BackgroundThe burden of cervical cancer continues to rise in developing economies. Women in the sub-Saharan African region have higher chances of developing cervical cancer due to a greater prevalence of related risk factors. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of health education intervention on cervical cancer and screening perceptions of women in the Komenda, Edina, Eguafo, and Abirem (K.E.E.A) District in the Central Region of Ghana.MethodsA non-equivalent control-group design was used to select church women; 396 in the intervention group and 386 in the control group, aged 11 to 70 years in the K.E.E.A District in the Central Region of Ghana. Data was collected via a validated structured interview schedule and analysed using the paired - and independent-samples t-tests, Kruskal-Wallis test, and Mann-Whitney U test.ResultsA comparison of the mean differences between the pre-post-test scores for the intervention and control groups showed a statistically significant difference for knowledge of cervical cancer (t = 6.22, df = 780, p = 0.001), knowledge of cervical cancer screening (t = 5.96, df = 780, p = 0.001), perceived seriousness (t = 3.36, df = 780, p = 0.001), perceived benefits (t = 9.19, df = 780, p = 0.001), and perceived barriers (t = 3.19, df = 780, p = 0.001). However, perceived susceptibility for the intervention group reduced, evidenced by a decrease in the mean (mean = − 0.12) compared to the control group (mean = 0.93) and this was statistically significant (t = 2.72, df = 780, p = 0.007).ConclusionsHealth education interventions are critical in improving knowledge and perceptions, and increasing self-efficacy of women about cervical cancer and screening.

Objective: The study aimed to highlight the determinants of overnutrition (overweight plus obesity) in fishing communities and establish if these were the same as reported elsewhere in Ghana. Design: Cross-sectional study. Setting: The study was conducted in Idun, Ola and Duakor fishing communities in Cape Coast, Ghana. Subjects: Adults (n 252) aged 20 to 50 years. Results: Results showed that 32 % of participants were overweight/obese (BMI $ 25?0 kg/m 2 ). Participants' mean age was 31?7 (SD 1?0) years, they had 13?7 (SD 8?1) mean years of formal education, their median monthly income was $US 7?4 (interquartile range $US 3?3, 20?0) and their median daily energy intake was 7?3 (interquartile range 5?3, 9?8) MJ. Significant associations (P , 0?05) were found between BMI and gender, age, years of education, fat intake and marital status. Females were almost eight times more likely to be overweight/obese than males (adjusted OR 5 7?7; 95 % CI 3?6, 16?4). Persons aged $40 years were about six times more likely to be overweight/obese than those aged 20-29 years (adjusted OR 5 6?1; 95 % CI 2?6, 14?1). Married people were nearly three times more likely to be overweight/obese than singles (adjusted OR 5 2?8; 95 % Cl 1?4, 5?7). People with more than 13 years of formal education (adjusted OR 5 0?3; 95 % CI 0?1, 0?9) and people with .30 % fat contribution to daily energy intake (adjusted OR 5 0?3; 95 % CI 0?1, 0?6) had reduced odds of being overweight/obese. Conclusions: Overnutrition was prevalent in the fishing communities and associated with factors such as age, gender, marital status, educational status and fat intake.

BackgroundThis study evaluated the Health Works (HWs) nutritional counselling skills and information shared with caregivers. This was a cross-sectional study in which an observation checklist was used to examine Growth Monitoring and Promotion (GMP) activities and educational/counselling activities undertaken by health workers (HWs) to communicate nutrition information to caregivers, depending on the ages of the children.MethodsA total number of 528 counselling interactions between health workers and caregivers in 16 Child welfare Clinics (CWCs) in two rural districts in Ghana were observed. Frequencies were presented for the information that was obtained from each caregiver and those that were provided by the HWs during the nutritional counselling sessions.ResultsAbout 95.1 and 61.8% of the caregiver-HW interactions involved mothers of children who were less than 6 months of age and those above 6 months respectively. HWs counselled the caregivers on appropriate nutrition for the child. Health talk messages that were shared with caregivers focused mainly on the importance of attending CWCs and vaccination of children and rarely included any teaching materials. In most of the interactions, HWs made of child’s feeding practices the past 1 month; and also did not provide advice on specific issues of IYCF. Nutritional counselling information given for non-breastfeeding children was inadequate and in some cases absent. Little attention was given to the feeding of children with animal products during counselling.ConclusionGenerally nutritional information given to caregivers who had children above 6 months was inadequate.

Urbanisation in Ghana could be negatively impacting the state of food security, especially in economically vulnerable groups. Food supply, safety, and quality are all aspects of food security which could be impacted. We conducted a scoping literature review to understand the nature and magnitude of evidence available on the urban food security situation in Ghana. A literature search was conducted in Medline, CINAHL, Embase, Global Health, Scopus, Web of Science, Africa Wide Information and Google Scholar to identify relevant peer-reviewed and grey literature. 45 studies, mainly cross-sectional surveys/food samples analysis, met the inclusion criteria. The majority of studies were concentrated in the Greater Accra Region (n = 24). Most studies focused on food safety and quality (n = 31). Studies on supply and stability were, however, scarce. Qualitative research methods were uncommon in the included studies. The existing literature on food security are concentrated in two regions: The Greater Accra and Ashanti regions. Future studies exploring food security in urban Ghana should focus on exploring the lived experiences and perceptions of food insecurity and food stability by urban-dwellers using qualitative methods. The evidence suggesting that the safety/quality of foods sold in Ghanaian markets is poor should be a concern to consumers and policy makers.

Akpi (Ricinodendron heudelotii) is a semi-deciduous plant species indigenous to the coastal nations of West Africa. Its kernels are rich in nutrients and bioactive compounds. In this article, we performed a nutritional characterization and a phytochemical composition of defatted kernel flours from Ricinodendron heudelotti that were grown in six different regions of Cote d'Ivoire. Classical analytic methods were used to determine the chemical composition. There were significant differences between the samples for all the parameters studied; in addition, both the locality of production and the Ricinodendron heudelotii seed kernels extraction systems showed a noteworthy influence on the mineral and element composition of the defatted flours. The samples were also rich in protein (47.0-61.3%) and energy (330.4-339.2 kcal/100 g). Magnesium (12.0-40.0%) was found to be the predominant mineral. Polyphenols (216.6-403.9 mg/100 g) and oxalates (714.7-972.9 mg/100 g) were the main phytochemical compounds identified. The consumption of defatted kernel flours from Ricinodendron heudelotti may contribute relatively high intake levels of protein, carbohydrate, and mineral macro-and micronutrient (K, Mg, Ca, Mn, and Fe). By performing principal coordinate analysis, the multidimensional scaling plot classified the defatted flours according to the kernel extraction into four main extraction systems: Bondoukou-Lakota-Vavoua diagram, Agboville1 diagram, Divo diagram, and Agboville2 diagram.