The study looked at the levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in leachates from a solid waste disposal site and an effluent from an oil refinery in some water bodies around Accra. Sixteen (PAHs) were extra...The study looked at the levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in leachates from a solid waste disposal site and an effluent from an oil refinery in some water bodies around Accra. Sixteen (PAHs) were extracted simultaneously by solid phase and analysis by gas chromatograph. The results of this study gener-ally demonstrated that there were elevated levels of PAHs in the water sample of the Densu River, Chemu, Korle and Kpeshi Lagoons. The average concentration of PAHs in the water ranged from 0.000 of many of the PAHs to 0.552µg/L, for Acenapththene to 11.399µg/L for Benzo (ghi) perylene of the Chemu Lagoon, 0.00µg/L for Benzo (a) Pyrene to 8.800µg/L for Benzo (ghi) perylene (Korle Lagoon) and 0.052µg/L for Pyrene to 4.703ug/L for Acenaphthylene of the Kpeshi Lagoon and 0.00µg/L for pyrene to Acenaphthylene 2.926µg/L of the Weija Dam. Concentrations ranging from below detection level to 14.587µg/L were also recorded at the Oblogo solid waste dump and it’s environ. The Weija dam supply over two million gallons of portable water daily to the people of Accra and the levels of the PAH determined is worrying, as a result, the Oblogoh disposal site ought to be re-located to avert any possible epidemic.展开更多
Background: Breast cancer is one of the most common cancers in women worldwide. With an estimated incidence of 1,676,633 with 521,817 deaths in the year 2012, the figure is expected to hit the 82.5 millionth mark by 2...Background: Breast cancer is one of the most common cancers in women worldwide. With an estimated incidence of 1,676,633 with 521,817 deaths in the year 2012, the figure is expected to hit the 82.5 millionth mark by 2015. Breast cancer screening is reported to be extremely low in most low-middle income countries like Ghana. This study was to determine the knowledge and practices of self-breast examination among market women at Makola Shopping Mall in Accra, Ghana. Methods: The study was conducted at the Makola Shopping Mall in Accra among women above the age of 20 years who owned a store and sell at the mall. Data were collected using mixed method involving in-depth interviews and questionnaire survey. Random samples of 170 participants were selected from a population of 400 for the quantitative survey. A total of eight in-depth interviews were conducted to generate qualitative data to complement the survey data. Results: Majority (60%) of the respondents were between the ages of 20 - 40 years. There’s a high literacy rate among the participants. Though awareness of self-breast examination was very high (93%), only 27% practiced self-breast examination in line with the recommended one week period after menses due to lack of knowledge of the basic skills to do self-breast examination. Conclusion: In view of the lack of knowledge resulting in non-performance of self-breast examination, continuous education on breast cancer screening should be given to the women to enable them acquire the skills of performing self-breast examination to promote early detection of the disease.展开更多
Urbanization, as a result of anthropogenic activities, reduces the vegetated and green spaces and thereby increases the impervious surfaces in cities. This in turn increases the surface temperature of cities when comp...Urbanization, as a result of anthropogenic activities, reduces the vegetated and green spaces and thereby increases the impervious surfaces in cities. This in turn increases the surface temperature of cities when compared to the rural regions resulting in the formation of urban heat island. Especially, in under-developed countries, it is very crucial to obtain timely and accurate information on the urban trend and its development due to the higher increasing rate of population growth and lack of infrastructural facilities and regulations to mitigate the adverse consequences of urbanization. The current study analyzes the urban development of Greater Accra, Ghana using Landsat 7 dataset acquired in 2002, 2013, and 2020. Further, the influence of urban growth on the land surface temperature (LST) and land cover variability (LCV) indices including NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index), NDBI (Normalized Difference Built-Up Index), and NDWI (Normalized Difference Water Index) is identified during the study periods. Results suggest that the area of built-up quadrupled between 2002 and 2020 in the study region. Shannon’s entropy-based analysis suggests that the urban development in the region is heterogeneous or dispersive in nature. Further, the regression analysis highlights a strong positive relation between LST and NDBI (0.755) and a negative relation is found associated between LST and NDVI (0.4417) and LST and NDWI (0.76). Results of the study could be useful to design sustainable urban socio-economic and environmental planning policies in the study region.展开更多
Background:Dog bites are common in developing countries including Ghana,with the victims often being children.Although some breeds of dogs have been identified as being more aggressive than others,all dog bites carry ...Background:Dog bites are common in developing countries including Ghana,with the victims often being children.Although some breeds of dogs have been identified as being more aggressive than others,all dog bites carry a risk of infection.Immediate and initial assessment of the risk for tetanus and rabies infection with appropriate interventions such as wound management and subsequent selection of prophylactic antibiotics are essential in the management of dog bites.This study examined the management of patients with dog bites by frontline service providers at primary healthcare facilities in the Greater Accra Region,Ghana.Methods:We conducted a cross-sectional study in 66 public health facilities in the Greater Accra Region from July 2014 to April 2015.Up to four frontline service providers were randomly selected to participate from each facility.A structured questionnaire was administered to all consenting participants.Continuous variables were presented as means and standard deviations.The frontline service providers’knowledge was assessed as a discrete variable and values obtained presented as percentages and proportions.The chi-square test of proportions was used to determine any significant associations between the various categories of the frontline service providers and their knowledge about the management of rabies.Results:Regarding the frontline service providers’knowledge about rabies,57.8%(134/232)were correct in that the rabies virus is the causative agent of rabies,39.2%(91/232)attributed it to a dog bite,2.6%(6/232)did not know the cause,and one person(0.4%)attributed it to the herpes virus.Only 15.5%(36/232)knew the incubation period in dogs and the period required to observe for signs of a rabies infection.With respect to the administration of rabies immunoglobulin,42.2%(98/232)of the frontline service providers did not know how to administer it.Of the facilities visited,76%(50/66)did not have the rabies vaccines and 44%(102/232)of frontline service providers did not know where to get the rabies vaccines from.Most of the service providers(87.9%;204/232)had never reported either a dog bite or a suspected case of rabies.Overall,there was gross underreporting of dog bites and suspected rabies cases at public healthcare facilities in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana.Conclusions:In view of the high morbidity and mortality associated with bites from rabid dogs and the poor knowledge and practices of frontline service providers,there is an urgent need for capacity-building such as training in the management of dog bites and subsequent potential rabies infection.展开更多
This study utilizes multiple regression analysis and the technique for computing economies of scale to evaluate the dynamics of NRW in the AER of GWCL. Data on monthly total production, billed consumption, total reven...This study utilizes multiple regression analysis and the technique for computing economies of scale to evaluate the dynamics of NRW in the AER of GWCL. Data on monthly total production, billed consumption, total revenue, total production cost and the volume of NRW spanning the period January 2015 to June 2019, was obtained from the headquarters of AER and used for the analysis. The study showed that NRW averaged 59.3% for the period under consideration, which far exceeds the 25% threshold set by the World Bank for developing economies. It was also established that a fairly inelastic relationship exists between NRW and total revenue. Results further show that resources are not optimally used in the AER as proof of diseconomies of scale was observed.展开更多
Schistosomiasis is a parasitic disease of the tropics which is estimated to affect up to 300 million people worldwide. While it is being successfully controlled in many countries, it remains a major public health prob...Schistosomiasis is a parasitic disease of the tropics which is estimated to affect up to 300 million people worldwide. While it is being successfully controlled in many countries, it remains a major public health problem, especially in developing countries including Ghana. Extensive work on schistosomiasis has been undertaken along theVoltaRiverbasin, leaving very little data and information on this infection in the urban and peri-urban areas inGhana. This study was aimed at determining the urinary schistosomiasis burden among children of school going age within Zenu, a suburb of the capital city. Urine samples were taken from 274 school children within the Zenu community and examined with urine chemistry dipsticks for detection and confirmation of haematuria, followed by microscopy for detection of Schistosoma haematobium ova. Prevalence of urinary schistosomiasis was 30.7% (95% CI: 25.2-36.2). 44 (52%) of the positive samples were collected from males whiles 40 (48%) were collected from females, but prevalence of the infection was not significantly associated with gender (χ2 = 0.041, DF = 1, P-Value = 0.839). Among the S. haematobium positive children, haematuria was detected by the dipstick in 88.1% (74/84, 95% CI: 81.2- 95.0), but it was not detected in 11.9% (10/84, 95% CI: 5.0-18.8). Meanwhile, the dipstick detected haematuria in 7.3% (20/274, 95% CI: 4.3-7.3) of the total population but microscopy could not detect the presence of Schistosoma ova in those children. An association was found between Schistosoma infection and haematuria detected by dipstick (χ2 = 84.715, DF = 1,展开更多
This study developed a systematic decision-making process for water supply capacity expansion using the analytic hierarchy process. The decision-making criteria were categorized into environmental, economic, technical...This study developed a systematic decision-making process for water supply capacity expansion using the analytic hierarchy process. The decision-making criteria were categorized into environmental, economic, technical and socio-cultural aspects. Capacity expansion of three water resources (Kpong, Weija and Teshie plants) of Accra-Tema Metropolitan Area (Ghana) was studied as a test case. The research resulted in the environmental criterion with the highest priority weight (52.4%), followed by the economic (30.6%), technical (11.3%) and socio-cultural criteria (5.8%). The overall analysis ranked the Kpong plant with a score of 36.1% followed by the Weija and Teshie plants with scores 33.8% and 30.2%, respectively.展开更多
A baseline survey was carried out at four beaches along Ghana’s Accra-Tema coastline over a period of sixteen weeks to determine beach quality, seawater quality and the perception of beach users towards littering. A ...A baseline survey was carried out at four beaches along Ghana’s Accra-Tema coastline over a period of sixteen weeks to determine beach quality, seawater quality and the perception of beach users towards littering. A total of 18,241 items of marine debris which weighed 297.59 kg were collected. Plastic materials were the dominant debris, accounting for 63.72% of total debris. Land-based marine debris formed the largest proportion of debris collected (93% of items/m<sup>2</sup> and 85 kg/m<sup>2</sup>). Water quality analysis revealed high mean levels of coliforms and E. coli above World Health Organization (WHO) levels on all four beach locations. A social survey that targeted beach users and some stakeholders revealed a habit of littering and beach users as the main source of litter generation on Ghana’s beaches. Intensive education, continuous monitoring and the enforcement of appropriate policy initiatives remain vital to addressing beach and water quality issues along Ghana’s coastline.展开更多
文摘The study looked at the levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in leachates from a solid waste disposal site and an effluent from an oil refinery in some water bodies around Accra. Sixteen (PAHs) were extracted simultaneously by solid phase and analysis by gas chromatograph. The results of this study gener-ally demonstrated that there were elevated levels of PAHs in the water sample of the Densu River, Chemu, Korle and Kpeshi Lagoons. The average concentration of PAHs in the water ranged from 0.000 of many of the PAHs to 0.552µg/L, for Acenapththene to 11.399µg/L for Benzo (ghi) perylene of the Chemu Lagoon, 0.00µg/L for Benzo (a) Pyrene to 8.800µg/L for Benzo (ghi) perylene (Korle Lagoon) and 0.052µg/L for Pyrene to 4.703ug/L for Acenaphthylene of the Kpeshi Lagoon and 0.00µg/L for pyrene to Acenaphthylene 2.926µg/L of the Weija Dam. Concentrations ranging from below detection level to 14.587µg/L were also recorded at the Oblogo solid waste dump and it’s environ. The Weija dam supply over two million gallons of portable water daily to the people of Accra and the levels of the PAH determined is worrying, as a result, the Oblogoh disposal site ought to be re-located to avert any possible epidemic.
文摘Background: Breast cancer is one of the most common cancers in women worldwide. With an estimated incidence of 1,676,633 with 521,817 deaths in the year 2012, the figure is expected to hit the 82.5 millionth mark by 2015. Breast cancer screening is reported to be extremely low in most low-middle income countries like Ghana. This study was to determine the knowledge and practices of self-breast examination among market women at Makola Shopping Mall in Accra, Ghana. Methods: The study was conducted at the Makola Shopping Mall in Accra among women above the age of 20 years who owned a store and sell at the mall. Data were collected using mixed method involving in-depth interviews and questionnaire survey. Random samples of 170 participants were selected from a population of 400 for the quantitative survey. A total of eight in-depth interviews were conducted to generate qualitative data to complement the survey data. Results: Majority (60%) of the respondents were between the ages of 20 - 40 years. There’s a high literacy rate among the participants. Though awareness of self-breast examination was very high (93%), only 27% practiced self-breast examination in line with the recommended one week period after menses due to lack of knowledge of the basic skills to do self-breast examination. Conclusion: In view of the lack of knowledge resulting in non-performance of self-breast examination, continuous education on breast cancer screening should be given to the women to enable them acquire the skills of performing self-breast examination to promote early detection of the disease.
文摘Urbanization, as a result of anthropogenic activities, reduces the vegetated and green spaces and thereby increases the impervious surfaces in cities. This in turn increases the surface temperature of cities when compared to the rural regions resulting in the formation of urban heat island. Especially, in under-developed countries, it is very crucial to obtain timely and accurate information on the urban trend and its development due to the higher increasing rate of population growth and lack of infrastructural facilities and regulations to mitigate the adverse consequences of urbanization. The current study analyzes the urban development of Greater Accra, Ghana using Landsat 7 dataset acquired in 2002, 2013, and 2020. Further, the influence of urban growth on the land surface temperature (LST) and land cover variability (LCV) indices including NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index), NDBI (Normalized Difference Built-Up Index), and NDWI (Normalized Difference Water Index) is identified during the study periods. Results suggest that the area of built-up quadrupled between 2002 and 2020 in the study region. Shannon’s entropy-based analysis suggests that the urban development in the region is heterogeneous or dispersive in nature. Further, the regression analysis highlights a strong positive relation between LST and NDBI (0.755) and a negative relation is found associated between LST and NDVI (0.4417) and LST and NDWI (0.76). Results of the study could be useful to design sustainable urban socio-economic and environmental planning policies in the study region.
基金The study was funded by University of Ghana’s Office of Research,Innovation and Development.URF/7/ILG-037/2013–2014.
文摘Background:Dog bites are common in developing countries including Ghana,with the victims often being children.Although some breeds of dogs have been identified as being more aggressive than others,all dog bites carry a risk of infection.Immediate and initial assessment of the risk for tetanus and rabies infection with appropriate interventions such as wound management and subsequent selection of prophylactic antibiotics are essential in the management of dog bites.This study examined the management of patients with dog bites by frontline service providers at primary healthcare facilities in the Greater Accra Region,Ghana.Methods:We conducted a cross-sectional study in 66 public health facilities in the Greater Accra Region from July 2014 to April 2015.Up to four frontline service providers were randomly selected to participate from each facility.A structured questionnaire was administered to all consenting participants.Continuous variables were presented as means and standard deviations.The frontline service providers’knowledge was assessed as a discrete variable and values obtained presented as percentages and proportions.The chi-square test of proportions was used to determine any significant associations between the various categories of the frontline service providers and their knowledge about the management of rabies.Results:Regarding the frontline service providers’knowledge about rabies,57.8%(134/232)were correct in that the rabies virus is the causative agent of rabies,39.2%(91/232)attributed it to a dog bite,2.6%(6/232)did not know the cause,and one person(0.4%)attributed it to the herpes virus.Only 15.5%(36/232)knew the incubation period in dogs and the period required to observe for signs of a rabies infection.With respect to the administration of rabies immunoglobulin,42.2%(98/232)of the frontline service providers did not know how to administer it.Of the facilities visited,76%(50/66)did not have the rabies vaccines and 44%(102/232)of frontline service providers did not know where to get the rabies vaccines from.Most of the service providers(87.9%;204/232)had never reported either a dog bite or a suspected case of rabies.Overall,there was gross underreporting of dog bites and suspected rabies cases at public healthcare facilities in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana.Conclusions:In view of the high morbidity and mortality associated with bites from rabid dogs and the poor knowledge and practices of frontline service providers,there is an urgent need for capacity-building such as training in the management of dog bites and subsequent potential rabies infection.
文摘This study utilizes multiple regression analysis and the technique for computing economies of scale to evaluate the dynamics of NRW in the AER of GWCL. Data on monthly total production, billed consumption, total revenue, total production cost and the volume of NRW spanning the period January 2015 to June 2019, was obtained from the headquarters of AER and used for the analysis. The study showed that NRW averaged 59.3% for the period under consideration, which far exceeds the 25% threshold set by the World Bank for developing economies. It was also established that a fairly inelastic relationship exists between NRW and total revenue. Results further show that resources are not optimally used in the AER as proof of diseconomies of scale was observed.
文摘Schistosomiasis is a parasitic disease of the tropics which is estimated to affect up to 300 million people worldwide. While it is being successfully controlled in many countries, it remains a major public health problem, especially in developing countries including Ghana. Extensive work on schistosomiasis has been undertaken along theVoltaRiverbasin, leaving very little data and information on this infection in the urban and peri-urban areas inGhana. This study was aimed at determining the urinary schistosomiasis burden among children of school going age within Zenu, a suburb of the capital city. Urine samples were taken from 274 school children within the Zenu community and examined with urine chemistry dipsticks for detection and confirmation of haematuria, followed by microscopy for detection of Schistosoma haematobium ova. Prevalence of urinary schistosomiasis was 30.7% (95% CI: 25.2-36.2). 44 (52%) of the positive samples were collected from males whiles 40 (48%) were collected from females, but prevalence of the infection was not significantly associated with gender (χ2 = 0.041, DF = 1, P-Value = 0.839). Among the S. haematobium positive children, haematuria was detected by the dipstick in 88.1% (74/84, 95% CI: 81.2- 95.0), but it was not detected in 11.9% (10/84, 95% CI: 5.0-18.8). Meanwhile, the dipstick detected haematuria in 7.3% (20/274, 95% CI: 4.3-7.3) of the total population but microscopy could not detect the presence of Schistosoma ova in those children. An association was found between Schistosoma infection and haematuria detected by dipstick (χ2 = 84.715, DF = 1,
文摘This study developed a systematic decision-making process for water supply capacity expansion using the analytic hierarchy process. The decision-making criteria were categorized into environmental, economic, technical and socio-cultural aspects. Capacity expansion of three water resources (Kpong, Weija and Teshie plants) of Accra-Tema Metropolitan Area (Ghana) was studied as a test case. The research resulted in the environmental criterion with the highest priority weight (52.4%), followed by the economic (30.6%), technical (11.3%) and socio-cultural criteria (5.8%). The overall analysis ranked the Kpong plant with a score of 36.1% followed by the Weija and Teshie plants with scores 33.8% and 30.2%, respectively.
文摘A baseline survey was carried out at four beaches along Ghana’s Accra-Tema coastline over a period of sixteen weeks to determine beach quality, seawater quality and the perception of beach users towards littering. A total of 18,241 items of marine debris which weighed 297.59 kg were collected. Plastic materials were the dominant debris, accounting for 63.72% of total debris. Land-based marine debris formed the largest proportion of debris collected (93% of items/m<sup>2</sup> and 85 kg/m<sup>2</sup>). Water quality analysis revealed high mean levels of coliforms and E. coli above World Health Organization (WHO) levels on all four beach locations. A social survey that targeted beach users and some stakeholders revealed a habit of littering and beach users as the main source of litter generation on Ghana’s beaches. Intensive education, continuous monitoring and the enforcement of appropriate policy initiatives remain vital to addressing beach and water quality issues along Ghana’s coastline.
