Experiences of Food Insecurity Among Pregnant Adolescents and Adolescent Mothers in Ghana: A Photovoice Method.

Objectives: Food insecurity (FI) remains a major public health problem globally. However, there is limited information about adolescents' experiences. The current study explored FI experiences of pregnant adolescents and adolescent mothers in Cape Coast, Ghana using a Photovoice method. Methods: This study recruited 34 pregnant adolescents and adolescent mothers from communities in Cape Coast, Ghana. Each participated in a training session then was provided prompts to take photos that portrayed food access barriers, facilitators and coping strategies. In a debrief session, each participant selected two pictures they took and explained the image, followed by a group discussion of the selected photos. Debrief sessions were audio recorded and transcribed verbatim to develop themes using a theory-driven approach. Results: Most participants reported several or many experiences with FI (64.7%) in the previous month. Participants discussed money, unwanted pregnancy, and unstable work as barriers to obtaining food and working, selling goods, and family support as facilitators to obtaining food. Coping strategies mentioned include providing services to others, borrowing food and goods, meal stretching, pawning personal items and trading. Conclusion: The FI experience of this population is complex; interventions, including trade training or school retention, should be multifaceted.

Women's perspectives on human milk banking in Ghana: results from a cross-sectional study.

Background: Although political and academic interest exists in Ghana to include human milk banks (HMB) into current maternal and child health programs, efforts to establish a HMB have not yet been subjected to any real empirical inspection with the view toward implementation. Furthermore, views toward the establishment of a HMB in Ghana have not been assessed among Ghanaian women. The aims of the current study were to examine Ghanaian women's views about HMB, and to investigate women's willingness to donate to a HMB. Methods: Quantitative and qualitative responses were received from Ghanaian females (n = 1,270) aged 18+ years. Excluding outliers and missing data (n = 321), a final sample of 949 was retained for final analysis. Chi-square tests and logistic regression analysis were computed on quantitative data; Thematic analysis was performed on the qualitative responses. Results: In our sample, 64.7% of respondents indicated that Ghana is ready for a HMB. The majority (77.2%) were willing to donate milk, and 69.4% believed that donating to the HMB would favor their child. The main concerns for the unwillingness to donate excess milk included: (i) the idea of HMBs as strange/bizarre (n = 47), (ii) fear of infections (n = 15), (iii) religious beliefs (n = 9), and (iv) insufficient information (n = 24). This study serves as the first step toward the development of a HMB in Ghana. Conclusions: Overall, Ghanaian women support the building of a HMB to enhance infant nutrition and reduce childhood morbidity and mortality.

Human Milk for Vulnerable Infants: Breastfeeding and Milk Sharing Practice among Ghanaian Women.

Human milk has the best impact on childhood survival. In Ghana, it is estimated that 43% of women exclusively breastfeed for 0-5 months and only 42% of breastfeeding mothers continue through 20-23 months. Although the Ghanaian government has implemented policies to facilitate exclusive breastfeeding, substantial gaps to achieve optimal newborn health and wellbeing remain. The purpose of this study was to evaluate breastfeeding prevalence and human milk sharing practices among Ghanaian women. Qualitative responses were received from Ghanaian females (n = 1050). In our sample, 81% indicated they breastfed their children and 8% reported ever sharing breastmilk with another mother. Reasons for sharing milk included (i) insufficient breastmilk production of the recipient mother, and (ii) mother's unavailability prompting women to offer their milk to a crying baby. About 60% of our sample reported that they were not concerned about sharing their milk. Findings present a strong indicator for milk donation towards the establishment of a human milk bank in Ghana. Health promotion efforts should aim at increasing education about the risks involved in milk sharing as well as the benefits of human milk donation through formal and safer channels such as a Human Milk Bank.

Linking Depressive and Anxiety Symptoms with Diet Quality of University Students: A Cross-Sectional Study during the COVID-19 Pandemic in India.

This study examines the association of depressive and anxiety symptoms with diet quality among university students while controlling for different demographic and other health and lifestyle factors. This cross-sectional study was carried out between April 2021 and June 2021 among a total of 440 (unweighted) university students. Diet quality was assessed using a 10-item mini-dietary assessment index tool. The depressive and anxiety symptoms of participants were measured using the validated Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), and the Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7) scale, respectively. Multivariable logistic regression and mediation analyses were performed. In this study, 61.1% (95% CI: 56.6% to 65.7%) of university students' diet quality was good during the COVID-19 pandemic. Being a post-graduate student, an urban resident, having no depressive (AOR = 2.15, 95% CI: 1.20 to 3.84) and anxiety symptoms (AOR = 1.96, 95% CI: 1.07 to 3.59), no changes or improvement in appetite, and no changes in sleep duration were significantly associated with good diet quality among our study participants. Depressive and anxiety symptoms during COVID-19 had a significant effect on the diet quality of university students. Future public health policies need to be focused on improving the mental health and well-being of students particularly during pandemic situations to enhance their diet quality.

Association of maternal characteristics with child feeding indicators and nutritional status of children under-two years in Rural Ghana.

BACKGROUND: Optimal nutrition during the first two years of a child's life is critical for the reduction of morbidity and mortality. In Ghana, majority of children miss out on optimal nutrition and only few (13%) of children receive a Minimum Acceptable Diet (MAD). Several studies have investigated the influence of community-level factors on infants and young children feeding (IYCF) practices. However, little is known about the influence of maternal factors on IYCF practices in rural settings. Therefore, this study assessed the influence of maternal factors on the feeding indicators and nutritional status of children aged 6-23 months in two administrative districts in Ghana. METHODS: Data were collected among 935 mothers who had children aged 6-23 months and accessed 21 Child Welfare Clinics within the study area. The study involved a face- to-face interview using structured questionnaires to capture maternal characteristics, dietary intake and anthropometric measurements of children. Multivariate logistic regression was used to study the association between maternal factors and child nutrition outcomes (MAD, dietary diversity score (DDS) and anthropometric indicators) using Stata 16.0 software. RESULTS: Being employed (AOR = 3.07, 95% CI: 1.71-5.49, p < 0.001) and attaining secondary or higher education (AOR = 2.86, 95% CI: 1.42-5.78, p = 0.003) were significant predictors of children receiving MAD. Similarly, having an average decision-making autonomy increased the child's odds of receiving MAD (AOR = 1.68, 95% CI: 1.02-2.76, p = 0.040). Children of mothers who attained secondary or a higher level of education (AOR = 0.59, 95% CI: 0.36 -0.97, p = 0.040) and those whose mothers were employed (AOR = 0.71, 95% CI: 0.47-1.07, p = 0.043) were associated with a reduced risk of underweight and stunting respectively. Children of mothers with average financial independence status were more likely to receive diversified meals (AOR = 1.55, 95% CI: 1.01-2.38, p = 0.045). CONCLUSIONS: High educational level and being employed have positive influence on MAD, stunting and underweight of children. High decision-making power and average financial independence of mothers are good predictors of children receiving MAD. Family planning, women empowerment in decision-making, providing employment opportunities for mothers and promoting girl-child education are recommended.

Biotechnological Application of Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Lactobacillus delbrueckii sp. bulgaricus for Protein Enrichment of Fermented Unmalted and Malted Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench).

This study evaluated changes in protein contents of malted and unmalted sorghum, and their formulated blends, after fermentation for 10 days at 25°C with mono and cocultures of Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Lactobacillus delbrueckii sp. bulgaricus. Fermentation of unmalted and malted sorghum and their formulated blends of 1 : 1 (w/w), 3 : 1 (w/w), and 1 : 3 (w/w) by S. cerevisiae and L. bulgaricus could increase their protein contents. Thus, there was an increase in protein content of fermented, malted sorghum by 68.40% for S. cerevisiae, 34.98% for L. bulgaricus, and 76.59% for cocultures of S. cerevisiae and L. bulgaricus; protein contents of fermented, unmalted sorghum also increased by 58.20, 39.36, and 55.00% for monoculture of S. cerevisiae, monoculture of L. bulgaricus, and coculture of S. cerevisiae and L. bulgaricus, respectively. S. cerevisiae was more effective in enriching protein content of the 1 : 3 (w/w) formulated blend of unmalted-malted sorghum by 77.59%; L. bulgaricus was more effective in enriching protein content of the 3 : 1 (w/w) unmalted-malted sorghum blend by 60.00%; coculture of S. cerevisiae and L. bulgaricus enriched the protein content of 3 : 1 (w/w) unmalted-malted sorghum substrate by 44.54%. Significant (p ≤ 0.05) increases in fat with corresponding decreases in carbohydrate and fibre contents were consistently recorded in malted and unmalted sorghum. In the formulated blends of sorghum, fat, carbohydrate, and fibre contents either increased or decreased erratically after fermentation. There were significantly (p ≤ 0.05) higher protein contents in malted sorghum, compared to unmalted sorghum. These findings show that solid-state microbial fermentation technology, using S. cerevisiae and L. bulgaricus, either as mono- or coculture, could effectively enrich the protein contents of unmalted and malted sorghum and their formulated blends. The implications of the findings for infant and adult nutrition are discussed, and future work to augment findings is suggested.

Hydration and water intake practices of commercial long-distance drivers in Ghana: what do they know and why does it matter?

BACKGROUND: The World Health Organization indicates that hydration is indispensable to human life. A long-period of dehydration can result in fatigue, drowsiness and mental confusion which can result in committing serious blunders. For commercial drivers, however, these blunders can be life-threatening and their hydration cannot be overemphasized. AIM: This study was therefore undertaken to assess the water intake practices of Commercial Long-Distance drivers (CLDDs). The study was also aimed at assessing their knowledge levels on the role of water in promoting a healthy body and the consequences of dehydration. SETTING: CLDDs in Ghana who ply between Accra - Cape Coast - Takoradi or Accra - Kumasi. METHODS: A cross-sectional study which involved 256 CLDDs was conducted at six (6) commercial bus stations in Accra and Cape Coast from December 2019 to January 2020. Structured questionnaires were administered to obtain socio-demographic and water intake practices of CLDDs. SPSS was used to generate descriptive statistics based on the data collected. RESULTS: A high proportion (57.8%) of the CLDDs reported that they drunk about 2500ml-3000ml of water on a daily basis. Most (53.1%) relied on their thirst feeling to prompt them to drink water. A little over half (51.1%) consumed energy drinks believed to hydrate the body. A major barrier to drinking water regularly was to avoid frequent stop-overs to use the washroom while travelling. CONCLUSION: The findings reveal concerns about knowledge gaps with regard to the importance of water consumption and barriers to adequate drinking of water among CLDDs. Findings also suggest that many CLDDs relied on their thirst perceptions to prompt them to drink water. Health Education programmes targeting CLDDs should include conveying the importance of water intake and healthy hydration practices for optimal physical and cognitive performance.

Mothers' and Grandmothers' misconceptions and socio-cultural factors as barriers to exclusive breastfeeding: A qualitative study involving Health Workers in two rural districts of Ghana.

BACKGROUND: Education on exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) practices is usually given in the form of health talks by health workers (HWs). The need for HWs to be well-informed about cultural practices and misconceptions that act as barriers to EBF has been documented in literature. This information can guide HWs in developing interventions such as health talks which are culturally sensitive. However, this has not been explored from the perspectives of HWs in Ghana. In this paper, we report mothers' and grandmothers' misconceptions and cultural practices that are barriers to EBF in two rural districts in Ghana from the perspectives of Community Health Workers and Community Health Volunteers. METHODS: We used qualitative data collected in the Kwahu Afram Plains South and North Districts of Ghana through nine focus group discussions (FGDs) among HWs and followed the data saturation principle. All FGDs were audio-taped, transcribed verbatim and translated from local dialects to English. The emerging themes were used in writing a narrative account, guided by the principles of the thematic analysis. RESULTS: Our main findings included mothers' and grandmothers' perceptions that HWs themselves do not practice EBF. Mothers had the perception that grandmothers did not practice EBF but their children grew well, and gestures of babies suggested their readiness to start eating. Misconceptions revealed included beliefs that breastmilk is watery in nature and does not satisfy infants. Another misconception was that babies gain weight faster when not exclusively breastfed but fed on infant formulas. A custom of giving corn flour mixed with water or light porridge during the first few days after birth to welcome newborns was also reported. CONCLUSIONS: The reports of the HWs revealed that several socio-cultural factors and misconceptions of mothers and grandmothers negatively influence EBF practices of mothers. Findings from this study highlight the need for HWs to provide culturally appropriate counselling services on breastfeeding not only to mothers but also to grandmothers and fathers in order to promote EBF and reap its benefits.

Nutritional counselling interactions between health workers and caregivers of children under two years: observations at selected child welfare clinics in Ghana.

BACKGROUND: This study evaluated the Health Works (HWs) nutritional counselling skills and information shared with caregivers. This was a cross-sectional study in which an observation checklist was used to examine Growth Monitoring and Promotion (GMP) activities and educational/counselling activities undertaken by health workers (HWs) to communicate nutrition information to caregivers, depending on the ages of the children. METHODS: A total number of 528 counselling interactions between health workers and caregivers in 16 Child welfare Clinics (CWCs) in two rural districts in Ghana were observed. Frequencies were presented for the information that was obtained from each caregiver and those that were provided by the HWs during the nutritional counselling sessions. RESULTS: About 95.1 and 61.8% of the caregiver-HW interactions involved mothers of children who were less than 6 months of age and those above 6 months respectively. HWs counselled the caregivers on appropriate nutrition for the child. Health talk messages that were shared with caregivers focused mainly on the importance of attending CWCs and vaccination of children and rarely included any teaching materials. In most of the interactions, HWs made of child's feeding practices the past 1 month; and also did not provide advice on specific issues of IYCF. Nutritional counselling information given for non-breastfeeding children was inadequate and in some cases absent. Little attention was given to the feeding of children with animal products during counselling. CONCLUSION: Generally nutritional information given to caregivers who had children above 6 months was inadequate.