Situational Analysis of XXXX Morbidity in Ahanta West District of Ghana.

@entity1 @entity3754
OBJECTIVES: Situational analysis of @entity3754 ( @entity3754 ) morbidity and its management in Ahanta West, Ghana, to identify potential barrier to health care for @entity3754 @entity1 . METHODS: Lymphoedema and hydrocoele @entity1 were identified by community health workers from a subset of villages, and were interviewed and participated in focus group discussions to determine their attitudes and practices towards managing their morbidity, and their perceived barriers to accessing care. Local health professionals were also interviewed to obtain their views on the availability of morbidity management services in the district. RESULTS: 62 @entity1 (34 lymphoedema and 28 hydrocoeles) and 13 local health professionals were included in the study. Lymphoedema @entity1 predominantly self-managed their conditions, which included washing with soap and water (61.8%), and exercising the affected area (52.9%). Almost 65% of @entity1 had sought medical assistance at some stage, but support was generally limited to receiving tablets (91%). Local health professionals reported rarely seeing lymphoedema @entity1 , citing stigma and lack of provisions to assist @entity1 as a reason for this. Almost half of hydrocoele @entity1 (44%) chose not to seek medical assistance despite the negative impact it had on their lives. Whilst surgery itself is free with national health insurance, 63% those who had not sought treatment stated that indirect costs of surgery (travel costs, loss of earnings etc) were the most prohibitive factor to seeking treatment. CONCLUSIONS: The information obtained from this study should now be used to guide future morbidity strategies in building a stronger relationship between the local health services and @entity3754 @entity1 , in order to ultimately improve @entity1 ' physical, psychological and economic wellbeing. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
