The prevalence of skin bleaching was 50.3% in these communities, which is high considering the adverse effects from the practice. We recommend regulation of products by enforcing the law, more education, and a population prevalence study.

Emotional Intelligence is a form of interpersonal intelligence. There’s evidence that high emotional intelligence (EQ) of a medical student is associated with better coping with the tedious medical training. We evaluated EQ in medical students in their clinical years. This cross-sectional study was conducted in the University of Ghana Medical School (UGMS), Accra. In all, 111 students completed the questionnaires. Their average age was 24±1.5 years with marginal male preponderance. There were 37, 31 and 43 students in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd clinical years respectively. For global scores, 16 (14.1%) had good EQ (>120) with a mean total score of 105.49. The mean EQ for males was 104.2±17 an 106.2±12 for females, however this difference was not statistically significant (p=0.319). Mean EQ for 1st, 2nd and 3rd clinical years were 104.4±13, 104.4±20, and 107.1±12. This rise with increasing years was however not significant (p=0.659). EQ showed a weak positive correlation with age (r=0.1) but this was not significant (p=0.29). We report low EQ among students of the UGMS with no significant difference between gender, age and clinical year. EQ should be actively taught as part of the curriculum in UGMS. A larger study involving other medical schools in Ghana isrecommended.

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We estimated the prevalence of unmet needs of healthcare services (UNHS) and its associated factors among a cohort of older Ghanaian adults. World Health Organization (WHO) Study on Global AGEing and Adult Health for Ghana was used with a total of 4735 participants. Logistics regression analysis was performed using Stata 16 to assess associated factors. The overall UNHS was 3.7% (95% CI = 2.7-4.8) and the prevalence was significantly high amongst older adults aged 60 to 69 years (5.9%). Could not afford the healthcare (56.4%) was the main contender for UNHS. UNHS was influenced by; those aged 60 to 69 years [OR (95% CI) = 1.86 (1.19-2.91)]; no formal educational [aOR (95% CI) = 4.71 (1.27-17.38)], and no NHIS [OR (95% CI) = 1.78 (1.03-3.09)]. Participants needed care for joint pain (25.4%), and communicable diseases (19.1%). The inability to access healthcare was relatively higher for older adults more advanced in age, with low education, and for those without health insurance. Health system strengthening including financial protection by expanding the National Health Insurance Scheme to all Ghanaians in line with Ghana’s Universal Health Coverage Roadmap would reduce the unmet healthcare needs of older adults.

Background: Hearing difficulty negatively impacts individual relationships with family and friends and other social relationships. Objective:This research was conducted to determine the factors significantly influencing self-reported hearing difficulty (SHD) and further to assess the influence of SHD on social relationship among older adults in Ghana. Methods: World Health Organization’s Studyon Global AGEing and Adult Health Ghana dataset for older adults 50 yr. and above was used for this study. Social relationship and hearing difficulty were the primary and secondary outcomes respectively. A modified Poisson with Mahalanobis distance matching within propensity caliper was employed to determine the different influences on social relationships by SHD. All analysis was performed using the statistical software Stata Version 15 and with a confidence interval (CI) of 95%. Results: The prevalence of SHD among older adults in Ghana was 19.5% (95%CI=16.9-22.3). Rao-Scott test of association showed that all covariates (demographic characteristics, self-rated health, quality of life, life satisfaction and unhealthy lifestyle) were significantly associated with SHD (p<0.05). Sensitivity analysis showed that, SHD predicted a significantly decreased probability count of social relationship among older adults with SHD [adjusted prevalence ratio(95%CI)=-0.08(-0.15-0.02)]. Binary and ordinal outcomes showed that among the older adults with SHD, only 35% and 70% respectively were likely to have a good social relationship [adjusted odds ratio (aOR) (95%CI)=0.65(0.46-0.90) and aOR (95%CI)=0.70(0.51-0.96)respectively]. Conclusion: Overall, the prevalence of hearing loss in older adults in Ghana was 19.5%, and was higher among older adult females. This high prevalence of SHD had significant negative effect on social relationships among the older adults. In line with global efforts to reduce effect of hearing loss, it is imperative that, clinical assessment of hearing loss should always consider the social characteristics of the older adult.