Browsing by Author "Dzomeku, V.M."
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Item Consistency of the determinants of early initiation of breastfeeding in Ghana: insights from four Demographic and Health Survey datasets(Oxford University Press, 2021) Duodu, P.A.; Duah, H.O.; Dzomeku, V.M.; Mensah, A.B.B.; Mensah, J.A.; Darkwah, E.; Agbadi, P.Background: Early initiation of breastfeeding (EIBF) is a key strategy in averting neonatal deaths. However, studies on the facilitators and risk factors for EIBF are rare in Ghana. We examined trends in EIBF and its major facilitators and risk factors in Ghana using data from Demographic and Health Surveys from 1998 to 2014. Methods: We used complete weighted data of 3194, 3639, 2909 and 5695 pairs of mothers ages 15–49 y and their children ages 0–5 y in the 1998, 2003, 2008 and 2014 surveys, respectively. We accounted for the complex sampling used in the surveys for both descriptive statistics and multiple variable risk ratio analysis. Results: The proportion of children who achieved EIBF increased by about 2.5 times from 1998 to 2003 and there was a marginal increase in the proportion of children who achieved EIBF between 2003 and 2014. Children born by caesarean section were at higher risk of being breastfed later than 1 h across all four surveys. Being born in the Upper East Region (compared with the Western Region) of Ghana facilitated EIBF in 2003 and 2008. Conclusions: The study revealed that the current estimate of the proportion of children achieving EIBF in Ghana was 55.1%, and delivery by caesarean section and region of residence consistently predicted the practice of EIBF in Ghana.Item Gender disparities of chronic musculoskeletal disorder burden in the elderly Ghanaian population: study on global ageing and adult health (SAGE WAVE 1)(BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders, 2015-08) Nakua, E.K.; Otupiri, E.; Dzomeku, V.M.; Owusu-Dabo, E.; Agyei-Baffour, P.; Yawson, A.E.; Folson, G.; Hewlett, S.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.Item Prevalence, progress, and social inequalities of home deliveries in Ghana from 2006 to 2018: insights from the multiple indicator cluster surveys(BMC Pregnancy Childbirth, 2021) Dzomeku, V.M.; Duodu, P.A.; Okyere, J.; Aduse‑Poku, L.; Dey, N.E.Y.; Mensah, A.B.B.; Nakua, E.K.; Agbadi, P.; Nutor, J.J.Background: Delivery in unsafe and unsupervised conditions is common in developing countries including Ghana. Over the years, the Government of Ghana has attempted to improve maternal and child healthcare services including the reduction of home deliveries through programs such as fee waiver for delivery in 2003, abolishment of delivery care cost in 2005, and the introduction of the National Health Insurance Scheme in 2005. Though these eforts have yielded some results, home delivery is still an issue of great concern in Ghana. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to identify the risk factors that are consistently associated with home deliveries in Ghana between 2006 and 2017–18. Methods: The study relied on datasets from three waves (2006, 2011, and 2017–18) of the Ghana Multiple Indicator Cluster surveys (GMICS). Summary statistics were used to describe the sample. The survey design of the GMICS was accounted for using the ‘svyset’ command in STATA-14 before the association tests. Robust Poisson regression was used to estimate the relationship between sociodemographic factors and home deliveries in Ghana in both bivariate and multivariable models. Results: The proportion of women who give birth at home during the period under consideration has decreased. The proportion of home deliveries has reduced from 50.56% in 2006 to 21.37% in 2017–18. In the multivariable model, women who had less than eight antenatal care visits, as well as those who dwelt in households with decreas‑ ing wealth, rural areas of residence, were consistently at risk of delivering in the home throughout the three data waves. Residing in the Upper East region was associated with a lower likelihood of delivering at home. Conclusion: Policies should target the at-risk-women to achieve complete reduction in home deliveries. Access to facility-based deliveries should be expanded to ensure that the expansion measures are pro-poor, pro-rural, and pro uneducated. Innovative measures such as mobile antenatal care programs should be organized in every community in the population segments that were consistently choosing home deliveries over facility-based deliveries.Item Trends in antenatal care visits and associated factors in Ghana from 2006 to 2018(BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth, 2022) Duodu, P.A.; Bayuo, J.; Mensah, J.A.; Aduse‑Poku, L.; Arthur‑Holmes, F.; Dzomeku, V.M.; Dey, N.E.Y.; Agbadi, P.; Nutor, J.J.Introduction: Given that maternal mortality is a major global health concern, multiple measures including antenatal care visits have been promoted by the global community. However, most pregnant women in Ghana and other sub Saharan African countries do not attain the recommended timelines, in addition to a slower progress towards meet‑ ing the required minimum of eight visits stipulated by the World Health Organization. Therefore, this study explored the trends in antenatal care visits and the associated factors in Ghana from 2006 to 2018 using the Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys. Methods: The study used women datasets (N =7795) aged 15 to 49 years from three waves (2006, 2011, and 2017-2018) of the Ghana Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (GMICS). STATA version 14 was used for data analyses. Univariable analyses, bivariable analyses with chi-square test of independence, and multivariable analyses with robust multinomial logistic regression models were ftted. Results: The study found a consistent increase in the proportion of women having adequate and optimal antena‑ tal attendance from 2006 to 2018 across the women’s sociodemographic segments. For instance, the proportion of mothers achieving adequate antenatal care (4 to 7 antenatal care visits) increased from 49.3% in 2006 to 49.98% in 2011 to 58.61% in 2017-2018. In the multivariable model, women with upward attainment of formal education, health insurance coverage, increasing household wealth, and residing in the Upper East Region were consistently associated with a higher likelihood of adequate and/or optimal antenatal care attendance from 2006 to 2018. Conclusion: Women who are less likely to achieve optimal antenatal care visits should be targeted by policies towards reducing maternal mortalities and other birth complications. Poverty-reduction policies, promoting mater‑ nal and girl-child education, improving general livelihood in rural settings, expanding health insurance coverage and infrastructural access, harnessing community-level structures, and innovative measures such as telehealth and telemedicine are required to increase antenatal care utilization.