during delivery included: lack of partner involvement aOR = 0.03 (95 % CI; 0.01, 0.06), lack of birth preparedness aOR = 0.05 (95 % CI; 0.02, 0.13) and lack of knowledge of the benefits of skilled delivery aOR = 0.37 (95 % CI; 0.11, 1.20). Conclusions: This study demonstrated the importance of provider-client relationship and cultural sensitivity in the efforts to improve skilled obstetric care uptake among rural women in Ghana