Substance use constitutes a major public health issue especially among adolescents as it has associated adverse behavioural, health, social and economic outcomes. However, there is a paucity of ...comprehensive evidence on the prevalence and associated factors of substance use (alcohol, marijuana and amphetamine) among school-going adolescents in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). This study examined the magnitude of substance use and its associated factors among school-going adolescents in eight eligible sub-Saharan Africa countries.
Data for the study were obtained from the Global School-based Health Survey (2012-2017) of 8 countries in SSA (N = 16,318).
Findings showed overall prevalence rates of 11.3% (95%CI = 10.8 - 11.8%), 2% (95%CI = 1.8 - 2.2%) and 2.6% (95%CI = 2.3 - 2.9%) for current alcohol use, current marijuana use and lifetime amphetamine use, respectively between 2012 and 2017. Late adolescence (15-18 years), being male, anxiety, bullying, fighting, truancy, having close friends, current cigarette smoking and tobacco use are significant risk factors for alcohol use. Anxiety, truancy, current cigarette smoking, tobacco use and suicidal attempt are significant risk factors for marijuana use. Anxiety, bullying, truancy, current cigarette smoking, tobacco use and suicidal attempt are significant risk factors for amphetamine use. Parental knowledge of activity, supervision and respect of privacy are significant protective factors of substance use.
There is the need for comprehensive public health policies beyond school-based psycho-behavioural interventions targeting the significant risk factors of substance use among school-going adolescents in SSA.
Purpose
Depression and anxiety are common mental health comorbidities found among women living with breast cancer. The presence of these mental health comorbidities results in decreased quality of ...life among patients. However, the indirect effects of depression and anxiety on quality of life have not been fully established. This study therefore examined the direct and indirect effects of depression and anxiety on quality of life through social support and religiosity.
Methods
Using a cross-sectional survey, 205 purposively selected participants were administered measures of depression and anxiety, social support, religiosity and quality of life. The statistical package for the social sciences (SPSS) with PROCESS Macro was used for mediation analyses.
Results
Findings showed that there were significant direct negative effects of depression and anxiety on quality of life. Whereas depression had a significant negative indirect effect on quality of life through social support (
b
= − 0.247, 95% CI = − 0.482 to − 0.071), anxiety had a significant positive indirect effect on quality of life through social support (
b
= 0.142, 95%CI = 0.011 to 0.324). However, depression and anxiety did not have any significant indirect effect on quality of life through religiosity.
Conclusion
These findings suggest that there is the need to examine the mental health of women living with breast cancer as part of the routine healthcare, and social support ties should be strengthened to improve their quality of life.
Self-care practices among persons living with type-2 diabetes are very crucial in diabetes manages as poor self-care results in complications. However, little research exists within the Ghanaian ...context. This study examined whether type-2 diabetes patients' illness perception and diabetes knowledge significantly predict diabetes self-care practices.
A cross-sectional survey design was employed and a total of 160 participants (45 males and 115 females) were sampled from a general hospital in Accra. A self-administered questionnaire measuring illness perception, diabetes knowledge and diabetes self-care practices as well as demographic checklist were used collect data.
Results showed that illness perception and diabetes knowledge significantly predicted overall diabetes self-care practices. Analysis of domain specific self-care practices showed that patients' diet was significantly predicted by illness perception and diabetes knowledge. Exercise was significantly predicted by only illness perception while blood sugar testing and diabetes foot-care were significantly predicted by diabetes knowledge.
Cognitive and emotional representation of diabetes and diabetes knowledge are key determinants of patients' diabetes self-care practices. It is therefore important that appropriate psychosocial interventions are developed to help patients' adherence to recommended self-care practices.
ObjectiveIllness perception has been shown to have significant influence on the well-being and coping strategies of persons living with chronic medical conditions. Understanding of how women living ...with breast cancer cognitively and emotionally represent their illness and coping strategies used is likely to help in designing focused psychosocial interventions aimed at improving their health and well-being. This study explored the illness perceptions and coping strategies among women receiving care for breast cancer.DesignA qualitative phenomenological study (using semi-structured in-depth interviews).SettingOncology department of a tertiary hospital in Ghana.ParticipantsEleven women receiving breast cancer treatment were purposively sampled and in-depth individual interviews were conducted with questions based on illness perception and coping literature.ResultsIn terms of illness perceptions, it emerged that most of the participants lacked adequate factual knowledge about breast cancer and perceived causes but believed in the curability of their illness through medical treatments and the help of God. Spirituality, social support and diversion coping were the key resources for coping among the participants.ConclusionBreast cancer patients lacked adequate factual knowledge of breast cancer and their perception about the causes of breast cancer is rooted in biopsycho-spiritual model of illness. The reliance on spirituality and social support as the main coping strategies suggests the need for psychosocial interventions tailored to the spiritual and psychosocial needs of the patients.
Parental involvement in physical activity and dietary habits have been found to play a substantial role in the mental health of young people. However, there is little evidence about the associations ...between parental involvement, health behaviours and mental health among Ghanaian youth. This study sought to examine the role of parental involvement in the association between physical activity, dietary habits and mental health among Ghanaian youth.
Data were obtained from the 2012 Ghana Global School-based Student Health Survey (GSHS). The study population consisted of 1,984 school going youth in high schools with a median age of 15 years old, (53.7%) males. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression statistical models using complex samples method were performed.
The prevalence of mental distress was 18.1%, 16.6% and 23% for loneliness, feeling worried and suicidal ideation respectively. Younger students were more likely to feel lonely, worried and have suicidal ideation than older students. Students from low socio-economic backgrounds were significantly more likely to report loneliness, worry and suicidal ideation. After adjusting for socio-demographic characteristics, some physical activity and eating habits were associated with experiencing loneliness, worry and suicidal ideation but after introducing parental involvement, there was a decrease in the likelihood of some health behaviour factors in both physical activity and dietary habits to be associated with loneliness, worry and suicidal ideation.
Physical inactivity and poor dietary habits could have a negative effect on mental distress, however, parental involvement could mitigate the impact of these lifestyle habits on mental distress and should therefore be taken into consideration in efforts aimed at encouraging positive lifestyle habits for good mental health among Ghanaian youth.
Objective
This study examined whether cancer-specific coping strategies have any significant influence on the quality of life of 205 women living with breast cancer in Ghana.
Methods
Using a ...cross-sectional survey design, participants were administered questionnaires which measured their cancer-specific coping strategies and health-related quality of life.
Results
Correlation analysis showed that helplessness-hopelessness negatively correlated with physical wellbeing, emotional wellbeing, functional wellbeing, and breast cancer additional concerns. Anxious preoccupation negatively correlated with all the domains of quality of life, whereas fighting spirit was positively correlated with emotional and functional wellbeing. Cognitive avoidance was positively correlated with functional wellbeing, while fatalism was positively related with all the domains of quality of life. Regression analysis revealed that anxious preoccupation predicted significant decreases in all the domains of quality of life, while helplessness-hopelessness predicted significant decreases in emotional and functional wellbeing domains. However, cognitive avoidance predicted significant increase in the functional domain of quality of life.
Conclusion
These findings underscore the need for psychosocial support for breast cancer patients to adopt effective coping strategies to deal with their challenges in managing their illness.
One of the pervasive problems in schools that has adverse implication on the wellbeing of students, is bullying victimisation. However, within sub-Saharan Africa, only few studies have examined how ...psychological distress influences bullying victimisation. The purpose of this study was to explore the association between bullying victimization and psychological distress among school going adolescents in Ghana.
One hundred and ninety-eight (198) male and female students completed a series of self-report questionnaires measuring psychological distress (anxiety, stress and depression) and bullying victimisation in a cross-sectional survey. Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient and standard multiple regression were used to analyse the data. Findings revealed that bullying victimisation was positively associated with all the domains of psychological distress: depression (r = 0.35, p < 0.001), anxiety (r = 0.30, p < 0.001) and stress (r = 0.35, p < 0.001). Further analysis found depression to be the only significant predictor of bullying victimisation (β = 0.20; t = 2.01; p < 0.05). Taking into consideration that bullying victimization is a major problem among adolescents in schools, anti-bullying programmes should be implemented as this may promote improved wellbeing of school-going adolescents in Ghana.
The impact of COVID-19 on healthcare in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) is a major challenge requiring urgent measures. Cancer care in LMICs, including Ghana, is faced with inadequate ...numbers of skilled healthcare professionals and essential material resources which negatively impacts the quality of healthcare and wellbeing of patients. In the face of COVID-19, cancer patients are likely to be affected in three key ways: access to healthcare, increased financial toxicity and increased mental health burden as a consequence of strict measures being implemented to contain the virus in Ghana, including partial lockdowns and social distancing. Some cultural beliefs regarding COVID-19 and its influence on the health and wellbeing of cancer patients have also been discussed. Measures by the government to lessen the burden on citizens and health workers are highlighted with possible recommendations for improvement in cancer care in Ghana and other LMICs during this pandemic.
Suicide is recognised as the third leading cause of death among adolescents globally. There is however limited data on the prevalence and factors associated with suicide particularly in Ghana. To ...explore the prevalence and risk and protective factors associated with suicide in Ghana, a nationwide Global School-based Student Health Survey data collected among senior high school adolescents in Ghana was used. The prevalence of suicidal behaviours was 18.2%, 22.5% and 22.2% for suicidal ideation, suicidal plan and suicidal attempt respectively. In the final analysis, anxiety increases the odds of suicidal behaviour, even after controlling for other variables. Loneliness increases the odds of suicidal behaviour but after adjusting for other factors the odds remained for only suicidal plan. Being bullied, physically attacked, involved in a physical fight and food insecurity remained risk factors for suicidal behaviour (i.e. ideation, plan and attempt) after adjusting for other factors. Truancy was found as a risk factor for both suicidal ideation and plans but such effect diminished for suicidal plan after adjusting for other variables. Increasing number of close friends remained a risk factor for both suicidal plan and attempt but such effect diminished for suicidal ideation after adjusting for other variables. Parental understanding of adolescents' problems and worries remained a significant protective factor for all the indices of suicidal behaviour after adjusting for other variables. Parental respect for privacy was protective of suicidal attempt but was not significant after adjusting for other variables. Early identification and intervention for at-risk adolescents in senior high schools, for example those experiencing different forms of physical abuse, drug and substance use and hunger can potentially reduce the prevalence of suicide among this population in Ghana.
Unintentional injuries among adolescents constitute a significant public health problem globally. Injured adolescents may face negative outcomes ranging from poor academic performance to short- and ...long-term physical and psychosocial health struggles, and even death. The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence and describe the correlates and most frequent causes of injuries among school-going adolescents in three West African countries - Benin, Ghana, and Liberia.
We analysed self-reported data provided by 8,912 school-going adolescents who participated in the Global School-based Student Health Survey in Ghana (2012), Benin (2016), and Liberia (2017). Students responded to questions on sociodemographic factors, family involvement factors, mental health factors, school environment factors and injury behaviours.
The overall 12-month prevalence estimate of serious injuries in adolescents was 40.9% (Benin = 27.3%; Ghana = 46.1%; Liberia = 49.2%). The most frequently reported injury type was a broken bone or dislocated joint (33% in Benin), cuts or stab wounds (31.7% in Ghana), and non-specified injuries (35.2% in Liberia). Prevalence of serious injuries was higher among males and increased with age. In the multivariable logistic regression analysis, interpersonal aggression outside the family context (bullying victimisation, engaging in physical fights, and having been physically attacked) emerged as key correlates of increased odds of serious injuries.
The relatively higher prevalence estimates of serious injury reported in this study underscore the need for the included countries to develop interventions aimed at reducing and preventing physical injuries among adolescents.
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