Ancora Psychiatric Hospital

Despite Ghana's commitment to universal health coverage and the provision of mental health care in public institutions at no direct cost, the mental health system faces an overwhelming demand and logistical challenges, including a critical shortfall of mental health care professionals, geographic limitations, and stigma. n This commentary explores the challenges and opportunities within Ghana's mental health care system, emphasizing the critical role of mobile health (mHealth) and digital innovations in transforming mental health care delivery. n We highlight the role of mHealth interventions, including initiatives like the M-Healer smartphone toolkit that equips traditional healers with mental health management techniques, and collaborations with digital communities, such as the West African Digital Mental Health Alliance, in improving mental health services and developing culturally relevant digital mental health solutions. n Strategic actions that are essential for further advancing Ghana's mHealth landscape include establishing dedicated training programs for clinicians to build capacity in digital technologies and integrating digital health solutions into hospital systems.

Abstract BackgroundThe emergence of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) an infectious disease caused by the newly discovered severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS CoV-2) has caused a lot of harm to humanity. Healthcare workers who are the leading the charge in the fight against the virus can experience mental health challenges with anxiety being an important illness. Anxiety can become morbid quickly and ultimately affect function, hence the need to study its prevalence among HCWs, since they are a high-risk population. Studies across various regions worldwide reported elevated levels of anxiety amongst HCWs during the SARS, Ebola, and H1N1 pandemics. Nevertheless, Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD), an easily measured and ubiquitous member of the family of anxiety disorders has hardly been researched. However, new studies in Togo, China, India and Mexico have reported elevated levels of GAD in HCWs during the COVID-19 pandemic. Given the complexities surrounding mental health care in Ghana, and Africa as a whole it would be expedient to uncover the prevalence of GAD among HCWs during the pandemic. Hence, a study at Family Health Hospital will provide information about the prevalence of COVID-19 related GAD among Health care workers representative of Ghana.AimThe aim of this study was to establish the prevalence of COVID-19 related GAD amongst healthcare workers, in a tertiary hospital in Accra.MethodsA descriptive cross-sectional study design using a self-administered questionnaire was employed. Nine-two (92) HCWs in the study area were sampled. A consecutive sampling technique was used to select the respondents for the study. The study was analyzed using SPSS version 25. The results were presented in summary tables and analyzed using frequencies and percentages. Chi square test performed on categorical data to test association between selected variables and their outcome with COVID-19 related GAD.ResultsThe GAD level among nurses was 55.4%, and for doctors it was 30.4%. The GAD level among medical laboratory technicians and pharmacists were 7.6% and 6.5% respectively. Furthermore, being age 50-69 years was a significant risk factor for developing GAD during the COVID-19 pandemic in Ghana. Female HCWs were more likely to experience GAD. However, only 13.1% of the HCWs were considered to have Corona phobia. Perception of workplace as being high risk was positively correlated with mild to moderate forms of anxiety. However, perception of organizational support as being guaranteed in case one succumbed to the virus and confidence in PPE availability was not reported to be strong protective factors against GAD among HCWs.ConclusionCOVID-19 related GAD is a challenge amongst HCWs especially nurses in FHH. The management of the FHH should set up certain services such as psychological help lines, peer support programs as well as run a sensitization campaign to cater for the wellbeing of doctors as well as encourage mental health seeking behavior.

Background: Hepatitis-B (Hep-B) infection is a global public health problem of great concern which affects more than 5% of the local population in Sub-Saharan Africa. This study assessed students' knowledge, attitude and practices towards Hepatitis B infection and vaccination at the University of Health and Allied Sciences, Ghana. Methods: A cross-sectional quantitative descriptive survey was conducted among 262 Public Health students of the University of Health and Allied Science of the Volta region of Ghana, using a multi-stage sampling technique in selecting participants. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data from the participants. Data was analyzed using SPSS Version 20.1. Results: Study respondents were mostly males, forming 69.8% as against 30.2% of their female counterparts. All (262) respondents had knowledge on Hep-B infection and the availability of a vaccine for preventing Hepatitis infection. However, despite their knowledge of existence, the majority (56.9%) of the respondents felt they did not need to be protected from Hep-B infection. Majority (58.8%) of the total respondents have been vaccinated against Hep-B infection. The study identified the cost of vaccines as a major setback to non-vaccination. However, out of the 41.2% respondents who were not vaccinated against Hep B infection, majority (50.9%) of them were not willing to be vaccinated even if it was offered to them at no cost. Conclusion: There was a significantly high level of knowledge on Hep-B infection and the availability of vaccine for Hep-B infection among students. However, the majority of the respondents felt they did not need to be protected from Hep-B infection. More education is needed on the importance of vaccination as an effective measure for controlling Hepatitis infection.

This study aims to reduce the incidents of restraints by applying a nontraditional consultation process in which a university-based team focused on patient consultations to collect data on treatment interventions and milieu approaches and conditions, as well as staff interactions. The efforts resulted in restraint reduction from 36 episodes per month to 0 episodes per month as well as precipitating a change in unit climate and care approaches on a specialized unit for patients with developmental disabilities and mental illness. Reducing the use of restraints involving multiple restraint incident patients is possible with a team-based approach and a specific intervention plan.

This article describes a research-based method for assessing team effectiveness and for facilitating the development of rehabilitation teams. The authors used a 60-item self-report instrument to measure the developmental level of a group or a team. Two examples of the use of this instrument with rehabilitation teams are discussed.

This article describes the theoretical underpiunings, construction, and validation process of an instrument designed to measure developmental processes in groups. A total of 164 employees of three health care facilities comprised the validation sample. Reliability and intemal consistency were assessed. The process of establishing content, concurrent, criterion-related, and construct validity is also reported. The results support the reliability and validity of the Group Development Questionnaire. The existence of a dependable measure of group development may stimulate more basic research of group development and may encourage the creation of more research tools in this important area of study.

This paper provides an overview of the clinical, legal, and ethical issues that arise when hospitalized psychiatric patients are resistant to, routine interventions. The author suggests that there is a moral basis for forcing patients to undergo interventions in medically compelling situations, but there should be an administrative review mechanism for these decisions and staff must be given training and access to legal and ethical consultations.

Back to table of contents Previous article Next article ArticleNo AccessPATIENTS PROMOTE COMMUNITY RELATIONSHarry H. Brunt Jr.Harry H. Brunt Jr.Search for more papers by this authorPublished Online:1 Apr 2006https://doi.org/10.1176/ps.10.1.16AboutSectionsPDF/EPUB ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack Citations ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InEmail "PATIENTS PROMOTE COMMUNITY RELATIONS." Psychiatric Services, 10(1), p. 16 Access content To read the fulltext, please use one of the options below to sign in or purchase access. Personal login Institutional Login Sign in via OpenAthens Purchase Save for later Item saved, go to cart PPV Articles - Psychiatric Services $35.00 Add to cart PPV Articles - Psychiatric Services Checkout Please login/register if you wish to pair your device and check access availability. Not a subscriber? Subscribe Now / Learn More PsychiatryOnline subscription options offer access to the DSM-5 library, books, journals, CME, and patient resources. This all-in-one virtual library provides psychiatrists and mental health professionals with key resources for diagnosis, treatment, research, and professional development. Need more help? PsychiatryOnline Customer Service may be reached by emailing [email protected] or by calling 800-368-5777 (in the U.S.) or 703-907-7322 (outside the U.S.). FiguresReferencesCited byDetailsCited ByNone Volume 10Issue 1 January 1959Pages 16-16 Metrics PDF download History Published online 1 April 2006 Published in print 1 January 1959